To mark the 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, My Brothers’ Keeper: A Civil War Story for middle grade readers, will be free on Amazon on July 2, 3, and 4.

When I was a little girl, my mother read letters to me which had been written by my great, great uncles, two brothers from Rochester, New York.  The brothers left home to fight in the Civil War when they were very young.

Mother kept their letters and pictures of the brothers and their little sister, Carrie, in a black box which was decorated with gold hearts and flowers.  I was heartbroken when I learned that the youngest brother, George Peacock, had been killed in an ambush in Virginia while he was still a teenager.

In my young mind, I made up stories about the brothers, based partly on their letters and partly on my imagination. I think I knew then that someday I would write a story about them.

I still have the letters. They are yellow now, the edges bent down and crinkled, and the ink has faded. The letters, and the stories my mother wove as she was reading them, were the inspiration for my book My Brother’s Keeper: A Civil War Story.  I used parts from the letters in the story. For example, in August 1861, my great, great uncle, Charlie Peacock, wrote:

As I passed through one of the back streets of Alexandria I saw a building 3 stories high built of brick with the sign Price Birch & Co Dealer in Slaves. It struck me as something different from anything I had ever seen before.

When you read My Brothers’ Keeper, you will find Price Birch & Co mentioned in Chapter 7, The Road to War. On my website, you can view  a photograph of Price Birch & Co.

In addition to the letters and stories from my family, I did many months of research in books and by traveling to the places I was writing about. My husband and I climbed the rocky hill of Little Round Top at Gettysburg. We stood in the peaceful Virginia woods where my great, great uncle had been killed in an ambush in 1863. We found that three-story brick building in Alexandria with the lettering, Price Birch & Co Dealer in Slaves, still visible. We followed the path of Lee’s Retreat which led General Lee to Appomattox.

At Fort Moultrie, Union cannon still point at Fort Sumter as they did in 1861. And at Gettysburg, old deserted buildings and silent cannon and stone walls still face each other across the wide valley.

There is a virtual tour on my website with quotes from My Brothers’ Keeper captioning photographs from my research travels that I kept before me as I wrote the book. I wanted children to be able to see the actual places where such historic events occurred.

I hope my books will spark an interest in young readers to visit Civil War sites and to learn more about this tragic, and yet awesome, war. Please visit my website, http://www.nancy-johnson.com/, for links to Civil War sites.

As we honor the 150^th anniversary of the American Civil War, let us remember these words from Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address:

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

Review of My Brothers’ Keeper

“The story unfolds in a tight narrative that will hold readers’ interest, and Josh’s character development is both believable and touching. Historical details are accurate; anyone who has visited Civil War battle sites will find the experiences at Little Round Top and The Wilderness as convincing as they are exciting.” The School Library Journal

Please share

Do you have any family stories or mementos about the Civil War or other wars that have been passed down? Have you visited any Civil War sites?

Writing Historical Fiction

Round about middle school, I realized that I hated history class.  That distaste lasted all through high school.  English included fun fictional stories, and I loved to write; science fascinated me; I even liked math.  But history required memorizing names and dates and learning about people long dead.  What was the point?

What changed that was a novel.  For my nineteenth birthday, a friend gave me Susan Howatch’s Cashelmara, a novel set in 19^th century England and New York, shortly after the Irish famine.  I nodded and said, “Thank you,” to my friend with a thought not to read it.  But I opened the book, and I finished it quickly.  Through a fictional setting and characters, history suddenly, emotionally, and forevermore came to life for me.  I couldn’t wait to pick up the next novel, and I turned to the classics, Madame Bovary and stories from 1001 Arabian Nights, the latter of which was fortuitous, since I moved to Saudi Arabia when I was twenty-two.

In Riyadh, I met a Saudi Artist, Safeya Binzagr, and the seed of my novel was planted.  A fictional main character, Sara, also an artist, came to life, nagging me to write her story.  I set it in a time when Saudi Arabia, and its people, faced prosperous upheaval from the influx of oil money.  But I didn’t know enough to write the story.  I needed to know the history of Saudi Arabia and its key players.  I spent a great deal of time reading biographies and autobiographies of travelers to the country throughout the ages, as well as historical texts.  I also needed to learn the craft of fiction.  I completed the humanities honors program at UCI, and then the MFA program in creative writing from Chapman University.  And  then I set out, like Susan Howatch, to create vivid characters, set in a real place and time.

