7 Questions WIth Eliza Knight, Historical Fiction Author

 

Eliza Knight is an award-winning, USA Today and international bestselling author. Eliza is an avid history buff and her love of history began as a young girl when she traipsed the halls of Versailles. She also writers women's contemporary fiction under the pseudonym, Michelle Brandon. Eliza is a member of the Historical Novel Society, Novelists, Inc., Women's Fiction Writing Association, Tall Poppy Writers, the creator of the popular historical blog, History Undressed, and host on the History, Books and Wine podcast. Knight lives in the sunshine state with her husband, three daughters, two dogs and a turtle. Her latest books are Can't We Be Friends, a collaboration with Denny S. Bryce, and The Queen's Faithful Companion.  Her website is https://elizaknight.com/  .

1. How and when did you get hooked on history?

As a child growing up, my father was a huge history buff. We lived near D.C. so spent weekends at museums, and watched a lot of documentaries at home. I was also very lucky to have grandparents who lived in France, so from an early age, I spent a lot of time at castles and French museums as well.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

Beyond forging a career as a historical writer and podcaster, I love to spend time at historical sites and museums. I travel around the world learning about history just for fun, and I'm fortunate my family loves to join me.

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

As an author, I get to spend all day in the past with events that really happened and sometimes with people who really lived. I love to bring history and people to life for readers. As a historical podcaster, I love to learn about people and events in history and talk about them with other authors and librarians.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

In order to grow as a person and as a society, we need to learn from our past. Learn what worked, and what didn't. Humans are very good at evolving, and without knowing the past, it is hard to reach newer and greater heights of achievement.

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

Great question! I want to say that I don't really have a favorite period, because I'm interested in all of them! But I do love to learn about women in history who forged their paths and fought through adversity. Those are the stories I like to tell. Much of history was written by men, for men, and so the stories of the women are often lost, but are just as important to know.

6. In your opinion as an author and/or reader, what are the essential qualities of really good historical fiction? 

A really good historical fiction novel immerses you in the time and place. You feel like you're in the room where it's all happening, and rather than getting pulled out by paragraphs that feel like a historical lesson, you learn by experiencing the times and events with the characters. To me, a good historical fiction, is like time traveling.

7. As an author in search of stories to tell, what kinds of stories catch your attention? Are there common themes that run through your historical fiction?

I love stories of women who striving to achieve something. And they don't always win, but they do make an impact. I think a strong theme in my novels are independent women, but also friendships and interpersonal relationships. Whether I'm writing about mothers/daughters, sisters, friends, lovers, dogs, there is always that connection between people that I think is imperative to survival.

7 Questions with M.B. Zucker, Author of The Middle Generation

 

M. B. Zucker has been interested in storytelling for as long as he can remember. He devoted himself to historical fiction at fifteen and earned his B.A. at Occidental College and his J.D. at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He lives in Virginia with his family. He is the author of four novels. Among his honors is the Best Fictional Biography Award at the 2023 BookFest.  Website https://www.michaelbzucker.com/ 

1.      How and when did you get hooked on history?

I’ve been interested in storytelling for as long as I can remember. I wrote “books” about dinosaurs at age seven and discovered superheroes at nine. I learned about World War II at 15 in history class, and my interests mapped onto that real-life conflict between heroes and villains for the fate of civilization. Eisenhower became my favorite “character” from the war, which spurned my reading about all of the Presidents and American history.

2.      What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

There hasn’t been a part of my life that history hasn’t touched. Eisenhower became a third parent, as I used to joke, shaping my values and worldview. I saw everything through a historical lens, including my own life, which I analyzed the way historians would American and world history, dividing it into different periods and predicting how I would remember specific events over time.

3.      How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

History has been part of my professional life ever since that initial spark 13 years ago. I wrote a World War II novel titled A Great Soldier in the Last Great War while in high school and founded my school’s chapter of the Veterans Heritage Project, which interviewed Arizona veterans and catalogued their experiences in annual volumes. I majored in history in college and wrote my thesis on how Charles de Gaulle inspired Nixon’s opening to China. I received a concentration in National Security Law in law school and interned with the Navy and Coast Guard JAGs and with the Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone. I became a professional historical fiction writer in 2021 and recently published my fourth novel.

