Brenda and I spent the day yesterday at the North Georgia Book Fair on the campus of the University of North Georgia (UNG). I left that campus (North Georgia College (NGC) then) more than 30 years ago to take on a position at Eastern Kentucky University that allowed me to not only teach but also to do unlimited research. Brenda and I could hardly recognize the former NGC campus. In addition to selling some books, I was a panelist on a panel about researching and writing history for fiction and nonfiction works, where I focused on how historical fiction and creative nonfiction writers can go beyond speculation as to what might have happened to using logical inference, where they write about what most likely happened. The most valuable part of the book fair was the networking. I received a future invitation to speak to another university’s MFA program about researching and writing history. Additionally, I had a productive conversation with someone who expressed a strong interest in my investigative memoir, particularly regarding post-book publishing activities that many authors aspire to. Furthermore, I got a chance to talk to other writers interested in reseaarching and writing about history.
James B. Wells 