From Fact to Fiction!

Events, experiences and places inspire authors to create award-winning stories

All writing carries some facts and experiences of an author even when the story is based on anything but real life. However, many books bring a great deal of reality into the story. True life can be the basis of mysteries, thrillers, romances, and of course, historical fiction.  Here at Fact to Fiction, we will share with you events and experiences that were or might have been inspirations for award-winning stories!

Meet Deborah Lynn our From Fact to Fiction editor who will be sharing with you fun and interesting inspirations for some of our award-winning books-

Hi All!
Besides beta reading and editing I’ve been married 55 years and am a mom to two grown children and a grandmother (they still choose to call me “Ohma!”) to two almost-grown young men. I started college very late but now hold a Master’s in Clinical Social Work. I exercise because I have too. We’ve been lucky enough to extensively travel. My hobbies are painting, gardening, voraciously reading everything I can get my hands on about English medieval history, science generally/quantum physics specifically and sci fy. Currently, I am working on a 2nd soccer t-shirt quilt for my 2nd grandson who’s graduating high school and going on to college this year. Woo-Hoo!
Deborah Lynn

Time Travel

Time Travel By Deborah Lynn In A Rip in the Veil by Anna Belfrage, Alexandr Lind finds herself several centuries back in time landing at the feet of a handsome Matthew Graham who has no earthly idea what to do with her. Sounds absolutely enchanting, doesn’t it? Who hasn’t dreamed of going back in time to a romantic tryst for a while? Hmmmmmm, lovely. It’s an extremely popular genre in the present day with countless books and movies dedicated to feeding our desires for time travel. In our time, it was first popularized by H. G. Wells' 1895 novel The Time Machine, but the idea has been floating around the human psyche for thousands of years. The Vishnu Purna talks about King Raivata Kakudmi traveling to heaven and meeting Brahma, the Creator, only to find when he returns that hundreds of years have passed. Then there is the Japanese story of Urashima-no-ko, a fisherman who goes to an undersea castle for a few days. When he returns 300 years have passed and all he knows is gone. Let's have one last example. The 1st-century BC Jewish scholar Honi ha-M'agel fell asleep for seventy years and when he woke up no one knew him…

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A Trip into Medieval England

1066   What Fates Imposed by G. K. Holloway reminded me of a wonderful holiday I took with some great friends to the very place that gave Holloway his mesmerizing topic. I am a an open and unashamed Anglophile. I admit it. I love the Queen. I love tea with milk (NOT cream). I love the Cotswolds. I’ve vacationed there so many times I can’t count. I’ve watched every single Endeavor and Morse series at least 3 times AND their spinoffs. I also adopt an English accent the minute the captain announces we are landing at Gatwick. Ta! I also adore English History. I once bored to death (my husband can vouch for this) a quiet, unobtrusive English couple, minding their own business, staying at our B&B, eating breakfast the same time as us with a complete and accurate recitation of all the kings and queens of THEIR country…in the correct chronological order. Mind the Gap! So it makes sense that I would have, at some point, visited the (holy!) site where the Battle of 1066 took place and the future of Britain was decided. That particular year we were staying in Rye, a gorgeously quaint town in the southeast of Kent…

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Time Travel

Time Travel by Deborah Lynn In A Rip in the Veil by Anna Belfrage, Alexandr Lind finds herself several centuries back in time landing at the feet of a handsome Matthew Graham who has no earthly idea what to do with her. Sounds absolutely enchanting, doesn’t it? Who hasn’t dreamed of going back in time to a romantic tryst for a while? Hmmmmmm, lovely. It’s an extremely popular genre in the present day with countless books and movies dedicated to feeding our desires for time travel. In our time, it was first popularized by H. G. Wells' 1895 novel The Time Machine, but the idea has been floating around the human psyche for thousands of years. The Vishnu Purna talks about King Raivata Kakudmi traveling to heaven and meeting Brahma, the Creator, only to find when he returns that hundreds of years have passed. Then there is the Japanese story of Urashima-no-ko, a fisherman who goes to an undersea castle for a few days. When he returns 300 years have passed and all he knows is gone. Let's have one last example. The 1st-century BC Jewish scholar Honi ha-M'agel fell asleep for seventy years and when he woke up no one knew him…

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“I TRIPLE-dog-dare ya!”

"Pay the Stake, Roll the Dice, Do the Dare. Getting divorced at twenty-five sucks. Teaching over-confident rich kids when you’re all but homeless sucks. In fact, every single aspect of Daisy Fitzgerald’s life is one big fail. Enter hot young chef, Xander. He’s a Knight-in-Shining-Cricket-Pads who knocks Daisy off her wedge heels and into his privileged world of It-girls, players and Michelin stars. High on cocktails & escapism, Daisy agrees to play Forfeit, the ultimate game of dares." #FORFEIT by Caroline Batten Daisy Fitzgerald in #FORFIET played a game of dare that led to a romantic kiss, but also “blackmail, betrayal, [and] revenge… “. I am not a daredevil. I never have been and never will be. But then, that’s me. Someone says I dare you and I am out of there fast. But apparently, there are a lot of people out there (especially young people) who are attracted to dares and challenges, especially when it involves social media. According to the article “Danger Ahead: Social Media Dare Games” on Netsanity.net (on which this blog is based) social media appears to ratchet everything up a notch. So, if you can do something wild and crazy, that’s fine; but if you…

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Handfasting- a commitment by joining hands

