I often notice that writers who visit Free Literary Mentor, my blog about new fiction
seem very aware of fear: fear of not being able to finish a novel; fear that the
path to their goal is not clear; fear that publishers and agents won’t be
interested … My heartfelt advice is: always remember that no work ever springs
from fear—it springs from passion. If you believe in your characters, your
message and your story, writing is one of the most inspired and inspiring things
you can do, because readers can sense that passion at the core of what you offer
them. Passion makes everything possible, even a journey that at first looks too
daunting for words.
Once upon a time I lived and worked in a beautiful French château, with the
pleasant job of looking after the little daughters of a marquise. Being with
them in their elegant heritage home made it easy for me to imagine the
glittering world of their ancestors. A few months later I found myself in the
nearby town of Chevreuse, teaching English at three primary schools, and there I
met a new friend, a teacher who had been born in Martinique and was the
descendant of slaves. Colette, who told me vivid stories about her island home,
was intellectually and emotionally engaged by the fate of African slaves in the
Caribbean. As I listened to her and read the books she lent me, I was deeply
struck by the immense gulf between the daily existence of her forebears and that
of the privileged aristocrats who ran France in the eighteenth century.
Then came the question that brought La Créole
into being: What if a slave escaped from Martinique and made it to France,
determined to win justice and liberty for her people? I couldn’t rest until that
question was answered. I didn’t allow the challenge to scare me, because I had
something to go on: I already knew a lot about my heroine’s situation. And if
she was to escape (and be prepared to run into even greater dangers) she would
need to have amazing courage, and a clever gift for finding allies. The
character of Ayisha grew in my mind; I could feel her intense loyalty to the
black people on her plantation, and her passion for justice. And there was a
small group of people in France amongst whom she might find a friend—the young
noblemen of the early Enlightenment who were writing and reading about human
liberty. Of course she was bound to fall in love with one of them! But what
future could she have with a man who by race, birth and rank was her enemy?
I conceived of La Créole as an historical adventure and a powerful love
story. I wasn’t nervous about whether it would fit into an exact genre—I wrote
the kind of book I love to read, hoping others would share my passion. Ayisha
fought all the way for freedom, even at the risk of losing the man who
passionately loved her. I had to stick with her until the end! As it happens,
the novel was accepted by Random House and published as an historical romance;
it has also been translated into several languages. Now for the very first time
it’s available internationally as an eBook and I’m delighted to offer readers
this new edition.
That’s why my advice as an author and mentor is: banish your fears by finding
your passion.
Feeling inspired? Buy your copy of La Créole today from Kindle!
***
Cheryl Sawyer is the author name of Cheryl Hingley. She has had six historical
novels published in several languages. La Créole
and Rebel are available
on Kindle and her next book is an historical crime
novel, Murder at Cirey. In a long career in publishing, Cheryl has published
fiction and non-fiction lists for national and international companies,
including Reader’s Digest. She now lives in Sydney, Australia, where
she writes full-time and maintains Free Literary Mentor, a free manuscript
assessment service that gives professional, constructive feedback to new
writers. Submissions—and comments from readers—are very welcome at the FLM blog. You’ll also find
Cheryl Hingley on Facebook, as @CherylHingley on Twitter, and on Amazon.
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