Why do you think historical fiction is so well liked?
My feeling is that historical fiction takes us on journeys to other places and covering the lives of other peoples which helps us to in effect walk in another’s shoes. When I read a historical fiction book I find myself trying to relate what I’m reading to my own life experiences. Many times when I recall what I was doing at that particular stage in my own life (compared to the one shared by another) I do make comparisons, both good and bad.
When I was reading Wish you well, by David Balducci I found that I was comparing the children in the book to myself at that same stage in my own life. Although their experiences were completely different than my own I felt their pain and enjoyed their happiness throughout his book. Triggering these experiences gave me the desire to share my own life experiences through a historical fiction book, or maybe two (Gibbon’s Secrets & Back in the Day).
In my book Gibbon’s Secrets I share my life experiences while growing up in a small town of Gibbon, Nebraska during World War II. Most of these shared historical fiction ‘life experiences’ are taken from my true memories but I have added a variety of other experiences relative to the true time period that were historical events that I could have experienced. I wanted to share with the readers some of the experiences individuals living in a small town during World War II would be experiencing.
In my book Back in the Day I share my life experiences in the small town of Curtis, Nebraska; during the years of 1940 through 1951 (attending the only agriculture high school, Nebraska School of Agriculture, in Nebraska and the experiences of a boy during the summers between the years of high school). Again, most of these shared historical fiction ‘life experiences’ are taken from my true memories but I have added a variety of other experiences relative to the true time period that were historical events that I could have experienced. I continue my life experiences with a short stint in college, and then four years in the U.S. Navy from 1951 to 1955. I am duplicating the fact here that most of these shared historical fiction ‘life experiences’ are taken from my true memories but I have added a variety of other experiences relative to the true time period that were historical events that I could have experienced. My goal was to take my readers on a time travel trip starting in high school through a variety of true duty stations that are a part of my ‘life experiences’. Come along and enjoy the time travel trips…