The devastation of war tests the human spirit to its limits, as individuals struggle to survive in desperate and dangerous circumstances.  With the war we’ve all been fighting the last few months against an invisible enemy, the topic is even more timely.  The following stories enthrall, astound, and invite us to look past the minor irritations and minutiae of our everyday lives and concentrate on what is truly important. This was certainly the case for the women involved in SEVEN DAYS IN MAY by Kim Izzo.  Despite the savage war being fought on the Western Front–and a warning from Germany that any ship crossing the Atlantic puts itself at-risk–New York heiresses Sydney and Brooke Sinclair stick to their plan to sail to England, where Brooke is to marry Edward Thorpe-Tracey.   While Brooke is excited to marry into the aristocracy, independent Sydney is drawn to the suffragette movement. Full of confidence in the future, the girls and Edward board the Lusitania for the seven-day voyage.  Meanwhile in England, Isabel Nelson, after escaping a scandal in Oxford, is grateful to have landed a secretary’s job at the British Admiralty’s mysterious Room 40.  Recognizing her skill at codes and cyphers, she’s soon put…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  The Library of Legends 2–What is it about?  The story begins in 1937 when China and Japan are at war. The main character, Lian, must follow her university when they evacuate, before they get bombed out. The students, professors and staff begin a thousand-mile walk to safety, carrying their belongings, school supplies, even kitchenware. And they also carry the Library of Legends, a priceless ancient collection of Chinese myths.   It turns out the mythical creatures described in the Library of Legends are also on the move, and that a celestial being travels with the students. As for Lian, she finds friendships and possibly romance. But family secrets make her a victim of political manipulation and she must distance herself from her classmates. Especially when one of them is found murdered. 3–What word best describes your main character(s)?  Cautious. Because of her family’s past, she is careful who she associates with. 4–What makes your story relatable?  Readers are telling me that right now, the story echoes their own feelings about living in uncertain times. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Their classmates, who are their community….

Hi everyone! Like the first book in the series, the Bram Stoker Award-nominated Apothecary’s Curse, Alchemy of Glass features some very cool settings. Especially since the novel weaves together several narrative threads into a provocative braid. The Ravines north of Chicago One of my favorite places since I was a kid, the Ravines are a twisty series of deep chasms and bluffs along the Lake Michigan shoreline about 20 miles north of downtown Chicago. Laced with beautiful vistas of the lake and graceful mansions, this area is especially compelling and mysterious when the wind blows off the lake, creating waves that seem more Santa Monica than Chicago. Simon Bell’s Victorian mansion, now occupied by molecular geneticist Dr. Anne Shawe, is along this stretch of shoreline is about 100 feet above a rocky beachhead. Gaelan Erceldoune’s Apothecary Shop In Alchemy of Glass, Gaelan has only just moved into the apothecary, as this part of the novel takes place eleven years before the events of The Apothecary’s Curse. Gaelan has moved from an affluent section of London into the squalor of Smithfield to tend to resident who have no other medical options as gentleman physicians would dare not dirty their hands in…

Moving out of winter doldrums into the warmth and light of summer is always an energizing time. In the historical fiction we look at this month, through struggle and persistence, women from very different pasts move beyond the limits of their beginnings to a flawed but fuller life. In THE GARMENT MAKER’S DAUGHTER by Hilary Adrienne Stern, Lena Rothman and her brother arrive at Ellis Island in search of the American Dream.  In early 20th century New York, their stories intersect with those of fellow immigrant Daniel Cowen, who longs to study law, labor organizer Jake Brenner, and his girlfriend Sophie. Stern follows her protagonists through the next fifty years, from sweatshop work, labor strikes, the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the fight for woman’s suffrage, continuing the story into the second generation with Lena’s daughter Rachael. Focusing primarily on Lena, we follow her efforts to defeat the obstacles placed in the way of immigrants, workers, Jews, and women as she carves a life for herself and her family in this new land, carrying through her story the themes of love, friendship, betrayal, survival, and hope. Laura Moriarty presents us with another story of changing values and perspectives in…

My name is Tracey Enerson Wood, and I’m thrilled to chat about my debut novel, THE ENGINEER’S WIFE, on-sale April 7. What fun this is! I never would have thought to look at the title this way. Here’s what I came up with. Would love to hear ideas from readers! Emily Warren Roebling oversaw the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge—yet she was lost in its shadow after the fact. In THE ENGINEER’s WIFE, her story finally gets the spotlight. T— is for Time. It took nearly 14 years to build the Brooklyn Bridge. H— is for Henrietta, one of my favorite characters, whose humor and wise council keep Emily grounded. E— is for Emily, the amazing unsung hero. * E— is for Electricity. They built that amazing bridge without it! N— is for Emily’s true North. You find out what that is at the very end. G— is for Ginormous. A great word to describe the challenge Emily and Wash face. I— is for Ingenuity, they’re building a massive bridge like no other before, and have to solve unique problems. N— is for New York City, the always fascinating city that is the main setting. E— is for Eleanor. A…

