Welcome to my stop of the Victoria Rebels Blog Tour!Check out the rest of the tour below!
Victoria Rebelsby Carolyn Meyer
Website | Facebook | TwitterPublication: January 1, 2013
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Group: Young Adult
Get It: Amazon
Queen Victoria’s personal journals inform this captivating first-person account of one of history’s most prominent female leaders. Queen Victoria most certainly left a legacy—under her rule as the longest reigning female monarch in history, the British Empire was greatly expanded and significant industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military changes occurred within the United Kingdom. To be a young woman in a time when few other females held positions of power was to lead in a remarkable age—and because Queen Victoria kept personal journals, this historical novel from award-winning author Carolyn Meyer shares authentic emotional insight along with accurate information, weaving a true story of intrigue and romance.~synposis provided by Goodreads
Do you plan your novels our or does the story just flow?I plan my novels in a general sort of way, deciding where the story should begin, what the major plot points should be, how it should end, but I don't outline them. A lot happens as I get to know my characters and the scenes reveal more of the story. In the beginning I spend a lot of time working on voice, with several false starts until it feels right. Then I move ahead fairly steadily to the end of the first draft. After that, it's time to do serious revision, and lots of rewriting takes place.
What made you choose to write a novel based on Queen Victoria? Why this person/time period?
I was at a point where I didn't know what I wanted to do next, and so I put it up to my readers. I sent out a slew of emails to people who had once contacted me with comments about my books and asked for their suggestions, offering to dedicate the book to the first three people to respond with an idea that I would eventually choose. I had no sooner hit Send than the replies starting coming in. For a couple of weeks I kept a tally, and Victoria came out on top. I've kept my promise, and the book is dedicated to the three readers who were the first to nominate Queen Victoria.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, logistical, etc) you faced?
Victoria was an easy subject to research, because so much has been written about her and because she kept daily journals from the age of 13 until she died. (Unlike Cleopatra, for example, about whom very little factual material exists, although there are plenty of myths.) The biggest challenge was to create an accurate and engrossing psychological portrait, because the externals of her life were really not particularly exciting. The tension was in her relationships with her difficult mother and the highly manipulative man who controlled them both.
How much of this book is factual and how much creative license?
The book is completely factual. I never change known facts in my novels, although I do have to invent the connective tissue, and that usually means creating additional characters to help tell the story (Cleopatra Confesses is a prime example).
What is your most interesting writing quirk?
I seem to have a hard time exploring the emotional landscape of my main characters. My editors so often write in the margins, "But how did she feel?" that I've offered to have a rubber-stamp made up to save them the trouble. I guess you could call that a quirk.
What's more important: characters or plot? Characters, without question! I couldn't do it any other way.
If you could live in any TV (or book) universe, which would it be?
What's wrong with this universe? I'm quite happy here.
If you could time travel, where would you go? Who would you meet? Why this time/place/person?
I have no interest in time travel; I accomplish that in the books I choose to write.
I have to admit, that while looking through Carolyn's Goodreads page, I noticed that she wrote Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess and I was thrilled! I read this book years ago when I was in my Anastasia fascination - I'll admit that it still rears its head from time to time - and I loved it! I hadn't realized she wrote so many others as well. I'm definitely looking forward to Victoria Rebels and I may have to pick up one or two of Carolyn's other books as well. I love historical fiction!
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TOUR STOPS18th Guest blog @ Inside the Mind of a Bibliophile19th Interview @ WhoRu Blog20th Interview @ The Reader's Antidote21st Guest Blog @ Fantasy's Ink22nd Character Interview with John Conroy @ Pages From My Thoughts25th Guest Blog @ Bibliophilia, Please!26th Guest Blog @ Books Beside My Bed27th Top Ten: The Victorian Age @ Moosubi Reads28th Interview @ Beauty But A Funny Girl1st Character Interview with Fidi @ Bookcase to Heaven4th Interview @ Gobs and Gobs of Books5th Guest Blog @ A Dream Within A Dream6th Character Interview With Prince Albert @ I Am A Reader, Not A Writer7th Guest Blog @ Stiletto Storytime8th Interview @ Emily's Crammed Bookshelf11th Interview @ Movies In My Head12th Top Ten: Victoria's Favorites @ Curling Up With A Good Book13th Character Interview With Victoria @ The Mod Podge Bookshelf
