A Bit of This and That

Busy week! Since I saw you last (so to speak) I planted flowers, hauled beloved to Home Depot (twice), weeded two beds, repotted an orchid, weed-whacked the back yard, and cleaned the clutter that accumulates when a husband is left to his own devices for three weeks. I also gave The Defiant Daughter her very […]

Into the Slums with Aldridge

I travel. Sometimes I travel by boat, plane, or automobile. Sometimes I travel by book. Sometimes I explore the real world. This week I rambled through the worst sections of London with the Marquis of Aldridge. I wouldn’t normally dare go to St. Giles, Seven Dials, the Devil’s Acre etc., the lairs of thieves, murderers, […]

Love at War: a WWII Narrative

Highlighting the facts behind Historical Romance with Viola Russell and her novel, Love at War. I began writing my novel Love at War after reading letters my Uncle Russell wrote home during World War II. Russell wrote a series of letters to my grandparents (his parents) and to his wife Vivian. Vivian also wrote him […]

The Slums of London in Regency England

Highlighting the Facts behind Historical Romance with Jude Knight Like any big city, London has always had slum areas. In the early nineteenth century, they were noxious and dangerous. I’ve been studying them for the last two novels in my Regency series, The Return of the Mountain King. In 1800, over a million people lived […]

New Book; New World

I’ve been forced to spend more time lately dealing with Real Life rather than my fictional worlds lately but I’m taking a moment out to remind everyone that Thursday will see the release of not only a new book but a new Caroline Warfield fictional world. The Wayward Son launches on Thursday and will be […]

Did you know England obsessed on the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire throughout the nineteenth century? They called it “The Eastern Question.” The empire begin to decline after they lost the Battle of Vienna in 1683. By 1800, the empire was greatly weakened. Imperial Russia stood to benefit from that decline. England deemed the survival […]

Juneteenth

Highlighting Historical Romance with Nancy Massand and facts behind The Circle Unbroken. In researching the events of 1964 in the Civil Rights era while writing The Circle Unbroken, I was struck by the bigotry that persisted 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation signed on September 22, 1862, during the Civil War. This week 47 states […]

Khartoum is Not Ancient

Did you know that Khartoum is not ancient though important ancient sites are nearby. It was founded in 1821 by Ibraham Ali Pasha on behalf of Muhammad Ali Pasha, his father, the khedive or viceroy of Egypt when Egypt annexed what is now northern Sudan. It was largely a military outpost. 1830 it became the […]

A Different Kind of Steamy Romance

Highlighting Historical Romance with Samara Parish and the facts behind her current release, How to Survive a Scandal. Writing my first historical romance novel was a lot of fun and there was so much to learn. In addition to researching the period and trying to make the book feel authentic, my hero was an engineer. […]

Bring on the Coffee

Is it Monday already? Last week was amazing and the weekend crowded with work, play, and family, family, and family. I shared some family history with the grandchildren of cousins. There were Mother’s Day flowers. And cake. Things are speeding up in my writing life. In case you missed it, The Wayward Son went up […]