Queens Don’t Play: Fear and Gender Equality in Elizabeth’s Court [GUEST POST]

Queen Elizabeth I lived during a precarious time for women. Still, she had a knack for handling the men in her life. (*Elizabeth Receiving Dutch Ambassadors, 1560s* by Levina Teerlinc, Public Domain)

We love a good mystery… especially when it transports us to a time and place we could never go on our own. In Suzanne M. Wolfe’s new novel, A Murder by Any Name, readers are taken to Elizabethan England, where the queen’s ladies in waiting are being killed off one by one, and only one man can find the killer. This premise made us wonder if while researching this story, whether or not Ms. Wolfe discovered any disparities between how the Queen dealt with men versus women. If so, to what extent did fear play a factor in how she dealt with each gender? The author answers all our questions in today’s fascinating guest post. Enjoy! —J&H Continue reading “Queens Don’t Play: Fear and Gender Equality in Elizabeth’s Court [GUEST POST]”

Suzanne M. WolfeDecember 19, 2018December 19, 2018Leave a comment

Books, Videos

Love Sees Past Race in Sarah Creviston Lee’s ‘The War Between Us’ [EXCERPT]

Sarah Creviston Lee's THE WAR BETWEEN US blog tour banner It never fails to surprise me. No matter how many novels I read set against the backdrop of World War II, no two stories are ever identical. Because so many nations were involved in the conflict, the war tore everyone apart. But even in the midst of great turmoil and grief, stories of survival and courage and undeniable love continue to emerge. That’s why I love Sarah Creviston Lee’s book, The War Between Us. In it, she captures the dramatic, captivating and bittersweet romance between two people who should never have fallen in love. All these years after WWII, it is a story that is simultaneously touching, heartfelt, and relevant to today’s turbulent social climate. I think you’ll see what I mean when you read the excerpt below. Enjoy! —Jathan Continue reading “Love Sees Past Race in Sarah Creviston Lee’s ‘The War Between Us’ [EXCERPT]”

Jathan FinkDecember 17, 2018December 19, 2018Leave a comment

Books, Editorial

A Lot of Work for a Little Snow [GUEST POST]

Wintertime at the Monastery — Sometimes the smallest detail creates the largest amount of work for an author, like trying to pick the perfect time for a setting to have snow. E.M. Powell explains in this guest post regarding her new novel, *The Monastery Murders*. (Photo by Paul R. Robinson, Flickr)

Whenever we pick up a book by one of our favorite authors, we may not realize just how much research went into writing a certain character, choosing a setting, or crafting a particular scene, especially when the author does her job as seamlessly as historical mystery author, E.M. Powell. Reading her latest novel, The Monastery Murders, she excels at luring us into the story’s disarming setting and made us ask: How did holiday traditions differ way back in 1176 and how does she utilize these details to build suspense? Thankfully she explains in today’s guest post. Enjoy! —J&H

E.M. PowellNovember 19, 2018November 20, 2018Leave a comment

Books, Contest

When A Bad Idea Seems Like Your Only Option [GUEST POST]

Woman in white dress — When society is unforgiving, some secrets must be kept at all costs. (Photo courtesy K. A. Servian)

What would you do if everything you thought you knew about yourself turned out to be a lie? In the new book, A Pivotal Right, a young woman named Viola is faced with just such a dilemma when she discovers her father isn’t who she thought he was and that her mother, Florence, has kept the truth hidden for years.

This premise captured our imaginations, so we invited the author to tell us how being a mother herself impacted the way she wrote Viola’s character and what advice she would give to Florence on how to handle telling a child such a carefully guarded secret. We hope you enjoy this guest post from K.A. Servian! —Jathan & Heather Continue reading “When A Bad Idea Seems Like Your Only Option [GUEST POST]”

K.A. ServianNovember 9, 2018November 7, 20181 Comment

Books

A.B. Michaels Makes Surprising Discovery While Researching ‘The Price of Compassion’ [GUEST POST]

San Francisco Fire Sacramento Street 1906 — The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 left the city in chaos as fire spread from one building to another. (Photo by Arnold Genthe – Library of Congress from early 20th Century lantern slide, Public Domain)

When a historical fiction author pens a new book, we always have loads of questions for them. But in the case of A.B. Michaels and her latest novel, The Price of Compassion, we just had one burning question that we wanted to ask. In this case, we asked her to tell us about the most challenging part of researching the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and whether or not any heroic stories from that time period inspired her during the writing process. We hope you enjoy her answer in today’s guest post. —Jathan & Heather Continue reading “A.B. Michaels Makes Surprising Discovery While Researching ‘The Price of Compassion’ [GUEST POST]”