Today I am so pleased to welcome David Lawrence to Joyfully Jay. David has come to talk to us about his latest release, Blackmailer’s Delight. Please join me in giving a big welcome!
Magic Wands, Mental Webs and Renegade Housewives
Here’s a secret about historical fiction writers (alright, it might just be about me): at some point we have all attempted to write a fantasy novel. We think: ‘How lovely it must be to build a world like Tolkien or Sarah J. Maas’ and so, fingers thundering over the keyboard, we cheerfully give it a go. But we soon realize that however fun it may be, it’s also extremely hard work that no amount of magic wands can speed up! And, of course, we simply love history too much. Real history is what inspires us – it’s what fires our pens and PCs… and, hey, half the story is written for you!
In reality I find that historical fiction writers do have a magical, world-building tool of sorts – it is a kind of mental spider’s web. While I’m reading accounts of life in 18th century England, my mental web is capturing anything that strikes my fancy, be it a great political event or a small household object no longer in use. As my goal is to use history to tell engaging and unique queer coming-of-age stories, I’m looking to find parallels in history with the journeys of self-discovery my characters are taking. Eventually, so much is caught in this mental web that a story begins to emerge.
For my first novel, Hugh, the story formed around a milieu I wanted to explore Westminster in 1768, and specifically the antics of naughty MP John Wilkes. For Blue Billy’s Rogue Lexicon, my second, I was inspired by the Summer of 1771 when Captain Cook returned from his voyage around the globe. Within the bustle and buzz around that world-changing event I constructed an intimate, queer coming-of-age narrative about a young man finding his way in the world.
For Blackmailer’s Delight, my latest, I settled on Grantham in a fascinating period of 1795 when a national food shortage led housewives to collective action, redistributing foodstuffs across England – the so-called ‘Revolt of the Housewives’. These women had an inner conviction of what was right regardless of the consequences – to me, this is the same inner conviction my characters needed to find to remain true to themselves and their sexuality. By telling my queer coming-of-age story against this backdrop I could emphasise this point dramatically.
This isn’t to say that the journey shouldn’t also be fun. The Revolt of the Housewives was a deeply moving moment in history, but it also gave me some naughty ideas and prompted me to create Blackmailer’s Delight as a steamy romance with comedy. As it was motivated by passion, the event was chaotic and deeply misunderstood and as misunderstandings are always useful in plotting comedies, I wondered what might happen if a young queer man, wishing to confess his love to a man he has long admired, was as misunderstood as the women attempting to aid their fellow citizens? Perhaps his confession of love could be interpreted as an attempt at blackmail?
That is how this story came together – a way of world-building by blending fact and fiction, no magic wand needed.
I think the attraction to telling stories in the Georgian era is twofold. The first is that this glorious, colourful, sometimes shocking period really is under-represented amongst all of the Regency/Victorian/ Edwardian/WWII era fiction available. I adore the era and wanted to share its eccentricities of foot-high wigs, face powder and silk beauty marks… for men!
The second is that we have so many tantalizing glimpses into queer experiences from this period that deserve more attention and exploration. These come primarily from criminal records of the time, many of which are beautifully organized and contextualized in a landmark book from 1992 called Mother Clap’s Molly House: The Gay Subculture in England 1700 – 1830. This book is somewhat hard to locate, but I found a dog-eared copy on eBay many years ago and treasure it.
It really is ironic that these criminal records – produced during attempts to suppress homosexual activity in this era – have instead immortalized the lives told of in these accounts. I believe that writing about this era is the best way to celebrate these queer experiences and, in the process, illuminate just how far we have come as a society.
David Lawrence is the author of three queer historical novels, Hugh, Blue Billy’s Rogue Lexicon and his latest, Blackmailer’s Delight. He lives in Montana with his partner.
Blurb
Three men. Two secret notes.
One delicious comedy of errors.
England, 1795.
London gentleman Daniel Thornton dumps his philandering lover Clarence and flees to the quiet countryside of Grantham to repair his broken heart.
Luke Morley, a handsome draper’s son, is struggling to accept his sexuality — until the arrival of Mr Thornton, a man of the world nearly twice his age, stirs his heart (amongst other things) with the possibility of new love.
But after Clarence also arrives, determined to win back his old lover, the stage is set for a captivating comedy of ill-manners. A blackmail note is just the beginning of a series of innocent (and not-so-innocent) mistakes, twisty double-crosses, saucy secrets and passionate drama as the three men try to work out exactly who has their eye on whom within their deliciously complicated menage . . .
A beautifully-written, sumptuous and heady Georgian-era gay romance perfect for fans of Bridgerton and Pride and Prejudice.
Buy Link: Amazon
Bio
A native of the American Southwest, David has spent much of his life living and traveling in Great Britain, France, and Finland. He now lives in the American Northwest – Helena, Montana – with his Finnish partner.
By day he loves hiking under the Big Sky of his adopted state. By night, however, he prefers editing lost manuscripts and wandering the byways of 18th century London…
