“As with any literary form, there are standards for judging historical novels. They should be historically accurate and steeped in the sense of time and place. We should recognize totems and taboos, food, clothing, vocations, leisure activities, customs, smells, religions, literature, and all that goes into making one time and… Read More »Bringing WWI France to Life by M. K. Tod
One hundred years ago on October 5th 1915 a tired and under strength division of British soldiers landed on the quay at Salonika in northern Greece. The Bulgarian army, part of the Axis forces, were closing in on the borders of Macedonia. They had routed the Serbian Army which was… Read More »The Salonika Campaign Remembered by Loretta Proctor
The occupation of coastal Wilmington, North Carolina in January 1781 by the 82nd Infantry Regiment provides the historical background for Deadly Occupation, my mystery released 12 October 2015. Commanding the regiment was Major James Henry Craig, a 33-year-old combat veteran. The 82nd had been sent to Wilmington to establish a… Read More »A Hero for North Carolina’s Loyalists During the American War by Suzanne Adair
The third book in the Francis Bacon mystery series is called The Widows Guild. I invented the society of influential women, but not its founders: Francis Bacon’s mother, Lady Anne Bacon, and his aunt, Lady Elizabeth Russell. I’m always looking for ways to bring women into my books as protagonists;… Read More »Introducing the widows: Francis Bacon’s redoubtable relations by Anna Castle
Throughout most of history, employment opportunities for women were limited. But by the nineteenth century, advances in education and technology were creating new professions for “ladies”—some of which have since disappeared, some of which are today common, and at least one that remains a highly specialized field. “Telegraph Ladies”… Read More »An Unusual Job for a Woman: A Look at Three Job Opportunities in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries