I am not a parent, but there are many very important children in my life, and when it comes to writing children I often look to them for inspiration.

Of course I would never share any intimate or personal details, but they are always so inspiring: from misheard or mispronounced words, to misunderstandings about things that adults take for granted, and of course, the wild mixtures of foods that they want!

There are some authors who believe that you can only write what you know, but it’s hard to subscribe to that when you write historical romance! I have never worn a corset, not a historically accurate one, I have never attended a ball (yet!), and I wasn’t born into nobility. To write historical romance is to use your imagination and play pretend.

I have the same approach when it comes to writing about children. Yes, I don’t have any of my own, but my family and chosen family have a huge number of children, all of them wonderful, and I have enough imagination to create child characters who resonate, who readers love, and who readers love spending time with.

I know that some readers don’t love reading historical romances which have children in – do you? Let me know in the comments!