Photo by Harry Taylor

During college Taylor Brown regularly traveled the same path of Union Major Gen. William T. Sherman’s momentous 1864 March to the Sea. In his just published debut novel, Fallen Land (LJ 10/15/15), he draws from the vivid landscape of the past to capture the harsh realities of the post–Civil War South. Here Brown discusses the writing process and the particulars of creating historical fiction. You have the distinction of writing prize-winning short stories. What made you decide to try long-form fiction? In short fiction every word counts, so I had to learn to loosen up a bit and not compress the story. The novel gives the writer more freedom to take chances. In fact, much of the backstory of Fallen Land wasn’t in the first draft but was added later. What attracted you to the post–Civil War era? This historical period chose me. I grew up on the Georgia coast, and while attending the University of Georgia, I drove between Athens and Atlanta—the very path of Sherman’s march. It was only later that I learned of the fractured loyalties, partisan fighting, [and] blurred lines of the times. Also, the novel’s first chapter is connected to a piece in [my short story collection], In a Season of Blood and Gold. I just couldn’t let go of the characters. Is your story based on true events and real people? I gave myself the freedom to create characters that were mine, although Callum and Ava exist in a world that is historically authentic. The landmarks are real, the substrata are accurate, but I wanted the story to be theirs. An omniscient voice constantly describing dates and places would be too intrusive. What is the appeal to modern readers of a Civil War novel? My story is more about the two people, Callum and Ava, moving through chaos to achieve their goal of [reaching] Atlanta and finally the coast. It could have taken place anytime because theirs is a human story of victims and predators. The reader is receptive to that [situation], no matter the political framework or agenda. What inspired your main protagonists, and why did you make Reiver the horse such a strong character as well? I drew on a bit of my own experience in my younger days living in a drafty old house in Asheville, NC, full of mice and vermin, and it was probably haunted, too. My family struggled, depended on one another, were trying to reach the coast, just like Callum and Ava. We even had a dog, a noble animal like Reiver, on whom we relied. What is your writing process? I am very regimented. I go to the same café, at the same time, sit at the same table. This discipline is part of my process. Even though I used a short story I’d already written as the opening chapter to the novel, I still didn’t know where the plot was going. I had no outline, only an idea that Callum and Ava would head for Atlanta and safety. Some revisions were not on a grand scale, just smoothing out transitions and shifts among scenes. I rewrote the ending; the original was more abrupt and vague. What advice would you give to inexperienced writers interested in historical fiction? How do you turn fact into fiction? Basing fiction on true events scares people who think they have to do too much research. As a writer, I don’t find it intimidating; I can find such amazing nuggets and images. For example, I used the old woman with a goose on a leash, which was an image I found in one of the diaries kept by a journalist embedded in Sherman’s march, but I used it in an entirely different context. We don’t have to stick to facts in exploring those images. Do you spend much time on the social media aspect of your career? I participate on social media because it’s part of the world in which we live, and I believe it is an amazing way to connect with readers. I manage everything myself, which allows me to plug in to the outside world. Which authors do you turn to for inspiration or just for a good read? My choices are evolving, but I always come back to William Faulkner, James Salter, Flannery O’Connor, Virginia Woolf, or Cormac McCarthy. What do you have planned for your next book? The manuscript is actually finished but not yet due for publication. It’s about two brothers who go on a paddling trip on a Georgia river to dispose of their father’s ashes. I’ve used much of the history of that area from conquistadores to colonial times, even a rumored sea monster.—Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Palisade, CO