2020 Introduction

[S.A.]

Cristina Elizabeth wrote: "Hi everyone,

My name is Cristina and I'm a B.Ed student in Boston. I taught myself to read when I was around 4 years old, and I've loved history as long as I can remember. As a kid, I read the Dea..."

YA HF huh? Got any good suggestions?

[S.A.]

Catherine wrote: "Hi everyone,
I am an author who writes historical fantasy. I am obsessed with doing research and discovering new pockets of historical intrigue. I have a special interest in writing and reading abo..."

Those novels sound interesting! Thanks for sharing!

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Welcome Marianne, Beau, Tiffany and Sean! Happy reading!

[Heather]

Hey everyone!
My name is Heather L. Barksdale and I am a newly self-published author and blogger. I love historical fiction and love to travel to areas that I read about. Excited to see what everyone is reading!

[Del]

Hi, I’m the author of “The Cremation of Sam McGee.” I just launched my latest: “At The Bat: The Strikeout That Shamed America.” It’s set in 1888 at the dawn of professional baseball. It has a strong female character in Nellie Bly, the New York World journalist who exposed practices at an insane asylum and went around the world in 80 days. My beta readers were mostly women, and they liked it. However, there is a lot of baseball. One major character is Fleetwood Walker, the last Black to in the Major Leagues until Jackie Robinson. If baseball is not your cup of tea, consider it as a gift. It’s available on Kindle Unlimited. You can listen to a sample of the audio on Amazon.

[John]

I am very excited about becoming part of this group. It appears to be precisely the type of books and readers with which I have always been involved. My name is John Schwartz. I am the author of three historical fiction books, one of which rose to Amazon's top position for a few days. My current book will be published later next month called THE LIE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD. Once I become an approved member, I will post a review.
I look forward to hearing other members' thoughts and opinions.

[Abhineet]

Hiii.......My name is Rahul, I am from India.....I am a Historical Fiction junkie......I am currently hosting a readathon based on History on my instagram page......

https://www.instagram.com/books36t/

[Rinko]

Hi! I’m Rinko. I was raised all over (military brat) and I currently live in the PNW. I’m an insomniac who reads instead of sleeping. I am fairly “new” to the internet and discussion groups in general, as I usually prefer to just lurk. However lately I’ve found myself too opinionated and sassy for that.

I’m really looking forward to being in this group and discussing our shared love of historical fiction.

My favorite historical novel is All The Light We Cannot See, and my favorite recent read is Fifty Words For Rain.

[Jasmine, Gatekeeper of Giveaways.]

Welcome everyone.

[Anne]

Hello, I'm Anne Schroeder. I'm an author and fan of historical fiction. My stories are set in the American West and include women, minorities and oft-misunderstood or stereotyped characters. I love to research and create a story that sets a time and place into the readers heart and mind in a way that is unforgettable. My new release is NORSKE FIELDS, a novel based on five immigrant families who started the Norwegian Colony in Southern California in 1890. I find stories in the seemingly mundane lives of common people and make them my heros.

[Marianne]

Welcome. I love books on the American West. I've published two books set there, both are time travels.
Your story sounds like an interesting read. Good luck!

[Kerri]

Hello everyone! I'm Kerri. I live in the natural wonder called the Kettle Moraine area in Southeastern Wisconsin. I grew up watching Masterpiece Theater, so anything period-driven is something I enjoy, whether it's in books or in films. I studied literature in grad school (both American and British, with classics like Jane Eyre, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Frankenstein, Emma, etc.) and continue to look for current reads as well. In my to-read stack, I have two books by Jessica Estevao and two books by Katherine Bolger Hyde to savor soon. I look forward to other suggestions and learning from this group, which I've just joined. What I love about Historical Fiction is the opportunity to learn more about history in an entertaining/engaging manner.

Jessica Estevao
Katherine Bolger Hyde

[Stephen]

Hi everyone....My name is Stephen Cohen (I like to be called Steve), I live in Lincolnshire, UK. I love WWII Historical fiction, in fact, I spend a lot of time at sites and museums. I like many novels in this genre but if I had to pick a favourite (apart from my own of course) so far it has to be "The Berlin Girl" by Mandy Robotham... but there is just sooooo many great ones out there now....

