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Historical fiction of course is particularly research-heavy. The details of everyday life are there to trip you up. Things that we take for granted, indeed, hardly think about, can lead to tremendous mistakes.

Sara Sheridan

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Sara Sheridan
Age: 56
Born: 1968
Born: June 7
Novelist
Writer
Edinburgh
Scotland
Thinking
Lead
Details
Life
Fiction
Particularly
Mistake
Historical
Courses
Mistakes
Course
Heavy
Trip
Take
Indeed
Tremendous
Things
Everyday
Hardly
Think
Research
Granted

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History at its best is a gritty, dirty business.
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Like most little girls, I found the lure of grown-up accessories astonishing - lipstick, perfume, hats and gloves. When I write female characters in my historical novels, getting these details right is vital.
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I always thought that bagels and lox was my soul food, but it turns out it's sushi.
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Research material can turn up anywhere - in a dusty old letter in an archive, a journal or some old photographs you find in a charity shop.
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I had never really understood what an adventure life could be, if you followed your heart and did what you really wanted to do, which is what we must all do in the end.
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It is through our extended family that we first learn to compromise and come to an understanding that even if we don't always agree about things we can still love and look out for each other.
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I find it inspiring to actively choose which traditions to celebrate and also come up with new ideas for traditions of my own.
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I've always had a keen sense of history. My father was an antiques dealer and he used to bring home boxes full of treasures, and each item always had a tale attached.
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I jealously guard my research time and I love fully immersing myself in those dusty old books and papers. It's one of the most enjoyable parts of my job.
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History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.
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A word out of place or an interesting choice of vocabulary can spawn a whole character.
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My father could talk about the Romany way of life and its culture. He could talk about freedom and the Scottish spirit. But that was all he could talk about. I was desperate for someone to talk to but there was just nobody there.
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It is one of the benchmarks of a culture I always think – the page at which it operates. A good way to measure it is to order a taxi and see how irate local people get if it is late.
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As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective.
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I had loved poetry and the theatre. Now I loved adventure more.
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Grabbing readers by the imagination is a writer's job.
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Often we don't notice the stringent rules to which our culture subjects us.
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People make interesting assumptions about the profession. The writer is a mysterious figure, wandering lonely as a cloud, fired by inspiration, or perhaps a cocktail or two.
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The net has provided a level playing field for criticism and comment - anyone and everyone is entitled to their opinion - and that is one of its greatest strengths.
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The new contract between writers and readers is one I'm prepared to sign up to. I've met some fascinating people at events and online. Down with the isolation of writers I say! And long live Twitter.
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