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Cayuga1561
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Location: Gettysburg, SD

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Post by Cayuga1561 » Mon April 23rd, 2012, 7:58 am

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking around on the net trying to find authors and readers with an interest in Historical Fiction. My epic novel, "Destiny Comes on the Wind - The Legend of Opechancanough", is my one and only book. I was going through my genealogy a couple years ago and discovered that my great, great, etc. (12 generations) grandfather was Opechancanough. This truly remarkable character inspired me to write this novel. I wanted to relate his story and expose the biased history that was set down by the European writers regarding the indigenous people of the Americas during the early colonial era. I'm am weary of many writers who portray these people in condescending terms as ignorant savages without a real culture.

I have a few more ancestors that would make great subject matter for another novel, but I doubt that I would be as dedicated as I was to write another book of Historical Fiction. When I started, I did not appreciate the the endless research needed to do justice to this sort of book. I now have a great respect for the writers that choose this genre.

My real interest in writing is not in this genre, but rather in comical short stories about kids growing up half-wild during mine and my father's generation. These would be stories similar to those of Patrick McManus.

James A. Wright

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Madeleine
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Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Mon April 23rd, 2012, 9:04 am

Hi James and welcome. Good luck with the book, how fascinating to find out your family history.

Have fun on here!
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

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Vanessa
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Posts: 4378
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
Preferred HF: Any
Location: North Yorkshire, UK

Post by Vanessa » Mon April 23rd, 2012, 9:33 am

Welcome, James! I hope you enjoy it here.

Good luck with your book. Sounds as if it was fascinating to write.
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads

Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind

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sweetpotatoboy
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Location: London, UK

Post by sweetpotatoboy » Mon April 23rd, 2012, 9:40 am

Welcome to the forum, James. Look forward to you joining in our discussions and best of luck with your book.

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fljustice
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Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Post by fljustice » Mon April 23rd, 2012, 3:56 pm

Welcome and best of luck with your book, James. What kinds of books do you like to read?
Faith L. Justice, Author Website
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Cayuga1561
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Post by Cayuga1561 » Mon April 23rd, 2012, 4:31 pm

[quote=""fljustice""]Welcome and best of luck with your book, James. What kinds of books do you like to read?[/quote]

Thanks for the welcome.

MY first true Historical Fiction read was "Hawaii" by James A. Michener. I also liked "The Source" and "Caravans". His books were long reads, but very well researched. I saw the world premier of "Hawaii" at the Kuhio Theater in 1966 when I was in the Navy. I was fortunate to get a free ticket to the event through the USO. The movie was a bit of a disappointment when compared to the book, but that is often the case.

I have always liked good science fiction, but tales of Vampires, and many other such supernatural things are overdone and not very interesting to me. I guess I'm open to suggestions at this point. I been so involved in doing things in the outdoors that I have not much reading on a regular basis. Now that my health has deteriorated to the extent that I'm not able enough for these activities, I suspect that there will be more time to indulge in literary pursuits. I might write about some of my "world class" fishing adventures in the future.

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Misfit
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Location: Seattle, WA

Post by Misfit » Mon April 23rd, 2012, 6:30 pm

Hi James, welcome aboard.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

DanielAWillis
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Welcome!

Post by DanielAWillis » Mon April 23rd, 2012, 7:56 pm

Welcome James!

I am also a genealogist so I understand the amount of dedication it takes to get those links proven, etc. 12 generations is impressive. Good luck with the book.

I'm also a "mixed genre" writer with most of books being non-fiction biographical/genealogical works about Europe's royal families. I just started in the historical fiction genre this year with my first novel Immortal Betrayal.
Daniel A. Willis
Author: Chronicle of the Mages series
www.DanielAWillis.com

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Cayuga1561
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Location: Gettysburg, SD

Post by Cayuga1561 » Mon April 23rd, 2012, 8:53 pm

[quote=""DanielAWillis""]Welcome James!

I am also a genealogist so I understand the amount of dedication it takes to get those links proven, etc. 12 generations is impressive. Good luck with the book.

I'm also a "mixed genre" writer with most of books being non-fiction biographical/genealogical works about Europe's royal families. I just started in the historical fiction genre this year with my first novel Immortal Betrayal.[/quote]

Hi Daniel,

Genealogy can be very frustrating. If you can trace your roots into the royal lines, it gets much easier. Among the common folk, records were rare or non-existent. I have used the Mormon genealogy archives to help compile my family tree to include over 10,000 individuals. Some of my lines are easily traceable to 750 B.C. As you say, some data is questionable that's generally posted out there. You have to evaluate the source as well as the data most of the time.

Carla
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Post by Carla » Thu April 26th, 2012, 3:22 pm

Hello and welcome!
PATHS OF EXILE - love, war, honour and betrayal in Anglo-Saxon Northumbria
Editor's Choice, Historical Novels Review, August 2009
Now available as e-book on Amazon Kindleand in Kindle, Epub (Nook, Sony Reader), Palm and other formats on Smashwords
Website: http://www.carlanayland.org
Blog: http://carlanayland.blogspot.com

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