What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel

In 1575, Luisa Abrego, a freed slave from Seville, was tried in Mexico for bigamy by officers of the Spanish Inquisition. Aside from the trial record, no other documentation of her exists. Intrigued by that scrap of information, Renaissance historian and author Erika Rummel resurrects Luisa in her latest novel. Rummel uses a unique storytelling approach to describe Luisa and her life: ten fictional characters tell what they know (or think they know) about Luisa; Luisa’s point of view is not part of the novel.

In our interview, the author explains why she made this deliberate storytelling choice and reveals how writing this book helped expand her knowledge of the Renaissance era and refine her writing techniques. You can read all about it here.

A Pair of Wings by Carole Hopkins

Among her many achievements, Bessie Coleman was the first American to earn a civilian aviation certificate from the French Federation Aeronautique Internacionale (FAI). This was something she had to do because, being African American and female in the 1920s, nobody in the United States would train her to fly. So she took three years of night school classes, became fluent in French and earned her brevet – a full two years before Amelia Earhart.

Author Carole Hopkins – who is also a 737 Captain with United Airlines – described in our interview the challenges that caused this book to be 12 years in the making, and the ways she is inspired by “serving the legacy that Coleman started.”

Read my interview with Carole Hopkins here.

The Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce

One of the “treasures” Queen Victoria acquired from her vast empire was her African goddaughter, Sarah Forbes Bonetta. Sarah was a princess whose family was massacred by a rival tribe. They enslaved her for years until an English sea captain rescued her, changed her name from Aina to Sarah Forbes (his surname) Bonetta (the name of his ship) and presented her to the Queen as a gift.

Author Denny S. Bryce reveals in our interview the surprising series of events that led to her writing Sarah’s story. She also shares the details of her writing process, including how her background in public relations and marketing contribute to her approach to researching historical novels.

Read my interview with The Other Princess author Denny S. Bryce.

The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin

Inspired by Boston’s famous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, author Emily Franklin portrays Isabella Stewart Gardner as the strong, quirky, determined, brash and ahead-of-her-time person she was. She triumphed over loss and the rejection of upper-class Boston society, to leave a mansion showcasing her vast collection of old masters, antiques and objects d’art “for the education and enjoyment of the public forever.”

Author Emily Franklin, a writer of many genres, shares with me the ways that writing this way hones her craft, and also discusses her fascination with the themes of memory and what we keep.

Read my interview withThe Lioness of Boston author Emily Franklin

The Stolen Lady by Laura Morelli

OK, you probably have heard of the enigmatic Lisa Gherardini… or as she’s more often called, Mona Lisa. But did you know that the staff of The Louvre spirited most of the museum’s collection (including Lisa’s portrait) out of Paris just before the Nazis arrived to plunder the treasures? Women drove the escape vehicles!

As part of our interview, author Morelli tells me about her first “meeting” with Lisa, and discusses how her work as an art historian and teacher supports her writing, and reveals the process she uses when needing to think about certain questions as a historical novelist instead of a scholar.

Read my interview with Laura Morelli, author of The Stolen Lady

A Most Clever Girl by Stephanie Marie Thornton

Who was the person who ran the largest Soviet spy ring in the United States during the Cold War? A woman by the name of Elizabeth Bentley. Her confession to the FBI not only identified 41 Soviet sources operating throughout the U.S., it essentially took down the golden age of Soviet espionage, which had been ongoing for over 20 years.

During our interview, author Thornton shares with me the many challenges of writing about such a successful spy: the ultimate unreliable narrator and an “incredibly complex woman.”

Read my interview with A Most Clever Girl author, Stephanie Marie Thornton