The Forbes Silver Co. candy dish found at Camp Huntington with a calling card and the signature: With love and wishes for a Merry Christmas. It was believed to be a gift from Minnie to William W. Durant. Source: State University of NY @ Cortland. I have to choose a genre. Logically, and what I always assumed, is that this story would be considered historical fiction. Which it is. And then someone said to me, how about historical romance? After all, it was the story about Minnie Kirby, William's mistress of the woods, that got me started on this whole adventure.
Besides Minnie, there are a number of other love stories involved. But the seduction also lies in the lure of the woods as William's escape from reality. There is a tragic side to this family saga.
And what about all of my hard work and research? I have visited several libraries to uncover primary sources; I have consulted with experts in Adirondack architecture, historians and biographers of the Durants. I think I may have even discovered the secret ingredient he used to preserve the wood on his buildings.
Although it's not my place to question the integrity of the writers of historical romance as I'm sure they do their research, I still had to ask myself, is this my genre?
I looked into it. Egads! If the cover art is any indication of the genre then this novel is not it! Some of the covers border on soft porn. The female characters look like Victorian-age Barbie dolls, and the men all have six-pack abs. I took a look at the numbers of Amazon.com, my goodness, they're popular.
Would I have a better chance of selling my story if I choose this genre? I do after all need to make money so I can afford the next leg of research for book number two (Cowes Yacht Racing Week, here I come someday!) Maybe I should reconsider.
Then I hit upon a couple of other books I read that fit in this genre: The Fortune Hunter for example. I enjoyed this story. Am I being too snobbish?
Silver dish with lid.
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