Wednesday, January 15, 2025
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The Intersection of Personal History and Historical Fiction: A Chat With Sharon Short

Sometimes, our own personal family history where elements of it make for the perfect story—but what do you do if the history itself works best in a totally different era, or a dog makes more sense to be a cat, or winter works better than summer when it really happens? This is where personal history and historical fiction collide.

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In the final episode of “Writer’s Digest Presents,” editor-in-chief Amy Jones and content editor Michael Woodson chat with author Sharon Short about her new novel, Trouble Island, how she fictionalizes real events, her love of weather in fiction, and more.

About Sharon Short

Sharon Short

Sharon Short is the author of 16 published books. She is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest, for which she writes the column, “Level Up Your Writing (Life)” and teaches for Writer’s Digest University. She is a frequent, in-demand speaker at libraries, book clubs, and writing groups.

Under the pen name Jess Montgomery, she is also the author of the award-winning Kinship Historical Mysteries set in 1920s Appalachia and inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff.

She is a three-time recipient of the Individual Excellence Award in Literary Arts from Ohio Arts Council, a two-time recipient of the Montgomery County (Ohio) Arts & Cultural District Individual Artist Fellowship, and has been a John E. Nance Writer in Residence at Thurber House (Columbus, Ohio).

Sharon attended Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio), where she earned a B.A. in English with Honors and a French minor, and Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio), where she earned an M.A. in English with a specialization in Technical Communication.

Sharon lives in southern Ohio with her husband and their three spoiled cats. She and her husband are also the proud parents of two adult daughters. In her spare time, Sharon enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, swimming, watching good TV and films, and hiking.

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