I write historical fiction because I love history. If an event or period intrigues me, I research the facts, events, and the historic persons. I enter that period with the fictional characters and live with them as they interact with the historic people doing their real things in the real period. The fictional characters enliven the real story with conflict, emotions, and actions that we cannot often assign to historic persons—the feelings and thoughts of historic people are seldom open to our scrutiny.

Then there is personal history. I wondered about the people, times, and events that made me who I am. I wanted to know myself better so I remembered my past and studied my genealogy and the history of the area and the state. I asked older people to help me remember things faint in my memory. Then I wrote my memoirs: I Must Remember This.

Everyone knows more about his or her life and family than anyone else and is in the best position to find the rest. If we don’t record our personal histories, they will soon be lost forever. We should search them out and write it down because "A people without history is like the wind on buffalo grass." (A gem of wisdom from the Sioux)

Perhaps I Must Remember This will give others the motivation to search for their genealogies and write their memoirs. I hope so and I hope they like it and my historical novels.