It's Just Historical

It was a joy to talk about so many things with New York Times bestselling author, Tasha Alexander! I think we covered just about everything... Education, history, research, oh—and writing. I hope you all enjoy this podcast, which was interrupted a couple of times thanks to the vagaries of the Internet, but we managed.

I had a great chat with publisher Linda Cardillo of Bellastoria Press. Full disclosure: Bellastoria published the first two volumes of my Orphans of Tolosa Trilogy and will be publishing the third and final volume in 2021. Linda is fabulous to work with and a terrific author too. We talk about the ins and outs of hybrid publishing, the options for publishing today, and how Bellastoria has carved out a niche recently publishing historical fiction.

We also mention the fabulous Jane Friedman, whose industry knowledge and wonderful online seminars about topics of great use to writers are well worth the modest prices she charges to attend them.

In which I talk about just a few of the books I'm looking forward to in 2021, including:

Band of Sisters, by Lauren Willig
The Women of Chateau Lafayette, by Stephanie Dray
The Steel Beneath the Silk, by Patricia Bracewell
The Rose Code, by Kate Quinn
Hour of the Witch, by Chris Bohjalian
The Children's Blizzard, by Melanie Benjamin
Wild Women and the Blues, by Denny S. Bryce
Meet Me in Bombay, by Jennie Ashcroft

In this brief pre-Thanksgiving podcast, I talk a little about book coaching—my other life outside of being a historical novelist. I promised links to my coaching Web site: https://susannedunlapedits.com, and the Author Accelerator book coach training Web site: https://bookcoaches.com. Excuse the self-promo, but I'm a huge ambassador for this really fun, fruitful relationship between writer and coach. You'll see when you listen. :)

Ellen Meeropol's gorgeous novel is a must read—even if I'm still skeptical that the 1960s qualify as historical fiction! A story of sibling love and tensions set against a backdrop of protests of the Vietnam war.

We had a great conversation, and she'll be joining me and Lee Wicks for a virtual reading on Thursday, December 3, hosted by Writers in Progress.

Find out more about Ellen's books and where to buy them at her Web site! 

In which I ponder many things: the state of the world, reading and writing historical fiction, reviews, book coaching, and more. It's a short one.

It amazes me how much I learn every time I talk to another author. Stephanie was so generous and lively, and I'm now completely smitten with all of the heroines in her forthcoming novel, The Women of Chateau Lafayette, which will be here in March (it's available for preorder now). Actually, I was smitten before we spoke. Listen to us nearly in tears at one point... LOL! Historical fiction can be very emotional...

This was a pure delight, to talk about research stories, methods, organization, and more, with three wonderful historical novelists. Joining me are Jacqueline Sheehan, Linda Cardillo, and Michelle Cameron, who talk about libraries, museums, and travel—among other things!

The timeline software I mentioned is Aeon Timeline (it syncs with Scrivener, if you use that program).

Such a fun conversation with Jeri Westerson about her new Steampunk historical mystery/fantasy/adventure! Lots of imaginative characters, a hint of romance, and a liberal sprinkling of magic, all set in a fictional Victorian London. The book comes out on October 31 (Halloween!!!). Jeri's having lots of fun events, including a Facebook Live launch and a YouTube launch!

In which we talk about research, the 17th century, the 16th century, falconry, the Napoleonic era, research, beta readers, the Internet—and what we failed in primary school. Sandra Gulland is her usual lovely, generous self in this conversation, which was so much fun!