Fact & Fiction Offers Practical Guidance for Writers Inspired by Family History

WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As more people seek to preserve family stories and cultural history through fiction, historical novelist Constance Hays Matsumoto offers an accessible roadmap in Fact & Fiction: How to Write a Novel Inspired by Family and History. This new book helps aspiring writers move beyond uncertainty and begin transforming personal history into compelling fiction.

Part personal story and part craft guide, Fact & Fiction follows Matsumoto's journey from researching her own family history to publishing the award-winning historical novel Of White Ashes. Rather than presenting herself as an expert who had all the answers, she shares what she learned along the way, offering practical strategies, honest reflections, and lessons drawn from both missteps and breakthroughs.

Beginning writers often struggle with questions of research, historical accuracy, ethical representation of real people, and fear of getting the story wrong. Matsumoto reframes uncertainty as an essential part of the creative process, showing how curiosity, disciplined research, and imagination work together to build authentic historical fiction.

Written with warmth, transparency, and a touch of humor, Fact & Fiction encourages writers to trust the process and themselves while providing a clear framework they can apply to their own projects.

Fact & Fiction: How to Write a Novel Inspired by Family and History

Publisher: White Deer Publishing, How2Conquer
Release Date: September 1, 2026
Formats: Paperback (ISBN 978-1-945783-46-3), $25.99; eBook (ISBN 978-1-945783-47-0), $9.99
Author: Constance Hays Matsumoto | 410-804-1696 | [email protected] | MatsumotoBooks.com
Available: Wherever books are sold.

About the Author

Constance Hays Matsumoto is the award-winning author of Of White Ashes (Loyola University Maryland, 2023), a historical novel exploring the Japanese American experience during World War II. A former corporate executive, she now writes and speaks about historical fiction, family history, and the creative process. She serves as President of the Women's National Book Association Mid-Atlantic Chapter and is a member of the Authors Guild, Historical Novel Society, and Eastern Shore Writers' Association. She previously served on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Writers' Association and as president of its Baltimore Chapter.

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SOURCE Constance Hays Matsumoto