I most often write about ancient history, so my 2016 novel Mercer Girls, set in mid- to late-19th-century Seattle, was a bit of a departure for me. It’s a novel I wrote for my traditional publisher, Lake Union, as they were hoping for a “historical beach read” for their summer… Read More »Lou Graham, Notorious Madam of Old Seattle by Libbie Hawker
On the eve of the American Civil War, the United States and Great Britain nearly came to blows over a Berkshire pig. Known locally in Washington Territory as the Pig War, it actually is a story of how two countries, one powerful and the other just beginning to rise, came… Read More »The Pig War by J. L. Oakley
When I decided to move Inez Stannert, the protagonist of my Silver Rush historical mystery series, from 1880 Leadville, Colorado, to 1881 San Francisco, California, I knew it would be a whole new game. For one, Inez needed a new position now that she was settled in the city by… Read More »The Mystery in Music—Music and Labor Activities in Victorian San Francisco by Ann Parker
Finding War is my 14th published book. It’s a sequel to Finding Joaquin, and the second in a projected trilogy. Most of my tales take place in California during the 19th or early 20th centuries, though they sometimes wander into Nevada. I read and write historical fiction in part to… Read More »Finding War by Steve Bartholomew
When I was asked by best selling mystery author, Toby Neal, to be in the launch of her Lei Crime Kindle World (mysteries set in Hawaii) in the spring of 2015, the first thing I had to do was look up the word count for a novella– 17,000 to 40,000… Read More »Writing in a Kindle World by Janet Oakley