What does it take to write a happy ending? Better yet, what does it take to live a happy ending? A novel about the Great Depression might seem like a strange place to look for happy endings, but historical fiction author Kristina McMorris has a few tricks up her sleeves to make sure her characters get the endings they deserve.

In this episode of Character Test, I talk with a bestselling historical fiction author about how she creates characters we can connect with in any time period.

Kristina McMorris is the bestselling author of Sold on a Monday. Years ago, she came across an old photograph of two children holding a sign that reads, “2 Children for Sale.” That image haunted her, and so she turned it into a novel. And that novel has resonated with readers: Sold on a Monday spent twenty weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list.

It’s a rough, even tragic, start to a story. But Kristina believes in happy endings, if her characters are willing to put in the work it takes to get there. And in our conversation, she shares the principles she uses to make sure those happy endings are satisfying for characters and readers alike.

Listen to our conversation on the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Android, Spotify, Stitcher, SimpleCast, or here below:

There’s a lot of research, world building, and meticulous detail that goes into writing historical fiction. Even so, Kristina believes it can connect us with people like us facing the same problems we face today. In this episode, we talk about how Kristina writes bestselling fiction, including:

• Why Kristina calls historical fiction “sugar-coated Advil”—and why she loves to write it.
• Why the things that disturb her are also the things that inspire her.
• The two principles she uses to write interesting characters.
• How she learned that no one has any idea what they’re doing—and why she found that freeing.
• What happened when she wrote her historical fiction novel—and then met the family who inspired it.

You can find Kristina on her website and get Sold on a Monday here.