Author Elizabeth Pye’s historical fiction novels include characters with a past life regression. Pye shares in an interview how she became interested in writing about historical France. Elizabeth gives her readers insight as to her own reason for writing historical fiction novels.

Historical Fiction Author, Elizabeth Pye

Historical fiction author, Elizabeth Pye, has written three novels in The French Connection historical series. Silk or Sugar was published first by Pye, a member of California Writers Club, High Desert branch.

Elizabeth Pye’s love for historical fiction stems from her love of history and from growing up in historic, colonial Virginia. She said, “When I would go into Fredericksburg, I would pass James Monroe’s law office, the old apothecary shop and many interesting places.”

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Watch the interview below, or continue reading to learn how Elizabeth incorporated a past life regression into historical fiction.

 

‘When I was in high school, I first became interested in writing. It wasn’t fiction but was journalism, and I was editor of the school paper. Then as I started working, I edited newsletters.

‘When I wrote anything, it was more like short stories or articles about true things rather than fiction. Fiction came much later in life.”

Past Life Regression and Historical Fiction

Author Elizabeth Pye explained about a past life regression that prompted her to write historical fiction. She said, “It seemed I actually went somewhere and saw visions. Whether visions or imaginations, the experience felt like watching a movie.”

The movie that flashed before Elizabeth was about a woman named Marie in the 1700s in France.

‘My husband and I talked about the experience, and he said, “Well, why don’t you write a novel about it?” I thought, Boy, he always tries to push me beyond my limit.

‘I said to myself (I don’t know if I said it out loud to him), “No, I don’t write novels.” But he didn’t let me forget it.”

Writing About the Historical Period of France

I became very interested in writing about the historical period of France and read memoirs and books. In addition, I tried to validate some things I had seen in the regression.

Then I took a course at Gotham Writing School to write romance novels. It’s in New York City, and I took the online course. I met some really interesting people there and started writing Return to Chateau Fleury. That is my second novel in The French Connection series.

Silk or Sugar, a Historical Fiction Novel Based on Past Life Regression

The past life regression became the main thrust of Silk or Sugar. Claire, the heroine, also experiences flashbacks to a previous life. She eventually has past life regressions and tries to get to the bottom of what’s going on in her life.

Now she is a descendant of Marie de Fleury. She has family heirlooms, a locket, and a diary. So that factors into the Return to Chateau de Fleury as well.

Writing Historical Fiction Helps Authors to Learn About Themselves

Elizabeth feels that with her fascination of France and researching the life that people had there, she learned more about herself. She said, “It was like reading different memoirs that were written by various people that lived there at that time.”

‘Basically, I didn’t start out thinking I was going to write historical novels nor planned to. But eventually, I did and enjoyed writing the historical fiction very much.”

Return to Chateau Fleury, a Historical Fiction Novel About Two Lifetimes

A complex novel to write, Return to Chateau Fleury is about two lifetimes. It covers a current lifetime and one in the 1700s, about Marie’s life, basically.

I really didn’t feel I had the skills to put the book together properly, so I set it aside and wrote Silk or Sugar first. It’s a follow-up novel on Marie’s daughter who was caught in the horrors of the French Revolution.

Author Elizabeth Pye’s Reason for Writing French Historical Fiction

Although I grew up in Virginia around American historical places and my mother loved Colonial furniture, I always loved things French. I wanted to learn to speak French, and there were no French people in my community at all. I was born in a brick plantation house, and I miss the architecture of back east.

My family and I moved from Virginia when I was young, however. I don’t remember the house much but visited and saw the room I was born in on the third floor.

Louis XV style always appealed to me, another reason that I wanted to write French stories. I loved doing the research on each of the specific periods such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine. Doing research on their lives interested me because I didn’t know anything about them, and I learned a lot.

Tips on Writing Historical Fiction

Read more tips on writing historical fiction by checking out these three blog posts below:

• Research Tips on Writing Historical Fiction
• Writing Inspiring Historical Fiction
• Writing Novels: How to Blend Fact and Fiction

No matter the type of experiences you have, the things that inspire you as an author will make your novels unique.

Author Pye incorporated a type of time travel, i.e., past life regressions, into her novels. However, she is not suggesting or recommending it to anyone. On the other hand, she encourages writers to use their own experiences, inspiration, and research.