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An old-fashioned typewriter, three keys, and a tipped bottle of poison against a blue background featuring a handwritten document; cover of Colleen Cambridge's Murder at Mallowan Hall

Historical Mysteries, Part I

Historical mysteries I love, featuring series by Colleen Cambridge, Irina Shapiro, Catherine Lloyd, C.M. Rawlins, and Clara McKenna

cplesley

Oct 17, 20254 min read

Against a green floral backdrop resembling wallpaper, a pair of white-gloved hands light a match to a tiny armchair; cover of Katie Tietjen's Murder in Miniature

New Books Network Interview: Katie Tietjen

New Books Network interview with Katie Tietjen, whose second historical mystery featuring Maple Bishop has just been published by Crooked Lane Books

cplesley

Oct 10, 20252 min read

Young man with light brown hair, about chin-length, a small mustache and beard, dressed in Renaissance era clothing, stares at the camera; author's mental image of her character Marco Delfino

Writing Characters with Minds of Their Own

Writing a novel when fictional characters act as if they have minds of their own

cplesley

Oct 3, 20252 min read

A drawing of a black-haired woman in sunglasses and a blue dress, holding a camera and a bag with the letters ER II and with a corgi on either side; cover of S.J. Bennett, The Queen Who Came in from the Cold

Bookshelf, Fall 2025

Fall 2025 Bookshelf featuring new novels by S.J. Bennett, Mimi Matthews, Mirta Ojito, Andrea Penrose, and Katie Tietjen

cplesley

Sep 26, 20254 min read

Writing: Beginnings and Endings

Writing post about beginnings and endings, as well as how they define the structure of a novel

cplesley

Sep 19, 20256 min read

Against a medieval map of the Mediterranean, a portrait of a woman in a tall black hat that straps under her chin, wearing a necklace and twelfth-century blue satin dress looks off to one side; cover of Lucy Pick's The Queen's Companion

New Books Network Interview: Lucy Pick

New Books Network interview with Lucy Pick, whose historical novel The Queen's Companion, about Eleanor of Aquitaine in the Holy Land, has just come out with Cuidono Press

cplesley

Sep 12, 20252 min read

A manor house, lit from within, against a blue background, framed by green leaves and purple flowers; cover of Chrystal Schleyer's A Rather Peculiar Poisoning

Interview with Chrystal Schleyer

Author interview with Chrystal Schleyer, whose debut historical mystery has just come out with Park Row Books

cplesley

Sep 5, 20253 min read

Against the background of a brick arch surrounded with pink and purple flowers, a young man in spectacles and a woman, both in Victorian-style clothes, gaze flirtatiously at each other; cover of Liana De la Rosa's Gabriela and His Grace

Interview with Liana De la Rosa

Author interview with Liana De la Rosa, whose latest historical romance, Gabriela and His Grace, has just come out from Berkley Romance

cplesley

Aug 29, 20254 min read

Line drawing of a nomadic tent, with smoke coming out the center of the top, on the steppe with four men, two on horseback, one holding a horse, one on foot, with more horses visible in the background

Writing the First Revision

Updates on my writing process, specifically the rough draft and the first revision, with reference to Song of the Silk Weaver

cplesley

Aug 22, 20252 min read

A pair of hands and an assortment of animals and flowers against a backdrop of black, shaped like a door and surrounded by gold; cover of Kathleen Kaufman's Nora Grey

New Books Network Interview: Kathleen Kaufman

New Books Network interview with Kathleen Kaufman, whose latest historical/fantasy novel just came out with Kensington Books

cplesley

Aug 15, 20252 min read

A background of machinery and a dimly visible US flag, covered in red, with a yellow hammer and sickel on the top; cover of Dave Schechter's A Life of the Party

Interview with Dave Schechter

Interview with journalist Dave Schechter, whose fictionalized biography of his great-aunt came out in 2024

cplesley

Aug 8, 20256 min read

A young biracial man and two women—one Black, the other biracial—in Victorian dress against a backdrop of multicolored flowers; cover of S. Isabelle's The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick

