When Family History Inspires

Many writers draw on their family history, or indeed history in general, when putting pen to paper. For anyone involved in researching their family tree, it can be quite frustrating trying to pin together their ancestors’ lives. For many years, I dug around in Irish and UK records, trying to hunt down and piece together the  lives and times of various characters from the past. It was a challenging business, as many Irish records were destroyed in the War of Independence, leaving very few sources. I was often lucky. Through various contacts I made, some progress was achieved or I came across a clue buried deep in a library or an on-line source.

So ironically, the inspiration for the short story, In Three-Quarter Time, didn’t actually come from my research at all. An off the cuff remark by my uncle, sparked it all. ‘Did you know,’ he said, ‘your grandfather was originally dating your great-aunt and when she died he hooked up with your granny.’  My writer’s nose began to twitch!

Unfortunately, we have no other details but from my own research I did know some of circumstances of my grandparents’ lives. For instance, I knew my grandfather had gone to America for a few years during which time his girlfriend,  my great-aunt, died of TB. The rest, as they say, is ‘history’!

The story is 99% fiction but the inspiration is very much from my family history.

In Three-Quarter Time is available as a FREE download this weekend only (to celebrate St. Patrick’s Festival). I am delighted to say that it has reached the Number 1 spot in its category on Amazon.