Continuing my tradition of featuring Irish-set historical fiction for the month of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m offering up a round of novels that begin before The Great Hunger of the mid-1840’s and continue up to after World War II.  Erin go Bragh! We begin with GALWAY BAY by Mary Pat Kelly.  Drawing on anecdotes from her own family history, author Kelly begins her multi-generational saga in Ireland of the “before times”—before the potato blight that brought starvation and forced exile.   Like other fisherman and tenant farmers, Michael Kelly and his young bride Honora Keeley must sell their catch and their harvests to pay their rent, leaving them dependent on potatoes for food.  When the blight destroys the potato crop three out of four years, determined not to let their children starve, Michael and Honora join two million of their countrymen and emigrate to “Amerikay.” With her sister Maire, Honora and their children make their way northward from New Orleans to Chicago, fighting discrimination and opposition as they settle there and help turn this once-frontier town into a thriving metropolis.  The story continues with their sons who fight in the Civil War, and eventually in Ireland’s struggle for independence from British…

Jen: What inspired you to explore Jackie O’s life through a work of fiction? Stephanie: After writing American Princess, I wanted my next story to be about another iconic American woman and Jackie Kennedy was the first to come to mind. I found that while people think they know her story, many of the details of her life–the deaths of her children, the monuments she saved, her many tumultuous family relationships–have already started to gather dust. Also, while there are enough nonfiction books about her and the rest of the Kennedys to fill an entire library, I quickly realized that there was an opportunity to transform her momentous life into historical fiction, to really let the reader feel what it was like to be Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. While I love a good nonfiction read, there’s something special about experiencing life through the eyes of the person who lived it. (I often joke that historical fiction is the closest thing to a time machine, but it’s true!) I loved being able to transport readers to see what it would have been like to be the one and only Jackie-O.   In order for the novel to be historically based, how…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Gretchen! Please tell us about yourself and your new novel, THE OPERATOR. The Operator is the story of Vivian Dalton, a nosy switchboard operator who eavesdrops on all the conversations of the residents in her small town.   Set in Wooster, Ohio in the 1950s, I read that this story is inspired by your own family’s history! Can you share the background and inspiration for THE OPERATOR? I’d been doing genealogy research on my mom’s side of the family, and combined a little of that with my grandmother’s occupation.       Vivian Dalton is one of the town’s switchboard operators and knows everything about everyone because she and the other operators secretly listen in on conversations. If you were in a similar occupation, would you listen in on conversations? Why or why not? I really don’t think I would. It’s so invasive. Vivian overhears a conversation that could be her downfall – she’d be humiliated in front of the entire town and she’s desperate to stop it from getting out. What do you think readers will love about Vivian? What do you think they will find frustrating about her? I know different readers will love & find frustrating…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Amanda Cabot! Writes: Historical inspirational romances with more than a dash of danger and suspense to keep readers turning pages. Out of the Embers, the first of the Mesquite Springs trilogy, takes readers to a town in the beautiful Texas Hill Country where a young woman with a tragic past arrives, only to discover that trouble is close behind her. About: Incurably romantic author seeks readers who share her love for heroes and heroines who defy the odds, finding love and happily-ever-after despite danger, betrayal, and the occasional small-town busybody’s meddling. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Loves stories of heroes and heroines surmounting obstacles to find true love Savors the closeness of small-town life, at least in fiction Doesn’t mind the occasional sleepless night when she has to read “just one more page” Cheers when justice prevails Enjoys the slower pace and different social structure of the nineteenth century Old West Believes that faith is an integral part of life…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Red Letter Days 2–What is it about?  Two American women escape the Hollywood blacklist for England, where they are able to continue working and remain free, but find that they still aren’t as safe as they hope. It’s also very much about love, passion for work, resilience, friendship, and maintaining a sense of self and humour in the face of adversity. 3–What word best describes your main character(s)?  Plucky. 4–What makes your story relatable?  To my vexation, it is getting more relatable by the day, what with accusations of “communist”, right-wing attacks on the arts, and attempts to purge anyone who doesn’t tow the party line from the government. Also attempts to sequester passports from citizens, deny citizenship – you get the idea. But what matters is that then, as now, more people are pushing back and standing up for what is right. The political parallels aside, the story will also speak to anyone who has had a passion and pursued it; or found themselves alone and reached out to find friends they might not have expected to become part of their lives. And anyone who has ever fallen in love and found…