I am currently planning a talk I will be giving for a panel at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Conference in Seattle in September, entitled: “Putting the History in Mystery.” This has led me to ponder the question of what comes first when I write my Victorian San Francisco mysteries—the… Read More »Writing Historical Mysteries: What comes first, research or plot?
“And there was effected the betrayal of Llywelyn in the belfry of Bangor by his own men.” —Brut y Tywysogyon, Peniarth manuscript 20. (Chronicle of the Princes) This comment is sandwiched between the description of the defeat of the English at the Menai Straits on November 6th, and the death… Read More »Betrayal in the Belfry at Bangor by Sarah Woodbury
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
The recent launch of The Gingerbread Spy, book 4 in my WW2 series about the German Resistance, took me back into the heart of the subject. In particular, I took another long look at the Allies’ preparations for D-Day and the critical role played by German double agents under the… Read More »The Black Orchestra – The Real Story by JJ Toner
On January 2, 1492,the great brass bell at the watchtower atop Granada’s Alhambra Palace pealed. Up until that day, the city’sMuslim inhabitants had associated the sound with warnings or danger or death. Now it signaled a momentous change for them and the inhabitants of the royal residence, the last members… Read More »Medieval Moorish Queens of Spain: Aisha and Moraima – Mothers and Patriots by Lisa Yarde