Welcome! Here begins “Past is Prologue”.
When deciding on a name for my blog, I was given pause. I think that titles for books are at times easier. Then, it hit me. I write (prologue) historical fiction (past). Also, “What’s past is prologue” happens to be from The Tempest by William Shakespeare- one of my favorite plays by him. (My other favorites are A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. I completed my goal of reading through his plays at the beginning of last year, in case anyone’s interested.)
When people hear that I’m a writer, they say, “So, what do you write?”
Historical Fiction.
I generally get an enthusiastic response. People like history. Even, non-historians seem to often be drawn to it. There’s seemingly something for everyone- intrigue, mystery, costumes, an unfamiliar turn of words that leaves us utterly charmed and lots of adventure.
Perhaps, one of the greatest adventures we can undertake is learning. I love to learn. I used to skip home from kindergarten and tell my parents all about my day. True Story. And while I no longer skip– often anyway, I still love to learn. This is one of the best parts of being an author. Writing means constantly learning new things.
My degree is history-focused international relations. So much of how the world relates today is based upon decisions and events of the past. “Past is Prologue”, if you will.
So, why do I write historical fiction? I found myself thinking about this during the past week, as the 69th anniversary of D-Day was commemorated.
Here’s my answer- History is so important. Knowing, learning, remembering is the only way to gain and maintain real freedom. It is true that I was primarily thinking of Normandy at the time when I thought that, but it is true. History is important.
Why do I write historical fiction? In short, because it matters.
It matters to me, it matters to my characters who enter my life and ask me to write their story, and I hope it matters to you.
My best to you all,
Megan