Historical Fictionistas discussion
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2022 Introductions
Hi, I’m Abigail and live in Oregon. I read a lot (and occasionally write) novels set in England around the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but this group has been great at introducing me to other times and places. I really enjoy the range of books discussed here and the creative nomination themes proposed each month.
Hi All - My name is Julia, I live in FL-USA with my SO of 21yrs.I consider myself an avid reader: my favorite genre are historical fiction WW2, womens fiction, rom-suspense, supernatural.
This year I'm challenging myself to read new genre and new authors.
Outside of reading, I'm teaching myself to knit and sew, I've started cooking & baking again, and my newest hobby is wildlife / nature photography.
I'm looking forward to chatting w/ everyone!
Hiiii. I’m back!!! I was very active on here for a long while, then life happened. Have recently found my love of reading again and can’t wait to jump back in. I live in Alabama, single with two grown boys and a “mini me” granddaughter. So glad to be back!!
Welcome back, Kat, happy new year and happy reading!
Happy New Year! Michele from NE Pennsylvania
Hi! I'm Gareth Williams. I write historical novels usually with an alternate-history component. My first novel is Needing Napoleon and was published by The Conrad Press in November 2021.I love reading historical fiction, fantasy and sci-fi among other things.
Welcome Gareth, and good luck with your writing - you've had an interesting life and I think that helps writers!
Hi everyone!I'm Brooke and I live in Montreal, QC (although I'm originally from Ontario). I'm glad I found this group. Over the years, I've been reading Historical Fiction without thinking about it as a specific genre. I'm currently exploring Romanian literature (translated in English) and building my skills as a writer. I look forward to our future discussions.
Cheers,
Brooke
Hi Everyone!My name is Paul and I'm both an avid reader and a committed writer. I like reading historical fiction - mainly old-time stuff set in ancient times, particularly Ancient Egypt.
Most of my writing is set in Ancient Egypt, although I like to also write other genres including detective, science fiction and short stories. My writing keeps me grounded, particularly during these difficult covid times.
I've spent several years writing an epic historical fiction trilogy - The Giza Trilogy, set against the backdrop of the three pyramids on the Giza Plateau, and the pharaohs and the army of workers who constructed these massive mountains of stone. I like writing about Ancient Egypt and in my writing... being transported back to this ancient time.
Anyway, hope you all had a great New Year. HAPPY READING!
Hello. I'm Shawn P. McCarthy, author of a six-book historical novel series called The Puzzle Box Chronicles. (Set in the 1890s.) I have a strong interest in disruptive/transitional times in history, and I've always found the late 1800s particularly fascinating because of the rapid expansion of electricity, long distance communication and transportation. I'm looking forward to participating!
Mod
Hi all, my name is Claire. I'm 24, and from Washington (west coast USA) but have lived in Colorado for years now. I can't wait to see what everyone is reading this year! I've mostly been lurking for the last few years - my personal life and health have been a challenge, and of course, 2020 and 2021 were unpredictable. So here I am this year, determined to participate more! I am hoping to do a yearly reading challenge as well as participate in some monthly reads and discussions. I always read plenty but rarely track or plan what I read, and have never discussed what I read outside when I was in school still.I have loved reading since I was a toddler, and like to read from an array of different genres and writing styles. My mom and teachers said that growing up, I devoured just about anything written I could get a hold of. I like to learn, but now I tend to alternate more serious or educational books with fun ones. Historical fiction is one of my two favorite genres. Some recent reads for me are The Lightkeeper's Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol, and Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. My other favorite genre is fantasy novels in medieval-esque settings, especially those with a strong female heroin, and all the better if they have a unique or fun magic system. Such as those by Tamora Pierce, Green Rider series by Kristen Britain, and Kristin Cashore novels, particularly Fire. I like autiobiographies and biographies as well, but try not to read them too frequently as they are harder for me to get in to and take more out of me to read. The only types of stories I generally don't like much are horror and mysteries - they've just never appealed to me, personally. I do like some historical fiction that involves mystery, but for me, while plot and setting are of course both crucial to any story, what really draws me in to a particular book are the characters, their interactions, and compelling character development. Most of my favorite novels are full of vibrant characters, and some of my favorite stories are ones that - when I think about it - have very little that actually happens in them, and are more a study of people, what made them who they are, how they feel, how they interact with the world, etc. I studied psychology in University, mostly because the mind fascinated me, and continues to do so.
