Jan
Paula Quinn Has A “Thing” For Kings Too!
For any of you who have read my Risande Trilogy, you know that I like to incorporate real historic figures into my books. William of Normandy had a big role in Lord Of Desire and Welsh prince, Rhys ap Tewdwr appeared in Lord Of Seduction. In my new Scottish trilogy, I enjoyed the research of the Stuart era and writing a little about King Charles II for my August release A Highlander Never Surrenders. I enjoy learning about people who have made a mark on history….then again, it could be that I just have a “thing” for kings. If I could sit down for an hour with anyone from the past, it would be King William l. After I swooned for a bit, I’d ask him what he wanted to be remembered for the most.
If you could spend an hour with anyone in history, who would you choose and what would you ask him or her?
I will choose from todays comments and send one winner a signed copy of his/her choice of Lord Of Temptation, Lord Of Seduction, or Laird Of The Mist to the winner.
With warmest regards,
Paula Quinn
What a great question. No matter who I picked, I’m sure I’d be tongue-tied. I think I’d pick Winston Churchill, despite the fact he and so many others left so many words behind him. I just find him fascinating. Or maybe Queen Elizabeth the First AND Mary Queen of Scots so I could straighten everything out.
January 21st, 2008 at 6:46 amHmmm, I would like to talk to Joan of Arc or the Templars.
I think Joan is a very strong and amazing woman and I would realy like to meet her.
And who wouldn’t want to know what is true and what id false about the secret of the Templars.
January 21st, 2008 at 10:54 amI was just talking about this with my son. I would love to talk to Amelia Earhart and find out what happened to her.
January 21st, 2008 at 11:23 amI would love to spend time with Mark Twain. His personality, interesting views and his wonderful philosophy would entrance me for hours.
January 21st, 2008 at 11:40 amI would love to spend an hour or more with Princess Diana. I’d want to know what life was like as a real princess and how it was living in that big house. lol
January 21st, 2008 at 1:13 pmI would love to spend time with Leonardo Da Vinci. I would pick his brain and ask him about his artwork, anatomy drawings and other ideas.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:24 pmI’d spend time with Queen Hatshepsut. I’d like to know how she managed to control Egypt and what happened to her at the end of her reign.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:44 pmI think I would pick William Morris. He is one of my favorite artists, writers and poets.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:53 pmMy first reading love, and a lasting one, is historical novels. I learned a lot about history that way. Most of those, pre-Kathleen Woodiwiss et al, were written by men like Thomas B. Costain, Frank Yerby, Frank G. Slaughter, Samuel Shellaberger and F. Van Wyck Mason. Some of them were historians, though Lew Wallace, the author of Ben-Hur was a Civil War general. Some books by women authors like Anya Seton are being reprinted again. They could so the same for Elswyth Thane and Gwen Bristow.
One person I’d really like to talk to is Ludwig van Beethoven because I love his music and there has been an air of mystery about him and his death. As far as I’m aware, there is no historical novel about him available except for a story written in the 1980s for children: Beethoven Lives Upstairs.
Others are William Shakepeare and his contemporaries Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleigh. Much has been written about Elizabeth I but some of it is contradictory, but then, I don’t think we can ever know anybody fully. From Shakespeare, I’d like to discover if he himself truly wrote all those magnificent plays, since that has been thrown into doubt, and if so, where he got all his ideas. His life was not that long, yet he had to be able to research his plots quite a bit. Which modern playwright has written this many magnificent plays?
January 21st, 2008 at 2:04 pmOMG, what great answers! I’d like 5 minutes with all of them! Another one I just thought of is Michelangelo. I want to know who modeled for David.
January 21st, 2008 at 2:15 pmKeep the answers coming, ladies. I love them.
Hmm…I’d go with Elizabeth I.
I’d ask her why she really didn’t get married and who her real lovers were, *cough* you know if she had any *wink*. Oh and if she had to do it over again, if she’d do it all the same.
January 21st, 2008 at 2:42 pmYour questions sound much more interesting than mine, Haven.
January 21st, 2008 at 4:27 pmOkay, this is going to sound corny, but my dad. There are so many things I found out after he died that I would love to ask him about. It’s sad that I didn’t take the time to get to know him better. I mean I knew him, but now that I’m a parent, I look at things in a whole new perspective.
January 21st, 2008 at 6:01 pmI would have loved the opportunity to speak to and spend time with Charles Dickens. Having read his novels it would be fascinating and indescribable to learn about his thoughts and his life.
January 21st, 2008 at 7:05 pm