Straight from the Source: V. T. Bidania on Writing Historical Fiction

How did you conduct your research? What sources did you use?

I first interviewed family members including my sister and brother, who are central characters in the story, and my parents. I asked them to describe our house, our peach trees, our town and the city, the days leading up to our escape, life in the refugee camps, etc.. I also interviewed relatives and family friends and asked about their experiences and memories of Laos. I read reports and articles about the Vietnam War and the Secret War (the war that was taking place in Laos, which was a covert operation being run by the American CIA). I looked up websites of Hmong nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and museums that cover this time in history and I watched videos and documentaries about Hmong history and the timeline of the war. I read from books by journalists and military workers who worked in Laos at this time. Last of all, I took a trip to Laos in 2024—my first time back since I left as a baby—and included research from the trip in the book as well. 

What are some obstacles writing historical fiction brings?

My book, A Year Without Home, takes place right after the Vietnam War and Secret War ended, and I wanted to be sure any details and references I included about it would be accurate. But most of the research I found was very general or complicated. It was definitely a challenge parsing and condensing the little bits of information I did find. Additionally, there really isn’t a lot of information readily available about the Secret War and in Laos, a communist and developing country, public records about the war aren’t accessible to the public nor would they be in English if they were. To me, the best sources of information are the personal accounts of the people who lived through that time. Unfortunately, many of them have passed or can no longer remember, so I did the best with what I had and for the rest, I had to use my imagination.

What’s your favorite thing about writing historical fiction?

I love that in historical fiction, I can take a piece of history and write about it in the form of a story. I can transport myself (or the reader) back in time to experience an event that actually took place. In a way, it feels almost magical knowing these words on a page are moments that happened once before.

What’s one of the most interesting things you learned while researching?

For most of my life, I had only a vague idea of exactly what happened to my family before we came to the US. I had very little knowledge of what life in Laos was like for Hmong people and my family other than the fuzzy memories I made up in my head that were based on stories I heard others tell throughout my childhood. All the research that went into writing this book, specifically the personal interviews with family and relatives, taught me so much and I feel as if I relived that time in history. Maybe I wouldn’t call it interesting, but the experience of research and writing this book felt transformative for me. Working on the book made me incredibly proud of how we persevered, but it made me deeply, profoundly sad too.

Any other topic you’d like to write about? Add it in!

It’s no secret we’ve been going through some very dark times. As I thought about my book, I told myself it represented the love one feels for home and the heartbreak that comes with losing the home you treasure and cherish so much. But I recently attended a book club of fourth graders and one of them said something that really struck me. She said reading A YEAR WITHOUT HOME made her sad, but it made her want to be strong and have hope just like the character. She said if the character could be strong and have hope, then so can we (the people of Minnesota and the entire country). So I’d like to say that despite being about loss and including sad moments, my book can be a symbol of hope and strength too.

V.T. Bidania is the author of A YEAR WITHOUT HOME (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Random House), a middle grade novel in verse that tells the story of her family’s escape from Laos after the Vietnam War. It was named a Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild and has received starred reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. She also writes the ASTRID AND APOLLO and EXTRAORDINARY ELIANA chapter books (Capstone), the first children’s book series to feature Hmong American characters. They’ve been included in the Chicago Public Library’s List of Best Fiction for Younger Readers and were selected as an Amazon Editors’ Pick (Best Books for Ages 6-8). She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the New School and is a McKnight Writing Fellow.