History provides an exciting backdrop for a novel. There is built-in excitement, tension, high points and low points. So, the trick to deciding what to include in a novel means looking at the shape of a book and considering how history can propel the story’s plot, rather than just trying to include all the historical events that actually happened.

In Adeline’s Dream I had a whole summer of community activities to choose from, plus the fall school and harvest events. Continue reading How do you decide what historical events to use in the plot of a novel? →

Good historical fiction requires that the author is 100% true to the time period in terms of accuracy in historical fact. Books that take their inspiration from history, but weave in details that they invent are often in the fantasy genre, like medieval fantasies. My favorite book in that genre is Guy Gavriel Kay’s novel, The Lions of Al-Rassan.

When I wrote Adeline’s Dream I based it completely on actual events that happened in the town of Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan in 1910. Continue reading How close do you keep fiction to real history? →

In chapter 2 of my novel, Adeline’s Dream, Adeline and her new friend, Kat, go to the horse race in Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, on the July 1st half-day Dominion Day holiday. It is Canada’s 43rd birthday.

In terms of the question young readers have asked, have I been to a horse race like this one, the answer is yes, although not in Qu’Appelle. Continue reading Have you seen a horse race like the one in Adeline’s Dream? →