On writing....

Hi, folks! I thought I'd share with you some background on how Forcing the Hand of God started, and what writing it was like. Please feel free to leave comments!

Probably like a lot of writers, I didn’t set out to write a novel. For my master’s thesis in the UW’s Creative Writing program, I had a collection of short stories. One day, I joined a professional writers’ group hosted by Jean Bryant, who challenged me that what I had was not a collection of shorts, but the guts of a novel (thank you, Jean!). From there, Forcing the Hand of God was off and running with me chasing after.

I met with some surprises along the way. Ada came to me the most naturally—and then her relationship with Rodger in turn helped me understand him. I was fascinated by how Rodger’s and Ada’s emotional connection and sexual tension illuminated their inner lives.

You might have already guessed one of the hardest parts of writing historical fiction: keeping a tangle of dates, places, and facts all on a timeline! I changed the timeline for the action in Kunming, China and that proved to be a nightmare. I had to painstakingly string together all the subsequent actions, while keeping my characters in tow. Those of you who’ve written historical fiction know this agony of late nights, black coffee, and endless editing! But it does pay off. :)

Are there any writers out there who have similar stories? I'd especially love to hear from historical fiction authors!