It’s All In The Family: Writing a Family Saga (+ Giveaway)

 

It’s All In The Family: Writing a Family Saga

Guest Post by Author Caddy Rowland

 

When I started writing The Gastien Series I really thought I was going to write one book about a young peasant who wanted to escape the farm and become a famous artist in Paris. Here it is, one and a half years since that first book (Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream)came out, and I am just now finishing the last book in what quickly developed into a family saga called The Gastien Series.

Many people say they don’t know what a family saga is. It’s simply a storyline that follows the fortunes and travails of several generations of, or members of, one family. There’s something really special about reading a family saga. I think what it is really is that you get intimately involved with the characters because you have “been there” when family members are born, grow up, grow old, and die. That tends make you feel like part of their family.

As a writer, I have found it particularly enjoyable to tie together little things from book to book that become meaningful, show repercussions of decisions or actions from earlier books in later ones, and really bring everything back again to the beginning, like an endless circle of destiny.

My series is also a drama and historical fiction. Now, believe me, I never planned on writing historical fiction, but once the first book was done, well, there it was. So much research had gone into the book to get the era right! So much love and learning, so much living in another time period. For the first time in my life, I realized that historical fiction was anything but boring. Trust me, the bohemian art era of nineteenth century Paris was anything but staid! It was one of the wildest, most decadent times in human history.

And the drama! Family saga lends itself to drama. What’s more dramatic than the struggles, betrayals, loves, and dreams of a human being? And is there ever a family that doesn’t have disagreements, disillusionment, and skeletons in the closet? For sure, family saga is a genre that gives a writer a chance to explore all the emotional possibilities that a character can possibly experience. It gives a reader the chance to experience them right along with the characters.

Right now I’ve chosen to list my books as Drama and Historical Fiction. I wish we were allowed three genres on Amazon because it also belongs in Family Saga. On some of the other sites it’s listed as all three. More people seem to know what a drama is, so I usually keep it there on Amazon.

If you’ve never read a family saga now’s the time to find out what you’ve been missing. Gastien invites you to come into the Beauchamp family’s lives and find out why drama and family saga are so fascinating; especially when it’s steeped in history, family issues, and surprising twists and turns.

 

 

About The Book

When young Gastien Beauchamp flees the farm for Paris, the late nineteenth century bohemian era is in full swing. Color has always called to him, beseeching him to capture it on canvas and show people a new way of seeing things. His father belittled his dream of being an artist and tried to beat him into giving it up. The dream wouldn’t die, but Gastien would have had he not left.

He also yearns to become a great lover. After the years of anguish he has endured at the hand of his father, it would be heaven to feel pleasure instead of pain.

However, the city of Paris has a ruthless agenda. Unless a man has money and connections, Paris unfeelingly crushes dreams and destroys souls. With neither of the required assets, Gastien faces living in alleys, digging in trash bins for food, and sleeping where a man is often killed for his threadbare blanket.

Left with nothing but his dreams, Gastien clings to the hope that the impossible is possible. He pushes on, regardless of the cost.

 

 

The Giveaway!

I’m offering a free e-book of the first book in The Gastien Series (Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream) to one lucky winner. All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter Entry Form below.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Author Bio:   Caddy Rowland grew up in the Midwest with a stack of books that almost reached the ceiling before she was five. Books, along with her vivid imagination, have always been her closest friends. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, who was her high school sweetheart. They are owned by two parrots. Yes, they can talk, and yes, they can bite! Melanie, the African Grey has such an extensive vocabulary that Caddy sometimes thinks Melly is preparing to become an author. After over 20 twenty years in advertising sales, Caddy decided to pursue her childhood dream of becoming an author in 2011. There are four books planned for the Gastien series, and many other books in her head. Now, if only she can learn to type 2000 words a minute… Her goal as an author is to make readers laugh, cry, think, and become intimately connected with her main characters. To her, a good main character stays in the mind long after the story has been read. They should become as real in the mind as the person next door. Gastien Fanpage: www.facebook.com/Gastien.Beauchamp Author Blog (Writer of Fiction, Painter of Life & Energy: www.caddyrowlandblog.blogspot.com Twitter: @caddyorpims

 

 

 

Where to Find the Gastien Series!

 
Adult fiction for men and women over age 18 Contains adult themes and graphic scenes.

Buy links for Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream:

http://tinyurl.com/3ecu8ku For Kindle readers

http://tinyurl.com/3ue4a7h For NOOK readers

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Gastien-Part-The-Cost-Dream/book-j8yqCRew_k6qgPUfvaqkyA/page1.html?s=qYNcCm7k6kK2z2VpxPXfTQ&r=1    

http://tinyurl.com/3luddg7  To order paperback

New Release Email Notification: http://eepurl.com/rfjaX

 

 

Additional books in the Gastien Series so far: