He smirked. “I haven’t lied to you yet.”
The End
Author’s Note
When I went to college and decided to study history, I’d no idea this was the direction it would have taken me. As a historical fiction writer, doing your research is key. I’ve made mistakes along the way, learned some things that I should have known before publication, but I’ve always tried to represent the time period to the best of my ability. Have I taken some liberties? Yes, but it is fiction.
I wish that were the case with the Alien Office. (I also wish it had a better name that didn’t bring to mind little green men.) But, it was a real thing in 1816. The Alien Office was formed in 1793 to implement the Aliens Act 1793, and, like many government offices, it morphed into something else. On the outside, it was merely a way to keep tabs on domestic and foreign people of interest living in England, and abroad. It quickly turned into a network of spies and informers, a collection intercepted messages, and acted both at home and abroad to keep the appropriate persons aware of what conspiracies and plots might be hatching against British interest. It acted as an early intelligence agency within the British government, complete with a dull and administrative sounding mission.
I took a few liberties to explain how Luke worked for the Alien Office, under the Home Office, while everyone believed he was a diplomat working under the Foreign Office. Luckily, there are reports of different parts of the Alien Office shuffling around between different agencies, so I took that as my loophole. I decided this group would be a “gentlemen’s clandestine organization,” utilizing the further down heirs and lower born sons of the aristocracy, and those men born to gentlemen.
My research skills were also put to the test when I asked, “How can I plan to blow up a building from 200 years ago?” Carlton House, as it stood in 1816, doesn’t exist anymore. Luckily, there are extensive blueprints available online from the Royal Collection Trust, and I was able to see where each room was located, how each level was laid out, where the doors and windows and staircases were in the building. I printed some pictures and blueprints, and took my research to my husband and said, “Please help me plan to blow up a building that no longer exists.” Luckily, he’s accustomed to this type of crazy request from me. It also required some careful Googling, because there are a lot of phrases with that type of research you think twice about entering into a search engine.
And the cathedrals! I cannot tell you how many times I squealed with joy when different aspects of the cathedral research would link together perfectly. Saint Anselm and Thomas Beckett and Lanfranc and the dead rat found in William Longespee’s tomb! It was a historical fiction writer’s dream come true to have all these little historical tidbits fit so perfectly into the story.
I’ve never written an author’s note before, but felt compelled to this time. One, to explain the Alien Office was a thing (because I know I was getting some serious side eye on that one). And also, to give you, the reader, a glimpse into the research involved in this story. I loved every moment of researching this book. From researching spy methods in the American War of Independence, through the War of 1812, and the Napoleonic Wars (shockingly, the basics haven’t changed, just the gadgets); to researching how to code and double code things, and then ways of decoding; and the tours of cathedrals all done online (I’ve actually been to Wells Cathedral, and forced my family to make the detour specifically for this book!), and the hours spent pouring over images of panes of stained glass and virtual tours; and the details of the wedding of Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold (there is documentation that he disappeared for a few hours the afternoon of the wedding and “went for a “walk” so it was a convenient time for him to meet up with Luke!); then the Magna Carta (!!) was still at Salisbury in 1816 (!!) and I think I about died of excitement when I found that out. I could go on and on. This was the most research I’ve done for a book, but the story needed that layer to be what it is. For me, the research is half the fun as writing the words and telling the love story.
I hope you enjoyed Luke and Vivian’s story, and their adventures across England. And I hope you can see what love I have for this genre and the background work that goes into writing a story like this. The Alien Office still needs a new name, but it almost fits too well with this story. Leave it to Luke to work for something as ridiculous sounding as the Alien Office.
And again, thank you for reading. I am truly grateful to have the chance for someone to read these stories about this incredibly large, loving, (and often overly involved and co-dependent) family. I’ve had them in my head for over a decade, it is an honor to share them with you.
With Love,
Erica
P.S. Don’t fret, another Macalister story is coming later this year! It is time to find out what Bennelt has been up to during his time away at sea….
About the Author
Erica Taylor is a mother of two and military wife married to her high school sweetheart. Raised in the mountains of Colorado, she holds a BA in History from the University of Colorado. Erica has been writing stories as long as she can remember. She picked up her first romance novel while on a beach vacation as a teenager, and fell in love with falling in love, sexy heroes, and the feisty women who challenge their lives.
A self-confessed geek, Erica loves anything Harry Potter, Doctor Who, or Star Wars, can spend hours in Home Goods with a Starbucks, and truly believes a cat makes a home. Currently living in North Carolina, Erica can often be found writing during practices or piano lessons and is not afraid to let dinner burn if it means getting the story out of her head.
Erica is a member of Romance Writers of America and Hearts of Carolina Romance Writers.
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The Spy’s Convenient Bride: The Macalisters, Book Five Page 35
