Have you ever wondered how much of that novel you’re reading is based on the author’s real-life experiences?
I consider it a compliment whenever someone asks me if an element of my stories is grounded in reality, because it means that element of the tale rang true.
The amount of reality an author includes varies wildly from writer to writer and from story to story. However, in my experience, stories usually include a mix of elements written from in-depth experience, pieces constructed from a brief or second-hand encounter, and those penned on research alone.
Since this is my first post as an official member of the Inspy Romance team, I thought comparing some elements from my stories to my real life might be a fun way to introduce myself.
Can you guess how much experience I have in these areas from my fiction? (Answers at the end of the post.)
1. The hero in my latest release, To Belong Together, owns two pit bulls. My related experience (or lack thereof) is:
A. I have two cats.
B. I’ve owned dogs, but never two at once.
C. We rescued a pit bull mix.
D. I have only had fish but did get to take home the class pet (a hamster) for a weekend in second grade.
2. In To Belong Together, the hero is a quiet introvert and the heroine is an outspoken extrovert. My related experience is:
A. My husband is an extrovert, and I’m an introvert.
B. My husband and I are both extroverts, but my best friend is an introvert.
C. I am an extrovert, and my husband is introverted.
D. My husband and I are both introverts.
3. A food truck appears throughout my current series, the Rhythms of Redemption Romances. My related experience (or lack thereof) is:
A. I’ve worked in fast food, but never a food truck.
B. My brother owns a food truck, and I’ve worked a few shifts.
C. I eat at a favorite food truck weekly during the summer months (they don’t operate over winter here in Wisconsin).
D. I’ve never eaten at a food truck, but I included it in the stories because it sounded fun.
4. In The Rhythms of Redemption Romances, each book follows a different member of a popular (fictional) rock band named Awestruck. My music-related experience (or lack thereof) is:
A. limited to elementary school music class and the church Christmas recital.
B. I played flute in school and my husband is a drummer (though not in a famous band!)
C. I sang in choir and even recorded an indie album.
D. I sang in a touring choir in college.
5. Peonies become a meaningful gift between the hero and heroine in my next novel, To Begin Again (releasing in July!). My related experience is:
A. Peonies are my favorite flower, and I planted at least 6 varieties in my yard.
B. I have bad allergies that prevent me from enjoying flowers.
C. I don’t enjoy gardening, so I buy cut flowers from the store instead of growing them.
D. I tend to kill plants, so other than a couple hardy shrubs and trees, little grows in my yard.
6. The hero in To Begin Again has a nanny to help care for his children. (For the record, she’s not the love interest.) My related experience is:
A. I’m a full-time mom who writes.
B. I worked in a daycare.
C. My siblings have kids the age of those in the book.
D. One of my longtime friends is a nanny.
7. A number of the characters in the Rhythms of Redemption Romances are famous. My related experience is:
A. Basically non-existent, though I’ve been to some concerts and done some research.
B. I have a cousin who won a reality singing competition.
C. My grandma was an extra in some films from the 1950’s.
D. One of my friends is somehow related to a Great British Baking Show winner.
Ready for the answers? Here goes:
1 – C, We have owned 3 rescues, one of which was a pit bull mix. We’ve owned 2 dogs at once twice now, but for the time being, we’re happy with one because, let’s face it, my character’s dogs are much better behaved than mine!
2 – A, And we’re both rather extreme. Ha!
3 – B, After helping out a couple of times, I have so much respect for people who make a living in food service. They stay on top of so much!
4 – B, I do wish I had some voice training, as that seems like a nice skill to have.
5 – A, I love plants! I have them all over, indoors and out. But, don’t mistake me for a perfect gardener. Some of my plants die, and I learn some things from trial and error.
6 – D, I don’t have kids, so my nanny friend help with details, as did two of my other friends who have kids the age of the children in the book.
7 – A, I read a whole stack of books, read some interviews, and watched some videos.
Do you have experience in any of these areas? Which ones? What elements from your real life do you like to see reflected in the fiction you read?
I’m actually happy for the stories I read to broaden my horizons and have very little to do with my life experiences.
That can be a much-needed escape from reality—and informative too!
