Historical Fiction Episodes

Libbie Grant - THE PROPHET'S WIFE
Historical Fiction

Libbie Grant - THE PROPHET'S WIFE

Libbie and I discuss The Prophet's Wife, working with two publishers simultaneously, basing her book on the true events surrounding the creation and early years of the Mormon church, the Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon", the difficulty in creating a cover for this book, and much more.

Elise Hooper - ANGELS OF THE PACIFIC
Historical Fiction

Elise Hooper - ANGELS OF THE PACIFIC

Elise and I discuss Angels of the Pacific, writing about the Pacific arena during World War 2, her research trip and snorkeling around a World War 2 war ship, how different the war in the Pacific was from what was happening in Europe, restoring her great-grandmother's dollhouse, and much more.

Erika Robuck - SISTERS OF NIGHT AND FOG
Historical Fiction

Erika Robuck - SISTERS OF NIGHT AND FOG

Erika and I discuss Sisters of Night and Fog, how one of her characters appeared in her dreams asking for Erika to tell her story, creating a poll so readers could help select the book's title, her Author's Note, writing about Ravensbruck, grief, and much more.

Adele Myers - THE TOBACCO WIVES
Historical Fiction

Adele Myers - THE TOBACCO WIVES

Adele and I discuss The Tobacco Wives, the dangers the tobacco companies knowingly ignored and covered up, her stunning cover, the role marketing and advertising plays in shaping public perception, her favorite character to write in the book, and much more.

Brit Bennett - THE VANISHING HALF
Historical Fiction

Brit Bennett - THE VANISHING HALF

Brit and I discuss The Vanishing Half, why writing her sophomore novel was more difficult, what she loves to hear from her readers, balancing research and writing, her paperback release, and much more.

Kim Fay - LOVE & SAFFRON
Historical Fiction

Kim Fay - LOVE & SAFFRON

Kim and I discuss Love & Saffron, her personal inspiration for the book, drafting an epistolary novel, writing letters on a typewriter, capturing the way food brings people together, how working at a bookstore impacted her writing. and much more.

Bryn Turnbull - THE LAST GRAND DUCHESS
Historical Fiction

Bryn Turnbull - THE LAST GRAND DUCHESS

Bryn and I discuss The Last Grand Duchess, why she decided to focus on Olga's story, telling the family's personal story, how the Romanovs are the most documented family in history, why the Romanovs were ill-suited to rule of Russia, Olga's political astuteness, and much more.

Ruta Sepetys - I MUST BETRAY YOU
Historical Fiction

Ruta Sepetys - I MUST BETRAY YOU

Ruta and I discuss I Must Betray You, life in Romania under Nicolae Ceausescu, conveying what it was like to live under constant surveillance, the incident that kickstarted the book, using fiction to cumulate many people's stories, and much more.

Fiona Davis - THE MAGNOLIA PALACE
Historical Fiction

Fiona Davis - THE MAGNOLIA PALACE

Fiona and I discuss The Magnolia Palace, choosing the Frick Collection for this book, why and how she created the scavenger hunt in the book, what surprised her most during her research, writing about Henry and Helen Frick, the magnolia connection, and much more.

Kerri Maher- THE PARIS BOOKSELLER
Historical Fiction

Kerri Maher- THE PARIS BOOKSELLER

Kerri and I discuss The Paris Bookseller, writing about the iconic Shakespeare and Company. in Paris, the fabulous book club kit created for this book, Princeton's Shakespeare and Company Project, the magic of 1920's Paris, the 5 authors she would choose to host at her (imaginary) bookstore, her 5 @ 5 author events on Instagram Live, and much more.

Julia Kelly - THE LAST DANCE OF THE DEBUTANTE
Historical Fiction

Julia Kelly - THE LAST DANCE OF THE DEBUTANTE

Julia and I discuss The Last Dance of the Debutante, the last year Queen Elizabeth II received debutantes at court, how she enjoys focusing on time periods right before radical change, writing secondary characters, her Ask an Author series on Facebook, and much more.

Laura Morelli - THE STOLEN LADY
Historical Fiction

Laura Morelli - THE STOLEN LADY

Laura and I discuss The Stolen Lady, her decades-long fascination with the Mona Lisa, how the Nazis sought to steal all of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings and drawings during World War 2, that the Mona Lisa was never delivered to its patron and instead how da Vinci brought it to France with him, and much more.

Patti Callahan - ONCE UPON A WARDROBE
Historical Fiction

Patti Callahan - ONCE UPON A WARDROBE

Patti and I discuss Once Upon a Wardrobe, finding the source of Narnia and its inhabitants in C.S. Lewis’ life, creating such a strong sense of place, how her title and cover came about, having her book launch the new Harper Muse imprint, the beautiful letter she received from Lewis’ stepson about this book, and much more.

Stephanie Marie Thornton - A MOST CLEVER GIRL
Historical Fiction

Stephanie Marie Thornton - A MOST CLEVER GIRL

Stephanie and I discuss A Most Clever Girl, how she decided to write about Elizabeth Bentley, her fascination with the time period and spy craft, the format for the story, bringing forgotten women to life, our shared love of Jane Austen, and much more.

Gill Paul - THE COLLECTOR'S DAUGHTER
Historical Fiction

Gill Paul - THE COLLECTOR'S DAUGHTER

Gill and I discuss The Collector’s Daughter, the photograph that inspired this book, finding the right way to begin telling the story, the appeal of King Tutankhamen, the curse of King Tut’s tomb and how it began, and much more.