4.      Why is studying/knowing history important?

It’s a cliche for a reason to say that you can’t understand the present without studying the past. History informs us how the modern world came to be and is also what policy makers and learned people look to for guidance. It also is the ultimate source of knowledge about human nature and all of its contradictions and nuances. It tells us how people become good, evil, or in between, and how individuals and groups rise and fall in a competitive and vicious world.

5.      What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency. It was my dominant obsession in college and I read 35 nonfiction books about him. I’m particularly interested in his foreign policy legacy. I synthesized the analyses of various historians and credit him with stabilizing the nuclear age. He did this by designing the nuclear deterrent, an affordable way to contain communism until the USSR collapsed, and also defused repeated crises in Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Suez, Hungary, and Berlin where his advisors and the Joint Chiefs advocated a nuclear strike. He refused each time while preventing communism’s spread. Doing this set a global taboo against using nuclear weapons. I think this is one of the greatest achievements of any leader in world history and it inspired my first novel as an adult, The Eisenhower Chronicles.

6.         Your books are incredibly diverse and unique. Your most recent book, The Middle Generation, is a political thriller centering on John Quincy Adams.  How does that idea even start?

The Eisenhower Chronicles was a learning experience and I knew I’d grown as a writer through the process of assembling it. Upon completion I wanted to pick a similar topic to test myself. I see Eisenhower as the greatest American foreign policy practitioner of the 20th century and so Adams, the greatest Secretary of State and practitioner of the 19th century, was a logical follow-up. I started researching him and, once I realized that the Monroe Doctrine, which he wrote as Secretary of State, was the winning chess move in his showdown with Europe over South American independence, I knew I had my story. I was all the more excited because Europe at the time was controlled by the Holy Alliance, a group of monarchies who kept the peace in the continent through force after Napoleon’s defeat. Their leader was an Austrian diplomat named Metternich, who was arguably the greatest diplomat in European history. That meant the story could be framed as a clash between Adams and Metternich, which interested me and, I hope, interests readers. Writing it as a political thriller gave the piece a distinct flavor and also an irony that I enjoy since the period is known as the Era of Good Feelings. Finding such a story in such a period is something I’d like to think only I would have done.

7.         What do we have wrong, in your opinion, about John Quincy Adams and how should he be remembered?

I’m not sure Adams’ role in historical memory is “wrong” as much as it’s incomplete. His showdown with the Holy Alliance over South America’s independence is a large oversight that I hope my novel helps to correct. We should also view him as the primary bridge between the Founders and Lincoln. He was not only the second President’s son, but his career started with George Washington appointing him minister to The Hague and ended as Lincoln’s mentor in Congress. He even prophesied how a future President would end slavery with an executive order during a civil war. Finally, his story should be a warning of how parents pressuring their children into fields not of their choosing and to be very ambitious can negatively impact their mental health, which in turn can harm their own families.

7 Questions With Erwin Wunderlich, Author

 

Wunderlich grew up in 1950s Florida, fascinated by the stories and experiences of his ancestors and their recollections dating back to the time of statehood.  Starting in his teenage years, he began to record some of their memories, names, and dates that might someday be important to others. When it came time to consider prospective colleges, he had the opportunity to visit the Naval Academy and  subsequently earned an appointment there.   After a subsequent time in the submarine service, he and his wife Susan returned to Florida. Through the years, he earned two masters degrees, one in business and the other in engineering, and a doctorate degree in education. He and Susan raised four children, each of which would themselves attend service academies and become military officers. Today, he occupies his time with writing historical fiction, chiefly based in Civil War and Pioneer era Florida, researching, beekeeping, and carving scrimshaw. His next novel is expected to be published in the fall.

