This might surprise some readers, but, while I am mainly an author of historical fiction, this is not my favorite genre. It is a genre I do enjoy reading occasionally, if the book in question meets my criteria for what makes a novel enjoyable, but it’s not my go to. My go to tends to be contemporary literary fiction for women. Given that I like historical fiction but it’s rarely my top choice, I figured I’d ask if y’all like it and what exactly makes certain books of historical fiction enjoyable to you. Also, my free short story, The Mare in the Mansion, is part of a historical fiction promotion along with other free stories on BookFunnel, so I would be curious to know which ones capture your attention and why. Here’s the link to the promo. It would definitely help me if you clicked on it because I’m trying to establish a reputation on Book Funnel.
Why I Write Historical Fiction
Historical fiction is not something I set out to write. Before Storms of Malhado, my books were all contemporary fiction. But historical fiction found me. It was simply meant to be. Maybe the universe was having a laugh at my expense, forcing me to do the kind of meticulous research that had been the bane of my existence in school. Here’s how it all came about: A few years ago, a friend told me a story of past lives that inspired me. There was something haunting about her story that I wanted to capture in a novel (with her enthusiastic permission, of course). And suddenly I was scouring the past for tragedies that could kill my characters over and over until they learned the kind of lessons that would free them from the destiny loop they were caught it. Ironically, it was my lack of interest for the past that led me to write my very first historical fiction book and made me set it in Galveston. See, initially, the story my friend told me had to do with dying on the Titanic. That shipwreck so beloved by readers of historical fiction. I, myself, though, did not love learning about that tragedy enough to want to write about it. I also didn’t want to write about any wars nor most other historically significant calamities. Hurricanes, though, I was comfortable writing about, because hurricanes were familiar to me. Galveston was a place I knew and loved already, and doing research on its past to supplement the knowledge I already had seemed feasible, even mildly intriguing. Then, once the first story was researched, written, and released, my readers asked for more books set in Galveston’s past, and I found that I enjoyed writing these. I ended up writing four different historical novels set on Galveston Island, and perhaps these are my best books to date.
What Historical Fiction Books I Love
If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that my desire to learn is secondary (or perhaps even tertiary? 😜) to my desire to feel and enjoy. I am no longer in school! I had too much schooling as it is, and didn’t enjoy it one bit. I was the girl who snuck novels into history class to read discreetly during boring lectures. While my peers were at the negotiations table at Versailles or on a battle field somewhere cold and bloody, I was in a fictional department store created by Zola. So, you would imagine, that as an adult who has graduated from all the things she ever intended to graduate from and then some, I do not want a history lesson delivered with my fiction. But I will occasionally be charmed by a great story with high emotional content where a bit of historical background adds to the atmosphere and depth of my reading experience. Also, there are many places that I love that I like reading about. And an incursion into the past can be incredibly romantic. There’s something so ever present yet so elusive about the histories of places we visit, about imagining the people who inhabited the same physical and emotional spaces once upon a time. The past lingers like an army of ghosts. I find that fascinating. So yes, I will gladly succumb to the allure of a historical novel if I love its setting, if the characters speak to me, if the story makes me feel something. Two favorites that easily come to mind are The Promise by Ann Weisgarber (a wonderful novel about the Great Storm of 1900 and my beloved Galveston Island) and The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin. Now, why I love the former is obviousl, the latter is a bit harder to understand. Except she got the characters just right and I grew up watching a mini series on Empress Sissi, and… Well, like most good things, the appeal of a book is highly personal and quite elusive. Sometimes you either love it or you don’t.
What Historical Fiction Books I Avoid
It should come as no surprise that I avoid books whose goal to educate me is too obvious. But, I also try to avoid anything that is entirely too serious and unpleasant. Like war. No, thank you. I don’t want to read about war. (And I am aware that the hurricanes I wrote about were no picnic, but still, my prose remains hopeful and focused on the survival not the tragedy).
I especially do not want to read anything that has anything to do with World War II. Aside from the horrors of the time, which we all need to be aware of, but which I don’t want to revisit in my leisure time, I think that most novels set during WWII suffer from a terrible flaw: There is a very clear cut division between good and evil. I personally like my fictional characters a bit murky. Nobody is good or bad, people are just people, complex, flawed, occasionally hard to understand. It’s hard to pull that off in a historical context where there was clear evil to fight against, and so most WWII books are just bound to not be to my taste.
More About the Promotion
What about you? What kind of historical fiction books do you enjoy? What period, place, or trope, are you curious about? Please take a look at the Historical Fiction Book Promotion I am part of. Not only would you clicking on it help me greatly, but I am sure that among its many offerings, there must be something you enjoy!
Me, I participated by entering a story about one of the two horses that survived the Great Storm of 1900 by climbing upstairs in a Galveston mansion. If you haven’t read it yet, I really hope you do!
