Donna Everhart has written a novel about the Civil War with a unique perspective. When the Jessamine Grows is set in North Carolina (1860s), in an area where there were subsistence farmers. They didn’t own slaves. North Carolina was drawn into the war, expecting residents to support secession. What would…
Some novels published in recent years have a new pattern. Instead of telling a story chronologically, chapters can go back and forth in time. It is helpful that a date is placed at the beginning of a chapter. Still, sometimes I am confused. I have also read books with several…
The years between World War I and World War II offer thought provoking events and perspectives. Marie Benedict has written a historical novel, The Mitford Affair, published in 2023. The book looks at one family’s views and alignments during a confusing political time period. The Mitford family had six daughters…
There are many novels about WWI and WWII, because there are many points of view, many stories to tell. Recently I found Switchboard Soldiers by Jennifer Chiaverini at the library. During WWI young women went to France to operate the switchboards for the Allied Army. These young women had experience…
When I attended the Law and Life Summit at a conference center this summer, I discovered that the Catholic Writer’s Guild was also meeting. The Guild sessions were open to Law and Life attendees, so I joined a couple offerings. Stephanee Landsem was presenting at one of the sessions. I…
Edith Pargeter (pen name is Ellis Peters) wrote a series of mysteries that look back on the history of England. The novels are set during the period of civil war, 1135 to 1154. King Steven was being challenged by Empress Maud for the throne. The main character, Brother Cadfael, is…
This year my mind has become weary with the news. The amount of time that I spend watching the news on TV is decreasing and the amount of time that I am reading is increasing. I admit that I have been a bit of a political junkie, and it is…
This past October I met Susie Finkbeiner at the Breathe Conference for writers. I went to her session on dialogue and picked up helpful tips for my writing. I learned that Susie writes historical fiction. When given the opportunity to be on her launch team for A Song of Home,…