A Collusion at the Intersection of Fact and Fiction

by Mona Hodgson

Author of Twice a Bride, Book 4 in The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series

Whether we realize it or not, there is usually a lot of truth in fiction.

As a novelist, I have chosen to write fiction, not fact. But even so, the stories I weave are not truly and completely made up. All compelling fiction resonates with readers because the best stories are rich in truth.

In writing each of my historical novels, I try to create an honest story world, premise, and character journeys that provide a platform for emotional and spiritual truth and will deepen the realness of my fiction. While I’m not telling my life story in The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek books, part of the authenticity comes at the points in which my life experiences—physical, spiritual, emotional, relational—intersect with my characters’ experiences.

As we celebrate the completion of my debut series with the release of Twice a Bride, I wanted to offer you insight into a few of those intersections.

Like Ida, Kat, Nell, and Vivian Sinclair in Two Brides Too Many, Too Rich for a Bride, The Bride Wore Blue, and Twice a Bride, I am one of four sisters. One of the sisters is a writer who, like me, began her career writing for a periodical. I buried my father twenty-one years ago. Like me, one of my characters stands at a crossroads beside her father’s grave.

Although the circumstances varied, another character was institutionalized with melancholia as was my husband’s grandmother in the early 1900’s. Before giving birth to two daughters, I suffered two miscarriages. The circumstances and dynamics are not the same, but many of the emotions are, and one of the characters in Twice a Bride shares that experience.

Our beloved Miss Hattie shares many of the amiable, mentoring characteristics of my dear friend and prayer partner, June Adams. Like one of my story heroes, both my hubby and my father served in law enforcement and shared his compassionate and courageous stand for justice. Boney Hughes serves the series as a quirky sidekick, unlikely mentor, and a guardian angel of sorts, and shares many of my father’s Johnny-on-the-spot traits.

Even though my Cripple Creek tales weren’t necessarily formed in actual reality, my hope is that the setting and characters, action and themes offer a tapestry of honesty that can make a work of fiction feel more real, at times, than life itself.

I so appreciate your interest in my historical fiction with WaterBrook Multnomah.

Happy Reading!

Mona

MONA HODGSON is the author of 32 books, including Two Brides Too Many, Too Rich for a Bride, The Bride Wore Blue, and Twice a Bride—all four books in The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series (WaterBrook Multnomah). You can learn more about Mona and her books at www.monahodgson.com, follow her on Hindsight by Mona Hodgson at http://monahodgson.wordpress.com, and connect with her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#!/Author.Mona.