It’s an odd feeling, writing about something true.
I don’t mean writing an article about an event, or reporting on something in the news. I mean novelizing a story that actually happened. Whether historical fiction or a novelized memoire, it can be… interesting.
It’s like a juggling act. You take the facts (those that you can find). You add characters to make the story flow. You might have to change the timeline to fit a novel structure. You change the names of the innocent to protect their identity. Then you try to figure out if it actually makes a decent story.
My first novel was like this. It is the novelization of the true story of my parents’ 30-year search for love.
[START SPOILER ALERT!]
My mother was wandering about in 1967. She lived in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Spain and England. She met my father, and they fell in love. They had a quick affair before he returned to his wife in Minnesota. It was only after he left that she found out she was pregnant. She raised me as a single mom.
Fast forward to me, when I was about 15 and asking about who my father was. I started searching for him. When I finally found him, through dogged determination, genealogical research and pure good luck, he was thrilled to find out he had a daughter. He had no other children (that he knew of), was divorced, and he and mom got back together.
A couple of years later, they were married on the Starship Enterprise in Las Vegas.
[END SPOILER ALERT!]
Whenever I tell someone about their story, they’ve said “You should write a book!” or “You should send that to Oprah!”. Well, I finally did write a book. A novel,
Better To Have Loved. It came out finally in January 2016, and it will be on sale April 3rd.
I had to change names, of course, but some only slightly. My mom, Judy, became Julie. My own name changed from Christy to Kirsten. You get the picture. Other things, like the timeline of my mother’s adventures through Haight Ashbury of 1967 and the Church of Scientology in 1968, got shifted around to make the story work more like a story, and less like random wanderings.
And the hard part – writing about my mom having sex. With my dad. At my own conception, no less!
I knew where it happened, having asked. I knew it was story-worthy, because it was an unusual place due to the circumstances. I had to include it. But that was weird!
Luckily, by this time, I had already written my first sex scene. But it was still distinctly odd. I’m not a huge romance reader, so I don’t have lots of scenes in my repertoire. But I’ve read some, and I like to think I didn’t go over the top. I sure hope not, at any rate!
All that aside, I got the biggest kudos from my dad after he read the book. He said it made him cry on several occasions. That made me glow.
I do hope others like the story, people that weren’t directly involved. We shall see.
Do please pick up a copy this Sunday, the sale is for one day only. And if you like it, please head on over to Amazon to leave a review. Thank you!
What’s the most awkward thing you’ve ever had to write? A bio? A review? Let me know in the comments below!
*****
Don’t miss information on Celtic myth and history, as well as practical travel planning tips, and hidden places, in my travel books.
– Better To Have Loved
– Legacy of Hunger
– Stunning, Strange and Secret: A Guide to Hidden Scotland
– Mythical, Magical, Mystical: A Guide to Hidden Ireland
More info at Green Dragon Artist :: Home ,
Christy Jackson Nicholas, Author , and
Tirgearr Publishing – Christy Nicholas
Green Dragon Artist Blog
Handmade at Amazon Store
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Historical fantasy, time travel adventure, and urban fantasy 
I give you a lot of credit. I don’t think I could write a love scene about my parents. Glad you finally took everyone’s advice. I’ll be checking it out on Sunday! 🙂
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Thanks! I hope you like it 🙂
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