Just as I knew Sara, the structure of Unveiling came to me: I would incorporate a few ancient stories, like 1001 Arabian Nights, stories that tied into the present; I would also incorporate calligraphy and poetry—one could not accurately tell a story of Saudi Arabia without these elements.  It was a risk, according to many agents and editors.  That leads to the first and most important tip I can offer other writers (historical or otherwise)—listen and contemplate, but if you believe in your idea, if it stays with you, do it.  Follow your heart.

Keys to Writing Historical Fiction

During this journey, I have learned a few key rules about writing historical fiction: first, never let the history overshadow the immediate story and characters; second, Hemingway was right—you’ll only use the tip of the iceberg of what you’ve learned, and the rest, the majority, will sit below the surface, out of sight—and, third, do not get lost in research.  Over the course of several edits, I became ruthless, taking out eighty pages and an entire ancient story that just didn’t fit.  The immediate story is what pulls the reader through, and writers of historical fiction must resist trying to insert all of the interesting facts gleaned in research.  Only use what the story and the characters require.  The ninety percent sitting below the surface is still invaluable to the writer—it will enable you to write with confidence and authenticity.  You will know how each character’s history colors his thoughts and actions, and you’ll be able to create backstories based on previous events that occurred in the characters’ lives.  Historical writers love to research, love to learn.  I spent an entire summer losing myself, moving from historical tangent to historical tangent.  I did not write.  I knew that if I could not sit down and actually write, the book would never be born.  I now only research exactly what I need to know to write the next scene.

Here is a short list:

1.  Learn the craft of fiction
2. Research the history; in general at first, and then specific years or events—just what you need to know to write accurate, believable scenes
3. Do not get lost in research
4. Remember that the main story and its characters are paramount—not the history
5. Research is not writing.  Sit down and write, scene to scene, from beginning to end
6. Edit ruthlessly.  Make it tight.  Make sure the story is moving forward as quickly as possible without hindrance from the history or other elements

Besides writing and editing fiction, I currently teach English, Algebra I, and history to middle schools students, and I strive to make history as fun as the other subjects.   I try to relate the history like a story: “History is real people and real stories,” I say.  “It’s who did what to whom, when, where, why and how.”  I show them pictures of the real historical figures, so they can put faces to the stories.  I research the lives of key players (going beyond what is in the text book), so that I can offer tidbits that will make the people seem like real humans with real flaws and concerns.  I utilize fiction too, having my students write a Beowulf saga of their own, or a slave diary, or a journal of a soldier fighting in the Civil War.  They write and perform Japanese Noh plays, and Greek plays and epic poems, like Sophocles and Homer.

Please comment

History is now my favorite subject.  Reading and writing historical fiction is my passion.  I hope you enjoyed this blog post, and I welcome you to my website (swoffington.com), or you can like me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter .

Please share your experiences reading and writing historical fiction. How do you balance research and story?

So you’ve been writing for years—slaving over one novel until a transfusion is needed to replenish the blood you’ve sweated.  Confused over varying opinions, you’ve murdered enough of your darlings that you’d be gaoled for life if your words were children. And after constant editing you find yourself murmuring each noun, verb, phrase and sentence of your manuscript by heart.

Rejection has strengthened your character (you hope). Perseverance has become your mantra. Above all, the need to escape into a world of imagination has become as vital to you as eating, sleeping and working at your ‘day job’. And then, if you are lucky, the impossible happens. The stars align and suddenly your novel is accepted, not only by an agent but by a publisher as well. You start upon a giddy ride, not quite believing that you are now moving through a process that you’ve only visualised: structural reports, copyediting and proofreading.  Suddenly your words are typeset, not just typed upon a screen. The heft of the paperback in your hand is a marvel. Seeing your name upon a cover is like a dream.

Expectations are high. Your publisher’s reps work hard to sell your title to bookshops, and a lot of money is expended to market it in magazines and newsprint. The launch is celebrated with laughter and bubbly. And then the publicity merry-go-round begins. . .

