As a woman who started writing later in life, I know about reinventing oneself and overcoming obstacles along the way. At any age, there are many hurdles to climb in getting a novel published, though probably more for an older woman. Marketing is a whole other aspect of being an author and that’s where technology comes in. It can be daunting. I had to learn a whole new vocabulary, programs, and social media I never dreamed I’d use. It all seems easy now, yet in the beginning, it definitely created a lot of angst. My life has blossomed from it all and I’m proud I’ve climbed those hurdles. I want the same for my characters.
It’s 1969. Women are fighting for equality. Rosalee, an insecure sculptor, and Fran, a best-selling novelist, have their issues. Will their bitter envy of each other and long-held secrets destroy their tenuous friendship? Or will Jill, Rosalee’s granddaughter, and the story behind her emerald necklace bind them together?
Friendship and frenemies, envy, secrets, women’s rights, and reproductive rights all wind around an heirloom necklace in this engaging and mysterious story that sheds light on that inevitable time when lovers, family, friends, and circumstances change and force you to reinvent yourself whether you want to or not.
This suspenseful novel centers on the life of Hannah Isaacson, a female obstetrician in the early 1900s, a time when women’s choices for birth control and abortion were more than limited. A devoted women's advocate and suffragist, Hannah is determined to make a difference for her patients, even if it means going to jail or challenging the governor of New York.
We women stand on the shoulders of those strong, determined women who fiercely fought for our rights, and Rubin’s well-researched novel brings that home.
In the Hands of Womenis a suspenseful historical novel centered on the life of Hannah Isaacson, an obstetrician in training who was determined to improve medical safety for women in a time when women had few choices. This carefully researched work, set in 1900 Baltimore and New York City, when birth control and abortion were both illegal, leaves us contemplating whether history is repeating itself.
With the advent of obstetrics and anesthesia as distinct fields of practice in 1900, hospital births rapidly gained popularity. Midwives, who previously cared for these women, began supplementing their shrinking incomes with abortions, sometimes performing…
Caugherty brings us a sensory treat, a love letter to Yosemite National Park, as she brings to life Enid Michael, the first female ranger-naturalist.
I love a novel with lyrical prose, especially one that introduces me to a strong, determined little-known woman. The gripping story is rich in historical detail, setting the readers’ feet in the Depression era with a young woman struggling for equality.
Enid is a determined teenager who had the courage to overcome societal boundaries in pursuing her dream. It resonates today, almost 100 years later.
"Isabel will steal your heart with her hopeful spirit." –Kerry Chaput, author of Daughter of the King
1934. Isabel longs to escape her squalid San Francisco neighborhood. While her mother struggles to make ends meet and her older brother serves with the CCC at Yosemite, she manages the household and comforts her younger sister with stories about an idyllic imaginary world. Desperate for a taste of freedom, she takes matters into her own hands-with tragic consequences.
Distraught, she flees to Yosemite, where she falls in love with its majestic beauty. Inspired by Enid Michael, the park's only female ranger-naturalist, Isabel…
This is an inspiring, well-researched novel. Rosenberg introduces us to the woman who created Brut Champagne.
Mme. Pommery is determined to support her family. With no experience and no one willing to teach her the art of making champagne, she defies societal restrictions on women, a greedy banker, and even the Prussian Army to become a successful vigneron.
This courageous and forward-thinking young woman reminds me of the protagonist in one of my novels. Though our stories are set one hundred years apart, both of our protagonists are young, determined women who make their way in the world of winemaking fighting their society’s restrictions on women.
"The sun-drenched vineyards of France, a real-life heroine who against all odds refuses to give up her dreams... and champagne. What's not to love?” Barbara Davis, Best-selling author of The Echo of Old Books
Champagne, France, 1860. Madame Pommery, an etiquette teacher and orphanage founder, loses her husband and is forced to support her family. With no experience, the forty-year-old widow decides to make champagne. Her unique vision is to change it from a sweet dessert beverage to a dry, crisp wine to be enjoyed anytime. When champagne makers refuse to teach her their craft, she forges ahead on her…
Unlike many authors of historical fiction who write about people who actually lived, Meissner creates fictitious characters and sets them in historical times. I also craft my novels in that fashion so I can’t help but smile at our one similarity.
