Why We Love Fiction, and How it Touches our Lives by Gen LaGreca

Are there great novels, short stories, plays, and feature films that thrilled you, shocked you, gave you moments of nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat suspense, or steamy, passionate love scenes? Are there works of fiction that got you thinking about important issues? Did you ever wonder about the power of fiction to inform and inspire us?

News stories, text books, essays, articles, white papers, and nonfiction books give us a straight-forward account of factual issues, whereas works of fiction tell us a story. Fiction comes from the imagination filled with adventure, excitement, romance, intrigue, suspense, and the full gamut of emotions.

Nonfiction or Fiction? Which do you remember more?

The difference between nonfiction and fiction is like the difference between reading a flight manual and actually being in the cockpit of a plane and going for a ride.

For example, let's take an historical event: Sherman's March and the burning of Atlanta during the Civil War. How do we remember it? Through a textbook account of military strategies, generals, battles, and timelines? Or do we remember Sherman's March far more vividly from a scene in the novel and film Gone With the Wind? We’re in the middle of Sherman’s seige. Atlanta is wildly ablaze and in utter chaos. Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler are in a teetering wagon with a half-dead horse driving it. A mother and her just-born child are in the back of the wagon, with the mother trying to shield the infant from falling debris from the fires all around them. The characters are desperately trying to escape Atlanta, but the Confederate army is in full retreat coming at them, slowing them down—and an ammunition depot is about to explode.

You can see how fiction makes that historical event come to life in a haunting, shocking way.

Fiction depicts great struggles for freedom and independence.

The ancient myth of Prometheus relates how he stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. This empowered humans so that they were no longer subservient to the deities who ruled them. The gods were so infuriated by losing their power over mankind that they chained Prometheus to a rock and cruelly punished him for eternity. The quest of humans to break free from a ruling class echoes through time and is a great theme for works of fiction.

Did you know that storytelling played a role in the American Revolution? The popular 18th century play "Cato: A Tragedy" dramatized the struggle of a political leader of Ancient Rome, Cato, who fought for republicanism against Julius Caesar's tyranny. This play was so important to George Washington that he defied a Congressional order banning the performance of plays during wartime and had the work performed to inspire his troops after their harsh winter at Valley Forge. Washington didn’t give his troops a lecture or a pep talk to boost their spirits. Instead, he used the sweeping drama of a play.

In the prelude to the American Civil War, the most influential abolitionist writing was a novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was this book—a work of fiction—that became an international bestseller and galvanized the North against the evils of slavery.

Fiction has also shown us the face of evil in grim detail. The term Big Brother, which originated from George Orwell’s novel 1984, has become the enduring worldwide symbol of tyranny. We still use this term today, over 70 years since the novel’s original publication in 1949.

Novels have contained moving messages about freedom. Ayn Rand’s epic philosophical novel, Atlas Shrugged, shows us the role of the individual’s free, creative mind and productive activities as the generator of human progress. This novel has inspired millions to embrace the glory of freedom.

Stories that dramatize important ideas have always inspired me in my writing.

With no pretensions to the above works intended, I strive in my novels to create riveting plots interwoven with thought-provoking themes. My new novel, Just the Truth, is a political thriller that portrays the threats to a free press in an era of growing government power and the fearless spirit of one journalist who risks her career, her reputation—and ultimately her life— to uncover a plot that just might subvert free elections in America. This courageous newswoman battles a powerful bureaucracy to keep journalism, a free press—and truth—alive. It’s an entertaining novel that brings to life the importance of a responsible and independent press, a limited and accountable government, and the rule of law. It’s not only for those who care about modern threats to our country's founding principles, but for anyone looking for an absorbing political thriller and murder mystery.

I love to write fiction that offers a full plate of plot action served with a generous pour of intoxicating ideas. Are you ready for a sizzling read? I’m inviting you to my table.

Celebrating Women's Independence by Gen LaGreca

The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which insured women's right to vote throughout our country. So let’s take a moment to celebrate women’s achievements and independence.

The heart of a woman’s independence lies in the right to think for herself. This year’s anniversary is a perfect time to reaffirm every woman's right to think, speak, and act according to her own best judgment and to hold true to her convictions, even if that places her outside of the mainstream. (While we honor women on this anniversary, of course the great virtue of independent thinking should be encouraged and celebrated in men, too.)

In a proud tradition that continues to this day, woman have gone against the tide for noble causes and played an active role in fighting injustice throughout our nation's history. For example, women were leaders in the abolitionist movement, enduring vicious denunciations and even physical violence when they spoke out for what they believed. In the period leading up to the Civil War, it was a novel written by one of them—Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe—that became an international bestseller and provided the most powerful arguments against slavery. Legend has it that Abraham Lincoln referred to Harriet Beecher Stowe as “the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” Whether or not we like the “little woman" tag, and whether or not the anecdote is actually true, no one can deny the tremendous influence of one impassioned woman who dramatically exposed an unspeakable injustice and had a profound influence on righting it.

Fast-forward to women writers and journalists today. When public polling shows the nation's opinion of the media is at an all-time low, there are notable newswomen who courageously hold to the highest standards and integrity. For example, investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson, whose motto is “Untouchable subjects. Fearless, nonpartisan reporting,” has written two books containing shocking behind-the-scenes exposés of political corruption at the highest levels of government. Lara Logan, a veteran foreign correspondent who proudly declares, “Nobody owns me,” suffered a brutal attack in a war zone that nearly killed her. Her response was: "I may have been a victim that night, but I am not a victim for the rest of my life." In our modern age, we have another towering woman writer, one who has offered profound ideas to the general public through the enchantment of fiction: Ayn Rand. This novelist and philosopher was a courageous, impassioned fighter for the freedom and sovereignty of the individual.

My new novel, Just the Truth, celebrates the storied tradition of women leaders and journalists in their fight for the truth. The heroine of the novel, newswoman Laura Taninger, risks her career, her reputation, and even her life to uncover a secret plan implicating powerful public officials in a scheme that just might manipulate an upcoming presidential election. Laura faces the crushing retaliation of her political foes as they pull out all the stops to silence her, but her resolve is unwavering. She’s an inspiration to all independent women as we celebrate our special year, our glorious past, and our boundless future.

Let’s keep making ourselves proud!