Historical fiction writer, author of As the Dawn Breaks Radiant
Guest post by Erika Mailman The House of Bellaver arose out of two things. One was learning that an early California governor, Governor Henry H. Markham, had vetoed suffrage after it passed the House and Assembly in 1893.* That fact boggled my mind because in California, suffrage didn't pass until 1911. It appeared like one... Continue Reading →
I had thought I was over the story of The Phantom of the Opera. I had seen the musical no less than three times on Broadway, watched the movie at least twice on TV, and went through several (as in ten, but more like fifteen) years of regular benders listening to the CD on repeat.... Continue Reading →
By the standards of some Scottish castles, Dunnottar is relatively small, but it sure is dramatic. Built atop a flat headland projecting into the North Sea, a few miles south of Aberdeen and near the town of Stonehaven, it looked breathtaking the day I first saw it. It was a chilly and windy day with... Continue Reading →
The first time I heard about Lizzie Borden was on a trip to Salem, a charming Massachusetts town whose violent history keeps visitors coming year-round. Most of it has to do with the witch trials, but one shop had a display that did not feature broomsticks and love potions. Instead, it was about Lizzie, who... Continue Reading →
Lavinia Maud lies and murders, but she is also hopelessly in love, goes to church regularly, and gives shelter to a pair of orphaned siblings. In other words, the heroine of K.M. Pohlkamp’s Apricots and Wolfsbane may be a monster, but she is also adorable. Herself orphaned at a young age, Lavinia turns her passion... Continue Reading →
As promised here’s a new post documenting my travels to historic places in Scotland. I have so far visited several castles (and one abbey) and will write about them in the next few months. On an unusually frosty January day I took a trip to Toquhon Castle, just outside Aberdeen. The castle itself was closed... Continue Reading →
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to write more about historical places I visit (and not just historical novels I read). In that spirit I am offering a post about the Kirk of St. Nicholas in Aberdeen, Scotland, which I visited on New Year’s Eve 2017. Originally founded in the 1150s, it is a... Continue Reading →
As Christmas 1843 approaches the weather is unseasonably warm and Charles Dickens's career has stalled. Martin Chuzzlewit's reception has been lukewarm and his publishers are hounding him for a new and marketable book, though he is suffering from an acute case of a writer's block. To make matters worse, his wife is about to throw... Continue Reading →
Shortly after midnight on April 15, 1912 as the Titanic was sinking into the icy waters of the North Atlantic, she was far from being alone on the vast ocean, although it would have seemed so to her passengers and crew. In fact, she was in the middle of a busy shipping lane, and no... Continue Reading →
