Linda Hill, book blogger and owner of www.lindasbookbag.com, recently asked me to write a guest piece on how I balance the historical setting with the tastes and expectations of modern readers. I loved the challenge and here was my reply.

"Getting the Balance Right"

A Guest Post by Amie O’Brien

I knew there was a fine line when writing historical fiction. Though this was the first historical novel (or novel period) I had written, I had read enough of them over the years to know that my mind tends to wander when faced with too much information. My eyes begin to droop and suddenly my face gets smacked by my fallen treasure. I typically regroup, but not without fanning the pages to see how soon I’ll be rewarded with actual dialogue, not a recapping of what was going on in politics, fashion, or plagues.

Which is why…I never told myself I was writing a historical. In my mind, I was going to write women’s fiction. It was going to be sophisticated, solid. It was going to be deeply human, filled with characters flawed on both sides. It was going to be an all-out war of the hearts and, best of all, it was going to be romantic! Then the story started to reveal itself to me and I knew I had to find the perfect home for my characters.

My mind wrapped itself around a Victorian setting. I knew my cast were Christian and Muslim. I knew I had a story of slavery, an almost Esther of the Bible scenario in which other girls would vie for my character’s position, but she would feel utterly powerless and devalued.

First, I determined who Leila was before everything in her life begins to shatter. Then, after some soul searching, it came to me what would be her deepest desire. I mapped out several of the conflicts that would be before her, even before I officially began my research. I wanted them to be matters of the heart. I was certain that if what she wanted was universal—to be loved and valued above all else—then there would be plenty of accurate and compelling historical truths I could build around her.

Researching the Ottoman Empire was something completely new to me. I knew next to nothing about “white slavery.” But I was fascinated by every article, every Sultan’s reign, their political entrapments, and harem dynamics, so much so, that it made it painful to sift what would make it into my story.

It seemed to me there were plenty of novels covering earlier sultans, such as Suleyman, Mahmud, and Abdulhamid. They focused on either the swift rise of the Ottoman Empire and the heroic feats of these men, or they focused on the truly dark parts of Ottoman history, their families, and self-destructive, epic demise. Even more so, when written from a heroine’s perspective, the stories revolved around power. Women came in feisty, were tamed after seeing the promise of reward, and (after a few cat fights) traded their ambitions of love and freedom for more attainable goals, such as massive amounts of jewelry, dominion over lesser concubines, and the joy of producing an heir.

For me, these storylines didn’t match up to what I had laid out for Leila. It wasn’t her at all. So my characters took a far less beaten path. Basically, I discovered I didn’t need the crazy part of the historical encounters (or maybe just bits and pieces of crazy). What I personally found more compelling as a story was the direct conflict between Leila and her master, Emre. I wanted to see what would happen if an attachment slowly formed. Could Leila process those unexpected and unwanted feelings? Could she balance her faith with her actions? Would she crumble under the pressure? This led me to look at history through a more compassionate lens. What could I find in my research that would make excuses for Emre’s behavior? Where were the gray and muddled areas? Where could I see when progress was being made in the culture, but perhaps other countries would meddle, keeping them where they had started?

It’s true that The Merchant’s Pearl includes elements known to have caused the fall of the Ottoman Empire. It’s a very real fear for my characters as their story unfolds. But it was best that the reader only see the parts that my characters, a slave and her prince, would have knowledge of. If it threatened their future or pressed on their day-to-day life, then it was viable material. I wasn’t trying to teach a history lesson. I was trying to say something about love.


2/18/17
https://lindasbookbag.com/2017/02/18/...