Fact vs. Fiction

My favorite genre to read is historical fiction. I love reading about kings and dukes, and swirling mists, and games of thrones gambled away on love.

The problem with that is - sometimes it's hard to distinguish fact from fiction.

I get asked all the time.... "Is your book fact or fiction?"

Why does it have to be one or the other?

I get it... I studied history. I KNOW the value of truth, versus supposition; of conjure versus proof. But sometimes, the line in real life is so thin, it disappears.

I wrote My Father's Husband: A Novel, as truth. Not MY truth. Celia's truth.

I wrote using the principle my tenth grade writing teacher drilled into me, "Write what you know." So I did - and I know my own life.

But sometimes, taking the audience along on a journey of years and years, means a volume with 500 pages. And unless you are Terry Hayes and the title is I am Pilgrim, 500 or more pages can be considered lethal.

I wanted to carry my audience along without ever losing focus on the message. The MESSAGE. That's where fact vs fiction disappears. The story is based often on reality and real experiences. But the narrative is there to reveal the message.

Find the fact in the fiction.

The author, Elloise Bennett, on a visit to Amsterdam