What kind of research did it take to capture the world of Caribbean sugar plantations in the 1700s?
I actually started thinking about sugar plantations when I was on vacation in Kauai and read a local book on the history of the plantations there. My family had traveled to Nevis eight years before, so it was a natural jump in my imagination.
So then we had to go back to Nevis for me to get more targeted research done. The things I do for my readers…
A visit to the slavery museum in Liverpool, England, was the darker part of my research. When I began, I was thinking purely crystal-clear waters, sandy beaches, swaying palms…but as I delved into a stack of research books on the era and the region, I realized it was going to be the most challenging aspect of all. Because slavery was ugly everywhere, but it was ugliest in the West Indies.
Fact vs Fiction: How important is historical accuracy to you? Did you have to fudge any historical details to fit the story?
I try to stay as true as I can to history, noting in the back of the book when I know that I diverged. For instance, in Keturah, there’s a mud slide. I didn’t find any reference for that on Nevis, but there was at least one horrific slide on the neighboring St. Kitts, so it’s not hard to imagine the same happening there. The other place I probably fudge is how Georgian life might have been on-island.
There are good research books for life and customs in England, but it was difficult to discern how much of that transferred to the islands. Were they really wearing all those layers of clothing and powdered wigs in 90-degree heat and humidity? It appears from a few pictures at least some did, some of the time, but I imagine some did not.
Here and there I take fictional license, but I try not to on the big stuff.
What do you love the most about writing historical fiction?
Getting swept away into a fabulous setting and interesting time period automatically sets the stage for a good love story. As soon as I start thinking about it, it’s like a movie score is playing over my iPod… I mean, characters practically pop onto the page as romantic heroes and heroines.
And nonfiction research often yields wonderful options for my fictional story, basically feeding me ideas for plot and action scenes.
Click to find out what challenges Lisa as an author! (It’s not what you think.)