Welcome to Inspy Romance Emily from a retired Midwesterner from the Mitten State. Peonies are my favorite flower, because in German they are called Pentecost Roses and I was born on Pentecost Sunday. My dad gave my mom Peonies on my birth. Unfortunately i did not inherit my mother’s green thumb. While I read to broaden my horizons and enjoy being an arm chair traveler, stories need to “feel real” when it comes to setting, live experiences of characters, etc. Best wishes.
Nice to meet you, Renate. So interesting about peonies! I didn’t know about the connection with Pentecost. They must be so meaningful to you! You’re right that it can be fun to explore through fiction, too, and I’m with you on needing a story to feel real in certain ways.
Welcome to InspyRomance! I’ve never thought about seeing my own experiences reflected in what I read. Perhaps that’s because never expect to see it depicted in fiction. Often, I’ll read to get a window into a world that’s completely different from mine.
Thanks, Milla! Reading is also a great way to explore new ideas and experiences. I’m so grateful for the variety of stories.
One reason I like historical books is they often have fact in them. I also like CCR that has some facts too it may only be the location or some aspect but I feel you can always learn,
As for your questions I got one right!
I am scared of dogs so no experience there although I can get use to some. Where I cleaned they had a Curly hair Murray retriever who was slightly neurotic but as long as it has something in its mouth it was ok. I would throw the ball and even looked after him when they were away but never walk him (wasn’t the best as would chase things).
I did however babysit a lot. Not a nanny but I did babysit several days a week for one lady while she worked. I also did other babysitting during the day and at night. So would know the Nanny side of things. Welcome to Inspy
Thanks for the welcome 🙂 I enjoy learning about history from novels too. As for dogs, I had to look up curly hair murray retrievers because I’m not famliar with them, but they’re cute! But dogs of the hunting/retrieving breeds to tend to have ENERGY that easily leads to trouble, in my experience. Ha. (We have a coonhound right now, and whew!)
That was the problem in the end he needed way more exercise than he was getting. I was spending a little time when ever I went to clean. I had to do the laundry so when I hang out the laundry I would throw the ball for 5 mins or so. I would do it a few times but he wasn’t getting much more exercise which led to major issues in the end.
Now cats I can handle, ok scrub that they handle me. I have 2 and I am their slave.
Haha, sounds like you’ve found the purrrfect fit 😉
I don’t believe I look for my own experiences in the books I choose to read, but there are times when I’ve said, “Yeah, that’s how it is.” Everyone’s life story is different, but there are common human experiences and emotions that give authenticity to fiction. I’m an introvert, we have no pets at this time, I love music but know no famous musicians, I have houseplants and outdoor flower gardens, my kids are grown up, and I’ve eaten food from a food truck only a few times.
Hi Beth! I’ve come across things I’ve experienced in books without going and looking for it as well. I appreciate when the emotion of a situation is written realistically—especially when the story offers a helpful perspective on coping. Thanks so much for joining the conversation.
Welcome to InspyRomance Emily!
Thanks so much, Laurie!
Welcome to Inspy Romance. I enjoyed you questions.
Thanks, Merrillee! I’m grateful to be here!
Welcome to the Inspy Romance family, Emily! I love reading stories that deal with real-life situations.
I have a lot of houseplants, but I’ve never been into gardening. However, my daughter has given me 4 rose bushes within the year, so I guess I could say I have a rose garden. I wasn’t a nanny but I did babysit a few children many years ago. I’m more of an introvert, and we’ve owned a Papillion, 4 hamsters, 2 guinea pigs, and fish over the years.
Houseplants for the win! Although, I will say that for me, outdoor plants are easier to keep alive (I move my houseplants outside when the danger of frost is past), but some outdoor varieties do get tricky. I hope your new roses do well! And I’m with you on loving fiction that deals with real life 🙂
Welcome to Inspy! I’m smack dab in the middle of being introvert/extrovert. I think I tend to be more of an introvert, though. Since Covid, I find I get peopled out a lock quicker now! I really don’t look for what an author may have been through themselves in books, I just like for the whole thing to ring true, and usually (there have been very few exceptions!) they do. I did read a manuscript once that I knew the author had done zero research on, as the book was taking place during a hurricane and the author had no clue what she talking about! I’m a native Floridian, still live on the Space Coast, and have been through numerous hurricanes, so I knew the author didn’t have a clue and didn’t even both to do a lick of research.
