Severed Knot : Ingenio – Sugar in 17th Century Barbados
By Deborah Swift
/ June 7, 2019
Congratulations to Cryssa Bazos on the release of her romantic thriller, Severed Knot. The novel is set mostly on a...
Read More
Recent reads and reviews of Historical Fiction
By Deborah Swift
/ May 17, 2019
The Doubtful Diaries of Wicked Mistress Yale by David Ebsworth 'For is that not the secret of life? To keep...
Read More
The appeal of the 17th Century to a novelist by Jemahl Evans
By Deborah Swift
/ March 8, 2019
Today I'm pleased to welcome Jemahl Evans to my blog to tell us why he's chosen to write three novels...
Read More
The Fascinating Facts about Smugglers by @HelenHollick
By Deborah Swift
/ February 18, 2019
I'm delighted to welcome Helen Hollick to the blog today to tell us a little about her new book. Helen...
Read More
Building Blocks of Historical Fiction – no.1 Balance
By Deborah Swift
/ January 22, 2019
Each historical novel is different, and each requires attention to the balance of the book, depending on whether it...
Read More
How a cemetery in Bodmin, Cornwall inspired the idea for a Time Travel novel
By Deborah Swift
/ December 11, 2018
I'm delighted to introduce Diane Scott Lewis to talk about her new book, Beyond the Fall, and the visit that...
Read More
The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau
By Deborah Swift
/ December 5, 2018
The Blue is a novel which wears its research lightly and moves at a cracking pace. Genevieve Planche is a...
Read More
The East India Company – The Palace of Lost Dreams
By Deborah Swift
/ November 27, 2018
I'm delighted to welcome historical novelist Charlotte Betts today, to tell us the history of the East India Company. My...
Read More
Secrets of Historical Fiction versus Non-Fiction by Annie Whitehead
By Deborah Swift
/ September 20, 2018
I'm delighted to welcome Annie Whitehead to my blog today. Annie is both a historical novelist and a historian, and...
Read More
Shades of Historical Fiction – finding the right tone
By Deborah Swift
/ September 7, 2018
The website Writers Write gives us 155 words to describe a writer's tone. There are probably many more than this,...
Read More
Author update Summer 2018
By Deborah Swift
/ July 31, 2018
My blog has been somewhat neglected for the last couple of months because I have become involved in two exciting...
Read More
Historical Fiction – The Ending is in the Beginning
By Deborah Swift
/ May 29, 2018
How many of you have found a book has been ruined by its ending? Me too. Turns out that in...
Read More
Of Camels and Napoleon – Burke and The Bedouin
By Deborah Swift
/ February 15, 2018
My guest today is Tom Williams When Deborah suggested I write about an object associated with Burke and the Bedouin...
Read More
1 Reply
In praise of the omnivorous reader
By Deborah Swift
/ February 11, 2018
I have always been a voracious reader. I read anything and everything, and don't care about genre as long as...
Read More
The Silsden Hoard: West Yorkshire’s Mysterious Treasure
By Deborah Swift
/ February 5, 2018
by Katherine Clements One coin marks the first to go A second bodes the fall The third will seal...
Read More
Fort Howe, protection during the American War of Independence.
By Deborah Swift
/ January 22, 2018
I know I have many readers from Canada, so today I welcome Diane Parkinson to share her research for her...
Read More
Historical Fiction 10 Editing Tips: No 10 Feigning Accuracy
By Deborah Swift
/ January 20, 2018
I've had a reader take me to task – rightly – over an incorrect detail of clothing worn by the...
Read More
Riding with the gauchos – Burke in the Land of Silver
By Deborah Swift
/ January 15, 2018
I'm delighted to welcome Tom Williams to my blog today, to tell us all about riding with the gauchos, and...
Read More
The Dressmaker’s Secret – puts the history into historical romance
By Deborah Swift
/ December 7, 2017
If you are after a well-written historical romance, then this could be the book for you. Set in Regency Italy and...
Read More
Who remembers Shorthand?
By Deborah Swift
/ November 30, 2017
Pepys wrote his famous diary in shorthand, and I wanted to try to get a feel for the way it...
Read More