Can a timeless love survive when one partner walks away? Time traveler Kate Hunter is about to find out after a bloody shawl's powerful lure compels her to leave her husband, Nathan Walker, to continue her search for answers to questions arising from the mysterious items in her father’s bequeathed box.
Its name alone suggests authors whose genre is historical fiction must undertake a lot of research to add authenticity to their stories.
My passion for writing is often eclipsed by my passion for researching all kinds of things, and like Alice in Wonderland, there are many days when I tumble down the research rabbit hole to remain there for hours at a time. I do believe it's a kind of an addiction with me...albeit a welcome one, for the juicy tidbits I find in those rabbit holes are largely responsible for the adventures Kate and Nathan have in my Passage of Time historical romance/time travel series.
During a recent Zoom call with my British author friend, Mal Watts, I learned he does very little preliminary research because he does not want to waste time looking up things that may never see the light of day in his books. His usual practice is to research in the morning for the scenes he will be writing that afternoon. Having read his Worms in Fools' Fingers that is set around the Thirty Years War, I can attest that his method works well for him.
Each author has his or her way of doing things. For me, it entails spending several weeks researching before I begin writing. Those juicy tidbits I find not only add authenticity to my writing, but very often add turning points that create better plot lines.
To fully appreciate The Butterfly Shawl, the second book in my series that is set in the early settlements of Auraria and Denver City, it is important to know the events taking place at that time in American history.
The effects of the financial Panic of 1857 is still ongoing. It has forced thousands of businesses to close causing widespread unemployment. Those who have lost their jobs come from all walks of life, and desperate to support their families, they head west upon hearing gold has been found in the Pike’s Peak region. Here is how those research gems can add authenticity to a scene:
Where there had been only a trickle of adventurers making the journey across the plains that winter, the real exodus of emigrants began to arrive at Cherry Creek in early March. On her next trip to help Little Fawn, Kate found the streets congested with wagons, handcarts, and wheelbarrows overflowing with tools, provisions, and equipage. One man she talked to who owned no beast of burden had harnessed himself to his handcart. Those not lucky enough to have any conveyance had walked the entire way toting tent poles and their scanty supplies on their shoulders.
During the gold rush that begins in 1858 and ends with the creation of the Colorado Territory in 1861, the two lawless Cherry Creek settlements are the brief stop-off points for tens of thousands of amateur and professional prospectors heading for the mountainous gold fields. Close on their heels are prostitutes, gamblers, three-card-Monte shysters, and other seedy types, all hoping to fleece the prospectors of their money. Again, research helped flesh out this scene:
Kate lost track of the number of saloons they passed where dust-covered and begrimed men in tattered attire stumbled out of doorways. Some of the men were bare-footed and all were hairy and sun-browned. From their belts hung knives and revolvers. She saw numerous possibly peaceful men wearing goggles to protect their eyes from the glare of the prairie sun, the eye wear making them look somewhat ferocious.They passed a couple of assignation houses, where provocatively attired women hoping to be paid in gold dust for providing professional solace beckoned to the next man waiting in line.Passing Denver House, they heard gunshots originating from within the gambling establishment and saw several patrons fleeing out the door.
Meanwhile in the country, the slavery issue is taking centre stage, with northern states having to decide whether or not to be free. Also, Abraham Lincoln is a rising star in the newly founded Republican Party, and southern states are threatening secession if the Democrats lose to the Republicans in the next election. My research informed me Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Leavenworth, Kansas, on Dec. 2, 1859, so I revamped the plot to use that fact as a lead-in to the third book, The Voices, which I'm currently writing and which is set during the American civil war during Lincoln's presidency.
Researching Lincoln's speech, I came across a Feb 23,1902 newspaper article in The Kansas City Star in which Col. Daniel R. Anthony detailed his remembrance of a fireside chat he was part of, which took place following Lincoln's speech. I placed Nathan in that scene to set up the following private talk between Lincoln and Nathan. This intro to the fireside chat scene takes place in Kate and Nathan's hotel room after they return from hearing Lincoln speak:
Nathan was about to help her out of her gown when someone rapped on the door. He released a frustrated groan and kissed the side of her neck. “Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back to pick up where I left off.”Opening the door, he could not believe Lincoln was standing there.The man nodded to Kate and addressed Nathan. “I saw your carriage pull up at the hotel and as I'm also staying here, I asked for your room number and was given it.”Suddenly remembering his manners, Nathan stepped away from the doorway to allow the man to enter. He was as baffled as his wife appeared to be as to why old Abe would be paying them a visit.“Some of the free-state men staying across the street from this hotel have invited my friend and I to join them for a couple of hours and I thought you might like to come,” he told Nathan.Given how glamorous his wife looked in her new gown and how much his loins ached to remove that gown, he was about to refuse the invitation when Kate stepped in.“My husband is thrilled to accept your invitation, aren't you Nathan?”
Unlike some historical fiction authors, I prefer to keep as close to the historical truth as possible. For example, in The Butterfly Shawl there is mention of a Swiss brand of rock-breaking hammers used by geologists. Were they first made before the timeline of the book or after? It was important for me to know that because of the time travel plot line.
Another example of keeping historically accurate concerns Kate's search for Jim Bridger, the mountain man who has crucial information she needs. History never had him within arms reach of her when I needed him to be, so I had to devise another way for her to obtain the information, but you'll have to read the book to find out how I did it.
I would explain more about my research process and how research impacts my novels, but I see another rabbit hole beckoning to me.
Helen T. Doan
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About the Author
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