My books are fiction, but they all hold some truth.
Many of my characters are based on important people in my life. I use my past experiences to create exciting adventures, and I use my extensive travel history to help me create interesting locations in each of my stories.
I also draw inspiration from some of my favorite authors. I’m an avid reader, and I love countless works of fiction-especially those based on history. I’ll read almost anything about the Roman Empire, aviation, amazing inventions, or unbelievable places around the world!
It’s not surprising that many historical events find their way into my books. It’s exciting to relive actual events through writing, but it does present some challenges – namely accuracy. I give myself some artistic license (historical fiction is still fiction!), but I do my best to get the facts correct.
I want to create a fun and exciting story, and that requires creativity and a little embellishment here and there, but I try to stick to the bones of the story as much as possible.
I’ve had to do lots of research for the book I’m working on now, and the fact-finding has been almost as much fun as the writing. I can’t tell you too much about it because it’s still a work in progress, but I guess a few details can’t hurt!
My latest book follows a Portuguese warship called the Flor de La Mar that raided the island of Sumatra in 1515. The ship’s crew took in over 60 TONS of gold and jewels, and you can only imagine how difficult that would be to transport.
It didn’t help matters that the ship left port and sailed directly into a hurricane… When the captain struck a reef, things went downhill fast for the Flor de La Mar.
Her heavy treasure haul ultimately led to her demise. She broke in half and sank, taking the gold, jewels, and much of the crew with her.
This fascinating tale is based in history, and it called to me like a siren’s song. A sunken ship full of treasure, just waiting to be found? That’s right up my alley. And I hope you’ll find it as exciting as I do, because the new book will be coming out soon!