1. How and when did you get  hooked on history?

—My father kept shoving his favorite historical fiction novels in front of me when I was a child.  They were good books by Richard Powell, Marjorie Rawlings, Frank Slaughter, and other authors.  I especially enjoyed stories about the struggles of the pioneers.  

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?  

— A big part.  Besides the extensive research for my historical novels, I also do their illustrations and even further I do award-winning historical scrimshaws.  For those who might not be aware, scrimshaw is an old engraving process where I add ink to my scratchings (see photo example of a scrimshaw I did of Chief Osceola on abalone shell).

3. How does history play  a part of your professional life/career? 

—My family has always loved history, whether it be history by finding lost relics on my bee farm, or history driving by roadsigns (such as in Archer, Florida which motivated me to write my DRUMMER novel concerning Richmond’s gold coming to Archer in 1865). I love doing the requisite background historical research for my fiction books, plus writing articles for various historical magazines.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

—History is the glue behind our human beliefs and heritage.   Local history has unfortunately become shortchanged in our formal education process.  In 1960s Florida, for example, I saw each county controlling its own history curriculum and learning objectives.  Then thanks to the power of funding, with the worry of falling behind other nations, the state took over with its own cram-packed curricula and standards.  And now there is further pressure to have a national curriculum.  

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

—I like pioneer-type history that tries to give the reader an appreciation of the hardships that our trailblazers faced.  These difficulties and challenges seem oft forgotten nowadays, but can be quite inspiring.  It is my own hope that folks will enjoy my own historical works, plus get busy on their own historical efforts such as documenting their own families’ stories, doing drawings, or the like.

6.       Tell us about your first book Salvos on the Backwater and about your latest projects?

—I had joined a Jacksonville writing club, as a lark, that met one night a week after work.  The group required three pages of writing each time, else you would get the boot from the club.   After such weekly critiques, and a year’s worth of pages, I found myself in a good position to come out with my SALVOS book as a historical novel. It would won a number of first-place awards in various contests, to include the Patrick Smith Award which was presented to me at a banquet by Mr. Smith himself.

7.       Florida seldom gets much attention in Civil War History. What exactly was its significance during the war and what are some examples of stories that should be researched and told?

—Florida turned out to be the breadbasket of the Confederacy, supplying the Army of Northern Virginia with cows and other staples.  As to the state’s few soldiers from its small population, Robert E. Lee designed the Florida war strategy to allow Federal coastal raids, then for the militia to respond to such raids with hit-and-run attacks (much like the Seminoles’ hit-and-run war strategy in Florida up to the year 1858).  

Florida had tough (the best) battle-ready soldiers and cavalrymen, both mainstream and militia, and there is much lore concerning their CW exploits.  Floridians were able to defend Tallahassee and make it the only state capital east of the Mississippi River never overrun by the Federals.

Today, btw, reenactors and folks remember Florida’s two major battles annually at her Olustee and Natural Bridge State Parks, come each February and March. I am often invited to attend these festivals with my books.  The Olustee event is quite large, and I would suggest it to new folks that might want to witness living history.

7 Questions with Historical Fiction Author Perrie Patterson

 

Perrie is a graduate of the University of Alabama. She and her husband Jeff have raised two children and live just north of Atlanta. While Jeff still works for Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Georgia, Perrie has taken to writing novels. Her first four books fall into the new adult romance category, and three of those stories are in the Crimson Series trilogy and take place on the University of Alabama campus. Her other book, Hit Zero could be either young adult (characters are 13-17) or new adult (characters are 18-24) and is a ----second chance, finding a faith of your own, falling in love, all while learning to forgive someone who's hurt you deeply story---- set to the background of competition cheerleading. Perrie's 5th novel is her first historical fiction romance and takes place during the American Revolution and was inspired by Benjamin Tallmadge, a Second Continental Dragoon commander and the espionage leader for what historians would later call The Culper Spy Ring. Available here https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/leader-of-liberty-perrie-patterson/1142929060?ean=9798218132101 

In her free time, Perrie volunteers with the local NSDAR and holds four positions in her DAR chapter. She is a mentor for the Forsyth County School system, leads a ladies Bible study group through Brown's Bridge Community Church, hosts a book podcast where she interviews authors of all genres called The Talking Book Atlanta, and she and husband Jeff enjoy team trivia with their regular Tuesday night team. Perrie's books are available on Amazon, and her website is:  www.perriepatterson.com .