Interview with S. Isabelle

Interview with YA author S. Isabelle, whose latest novel, a historical romance set in Victorian Britain, just came out with Storytide, a HarperCollins imprint

cplesley

Aug 1, 20255 min read

Against a hazy backdrop of Moscow and planes in flight, a young woman in a Red Army uniform is seen from the back, a sparrow perched on her right shoulder; cover of Shelly Sanders, The Night Sparrow

Interview with Shelly Sanders

Author interview with Shelly Sanders, whose latest World War II novel, The Night Sparrow, came out recently with Harper

cplesley

Jul 25, 20256 min read

A piano keyboard with burned matches in place of the ebony keys; cover of Sarah Landenwich's The Fire Concerto

New Books Network Interview: Sarah Landenwich

New Books Network interview with Sarah Landenwich, whose debut novel about three generations of female concert pianists has just come out with Union Square Publishing.

cplesley

Jul 18, 20252 min read

A two-sailed Egyptian boat on a river of gold surrounded by pyramids, sand, and palm trees under a night sky with a full moon; cover of Rachel Louise Driscoll's The House of Two Sisters

Interview with Rachel Louise Driscoll

Interview with Rachel Louise Driscoll, whose debut historical novel The House of Two Sisters came out in June from Ballantine Books

cplesley

Jul 11, 20255 min read

A lit wax candle twined with roses and other plants, set against a crimson background; cover of Kate Khavari's A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge

Interview with Kate Khavari

Interview with Kate Khavari, author of the historical mystery series featuring Saffron Everleigh, the fourth of which has just come out with Crooked Lane Books

cplesley

Jul 4, 20256 min read

London's Westminster Hall and Big Ben, with the bridge and Thames River in front of them, seen through a multi-paned window; cover of David Lewis's A Beacon in the Night

Interview with David Lewis

Interview with David Lewis, whose A Beacon in the Night, the second in his Secret Churchill Files, set during World War II, has just come out with Kensington Books

cplesley

Jun 27, 20253 min read

An old-fashioned two-sail boat on a golden river against a backdrop of desert, palms, pyramids, and a night-time sky with a full moon; cover of Rachel Louise Driscoll's The House of Two Sisters

Bookshelf, Summer 2025

Novels on my bookshelf, Summer 2025, historical fiction by Rachel Louise Driscoll, Kathleen Kaufman, Kate Khavari, Laurie R. King, Sarah Landenwich, and David Lewis

cplesley

Jun 20, 20255 min read

Against a stark but beautiful background of sea, rock, and sky, a young, dark-haired woman in a white blouse and long red skirt waves a tartan shawl; cover of Karen Swan's The Midnight Secret

New Books Network Interview: Karen Swan

New Books Network interview with Karen Swan about her historical novel The Midnight Secret, which concludes her Wild Isle series, set in Scotland between 1925 and 1935

cplesley

Jun 13, 20252 min read

A man in a cardinal's red robes and a brimmed hat seen from the back walking along the corridor of a Gothic cathedral; cover of Alison Weir's The Cardinal

The Tudor Cardinal

A look at Alison Weir's latest historical novel, set in Tudor England and featuring Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

cplesley

May 30, 20252 min read

C. P. Lesley, Novelist

Historical Mysteries, Part I

New Books Network Interview: Katie Tietjen

Writing Characters with Minds of Their Own

Bookshelf, Fall 2025

Writing: Beginnings and Endings

New Books Network Interview: Lucy Pick

Interview with Chrystal Schleyer

Interview with Liana De la Rosa

Writing the First Revision

New Books Network Interview: Kathleen Kaufman

Interview with Dave Schechter

Interview with S. Isabelle

Interview with Shelly Sanders

New Books Network Interview: Sarah Landenwich

Interview with Rachel Louise Driscoll

Interview with Kate Khavari

Interview with David Lewis

Bookshelf, Summer 2025

New Books Network Interview: Karen Swan

The Tudor Cardinal