Reading has always been an escape for me, and is one of the only hobbies I've been able to keep up over the years. I'm in my 20's but have a rare genetic disease and some other chronic illnesses that have limited my options and hobbies as I have aged. So while I had to give up my lifelong love of horseback riding, and limit or give up several other physically difficult hobbies, I've continued to read. I haven't been able to work in years, but have been volunteering in advocacy for healthcare and rare disease research in the USA. I do a fair bit of academic reading (journal articles, studies, meta-analyses, etc) both for my advocacy and my own desire to continue to study even though I no longer am in school. I really want to read a diverse array of books this year (and try to be a bit more organized) so since I am not able to work yet and do have some time, I am planning on two books a week, for a total of around 104 - but with some flexibility, as some weeks I plan to read multiple short stories, or similar. I plan to look at the reading challenges the group is doing monthly, and participate in as many as I can! I think historical fiction is an incredibly diverse genre, which is perfect for what I want. I've been in intensive physical therapy (4x a week) and various other treatments and surgeries over the last few years, and I think picking up reading more reliably will help me with both stress and getting my mind back to feeling sharp. Some of my conditions have affected my cognition significantly and the last few years, reading was difficult and frustrating to me. I used to devour books effortlessly, and I remember clearly what it felt like, and do miss it. It is more difficult for me now, but not any less worth it or important to me, so, here I am!
To anyone who actually read my long and somewhat rambling introduction, thank you! Happy (late) new year to everyone, and I look forward to sharing what I'm reading, and following what others are reading in 2022 as well!
Welcome, Claire. and all the other newbies. This is a friendly group and we're glad you all found us.
Emma wrote: "Hi, I’m Emma from York, UK. So far I love to read WWII and Cold War spy novels, but have recently read a biblical fiction and want to explore more time periods from contemporary authors.
Other t..."
That's an interesting point. I think we could classify Jane Austen's work as fiction that is historical even if it isn't necessarily historical fiction. And I also appreciate strong female characters. Regarding WWII, have you read anything by Gabriela Adameșteanu?
Hi, I'm Laurie from Oregon, USA. I'm a 3rd grade teacher and an avid reader. My favorite genre is historical fiction, so I'm thrilled to have discovered this group. I participate in a few reading challenges throughout the year. I'm currently reading A Fall of Marigolds (Historical Fictionistas), Stay Close (Netflix Book Club), People We Meet on Vacation (Popsugar Challenge), and Hank Aaron: A Tribute To The Hammer 1934-2021 (gift from student). I'm looking forward to a wonderful year of reading!
Welcome, Laurie! I'm a retired middle school teacher and love reading historical fiction, too.
Hi! I'm Rose Ann, and I live in a log house on a mountainside in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with my hubby of thirty-two years. There are very few books on any topic that I won't at least give a chance, and I love historical fiction. I look forward to reading and sharing my thoughts with you.
Hi....little late to the party but I'm excited to have found you all. I'm Beth. I live in Nashville and historical fiction is my jam. I started in earnest with A Gentleman in Moscow and quickly burned thru some Ken Follett, Greek Mythology (Song of Achilles was so darn good!) and more. I'm happy to see what you all are excited about.
Thanks for starting this group!
Beth
Hi Beth,Welcome, I'm new to the group too :) I've recently added Song of Achilles to my reading list, looking forward to it!
Hi I am Lawrie ,a retired History teacher from Edinburgh, Scotland. I enjoy all periods of history and that is also true ot the historical fiction i read . i have completed my first novel set in WW1 and am working on getting it published now.
Hello all! My name is Lisa and I live in Dover, DE. My goal this year is to connect with other readers 😊. I'm 58, married, retired and set my 2022 reading goal for 75 books and 365-days of reading!! I'd really love to connect and discuss books. Thanks
Hello! I am Rosina, and live just outside Carlisle, about half a mile from Hadrian's Wall. I have been reading historical fiction and non-fiction for the last 70 years, from Ancient Greece to the Second World War (which is barely 'history')
Hello,I am Robert and I live in Sevastopol. I've been a voracious reader since aged 10. My father put wood blocks on the pedals of the ancient tractor we used for cultivating so I could reach the pedals and I quickly learned how to read with one eye and watch the tender young corn stalks going between the teeth of the machine with the other. You'd be amazed how many pages you can read in 8 or 10 hours of slowly going back and fourth over a four hectare field of narrow row corn.
I have always enjoyed reading historic fiction and real history and over the years I've come to understand that some of the 'real' history I've read was closer to Historic Fiction than actual history. Oh well, most were good books anyhow.