 

1. When did you first get hooked on history?

I had a great high school history teacher. I grew up in Mandeville, LA which is along the North shores of Lake Pontchartrain. But history was not something I was interested in majoring in in college. I was told at a fairly young age that I could join the NSDAR, because I had an ancestor who fought in the American Revolution. I was actually a fashion merchandising major and graduated from the University of Alabama in 1989.

2. What role does history play in your life?

As I mentioned in the first question, I knew I could join the DAR at a young age, but it wasn't until a neighbor mentioned to me one day that she was planning to attend the local DAR chapter meeting. I told her that I knew I could join it and told her I'd like to go with her. It turned out that I did join the chapter and she did not join. I joined the NSDAR Chestatee River Chapter in 2015. Ever since that time, I've grown fonder of our American history and founding of our nation, as well as my own family's role in that. I am now also a member of the Decedents of the Founders of New Jersey, as an ancestor came over from England during the Puritan migration around the year 1636 and helped to settle cities, towns and the state of New Jersey.

3. What role does history play in your career?

As an author, I have written a historical fiction based on the life of a Second Continental Dragoon commander who was also the espionage leader for what historians would later call The Culper Spy Ring. I also have a podcast called The Talking Book Atlanta and through the podcast I interview authors of all genres, some are historians and have written fabulous nonfiction. 

4. Why do you feel studying history is important?

Not only is history interesting, I think that by studying the events, people and things that happened in the past it helps us to better understand what happened in the past and maybe reasons for the way things happened. Studying history might also provide a window into the past giving us a view into the lives, the thoughts and the scenery of past worlds, countries, cities, queens and kings, and kingdoms, which in turn should help us to better understand our lives today maybe giving us ideas about what works and what doesn't. 

5. What is your favorite period in history?

I would have to say the 18th century is a favorite of mine. Particularly the study of the American Revolution and the founding of our nation.

6. What drew you to writing  historical fiction?

It goes back to being a member of the NSDAR, and for those unfamiliar ----that stands for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution which is an ancestor-based society and was founded in 1890 by four women. It is one, it not the oldest all-female volunteer service organization in the country. It focuses on God, Home, Country through service, volunteering, preserving our historic sites and buildings, celebrating our history, providing scholarships for students and educating the public about our nation's history as well as supporting our veterans and active military. My local chapter has a book club and through that we read a book titled: 355 Women in Washington's Spy Ring by Kit Sergent. At the same time, I was reading this novel, I was watching the TV show based on Washington's spies called TURN. From there my fascination grew to the point I had to write a book inspired by the life of Benjamin Tallmadge, who was asked by Washington to take up a private correspondence during the revolution which helped Washington win the war.

7. What are the Hallmarks of  great historical fiction in your opinion?

Great historical fiction must be filled with historical facts, and some of the work’s characters should be real people from history. Historical works of fiction should draw the reader into the story by giving them a character or several characters to root for, those whose lives they are intrigued by and wish to know more about. And good historical fiction should have a touch of romance, as well as enthralling and captivating scenes that bring the reader into the pages of the book through the use of words they can almost taste. 

7 Questions With Cody C. Engdahl, Author of Historical Fiction

 

Cody C. Engdahl was born and raised in Detroit but lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He's a practitioner of the "Southern Gentlemanly Arts." In addition to writing a series of historical novels focusing mostly on the Civil War, he is also an amateur fiddler, cook, whiskey connoisseur, and armchair historian.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                           1.   How and when did you get hooked on history?

