Historical Bookworm

Michelle Greip joins us for a chat about gardening under duress, being present for loved ones while maintaining a career, the history of Egyptology, and her latest release Of Gold and Shadows. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book! 

Michelle Griep has been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. She is a Christy Award-winning author of historical romances that both intrigue and evoke a smile. She’s an Anglophile at heart, and you’ll most often find her partaking of a proper cream tea while scheming up her next novel . . . but it’s probably easier to find her at MichelleGriep.com or on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

It is so great to have you back on the show. Michelle was our second guest ever, on the show when she came on in 2021 to chat about The Thief of Blackfriars Lane. She returned in 2022 when The Bride of Blackfriar’s Lane was released, and Michelle is one of the few authors to host a Pinch of the Past when she shared 3 Types of Victorian Travel. We also reviewed her novelsThe Thief of Blackfriar’s Lane Bookworm Review and Lost in Darkness Bookworm Review.) 

Last time we spoke, you were settling into the country life of gardening and chicken raising, including protecting them from an offending armadillo. 

You are a busy lady with a professional author career and personal life–including twin grandchildren in memory serves me correctly.

The shadows hold secrets darker than they ever imagined. . . .

In 1888 Victorian England, Ami Dalton navigates a clandestine dual life. By day, she strives to establish herself as a respected Egyptologist, overcoming the gender biases that permeate academia. But with a heart for saving black-market artifacts from falling into the wrong hands, she is most often disguised as her alter ego, the Shadow Broker.

After eight years in India, Oxford’s most eligible bachelor, Edmund Price, has come out of the shadows to run for Parliament and is in search of an Egyptologist to value a newly acquired collection. Expecting a renowned Oxford professor, Edmund instead finds himself entangled with Ami, the professor’s determined daughter. As they delve into the treasures, their connection deepens, but trouble emerges when a golden griffin–rumored to bear the curse of Amentuk–surfaces, and they’re left to wonder if the curse really is at play, or if something more nefarious is hiding among the shadows. . . .

So we have a heroine in Victorian England with a secret identity who is struggling to establish herself as an Egyptologist by day and preserving black market relics by night. In steps a handsome hero running for Parliament, and together they encounter a cruse, ruffians, and treasures. Sounds like a typical Michelle Griep book. 🙂 

I’m intrigued by this Egyptologist angle. According to Britannica Encyclopedia, Egyptology is “the study of pharaonic Egypt, spanning the period c. 4500 bce to ce 641. Egyptology began … [with the scholars] accompanying Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Egypt (1798–1801.) Fast forward nearly 100 years, and we have Ami and Edmond.

Curses will be lifted – 

Listeners, Michell is offering a paperback copy of this novel, Of Gold and Shadows. To enter, check out the giveaway page on our website Historical Bookworm dot com. You also find the giveaway link in the show notes for this episode. 

Connect with  Michelle Greip: Newsletter, Amazon, Facebook, Goodreads, and Instagram.

Carrie Turansky joins us for a chat about traveling to England, writing split-time novels, how themes of one’s life often come through in one’s writing, and her latest release A Token of Love. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book! 

Carrie Turansky is the award-winning author of more than twenty inspirational novels and novellas and a winner of the ACFW Carol Award, the International Digital Award, and the Holt Medallion. She loved traveling to England to research her latest Edwardian novels including A Token of Love, The Legacy of Longdale Manor, No Journey Too Far, No Ocean Too Wide, and The Edwardian Brides Series. Her novels have received starred reviews from Christianbooks.com and Library Journal. They have been translated into several languages and enjoyed by readers around the world. Carrie loves to connect with reading friends on Facebook, Instagram, and via her website and blog: carrieturansky.com.

Your bio mentions traveling to England

Your latest novel, A Token of Love, is split-time historical fiction. 

Separated by centuries, the lives of two women intertwine through their shared pursuit of love, truth, and justice.

In 1885 London, Lillian Freemont embarks on a treacherous journey to reunite with her long-lost niece, Alice, who was abandoned at the Foundling Hospital eight years ago. Fueled by her sister’s plea and armed with the gold token that identifies her niece, Lillian teams up with investigative reporter Matthew McGivern to expose the grim reality of the shadowed streets of London. As Lillian and Matthew unravel the mystery of Alice’s disappearance, their partnership blossoms into one of shared purpose and undeniable attraction.