My wife and I have been married for 17 years, she did not want to come to The Land of Round Doorknobs so I came to her. I was well familiar with the culture here so the transition was not difficult. And before you ask, my bride speaks fluent English (as do many citizens here) and we are rarely apart, so my knowledge of Russian is basically enough to confuse the road police on the very rare occasion we are stopped (twice in 17 years).
I am a published author as is our blue girl Sophia. We both use a pen name, it's better that way.
Hi, I'm Sharon, a retired creative writing instructor/writer/editor, and I live on the coast in North Carolina. I love history and fiction and am particularly fond of the two when combined. Delighted to be here with a such an interesting group.
Lawrie wrote: "Hi I am Lawrie ,a retired History teacher from Edinburgh, Scotland. I enjoy all periods of history and that is also true ot the historical fiction i read . i have completed my first novel set in WW..."Hi Lawrie, hope you are successful in getting your World War One novel published. The first book is always the hardest. Keep writing and keep enjoying your writing! I have been writing now for more than 30 years and it gets easier with each book written...
Hello, everyone ! I'm Theo Faurez, just published my first novel, a historical fiction / murder mystery set in the early Roman Empire.Books have been my passion ever since I learned to read. After Tommy Turtle and Babar the Elephant it was on to greater things, LOL. Murder and ancient history are two of my oldest passions, so I followed in the footsteps of others and combined the two. Ancient Rome has plenty of sleuths already, so my creation is based in proud, exotic, decadent Antioch in Roman Syria. Good reading everyone !
Rosina wrote: "Hello! I am Rosina, and live just outside Carlisle, about half a mile from Hadrian's Wall. I have been reading historical fiction and non-fiction for the last 70 years, from Ancient Greece to the S..."Hi Rosina,
I'm also a fan of historical fiction and like reading ancient history - mostly Egypt, Greece, Rome and Pre-Columbian Americas. It must be very interesting living 'next door' to Hadrian's Wall. I've always wanted to walk the length of the Wall but living abroad, have been unable to do so, although have still managed to read a few fiction and non-fiction books about Hadrian's Wall. Do you have any photos of Hadrian's Wall you could post on the Historical Fictionistas Photo site for the members?
Hey! I'm new, my name is Rachelle and I'm from Kentucky. I like to read all kinds of books but historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I love Cornwell! I'm looking forward to learning about new books from you guys and talking about them. :)
Hi! My name is Andrew and I live in North Carolina (originally from Baltimore). I have an interest in historical fiction primarily in two time periods: Post-Norman Conquest England (through the Renaissance) and colonial U.S. Books need to be as historically accurate as possible, and without imbuing 21st century ideology into the plot or characters. I also have an interest in cartography, and enjoy books that involve exploration and discovery. I look forward to learning about great new books from other members, and sharing my opinion on books that I've read.
Hi everyone, my name is Lauren and I am excited to have found this group! I live in St. Louis and my love for historical fiction has grown over the years. I especially enjoy reading about World War Two and am starting to get more into later periods (next on my to-read list is a story that takes place in 1883). One of my favorite historical events is the 1904 World's Fair that took place in St. Louis, and I think it would be so fun to write a historical fiction book about this!I am very excited to have found this group and am looking forward to discovering more historical fiction books to broaden my horizon with, and to sharing thoughts about the books I have read with the rest of the group.
Lauren wrote: "Hi everyone, my name is Lauren and I am excited to have found this group! I live in St. Louis and my love for historical fiction has grown over the years. I especially enjoy reading about World War..."Hi, Lauren, and welcome. When I read your note and you said you are from St. Louis and mentioned the World's Fair it reminded me of a movie that I love. It's called Meet Me in St. Louis and it stars Judy Garland. Have you seen it or heard of it? :)
Janis wrote: "Hi Janis from Florida"Hi, Janis, and welcome. :) Love your name. ;)
HIJust heard about this group on What Shall I Read Next? I just happened to have finished THE LOST APOTHECARY for a book club. I did enjoy it. I am a retired medical librarian and live in Dearborn MI which is near Detroit. I mostly read fiction (contemporary, mystery, historical) and accessible non-fiction history like Eric Larsen. Just finished FOUR WINDS which I really liked. Of course, I knew I would. Thanks.
Hello I’m Laura and learned about this group from the What should I read next podcast?. I love to read. Some of my favorite stories are about books, bookstores and libraries.
