Based on a True Story?

Based on a True Story?

A little insider info on my first, and currently only, published book.  This story is based on a childhood memory of mine. I’ve had this memory for so long that I’m not even sure if it’s a real memory or something I dreamed about.

 

While earning my BA in English I was required to take a creative writing class.  Up to that point, I hadn’t really written anything besides academic papers, some occasional journal entries, and a blog-style article or two.  The instructions were to write what you know.  And there I was with this possibly true ghost story.  So I wrote the first chapter for class.  I changed the setting and some of the characters but that scene that happens in the cave is essentially straight from my memory.

 

In the book, I also used traits from all of my grandmas and great-grandmas that have passed away as a sort of tribute to them.  Things that I will probably always remember them for.  The story occurred with my maternal grandma, the setting and the kitchen is from my mom’s paternal grandma, and the sewing is from my dad’s maternal grandma. And my pen name last name comes from my mom’s maternal grandma.

 

Another true aspect of the book is the tendency of women in my family to have a trio of girls.  The fact just sort of stood out to me one day and I thought it could factor into a story that is based on my family in a roundabout way.  And also three happens to be my favorite number, so I took it and ran with it.

Because the section about the attributes of my grandmas’ sounds super confusing, and I’m the one that wrote it, I decided a visual aid would be appropriate to demonstrate the familial connections.