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
The Books of the Dead (coming out in December), the third book in the series of the Elysium Texts (see The Hermetica of Elysium and The Necromancer’s Grimoire), takes place in the mountains of Persia. The adventurers meet up with Sufi dervishes in the mountains in their search for followers of Zarathustra and the… Read More »Sufi Whirling and the Elysium Texts, by Annmarie Banks
The facts are a constant thorn in the side of every author of historical fiction. HF readers hate it if you get your facts wrong so you sweat blood on research. God help you if you make a mistake. I once had a reader take me to task over a… Read More »WHY HISTORY IS A PAIN IN THE BUTT by Colin Falconer