Historical Fiction Episodes

In this interview, I chat with Joanna Miller about The Eights , creating a strong sense of place, how she decided to write this book, her focus on the small details, including the Timeline, Glossary, and Author's Note at the ...

In this interview, I chat with Elise Hooper about The Library of Lost Dollhouses , how she decided to write about dollhouses, her great-grandmother's dollhouse and what it has taught her, her focus on women lost to history, h...

In this interview, I chat with Shara Moon about Let Us March On , highlighting an unsung heroine, her research, bringing Lizzie McDuffie to life, deciding what and what not top include, what surprised her the most when writin...

In this interview, I chat with Patti Callahan Henry about The Story She Left Behind , the real life inspiration for this book, exploring how humans deal with the unknowing, digging up literary themes, including Beatrix Potter...

In this interview, I chat with Penny Haw about Follow Me to Africa , how and why she decided to write about Mary Leakey, writing about a real person, drafting a dual timeline story, creating a fictional character to help tell...

In this interview, I chat with Renee Rosen about Let's Call Her Barbie , the story of how Barbie came to be, why Barbie looks like she does, what Renee couldn't include, the editing process, her title and cover, and much more...

In this interview, I chat with Karissa Chen about Homeseeking , the interesting way she landed on the format for this book, her research, how the trauma of war impacts citizens, the way she handles language in this book, name...

In this interview, I chat with Fiona Davis about The Stolen Queen , how she came up with the ideas for this one, her research in Egypt and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art including the behind-the-scenes storage areas, focus...

In this interview, I chat with Jo Piazza about The Sicilian Inheritance, how this book is inspired by a family story, Sicily as a setting, why she chose for Sara to be a chef, plotting versus pantsing, what surprised her the most when writing this one, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Allison Pataki about Finding Margaret Fuller, how she learned about Margaret Fuller and decided to write about her, why her goal is to educate and entertain, visiting Concord, her in-depth Author's Note, Fuller's rivalry with Edgar Allen Poe, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Jennifer Ryan about The Underground Library, writing a book about books and libraries, how her role as book editor informed her writing, what surprised her the most when writing this one, her stunning cover, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Stephanie Dray about Becoming Madam Secretary, why she decided to write about Frances Perkins, her research and how she chose what to include and what to leave out, drafting a comprehensive Author's Note, what she is working on next, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Eliza Knight and Denny S. Bryce about Can't We Be Friends , how they learned about the friendship between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe, writing a book together and how they approached it, ...

In this interview, I chat with Katherine Reay about The Berlin Letters , setting a story during the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall, what surprised her the most when writing this one, why the Cold War is a popular ti...

In this interview, I chat with Amanda Churchill about The Turtle House , how this story is inspired by her grandmother's life, incorporating a Minogame into the book, deciding on Lia's career path, telling an intergenerationa...

In this interview, I chat with Robin Oliveira about A Wild and Heavenly Place , how she set out to write an epic love story, creating a strong sense of place, her title and cover, understanding her characters' motivations, sh...

In this interview, I chat with ReShonda Tate about The Queen of Sugar Hill, how she became interested enough in Hattie McDaniel to write about her, how Hattie opened doors for others, the research she did for the book, how she decided what years of Hattie's life to focus on for the story, looking a…

In this interview, I chat with Amanda Peters about The Berry Pickers, how she decided to write this story, writing in first person, choosing who would narrate the story, writing a character study, the Barnes and Noble Discover Prize and other accolades, and much more.

In this interview, I chat with Elizabeth Crook about The Madstone, Texas during Reconstruction, how she wanted to write another book with Benjamin Shreve as a central character, the definition of a madstone and how she chose that as her title, her personal connection to the cover, and much more.

In this interview, Gill and I discuss A Beautiful Rival, her research for this book, what surprised her the most when writing this book, the connections between her books, the impact these two women had on the cosmetics industry, and much more.

In this interview, Kent and I discuss The River We Remember, creating a strong sense of place in his stories, how his father was changed by fighting in World War 2, the time period following this war in the U.S., the genre of domestica exotica, his title and cover, and much more.

In this interview, Alice and I discuss The Invisible Hour, why she incorporated Nathanial Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter into this book, the impact books have had on her life, book banning, mother/daughter relationships, the one author she would want to go back in time to meet, her title and cove…

In this interview, Madeline and I discuss The Keeper of Hidden Books, how she decided to write this story, her research trip to Poland, writing books about books, and much more.

In this interview, Pip and I discuss The Bookbinder, creating the book trailer for this book, actually learning to bind books herself, creating a strong sense of place, her stunning book cover, how she first learned about the subject matter of this book, and much more.