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Catherine de Medici

(see under "By Era" for French Revolution fiction)
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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Tue August 25th, 2009, 10:11 pm

My word count was so tight on this one, I really had to work hard to stay within the limit. My editor had specific areas she wanted enhanced, so towards the end I struggled between axing story details or reducing the author note; in the end, author note got the brunt of it. I did retain a decent author note, however, though it's shorter by almost a page and a half.

I love the idea of an Author's Note that basically says: "I made it up. Get over it." :D

Diamondlil, the working title is: The Confessions of Catherine de Medici. It might change to Catherine de Medici's Confessions but so far there's no mention of any issues with title. It's a bit long but I think it fits the book perfectly, plus from a marketing standpoint I want her name there. Marquee value, and all that jazz.

And thank you, Penelope, for your lovely words. So nice to hear. The second book is always scarier than the first one, at least for me as an author: lots of expectations have been built up, if readers liked your first effort. Catherine, however, is such a different character from Juana, I had tons of fun slipping into her widow's weeds. Her differences helped cleanse my quill, so to speak.
Last edited by cw gortner on Tue August 25th, 2009, 10:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Tue August 25th, 2009, 10:29 pm

[quote=""cw gortner""]I just wish I could read those French hf novels, Chatterbox! ;)

What I hope I've done with my version is bridge that chasm to present a more nuanced portrait of a woman who faced very tough choices. And, I did find a romantic story for her . . . well, sort of.

[/quote]

Ha! I told you he'd have some thoughts about my mentioning the French HF... That said, CW, my translation services are for sale, at a very unreasonable price....

And the second point is precisely why I'm looking forward to this book so much. I hadn't read anything about Juana where she was a principal character that really nailed the issues she faced. While there may be few similarities between the two of them as individuals, I think the big similarity is that they are two women who were of great historic importance, and yet who were 'difficult' women in their time and since then haven't easily fitted into any conventional HF trope. Instead people get all excited about Anne Boleyn or Catherine of Aragon, or Marie Antoinette, or Eleanor of Aquitaine -- women who, however unconventional their experiences, are somehow more understandable and 'mainstream unconventional'. You can tell Eleanor's story as a love story, for instance, with relative ease compared to Juana or Catherine.

So kudos to you, CW, for tackling the toughies. And have a great trip to Spain. (envious... which parts are you heading for?? I want to go back to Sevilla and see some flamenco. Too long to wait until the Feb. flamenco fest here.)

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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Tue August 25th, 2009, 11:52 pm

[quote=""Chatterbox""] And the second point is precisely why I'm looking forward to this book so much. . . I hadn't read anything about Juana where she was a principal character that really nailed the issues she faced. While there may be few similarities between the two of them as individuals, I think the big similarity is that they are two women who were of great historic importance, and yet who were 'difficult' women in their time and since then haven't easily fitted into any conventional HF trope. [/quote]

Gosh, I pray it lives up to these expectations! I did try. It was at the forefront of my mind as I wrote Catherine, much as with Juana. Forget whatever people "said" about them; I tried to look at their world, their issues, through their eyes. I just hope I got it in Catherine's case.

Spain: we'll mainly be in the south, with four days at the end in Madrid to see friends and my Spanish editor. We're staying in Malaga and going to Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla, Ronda, and taking a day trip to Morocco. I can't wait!!
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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Post by Tanzanite » Wed August 26th, 2009, 1:12 am

[quote=""Misfit""]She wrote in a couple of really odd twists at the end that weren't addressed in her notes. Just say in the notes I made it up.[/quote]

They were rather interesting and fit nicely into her story. But by all means, if you're going to make up interesting stuff, at least tell people it itsn' true - and take credit for the idea!

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Wed August 26th, 2009, 1:34 am

[quote=""Tanzanite""]They were rather interesting and fit nicely into her story. But by all means, if you're going to make up interesting stuff, at least tell people it itsn' true - and take credit for the idea![/quote]

That's all I want. Is it too much to ask?
Last edited by Misfit on Wed August 26th, 2009, 1:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Miss Moppet » Wed August 26th, 2009, 11:45 am

[quote=""Chatterbox""]

She does appear in a lot more French HF, however. Not that that is any consolidation, as CW will pop in here to remind me forcibly...[/quote]

So Chatter, how favourably is Catherine usually portrayed in French HF, post Dumas? Do French authors see her as Italian or French? Marie Antoinette is now seen as French (by the French) although in her lifetime, she was always the 'Austrian woman.'

Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Wed August 26th, 2009, 8:35 pm

I think she's seen as much the same kind of queen as Marie Antoinette -- only instead of being adopted posthumously because she's a romantic heroine, she is 'adopted' because she turned out to be an able ruler in place of her rather inept sons. Both remain controversial, for different reasons, however. And she's not really 'French'.
(I remember working as a tour guide at a WW1 battlefield and being asked very politely, "Mais vous n'etes pas francaise, mademoiselle?" It was an indirect way of (a) signalling that my accent still identified me as a foreigner, (b) asking where I came from and (c) telling me that if I wasn't French, anything else was de facto secondary. Otherwise she would have asked outright where I was from !!)

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Post by Miss Moppet » Wed August 26th, 2009, 8:59 pm

[quote=""Chatterbox""]
(I remember working as a tour guide at a WW1 battlefield and being asked very politely, "Mais vous n'etes pas francaise, mademoiselle?" It was an indirect way of (a) signalling that my accent still identified me as a foreigner, (b) asking where I came from and (c) telling me that if I wasn't French, anything else was de facto secondary. Otherwise she would have asked outright where I was from !!)[/quote]

No French person is ever fooled by my accent either - I just don't spend enough time in France to really perfect it - but many a French tourist has asked me for directions in Paris, so I must look French even if my cover is blown as soon as I open my mouth.

Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Wed August 26th, 2009, 9:57 pm

The good news these days is that they think I'm some different kind of Francophone. The Belgians think Quebecois, the Quebeckers are convinced I'm French, the French think I'm Swiss or Belgian, and the Swiss believe I'm Belgian. Go figure.

Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Wed August 26th, 2009, 9:59 pm

[quote=""cw gortner""] We're staying in Malaga and going to Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla, Ronda, and taking a day trip to Morocco. I can't wait!![/quote]

OOOO, Ronda, one of my fave places.... The smell of jasmine....

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