Author Spotlight: Elizabeth St. John

Categories: 17th century · Author SpotlightsTags: · · · · · · · 2 Comments

I first met Elizabeth St. John after one of the sessions at the 2015 Historical Novel Society Conference in Denver.  We were waiting to meet the speaker, the lovely Jenny Quinlan (aka Jenny Q) of Historical Editorial, when we struck up a conversation about what we were writing. You should realize that when you’re at a historical fiction conference, you can skip the genre question and go straight to, ‘What period are you writing in?”. We both answered 17th century England, and this pretty much sealed it for us. Elizabeth is blessed with a closet-full of famous relatives from which she…

Gravestones in Dorset

Categories: 17th centuryTags: · · · · · 4 Comments

I find tombstones fascinating. I’m not really sure why. It may be because they are the last visual marker of a person’s life, and I’m curious as to what they reveal. It’s the old tombstones that I’m drawn to the most, the ones covered in lichen and eaten by wind and rain. Whatever was engraved upon them is usually very nearly erased, and I love the mystery of it. I fully realized this interest after looking back on the pictures I took of my last trip to England. A large proportion of pictures centred around churches, cathedrals, and graveyards. And…

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

Categories: Author SpotlightsTags: · · · · · 9 Comments

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…

A Village

Categories: Writing2 Comments

Originally posted on Sharon Overend:
Every once in awhile, I think I should, must, no other option available, quit writing. It isn’t that I don’t want to write, it’s that I think I can’t write well enough, basically that I suck. On my really dark days, I worry I’m like one of those contestants on a reality talent show who thinks they’re the next Adele only to be told they’re delusional and shouldn’t leave their day job Recently, I had one of those days after having submitted my latest work-in-progress to my critique group. When word came down—go back, it’s…