Her Own War
Château de Verzat Series, Book #3
by Debra Borchert
As Napoleon Rises from the Ashes of The French Revolution, One Woman Dares to Spy Against Him
Sentenced to eight months in an insane asylum for the crime of impersonating a man, Geneviève LaGarde fears giving birth in a filthy cell will mean certain death for her and her unborn child. Desperate for her release, her husband, Louis, trades his freedom for hers and must join Bonaparte’s army in Egypt.
As Geneviève wages her own war against the tyrannical general, she not only risks her own life but also those of her children and the four hundred families who depend on the Château de Verzat estate. Knowing her desperate actions could cause the government to confiscate the entire vineyard, she sacrifices everything to save her husband and protect the people who become her family.
A captivating tale of the power of love, hope, and courage, and the strength of community.
Characters and Their Motivations
by Debra Borchert
When sitting down at my computer to write, I don’t stare at a blank page. I stare at five questions I list at the beginning of every scene I write:
1. What does the character want?
2. What prevents her from getting what she wants?
3. Does the character get what she wants in this scene?
4. What does the character want at the end of the scene?
5. How does the character change or grow during the scene?
I don’t begin writing the scene until all those questions are answered, because if I don’t know the answers, I can’t know what motivates my characters.
When we meet Geneviève in the opening chapter of Her Own War, she wants to ensure the safety of the four hundred families who live and work on the estate vineyard, which is threatened by a hailstorm. Throughout the book, she wants other things, but she never loses sight of the estate and the families’ safety.
When her best friend, Aurélia, is kidnapped, Gen wants to rescue her. Because Gen dressed as a man to rescue Aurélia, she is charged with the crime of impersonating a man and sentenced to eight months in an insane asylum, disabling her from ensuring the safety of the families.
 |
| Inspiration for the asylum: Appel des dernières victimes de la terreur dans la prison de saint Lazare.7, 9 thermidor 1794, by Charles Louis Müller. Courtesy Wiki Creative Commons |
Realizing she is with child, Gen develops another desire: to be released before she gives birth as the asylum is dangerous to the health of her unborn child.
When Gen’s husband, Louis, trades his freedom for hers, Gen is free to ensure the families’ safety. But now she also wants to hasten her husband’s return from Egypt, and she knows her actions focused on that goal could risk the lives of everyone on the estate. These two desires cause her inner conflict and turmoil. Her need to keep the families safe is constant and motivates the choices she makes and the actions she takes throughout the story. But her love for Louis motivates her to take risks that endanger the safekeeping of the estate and the families.
Louis holds his personal code of honor in high regard and acts, at all times, with honor. Because he wants to free Gen and ensure the safety of her and their unborn child, he agrees to join Bonaparte’s army if she is released. Although he deeply desires to be with his wife and children, he pays the price of her freedom by joining Bonaparte’s army in Egypt.
Louis promises Gen he will return, and he promises his men he’ll get them back to France. When Bonaparte orders the slaughter of innocent men, women and children, Louis is torn. He will not deny his code of honor and kill innocents, but the cost of disobeying an order is court-martial by hanging. And Louis’s death would mean breaking his promises. Either way, he breaks his code of honor, but he knows that Gen would make the same choice and not spill innocent blood at the cost of breaking a promise.
 |
| Vue générale de la bataille des Pyramides, le 21 juillet 1798. Campagne d’Égypte. By Louis-François Lejeune, Courtesy Wiki Creative Commons |
Experiencing conflicting desires makes characters human and relatable and interesting. Like Geneviève dressing as a man, many of my characters often do the wrong things for the right reason.
In the first book of my Château de Verzat series, Her Own Legacy, Compte de Verzat introduces himself to his illegitimate son, Henri, when the boy is thirteen. Henri is resentful. While the Compte lives at Versailles, Henri and his mother live in a cold room the size of a palace fireplace. Eventually the Compte explains that him in poverty was the only way the Compte could ensure Henri’s safety. He confesses to doing the wrong thing for the right reason and begs his son’s forgiveness.
In the same book, Henri’s greatest desire is to meet his father. But if that were all Henri wanted, the book would be a short story. Henri realizes what he really wants is to be fathered: loved, guided, cared for, and taught how to be a man. Henri learns to father himself, and that desire required an entire book to satisfy.
When starting a book, I always hope the journey of my characters obtaining their desires will require at least 90,000 words. And by answering those five questions in every scene, I ensure plenty of words.
This title will be available to read on #KindleUnlimited for 90 days!
Château de Verzat Series
Debra Borchert
Debra Borchert has had many careers: clothing designer, actress, TV show host, spokesperson for high-tech companies, marketing and public relations professional, and technical writer for Fortune 100 companies. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Writer, among others. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and independently.
A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she weaves her knowledge of textiles and clothing design throughout her historical French fiction. She has been honored with a Historical Novel Society Editors’ Choice, Publishers Weekly BookLife Editor’s Pick, and many other five-star reviews.
No comments:
Post a Comment