I’m a huge fan of Historical Romance fiction with a particular penchant for the Scottish Highlander. That’s just me and I’m not ashamed of it. Gruff and manly and written with a scottish brogue are my absolute favourite hero's.
Putting the Hero’s looks aside, I mostly enjoy a novel if the historical accuracy is pretty much there. Like framing a sentence a certain way, or the characters sensibilities should acknowledge events/actions be done a certain way for the period. I don't mind if the date an event happened is 25 years later than when it actually happened, but I do like to read about how life was while I imagine the romance between the 2 main characters.
A few of my favourite authors who do this really well are Diana Gabaldon, Suzi Love and Tea Cooper. Their respective websites and blogs are littered with interesting tidbits of their research or extracts from their books and where they found that bit of info from to give more insight into their stories.
My current novel, Undercover Highlander, started out as a contemporary romance and then quite quickly morphed into a part historical, part paranormal, part contemporary romance. The present day is impacted very strongly by the past which started in the Scottish Highlands around the time of the celts and picts.
I began to research the time period and ended up on a very exciting journey through the Scottish Highlands to a small remote Scottish Island, Orkney.
My story has earth magic, evil who want the magic Jade Trio (a ring, amulet and wand) and the clan that moves to Orkney in the hopes of keeping the Jade Trio hiding places secret until Seraphina can locate them again. Seraphina is a strong witch destined to save the Jade Trio from the hands of evil, who would use them for well, evil. She is transported to the present day when the fates have deemed the time is right for her to be reborn and find the Jade Trio from their hiding places. With the help of her twin sister, Merida, the Jade Coven was formed to ensure the legacy and secret hiding places were handed down through the centuries until the time was right for Seraphina to find them again. The guardianship of the Jade Witch is also a position within the coven that is handed down through the centuries to a warrior descended from the clan. He must find her in each of her incarnations and protect her through her mission to find the Jade Trio. Unfortunatley Blaxor, who tried to steal the Jade Trio originally, the seriously evil guy, also ensures his bloodline will continue through the centuries to search and find the Jade Witch and then the Jade Trio. He knows only she can lead them to the Jade Trio and only she can bring their magic to life again. Then they can be his ....
How about you? Do you like to know that the style of dress is exact for the period, or just something that seems like it is.