I’m so happy that I can finally share my first nonfiction book—Painting the Past: A Guide for Writing Historical Fiction—with everyone. Already, on its first day of release, Painting the Past has been named the #1 New Release in Authorship. Amazing. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this happen.

I came up with the idea for writing Painting the Past in 2017 (seems like an eon ago, doesn’t it?). I was excited at the prospect of sharing what I’ve learned about writing historical fiction. I started organizing and drafting the chapters, and I even commissioned the cover. Then I had to focus every ounce of energy on finishing my dissertation. After I passed my dissertation defense, I needed a brain break since I was certain my fried brain cells were no longer capable of functioning in any meaningful way. After I recovered, my focus turned to finishing Down Salem Way. Family medical issues ensued, along with other life stuff, and before I knew it we were engulfed in a world overturned by COVID-19.

Like many of you, I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching brought on by living during a pandemic. I’ve had more time to sit, think, and be. If I’ve learned anything over the past year it’s that everything changes, including us. We evolve over time. My evolution includes the realization that it’s time for me to focus more on my writing, and that included completing Painting the Past and putting it out into the world.

After some hems and haws about releasing the book, it occurred to me that I was nervous. After a lot of introspection (and more journaling), I realized that there’s nowhere to hide in nonfiction. After a novel is published, if anyone says anything about a character or the story, I can say simply, and truthfully, it’s fiction. It’s make-believe. I pretended that story into being. I haven’t the slightest fear about releasing my fiction. I know that not everyone will love everything I write, but I have been blessed, truly, with readers who like what I do. When Christmas at Hembry Castle was finished on November 28, 2020, I made sure everything was all pretty-like and the book was published—that fast. Not a second thought. Not one.

With nonfiction, I can’t hide behind a fictional story or an imaginary character. That knowledge nearly paralyzed me into not writing Painting the Past. Still, after the year that was 2020, and with everything we’re still contending with at the beginning of 2021, I decided to be brave. All I’m doing is sharing ideas, after all. My ideas about writing historical fiction have been developed over 20 years of reading, writing, teaching, and editing historical fiction. While my ideas about writing historical fiction aren’t the end-all, be-all of writing historical fiction (no one’s ideas can be because we’re all different), they are shared with the thought that maybe there’s something in the book that can help others along their journey.

Ultimately, that’s what helped me past the fear of releasing Painting the Past—the thought that I might help someone else the way, say, Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg or Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott have helped me.

If you’ve been following this blog you’ll likely recognize some of the chapters in Painting the Past since they began life here as posts. I fleshed out the blog posts with more in-depth information and added Quick Writes that will help readers discover how they can write their historical tales. I’ve also addressed some of the frequently asked questions about writing historical fiction that I get as the executive editor of a literary journal of historical fiction. Most of the questions are related to researching historical fiction, so I went in depth about the research process. As writers we cannot create believable historical worlds if we know nothing about the time we’re writing about. 

I breathed a sigh of relief when the first reviews for Painting the Past started coming in, primarily from NetGalley. Three reviews, three five-star reviews. Thank goodness. The nice reviewers got my off-hand sense of humor, my constant references to Poppy (my cat), and my message about how as writers we are all Dorothy discovering that we already have the power. Suddenly, putting myself out there, all me, all the time, sharing my ideas about historical fiction doesn’t seem so scary. I’m already outlining my second nonfiction book because I realized I have so much more to say about writing. Writing has been my lifeline. I’m not sure who (or how sane) I would be if I weren’t a writer. I’m excited to share more of what I’ve learned in the future.

If you’re interested in writing historical fiction, Painting the Past: A Guide for Writing Historical Fiction is now available through Amazon, BN, Kobo, Apple Books, and you can buy direct from me at my shop with PayHip. See the links below. Since Painting the Past is my first nonfiction book, I wanted to get it into as many hands as possible so it’s on sale at a special introductory price of $0.99 until March 1, 2021, when it will change to the regular price of $4.99. If you’re a NetGalley subscriber, you can access review copies of the book here.

One of the nice reviewers at NetGalley said that there are good takeaways from Painting the Past that apply to writing any genre of fiction. Of course, the book is intended for those who want to write historical fiction, but I’d like to think that any fiction writer can find helpful tidbits in the book.

Thank you to the many contributors at The Copperfield Review, the readers of my novels, and the readers of this blog. The fact that I’m still going after ten years is really thanks to all of you. I’m excited to enter this new phase of focusing on my writing, and I have a few other goodies up my sleeve (podcast, anyone?).

If you’re looking to write historical fiction, I hope that Painting the Past helps you on your journey. Please do let me know what you think. I love hearing from readers.