Author of Historical Fiction and Mysteries
Ariel Lawhon's historical novel Flight of Dreams imagines the lives of the Hindenburg passengers in the final days before the epic disaster that destroyed the airship. The history is well-known: in the 1930s, the world's aviation industry was rapidly changing and expanding into intercontinental passenger travel, and nothing was a greater symbol of those ambitions that the... Continue Reading →
Chapter 1 St. Nicholas Monastery, Nyonoksa, Russia August 24, 1553 by P.K. Adams and C.P. Lesley So close to the Arctic, dawn flushed the skies with pink despite the early hour. A blessed silence descended as the monks finished yet another round of prayers, chanted in Slavonic to the accompaniment of bells, and returned to... Continue Reading →
As a new Vermonter, I'm fascinated by local folktales. None are more popular here than those telling of the possible existence of Bigfoot, a hairy, ape-like creature that is said to dwell in the wilderness. J.P. Choquette's Silence In the Woods is the first in the Monsters in the Green Mountains series that centers around... Continue Reading →
In late September, I spent four days visiting London. It is impossible to even scratch the surface of all the historical sites that can be found in Britain's capital, so I had to choose. After a brief visit to St. Paul's Cathedral and (the outside of) Westminster Abbey, I decided to spend the entire day... Continue Reading →
Until I read Christopher Buckley's The Relic Master, I failed to realize what now seems quite obvious, namely that historical fiction is rarely humorous. It is not necessarily a criticism. Historical novels tend to be set in pivotal eras or woven around events that bring about major changes and are often marked by violence and suffering.... Continue Reading →
During the last weekend of August I participated in the Historical Novel Society 2018 conference just outside of Glasgow, Scotland. I have been writing historical fiction for seven years, but it was only this year that I decided to attend my first conference, after my debut novel The Greenest Branch, a Novel of Germany's First... Continue Reading →
As part of the Historical Novel Society 2018 conference in Glasgow I took a trip with several other attendees to the Royal Burgh of Culross, a few miles northeast of the city. It was a fitting visit for a group of historical fiction writers for two reasons. One is of course that the little town... Continue Reading →
This weekend I made an unplanned but very exciting visit to one of the most historic places in America, and it happens to be right in my town. Somewhat unassuming on the outside, The United First Parish Church in Quincy, Massachusetts, houses a crypt with the tombs of two former U.S. presidents. John Adams (1735-1826)... Continue Reading →
I have confessed on this blog to being conservative when it comes to my historical fiction: I prefer it realistic and serious, no fantasy, parody, alternative histories, etc. Then I came across a synopsis of The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer. The setting of the novel – medieval Siena – had me sit up... Continue Reading →
Guest blog by Christy Nicholas In Misfortune of Time, book #6 in The Druid’s Brooch series, the main character is Étaín, a grandmother who lives in 11th century Ireland in the shadow of a massive Christian abbey. Her husband is a priest, enamored of piety and asceticism, and she must hide her pagan magic in... Continue Reading →
P.K. Adams 