I’ve been into history for as long as I can remember. I think it must have started when I was a child watching old swashbuckling movies. I remember making swords out of sticks and pretending I was a knight, a Roman legionnaire, or Errol Flynn on a pirate ship. I remember thinking that I had been born too late as I fantasized about the time when men wore swords on their hips and had dashing adventures.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

It’s the source of all my entertainment and passion. I feel sorry for my girlfriend because I never want to watch anything unless it has swords or possibly spaceships. All the novels I read are historical fiction. I can spend hours online looking at the succession of English kings or reading about some ancient battle for no other reason than satisfying my own fascination.

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

It’s at the core now of my professional life. I started writing historical novels after I left my career as a TV reporter. Researching, writing, editing, and marketing take up much of my time. I also do as many book talks and signing as I can. I play old-time fiddle, which works nicely with the era in which I write. My banjo player and I play a lot of gigs at historical events and sites, often in period clothing. I typically play my fiddle at Civil War shows as well to attract people to my table. It helps me sell books!

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

History is the story of who we are and how we got here. It’s difficult to solve the problems of today and tomorrow if we don’t understand those two things. You can also see repeating patterns in history and human behavior. The study of history is really the best way of predicting the future.

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

That’s the toughest question yet. I like it all! My writing focuses on the “Long 19th Century,” which is roughly the French Revolution to the onset of World War I. It’s the story of modernity. Most of our worldview is born from this age. It’s a time of great turmoil and transition. It’s both familiar and exotic to us. 

I’m also very much a twelve-year-old boy at heart so I tend to obsess over military, weapons, war, adventure, and honor culture. But that’s just because I’m immature and not for any profound reason.

6. What drew you to writing historical fiction in general and about the Civil War in particular? 

Because I’m a fan. Like many historical novelists, I am a big fan of Bernard Cornwell as well as too many others to name, but I must say it was Arturo Perez-Reverte’s Alatriste series that finally prompted me to write. I felt the American Civil War was the best place to start because I was familiar with it, there's a ton of resources, and a huge built-in audience. I practically live on a battlefield. 

7. Please tell us about Mexico, My Love, your latest novel?

That’s a prequel to my Civil War trilogy that I had planned from the very beginning. You can see me setting it up in Chapter One of my first novel, Rampage on the River: The Battle for Island No. 10. It’s the story of the parents of my main character in the trilogy. It’s about how they meet, fall in love, run away together, and go on a grand adventure that’ll take them through the deserts of Africa, across the pirate-infested seas, and ultimately to the Battle of Mexico City in the Mexican-American War. 

7 Questions With Colin Mustful, History Through Fiction Podcast

 

Colin Mustful is the founder and editor of History Through Fiction. As a traditional publisher, he works with authors who want to share important historical stories with the world. He is also an independent author and historian who has published four historical novels. He has a Master of Arts degree in history and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. Mustful is an avid runner and soccer player who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He believes that learning history is vital to understanding our world today and finding just, long-lasting solutions for the future.

1. How did you get hooked on history?

My interest in history has been a process. Growing up I was always drawn by historical markers. When I reached college I began studying Native American history—especially as it related to their displacement and removal. It intrigued me that such a profound tragedy could have possibly happened and I wanted to know why. Also, during college, I discovered that I had an aptitude for writing historical essays. This led to what would eventually become a career writing and publishing historical fiction. 

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

History plays an important role in everyone's personal lives...I believe. It colors our perspective and determines our perception of the world. It helps us understand the world around us and provides us with the tools to think critically about what's going on around us and how to respond. 

3.  How does history play  a part of your professional life/career?

I work as a para educator in the social studies department at a local high school. I also write and publish historical novels. As an author and publisher, I spend a lot of time conveying history through blogs, articles, videos, and public speaking engagements. 

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

It's absolutely vital to our understanding of the cultures, conflicts, and circumstances of the world around us. Without knowing and understanding history we cannot know or understand our neighbors or ourselves. History allows us to think critically, helping us make better, more informed decisions while giving us a deep and necessary sense of empathy for people and places outside of our own inner circle. 

