Historical Fiction Is A Piece Of Cake

Historical fiction sounds relatively easy, right? You take an event from history, do a little research to get the appropriate costumes and setting, then add dialogue. Voila! You’ve got historical fiction.

Not so fast.

I recently wrote a book of historical fiction and I can say honestly that not a single step was easy. My book called LONDON SPIES occurred at the end of WWII at the American Embassy in London. I spent months learning what clothing people wore, what expressions were spoken, English and American in 1945, and what life was like for the ordinary English person during wartime.

Then there was all the military information to be gleaned. I had to learn military protocol, procedures followed by the Army officers who were the Military Attaches at that time, how the embassies were run and how staff dressed, spoke and behaved in foreign countries. I researched what duties embassy staffers had for overseas assignments and what duties my character, Phyllis Bowden, a secretary at the American Embassy, would have had.  I’m sure she encountered a potful of difficulties as a civilian working for the Army, in a foreign country…during a world war. I relentlessly studied the effects of the V-1 and V-2 bombing in London.

In short, nothing was easy.

The second book in the series is more problematic than the first. My character’s wartime experiences are taking her to Oslo, Norway, just after German occupation ended. I want to include the issues of the Quisling girls, young women who followed the leadership of Vidkun Quisling, the leader of the Nazi Party in Norway, and the Lebensborn children.

The Lebensborn project, particularly in Norway, was a pet project of Heinrich Himmler, Reich leader of the SS. The goal of this secret project was to continue the Nazi population into the second generation. Himmler encouraged SS and Wermacht officers to have children with Aryan women in the belief that Lebensborn children would grow up to lead a Nazi-Aryan nation. Norwegians viewed the project unfavorably and local women who participated were sent to labor camps after the war. Many children were sent to mental institutions. Phyllis Bowden enters this world after the victory in Europe. It couldn’t have been an easy assignment as an American told not to get involved with country politics, even issues with children.

As I see it, nothing is easy about historical fiction. What my character does, sees and says becomes so important because of the tremendous events swirling around her. As a writer, do I tread softly around the obvious political landmines? Will Norwegians be upset that I’m writing about a dark chapter in their history? The fates of both Quisling girls and Lebensborn children were very dark indeed, but my character was there, amidst the events as they were evolving.

The fact that Norway’s plight after the end of WWII is a challenging story is exactly the reason I should write about it. The most difficult situations in life and around the world need to be examined, researched, debated and certainly written about at length. Norwegians today refer to WWII as “the war” and are shy when asked about their participation in any part of it, whether it be the resistance movement or what had become of the Lebensborn children.

The only thing I know for certain is that there are no certainties in life and anything held up for microscopic inspection will show flaws. The trick is to find the balance between observation and criticism. This is what I endeavor to do in my new book about Norway’s post-war struggles called OSLO SPIES, due out September 1, 2018.

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SJ SLAGLE started her writing career as a language arts teacher. Her initial interest was children’s stories, but moved on to western romance, mysteries and historical fiction. She has published 24 novels, both independent and contract. SJ contributes regularly to guest blogs and has her own blog called anauthorsworld.com in which she discusses the research involved in the books she writes.

SJ has established Twitter and Facebook fan bases, a quarterly author newsletter and a website under her pseudonym: JEANNE HARRELL at jeanneharrell.com.

She was a finalist in the 2017 UK Independent Book Awards for her first historical fiction novel, LONDON SPIES, and was given the Silver Award with the International Independent Film Awards for her screenplay called REDEMPTION.

SJ conducts writing/publishing symposiums in her local area. She is currently working on her second historical fiction novel entitled OSLO SPIES. She lives and works in Reno, Nevada.

 

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips