Textiles, Weaving, and the Old Ways

Highlighting Historical Romance with Rachael Miles and the facts behind her heroine’s textile arts. In Brazen in Blue, Lady Emmeline Hartley runs her estate on the newest, most efficient methods. She even reads the Farmer’s Magazine — as a point of trivia the articles she comments on really did appear in the 1819 volume of that […]

The Bootlegger’s Wife

Highlighting Historical Romance with Denise Devine and the facts behind The Bootlegger’s Wife. The house in The Bootlegger’s Wife is actually a residence in St. Paul, Minnesota that belongs to someone I know. For years, every time I visited, my writer’s mind kept thinking about how much I wanted to include it in a book. […]

Holiday Gifts

Several retailers are being kept busy delivering boxes to my household lately—and many other houses as well. Like many of you, I’m all virtual this year. Gifts are arriving, gifts for family, yes, but also for those who’ve been serving us during the year: church folks and friends, rubbish collectors, letter carriers and so on. […]

Not Just a Christmas Treat

Highlighting facts behind historical fiction with Jude Knight and the Gingerbread Bride The term Gingerbread is now used to mean any sweet treat that uses ginger with one or more of honey, molasses, or treacle. It can refer to shapes or edible houses made of cookie dough with those ingredients, or more cake-like loaves. Whatever, […]

Coffee and Sudden Turns

The work took a sudden turn two weeks ago. I didn’t start The Defiant Daughter until I had a firm handle on the main characters. At least I thought I did. My hold on the external conflict, or as I have come to call it “the villain plot” was less secure. I plunged in and […]

Banks, Revolution, and Women’s Rights

Highlighting Facts Behind Historical Romance With Jan Selbourne and The Woman Behind the Mirror A couple of years ago I read an interesting article on the Bank of England. Wanting to know more, I checked their website and learned the bank was incorporated by act of Parliament in 1694 with the purpose of raising funds […]

Poor Schools and The Education Act of 1870

Highlighting Facts About Education in the Nineteenth Century and in Her Novel Tempting Fate with Michelle Jean Marie In this day and age of Primary, Secondary, Further and Higher Education in England, it’s difficult to believe that a little over 150 years ago, education for children wasn’t even mandatory in the country. In a United […]

New Orleans Voodoo

Highlighting Facts Behind Voodoo in Bitter Bonds with Heather Osborne Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, during the 1830s and 1840s on slave plantations is cloaked in mystery. It came about in the 1700s, when many slaves were transported to the colonies from West Africa. We believe it originated mainly with the Fon […]

Circus and Carnivale

Highlighting facts behind Historical Romance with Aubrey Wynne and Karma’s Karnivale The Big Top, Ring Master, clowns, acrobats, tightrope walkers, animal acts. The circus is still a beloved show, though its form has changed over the past centuries. Circus comes from Latin word for ring or circle. Public entertainment such as chariot or boat races […]

Broken Bones in the 18th Century

Highlighting facts behind Historical Romance with Hallie Alexander and her Widow’s Guide to Scandal. A broken ankle in the 18th Century requiring the patient to stay abed for 6-8 weeks was inconvenient at best, unless the accident causing the fracture occurred at the home of your love interest. That’s what happened to the hero in […]