7 Questions With Piper Huguley, Historical Fiction Author

Piper Huguley seeks to make new inroads in the publication of historical romance by featuring African American Christian characters.  The Lawyer’s Luck and The Preacher’s Promise, the first books in her “Home to Milford College” series, are Amazon best sellers.  The Mayor’s Mission, published in Winter 2014.  The next entry in the series, The Representative’s Revolt was published in Spring 2015. She is a 2013 Golden Heart finalist for her novel, A Champion’s Heart—the fourth book in “Migrations of the Heart”. The first book in the series, A Virtuous Ruby, was the first-place winner in The Golden Rose Contest in 2013 and was a Golden Heart finalist in 2014. The first three books in the “Migrations of the Heart” series, which follows the loves and lives of African American sisters during America’s greatest internal migration in the first part of the twentieth century, was published by Samhain Publishing in 2015.  She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son. Her latest book is By Her Own Design.  https://piperhuguley.com/

1. How and when did you get hooked on history?

When I was young. I also read the Little House series and dressed up as a different historical figure every Halloween. I was also Laura Ingalls Wilder one time with a sunbonnet perched upon my afro! 

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

I made my husband tour historical places for our honeymoon. 

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

As a professor, I've personally witnessed the great decline in the historical knowledge of students over the past 30 years. I'm changing careers from being a literary professor to an author of historical fiction in order to find new and dynamic ways of imparting history to the general population of adults. 

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

Knowing the full historical truth of a wide variety of people in the United States, will help us to come to a more complete understanding of how the American experiment benefits everyone all over the world. When we only know part of our history, we are cheated of understanding the great sacrifices many others have made to help the United States become a great country. 

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

 In the United States from  Civil War to Civil Rights.  Too many people want to skip over the complexities of this period. We need to slow down and appreciate all of it. 

6. What inspired you to write historical fiction?

When I realized there were only a handful of historical fiction stories about Black women written by Black women, I knew I had to help more people understand the unheralded contributions Black women in the United States have made to this country. Historical fiction helps light the spark of interest so that more scholars of history will do the difficult work of documenting the lives of marginalized women who would not have left primary source materials behind. 

7. In your opinion, what are the hallmarks of well-written historical fiction?

Relatable characters, a clear narrative, period appropriate language and a complete author's note at the end of the book to explain how historical research was used to write the story.