In present-day London, Janelle Spencer finds herself unexpectedly running the Foundling Museum. When filmmaker Jonas Conrad arrives to document the museum’s history, their collaboration takes a surprising turn as they uncover articles from the past that shed light on a haunting connection to the present. As Janelle becomes caught between exposing the truth and protecting the museum’s reputation, she must decide if she can risk everything for what she believes.

The mystery of a missing girl will pull at the heartstrings of any woman, but here we also have the historical significance of founding homes. History lovers in our audience will probably also connect founding home with youth houses of refuge and sanitoriums of the time which rarely adhered to the medical rights, practices, and privileges we experience today.

In A Token of Love, you juggle two romantic couples in this book.

You mentioned earlier that you traveled to England to research this book.

Connect with  Carrie Turansky: Newsletter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, BookBub, Amazon, Facebook, X aka Twitter, Goodreads, and Instagram.

J’nell Ciesielski  joins us for a chat about traveling to Scotland, writers/books that inspire her, the elements of a beautiful romance, and her latest release The Winged Tiara, “a sparkling story filled with her signature snappy dialogue and vivid atmosphere that will keep you reading late into the night to see what happens next.” Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book! 

Bestselling author J’nell Ciesielski has a passion for heart-stopping adventure and sweeping love stories while weaving fresh takes into romances of times gone by. When not creating dashing heroes and daring heroines, she can be found dreaming of Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. She is a member of the Tall Poppy Writers and lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and lazy beagle.

Questions:

Now let’s take a moment to talk about your latest release, The Winged Tiara.

November 12, 1918. It was a match made in champagne-soaked heaven, but all too soon the bubbles dried up, and Esme Fox awakens the morning after celebrating the end of the Great War to find herself shockingly and accidentally married. She gathers her belongings and slips out before her new husband can stop her. After all, she knows it’s best to leave before he does.

Four years later, Jasper Truitt, after having made a name for himself in the underground world of jewel thieves, is on the hunt for a valuable heirloom: a one-of-a-kind winged tiara–the last Valkyrie tiara ever created. So it’s with great surprise that he discovers it at a charity event atop the head of a woman he’s never forgotten. His long-lost wife . . . who happens to be pursuing the tiara for a vengeful opera diva desperate to obtain the jewel for herself.

The reunion is cut short when Esme vanishes–again–but their separation is temporary. With a hitman on their heels and a deadline looming, the pair find themselves in an epic game of cat and mouse across Europe following leads from the French Riviera to a shop of wonders in Venice, a fairy-tale castle in Bavaria, and a veritable circus thrown by a champagne heiress, all before a dramatic horseback flight through the French countryside.

In the end only one can win, and with both of their hearts on the line, the winner may well turn out to be the loser.

Lead in>> I LOVE a traveling adventure, and this one covers some really cool European destinations! Of course, there’s hardly time for the characters to enjoy it with a hitman after them, but readers are going to have a great time. 

Connect with J’nell: Newsletter, Amazon, Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Instagram.

KAREN BARNETT is the award-winning author of eight novels, including When Stone Wings Fly and Ever Faithful. Before becoming a novelist, she worked as a ranger naturalist and outdoor educator at Mount Rainier National Park and Oregon’s Silver Falls State Park.

When not writing, Karen enjoys photography, hiking, public speaking, and decorating crazy birthday cakes. She lives in Oregon with her family. Karen has joined us before to discuss her novel, When Stone Wings Fly, and today we will be looking at another dual-timeline National Parks novel, Where the Trees Touch the Sky. But let’s start with something fun.

Some secrets have shadows as long as the redwoods are tall.

In the early 1920s, the accelerating destruction of the California redwoods is more than nature-loving Marion Baker can bear. Throwing herself headlong into the work of the Save the Redwoods League, she is shocked to learn that Frank Duncan, a man she’s grown to love, is the son of one of the area’s worst timber barons. Though devastated by the betrayal, she realizes this could also be an opportunity—if only she can convince him to help her preserve her favorite grove from his father’s greedy grasp. Is her love strong enough to persuade him to save these precious trees? Or will Marion choose to sacrifice her beliefs to keep Frank by her side?

