My second novel, A Bag of Blood and Bone, is due out soon, and I thought it might be of interest to set out some of the research and interesting stories I have found out while researching for it.
The story is set in 1644 and follows on from my first book, As The Sparks Fly Upwards. But this time Tom and Effra, the two main male characters travel to Plymouth looking for traitors, then Cornwall and back to Dorset via Dartmoor. Bathsua, meanwhile, travels to Weymouth and prepares to sail to New England as a colonist.
I travelled to the main places in the story to become familiar with the countryside and history from a local perspective, as much as I could. I find the research side of writing historical novels fascinating and it is easy to get lost in the past and spend months just absorbing ideas, personal stories and perspectives and getting swept up in narrative history. At some point, though, a researcher has to resurface and get on with the job of weaving together a coherent story.
Over the next series of blogs I want to share some of the highlights and snippets of history or local geography that I’ve discovered. Watch out for the next blog, then, and don’t forget that the new novel, A Bag of Blood and Bone will be published soon. I’ll keep you posted.
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