If you want to understand how the hell we got here, look to the past- it is far uglier than you probably thought. Now that I have written three historical novels, I am more sure than ever that history does repeat itself. For example, the Suffragettes protesting in front of the White House in 1917 were arrested on made up of charges of obstructing traffic. For that, they were thrown into jail at the Occoquan Workhouse for 60 days with no due process. No one could get into the prison to assess the conditions, which proved to be horrific. The superintendent of the prison called in the Marines to help the guards contain 33 women. Clearly, our Constitution has been stretched to the limits in the past and intimidation has been used as a tool to keep the masses in line for a very long time.
I ascribe to a broad definition of historical fiction. I combine fictional stories with historical events and settings. But I also mix real sub stories and occasionally fantasy, into the fictional stories to give them an emotional realism. My books to-date span over 1,000 years of western history. In choosing my historical topics, I look for events that are relevant to today’s politics in the US and build the story from that core. I have been repeatedly amazed by many of the events that comprise our history and surprised that I knew nothing about them until I began researching the topic. Sometimes it just does not come together and I put it aside and start anew.
Quote from Back in Time
History is like a giant stone rolling down a mountain. It has a path to follow, and no one can stop it…At most, one may be able to divert history from time to time but as you pull back and take in the bigger picture, the stone is still rolling down the mountain.