After ten years of researching and writing my novel, The Wedding Shroud: A Tale of Ancient Rome,  I was fortunate enough to have it traditionally published. The experience was wonderful and I was delighted to have commissioning and copy editors who helped me polish it to publishable standard. What I didn’t realise, though, were two basic facts: releasing a book is a gamble, and success needs to be immediate.

Publishing houses place a large bet when financing a book.  In the past, they were prepared to back debut authors in the belief that, over time, such writers could build up a following. Alas, no longer.  If a writer is unable to sell enough books in the first few months of publication, their novel is soon “spine” outwards, then no longer stocked at all, as the relentless release of new titles pressure the booksellers to make room on the shelves. Soon the only avenues left to sell a novel are online or as an ebook. Yet publishers tend to price digital books far too high due to a business model with a supply chain built on bricks and mortar. In effect, the author’s cheaper e-version is in competition with their higher priced paperback. Guess which one a publisher would prefer to promote?

I’m an Australian author. The paperback version of The Wedding Shroud was only published in Australia and New Zealand. This proved a problem because I soon discovered that my main readership is located in the USA and the UK. For an overseas reader to buy my novel involves prohibitive delivery costs. As a result, being able to publish an ebook is crucial in order to reach a world-wide audience.

Sales of The Wedding Shroud were respectable but far from meteoric.  After six months I found myself in the predicament of many other midlist authors—marooned! I was expected to generate my own publicity and market my book via a constant presence in social media. And yet I had no control over its high price as both an ebook and a paperback in online bookstores.

So what was I to do?

Recently the digital rights to The Wedding Shroud reverted to me. Instead of trying to find another traditional publisher I decided to release the digital version of my novel independently. The process was not as simple as people would believe. There were many technical issues I had to master in relation to formatting (luckily I had eFrog Press to help me!) I also quickly needed to learn the importance of meta data while grappling with the pros and cons between uploading via aggregators or directly onto retail sites. And yet, my research paid off. Two years after the paperback was released I’m now selling more books than I ever would in a physical shop.  I also have total control over pricing and categorisation as well as a far greater percentage of royalties. The cover of The Wedding Shroud is always displayed and my book will never be remaindered or pulped. Best of all, there is time to let readers all over the world discover it.  And next year, the sequel, Juno’s Daughters, will be released as an ebook as well.

Ironically, by going “indie” I’ve received more publicity than I ever did when publishing my paperback via traditional means. Thanks to Kobo Writing Life, I was given the opportunity to be interviewed on national television about my decision to e-publish.

It’s early days but at this stage I’m glad I made the choice to become an Indie. As a result I’ve met great authors who’ve never been traditionally published and whose books are doing well. They, too, have slaved over their novels, ensuring they meet a high standard. As for success—well, it’s a gamble, but at least I’m rolling the dice.

The Wedding Shroud: A Tale of Ancient Rome

In 406 BC, to seal a tenuous truce, the young Roman Caecilia is wedded to Vel Mastarna, an Etruscan nobleman from the city of Veii. The fledgling Republic lies only twelve miles across the Tiber from its neighbour, but the cities are from opposing worlds so different are their customs and beliefs. Leaving behind a righteous Rome, Caecilia is determined to remain true to Roman virtues while living among the sinful Etruscans. Instead she finds herself tempted by a hedonistic culture which offers pleasure and independence to women as well as an ancient religion that gives her a chance to delay her destiny. Yet Mastarna and his people also hold dark secrets and, as war looms, Caecilia discovers that Fate is not so easy to control and that she must finally choose where her allegiance lies.

Exploring themes of sexuality, destiny versus self-determination and tolerance versus prejudice, The Wedding Shroud is historical fiction at its best which vividly brings Ancient Rome and Etruria to life while accenting the lives of women in ancient history.

The Wedding Shroud has been praised by Ursula Le Guin as follows: ‘All the drama and sensuality of an historical romance, plus a sensitivity to the realities of life in a very different time and world. . .’

You can purchase The Wedding Shroud  via various retailers through Elisabeth’s website. She also blogs at Triclinium.

What is an author to do?

You have read about the publishing journey of Elisabeth Storrs from traditional to ebook. Please share your recent publishing experiences. Is indie the solution for you or are you following the traditional path?