I am hoping to start a chain of posts by historical fiction authors in which we introduce the main character of our work in progress or soon to be published novel. This is trial by error, so if there is a question that should be included, please leave me a comment. Thanks!
1) What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?
Evangeline. She is entirely fictional, but I hope there is a group of people who will identify with her.
2) When and where is the story set?
It is in England at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign. Evangeline has been raised isolated on a large estate by a reclusive mother (based on Miss Havisham). The only friend she has been allowed is her twin brother, Dante.
3) What should we know about him/her?
Evangeline is a poetess and is devoted to living by the strict Rules of the household created by her mother. This, to her, compensates for the sense of neglect caused by her mother's seemingly emotionless, reclusive existence.
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
Dante has met his love. To Evangeline, that means she has lost Dante or rather that he has been stolen from her. This triggers an OCD with all its irrational behaviors.
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
On the surface, Evangeline struggles to win her brother back, though she never really lost him. The deeper dilemma, of course, is whether or not she can learn to live with the reality of his having found a wife, whether she can adjust to a more normal life, and whether she can overcome the chains of the OCD.
6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
The title is For the Skylark. You can read the first section HERE.
7) When can we expect the book to be published?
I hope by the end of this year. It depends upon life!
Thanks for visiting the post. I have tagged five authors to follow me; they will post about their main characters on the ninth.
1) Rosanne Lortz
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| My vision of Evangeline |
Evangeline. She is entirely fictional, but I hope there is a group of people who will identify with her.
2) When and where is the story set?
It is in England at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign. Evangeline has been raised isolated on a large estate by a reclusive mother (based on Miss Havisham). The only friend she has been allowed is her twin brother, Dante.
3) What should we know about him/her?
Evangeline is a poetess and is devoted to living by the strict Rules of the household created by her mother. This, to her, compensates for the sense of neglect caused by her mother's seemingly emotionless, reclusive existence.
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
Dante has met his love. To Evangeline, that means she has lost Dante or rather that he has been stolen from her. This triggers an OCD with all its irrational behaviors.
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
On the surface, Evangeline struggles to win her brother back, though she never really lost him. The deeper dilemma, of course, is whether or not she can learn to live with the reality of his having found a wife, whether she can adjust to a more normal life, and whether she can overcome the chains of the OCD.
6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
The title is For the Skylark. You can read the first section HERE.
7) When can we expect the book to be published?
I hope by the end of this year. It depends upon life!
Thanks for visiting the post. I have tagged five authors to follow me; they will post about their main characters on the ninth.
1) Rosanne Lortz
2) Catherine Gilflurt
3) Evelyn Tidman
4) John Campbell
5) Linda Root
Let me know what you think of Evangeline!
18 comments:
What, you too, Debbie? Jenno is pleased to meet Evangeline. She sounds rather angelic though, so perhaps the two of them may not get on all that well together...
Oh cripes, Now I've got tp prove I'm not a robot. It never works first time and what a daft idea anyway.
Thanks for visiting Evangeline, Peter and Jenno! She is rather angelic, but with a lot of pouting. Things don't really go her way, you see.
Weren't you glad to see you didn't have to prove you aren't a robot?
Hi Debra - having 'met' Evangeline and Dante in the early, early drafts of this novel, it sounds to me like you've really taken Evangeline to a very good place, and have her story well-lined up! Whatever I was working on when we were exchanging drafts has long fallen by the wayside, but i'm now working on the first of a series of historical mysteries, it's so much fun!
Hi Mary,
I love historical mystery--my #1 favorite. So I am eager to hear what you get out there! I was enjoying your other story, too.
Thanks for dropping in!
Debbie
Hi Debra
Evangeline sounds a very interesting ,complex character. One thing that comes across is that her problems could easily be translated to modern life and it shows that although people may have lived in different eras with different mind sets,they possess the same human frailties whatever the time period. I've been tagged by Rosanne and I am really looking forward to talking about my character.
Thanks, Paula; I look forward to meeting your main guy or gal. :)
Oh, poor Evangeline. I feel sorry for her, but I hope that she'll be able to deal with her issues and find resources of happiness within herself. It is never a good idea to depend too much on someone or something to make your happiness. She is a poetess, you said, I think she should turn to the world of her imagination first, find happiness there and then move on to real things... I didn't get too carried away, did I?
Hi Farida, thank you! Evangeline and her tribulations sound very real to you--how nice for me. She is so real to me, and so close to me, that it is lonely being the only person who knows her. Beta readers, too, know her, but they have to focus on a lot of other things and can't spend too much time sympathizing. :) Thanks!
Debbie,
This is a great idea. You got me interested in your Evangeline and her problem which is not sickeningly common, but believable. Now you have to tell us about Dante!
How do I get included in this series by the way? I'd like to introduce Balian and Zoe.
Hi Helena,
Linda Root said she'd like to tag you, so she will be contacting you. Your post should go up on your blog on the 12th if possible.
Thanks for visiting, and hmmm, yes. I'd love to write about poor Dante, caught between three women, trying to please them all. Lol. :/
Thank you for inviting me to participate; my post is now at http://www.madamegilflurt.com/2014/04/meet-my-main-character.html !
I've been there already, and it is a wonderful post and we are treated to an excerpt as well. Congrats on breaking Madame out into the world!
The set-up is really good. It'll be interesting to see how she eventually conquers her OCD and learns to accept her brother's marriage.
Thanks, Sophie! So glad you stopped by.
What a lovely idea! Is it too late to get involved with this? I'm currently working on a historical fiction novel and I'd love to join in!
Evangeline sounds like a really interesting heroine - it's great to see an anxiety disorder like OCD being brought up in a historical novel. I don't think I've come across anything like that before!
Also Evangeline and Dante are brilliant character names. Good luck on your publishing journey! :)
Jess, nice to meet you. People are looking for someone to tag--join us here and ask Beth to add you to her post. https://www.facebook.com/groups/212369672160560/686416014755921/?notif_t=group_comment_reply
OCD was a problem then, too, so I thought I'd give it some exposure. I hope people will love Evangeline despite herself. She has every reason to be stressed out. :) Poor thing.
The name Dante just hit me early on. Since his mother lived in a time when classical was all the rage, it worked well. I had to work on a name for Evangeline. Nothing seemed to fit. Then I was friended on FB by an Evangeline, and I knew that had to be it. I did some research and was disappointed as it was frequently brought out that the name seemed to originate in the US during the Civil War. I keep searching, because I just had to have that name. It is who she is! And then I found an Evangeline in England in the right time period. That was good enough for me--just one. I was so pleased!
Thanks for your comments, and I look forward to learning about your book. :)
Found your blog from Sarafina Bianco. Totally cool idea for a blog tour/carnival.
Thanks, LuAnn! I'm glad you found us.
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