author interviews

A woman in Elizabethan dress, including a large ruff and cut off above the nose; cover of Jennifer Ashley's Eloise and the Queen

Bookshelf, Winter 2026

Novels, mostly historical fiction, on my Winter 2026 bookshelf, by Jennifer Ashley, Janie Chang, Sandra Freels, Kaoru Mori, Casey Scieszka, and Linda Wilgus

cplesley

Jan 24 min read

Drawing of a woman in a tight-fitting blue dress, wearing pearls and a tiara and looking over her sunglasses. At her feet are two Welsh Corgis. She carries a camera and a black purse with the letters ER, all set against a lighter blue backdrop; cover of S. J. Bennett's The Queen Who Came In from the Cold.

New Books Network Interview: S. J. Bennett

New Books Network interview with the author S. J. Bennett about her mystery series featuring Queen Elizabeth II

cplesley

Dec 12, 20252 min read

The silhouette of a woman in late Victorian clothing, steadying a bicycle is outlined against the background of a several-story house surrounded by trees and a wrought-iron fence; cover of Misery Hates Company by Elizabeth Hobbs

Interview with Elizabeth Hobbs

Interview with the author Elizabeth Hobbs, whose historical mystery series featuring a student at Wellesley in the 1890s is published by Crooked Lane Books

cplesley

Nov 21, 20255 min read

A line drawing of a tired, stressed woman in a brown dress with a Puritan collar, draped in a red shawl or cloak. She has red hair and wears a Tudor-style cap; cover of The Bailiff's Wife, by Maren Halvorsen

New Books Network Interview: Maren Halvorsen

New Books Network interview with Maren Halvorsen, whose debut novel, a murder mystery and character study set in 17th-century England has just come out with Cuidono Press

cplesley

Nov 14, 20252 min read

Outline of a figure of indeterminate gender, wearing a flat hat with feathers, tight clothes, and gloves, with an old-fashioned pistol in the right hand, surrounded by Tudor roses; cover of Amie McNee's To Kill a Queen

Interview with Amie McNee

Author interview with Amie McNee, whose latest Tudor historical mystery will soon come out with Crooked Lane Books

cplesley

Nov 7, 20254 min read

A swirling drawing of waves beneath a yellow sun, a red sky, and several seabirds; cover of Mirta Ojito's Deeper Than the Ocean

Interview with Mirta Ojito

Interview with Mirta Ojito, whose first novel, Deeper Than the Ocean, comes out in November 2025 from Union Square Publishing

cplesley

Oct 31, 20257 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

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