Exploring the Importance of Historical Fiction with Bates

Patricia Bates is a Canadian author who specializes in historical romance. Though Bates is originally from British Columbia, she lives in Saskatchewan, where she writes historical romances under her legal name. 

    “I don’t have a pen name for my historical romance,” stated Bates. “For the other genres, I write under a mish-mash of my name, nicknames, etc. I write historical fiction, historical romance, PNR, contemporary romance, gay romance, and contemporary romantic suspense. All but one of my books are super steamy, so I write for adults.”

Bates published her first book, Master’s Mistress, in 2009. It was her love of romance and history that led her to write. She stated, “I was also heavily influenced by authors like Louis L’Amour, Heather Graham, and Julie Garwood. Inspiration comes from the little things around me. I have one book out right now that was inspired by the image of an old farmhouse. It's a dark, PNR romantic Suspense.”

In a world where sometimes we prefer to destroy our history than learn from it, Bates aims to create a story that transports readers back in time, where they can experience history firsthand. Bates remarked, “I think historical fiction is important for the world because it gives us a chance to time travel, explore other times and worlds, and offers authors and readers a chance to explore cultures that have changed over time.”

“Oh, gosh,” she gushed, “my favorite historical time is a hard one because it depends on my mood. Medieval time period, however, is one that I go back to all the time.”

Bate’s writing process starts with the creation of a character, which leads to a story evolving. She explained, “I rarely have the title figured out until after I’ve started writing. Even when I’m doing a series I give the stories titles but they rarely stick. I try to plot, but end up winging it. Plotting does help to keep me on track a wee bit more.”

If you’re a writer you probably know the curse of procrastination. You can have the greatest story idea but then when you sit down at your computer all your motivation flies out the window. You’re not alone. There are a ton of us that suffer from this, including Bates.

 

“Overcoming my love of procrastination and the ‘shiny squirrel’ syndrome is probably the hardest part of the writing process,” stated Bates. “My favorite part of the process is escaping into the worlds that I create.”

When it comes to writing rules, Bates takes a ‘guidelines’ approach. When asked if writing rules are meant to be broken she said, “Oh my gosh, yes, they are. You can’t follow all the rules because they’re only guidelines, not rules when it comes to something as fluid as writing. One rule I think more authors need to know is that you need to know your reader’s expectations. You can write the most amazing story but if it isn’t to their expectations, or there isn’t a market for it, you may struggle to sell it.”

“Editing is painful,” Bates continued. “Usually I attempt to let the book sit for a few weeks and work on something else. Then I go back and start at the back of the book and work my way forward - keeps me from getting into the story and makes it easier for me to see issues.”

According to her Amazon profile, Bates has published 16 books. On top of those books, she’s worked on several more. When asked what her favorite book she wrote is, Bates stated, “Oh boy, this is a hard one because there’s something in every book that makes it a favorite. However, I would have to say Chains of Rome - a historical fiction set in ancient Rome. It gave me a chance to write outside of the romance genre and still incorporate a bit of romance into the story - but it really is a story about the heroine’s journey from slave to gladiator to free woman.”

I have not read Chains of Rome but I did read the Mistaken Groom. Mistaken Groom has the feel of a classic romance with a historical twist. England and Scotland are on the verge of war. The highlanders struggle to keep peace among their clans and prepare for battle against King George’s army, which is slowly creeping in on their borders. Then, when a rumor starts circling that a clan leader’s daughter gave up her purity to a rival clan’s leader, her father is forced to give her to the rival chieftain in marriage.

The enemies-to-lovers trope is expertly executed and though this is a story about two people finding love, it primarily focuses on the difference between found and natural family. I immensely enjoyed this book. Callum and Elizabeth will now forever hold a piece of my heart. Though the story is primarily romance and has a harlequin feel, it doesn’t overly romanticize virginity. Meaning it displays the loss of it in an accurate way and discusses the struggle between Callum and Elizabeth falling in love while having been taught to hate each other. 

I’m trying my hardest to be ‘strict’ with my reviews this year, as I noticed last year I gave primarily 4 and 5-star reviews, and some of them didn’t deserve that good of a review. I have to say, though, this book, The Mistaken Groom, deserved more than five stars. It completely broke the scale for me.

If you are a young or new author, or even a writer that’s exploring the possibility of publishing, Bates wants you to know, “You need to know your why. If you’re writing for yourself or writing to make money understand there is a difference in your mind. Don’t feel you have to force yourself to make money if you’re only writing for yourself. If you’re writing to make money - then go at it from the standpoint of a business. And don’t give up. There will be massive highs and even darker, deeper lows but it will all teach you and you will grow and learn and become the author you are meant to be.”