Western Trade with Japan before 1854

Highlighting Historical Romance: this week we welcome Sofie Darling who highlights some facts about Western trade in East Asia. When I set out to write my newest release, Tempted by the Viscount, I knew a few facts about the hero: he’s the newly minted Right Honorable Lord Jakob Radclyffe, Fifth Viscount St. Alban, who has […]

War and the Victorian Empire

  Highlighting Historical Romance with Michelle Jean Marie and her research about the Victorian Empire It is difficult to grasp in this day and age that the small island of Great Britain was once the foremost global power for over a century. Britain’s imperial century spanned the years 1815 to 1914, most of that time under […]

Oh Canada!

This week Highlighting Historical Romance will cover Book 1 in my Children of Empire series, which begins in Canada. When I set out to create a series in which the descendants of my Regency heroes and heroines set out to the outposts of empire, the first setting that came to mind was our neighbor up […]

Pollen and the Fog of Spring

How can something invisible make me so miserable?  I spent much of the weekend languishing in the recliner. I watched four lengthy documentaries and two feature films and also read three books. Why? Pollen people. When my breathing shuts down I get lethargic and wander around in a brain fog. It’s hard to write when […]

Squirrel Wars

I looked out this morning to see a squirrel hanging upside down on our new squirrel proof bird feeder. Because it is designed to close under the weight of a squirrel, he eventually got frustrated and jumped to the ground I wondered how he got on it, but when I saw him try a vertical […]

Warfield: Author in Bloom

Ah Spring at last! Much thanks to Dianne Vennetta for inviting me to be part of Authors in Bloom. There are prizes! How can you participate? Read on to the end. Spring in My Neck of the Woods I confess that I am more an admirer of gardens than I am a person dedicated to gardening. […]

Weather, Atmosphere, and Storytelling

Lately, I’m obsessing on the weather. Winter has been unrelenting and the swings have been dramatic—rather like a well-plotted novel, but much less satisfying. Saturday night we ate out on our patio, enjoying a dead perfect evening—not too hot, not too cold, no bugs, bright sun—knowing full well such evenings are rare. It was 80 […]