Hearts and Flowers

So Valentine’s Day. Do you love it or hate it? You may think that for romance authors it might be one of the most important days of their work year. Perhaps that isn’t so from a writing and planning point of view, but it does make for a great promotional opportunity. Last week’s 1814 Frost […]

Post War Dreams

Highlighting Historical Romance with Brenda Whiteside in Post War America The book of my heart is a coming of age story set in 1945 post-war America. I have my mother to thank for a cast of characters and the core of what became Post-War Dreams. Every morning, Mom would gather the throw rugs and shake […]

Ladies Boxing

Highlighting Historical Romance with Edie Cay about Ladies boxing in Georgian England             Regency England is a well-researched topic. I was able to use plenty of respected secondary sources that compiled information, like maps and descriptions of London. However, when researching Regency boxing, sources became very focused, and when researching women’s participation boxing, resources were […]

Bleeding, Leeches and Mesmerism

Highlighting Historical Romance with Elaine Bach on Regency medical practice. In The Perfect Partner which takes place in England in 1817, the protagonist, Lady Diana Ashton, is involved in a tragic carriage accident. Her earl brother, Colin, employs a barrage of doctors and nurses to care for her. Medicine at the time included things like “bleeding a […]

Keeping in Step

If you don’t participate in the Belles’ Brigade (the Bluestocking Belles’ street team on Facebook) you missed an interesting discussion last Saturday. The topic for Saturday Brunch was group projects—how a group of highly creative friends goes about creating a collection of stories to publish. Let me summarize it. As you can see, keeping everyone […]

Paradise is a Garden

Highlighting Historical Romance with Jude Knight’s thoughts on inspiration in a garden Creative inspiration is an amazing thing. Artists — storytellers in particular — are often asked where their ideas come from. The answer ‘everywhere’, though true, is unhelpful. What questioners really want to know is ‘why did this idea strike you at this time’. […]

Life During the Great Depression

Highlighting Historical Romance with Patricia Kiyono on the Great Depresson and its impact on ordinary folks. The years in American history known as the Great Depression had a lasting effect on the people who lived through it. Though my father wasn’t one to complain, he mentioned a few things about his childhood that told me […]

Chicago Movie Makers

Highlighting Historical Romance with D.C. Reep who shares the history of silent movie makers in Chicago As a lifelong movie buff, I was naturally drawn to a story about early movies and the people who worked in them. The characters in this novel are fictional, but movie making in Chicago was a bustling business at […]

Should Women Own Land?

Highlighting Historical Romance with Colleen L Donnelly on women and property laws. A lover of old buildings, especially houses, I jumped at the chance to purchase a one-room schoolhouse ages ago and turn it into a home…a project, actually. Twelve-foot ceilings, wainscoting that reached higher than my head, nine-foot windows, uninsulated walls, no plumbing or […]