[Bruce]

Hi! I’m Bruce, living in Tampa, Florida. I don’t know if I’ve read a ton of historical fiction, but lately I’ve been reading some, so I thought it made sense to join. I also like the kind of historical fiction that mixes famous fictional characters with real life people, like some Sherlock novels.

[[deleted user]]

Bruce wrote: "Hi! I’m Bruce, living in Tampa, Florida. I don’t know if I’ve read a ton of historical fiction, but lately I’ve been reading some, so I thought it made sense to join. I also like the kind of histor..."

Hi Bruce, you've recommended some brilliant detective novels to me in the past, so I'd like to return the favour.

Try the author Bernard Cornwell, particularly his Sharpe series. 'Sharpe's Rifles' is a good starting point.

[Bruce]

I’ve actually read a few of those. I may read more at some point. Thank you!

[Don]

Hi everyone. I'd like to introduce myself. I've been a member of this group for a couple of years but mostly as a lurker. I want to be more active. Some of the writers I especially like are Penelope Fitzgerald, Jim Crace, Thomas Keneally, and Cormac McCarthy. One thing I'm interested is what constitutes "historical fiction"--what are the boundaries and characteristics that define it. The book I'm just starting to read is Dear Ann by Bobbie Ann Mason (takes place in the 1960s). I'm the author of a book of short stories that was published quite a few years ago and continue to write. I've spent most of my life in various parts of the American West.

[CindySR]

Hi I'm Cindy, Goodreader since 2013. I'm not much for conversation but I comment occasionally and am mostly here for the recs and reviews. I don't like WW2 HF but almost any other HF is what I'm looking for.

[Adele]

Hello Everyone,
I am Adele Houlder, and I live in Frisco, TX. I have always enjoyed reading historical fiction. My favorite historical fiction read in the past few years was All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

I got an email that listed the December book to read. Is there some type of virtual discussion or zoom call to discuss the book as a group? Just trying to understand how the group works, as I see the emails to vote on books and emails with the selected book but no notifications on how to join a discussion about the book.

[Judie]

Gretchen wrote: "New year, new intros.

Introduce yourself for the first time. Introduce yourself for the 10th time.

Tell us where you are from and what your favorite historical fiction novel is."

[Judie]

Hi!
I'm Judie Mitchell and I live in Melbourne Australia. I was a teacher of English, Literature and History for 40 years, so I guess my passion for historical fiction was inevitable. My favorite author is Hilary Mantel, especially her Cromwell trilogy. I even loved the television version of Wolf Hall. I also love Geraldine Brooks. For rather complex reasons I've developed a major interest in Puritan New England, and visited (during fall of course) to do research for my debut novel. I love the way Americans love and treasure their history and historical buildings. My visit was a real high for me, as I had read the book A Midwife's Tale (non fiction) by Laura Thatcher Ulrich. It won a Nobel for historical research. I was able to actually walk on the same floorboards as the people she wrote about! How good is that!

[Christina]

Hi, everyone! I’m new here and a lifelong lover of historical fiction.

In the past year or two, I’ve read a good novel about Alexander the Great, then segued over to the Viking period with the first two books in Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Tales series.

Currently, I’m happily nestled in 12th-century England’s war of succession with Ellis Peters’ Cadfael mysteries and Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth and would very much like to stay there for a while. Any suggestions for me?

[Emma]

Hey everyone. :) I'm Emma, and I suppose I don't have much to say except that I'm hoping to read more in 2021 than I did in 2020. I think video games were my coping mechanism of choice this year. ^.^;;

I'm a big time-travel junkie - I think my favorites are Mary, Everything by Cassandra Yorke, Time and Again by Jack Finney, and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Though I'm hoping to find many more here!

(Oh, and Christina - I don't have any *new* suggestions per se, but if you want to stay in that period for a while, I definitely recommend the Pillars of the Earth game/interactive novel on Steam, as well as A Plague Tale: Innocence and Kingdom Come: Deliverance. They're all *amazing!*)

[Rudi]

Matt Pearson

I love fiction - I read a lot of classics - Pride and Prejudice, Huckleberry Finn, etc.

AND history. I was a member of the Military History Book Club from 4th grade on.

The combination of the two has my favorite all-time book of Banner in the Sky.