Family

I generally like to tell people I have a few great passions: faith, history, travel—and family. I use all of them in my books. In the process of writing the Dangerous Books I started with four friends, but I created five families almost by accident: the Wheatlys and the Landrums (A Dangerous Nativity), the Mallets […]

Setting, Characters, and Mail-order Brides

Highlighting Historical Romance with Caroline Clemens I love to write and to read mail-order bride stories. Like most romance readers, I read to relax and dive into another world that guarantees a happily-ever-after ending. After all, if I wanted to be depressed, I could watch the evening news. I strive to be factual as far […]

Culloden: Light After Darkness

Highlighting Historical Romance with Laura Strickland. To anyone who loves Scottish Historical Romance, the Battle of Culloden looms large. In fact, for many of us the entire Bonny Prince Charlie legend more or less epitomizes the bittersweet, double-edged sword—or claymore—of valor and loss, about which we love to read and write. The heart longs to […]

Taking Stock

I’m taking stock of my assets. As a writer, my greatest assets are story ideas and characters. I’ve taken a step back to look at what I have going for me. Let me explain. Now that The Children of Empire Series is well on its way, I have a confession to make. I don’t have […]

In Praise of Decent Men

Over the weekend I read Calico Ball a story collection that reminded me why I write and what sort of stories I hope to create.  I bought it because I can never resist a Carla Kelly story, particularly her Westerns. Why? Aside from great storytelling—her heroes. Her regency novels are full of ordinary middle-class men going about their […]

Western Trade with Japan before 1854

Highlighting Historical Romance: this week we welcome Sofie Darling who highlights some facts about Western trade in East Asia. When I set out to write my newest release, Tempted by the Viscount, I knew a few facts about the hero: he’s the newly minted Right Honorable Lord Jakob Radclyffe, Fifth Viscount St. Alban, who has […]

War and the Victorian Empire

  Highlighting Historical Romance with Michelle Jean Marie and her research about the Victorian Empire It is difficult to grasp in this day and age that the small island of Great Britain was once the foremost global power for over a century. Britain’s imperial century spanned the years 1815 to 1914, most of that time under […]

The Long Wait

Time hangs heavy when you wait. Nothing about The Unexpected Wife has gone quickly, and this last part seems to drag forever. I am not convinced that independently publishing goes any faster than publishing through a small press, but in that case, the author is in control of the entire process. The Unexpected Wife is […]