Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved reading time travel stories and gobbled up most of what I could find. Over the past few years, I decided that I wanted to try writing one for myself. After reading the books I’ve recommended along with others (including some having to do with the physics of time), I finally took up the challenge and wrote the Waters of Time series which combines my love of the Middle Ages, romance, and time travel all into one.


I wrote

Come Back to Me

By Jody Hedlund,

Book cover of Come Back to Me

What is my book about?

Research scientist Marian Creighton and her father share one goal—to find a remedy that can help cure her sister Ellen…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England

Jody Hedlund Why did I love this book?

This book really did fulfill the title! It helped me travel back in time to the 1300s in England. I felt like I was there and engaging all my senses, learning how it felt, tasted, sounded, looked, and smelled. The details were thorough and helped me write my fictional time travel book more realistically.

By Ian Mortimer,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The past is a foreign country. This is your guidebook. Imagine you could get into a time machine and travel back to the fourteenth century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? Should you go to a castle or a monastic guest house? And what are you going to eat? What sort of food are you going to be offered by a peasant or a monk or a lord? This radical new approach turns our entire understanding of history upside down. It shows us that the past is not…


Book cover of Daily Life in the Middle Ages

Jody Hedlund Why did I love this book?

Intriguing, little-known facts make this book another way to travel into the past, showcasing everything from eating, cooking, clothing, housing, and relaxing. It provides fascinating details of what everyday life was really like in the Middle Ages, facts that can’t be gleaned simply by watching movies or television programs.

By Paul B. Newman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Daily Life in the Middle Ages as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Although life in the Middle Ages was not as comfortable and safe as it is for most people in industrialized countries today, the term "Dark Ages" is highly misleading. The era was not so primitive and crude as depictions in film and literature would suggest. Even during the worst years of the centuries immediately following the fall of Rome, the legacy of that civilization survived.

This book covers diet, cooking, housing, building, clothing, hygiene, games and other pastimes, fighting and healing in medieval times. The reader will find numerous misperceptions corrected. The book also includes a comprehensive bibliography and a…


Book cover of The Rose Garden

Jody Hedlund Why did I love this book?

The main character of this novel travels back in time to 18th century Cornwall. The time-travelling element is beautifully done and swept me from the present to the past seamlessly and with such intrigue that I felt like I was struggling to adjust to the differences of the past with the heroine. The ambiance of medieval times stays with me and helped inspire me as I wrote my time travel book.

By Susanna Kearsley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Rose Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Eva's film star sister Katrina dies, she leaves California and returns to Cornwall, where they spent their childhood summers, to scatter Katrina's ashes and in doing so return her to the place where she belongs. But Eva must also confront the ghosts from her own past, as well as those from a time long before her own. For the house where she so often stayed as a child is home not only to her old friends the Halletts, but also to the people who had lived there in the eighteenth century. When Eva finally accepts that she is able…


Book cover of Outlander

Jody Hedlund Why did I love this book?

While this time travel novel is long and contains some difficult scenes (of torture and rape), I loved the historical details woven throughout as seen through the eyes of a contemporary woman trying to survive in an environment that could often be hostile and dangerous for women, especially a woman who comes under suspicion for her strange (contemporary) ways. 

By Diana Gabaldon,

Why should I read it?

37 authors picked Outlander as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first book in Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series.

One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBS’s The Great American Read!
 
Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon’s work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured the hearts of millions of fans. Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and…


Book cover of Waterfall

Jody Hedlund Why did I love this book?

Another time travel novel, this particular book takes readers on an adventure to 14th century Italy. The vehicle for time travelling is unique and the setting is also unique. Once again, the reader is on the edge of his or her seat as the character is plunged into danger, always wondering if the character will survive and stay in the Middle Ages or return to the present.

By Lisa T. Bergren,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Waterfall as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

Gabriella has never spent a summer in Italy like this one.

Remaining means giving up all she's known and loved . . . and leaving means forfeiting what she's come to know--and love itself.
Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Bentarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscan scholars, among the romantic hills. In Book One of the River of Time series, Gabi and Lia are stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, boring, and dusty archeological site . . . until Gabi…


Explore my book 😀

Come Back to Me

By Jody Hedlund,

Book cover of Come Back to Me

What is my book about?

Research scientist Marian Creighton and her father share one goal—to find a remedy that can help cure her sister Ellen of a deadly genetic disease that already stole their mother away. However, she is skeptical of her father’s methods. She feels his long-time fixation with ancient Holy water and its healing properties are both crazy and a waste of time.

But when Marian’s father falls into a coma after drinking a vial of Holy water, she is determined to test his theories for herself. However, she soon realizes that she is not the only one interested in his research. A break-in and a kidnapping convince her that she must take the plunge and follow her father back to the Middle Ages in order to save both her father and her sister. 

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Book cover of Glimmer of the Other

Heather G. Harris Author Of Protection of the Pack

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I am passionate about fierce female protagonists in fiction because I believe that fiction is a great way to highlight real-life issues. Before becoming an author, I was a lawyer. It was tough navigating the challenges of maternity leave and trying to have a career whilst being a mum to a young family. The reality is that there’s still plenty of gender inequality remaining in the world at large, so I made sure that I always write strong, competent female main characters to lead by example. As you can imagine, my reading tastes are the same as my writing ones, making me an excellent curator of strong female fiction. 

Heather's book list on fierce female protagonists in urban fantasy

What is my book about?

Delve into this internationally best-selling series, now complete! A fast paced laugh-out-loud mix of Urban Fantasy and Mystery.

I can tell when you’re lying. Every. Single. Time. I’m Jinx, a PI hired to find a missing university student, I hope to find her propped up at a bar–yet my gut tells me there’s more to this case than a party girl gone wild. Firstly, she’s a bookish soul who’s as likely to go off the rails as Mother Theresa. Secondly, I’m not the only one on her trail; she’s also being tracked by the implacable and oh-so-sexy Inspector Stone. Stone…

By Heather G. Harris,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Glimmer of the Other as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

I can tell when you’re lying. Every. Single. Time.

I’m Jinx. As a private investigator, being a walking, talking lie detector is a useful skill – but let’s face it, it’s not normal. You’d think it would make my job way too easy, but even with my weird skills, I still haven’t been able to track down my parent’s killers.

When I’m hired to find a missing university student, I hope to find her propped up at a bar – yet my gut tells me there’s more to this case than a party girl gone wild. Firstly, she’s a bookish…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in time travel, the Middle Ages, and medieval society?

Time Travel 394 books
The Middle Ages 429 books
Medieval Society 18 books