5.  What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

I find all history fascinating in one way or another. But I'm continually drawn by the genocide of Western Indigenous peoples. It seems an impossible tragedy that we still understand so little about and have learned so little from. 

6.  How did the History Through Fiction Podcast come about?

I began podcasting with the New Book Network. This gave me an introduction to the podcasting process, something I didn't know how to do beforehand. Also, after working as a para educator in a digital music class, I learned a lot about digital audio workstations and sound design. So, after starting my press in 2019, I decided to combine my experience and knowledge to launch my own podcast as a way to advance my online presence and find more readers. 

7. What do you hope to convey to your listeners and followers?

I hope that writers can relate to the authors that are on the podcast. I hope that they discover that they are not alone in the daunting process of writing, publishing, and promoting a novel. I hope that readers gain a greater appreciation for everything a writer must go through to bring a book into the world. And, of course, I hope all listeners learn something new about history while discovering new books and authors to add to the TBR (to be read list). 

7 Questions With Piper Huguley, Historical Fiction Author

Piper Huguley seeks to make new inroads in the publication of historical romance by featuring African American Christian characters.  The Lawyer’s Luck and The Preacher’s Promise, the first books in her “Home to Milford College” series, are Amazon best sellers.  The Mayor’s Mission, published in Winter 2014.  The next entry in the series, The Representative’s Revolt was published in Spring 2015. She is a 2013 Golden Heart finalist for her novel, A Champion’s Heart—the fourth book in “Migrations of the Heart”. The first book in the series, A Virtuous Ruby, was the first-place winner in The Golden Rose Contest in 2013 and was a Golden Heart finalist in 2014. The first three books in the “Migrations of the Heart” series, which follows the loves and lives of African American sisters during America’s greatest internal migration in the first part of the twentieth century, was published by Samhain Publishing in 2015.  She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son. Her latest book is By Her Own Design.  https://piperhuguley.com/

1. How and when did you get hooked on history?

When I was young. I also read the Little House series and dressed up as a different historical figure every Halloween. I was also Laura Ingalls Wilder one time with a sunbonnet perched upon my afro! 

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

I made my husband tour historical places for our honeymoon. 

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

As a professor, I've personally witnessed the great decline in the historical knowledge of students over the past 30 years. I'm changing careers from being a literary professor to an author of historical fiction in order to find new and dynamic ways of imparting history to the general population of adults. 

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

Knowing the full historical truth of a wide variety of people in the United States, will help us to come to a more complete understanding of how the American experiment benefits everyone all over the world. When we only know part of our history, we are cheated of understanding the great sacrifices many others have made to help the United States become a great country. 

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

 In the United States from  Civil War to Civil Rights.  Too many people want to skip over the complexities of this period. We need to slow down and appreciate all of it. 

6. What inspired you to write historical fiction?

When I realized there were only a handful of historical fiction stories about Black women written by Black women, I knew I had to help more people understand the unheralded contributions Black women in the United States have made to this country. Historical fiction helps light the spark of interest so that more scholars of history will do the difficult work of documenting the lives of marginalized women who would not have left primary source materials behind. 

7. In your opinion, what are the hallmarks of well-written historical fiction?

Relatable characters, a clear narrative, period appropriate language and a complete author's note at the end of the book to explain how historical research was used to write the story. 

 

7 Questions with Novelist J.G. Lewis

 

J. G. Lewis grew up in London, England, where she spent her childhood visiting nearby museums and watching the mounted regiment ride down her street. She came to the U.S. for college and stayed for the sunshine.

A USA Today bestselling novelist, she didn’t delve into historical fiction until she discovered genealogy and the impressive cast of potential characters in her family history. Once she realized how many fascinating historical figures are all but forgotten, she decided to breathe life into them again by creating stories for them to inhabit.

The Ela of Salisbury series features the formidable Ela Longespée, wife of King Henry II’s illegitimate son William. The widowed mother of eight children, Ela served as High Sheriff of Wiltshire and castellan of Salisbury and ultimately founder and abbess of Lacock Abbey.