This is a heart-wrenching story about a mother’s fight to keep her daughter and the appalling injustice that tears them apart. Meissner brings us Rosy, a strong, determined young girl in 1938 California, and Helen, a middle-aged brave, courageous woman in 1947 Austria.
Both must fight against the crushing restrictions forced upon them by the politics and beliefs of the time and find strengths in themselves they never imagined.
A Best Historical Fiction of Spring Pick by Amazon, PopSugar, AARP, and BookBub!
A heartrending story about a young mother’s fight to keep her daughter, and the terrible injustice that tears them apart, by the USA Today bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things and The Last Year of the War.
California, 1938—When she loses her parents in an accident, sixteen-year-old Rosanne is taken in by the owners of the vineyard where she has lived her whole life as the vinedresser’s daughter. She moves into Celine and Truman Calvert’s spacious house with a secret, however—Rosie sees colors when she…
Daly’s protagonist, Eliza, represents the “New Woman” of the early 20th century: educated, career-minded, and independent. Though she faces monumental struggles forced upon her to become a physician when there were so few females in the field.
This is a story about the eternal struggle to live one’s best life. It’s also a story about family, those we are born to, and those we create. I am drawn to novels of sisterhood and enjoy exploring the theme that blood is not all that makes a family in my own writing.
Daly has done this beautifully with the women she created, the friends and colleagues who become family.
"Flawlessly researched with characters that come alive on the page, debut author Janis Robinson Daly writes with a fresh voice that brings her readers instantly into a story that, in many ways, is shockingly similar to today's world." –Barbara Conrey, USA Today bestselling author of Nowhere Near Goodbye
"An often riveting fictional testament of a doctor's life at the turn of the 20th century." –Kirkus Reviews
The Unlocked Path presents and embraces a "New Woman" of the early 20th century: educated, career-minded, independent. In 1897 Philadelphia, after witnessing her aunt's suicide, Eliza Edwards vows to find ways to help and…
I’ve penned (so far) seventeen novels, most set during some historical conflict or other, all of them revolving around intense personal relationships (loyalty, love, betrayal, those sorts of profound truths). I tend to read the sorts of books I wish to write. I also teach creative writing at a university (VCU); I tell my students that if they want to really know what a character is made of, shoot at them or have them fall in love. In my own work, I do both.
In the harrowing aftermath of Chornobyl's meltdown in 1986, the fate of Eastern Europe hangs by a thread.
From Beijing, American radiation scientist Lara, once a thorn in the Russian mob's side, is drawn back into the shadows of the Soviet Union on the Trans-Mongolian Express. She isn't alone. Anton, a Soviet scientist exiled for predicting Chornobyl's catastrophe, is on a quest to expose the truth. Amidst them, Timur, a Chechen giant fueled by vengeance, plots to destroy the already crumbling Soviet Union.
Suddenly, a murder on the remote tracks of the Gobi thrusts them into a deadly game of cat and mouse. As Chief Sheriff Bat races to solve the murder, their lives are thrown into jeopardy. Lara finds an unexpected ally in Gang, a reluctant assassin sent to end her life, and an illicit romance blooms amidst the chaos. But Gang isn't the only killer onboard. A hidden menace lurks, threatening to unravel all their plans.
In this electrifying ride across a historical backdrop, suspense and passion collide in an unyielding dance of survival and redemption. Who will survive the Trans-Mongolian Express?
In the harrowing aftermath of Chernobyl's meltdown in 1986, the fate of Eastern Europe hangs by a thread.
From Beijing, American radiation scientist Lara, once a thorn in the Russian mob's side, is drawn back into the shadows of the Soviet Union on the Trans-Mongolian Express. She isn't alone. Anton, a Soviet scientist exiled for predicting Chernobyl's catastrophe, is on a quest to expose the truth. Amidst them, Timur, a Chechen giant fueled by vengeance, plots to destroy the already crumbling Soviet Union.
Suddenly, a murder on the remote tracks of the Gobi thrusts them into a deadly game of…
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