Here’s my first go at questions for Kissing Shakespeare. I wrote these with book clubs in mind, since several groups who are reading KS gently prodded me! They’re meant for a casual, if thoughtful, discussion, for teens or adults, NOT for classroom use. Sometime soon, I’ll do a set for teachers. Obviously, the emphasis would […]
KISSING SHAKESPEARE WILL LAUNCH IN AUGUST
After a long hiatus, while working on my revision and copy edits for KISSING SHAKESPEARE, I’m back! More about my revising and copy editing experience in another post. For now I just want to say that Francoise Bui, my editor at Delacorte, and her behind-the-scenes team made it a pleasure rather than a chore. KISSING […]
Research in England
I just returned from a trip to England, where my husband and I walked on the Shropshire Way with a group of friends. Afterward, we visited several towns so I could get a firsthand look at architecture, artifacts, landscape, history, and anything else to help me create believable settings for my books. Here are some […]
Science Looks at the Teen Brain
We all have our little rituals. This is one of mine. On Sunday morning, I always read the Sunday supplements while I’m eating breakfast. Because most of the contents of USA WEEKEND and PARADE relate to faux famous people, many of whom I’ve never heard of, it’s been rather pointless the last few years. Yesterday, […]
Wolf Hall
I savored Wolf Hall. I made it last as long as possible. Like nibbling on a brownie, or spooning tiny bites of ice cream. My strategy worked, too. I got it for Christmas, and here it is, Feb 6, and I just finished it. It’s the kind of book that allows you to savor it, […]
Review of The Champion
Elizabeth Chadwick has been publishing for years. Why did it take me so long to find her? A writer of historical fiction, her specialty is the Middle Ages. She has nineteen books to her credit. See what I mean about not discovering her before now? Especially since her first book was published in 1989 (The […]
My Sinful Secret
Until recently, I was one of those people who never read romances and was proud of it. Ugh. How stupid. How inane. How way, way beneath me. No thanks. Not me. Never. Ever. Then someone in my Jane Austen group suggested I read a Georgette Heyer novel. Supposedly, the next best thing to reading Jane. […]
Review of Sovay
Celia Rees is an amazing writer. I was a great fan of her book Vanished, and I think Sovay is even better. With a large cast of characters, it must be difficult to give a distinctive voice to each one, but she manages to pull it off. And Sovay herself is a gem. Bold, adventurous, […]
Lady Julia Grey Mysteries
I’ve enjoyed reading Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey mysteries. Not only has Raybourn created two appealing main characters in Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane, but she also has provided a seemingly limitless cast of characters within Lady Julia’s family: her father, her sister Portia, and her many other siblings. The first book in the series, […]
Historical Mysteries
I love historical mysteries, especially the English ones. The time peiod doesn’t matter; right now I’m following several series from different centuries. Some crucial ingredients for historical mysteries, at least in my mind, are characterization, period detail, and mood. And of course, a mystery that keeps you guessing until the end, with plenty of plot […]