Historical Fiction: Unpacked

V.E.H. Masters was born and grew up on a farm just outside St. Andrews, Scotland. She's been fascinated by the 1546 siege of St Andrews Castle, ever since her history teacher took the class on a visit, which included going down the siege tunnel dug out of rock and peering into the bottle dungeon where the infamous Cardinal Beaton's body is said to have been kept, pickled in salt, for over a year. When she learned that the group who took the castle, and held it for over 14 months, resisting the many attempts to re-take it, called themselves the Castilians, she knew even then, at age 12, that it was the perfect title for the story, and she had a sixth sense she might write it one day. On today's show, we discuss Vicki's first book, The Castilians, as well as the sequel, The Conversos, which is now available!

Purchase The Castilians on Amazon (affiliate).

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Purchase The Conversos on Amazon (affiliate).

Also mentioned:

On Writing by Stephen King on Amazon and Bookshop (affiliates)

Check out Vicki's website (where you can join her readers group), and don't miss her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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For those who love to smile as they read, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. Voted #1 Readers' Favorite Christian Romance Author in 2019 by Family Fiction Magazine, Karen is a multiple award-winning author and a firm believer in the power of happy endings. On today's episode, Karen and I talk about her latest books, as well as writing characters of color, a legendary lost silver mine that inspired part of her plot, and the path she took to publishing success.

Purchase The Heart's Charge on Amazon (affiliate).

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Purchase Under the Texas Mistletoe on Amazon (affiliate).

Purchase Under the Texas Mistletoe on Bookshop (affiliate).

Also mentioned:

The A-Team TV series.

The Magnificent Seven TV series.

Check out Karen's website, Facebook Page, and Facebook Group (The Posse).

Join my community and help support the show on Patreon!

Join the Historical Fiction: Unpacked Podcast Group on Facebook!

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!

In honor of veterans everywhere and specifically in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, today I'm sharing a conversation with author Amanda Dykes. Her latest novel, Yours is the Night, commemorates soldiers from World War I and the establishment of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the end of this war. Amanda and I had a wonderful discussion about this tomb and how to honor its anniversary. Amanda also shares how she went from years of "wandering" in the writing industry to winning the Christy Book of the Year award with her debut novel, Whose Waves These Are. I especially love her desire to keep up a "gritty wonder" as an author in the face of all the heaviness in the world.

Purchase Yours is the Night on Amazon (affiliate).

Purchase Yours is the Night on Bookshop (affiliate).

 

 

Also mentioned:

Kirke L. Simpson's Pulitzer Prize-winning articles on the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Wreaths Across America Day in honor of veterans will be December 18.

Centennial commemoration of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Check out Amanda's website, Instagram, and Facebook.

Join my community and help support the show on Patreon!

Join the Historical Fiction: Unpacked Podcast Group on Facebook!

Be sure to visit my Instagram, Facebook, and website.

Follow the show on Instagram!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!

Adrian Goldsworthy is a respected historian of the ancient world. He studied at Oxford, where his doctoral thesis examined the Roman army, and he went on to write acclaimed works of non-fiction, including Ceasar, Hadrian's Wall, and Philip and Alexander. His fiction includes the authentic and action-packed Vindolanda Triology, set in Roman Britain. Today on the show, we discuss his latest novel, The Fort, which released this past summer.

Here's a description of the novel:

AD 105: Dacia

The Dacian kingdom and Rome are at peace, but no one thinks that it will last. Sent to command an isolated fort beyond the Danube, centurion Flavius Ferox can sense that war is coming, but also knows that enemies may be closer to home. Many of the Brigantes under his command are former rebels and convicts, as likely to kill him as obey an order. And then there is Hadrian, the emperor's cousin, and a man with plans of his own.

Purchase The Fort on Amazon (affiliate).

Purchase The Fort on Bookshop (affiliate).

Check out Adrian's website.

Join my community and help support the show on Patreon!

Join the Historical Fiction: Unpacked Podcast Group on Facebook!

Be sure to visit my Instagram, Facebook, and website.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!

I had a great time talking with Kimberly Duffy a second time! She writes beautiful historical fiction set mostly in India (so far). She's my first repeat guest, but that makes sense because we've kept in touch and become friends since she was on my show last year. In this episode, we talk about her latest novel, Every Word Unsaid, which releases Tuesday, November 2! This leads to discussions regarding her book's real life character Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati, the historical mistreatment of widows in India, and why women struggle with the question, "Am I enough?"

Purchase Every Word Unsaid on Amazon (affiliate).

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Also mentioned:

Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati

Kim's first episode on Historical Fiction: Unpacked.

Patti Callahan's episode on Historical Fiction: Unpacked.

Check out Kim's website, Instagram, and Facebook.

Join my community and help support the show on Patreon!

Join the Historical Fiction: Unpacked Podcast Group on Facebook!

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!

Today's episode features Biblical fiction author Naomi Craig. Naomi is an avid reader, a pastor's wife, and a mother. Her debut novel, Rahab's Courage, released August 17, 2021. Naomi and I talk about the difficult themes in Rahab's Courage, including prostitution, rape, and post-traumatic stress. We also discuss why she loves writing Biblical fiction, though she isn't a fan of the name of the genre!

