Backstory: The Making of a Novel

Backstory is the true account of the writing of the historical novel, Asano no Katana (Sword of Asano) by first-time author Gene Brown. Few except the author's closest family and friends knew of the several traumatic events that nearly kept his first book from being published - the heartbreaking loss of his daughter in a terrible motorcycle accident, the alienation of his only grandchild by his former daughter-in-law, the slow, debilitating disease that took from his wife her desire and ability to continue living.Backstory is a story of familial love and support, of the kind of dedication by a man's son to that man's vision that allowed the author to overcome the effects of the mental tourniquet that these events had applied to him - so he could produce, more than twenty-one years after its beginning, his seminal historical novel. That love and support by a son for his father helped the author craft a novel that was well received by the lay his target audience. Fellow writers will find herein some consolation for the lonely effort they make in the production of their craft, and some encouragement to stay true to their own narrative, to tell their stories as only they can do.