Writing Accurate Historical Fiction by Ray Allen Smith

Mark your calendar! On Sunday, January 14, 2024, at 2:30 p.m., Ray Allen Smith, author of historical novels based in Florida, will give a talk on how to write accurate historical fiction.

Smith molds his words into poetry and short stories. According to him, he came to Florida in the early 1970s to sample fishing and boating. His years in Miami were studded with motoring and sailing throughout the Keys and Bahamas. A move to Leesburg put him back in the woods and ponds. Still an outdoorsman, he tempers the Florida sun with stints at the computer.

His books include So It’s Been Told: Tales From The Riverside (2015) and Oklawaha Run (2018).

One reviewer (Indiana reader) said of Oklawaha Run, “I couldn’t put it down! If you like historical Western thrillers (good ones like Olmstead’s Savage Country) and/or post-civil war Southern drama (such as Cold Mountain) this book is for you. It combines those two genres with the interesting twist of locating the story in Florida (a place the author obviously knows intimately.) Most people don’t associate post-civil war south with Florida–but it is. Most don’t associate Florida with logging or cattle drives–but they were there. And it is written in beautiful poetic language with a superbly fast-paced plot. What a delightful combination of characteristics! I highly recommend it.”