J. G. Lewis currently lives in Florida with her dogs and horses. 

            1. How and when did you get hooked on history?

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t intrigued by history. I grew up in central London within walking distance of the Victoria and Albert Museum. My mother was and is a lover of art and history and books and shared her passions with me and my sisters.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

Some of my earliest memories are visiting the costume galleries at the V&A and learning—while looking at tiny panier dresses and delicate embroidered mules—that people were much smaller back then due to nutrition. Now that I know more, I suspect that the galleries are full of tiny clothes and shoes because those are the ones that didn’t really fit anyone and thus didn’t get worn out! Ela’s husband William Longespée was over 6’ tall. Based on how she appears on her seal I imagine Ela being fairly tall as well. I’ve since learned a healthy suspicion of preconceived notions about history and everything else in life.

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

My first real job after college was at a museum, now known as The Paley Center for Media. I worked my way up from administrative assistant to curator over the eight years that I was there. After leaving the museum I wrote contemporary novels which were published all over the world in more than twenty languages. Delving into genealogy made me want to explore history in my fiction, as I became fascinated with the untold stories hiding in the past. Although I grew up in England, and even did an A-Level in History, I had never heard of Ela, or even that there was a female sheriff during the middle ages. Exploring Ela’s life and imagining her exploits took my writing career in an exciting new direction.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

Learning history gives us insight into our own humanity and provides a sort of touchstone for whether we are on the right track. I think through much of the twentieth century there was a feeling that we were moving forward into a brighter and better future of the “better living through chemistry” sort. In the 21st century I think people are looking back to the past and pondering the things we lost along the way, like herbal medicine, knowing how to farm without destroying the land, and taking time to reflect and be present.

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

I’ve always been primarily interested in social history: What people wore, what they ate, how they talked, what their houses looked like, etc. It was a great disappointment to me to arrive at university ready to pursue a history degree, and discover that all the classes were about battles and treaties and involved memorizing the dates, locations and reasons for various wars. I quickly changed my major to Semiotics, which allowed me to study aspects of culture that were far more intriguing to me. I’m actually interested in all periods of history, from very ancient to “just yesterday.” If Ela had lived during the Roman era, or the Victorian era or anything in between, I suspect I’d have been just as interested in exploring her life and work. Once you delve into a period of history you realize that the people and even the culture are similar to our own in ways that don’t seem obvious at first glance, and that never fails to fascinate me.

6. What inspired you to write the Ela of Salisbury Medieval Mysteries?

I discovered Ela almost by accident. I typed the name of a Victorian ancestor—Anne Theresa Elizabeth Haly—into Google, and was surprised when it led me to a list of descendants of William the Conqueror. In between myself and that particular William, were quite a few interesting people, including Ela. At the time there had been no books published about Ela since the excellent history of her life published by William Lisle Bowles in 1835. Since she was High Sheriff of Wiltshire I thought it would be fun to imagine what type of crimes she might be called upon to solve, and thus the mystery series was born.

7. Who is Ela and what kind of mysteries is she involved in?

The series begins when Ela finds herself widowed at age thirty-nine. She decides to pursue the roles of sheriff and castellan that were recently held by her husband. Historical records show that she was initially ousted from the castle and had an uphill battle getting it back. This struggle to regain her ancestral home and command the role of sheriff provides a backdrop to the first three books. The mysteries I embroil her in are generally murders—discovering how a young woman came to be found dead in a clump of reeds, or how a foreign merchant mysteriously fell to his death from a castle parapet. My goal in writing the mysteries was to keep things interesting for myself as well as my readers by exploring a variety of plots and subjects within my early thirteenth century setting. So far I’ve confounded Ela with a variety of troublesome villains including opium traders, child slavers and an outlaw. As I write this I’m nearing the end of the first draft on book eight in the series. Information about the books can be found on www.stoneheartpress.com .