How to incorporate history into fiction writing

​If an historical event (s) occurred during the period in your novel, you can bend that piece of history to fit into your plot. But keep in mind, only if it moves your story forward and is an essential to the plotline.
 
For example, in my second book Between Heaven and Saturn I used Vlad Țepeș Dracula’s alliance with the Hungarian King Mátyás Corvinus to build a supernatural storyline: The king is obsessed with immortality, discovers Felipe is not Dracula but actually a vampire, traps him in hopes of drinking his blood, during a immortality ritual.
 
I also took actual war battles between Vlad Țepeș Dracula’s army, the Sultan Mehmed and the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and added a supernatural twist—Felipe uses his vampiric powers to win the battles.
 
The Spanish Inquisition is another example of how I incorporated history into my plot. Felipe inadvertently starts the inquisition, when he hypnotizes Dominican Friar Tomás de Torquemada and commands him to root out the Saturn worshipers and cleanse Spain of anyone who is not a Spaniard or Catholic.
 
As a fiction writer, there are also certain liberties you can take with historical figures.
 
An example of this is Spain’s favorite painter, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. Toward the end of his life, Goya painted fourteen paintings on the walls of his home. Paintings of witches, demons, and of Saturn devouring his son. They are called the Black Paintings.
 
No one knows why Goya painted these ghastly images but I’m sure glad he did because these macabre paintings fit perfectly into my storyline. I concluded that it was Lilith and the Daughters of Saturn that influenced Goya because they were enticing him to become a Saturn worshiper. When Goya refused, Lilith possessed Goya and caused him to paint these horrific scenes. Lilith even enchants one of the paintings Saturn Devouring His Son and taunts Felipe with it throughout the series.
 
Harriet Tubman is another example of a historical figure I took liberty with and incorporated into my storyline. Felipe journeys to America, using his powers to aid Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad on her last trip.
 
I only hope Harriet Tubman is flattered that she is included in a vampire novel and not turning over in her grave. 
 
I have given some examples on how I incorporated history and historical figures into the storyline of Between Heaven and Saturn. Now, it’s your turn. 
 
Coming up next: What actors would play your main characters?