By Helen Hollick
Way, way back in time (well, circa 1997), I heard about a new group which was to be called The Historical Novel Society. I was, then, a rookie author of historical fiction, having been accepted by William Heinemann (Random House UK) in April 1993, one week after my 40th birthday. I can’t remember how I discovered HNS but I immediately joined. I was there at the first London conference, a small but well organised and thoroughly interesting event, and I was there in 1999 as a guest speaker at Kirby Hall during the History in Action meeting, which, at the time, was one of the world’s largest historical re-enactments. There I met – and remain friends with to this day – Elizabeth Chadwick and Bernard Cornwall.
We were there, as authors, to talk about our books to a (hopefully) interested audience. The third of my Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy had been released, but I was a shy, unknown writer, whereas Elizabeth and Bernard were confident and established. Bernard had a room full of eager people, standing room only. I had a handful, who were probably there to take advantage of a chance to sit down.
I remember little of the weekend as nerves had got the better of me, but I recall Bernard saying that most people had turned up because they wanted to hear about Sharpe, the highly popular TV series. There is no forgetting, however, what a lovely, generous, kind man Bernard is. We chatted briefly, alas not much time to talk at length. I had sent him the first in my trilogy, The Kingmaking, but, busy writing his own King Arthur series, he was unable to look at it himself, therefore, his wife read it instead. So gracious a man is he, he stated that she thought my novel was far better than his. I think he was just being generously nice, but all the same it’s a fabulous anecdote for me to retell when opportunity arises!
We did chat about the merits of Merlin, who doesn’t feature in my trilogy. Bernard said he had tried his story without Merlin, found it didn’t work and put him back in. I recall that bit of the conversation clearly because I grinned at Bernard and said (boldly) “Well my novels work very well without Merlin!”
Elizabeth Chadwick, too, has remained a very dear friend. Her support was invaluable when I took the decision to go ‘indie’ in 2006 after my (ex) agent severely let me down.
That decision was a hard one to make; in hindsight I did everything wrong back then – steep learning curve is an understatement. On the other hand, those mistakes soon paid off because the ‘how not to do it’ rapidly became ‘how to do it’. The nitty-gritty of which is: if you’re going to do it, do it professionally and properly. Use an experienced editor, a professional cover designer and ensure the book is produced to match a professional standard. (Justified text, a good font – not Comic Sans unless you’re writing a children’s book etc.)
Marketing takes up a huge amount of my time, but not just for my own books. I have, for many years now one way or another, been a firm and eager supporter of other authors, especially indies. I do what I can, where and when I can to promote their books via reviews or including posts on my personal blog and my Facebook author page. I especially enjoy promoting indies and self-published authors for, without the backing of a mainstream or traditional publishing house we need all the help we can get to be noticed by potential readers, and for the literary world to accept that although we are self-published most of us are good authors producing good novels.
Readers are not bothered about what logo is on the spine or which publisher produced the book. What they do want is a good read to enjoy from cover to cover. Discerning reviews, such as those offered by the HNS’s Historical Novel Review is one outlet gratefully received by this author and by many others.
Now that I’m older (71, with wonky eyesight and arthritis in hands, hip and knee), I find in-depth research difficult as I can no longer read small print easily, (thank goodness for Kindle and enlarged font!), so I’ve moved away from ‘serious’ historical fiction into the realm of Nautical Adventure and Cosy Mysteries which I started to delve into during the Covid lockdown of 2020 because I fancied exploring something different to write – although my Jan Christopher Mysteries are still ‘historical’ in essence as they are set around my years of working as a library assistant during the 1970s. (Sort of semi-biographical, but I assure you, the police scenes and the murders are all imagination!)
I tend to write, now, as a hobby rather than a career, which takes the pressure off of deadlines and worrying about sales, or lack of them, but meeting like-minded people remains a huge bonus to most writers as our days are often spent in solitary confinement with only a keyboard, social media and our beloved characters as company. This is why conferences are so essential and eagerly attended.
From that initial, small, London conference HNS organised an unforgettable conference in London in 2012 and again in 2014. 2015 I was at the USA conference in Denver, then Oxford in 2016. Circumstances (and Covid) intervened, but I am looking forward to 2024 at Dartington Hall, Devon – my own home County since I moved from London in 2013.
It promises to be an enjoyable event: an old historic house, interesting talks, exciting entertainment and like-minded people to chat to about the subject we all love. History.
See you there.
(And for those who don’t know me, I’ll be the one wearing a hat.)
First accepted for traditional publication in 1993, Helen Hollick became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The Forever Queen (titled A Hollow Crown in the UK) with the sequel, Harold the King (US: I Am The Chosen King), being novels that explore the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy is a fifth-century version of the Arthurian legend, and she writes a nautical adventure/supernatural series, The Sea Witch Voyages. She has also branched out into the quick read novella, ‘Cosy Mystery’ genre with her Jan Christopher Mysteries, set in the 1970s, with the first in the series, A Mirror Murder incorporating her, often hilarious, memories of working as a library assistant. The fifth in the series, A Memory Of Murder, was completed in April 2024.
Her non-fiction books are Pirates: Truth and Tales and Life of A Smuggler. She is currently writing about the ghosts of North Devon for Amberley Press, and another, Jamaica Gold for her Sea Witch Voyages.
She lives with her family in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in North Devon with their dogs and cats, while on the farm there are showjumper horses, fat Exmoor ponies, an elderly Welsh pony, geese, ducks and hens. And several resident ghosts.
https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com
The Historical Novel Society UK 2024 conference 
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