The Borgia dynasty of Renaissance Rome continues to fascinate 500 years later. Much has been written about them - fiction and non-fiction alike - but The Borgia Confessions offers a rare perspective - that of a servant to the famous papal family. Maddalena Moretti is a young widow from the rural Romagna region who arrives in Rome in... Continue Reading →
Munich by Robert Harris
My own writing and research take me back to the Middle Ages and, more recently, the 16th century Eastern Europe. So it is refreshing to come across historical fiction that is much closer to our own times, and set in the period that I am also quite interested in but do not know as much... Continue Reading →
Library Talk: The Flu Epidemic of 1918
To paraphrase a classic, a writer's work is never done. That's why this post, which should have appeared a month ago - closer the hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the flu pandemic - is posted only now. But I was in the middle of doing final manuscript revisions for my second book (to be... Continue Reading →
The Forgotten History of Soviet Women Pilots
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 →
Dunnottar Castle – Spooky and Spectacular
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 →
Where the Light Falls by Allison Pataki and Owen Pataki
There is a wealth of material to draw on when setting a novel in revolutionary France, but few stories are as compelling as those in which protagonists struggle to preserve their ideals and humanity in a world where legal and moral norms have been turned upside down. Where the Light Falls by Allison Pataki and... Continue Reading →