Historical fiction is a brand new world, especially in regards to a time period I previously knew little about - and still far beyond what I would call knowledgeable. I have some good friends assisting with the accuracy of what I am writing and supplementing that with a great amount of research on my own.
I wrote a chapter which will appear toward the end of Shadow Catchers in which it is revealed one of the characters was a member of a certain Christian denomination. I researched the details of specific aspects of this denomination, including liturgy used in worship services. I thought I had picked one which would have been prevalent in the colonies at the time of my story. WRONG !
After more research on the subject, I discovered this denomination barely had representatives in the colonies and due to its loyalty to the crown, it recalled all ministers and missionaries to England at the beginning of the Revolution. SO, time to select a different denomination.
Such is the curse of a historian writing a historical fiction. Though the story itself is fictional, it is set during a specific time in American history. Therefore, I insist that I get all the factual details surrounding my characters correct.
This is bad for one small detail. It slows my writing down considerably and creates more editing for myself as I discover things which need to be tweaked. However, in the long run, those who read it will appreciate this accuracy and learn something from it. In addition, those who already know about the period will appreciate the time put into research to make it historically accurate.
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