If I wrote a book about a hurricane, I can only imagine the inaccuracies I’d write if I didn’t research. Same for earthquakes. I guess there’s a reason I set my books in my home state, although they get A LOT more snow up there (multiple feet more, sometimes in one storm), so I’ve listened to some stories of people who’ve lived up there to try to get an idea of how they cope. I’m agree about hoping a book will ring true. That’s so important!
Welcome to Inspy Romance! It’s great to have you here.
Thanks so much for adding me to the team 🙂
Hello Emily and welcome. I love all flowers and I have only had 1 dog at a time, I was a stay at home mom and I did take care of 2 of my grandchildren when they were very young and both our daughter and son in law worked the night shift at the hospital both being RN’s, they both did change to the day shift when our 2 grandchildren started school. I just love to read good books of different kinds. I do wonder though if some of the books that I read are some experiences the author went through. I enjoyed reading your post. Have a great day and a great week and stay safe.
Hi Alicia, Sounds like we have some things in common when it comes to flowers and loving good books! 🙂 I’m sure your daughter and her family appreciated your help. Being an RN certainly sounds like a demanding job, and from what I’ve heard the hours can really vary. I hope you have a great week too!
some interesting info
Welcome Inspy Romance Emily! So happy to “meet” you & get to know you more through this blog. 🙂
1. We’ve had one cat & one dog at a time throughout our marriage…all rescues. Although we don’t have pets anymore & probably won’t get any. It’s too hard when you have to put them down within about a year of each other. 🙁
2. I’m more of an introvert whereas my husband is more extroverted…though not to an extreme. He’s helped me “come out of my shell” over the years and I’ve helped create a more of a “homebody” in him. We are a nice balance in a couple I think!
3. My husband and I LOVE to try new food trucks! There are several where we live and new ones seem to pop up every week 🙂 Though, we don’t eat at them often…which is probably much more friendly to our waists, lol!
4. Music…hmmmm, well we only listen to Christian on our local Klove station. But, my dad was a DJ when I was a teen in the 80’s and my love of music probably was fostered through that time in my life. My husband was more of a country western fan.
5. I like a good mix of wildflowers! My husband will bring me a bouquet every once in a while & on our anniversary it’s usually long stem roses…white is my favorite color.
6. What’s a nanny? LOL…I wished at times I would have had a nanny when my kids were little. And a cook, housekeeper, taxi driver…….you get the picture 😀
7. I’ve never met a famous person. The only “celebrities” I’ve ever met were two authors I know from reading their books. Those are the only kind I’d want to meet 🙂
What a fun post today! I often do wonder how much “real life” an author puts into their stories. It’s always fun to guess for me as a reader!
Hi Trixi! I totally get what you mean about #1 and pets. We’ve never lost two in one year, but one in one year is way more than I’d wish on anyone. And so interesting about your dad being a DJ! As for #7, I am pretty certain that I’d be fairly awkward with most celebrities, but I do enjoy talking to authors. I interviewed Francine Rivers once for a job, and though I was nervous, that was a definite highlight for me!
I don’t think everything is real when they say it’s a true story only because they have to make it sounds more exciting then it could be in real life
That’s a tough one. There have been some scandals in the truth coming out about supposedly true stories, haven’t there? I’m glad I write fiction so I can make things up freely!
I like them either way but both true or not I love the stories.
A good story is a good story either way, right? 🙂
We have two birds lol – they walk around the house and think that they own it.
They sound like fun housemates! I’ve never had a bird, but I did try to talk some friends into getting a parrot recently. I don’t think they took the bait. Ha!
Hi! Welcome to the blog! I’m an introvert who played the recorder as a kid up until a couple of years ago (the pandemic made me play less, but I guess it’s time to pick it up again).
We have never had pit bulls. We have had a couple dogs at once, but they were outdoors. We now have three cats. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.