I had the good fortune to meet Patricia O’Reilly, author of ORPEN AT WAR, in London during the 2014 HNS conference. That was my first Historical Novel Society conference – I’ve been to many more – and the experience of being amongst fellow writers is unforgettable. Patricia’s latest novel features Sir William Orpen during WWI and I had the privilege of reading an early version. But enough preamble, here’s Patricia to tell us about this famous Irish artist. From an early age William Orpen showed an exceptional talent for painting. Aged thirteen he was one of the youngest students to be accepted ..read more

Sophie Schiller and I share a passion for the stories and history of WWI. Sophie is on the blog today with some intriguing background about German spies and their intention to destroy the Panama Canal. I’ve had the privilege of reading a beta version of The Unlikely Spy and I know that readers will be fascinated with the story and the characters Sophie has created. Over to you, Sophie. ~~~ Sabotage, timed bombs, fomenting strikes, burning sugar cane fields, planting propaganda, poisoning cattle, sabotaging canals, what’s a writer not to love? The subject of WWI in the Western Hemisphere has fa ..read more

To keep all you readers of A Writer of History enthralled, author Jeffrey K. Walker has contributed several posts for which I am very grateful. Today, he shares a timely perspective on pandemics. Many thanks, Jeff. I’ve written three novels all set during a pandemic. Okay, I advertise these books as “First World War and 1920s,” but that includes the time of what is known as the “Spanish flu” pandemic of 1918 to 1920. This particular strain of H1NI avian influenza didn’t originate in Spain, but even incorrect labels have a tendency to stick. I didn’t prominently f ..read more

My grandmother’s second wedding was in October of 1977 when she was seventy-five. Unfortunately, my husband and I were students living in Vancouver at the time with insufficient funds to afford plane tickets for the big event. We sent a telegram with our congratulations in advance – the custom in those days for guests who could not attend – then telephoned my parents’ home at the time when the reception was scheduled in order to talk to the bride and groom. Imagine us hearing the stunning news that my grandmother had died of a massive heart attack on the way to the church! Reeling with sh ..read more

I’m welcoming Jess Lederman to the blog today. After his wife’s was diagnosed with ALS, Jess left the business world behind and moved with her to Alaska. “There we looked out on the glory of God’s creation and read to our heart’s content during the last two years of her life.” This tragedy led to Hearts Set Free which opens in the Alaska Territory in 1925.  In Flanders Fields by Jess Lederman We writers of historical fiction have wonderful opportunities to incorporate settings that provide instant drama and to feature fascinating real-life characters. I love to see the ways in w ..read more

Today marks 100 years since the end of WWI. What a horrifying and devastating war. Tragically, the terms of the armistice led to economic distress and resentment in Germany, which when combined with a toxic man like Hitler, who promised to tear up the Treaty of Versailles, led to WWII. Each of my three published novels features the end of the war. Here’s an excerpt from my first novel Unravelled when Edward Jamieson is remembering his experience. After Valenciennes, Germany was ready to surrender. On November eleventh, unaware of any official communiqué, Edward and his comrades instead became ..read more

Henry’s last letter in the collection that my husband has. Lindi (On the Coast) – 19th December 1918 I have just received three of your letters dated July and August from Vancouver, also the various postcards. I am very glad to hear it was such an enjoyable holiday for both of you. You would certainly appreciate being by the sea once again with the complete change of scenery and climate, especially when these are so grand as you get in B.C. Poor old Scotland of course gets dwarfed by comparison when once you leave her shores, but she always remains Scotland. Here we are waiting for a ship to t ..read more

31st October 1918 I have just received a big batch of your letters dated April and May [5 months ago] and have more or less digested all of your news. I am sorry to hear Maxwell Forsyth has been killed. His battalion, the 8th Gordons, if I remember rightly, was in our Division in France, although I never met him there. The war seems to be r rapidly drawing to a close and we expect the momentous news of peace any day. Having started the fight the Germans are not waiting for their licking, but are getting out of the ring before he is knocked out. The latest news of our local friends is that they ..read more