~ FRIDAY SPECIAL FEATURE ~
-- 'WEAVING FAMILY HISTORY INTO FICTION' --
AUTHOR GUEST POSTS:
June McCrary Jacobs & Carrie Schmidt
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As I was
preparing to write this article, I realized just how much my reading
preferences as a child have informed my reading habits throughout my life.
Historical fiction is still my go-to genre.
My favorite
authors as a middle-grade reader were Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls
Wilder. Besides the fact that their stories were historical fiction, both of
these women wove their personal family histories into their work. When I was a
teen I read 'Christy' written by Catherine Marshall; it remains my favorite historical
novel to this day. This author was inspired by her family's history to write a
poignant story of a young teacher serving an Appalachian community by educating
their children.
In two of my
own original Christian historical romance works, 'Handmade Hearts' and
'Christmas in Bonita Creek,' I wove a thread of faith, love, and military
service based upon my extended family's journeys through life.
'Handmade
Hearts' was inspired by my aunt and uncle's love story which began in New
Orleans during World War II. My uncle was a wounded Marine who met my aunt by
chance at a church social one evening after he returned from Guadalcanal. In
this short story the main character tells his new friend (my aunt) about the
service records of his two brothers.
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In
'Christmas in Bonita Creek,' I wove different aspects of my uncle's World War
II and Korean War military experience into the lead male character and one
supporting male character.
When we worked together on his narrative for the
Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress in the early 2000s, my
uncle shared many deeply emotional and painful events from his combat years in
the South Pacific and Korea. He emphasized with great feeling how much he
missed being at home for Christmas (which happened four times in his long
career in the military). As he related his experiences, I gained valuable
insight into the toll that combat takes on our soldiers. These insights
prompted me to approach the feelings and actions of my characters in a
different light.
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My short
story written for middle-grade readers, 'Penny Says Goodnight,' was published in my 'Banjo & More Pet Stories for Children' story collection and was inspired by
a true story shared with me by two of my aunts about the family's pet Cocker Spaniel in New Orleans in the early to mid-1940s. They told me that their
beloved pet, Penny, wandered through the house each night to make sure everyone was
tucked into their own bed before she would snuggle down in her basket in the
kitchen for the night.
Personally
knowing my relatives my entire life and hearing the excitement in their voices as they told me
their stories when I was a child and an adult gave me a deeper connection to
the characters I later created for my fiction. I've been told by readers that
my heartfelt ties to these beloved relatives shines through in my writing.
Thank you for letting me share some treasured family memories with you! I have a special treat for all of you! My dear friend, Carrie Schmidt, is here to share her thoughts about this subject with you! Enjoy her guest post below.
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I reached
out to author, blogger, influencer, and co-founder of JustRead Publicity Tours,
Carrie Schmidt, to ask her to share her perspective on authors weaving true
family history into their fiction writing:
"I
think readers love it when they know an historical fiction author has (loosely
or otherwise) written a book based on their own family history. Pepper Basham,
Laura Frantz, Amanda Wen, Patricia Lee, Marguerite Martin Gray, and Carrie
Fancett Pagels, among others, have written novels like this. For Basham and
Frantz in particular, nearly every historical story each writes has a bit of
the author’s family history in it, but it’s most prominent in Basham’s 'Laurel’s
Dream' and 'The Heart of the Mountains' and Frantz’s 'The
Rose and the Thistle.' Wen’s 'Sedgwick County Chronicles' – a series of
split-time novels – is inspired by the author’s ancestry, as is Patricia Lee’s 'The
Descendant’s Daughter,' respectively. Marguerite Martin Gray tells her family
story in her 'Revolutionary Faith' series, and Carrie Fancett Pagels expands on
her own ancestors from a similar era in 'Saving the Marquise’s Granddaughter.'
For readers, this personal connection to an author’s story gives us a feeling
of community and camaraderie that in turn leads us to continued investment in
that author’s career."
Carrie
Schmidt is
an avid reader, book reviewer, story addict, KissingBooks fan, book boyfriend
collector, and cool aunt. She also loves Jesus and THE Story a whole lot.
Carrie started the popular blog ReadingIsMySuperPower.org in 2015 and since
then has had the honor of co-founding the Christian Fiction Readers’ Retreat
and JustRead Publicity Tours. In addition to these endeavors, she is a regular
contributor to Seekerville and has written for magazines such as RT Book
Reviews and Christian Market. Carrie now lives in Georgia with her husband,
though her roots range from East Tennessee to Central Kentucky and northern
Illinois. You can connect with Carrie on ReadingIsMySuperPower.org, Facebook
@meezcarriereads or @meezcarriewrites, and everywhere else social at
@meezcarrie
Carrie's book:
💠💠Please feel free to leave a comment on this post using this prompt:
Does
knowing that an author has woven her or his family's history into a novel
inspire you to read it?
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