Hi everyone, Tams here, I’m back for my second monthly post here at Love Bytes. This month I wanted to talk abouttresearch versus reality in books. As both an Author and a reader I see many facets to this aspect of writing and reading. As an Author, I want my readers to be able to read certain things in my stories and think, “Hey, I read about that in the paper” “I saw that on the news” “I know someone that went through that” I think it adds depth to a story when you have some basis in reality. That begs the question, how much of your work is research, how much do you pull from reality and how much is made up as you go along? I guess you could call it, the facts in the fiction. There are several characters in my books loosely based on actual people I know, things they’ve lived through or dealt with in life. Then there are things I read about, see on TV or overhear in conversations around me that I find interesting or intriguing so I’ll go research that and add elements of reality into the books as well. Still, there are things that don’t feel right when I’m trying to mold a story around my characters, or things I couldn’t possibly write about, so that is where the fiction comes in.

I’m a military brat, born and raised just outside of Fort Benning Georgia, and my first husband was military so I’ve lived that life for a good majority of mine. I used that knowledge when writing Micah in Dare to Hope. I can remember vividly being a young twenty something in college when the first Iraqi war began and it was upsetting. I had life long friends that had joined the Army that were over there and it was just insane. Thankfully, no one I knew personally died, but many of them came back… different. My first brush with PTSD. In the decades since we, America, fired the first weapon in the dessert there have been many incarnations of wars, tours of duty and soldiers coming home damaged or in body bags. Friends of mine responded to their time over there differently. One guy I knew didn’t loose his leg from the knee down like Micah, he came back with a hole in his leg and a severe case of PTSD that got him an honorable discharge. Another friend could no longer venture out in public without his wife to pull him back to the present if a car backfired or any other noises or smells hit him that reminded him of his time over there. The worst though, the one I still cry over from time to time was the most gentle young man I may have ever known who suffered from PTSD so bad he couldn’t take it anymore so he took his life. What I did with Micah was put a little bit of everyone into his character while also adding some details from stories I’ve read about or saw on the news.

In this book I also researched current therapy that is being used for treatment of PTSD. Because, let’s face it, drugs do fuck all nothing for it, in my opinion, except dull the sharp edge of pain. I stumbled on a virtual reality type of therapy. It’s very interesting and it’s being used more broadly now than a few years ago and I was so intrigued that I used this form of therapy for Micah in the book. https://goo.gl/oRVRgG

There are other characters that I put some reality into, but to stay true to people I know and love that have trusted me with their pain, I never use the entire story. This is where research comes into play. I’ll run with an idea and then research it to see other symptoms or sides of that story and then I get creative from there. I have found though, as an Author, the realistic approach to stories sells better than when I create something entirely fiction. Now, as a reader, while I love any book that is well written no matter what genre or sub-genre, I do enjoy a book where as I can relate to a character or feel their pain. Or something where the story is set someplace I’ve been and I’m reading about a landmark I’ve been too. Again, it adds depth to the story.

You can get your copy of Dare to Hope here {http://amzn.to/2lADZaz} and meet Micah for yourself. Also, Dare to Hope will release on Audiobook later this month and Joel Leslie did an amazing job bringing Tristan, Micah and Gabe to life. You should definitely considering giving it a listen.

I’d love to hear your take on this, which do you prefer as a reader… fact or fiction, a bit of both? and why. Leave a comment!

TM Smith

Author bio and links:

A military brat born and raised at Ft. Benning Georgia; TM Smith is an avid reader, reviewer and writer. A Texas transplant, she now calls DFW her home. Most days she can be found curled up with a good book, or ticking away on her next novel.

Smith is a single mom of three disturbingly outspoken and decidedly different kids, one of which is Autistic. Besides her writing, she is passionate about Autism advocacy and LGBT rights. Because, seriously people, Love is Love!

Website: www.authortmsmith.com

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