Get any group of historical novelists together and you’ll hear discussions of research. We read and read and read about the era we plan to write about. We try to sort out the real from the assumed, the misinformed, and the unconcerned writings that have gone before. (Shakespeare, for example,… Read More »What Do Readers of Historicals Want? by Peg Herring
I first got the idea to write a novel about Pocahontas years ago, while I was working in a bookstore where I found a biography about the famous Native American “princess.” Curious, and thinking this would be a familiar and unchallenging story, I started reading the biography on my lunch… Read More »Pocahontas and the origins of Tidewater by Libbie Hawker
For two centuries, a number of historically inaccurate legends and myths have circulated about certain aspects of the American War of Independence. I have debunked some of them in my award-winning crime fiction series set during the American Revolution, the latest book being A Hostage to Heritage. One myth worth… Read More »Religious Diversity in America During the Revolution by Suzanne Adair
There are many reasons why I love writing about historical figures in historical fiction. Chief among them is the chance to create scenes based on guesswork, an explanation of why people who shaped the past might have taken a particular action. Usually, the justification I offer is a lie. History… Read More »The necessity of lies in historical fiction by Lisa Yarde