Nearly fifty years later, in 1972, polio survivor June Turner is deeply proud of the legacy her great aunt Marion has left as a redwood warrior. And despite her disability, June is determined to prove herself worthy as a ranger at the recently established Redwood National Park, even if it means taking to the trails with her crutch in hand. What better way to carry on the family tradition of preserving God’s magnificent creation?

When aspiring film student Adam Garner approaches June to help make a documentary about Marion’s life, she swiftly grabs the opportunity to spread her aunt’s worthy reputation. That is, until they unearth a secret that might shatter the family legacy. In the scramble for answers, June may lose not only her family pride but also her own dreams.

There is something so magical about the redwoods! But there is almost always an adventure behind the peaceful parks we love so well today. Throw in a love interest tied up with the enemy and a family secret, and you are going to be keeping readers up way too late.

Connect with Karen: KarenBarnettBooks.com, Facebook (KarenBarnettAuthor), Twitter (KarenMBarnett), Instagram (@KarenBarenttAuthor and @RangerBearAdventures), Goodreads, and BookBub

The Caribou Mountain in Idaho is a serene destination, but behind the snow caps and rocky faces, a historical story to match the name. I ran across Jesse (Cariboo Jack) Fairchild when researching book 1 of my Outlaw Hearts series. Cariboo Mountain is, in fact, the scene of a crime in that story.

Fairchild mined in the Cariboo Mountains in Canada. When he came to the states, he earned the name Cariboo Jack because of the tall tales he told regarding his adventures there. He claimed that the caribou of that area traveled in herds so thick that, “…a fellow could run all the way to hell and back atop them and never touch bare ground.” Jesse discovered gold in what is now the Caribou Mountains area (Circa 1870) just north of Grays Lake, Idaho.

Of himself, he said, “I was born in a blizzard snowdrift in the worst **** storm to ever hit Canada. I was bathed in a gold pan, suckled by a caribou, wrapped in a buffalo rug, and could whip any grizzly going before I was thirteen. That’s when I left home.” To anyone who might naysay his tall tales, he would respond: “It is so. I will let you know I am from Carriboo!”

It is said that the “Jack” in the nickname originated with his mule which was, “…so danged smart he had to change socks once a week or she wouldn’t let him ride her.” According to folklore, this creature could open any gate and once, “…she stold a full year of grain, a sack at a time from a Quaker farmer– each night he built the latch higher on the door until finally the mule couldn’t reach it. That only stopped her one night — the next night the mule was seen standing on hind legs telling the family dog standing on her forehead how to open the latch.”

Fairfield died in 1881 from injuries sustained during a grizzly attack near Bear River at Soda Springs, Idaho. He was buried in Soda Springs where a commemorative grave marker has been established.

Patricia Raybon joins us for a chat about writing a story set in historical Denver, writing a Black American woman in the 1920s, and her latest release Truth Be Told. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book! 

Christy Award-winner Patricia Raybon was reared near Denver, Colorado, under big sky, bright sunshine, and the humbling mystery of Christ. A newspaper journalist who turned to historical fiction, she authors devotional writing for Our Daily Bread and writes the Annalee Spain Mystery series set in Colorado’s dangerous 1920s Klan era.

We had you on the show in 2021 to promote book one in the Annalee Spain Mystery series  All that is Secret and then again in 2023 when  Double the Lies released. Today we will be chatting about book three in this fun, historical mystery series. 

Questions: 

It’s a lovely June night in 1924. Amateur detective Annalee Spain is mingling bravely at a high-class political fundraiser in the lush backyard garden of famed political fixer Cooper Coates, one of the wealthiest men in Denver’s Black neighborhood of Five Points.

But when Coates’s young daughter discovers a pretty stranger dead in her father’s garden shed, Annalee is thrust onto the baffling new case while already reeling from another recent discovery—a handwritten letter, found buried in her own garden, that reveals the identity of her mother.

