Six Figure Historical Romance: Medieval: Six Figure Historical Romance, #2

By Kat Campbell

Historical Romance is a daunting genre, and one that so many authors wish that they could write… But the secret is, anyone can write it.

 

Writing successful historical romance isn't about luck. It's about knowing the market, finding a niche that you love, hitting the tropes that readers want, and (most importantly) doing the research to put you at the top of the game in a tough market. 

 

Historical romance is a popular genre with multiple subgenres and secret pockets in each category. Beat the gatekeepers and get your secrets from an insider who knows the market and isn't afraid to help others get their start in a tough genre. 

 

In this volume:

• Explore the Medieval world with key historical events from major civilizations across the globe (not just the Western ones, either)
• Discover tips and tricks for research and writing craft relevant to historical (and Medieval) romance
• Find detailed trope lists and market relevant research for Medieval romance
• Medieval romance specific title and keyword suggestions

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publisher's Garden
• Release date: Sep 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215570159

Book preview

Introduction

My name is Kat, and I’m a historical romance addict. 

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Like many voracious readers, I was raised on a steady diet of historical smut that I stole from my mother when she wasn’t looking. 

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Wait, was that just me? Don’t tell her. 

Fast-forward a few (cough) years and I’m still a historical romance addict, but now I have a few ancient history and archaeology degrees behind me, and the steady diet of books has become a steady diet of historical books, movies, and TV. I’ve been self-publishing historical romance since 2013, and I know my way around the KDP (and wide release) dashboard. 

I’ve tried to write contemporary. Really, I have. But historical romance is where I live, and I can’t imagine that’s going to change anytime soon. Was I born in the wrong era? Probably. Would I have died a horrible death at a young age if I had been born in another era? Definitely. But historical romance isn’t about realism, is it? It’s about escaping into another world where there are no cell phones, no TikTok, baking bread is more than a lockdown hobby, and romance is just around the corner whether we like it or not. 

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When I first started writing and publishing, what struck me the most about the romance author community is how generous and welcoming it can be. But here’s where I’m going to ruffle some feathers. In my experience, historical romance authors can be difficult to work with, and I’m putting that as mildly as possible. The gatekeeping, elitism, secrecy, and ownership that surrounds writing about these historical periods is astounding. And I’m tired of it. 

Historical romance is for everyone. And I mean everyone. And there is so much room for authors who are willing to take the leap and add their voices into the genre. If you’ve heard that historical romance is only for ‘smart authors’ or ‘smart readers,’ that’s a dirty lie. It’s hard work, but it’s not impossible, and I’m going to show you how.  

1

The Medieval World ~ A Timeline

The best part about writing historically inclined novels, whether they’re heavy on romance or not, is the fact that historical events and settings can inform your characters, drive the action of the book, and even take the place of a character or villain in the story. 

The second best part is that history isn’t about opinions. History is about facts. Of course there are several very many ways to interpret an event from different points of view, different social classes, etc, all of which are extremely important.

But what’s never up for debate is the event itself. You can wax poetic about the effects of the Black Plague, but there’s no way to deny the fact that it happened, and that hundreds of millions of people lost their lives in a span of six years.

The major events of each specific era aren’t limited to the Western World, either, and anyone who thinks that history puts limits on your stories hasn’t been paying attention. 

Write this down on a sticky note and put it next to your computer as a reminder:

Writing historical romance novels is never limited by the time period, only by your willingness to apply what you know about romance to the subject matter. 

The Medieval world spans almost a thousand years, from 500 CE to 1400-1500 CE. And although the majority of the focus is taken up by Europe, it is very obviously also made up of more than just Europe, and the time period is important. In the case of this particular category, it’s a big one that includes some problematic facts that shouldn’t be shied away from or glossed over. Colonialism, and exploration-based conquest, is a reality, and the effects of it are widespread in the medieval world. Its remnants are still visible in the modern world.

With that said, let’s dive into our (somewhat simplified) timeline. With advance warning: there is a LOT of human history to cover in this era.

Your assignment? Choose an era and a historical event to serve as the backdrop, or maybe even the motivation for your story. It might look daunting from here, but if you can choose one or two events that really catch your eye, you’ll already have the foundation for a great story.

Deep breath.

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Note — This is obviously just an overview of the ‘greatest hits’. If there is something that catches your attention, I highly recommend falling down a research rabbit hole for that particular event. 

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BIGGER Note — You’ll notice that the historical timelines all seem to stop at a certain point. This ‘certain point’ is where the events overlap into another category timeline. For more, see the next book in the series!

Major Events (simplified, of course): 

Europe

Although once regarded as a time of uninterrupted ignorance, superstition, and social oppression, the Middle Ages are now understood as a dynamic period during which the idea of Europe as a distinct cultural unit emerged.

During late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, political, social, economic, and cultural structures were profoundly reorganized, as Roman imperial traditions gave way to those of the Germanic peoples who established kingdoms in the former Western Empire. Religion, both Catholic and Christian, played a large role in this time period and dominated much of daily life for peasants and royalty alike. 

It’s important to remember that life expectancy wasn’t especially high in the middle ages. In the Middle Ages, the average lifespan of males born in landholding families in England (i.e. wealthier people who weren’t expected to perform physical labor) was 31.3 years, and the biggest danger was surviving childhood. Women, married very young and expected to bear children as early as possible in a marriage, died in alarming numbers, as did children. Adults died from various causes, including plague, tuberculosis, malnutrition, famine, warfare, sweating sickness and infections. Fun times. 

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c. 500 CE

• Monks in Ireland live in stone beehive cells on rocky islands, to achieve maximum discomfort

• Small ivory panels, with Gospel scenes carved in relief, provide a delicate beginning to the story of Christian sculpture

• A phallic figure, the Cerne Giant, is cut on a Dorset hillside at Cerne Abbas

• According to Bede, the first widely accepted Anglo-Saxon ruler in southern Britain is Aelli, founder of the West Sussex kingdom

• Clovis and some 3000 of his soldiers are baptized in a massive ceremony at Reims

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518

• The Slavs cross the Danube and press southwards into the Roman provinces of Moesia and Thracia

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525 – Anno Domini calendar invented

• A monk named Dionysius Exiguus creates this new dating system as part of his efforts to understand the dating of Easter. It used the year 1 AD to be the date when Jesus Christ was born, although later calculations show that his birth occurred before this. Gradually use of this calendar became more widespread, and is now the most widely accepted system for counting years in the world.

• The law is changed to allow Justinian, of senatorial rank, to marry Theodora — who was of a lower social class (possibly an actress)

• Boethius, in prison in Pavia and awaiting execution, writes the Consolation of Philosophy which examines various questions, including why bad things happen to good people. It has since become a major work of philosophy.

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529-34 – Code of Justinian issued

• A set of laws created during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, it is considered an important milestone in the history of law.

• Justinian closes down the schools of Athens, famous for their tradition of ‘pagan’ philosophy (Aristotle, Plato, etc).

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532

• Theodora shows her mettle, as empress, in her response to the anarchy and terror unleashed in Constantinople by the Nika revolt

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535

• Belisarius lands in Sicily at the start of a five-year campaign to recover Ravenna for the Byzantine emperor

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537

• The great domed church of Hagia Sophia, rebuilt on the orders of Justinian, is completed after only five years of construction

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541-2 – Plague of Justinian

• A major pandemic that struck the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, causing the estimated deaths of 25 million people. 

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