You know, I think it’s time I shared the details of this wild year – the ups and downs, the laughs and the face-palm moments. Check back soon for more!

GIving GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN away free!

Ride the TITLE WAVE into the 17th century

Books by Eve LaPlante, David Teems, Francis Bremer, John Fox, and Nathaniel Philbrick.

There’s a vast crowd of enthusiasts reading and discussing everything medieval and renaissance. But time didn’t stop with Elizabeth Tudor’s death in 1603. Are you looking for the rest of the story?

King James, his son King Charles I, and grandsons Charles II and James II kept the drama level high and dangerous in the seventeenth century. Their marriages and lovers, births and deaths, political intrigues, religious conflicts, witch hunts, and wars marked the beginning of our modern period. Their aristocrats and politicians, tradesmen, midwives, ministers, writers, musicians, scientists, and artists changed the world.

Have you noticed that it’s the gift-giving season?  Why not knock out your whole gift list right now with these suggestions? The gift of a book is one that’s remembered for years. Some people find it convenient to buy books for all their siblings, or as appreciation gifts for their children’s teachers. You might give paperback books to some in the family, or use the Kindle-gift option. Some books are stand-alone, some are part of a series.

This is a list of authors who have the 17^th century covered, from Shakespeare and midwife forensic investigators to barber surgeons, Charles II’s mistresses, men and women who founded American democracy, servants and highway robbers, people who gave their lives for their principles or just because they were falsely accused as witches. In these books you’ll find sumptuous gowns and high society, educated women, poverty, prostitutes, and massacres, childbirth and plague, castles and manors, cathedrals and meetinghouses—even a vampire.

Our ninth or tenth great-grandparents knew these people—or were these people. (Well, probably not the vampire—but everyone else!) Discover what their lives were like, and how their lives formed who you are. Many of the book characters from the 17^thcentury are based on facts, events, and real people. The authors, in addition to their literary skills, have spent months and years in research to get the 17^th century world “just right,” so you’ll get your history veggies in a delicious brownie.

Ride the wave of the time-space continuum into the 17^th century with these award-winning and highly-rated authors. The images you see are a small sample of what’s available from this talented group! Click  the author’s name to open a new tab.

Anna Belfrage — Time-slip (then and now) love and war.	Jo Ann Butler — From England to New England: survival, love, and a dynasty.	Susanna Calkins — Murder mysteries set in 1660s London.
Francine Howarth — Heroines, swashbuckling romance.	Judith James — Rakes and rogues of the Restoration.	Marci Jefferson — Royal Stuarts in Restoration England.
Elizabeth Kales — French Huguenot survival of Inquisition.	Juliet Haines Mofford — True crime of New England, pirates.	Mary Novik — Rev. John Donne and daughter.
Donald Michael Platt — Spanish Inquisition cloak and dagger.	Katherine Pym — London in the 1660s.	Diane Rapaport — Colonial New England true crime.
Peni Jo Renner — Salem witch trials.	Christy K Robinson — British founders of American democracy and rights.	Anita Seymour —  Royalists and rebels in English Civil War.
Mary Sharratt — Witches (healers) of Pendle Hill, 1612.	Alison Stuart — Time-slip war romance, ghosts.	Deborah Swift — Servant girls running for lives, highwaywoman.
Ann Swinfen — Farmers fighting to keep land, chronicles of Portuguese physician.	Sam Thomas — Midwife solves murders in city of York.	Suzy Witten — Salem witch trials.
Andrea Zuvich — Vampire in Stuart reign, Duke of Monmouth and mistress.

My snowy view.

Like today. Just look at the snowy view outside my office window! This is serious winter-writing-weather! Today was a day for serving hot coco to rosy-cheeked children and warm French Onion Soup eaten by the fireplace. We even made time to whip up some snow-cream (yes, ice cream made of snow!). I have half a dozen emails to answer and a woefully neglected blog. But I sat by this window for most of this day, laptop in hand, approaching the end of a first draft, watching my kids build snow forts and snow men.