Not ready to face the truth about her hidden past, Annalee throws herself into solving the mystery of the young woman’s demise. With the help of her pastor boyfriend Jack Blake, the orphaned boy Eddie, and her trustworthy church friends, Annalee follows the clues to three seemingly disconnected settings—a rundown traveling carnival set up downtown, an upscale Black women’s civic club, and a prestigious white seminary on the outskirts of Denver. Intriguing advice also comes from a famous, real-life Denver visitor. But is Annalee on the right track or just running in circles, fleeing from conflicts racing in her heart? 

In a taut, heart-gripping narrative driven by secrets, romance, and lies, Annalee must unravel a case with higher stakes than she imagined—one where answers about a lovely woman’s death point to truths and tensions still throbbing today.

Questions:

I don’t know which is more intriguing – finding out the cause of this lady’s murder or uncovering the secrets in that letter! Way to pull us in!

Connect with  Patricia: Newsletter, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Instagram.

Nicole M. Miller joins us for a chat about Arabian horses, living in southwest Washington, farm life, and her latest release Until Our Time Comes. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book! 

Nicole M. Miller lives in Southwest Washington state with her husband and two sons, along with her two purebred Arabian horses, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, and guinea pigs. As a long-time horse owner, she has been involved in several horse organizations throughout her life, including serving as a Clark County Fair Court Princess and Miss Teen Rodeo Washington.

When Nicole is not writing or tending the animals, she works in human resources. A journalism major, she has received several national and regional awards for her nonfiction writing from American Horse Publications and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Your bio certainly draws a clear and fun picture of the things you value and love.

American horse trainer Adia Kensington is living her dream of working at the famous Janów Podlaski stables in Poland, where they breed the best Arabian horses in the world. But her plans to bring the priceless stallion Lubor to the U.S. are derailed when the German army storms into her adopted country in 1939. Little does she know this is just the beginning of six long years of occupation that will threaten her beloved horses at every turn.

Major Bret Conway is at Janów Podlaski under the guise of a news reporter, but his true mission is intelligence gathering for the British. That and keeping Adia safe, which is harder and harder to do as she insists they must evacuate 250 horses to save them from being stolen, sold, or eaten by the invading forces. What follows will test their physical, mental, and emotional strength, as well as their faith in God, humankind, and each other.

This story is described as an epic World War II story of escape, capture, resistance, and love.

Connect with  Nicole M. Miller: Newsletter, Amazon, Facebook, and Instagram.

Ann H. Gabhart joins us for a chat about book recommendations, balancing writing with family life, mission schools, historical research, and her latest release The Song of Sourwood Mountain. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book! 

For previous interviews with Ann, follow these links: Episode 15: Guest Ann H. Gabhart & a Book Review of Faith’s Mountain Home and Episode 29: Guest Ann H. Gabhart & a Review of Long Way Home

Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of many novels, including In the Shadow of the River, When the Meadow Blooms, Along a Storied Trail, An Appalachian Summer, River to Redemption, These Healing Hills, and Angel Sister. She and her husband live on a farm a mile from where she was born in rural Kentucky. Ann enjoys discovering the everyday wonders of nature while hiking in her farm’s fields and woods with her grandchildren and her dogs, Frankie and Marley.

Let’s start with something fun.

Though the twentieth century dawned with such promise, it is just 1910 when Mira Dean’s hopes of being a wife and mother are dashed to pieces. Her fiancé is dead from tuberculosis and Mira must resign herself to being a spinster schoolteacher. But then Gordon Covington shows up and the doors that once seemed shut forever begin to open—even if only a crack.

No longer the boy she knew from school, Gordon is now a preacher who is full of surprises. First, he asks Mira to come to Sourwood in eastern Kentucky to teach at his mission school. Second, he asks her to marry him. Just like that.

Though the prospect of stepping onto a new path is scary, Mira takes a leap of faith and lands in a life she never imagined. In this place filled with its own special challenges, the people she serves just might end up becoming the family she always yearned for.

A mission school in rural Kentucky is going to be a tough place to build a real marriage out of what starts as a marriage of convenience! Great for us readers, not so nice to your characters, haha.

I read a book called Miracle in the Hills about a couple of married doctors at a mission in North Carolina, and of course everyone is familiar with Christy and her mission school in Cutter Gap. It was no picnic for these people who were often raised in privilege to move into much more primitive settings and try to build trust with often very suspicious people. 

