Reader (Show me, don't tell me) asked Patricia Rice:

Ms. Rice, I'm just razing to ask this question of writers of historical stories so please do not feel singled out here. I'm asking you because I've never read any of your books and is considering Incomparable Lord Meath Novella of those the Rebellious Sons series. Do you stick to the 'historical' in historical? That is, the usage of words, dialogue, phrases, etc. that is relevant to the period the story is set?

Patricia Rice This ought to be a simple "yes" or "no" answer, but amazingly, it's a little more complicated. Yes, I prefer to stick to the historical in my straight historical romances, of which Lord Meath is one. In my "magic" romances, I add psychic elements that might suit the era ("science" didn't really exist in the Georgian era of the earliest books, so it was just as woo-woo as psychics!) but I still try to keep history accurate. But you ask specifically about "words, dialogue, phrases" and that's where ambiguity emerges. My characters aren't likely to say "hot damn," since that wasn't in usage, but because they're MY characters, if I choose to have one say "bloody hell" in mixed company, that's my choice, even though it's not socially correct. There are words and phrases that have changed meaning over the centuries, so if I use the historically accurate term, it's likely to confuse the modern reader. A writer has to make a lot of choices when it comes to words, and I'm likely to come down on the side of clarity for the reader over accuracy. I hope that answers your question!

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