Life for Medieval Women

     My historical romance series is set in the 830s, just after Charlemagne’s reign, during the Middle Ages or medieval period of history that most historians consider to span 500 -1500AD. Comparing the Middle Ages to present day is a wide-open topic because things are so different now. I’ll limit myself to the Carolingian Empire in the 800s.

     I chose to write about Charlemagne’s empire because it has the strong societal structure that many of us enjoy in historical romance, but is not England or Scotland, which are heavily used in the genre already.

     The three books in the series feature very different women as heroines. In each, I created a woman who represents the female reality at the time. None are warriors, none are formally educated, none escape society's expectations of her, though each, in her way, exert her influence to make her life suit her.

     In Vain, my heroine is from the merchant class. Her life in her parents’ weaving and tailoring shop is very simple. They have a front room where they work and sell, and a back room where they live. The home has one open hearth with a small hole in the roof to release smoke. Fabric is woven on a rough frame of wood. Metal pins and needles exist but are too precious for her to buy. Hers are made from bone or thorn. She eats bread, cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables grown or gathered nearby, and meat rarely. She drinks watered wine or ale. It sounds dismal, but Lily loves her life, and she fights to maintain herself when she is unexpectedly left alone.

     Theophilus, the hero in Vain, is a nobleman. (Don’t worry, his name is often shortened to Theo, so you won’t be reading that eyeful for an entire book.) When he is forced to marry Lily, her transition to life in his great house is challenging because she has crossed a societal boundary, and he is pretty angry at having marry her.

     Life as a noblewoman is still rustic by our standards. She has an outside wells and latrine, her kitchens walls are black with soot from an open cookfire, and only she and her husband enjoy much privacy. Most of the nobility can’t read or write, entrusting such work to clerks, though I found it hard to stick to that with my heroes. In addition to clerks, there are servants to do the less pleasant physical work, a much better selection of food from the countryside around town, and social diversions.

     The Evolution Series fits into the medieval historical romance category because it is more rustic and gritty than, say, a regency. In my recent release, Vain, I say that in this time period “lives were, for the most part, everlasting struggles for survival.” Though those struggles are not the main focus of my stories, suffice it to say that none of my heroines gets the vapors because an earl steals a kiss on the veranda. Each of them has a life path she is trying to follow, and I do my best to show her story while respecting the reality of the time period.

    Now you just have to pick which one to read! The stories stand on their own, so you can start anywhere. The titles describe the hero of each book. I list them here in order, with a short description, and they are available on most online book vendors.

    Unbidden - When the emperor chooses a husband for Rochelle, she tries to drive her betrothed away, but by the time she realizes she might want to keep him, she has been too successful and other forces are dividing them as well. Unbidden is only $0.99 and since it is the first book, I am providing a few buy links here. Amazon    Barnes & Noble    Smashwords

    Redeemed - Can a quiet widow help a damaged, secretive man find redemption? This book features the villain from Unbidden and if available in the Evolution Series bundle with that book.

    Vain - A tailor’s abandoned daughter fashions a vain nobleman’s tunic, finding passion between the neckline and hem as misfortune forces her into his precarious aristocratic world.

If you'd like to follow Jill Hughey's activities, please visit her blog at http://jillhughey.blogspot.com, her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jillhugheyromance, or follow her tweets @jillhughey.

Thanks for visiting today!

The Fun Part of Writing - Putting "Pencil to Paper"

I am so happy to be concentrating in earnest on writing book three of the Evolution Series, called Vain.  After spending most of May finalizing a completely unrelated historical romance, Sass Meets Class, and most of June working on promotion for it, getting back to the craft of stringing words together is a welcome thrill.  Every time I get to this point in in the writing process I literally feel a "Whee!!!" kind of excitement because the hours spent putting words in the document (I don't really write with a pencil and paper) are what I love about being an author and what compels me to continue.

I am trying a new, more disciplined approach:  writing the story in chronological order (for the most part).  I did cheat ahead twice but am now committed to taking it from beginning to end because some great threads are starting to sneak out of my brain, and I mean that almost literally since the heroine works with fabric. 

So, who is Vain about?  The hero is Theophilus (Theo), who was introduced in book one as David's best friend. Theo is dedicated to his responsibilities as a nobleman in the Carolingian Empire .  His heroine is Lily, the daughter of the town's weaver and tailor. The class difference between nobility and artisan/merchant will be one of the conflicts between hero and heroine.  Lily thinks she knows how her life will spin out, but starting from the first scene, her plan begins to unravel.

If you read book one, Unbidden, you might remember that Theo once stated he needs a wife who can sew because she will save him a fortune on his clothing.  (Theo is a bit of a clothes-horse.)  I am giving him his seamstress, and using themes of fabrics and their colors and textures in the building romance.

The writing also flows little more easily since this is the third installment in the same series, so I am comfortable with the time period, terminology, and the way I want to manage dialogue.  Now that the plotting and timelines and character names for Vain are all planned, I can let the story flow and for me, that is the really fun, really inspiring part of authorship.  Whee!!

What is your favorite part of writing, or if you are a reader, what touches can an author add to a book that really makes you appreciate their craft?

Hello fellow lovers of medieval romance.  I am Jill Hughey, author of The Evolution Series, historical romance set in the Carolingian Empire in the 830s.  The Carolingian Empire covered a vast area of Europe that Charlemagne conquered.  I think the 800s are technically part of the Middle Ages but many readers consider medieval romance anything set prior to the frillier times.

Although I read Regency and other types of historical romance, I do get tired of England.  I really enjoy romance that is set somewhere new and has more rusticity than life in the ton.  I love stories that include a little humor; that have reasonably intelligent heroines and strong but human heroes; and are not too long-winded in their descriptions of clothing.  Since this is what I like to read it tends to inform what I like to write.  I have attempted to recapture the basic elements of the classic historical romances that I loved (Judith McNaught, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Julie Garwood) with a modern voice and fast pace.

I have released two books in my series so far.  The first is Unbidden, set mostly in 831 Francia.  Unbidden follows the story of Rochelle who manages her late father's estate and vehemently resists being matched by the emperor with David, a capable soldier and second son of a Bavarian nobleman.   Rochelle  fears that she will lose her independence.  She uses every weapon and tactic at her disposal to avoid the marriage, realizing too late that she may have lost the love of her life.

In print, Unbidden is 318 pages and has all 5-star reviews on Amazon.  It is also available for Kindle.

http://amzn.com/B0067DDX1M