C. P. Lesley, Novelist

On problems with keeping characters' details straight while writing the Legends of the 5 Directions and Songs of Steppe & Forest series

Interview with the contemporary thriller writer Joseph Finder, whose latest novel, The Oligarch's Daughter, came out in January 2025

Novels on my bookshelf, Winter 2025, by Su Chang, Elyse Durham, Lora Jones, Kate Maruyama, Victoria Christopher Murray, and Jane Yang

New Books Network interview with Fiona Davis, whose latest historical novel, "The Stolen Queen," just came out from Dutton

Interview with Kate Mosse, whose historical novel "The Map of Bones" has just appeared, closing out her Joubert Family Chronicles series

A sneak peek at author interviews planned for January 2025, with Fiona Davis, Joseph Finder, Poppy Kuroki, and Kate Mosse

C. P. Lesley's annual overview of tasks attempted, accomplished, and not yet attained in 2024

New Books Network interview with Suzanne Allain, acclaimed author of Regency-era historical romance

A discussion of what an author means by "watching characters grow" in a single novel or across a series

A short discussion about the pluses and minuses of procrastinating while writing, exemplified by my own work

Reflections on Thanksgiving as one generation of hosts yields space to the next

New Books Network interview with Monica Chenault-Kilgore, whose historical novel The Jewel of the Blues just came out from Graydon House

Interview with historical novelist Mimi Matthews about The Muse of Maiden Lane, book 4 in her Belles of London series

More buried treasure from my Kindle library, here books by Erika Monahan, Marlowe Benn, Jessie Burton, and Debra Dean

Buried treasure in books, unearthed from the depths of my Kindle library, here by Jane Johnson, Paullina Simons, and Xinru Liu.

New Books Network interview with Vanessa Kelly, whose "Murder in Highbury" came out with Kensington Books in October 2024.

Interview with historical novelist Alyson Richman, whose The Time Keepers looks at the Vietnam War and its aftermath

A glimpse into the history of wild silk and its possible relevance to my forthcoming novel, Song of the Silk Weaver

New Books Network interview with Christina Dodd, whose A Daughter of Fair Verona, appeared with Kensington Books in July 2024

Author interview with Anna Lee Huber about her historical novel Sisters of Fortune, about a family that traveled on the Titanic