What is Fantastical History & Historical Fantasy?

Fantastical History tells the story of historical events with elements of the miraculous and the unseen. Consider the stories from the book of Acts and the heroes of the early church. Our universe is enchanted, and these stories remember that reality. In my debut action-adventure, In the Light of Abba Maximus, miracles are a natural part of the story.

Historical Fantasy is inspired by history but reimagined - as J.R.R. Tolkien calls it - in the realm of Faerie. For example, in 1755 AD the villagers of Nova Scotia were deported from their homes to an unknown land in Louisiana. Imagine if Longfellow’s tragedy of Evangeline was transformed with a eucatastrophe and was set in a fairyland of south Louisiana, complete with a witch and her army of wasps, a talking catfish, and a pair of fishermen inspired by Boudreaux and Thibodaux. That’s my story The Moon Grabber.