Hi, everyone my name is Karen and I love many genres except basically heavy Science Fiction. I live in NH and I love recommendations for all Historical Fiction. I don't know how to link Titles and Authors or hide reviews with spoilers. Could someone give me step by step instructions if convenient? I will copy them down in my notebook because sometimes I add spoiler content without realizing it. Also could someone teach me with step by step instructions how to link my review using the Good Reads Website features that highlight the Title and Author highlighted in green with a direct link to my review if you have a chance. Thank you:)
Hi, I am Robin from Wisconsin. The last thing I need is another group but I counted and I already have 15 GR friends in this group! I read a lot of genres but my favorite romances are historical, my favorite mysteries are historical and my favorite novels are historical. Everything is just more interesting to me in past times - plus the plot can't be resolved by a phone call, text or internet search!I am retired and that and the pandemic gave me a chance to read more than ever in the last couple years. I have enjoyed "meeting" people on GR and have even met some in real life. I also noticed that the group shows location of Wilkes-Barre, PA, which must be where our founder is. I grew up on a farm about 70 miles north of there, in the beautiful "Endless Mountains" - not the easiest farm country though!
Karen wrote: "Hi, everyone my name is Karen and I love many genres except basically heavy Science Fiction. I live in NH and I love recommendations for all Historical Fiction. I don't know how to link Titles and ..."Hi Karen, it took me a long time to understand how to use some of those tools, but now I am a Mod in several groups, I got help to figure it out. Here is the "spoiler" info from the Group Rules and Information thread of this group.
To hide a spoiler using HTML:
[spoiler] place text here [/spoiler]
Replace [ ] with < >
(That is instead of using the brackets as in the example, you use the 2 characters that are "less than" and "greater than" in math.)
You can use the add book/author to link to the title, cover or author of your book, but to link to your review somewhere else on GR, you would need to copy the website address where the review is and use the directions under "some html is ok" and the option for link, pasting the web address you want instead of the GR site they give. If it doesn't work, it's probably because you have an extra space or forgot one of the symbols, or got one in the wrong place. If you are having trouble, one of the Mods here can probably explain it better than I have.
The underlying "language" is that when you want to start something like a spoiler, bold, italics, a link, etc., you use the < > to surround it and when you want to end it, you use the forward slash between the 2 symbols to mean stop doing that. I suppose this is totally obvious to our more tech-savvy members, but it was a revelation to me.
Also, I should mention that I NEVER use the GR app, even on a tablet or phone I would go to the actual website, so I don't know if it's different in the app.
Hi, Everyone. Three months into the new year and I finally get around to introducing myself. I don't know whether to blame that on how busy I am or my lack of organization (my wife has her opinion...). I am a poet and novelist. I write primarily historical fiction centered around the American Civil War. My poetry is usually something to do with the sea or military sacrifice. Please feel free to visit my website to learn more about me, my books and my poems at https://www.AuthorJohnBebout.com Everyone stay well and happy reading!
Hello!I'm Peter from Brazil. I am struggling with The Fiery Cross (Diana Gabadon) and it doesn't look like I am going to go through with. Too much milk and too many pages to describe the act of getting up and rocking your baby back to sleep. I welcome suggestions to get me out of the mud hole.
Hi Kristen, 👋 I'm in rural NW MN.
Historical Fiction is my favorite genre.
Historical Fiction is my favorite genre.
I am Rosanne. I live in Clarence Center NY outside of Buffalo. I am very old. I have 2 adult children. They are in their 30’s and 40’s. I am an historical fiction lover. I have no real record of the books I have read which is too bad. I am reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz right now and intend to move on to The Auschwitz Escape.
Hi - I'm David and i have just published my first work of Historical Fiction after a couple of works of horror/fantasy.
Hello group! I'm fairly new to the Goodreads "scene", but I am jumping in! I am a science teacher who is history lover deep down. If I am reading something, more often than not it is going to be historical, whether fiction or non-fiction!
Hello! Pretty new to the group - my name is Brenna and I've always loved historical fiction. Right now I'm reading a lot of historical mysteries but I have a soft spot for historical fiction centering around the witch trials or royal courts!
Hi I'm Rachel! I love historical fiction especially the kind with lots of politics!
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Historical Fictionistas
Books mentioned in this topic
In Another Time (other topics)The Nature of Fragile Things (other topics)
A Deadly Gilded Free Fall (other topics)
Radar Girls (other topics)
The Engineer's Wife (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Susan Meissner (other topics)Jean E. Pendziwol (other topics)
Christina Baker Kline (other topics)
Tamora Pierce (other topics)
Kristen Britain (other topics)
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