Author Interview: Lisa T. Bergren + Giveaway! (INT)

Please Welcome Lisa T. Bergren!

You're probably familiar with Lisa T. Bergren through my (obsessive) fangirling over her River of Time series, but what you may not know is that this series is by no means Lisa's first foray into writing. Check out her links below to see all of the books she's written and read on below to hear about what inspires her to write.

 There are NO spoilers here!

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Inspiration from the Road & Research
By Lisa T. Bergren

I’m often asked by people how much my research reading and trips influence my books. The answer is a lot.

A. Lot.

Siena il Campo from above. Yikes!

Way back yonder when I wrote my first historical, The Captain’s Bride, the hubs and I went out to Maine for a long weekend—and my very first research trip. In a tiny village, reconstructed to be historically accurate for my 1880s era (hello, Answer to Prayer!), on the second floor of a sea captain’s home, I met a docent. This guy was a volunteer, but he was passionate about the village, about history, about sailing. And he told me the true story of a captain’s wife who sailed with her husband, and when he became ill, actually took the helm and led the crew around the Horn. That true story became the basis of my heroine, and I even used those scenes in the book (giving credit where credit was due, of course).

I read about how a fire can turn and overtake experienced firefighters in seconds. How it roars as it comes through, like a dragon. I used that as the basis of Firestorm, in which a fire scientist has to battle her fears after such a traumatic experience, in order to embrace love.

My sister-in-law, a counselor, told me how people were using “Christmas rooms” to treat Alzheimer’s patients, because memories of the holidays are often something even the worst Alz patient clings to. They might not be able to communicate any longer, but they can sing whole carols from memory. Combined with a weekend trip to New Mexico for some setting/sensory details, I had the genesis of Christmas Every Morning (just released as Mercy Come Morning).

Castello that started the wheels turning- Chianti, Tuscany

Italy captured my heart in 2006, when we first went with friends, and has pretty much kept my mind whirling ever since. The sheer depth of its history could spin a thousand stories. But it was in visiting a small castle atop a hill in Tuscany, that I began to dream of medieval lords and their ladies. From where we stood, we could see other fortified castellos, and in the city, the remains of towers. At one point, we climbed to the crumbled remains of a castle, long gone. My mind was rolling, then. What would it be like to live in a time when you had to defend what was yours on an active basis? Withdraw behind walls? Be ready to fight for what you believed was right?

From there I dived headlong into months of research, wanting to absorb all I could about medieval life. I learned about disease and treatments, religion pre-Reformation, guilds and political power. Much of what I learned went into six books—The Gifted Series (The Begotten, The Betrayed, The Blessed) and River of Time (Waterfall, Cascade, Torrent, and soon, Tributary).

Book ideas are everywhere. In songs. In conversations. In interviews. In articles. But in my research I often find the detail, the texture, the fabric of a believable world take form. Add characters with something to learn, a goal to obtain, a crisis to resolve, mix, and you probably have a solid story.

Lisa and her family in Italy

Thank you so much for stopping by, Lisa!


Wow, that story about the captain's wife sounds fantastic! I love when fact is as interesting as fiction. 

Oh, and did you catch that "and soon, Tributary"??? Yay! Bring on more River of Time!

What about you, do you like when authors draw upon real experiences, stories, and locations? If you write, do you use this approach when formulating your own novels?

Lisa is generously providing a copy of your choice from the first three books in the River of Time series for giveaway!

Click here to enter!

Info for the giveaway:

• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL--if US winner, the book will be signed
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• Your address is not required, but including it will help with sending the book out to you sooner
• I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on December 7th

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