A Few Words with Tracie Peterson

It is my distinct pleasure to introduce to you (although I have a feeling many of you here already know her) a top favorite historical fiction author. Every single one of her books graces my bookshelves in an honored place, taking up two complete shelves! One of the highest compliments I received from a reader of my writing was it reminded her of Tracie Peterson. And that's who we have as a guest here today, taking time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions.

We might even be lucky enough to have her visit and respond to questions or comments you wish to leave for her on this blog. So, comment away!

I hope you enjoy learning more about a beloved author and good friend.

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1. You have published over 70 novels. How long have you been writing historical Christian fiction and what got you started on this path?

I've wanted to write since I was young. I read a great deal when I was a child and that passion poured over into wanting to write. Writing for the Lord was something I was very excited to be called to do. Christian fiction wasn't a regular genre when I got serious about writing in the 80's, but it was fast becoming one with authors like Janette Oke and the Thoenes. As I read these authors along with others, I knew this was where the Lord was leading me. I started small with a volunteer column for a Christian newspaper, as well as a few articles for magazine and Sunday School take-home-papers. My passion, however, was full length novels and that came about in late 1992 when I got my first contract with Barbour Publishing for a historical romance called A Place To Belong.

2. A lot of authors or writers steer clear of historical fiction because they don't want to spend the time doing the research. On average, how much research do you put into each of your books? Or do you research and write simultaneously?

I do some research ahead of time. After years of loving to write Americana stories set in the 1800s, I have a lot of research already done - at least when it comes to some of the basics and general information. When I pick a particular location as setting for a story, I generally try to visit that location as part of my research. I also read as many books on the area, the people and events of my time period, as I can lay my hands on. For instance, right now I'm utilizing about 2 dozen books for the series I'm currently working to write. Research for me is an on-going thing as I write, but I also am blessed to have a historian for a husband. Jim does some of the research for me and this helps a great deal, as you can well imagine. I'm generally researching one book while writing another, but will often research as I write in order to make certain I keep everything accurate. I still make mistakes, but I do aim for accuracy.

3. Readers of historical fiction can be quite harsh on authors who include inaccurate details in their books. How do you safeguard yourself from making these mistakes? What steps do you take?

As I mentioned, I do make mistakes - we all do. I recently read a book by a well-known historical author and there were several mistakes related to the setting. I know I'm disappointed when this happens, so I try hard to keep my facts accurate. For this, I generally try to make sure I use the historian rule of three and find three separate sources for information that might be controversial or questionable. Often this isn't possible, but I do strive to accomplish this.

I also try to refresh my knowledge constantly by reading historical accounts, diaries, texts, etc. Often a person can get a thought in their mind that something absolutely existed at a certain point and time, when in fact it didn't. So refreshing your memory is a good idea.

Also I try to steer clear of writing anything based solely on one person's memory or stories passed down through generations. I've seen way too many times when someone quoted as accurate face a story given by their great-grandma so-and-so and then when I check it against other historical archives, find that it is completely inaccurate. We love our grandparents' stories, but need to remember they are altered with time, often seen through rose colored glasses and sometimes just didn't have the accurate information they needed at the time. A good example is my grandmother used to tell me how they practiced black-outs in Kansas during World War II because they were told bombers could fly all the way from Germany to Kansas. We know now that they couldn't, but that's what they were told then. So while I could have a character believing that in a story, I wouldn't quote it as a historical fact.

Either way, mistakes will happen and I try to practice grace when it comes to other authors and hope my readers will do the same.

4. What do you feel appeals to historical fiction readers more: the settings and time periods that tend to be loved by many or the obscure and not often covered ones that provide fascinating insight. Why?

As a reader of historical fiction, I find that one of the things that attracts me most is the way it pulls me out of the present and takes me back in time. I find it fascinating to see the way certain things were developed to change our lives for instance going from candles and oil to light a room, to gas and electricity. I love to see how fashion changed and why people wore what they did. I think historical readers enjoy the break from our daily contemporary lives, but also that we can see that nothing really ever changes. Problems that were endured on a personal level in the 1800s are the very ones we endure today. Relationships might have been surrounded by different cultural rules and regulations, but people are people.

I think readers of historical fiction enjoy both the common, fairly well known stories of history, but also crave the ones that are not so prominently given. When writing books about Alaska or the Harvey Girls, I've heard from so many people that they enjoyed the series because they had never known much about the topic or setting. Often I get letters from readers saying that my setting has sent them on vacation to the same locale in order to experience it for themselves, because they loved it so much in the book.

5. Unearthing little known facts about a specific area can result in a fantastic story, educating readers with more details about a specific event or people from actual history. Your books seem to primarily have that type of focus. What do you use as your starting point and how do your stories evolve?

Sometimes my stories are born purely out of a scene that comes to mind. That one scene leads me to build around it and pull events and settings that will fit it best. Other times I read historical accounts and feel confident the events would be a fantastic backdrop to a fiction series. One of my favorite things to come across is a historical event that happens and the historians all agree that how these things came about are unknown or obscure at best. That's always fun to take and run with, imagining for myself how those events might have come about.

6. What is next on your plate or to-be-released pile?

I'm very excited to announce that I have two books releasing next summer. First is a historical set in the 1850s in Philadelphia. This will be the first of three stand-alone titles in the Ladies of Liberty series. Book one is titled A LADY OF HIGH REGARD. The stories are romantic and each deals with a fiercely independent young woman who works in various ways to secure her future and grow in her knowledge of the Lord.

Next is a project that I've co-written with Michael Landon Jr. The story is titled ONE MORE SUNRISE and will release next summer. The story is set in the late 1950's in Kansas.

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Thank you, Tracie, for dropping by our blog. We hope you readers enjoyed it as well. Don't forget to participate in the contest from yesterday's post about mistakes in historical fiction novels. Winner will be announced on Monday. Enjoy your weekend!

Monday, you'll get to meet another beloved author...but I won't ruin the surprise hers. :) Stay tuned!