What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
I’ve gone on several for my Muskets Trilogy. The easiest ones were close to home in Massachusetts–Minuteman National Park in Lexington/Concord, Bunker Hill Monument, The Freedom Trail in Boston, Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, NH, The Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA. Then, my visits grew further away, to Virginia–Colonial Williamsburg, Battle of Yorktown battlefield, and Alexandria. Closer to New England, but still at least a 5-7 hour drive away was New York–Setauket and Oyster Bay on Long Island, and Fort Ticonderoga. There are places I’d still like to visit but haven’t had the chance–Valley Forge, Philadelphia, Charleston, SC–to name a few.
Are there TV shows or films that have influenced your writing?
I would say I’ve been inspired by the atmospheres created in certain media, but I wouldn’t say the plotlines have influenced my writing. I actually held off watching AMC’s Turn series for the LONGEST time while I finished writing Muskets & Minuets because I didn’t want to be too influenced by plot. But as it turns out (pun intended), I ended up watching the series after book 1 was complete, and loved it; I was completely inspired by the atmosphere created, though much of the story was fabricated and embellished–you know, like most historical fiction! I’ve also been inspired by my two favorite movies, Belle, and The Duchess. HBO’s John Adams was also very interesting and atmospheric to watch and gave some wonderful visuals to help inspire me for the scenes I wrote during the Boston Massacre and Bunker Hill, as well as scenes taking place in Congress.
What period of history do you wish you knew more about?
It’s kind of funny, actually–The Roman Empire. I say that not as a joke because it’s trending right now, but because I’ve actually always been interested in it. I have an old WIP that takes place during the reign of Augustus, but haven’t pursued it further. I think there is a thousand years of Roman Empire history to comb through? It’s daunting and overwhelming, but I’m intrigued by the heft of it. When I visited Italy many years ago, we stopped in Rome for a couple of days. I was awe-struck by the beauty of the Pantheon and how well-preserved it is…given when it was built! And of course the Colosseum; how I was walking down a modern city street, no different than Boston or New York, and at the end of the street stood this magnificent ancient structure. It was otherworldly–something we don’t get in American cities. I’m particularly interested in the Roman Empire’s time in Britain, and the turmoil and relationships between the Romans and the native peoples of the British isles at that time.
If you could write any other genre, what would it be?
This is kind of a tough one, but I feel like people say to write what you know, and what I know very well is nursing and healthcare. So, part of me would like to write a contemporary piece where maybe the MC is an RN at a hospital. Maybe to get my bit of historical fiction in there, it could be a time travel story. That’s a genre I’ve not written! Strangely, part of me would love to give a stab at something fantasy–where I don’t have to research anything and I can just create my own world.
What’s the best compliment a reader has ever given you?
That my books are well-researched and immersive of the time period. I put in, at this point, probably thousands of hours working on these books–I started writing and researching for these books when I was 16–so to hear readers comment on the historical research aspect of my writing, makes me feel like the countless hours of visiting sites, reading, scouring through history books and primary sources, was worth it. I’m glad readers appreciate the level of research gone into these works, and that it allowed for a reading experience which placed them into the 18th century.
LINDSEY S. FERA is a born and bred New Englander, hailing from the North Shore of Boston. As a member of the Topsfield Historical Society and the Historical Novel Society, she forged her love for writing with her intrigue for colonial America by writing her debut novel, Muskets & Minuets, a planned trilogy. When she’s not attending historical reenactments or spouting off facts about Boston, she’s nursing patients back to health. Muskets & Masquerades is her sophomore novel.
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