In the opening List of Main Characters in the book 1066: What Fates Impose, by G. K. Holloway, Edyth Swanneck is listed as “handfast wife of Harold,” the main character of the book. When I first read about Edyth and Harold in a novel long, long ago, I read that they were “handfasted” in marriage. When Harold took the throne of England (in the book I read) he needed a politically expedient wife and the Christian priests said that handfasting was no big deal and that Harold could just ignore it and get on with marrying his “real” wife in a Christian ceremony, which is what he did. At that time, I wasn’t too keen on “handfasting” nor Harold, for that matter! Since then, I’ve learned a lot more about the term and its origin. Apparently, the practice is over 7000 years old and was used in the English, Norse, Scottish and Celtic cultures. The word itself comes from Old Norse, “handfesta” which means to strike a bargain by joining hands. Hence, “May I have your hand in marriage?” “He asked her father for her hand in marriage.” Actually, it started out as a commitment between a man and a…

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Have you ever wondered how snowflakes are made?

Fawn faces a hungry arctic wolf, battles a fierce North Pole blizzard, and is the prisoner of a conniving sea captain intent on capturing arctic animals to sell to a New York City zoo!                       'Til the Last Snowflake Falls                      Have you ever wondered how snowflakes are made?                      I certainly have! Watch this!   How Do Snowflakes Form?

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The Earl Of Wessex – Sons of the Wolf

First creation (c. 1019) Wessex was one of the four earldoms of Anglo-Danish England. In this period, the earldom of Wessex covered the lands of the old kingdom of Wessex, covering the counties of the south of England, and extending west to the Welsh border. During the reign of King Cnut, the earldom was conferred on Godwin at some time after 1020.[3] Thereafter, Godwin rose to become, in King Edward's time, the most powerful man in the kingdom. Upon Godwin's death in 1053, the earldom passed to his son, who later became King Harold II and died at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. In 1999, Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, Prince Edward, married Sophie Rhys-Jones. Younger sons of the monarch have customarily been given dukedoms at the time of their marriage, and experts had suggested the former royal dukedoms of Cambridge and Sussex as the most likely to be granted to Prince Edward. Instead, the Palace announced that Prince Edward would eventually be given the title Duke of Edinburgh, which was at the time held by his father. This was unlikely to happen by direct inheritance, as Prince Edward is the youngest of Prince Philip's three sons. Rather, the title is expected to be newly created for Prince Edward after it "eventually reverts to the crown" after "both the death of…

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FACT TO FICTION: The Writing of The Call

Fact to Fiction- Learn about stories that inspire great books! When I started writing my novel The Call, only six female umpires had worked in professional baseball, none of them at the major-league level. In 2016, I found that fact hard to swallow, so I wanted to explore it in fiction. As a lifelong baseball fan, I thought I’d absorbed enough knowledge to write about the game. But I had to know a lot more facts before I could write realistically about the people playing it. Especially during the time period I had in mind, the early 1980s, when there had only been three other women who’d taken the field in umpire blues. The story itself—because fiction needs a good story—began with another fact. On October 11, 2015, Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley made a late (and borderline illegal) slide into second to try to break up a double play. In doing so, he broke New York Mets second baseman Ruben Tejada’s leg. Utley was given a two-game suspension that was later overturned. Major League Baseball then ruled slides like Utley’s illegal, but Mets fans like me were still steaming. That’s when I knew I had to write…

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Fact to Fiction: Khamsin, the Devil Wind of the Nile

Khamsin, the Devil Wind of the Nile - A Novel of Ancient Egypt   Every movie lately seems to have “The Making of ...” clips. Well, here is a little insight into “The Making of Book 1 of the Legends of the Winged Scarab” series. With my historical saga, reaching back to 3080 BC, the question was how much research a writer should do on his or her chosen era. My answer: A lot. Next, how much “real history” should be incorporated into a novel. I’d say, 10%. Remember, it’s fiction. Readers want to be entertained rather than get a lengthy history lesson. When I started my research into Ancient Egypt (and I mean, really ancient), the biggest confusion was over city names. It would have been easy to use Memphis, for instance. But that name – like most of the commonly used ancient names – came from the Greek historian Herodotus who described many of the wonders he found in Egypt during his visit around 490 BC. My story takes place in 3080 BC, during the 2nd Dynasty (Old Kingdom). Therefore, I resorted to use the ancient Egyptian names (wherever I could find them). Memphis became Ineb-Hedj, the City…

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National Parks Week with Little Miss History

Now that spring has sprung...well, maybe if you live in certain parts of the US, it might still seem like winter. Nothing will stop the change of seasons, and Spring will come. When the weather gets warmer, our thoughts inevitably turn to the outdoors. Did you know that our national parks kick off the season by celebrating National Parks Week from April 21-April 29 this year? Across the country, parks will be holding special e  April 21: Fee Free Day April 21: National Junior Ranger Day April 21: Volunteer Day April 22: Earth Day—Let's get out and celebrate our rivers and trails for their 50th! April 28: Military & Veteran Recognition Day April 29: National Park Rx Day In addition, families may gain free admission to national parks on September 22, National Public Lands Day, and November 11, Veterans Day. I am proud to have had the opportunity to introduce teachers, students and their families to our national treasures through my Little Miss HISTORY Travels to book series. These books are intended to enlighten, inspire and educate young minds to appreciate our historical heritage and have fun while doing so. Spring and summer are the perfect times to get out…

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