Yesterday the author Sandra Gallimore left a very insightful comment on my blog, and I was intrigued to learn more about her books. Her novel Chronicles of Jongleur, The Storyteller is set in 13th century England, and deals with issues such as religion and family. This sounds like a fascinating read for people who are interested in Medieval England. Gallimore was gracious enough to answer a few questions I had about her writing.
My Questions:
What genre does the novel Chronicles of Jongleur, The Storyteller fall into?
What compelled you to write about strong female characters, and who are some of the most important ones in your book?
What should first time readers know about your books?
Can you share some helpful hints/insights for writers who are publishing their first novel?
Sandra Gallimore:
Really good questions. I consider this novel to be in the historical fiction genre since it is both historical and fiction.Many authors of controversial material will get their point or research through to the reader by fictionalizing it-an example I the trilogy by Kathleen McGowan (The expected One, Book of Love, and Poet Prince). Not only does she have visions herself but she has does done thousands of miles and hours of research for these books. Because the subject matter and information is so interesting to me I find her a great little writer. But the same material as non-fiction would be of minimal interest to most people unless they were of my mindset. To get back to your question-my novel is full of adventure so it could be called that, a romantic age of chivalry(also cruelty) so it could be called that, so take your pick.I wrote strong female characters into my book for two reasons. First, because I couldn’t stand the reality of how they really were at the time, although there were many highly evolved woman like Eleanor of Aquataine, Ann Boleyn-any highly other educated nobles’, but for the most part rules could not be broken. And they lived by harsh rules- totally ruled by men. My characters are no different but their mindset is, and their achievements are. They work around what the circumstances were. Things are not so different today in that way. Divorced and widowed women do the same thing-and many married ones. But it was a no-brainer for me to write strong woman due to myself and my family. We are now 4 to 5 generations of strong women raised by strong women through divorce. The first was my mother who stayed married yet instilled a strength to do anything in her daughters who were divorced and instilled by action the same things, and so on. That resulted in children and grandchildren being exposed to the same influence. So, my main female characters are a composite of those minds. In other words, it is true to write what you know-it reads better and is honest.
What should readers know about my book? I used my interest in so many things history -herbal remedy, travel, religion, the human conditions of goodness and cruelty, innocence and guilt, greed and giving, ignorance and knowledge, ‘unconditional love and lack of emotion-all as timeless eternity. I see now that there was synchronicity in this book with everything I did. I traveled to France where they make wonderful soap I brought home- I went to Bathworks and saw high prices and decided I could make soap and perfume which interested me in herbs and remedies. I read about Mary Magdalene and dead sea scrolls and Jesus for many years-but did not realize that where I was in France was exactly where she was, and where the soap was (Provence) which led to more research. You see it all fit together and was there for me to development a story around my interests and the events. I a m now working on a sequel and I still make awesome soap and perfume, though I no longer sell it Why soap? I had to ask myself ‘how would they have lived in those days? soap?, food, medicine? It goes on and on. And my main reason for placing in the the 13th century was the Church’s extermination of the Cathar’s who lived in that same area in France. Today they would be called Protestants and Mary Magdalene espoused those beliefs, and would have passed on those same beliefs. I can only see it as synchronicity.
I have covered what advise I would give other women writers: Write what you know, develop interests and research them. Your work will speak for itself. I have pubished with Createspace but the promotion it takes is very daunting unless you have a lot of time. You see how many writers are clamoring for attention on Facebook. So you must be diligent, or unique enough to get that agent and publishers attention. Unless these two things happen your book will just sit there. I am not prepared to let mine do that even though it is self-published and controversial to boot. One other thing-every page needs conflict to promote action and resolution. Let you readers sympathize with your characters.I’ll end with one comment. The world will always desperately need heroes in books. We need the to cope with the evils we see in people. In my novel, Chronicles of Jongleur, the Storyteller, -you’ll never forget the heroes…
If you want to keep up with Sandra Gallimore’s latest writing, then you can follow her on Facebook.
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