Why I Write Historical Fiction - Guest Blogpost from Jean M. Roberts

  I am delighted to host my first guest blogger. Jean M. Roberts,former nurse, voracious reader, ancestor hunter and occasional gardener, is theauthor of five historical fiction books. She maintains a blog, The Book’sDelight, dedicated to all things books. She lives near Houston with her family.When not writing, she’s thinking about writing.

 I fell in love with historical fiction as a youngteenager. Daphne du Maurier, Anya Seaton, and Barbara Erskine thrilled me withtragic tales of love and adventure. My passion for history continued intoadulthood as I devoured books by authors new and old. Sharon Kay Penman’s epicnovels of the War of the Roses are still favorites. My bookcases groaned underthe weight of nonfiction tomes on the Tudors, the Plantagenets, the RomanEmpire and Colonial America.

When I planned my first book, I knew it would behistorical fiction. The beauty of this genre is the freedom to incorporatealmost all other genres into your story. Romance, Fantasy, Magical Realism,Paranormal, Suspense, Murder Mystery and more, all set in the past. Writinghistorical fiction is also a great excuse to read more history, dive deep intoa time period, scour the internet and library for tidbits to fill the pageswith authentic details. There’s nothing as glorious as a historical rabbit hole,spending hours lost in time, mining the past for clues. 

As an author, writing historical fiction has also beena vehicle for me to tell the history of my ancestors. The genealogy bug bit memany years ago and found the fleeting traces of my ancestors fascinating butsterile. I wanted more than just names and dates. What were their lives like?How did they live, love and die? What were the major events that affected theirlives? Writing Blood in the Valley, set before and during the AmericanRevolution, took a deep dive into the Mohawk Valley of New York. I was luckyenough to travel to the area and spent a week exploring places where mycharacters live and fought for their country. I’ve written several books thatinclude my distant ancestors. It brings them alive to me and my readers.Nothing is more satisfying than getting an email from an unknown distant cousinthanking me for writing the story of our shared ancestor. 

Another love of mine is time travel. Du Maurier’s Houseon the Strand and Seaton’s Green Darkness captivated my imaginationwith their different modes of viewing the past. I’ve written several books withelements of time travel and it’s so much fun to put your modern day characterinto the past and watch them try to survive. In The Angel of Goliad, I plunk mymain character down in the middle of the Texas Revolution and let her tell thestory of the real Angel of Goliad, Francita Alavez. Of course, a trip to Goliadto see the sight of the massacre was warranted, and I got to walk in herfootsteps.

I’ve always been a bit of an anglophile, aided andabetted by my years living in England. Covid allowed me to indulge myself bywriting a historical fantasy blended with elements of Roman mythology. Ireincarnated my poor main character over and over and put her in all myfavorite moments of English history. The Frowning Madonna is my covidode to England. 

My current WIP, Midsummer Women, is a dual-timeblend of history, suspense, with elements of witchcraft, and a whiff of thesupernatural. Like most of my books, my main historical focus is early Americanhistory. It includes the story of the little known and ill-fated Popham Colonyin Maine, settled at the same time as Jamestown in Virginia. That trip to Maineis in the planning!

I think my writing is a good example of the umbrellathat is historical fiction. I write pure historical fiction, playful historicalfantasy, gothic suspense, and exciting time-travel all while bringing historyalive for my readers. I cannot think of a genre that allows such freedom andjoy to write what the mind can imagine. 

 Buy now on Amazon

 

Blog Host Helena P. Schrader is the author of 25 historical fiction and non-fiction books, eleven of which have one one or more awards. You can find out more about her, her books and her awards at: https://helenapschrader.com 

Her most recent release, Cold Peace, was runner-up for the Historical Fiction Company BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 Award, as well as winning awards from Maincrest Media and Readers' Favorites. Find out more at: https://www.helenapschrader.com/cold-peace.html