Eldon Farrell asked J. Lynn Else:

Are you a fan of alternative history novels? Would you ever consider writing one or do you prefer to stick with actual history for your writing?

J. Lynn Else Hi, Eldon! Thanks for the question.

I recently read an alternate history novel that was very good, but I've also read a couple very bad ones. What makes a great novel for me is how strong the historical setting is. It needs to be its own character. I can’t say too much about the good example I read as my review has yet to be posted by the Historical Novel Society, but keeping a strong sense of the limits of a particular time period is important to me. Characters should have time-appropriate mindsets and manners of speech. At this point, I would not say I'm a huge fan of it, but I'm open to reading an alternate history novel.

As for writing one, it’s doubtful I would. I am fascinated by the capacity for human ingenuity in ancient times, ancient Egypt in particular. And I absolutely do NOT believe in ancient aliens. Just because we cannot figure out how they did it does not mean aliens were involved - that's just arrogant. Anyway... off my soapbox. I love reading about historical women and historical times.

Now, if you want to get technical, in my book, I may have provided an ending for King Tut's wife that was not known (she disappeared from the record shortly after Tut's death) and thus gave her a possible "alternate" way her life turned out. So I guess, technically, I may have written a small Quantum Leap-type alternative history novel. But overall, in my writing, I stuck very close to the recorded history when able.

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