Sure, I look forward to spring. But for writers who love to cozy up, this wintery day was perfect.

Want to whip up some snow-cream for yourself? Here’s what I did:

Snow-Cream

One cup half-and-half

One teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup sugar

6 heaping cups of fluffy snow

Combine vanilla and half-and-half. While one child is stirring the snow, have another pour in the half-and-half mixture, and have yet another child sprinkle in the sugar. You’ll know when it’s ready. Enjoy!

I’ve always wanted to go at Christmas, and having the added excuse of wanting to visit my publishing house made this the perfect year to go. We toured all over up and downtown, hit the Top of the Rock, and paid respects at the 9/11 Memorial. I dragged my poor children through the Metropolitan Museum (“Mom this place is so inappropriate, there are naked people everywhere!”), braved the crowds around the tree at Rockefeller Center, and gobbled down cannolis with them in Little Italy. We had a ball.

Of course, a personal highlight was meeting my editor, her assistant, and my publicist for lunch at Almond (delicious) in the Flat Iron district, then getting an inside peek at the St Martin’s Press offices in the historic Flat Iron Building, where I also met my marketing manager and digital marketing manager.

Wow, was I impressed! Everyone was so friendly and happy, and yet able to turn sharply professional during moments when “business” popped into our conversation. I have this terrible habit of forgetting to take pictures when I’m having an especially good time. We hit it off so well, talking about random things like the merits of baking, human sonar, and Candy Crush addictions, that I just never thought to stop for photographic documentation. Gah!

While I don’t have pictures of my fabulous team and new favorites at St Martin’s Press, I did walk away with a sense of utter confidence in and an appreciation for the people backing my novel. Oh, and I did take this quick pre-meeting shot of the little bags of chocolate gold coins with GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN tags that I handed out. I have a feeling my readers may see more chocolate gold coins in the coming months!

Chocolate Gold Coins

I get so excited about a new project that I tend to buy lots and lots of research books. The research is so fun! And these last few weeks I’ve been buying a lot of books. I’ve also been checking out scads of out-of-print research books from the library. Sometimes I find a library book that is such a valuable resource I have to find and buy my own copy. That’s what happened with the big black book pictured below. It is simply loaded with information that I must have on hand at all times! But do you see the little red book on top of it? That is a different edition of the same book that arrived in the mail today. At first I was upset with myself for ordering the wrong thing…but it is exactly the same! Astonishing, isn’t it? I guess you can’t judge a book by it’s cover…or size.

different editions of the same book

I have to halt posting about seventeenth century cosmetics for a moment. Why? Because I just booked my flight to The Historical Novel Society Conference and I’m psyched!

We only meet on US soil every other year because we rotate with our British founders across the pond. Which makes it the Do Not Miss Event for historical fiction!

Though I’ve been a member for many years, 2011’s San Diego conference was my first. No matter what you may have heard about my goings-on during the early morning hours in the lobby, I can make no further public comment. Suffice it to say, I made some of my very best friends in San Diego.

I was delighted to meet PhDs, archeologists, and world travelers. For this group, it’s about more than just the writing, it’s passion for time and place. Because of so many variations within historical fiction, you find thrillers writers to romance writers, specializing in settings from Ancient Rome to World War One.

From meeting big names, to informative panels, it’s a lot of bang for your buck. Count on covering all the hot topics in the genre. Strictly limited to only three hundred attendees, you get to meet almost everyone. They schedule plenty of networking (aka cocktails) at large then break into smaller, more intimate sessions. Agent and editor pitches are scheduled in advance, but most snag extra pitches from the waiting list and by hanging around the pitch room for no-shows. This year they’re even offering an optional writing-coach workshop.

Check it out and join us. We can make some history of our own. Like this little memory. I can’t recall exactly why or how Sophie Perinot and I managed a Tweet & Greet. She made me hold the sign, even threatened me with a big stick.

HNS11 from left authors Elizabeth Loupas, Sophie Perinot, Susanne Dunlap, Marci Jefferson, and Heather Webb