Hi everyone,
Happy spring! Here’s a look at the making of my historical
romance, Dangerous Indenture.
As most readers know, I write romances in nearly every
genre: contemporary, historical, fantasy, gay, and paranormal. When I write historical romances I never know where (or when) my story will take me. Redemption from a Dark Past is set in the kingdom of Hungary, Loving a Wild
Stranger is a pioneer romance set in 1823, and Dangerous Indenture is a sensual
historical/mystery set in Pennsylvania Colony in the early 1700s.
Here’s the book summary and links:
Dangerous Indenture
Indentured for five years… how long can Shauna resist her
master’s son?
Desperate to escape her past in Ireland, Shauna Farrow signs
on to become an indentured servant to Joshua Stewart, a wealthy man in
Pennsylvania Colony. But a life of servitude quickly turns to drudgery, and
Shauna’s hopes for starting over and creating a better life for herself are
waning—until she meets her master’s roguish son, Ashton.
Ashton needs to redeem himself in his father’s eyes and earn
the respect he has always longed for. Meeting Shauna turns his life around, and
he sets out to win her heart. Torn between propriety and passion, Shauna
struggles against her growing attraction to Ashton as long as she can.
But amidst their flirting, something dark stirs. Shauna soon
discovers why no other servants wanted to work for the strange Stewart family.
Stewart House has an unsavory reputation: a previous servant
died there under mysterious circumstances. When another servant goes missing in
the middle of the night, Shauna is convinced that a member of the family is
responsible.
Shauna’s investigation leads her close to the truth, and
yet, she’s not sure who she can trust. Events take a deadly turn when she
confronts the murderer and discovers the mystery of the Stewart family.
Will Shauna be rescued before time runs out, or will she
meet with the same fate as the other servants?
Order Dangerous Indenture here:
***
So, how did the novel come about? Dangerous Indenture is one
of those books that just jumped into my head. (Yes, every so often that happens
to writers.) One day, I overheard the name Shawna Farrell, but I thought I’d
heard Shauna Farrow. The name stuck with me and I wrote it down.
A few minutes later, I knew all about her: she was an Irish
indentured servant who came to Pennsylvania Colony and worked at a house where
a previous servant was murdered. Once I knew that, I started outlining the
book.
Before I wrote a word, I did a lot of research. I was
starting from a good place with the book—I knew where I wanted to set the story
and in approximately what timeframe it should take place.
From there, I spent time in the library going through
history books, reading up on Colonial times (What life was like, what people
wore, ate, etc.) and indentured servants (Where did they come from? Why did
they leave their home country?).
As I wrote, I incorporated my research as background
information. This gives the book a rich, historical feel without going
overboard with details that slow down a scene or are of no interest to readers.
When I’m writing historical romances, I include details and
descriptions that are integral to the story. I don’t bog down the plot with a
step-by-step procedure for churning butter or how to saddle a horse, and I
don’t go into an endless description of how to unfasten a corset (unless it’s
befuddling a hero who is eager to remove it!)
And just because historical romances are set in time periods
before cars, the Internet, and cell phones, that doesn’t (or shouldn’t) make
them boring. My historicals include plenty of action, adventure, intrigue,
danger, comedy, and sensual love scenes.
When I wrote Dangerous Indenture, I especially enjoyed
creating the characters and setting the stage for the drama that’s about to
unfold. Right from the start, we’re told that Stewart House is a place to be
wary of, and then we (and Shauna) meet the master of the house, Joshua Stewart,
and his strange family.
Our hero, Ashton Bailey, is flawed and has a lot of problems
to overcome. For starters, he’s known as the black sheep of the family and has
been sent home in disgrace. He has a reputation as a drunkard and a womanizer,
and tends to get himself into troubling situations. By giving Ashton all this
“baggage” I made him vulnerable and provided him with lofty goals to reach.
Shauna has come to the Colonies to start over and make a new
life for herself. The last thing she wants is to fall in love with anyone—and
then she meets Ashton. Shauna is headstrong and independent, and not your
typical heroine. She’s brash and opinionated and falls in love with Ashton
despite all of his socially unacceptable flaws. Ashton gives her the strength
and encouragement she needs to keep going when things look bleak, and he stands
up for her at a critical plot point in the story.
When I developed the secondary characters, I made sure to
give them all interesting backstories and unusual quirks. Joshua comes off as a
mean bear of a man, Minerva just might be crazy (and a murderer), Colin is… a
villain in many senses of the word, and Lila thought she had everything going
for her—for a while. Not everyone in Stewart House is as they seem, however,
and this adds another level of mystery and intrigue to the book.
I love the characters and the fact that Dangerous Indenture
is a romance blended with mystery. I had never written a romance set in
Colonial times before, and combining all these elements into this Gothic-type
story was a lot of fun.
I hope you enjoyed this inside look. I welcome comments and questions from readers. Be sure to visit
me on social media!
Happy Reading,
Kelli