Connect with Ann H. Gabhart: Newsletter, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, BookBub, Goodreads, and Instagram.

Grace Hitchcock joins us for a chat about her favorite time periods in history, favorite foods, writing heroes and heroines, and her latest release book. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book!

Grace Hitchcock is the author of multiple historical novels and novellas. She holds a Masters in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History. Grace lives near New Orleans with her husband, Dakota, sons and daughter. Connect with her online at GraceHitchcock.com.

Let’s start with something fun.

Sometimes the only way to outsmart a scandal is to find a crown big enough to silence it.

Muriel Beau, country baker turned heiress, can’t stop instigating outrage. She discards two arranged engagements, then further antagonizes Kent society by publicly proposing to a baron at a ball. His rejection leaves her with no choice but to flee to the city and to secure a coronet so splendid that her peers will forget her debacles. The glitter of the London courts convinces Muriel that it’s possible to find the future she dreams of, until she finds herself entangled in yet another escapade–one that may cost her more than her crumbling reputation.

After years of serving as a privateer under an assumed name, Captain Erik Draycott, heir to Draycott Castle and soon to assume his uncle’s title of Earl, returns to his London home to find it in disrepair thanks to his longtime nemesis. A staunch bachelor intent on returning to his ship, the captain is shocked when his mentor encourages him to take a wife. But while his alleged pauper status causes the potential London brides to turn their noses up at him, the ladies of Kent have no such qualms and are eager to fill his coffers with their fathers’ wealth.

Caught in a whirlwind of high society and high seas, Muriel and Erik navigate a risky undertaking that threatens their futures and creating stakes that soar above the masts of Erik’s ship. Will Muriel’s bold charm and Erik’s daring bravery be enough to outsmart the scandal and secure a future as glittering as the crown Muriel seeks?

Lead in: This has me picturing a Georgette Hyer-style regency escapade – spunky heroine getting herself in trouble, resistant-to-love hero, societal fumbles, and a splash of adventure. What more could you ask for?

Connect with Grace: Newsletter, GraceHitchcockBooks.com, Amazon, BookBub, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Instagram.

Janyre Tromp joins KyLee for a chat about God’s faithfulness, snacking and reading, missionaries in WW 2, and her latest release Darkness Calls the Tiger. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book! 

Janyre Tromp is a veteran book editor by day and writer of historical novels with a healthy dose of lyrical intrigue at night. She’s the best-selling author of Shadows in the Mind’s Eye and co-author of both O Little Town and It’s a Wonderful Christmas. Her books were named a 2023 Arkansas Gem by the Arkansas State Library and Honorable Mention for Romance by Foreword Indies. And that all happens from her unfinished basement when she’s not hanging out with her family, two troublesome cats, and slightly eccentric Shetland Sheepdog.

We have had the pleasure of chatting on the show before, but also in real life. I tell you this lady has a reputation in the writing community for kindness, hard work and professionalism. I would describe you as quirky, family-oriented, and fun. Yet your books deal with heavy themes, as we see in Shadows in the Mind’s Eye – a suspenseful post-WW2 story about dealing with life after the war–and now Darkness Calls the Tiger, a story about missionaries facing Japanese attacks shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Imperial Japan devours the southern portion of Burma, intent on taking over mainland Asia. Unaware of the coming darkness, Kailyn Moran drifts in her role as the only daughter of a widowed missionary.

As whispers of war snake through the Kachin mountains, Kai’s father is convinced God will protect the mission. He entrusts the village to her and the kind yet inexperienced new missionary, Ryan McDonough, while he makes routine visits to neighboring villages.

War descends like a tempest upon the mountain peaks, and an unbreakable bond forms between Kailyn and Ryan as they unite to provide solace to both villagers and the flood of refugees. Despite their tireless efforts, a brutal enemy shatters almost everything they love, pushing Kailyn to embark on a path of unrestrained vengeance.

Afraid he’s losing the woman he loves, Ryan fights to protect Kai from the deadly consequences of her choices. But in the face of destruction, can he convince her of the power and freedom of forgiveness?

Connect with Janyre Tromp: Website, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, BookBub, and Instagram.