Author of Historical Fiction and Mysteries
Guest blog by Pippa Brush Chappell One of the first questions my non-fiction-reading partner always asks about a movie or a book is, 'is it a true story?' It used to really wind me up, but now that I’m trying to write a 'true story,' I find myself having to engage with what that actually... Continue Reading →
Guest blog by Denitta Ward Jean Ball is coming-of-age in the 1920 Midwest when the rules are made to be broken, and the American society in a state of transition. Social norms are changing, and women are venturing out beyond traditional boundaries. The opulent Prohibition Era is rich in social, economic, gender, racial, and social... Continue Reading →
March was Women’s History Month, and I made my website available to guest bloggers who write novels about history’s lesser-known women. I had a great response and ended up featuring four posts on topics spanning more than 400 years of history and both sides of the Atlantic. From Martin Luther’s wife in the 16th century... Continue Reading →
Guest blog by DM Denton In the mid-1990s, while organizing bookshelves, I happened upon my miniature copy of Agnes Grey, Anne Brontë’s debut novel. Flipping through it I stopped at Chapter 24, The Sands, set in Scarborough on the north-east Yorkshire coast. I was reminded of my visit there in March 1974, which took me... Continue Reading →
Guest blog by DL Jung During World War II, a combination of communist ideals of equality and sheer desperation drove the Soviet Union to recruit women in large numbers to the military. Some eight hundred thousand served, many in dangerous combat roles, such as medics, snipers, fighter pilots, and tank crew. Like many people, I... Continue Reading →
Guest post by Margaret Skea For some writers research is a chore, but that wasn’t the case with me when I decided to write a biographical novel based on the life of Katharina von Bora, Martin Luther’s wife. There are relatively few books about her, and one author opens his (slim) volume with this sentence:... Continue Reading →
Jessica Keener’s Strangers in Budapest may not *technically* be historical fiction, which is defined as taking place in a period before the author’s birth. Nonetheless, it is of considerable historical interest. It is set in the mid-1990s Hungary at the time of the transition from communism to capitalism, a process that is largely complete in... Continue Reading →
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 →
