Guest Blog - Marci Jefferson
January 3, 2013
As I promised, my friend Marci Jefferson is stopping by today to take part in The Next Big Thing, a game of tag authors all over the internet have been taking part in. Marci's debut novel, The Duchess of Richmond, releases in early 2014, and she's here to tell us about it.
Welcome, Marci!
1) What is the working title of your book?
THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND; A NOVEL OF FRANCES STUART
2) Where did the idea come from?
My love for Stuart history began on a trip to London ten years ago. Lots and lots of research led me to discover that there is so much more to Frances Stuart’s story than meets the eye.
 3) What is the genre of the book?
Historical Fiction
4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I pondered this question for a long time. Almost no actress matches my vision of Frances Stuart. But French actress, Isabelle Adjani comes close.
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Frances Stuart rejected three of the seventeenth century’s most fascinating kings and graced England’s coins for generations as the model for Britannia.
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency/publisher?
The book will be released by Thomas Dunne Books of St. Martin’s press in February of 2014.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
About a year and a half of writing. But that doesn’t include research research research! And it doesn’t include the time I spent trying to grasp the craft fiction writing. And it doesn’t include the arduous process of self editing!
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Any historical fiction heavy on royal intrigue. And any historical fiction that delivers historical density and detail with a quick-hitting pace.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I knew I’d have to write historical fiction many years ago when I finished reading The Other Boleyn Girl. But I wrote about Frances Stuart because of her golden spirit.
10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Lady Diana of Wales is a descendant of Charles II, one of the kings in the novel. The Stuarts who should have inherited the throne after him were excluded because of their Catholicism in the late seventeenth century. When Diana’s sons, William or Harry, are crowned, it will be a kind of return to the monarchy for the Stuarts!
Sounds fascinating! I'll be one of the first in line to get my copy when it releases in 2014.
And now, a few more Next Big Things...
Amanda Orr
Janet B Taylor
Arabella Stokes |