Purchase Rahab's Courage on Amazon (affiliate).

Check out Naomi's website and her Facebook Group, and follow her on Instagram.

Also mentioned:

The Chosen TV series.

Join the Historical Fiction: Unpacked Podcast Group on Facebook!

Be sure to visit my Instagram, Facebook, and website.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!

Patti Callahan is the New York Times bestselling author of fifteen novels. In 2018, she dazzled readers and critics alike with her first historical novel, Becoming Mrs. Lewis, about the life of Joy Davidman, wife of C.S. Lewis. In today's episode, we talk about her recent novel Surviving Savannah and her upcoming novel Once Upon a Wardrobe, which will release October 19.

Purchase Surviving Savannah on Amazon (affiliate).

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Purchase Once Upon a Wardrobe on Amazon (affiliate).

Purchase Once Upon a Wardrobe on Bookshop (affiliate).

Check out Patti's website.

Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Also mentioned:

Learn more about the web series “Friends and Fiction.”

The Untold Story Behind Surviving Savannah—a seven-episode podcast series.

Join the Historical Fiction: Unpacked Podcast Group on Facebook!

Be sure to visit my Instagram, Facebook, and website.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!

Bestselling author Liz Tolsma loves writing, research, and editing. Her first novel was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. In this episode, we talked about her passion to share the joy that children with intellectual disabilities can bring to the world. She told about her journey as a mother of a child with microcephaly. She also shared why she keeps writing books about World War Two. Her latest book, A Picture of Hope, released October 1. 

Here's the description of A Picture of Hope:

Journalist Nellie Wilkerson has spent the bulk of the war in London, photographing mothers standing in milk lines—and she’s bored. She jumps at the chance to go to France, where the Allied forces recently landed. There she enlists Jean-Paul Breslau of the French underground to take her to the frontlines. On the journey, they stumble upon a great tragedy, leaving a girl with special needs being orphaned. 

 

Can Nellie and Jean-Paul see the child to a safe haven while being pursued by the Nazis, who are pressed by the advancing Allies and determined to destroy all they can before they flee? 

Purchase A Picture of Hope on Amazon (affiliate). 

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Sign up for Liz's newsletter on her website.

Check out Liz's Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Also mentioned:

Liz's podcast: Christian Historical Fiction Talk.

The French actor and mime Marcel Marceau.

Split-Time or Time-Slip author Melanie Dobson.

Join the Historical Fiction: Unpacked Podcast Group on Facebook!

Be sure to visit my Instagram, Facebook, and website.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!

Pepper Basham is a wife, mom, writer, speaker, and speech-language pathologist! She writes historical and contemporary romance with a love for Britain and her native Appalachia. In this episode, Pepper and I talk about how she began writing and eventually got published, where she gets her inspiration, and the role the theme of identity plays in her latest book, The Mistletoe Countess.

Here's a description of The Mistletoe Countess:

Mistletoe is beautiful and dangerous, much like the woman from Lord Frederick’s Percy’s past, so when he turns over a new leaf and arranges to marry for his estate, instead of his heart, he never expects the wrong bride to be the right choice. Gracelynn Ferguson never expected to take her elder sister’s place as a Christmas bride, but when she’s thrust into the choice, she trusts in her faithful novels and overactive imagination to help her not only win Frederick’s heart but also to solve the murder mystery of Havensbrook Hall before the ghosts from Frederick’s past ruin her fairytale future.

Purchase The Mistletoe Countess on Amazon (affiliate).

Purchase The Mistletoe Countess on Bookshop (affiliate).

Also mentioned:

Christmas in Mistletoe Square releases tomorrow, October 1! Purchase it on Amazon (affiliate).

Pepper's favorite place to find inspiration: The Biltmore.

Pepper's and Jaime Jo Wright's podcast, Smooches & Stabs!

Check out Pepper's website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Join the Historical Fiction: Unpacked Podcast Group on Facebook!

Be sure to visit my Instagram, Facebook, and website.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!

Award-winning author and speaker Cam Molineux wants to help Americans understand and fall in love with their history. With genealogical ties to and a shared patriotic spirit with her novel's protagonist, she is uniquely qualified to tell his story.

If not for William Molineux, a man of determined spirit and rowdy imagination, the Boston Tea Party might never have happened. Yet you won’t read about him in most history books—but you will in The Spirit of a Revolution. His fight for freedom is eerily similar to what Americans face in the opening decades of the twenty-first century.

In this episode, Cam and I discuss her ties to William Molineux, what this little-known firebrand added to the fight for liberty, and the inspiration behind her remarkable debut novel.

Purchase The Spirit of a Revolution on Amazon (affiliate).

Purchase The Spirit of a Revolution on Bookshop (affiliate).

Learn about the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.

Read more about William Molineux in this article (the source for the quote at the end of the episode).

Check out Cam's website, and consider having her speak to your group.

Join the Historical Fiction: Unpacked Podcast Group on Facebook!

Be sure to visit my Instagram, Facebook, and website.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!