Pink Think: “Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.” – Irving Wallace
photo of Three Musketeers from nyca.com
I admit, I have a weakness for men with long hair, beards, and exploits of derring-do.
(Except for the long hair right now, my husband fits the bill!)
I am talking about swashbuckling protagonists in novels like Three Musketeers … The Scarlet Pimpernel … Don Quixote. (I have seen all three in live theater and loved them.)
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Of late, I have been thinking of writing another historical novel. On an agent’s blog, I read she’d like to see a novel set in Tsarist Russia. So, chasing the market shamelessly, I googled “Tsarist Russia”. And all I could think of was, I never did get through Tolstoy’s War and Peace. I couldn’t picture myself wanting to devote months of my life to a novel set in Russia, and the idea died a natural death.
About five years ago, I wrote a novel featuring an 18th century officer in the Spanish king’s Royal Guard. The novel was inspired by family genealogical papers claiming my father is descended from an officer who served King Carlos III in late eighteenth century Spain. I don’t know if the claim is true, but it had my imagination working overdrive. Why would a Spanish officer end up in this remote island in the Philippines?
So as I brainstormed plots and settings for a new historical novel, I kept coming back to 18th century Spain. I unearthed my manuscript and was surprised to see that it entertained me as much as I had fun writing it. I think there’s potential in it. I am hammering it into shape and will see if agents agree.
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Who is YOUR favorite swashbuckler?
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