Guest Post and Giveaway: How I Create My Characters by Emily-Jane Hills Orford, Author of Queen Mary's Daughter

Today, I'm hosting a guest post by author Emily-Jane Hills Orford and a promo on her historical fiction release, Queen Mary's Daughter, as a part of the ongoing VBT. Also find an excerpt for your enjoyment. I hope you enjoyed the guest post as much as I did. Note that Queen Mary's Daughter is free on kindle unlimited!

Emily-Jane Hills Orford will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

How I Create My Characters
 

Many of my characters come from real life – people I knew or people I read about. I started my writing career writing memoirs, creative nonfiction stories about those people who were important in my life: my grandmother, my mother, close family friends. I followed the examples set by these special people, the power of being a good storyteller.

When writing these stories, I had real life examples to follow, real life scenarios to transcribe onto paper. It was a work of love. I continue to write these stories, but I have moved on to different genres: historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. I may have moved into new genres, but the people in my stories, the characters, are very personal to me. Even some of the historical characters have some connection to those who inspired me, particularly my grandmother (Gran).

Gran was the inspiration that launched my writing. She and I had a close, special bond. We shared a lot of interests: reading, history, storytelling. She always jokingly claimed that we (the family) would soon forget her once she passed away. It’s been over twenty years since she passed away and there’s not a day goes by that I don’t think of her and wish I could pick up the phone to talk to her. And there’s not a book I write that doesn’t somehow have her featured.

In “Queen Mary’s Daughter”, my grandmother was the inspiration behind the main character, Mary Elizabeth’s grandmother. Even though Mary Elizabeth’s grandmother was an historical figure, Marie de Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots, I wanted to create a special grandmother – granddaughter bond, one that I enjoyed with my grandmother. So, in many ways, Mary Elizabeth’s grandmother is my grandmother.

My characters are more than just real to me, they are a significant part of my past. Gran and I shared a passion for Scottish history and particularly the history of this ill-fated Scottish queen, Mary Queen of Scots. We read a lot about her and we even took a trip to Scotland together in the 1970s, to trace Gran’s childhood memories as a Scottish lass and to follow the trail of the ill-fated queen.

There is so much mystery and romance surrounding Queen Mary; so many unsolved myths and legends. I always wanted to write about Queen Mary, but I didn’t want to write a biography, which has been done many times over, and I didn’t want to write a pure historical fiction novel, because I felt Jean Plaidy and others had already done a wonderful job portraying the romantic lore that surrounded this queen and her country. I kept reading new stories about Queen Mary, but it wasn’t until the Brexit debacle and the ongoing desire of the Scottish people to separate from England, that I started looking more closely at the stories around Queen Mary. I knew she had given birth, prematurely, to twins while imprisoned at Loch Leven. History records that the babies died at birth and were buried on the island where the castle sat. An interesting footnote states that the location of the burial and the babies’ remains have never been found. Another myth, unsolved legend? I started thinking, ‘what if?’What if there had been another heir to the Scottish throne and Scotland never did amalgamate with England and Ireland? And my story unfolded.

Some of my characters I selected from historical figures, but, since I was weaving an alternate time-line, many of my characters are pure fiction, woven from fragments of people I knew and people I read about. I wanted to create realistic characters, to make my story sound plausible.

I still love the mellow, soothing aura of storytelling and many of my stories, though sometimes delving into the realms of fantasy and science fiction, still use my own childhood memories, my fascination with history and all that I have enjoyed writing about in the past.

I continue to write little snippets of family stories and memoirs which I publish in various online and print journals, including https://insteading.com/ and http://www.curiousguide.ca/. I seem to be branching off into the realm of possibilities: fantasies and science fiction, but all with a foot firmly planted in my roots, my family and my vivid imagination. “Queen Mary’s Daughter” evolved from my shared passion with my grandmother for Scottish history. My recently released Middle Grade fantasy novel, “Mrs. Murray’s Ghost” (TellTale Publishing), explores my memories, dreams and fantasies of growing up in a haunted house. My characters are both real and, sometimes, surreal.
 

For me, writing is a passion. A day without reading is like a day without sunshine. I am a writer. I am a storyteller, a descendent of many storytellers, a passionate believer in the simple fact that life is a story just waiting to be told. All that a life story needs is a writer to believe in the story, to believe in its worth, to write the story. My characters, my stories are my life.

This mantra has been my belief, the power that has pushed me onwards, from the beginning of my writing career. It’s what drives me to write more. It’s what keeps me writing when the rejection letters and criticism start to offend my sensitive nature. It’s what moves me to write better. I have a lot of stories I want to tell. And, given my heritage, I have a talent for weaving a good tale and a vivid imagination (as my grandmother always told me) to carry it along.

 

Queen Mary's Daughter

Emily-Jane Hills Orford

Published: March 6, 2018

There are so many possibilities that affect the course of history. One change, one small item overlooked, can make a world of difference, not only in a person's life, but in the history and well-being of an entire nation.

And then there are those multiple scenarios of what if? What if King James VI of Scotland didn't succeed in amalgamating Scotland with England? What if there had been another heir to the throne of Scotland? One who would secure its independence? Would Scotland have remained free and independent and a nation of its own well into the twenty-first century? And would Scotland, this independent version, make its own decision to join the European Union when its southern neighbor was choosing to pull away?

"Queen Mary's Daughter" presents another plausible timeline, one that incorporates both historical fact and fiction with the endless possibilities of time travel.

Buy Link:

Amazon

An Excerpt from Queen Mary's Daughter:

“What?” the regent bellowed. “Not another Mary, and a Stuart at that. We cannot be related. Are we?” He winced in the dim light and bent forward to take a closer look. “You have her look about you. It is uncanny. You could almost pass for her. And that brooch. Where did you get that brooch?”

“I do not know, sir.” Mary Elizabeth took her time to choose her words carefully. She wasn’t sure how to answer about the brooch, so she steered clear of that comment, saying instead, “Are not all Stuarts somehow related?”

It was not the right thing to say. James Stuart, Regent of Scotland, was not amused. “Grab her. She must be a spy. Or a traitor. Either is punishable by death.” He pointed accusing fingers at the others. “The rest of you stay here. I will deal with this troublemaker.”

Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:

Emily-Jane Hills Orford is an award-winning author of several books, including Gerlinda (CFA 2016) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, To Be a Duke (CFA 2014) which was named Finalist and Silver Medalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards.

 She writes about the extra-ordinary in life and her books, short stories, and articles are receiving considerable attention.

Author Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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(Note: I received this promo+giveaway info from Goddess Fish Promotions. ~Punya)