There’s a reason I will probably never write a historical romance. I have little time for doing the large amount of research required to pull off something satisfactorily accurate – i.e. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Say what you will about the last book, but the woman does her homework, and part of what makes her books satisfying is that particular care to the small details, and the way they’re woven into the everyday life of the characters. There aren’t information dumps – people just do what they do. However, I’m running through some contest entries at the moment – some of them have a  more historical bent and what’s really getting to me is just how little research is being done on them. I don’t know if that’s because the writer assumes the romance part of the story is going to just carry the reader through (and I suppose in some cases,… Read more