Bell Cow StoryLab is our monthly author panel series, hosted by authors Rob Jung and Michael David MacBride. Each episode brings multiple writers into one craft-focused conversation, spotlighting how books actually get built. Scene by scene, choice by choice.
In When History Meets Story: Ethics in Historical and Real-Life Fiction, we tackle the question writers do not get to dodge: if you are mining real history or real lives for fiction, where is the line, and who gets to draw it? We talk about accuracy versus momentum, consent and permission, composites, whose history gets told (and how), and the self-checks that help you write toward illumination instead of exploitation.
We also dig into craft and ethics questions like:
What must be accurate, and what can be bent for narrative reasons?
What do you owe the reader in transparency: an author’s note, a bibliography, disclaimers, or nothing at all?
If forced to choose, do you prioritize factual truth or emotional truth, and how do you keep that from becoming an excuse?
Today’s panelists (bios + links)
✅ Terri Karsten: Award-winning historical fiction author whose work brings the past to life with vivid detail and lived-in stakes.
https://terrikarsten.com/
✅ JJ Harrigan: Historical thriller author whose fiction draws on his background as a Cold War soldier, U.S. Foreign Service Officer, and political science professor.
https://jjharrigan.com/
✅ Gary R. Bush: Historian by training who writes fiction for adults, young adults, and children, with a long-running love of history on the page.
https://authors.tertulia.com/garyrbush-draftfgg4f1
✅ Betty Brandt Passick: Independent author whose historical crime fiction blends research, character, and moral pressure from the past.
https://bettybrandtpassick.com/
Connect with the hosts
✅ Rob Jung: https://robjungwriter.com/
✅ Michael David MacBride: https://www.michaelmacbride.com/
🐮Everything Bell Cow: https://www.bellcowproductions.com/
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