Author Spotlight: Anne Aylor

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Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing a few of the contributors to the Historical Novel Society’s anthology, Distant Echoes. Today, I welcome author Anne Aylor, who contributed two stories to the anthology, “The Man With No Hands” and “The House of Wild Beasts”. The latter won the HNS Short Story Award in 2014, and it’s this story that I’ve asked her to discuss as it made an impression on me. “The House of Wild Beasts” takes place during the Spanish Civil War. An American reporter, Martha, visits the Madrid zoo, La Casa de Fieras, to write a newspaper article about the…

Author Spotlight: Stephanie Churchill

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Stephanie Churchill and I kept bumping into each other online. You know how it is, authors pausing at the virtual water cooler to share and like posts. As soon as I realized that Stephanie was working in historical fantasy, and with a fantasy component that did not include dragons or magic, I was completely intrigued. Stephanie recently released her second book, The King’s Daughter, to rave reviews. I recently read the first book in the series and her debut novel, The Scribe’s Daughter. The novel ticks all the boxes for me. Her heroine Kassia is plucky and a natural survivor. Throw in…

Author Spotlight: Anna Belfrage

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Continuing my conversation with the contributors of the Historical Novel Society’s anthology, Distant Echoes, I’ve invited author Anna Belfrage to chat about her short story, “The Sharing of a Husband“. Anna has somehow managed to tap into the magic elixir of being a literary powerhouse. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Graham Saga (8 books and counting), the King’s Greatest Enemy series, has been involved in four anthologies, and maintains a regular blog. Her short story, “The Sharing of a Husband”, portrays a woman in Utah who is forced to accept the introduction of polygamy by church decree…

The benefits of a critique group

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Recently, friend and fellow author, Sharon Overend, was invited on CBC Radio One to talk about the CBC’s short story contest and her current writing group. Sharon is one of the best short story writers I know. Her stories grab you at the opening and will not let go until the very end. Her short fiction has won awards, made it into literary journals and has even been nominated for the prestigious Journey Prize. But instead of focusing on the CBC annual contest, their conversation turned to the value of a writing group. Writing groups can take different forms. They…

Author Spotlight: Richard Buxton

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I first “bumped” into historical fiction author Richard Buxton on the blog tour circuit. His novel, Whirligig, came out around the time as mine and, coincidentally, both novels dealt with civil war, though his tackled the American Civil War. I found it ironic that we were both interested in the war across the pond instead of the one closest to home. In my case, it would be my neighbour’s war, but still close enough. When the Historical Novel Society (HNS) anthology, Distant Echoes, came out, I recognized Richard’s name amongst the contributors, and I was keen to finally read his…