Just to make this clear, these are reasons why I write this genre, not why everyone does or should.

First of all, let’s define what constitutes “Historical Fiction” books.

Historical fiction is a story set in the past, often during a significant time period. In historical fiction, the time period is an important part of the setting and often of the story itself. A general rule of thumb is that the story is set at least 50 years before the current time period.

This definition fits quite a number of my stories. My Triple Creek Ranch series, Woodbreak series, The Unexpected Request, Home Fires of the Great War, Graham Quartet, His Law is Love, and others all fall under this genre. But why do I write it?

1. I Love History I guess this is the main reason. I have loved history since I was in school and I think writing historical fiction is just a natural outcome of that love.
   
   
2. Little Known Facts or Events One thing I’ve enjoyed is finding little events or situations that aren’t common knowledge and weaving them into my stories. Home Fires has many of those things sprinkled into the book. Some of the Woodbreak books incorporate some of those things in their pages. And His Law is Love is based on a little known part of American history.
   
   
3. Christian Perspective There are a lot of historical fiction books around but very few of them are Christian. I grew up reading the American Girl books and loved them, but they are not Christian. I wanted to write stories where Christianity was a part of the lives of the characters in history.
   
   
4. Enjoy Writing Simpler Times I will admit that I greatly enjoy writing about simpler times when life didn’t revolve around screens, instant messages, and everyone knowing everything about everyone. I like small towns, simpler times, and family life.
   
   
5. I Read a Lot of this Genre Perhaps my love of history and my love of simpler times are what draw me to reading this genre. But even if it’s not, I do read a lot of historical fiction books. I think that has helped me with my writing and inspiration because I want to read more books, so I write them.

And that is why I write Historical Fiction. Do you write or read Historical Fiction? What is your favorite genre to read? Have you checked out my Why I Write Mysteries and Christian Fiction?