Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Well, I received some very good news - and a bit of a drag.

Several months ago, I sent a copy of my manuscript for The Sailor and the Carpenter, to a friar in Santa Barbara, California. He had given me some advice and facts not available to the general public about the founding of the California missions.

Well, after two publishers had asked to see the full manuscripts and I'd sent them off, I received an email from Brother Timothy Arthur. He said, in part, Overall this is a very interesting historical fiction manuscript. [Wow! Is that as close as he can give me for a rave review?]

He then gave me some difficult information about how I'd depicted the friars in the story - a technicality of great importance.

While all the Franciscans were "Friars", not all of them were ordained priests! While the Indians and other Spaniards, called all of them "Father" or "Padre", only some were able to conduct mass and other rites. So, I had to go back through the story and correct that. In some cases, I had to identify some as Friar or Fray or Fra, while others as Padre. Then, it came down to how they addressed each other! Brother Timothy Arthur wasn't certain about how they did it in thr 18th Century but said, today, they answer to just about anything. He went on to say, "My favorite is, 'Are you the gardener?'"

He also told me how to refer to "disciples" as "neophytes".

Anyhow, I told the publishers and indicated a new revised manuscript would be ready when they asked for it. {Done already!!!} Now, working on the sequel and, when that's finished, on to the third [that I'm in the process of writing.]

Congrats,

Getting a request for a full is exciting, and you got two.

Is Brother Tim part of the publishing thing or one of your beta readers, or...?

Mike R wrote:Congrats,

Getting a request for a full is exciting, and you got two.

Is Brother Tim part of the publishing thing or one of your beta readers, or...?

Brother Tim is a Franciscan Lay Brother in the Diocese of Santa Barbara, California. He gave me a whole lot of information, including a great book published there, about the friars who founded the missions.
As an example, something I couldn't find anywhere, the names of the missions were pre-selected by the Viceroy of New Spain - but it is suspected that his wife was the one who actually made the selection. Also, the religious attire and sacramental objects were donated by ladies of the court in both Spain and New Spain.

And how many know that Father Serra took up collections for money to be sent to General Washington in his effort to fight the British? And that the Spanish Viceroy actually had Spanish soldiers on the Mississippi river fighting the British there?

Researching these books was the most fun I've had in a long time.