Confessions of An Historical Fiction Author

I was a pretty good student in high school. I loved math and science. I got high grades in English. But I hate, hate, HATED history class!

Maybe it’s because a lot of history involved memorizing dates, and I am not good at memorizing unless you draw me a picture or give me a mnemonic. I need to understand what I’m learning, and a list of dates of who, when, and where just didn’t cut it.

So how did I end up writing historical fiction?

At some point after high school and college, I started reading historical fiction novels. At first I got hooked on Tudor England, Henry VIII and all of his wives. My interests expanded to include all aspects of British history and then spread to other historical areas as well. As I read, I found myself immersed in the time, the culture, the characters (isn’t that what a good book is supposed to do?) Suddenly all those “whos, whens, and wheres” began to fall into the context of the book and history began to have meaning. I realized specific dates and battles were not as important as the progression of history, the cause and effect, and the lives of the people who lived through them. Now, historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and–although I didn’t set out to write historical fiction–I’ve come to love the research and learning that takes place as a part of the writing process. I know a lot more about history now than I ever did in high school. I still can’t give you the dates, but I sure as heck can give you the details!

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