Creating Back to 1776

I’ve been asked a few times what made me want to write a book, and how I came up with the idea for my story, so I thought I would share it here for all those who are curious.

I have been fascinated with American history for as long as I can remember. I remember sitting in a high school history class with a teacher that was quite boring and monotone. All the other kids hated that class but I remember loving it. It wasn’t because I loved the teacher; I remember being captivated by the stories of the men and women in our history. I came to learn for myself that our history is filled with men and women truly unlike any other found throughout history. Not only that, but the existence of divine intervention and miracles are hard to deny when you learn the stories of our coming-to-be.

I went on to study American history in college, though I never graduated because I decided to start a family and stay home with my children instead. My love for history has only increased through the years as I have had the desire to teach my children about our history and show them why it is so important that we come to know and love these stories.

It has probably been close to 10 years now that I first had the idea to write a children’s book. I had a general idea of what I wanted it to be about, but it never went past that. I had pretty much told myself that I would never be able to actually write a book, seeing as how English had always been my worst subject (that, along with P.E. 😜). So the idea stayed in my head for years, with me trying and failing several times to actually make it work.

If there is one thing I have learned throughout the years, it’s that timing is everything. And when the timing is right, God will create a way for things to happen.

Earlier this year (2021), I created a nonprofit organization called Back to 1776. After seeing the direction our country was headed over the last year and a half I knew that I couldn’t sit back and keep my mouth shut. I knew the importance of teaching the rising generation true American history. As cliche as it sounds, our children are the future, and the fate of our country rests on them. Teach them to be proud of our history and our country will continue to get better. Teach them to be ashamed of our founding and our freedoms will slowly disappear.

It was with the creation of Back to 1776 that things started to fall into place for me to write my book. I knew that this was my time to write a story that children could read and enjoy; a story that taught them about America’s founding and the men that made it possible. As I began writing, the words and the story were placed into my mind and I knew without a doubt that they had been inspired. The story came together quickly, the characters and settings being pulled from my childhood.

My hope with this book is that parents will read this to their children and with their children. I hope that this book creates a spark in those children and leads them to read and discover more about America’s history. I hope that they grow to know that America isn’t perfect, but it’s the closest we as a people have ever gotten to that.