Lauren Conrad asked Susanna Calkins:

I'm an American obsessed with British history and historical fiction. How is your experience being an American writing historical fiction that takes place in England? Have you ever come across anyone who found that weird? Does it make research any harder? (I don't find it weird at all, for the record, but I just want to know how it is for writers who write historical novel outside of their own country).

Susanna Calkins HI Lauren, that's a great question. Maybe because I got my PhD in British history--which is a very accepted thing for an American to do--I never even thought it might seem strange that I might write historical mysteries set in the same time period. And some writers, like American Elizabeth George, write wonderful mysteries set in the UK. But I do spend a lot of time researching the setting and the period. I actually think it would be as time-consuming for me to research 1830s Chicago (the city I live in now) as it is for me to do research on London in 1666. (But how fun that would be...maybe I should look into writing during that time period!) ;-) Thanks for your question!

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