2021 Historical Fiction Roundup

In which I talk about just a few of the books I'm looking forward to in 2021, including:

Band of Sisters, by Lauren Willig
The Women of Chateau Lafayette, by Stephanie Dray
The Steel Beneath the Silk, by Patricia Bracewell
The Rose Code, by Kate Quinn
Hour of the Witch, by Chris Bohjalian
The Children's Blizzard, by Melanie Benjamin
Wild Women and the Blues, by Denny S. Bryce
Meet Me in Bombay, by Jennie Ashcroft

Transcript

0:28

Greetings. I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. As happy as possible. Anyway. It's me again. Next week. I promise another interview. This time with the lovely Tasha Alexander author of historical mystery set in the gilded age. I recently finished her in the shadow of the CVS and I really loved it. Uh, it's a dual timeline. Peace with the gilded age and ancient times. It was really excellent. And she has another one coming in 2021. So hopefully I'll get her back. to talk about that one as well. So back to now. This is a super busy season. So I've decided to fill in a little bit on the podcast. Which is why you're hearing me instead of an interview. And what better to talk about then the upcoming historical novels. The books I'm looking forward to. That'll be out in early 20, 21. There are a lot of them. But I'm picky. So first. I'm actually really fortunate to have an advanced reader copy of a book, which I'm over halfway through. And I'm so excited about it. It's Lauren Willings band of sisters, the women of Smith college go to war. So. Okay. I'm a little biased. I got both a BA and an ma from Smith and I currently live half a mile from its beautiful campus. But my connection with the subject is only one of the reasons I'm interested. Lauren is a fabulous writer who creates compelling characters and makes a reader really care. What happens to them? I also appreciate that she writes in a variety of time periods, not just one. This one is set during world war one. Which, although it's getting popular, isn't quite as overstuffed as world war two is. Her previous novel, the summer country, which was also excellent. Took place in Victoria in Barbados. I'm selling grossed in this book in band of sisters. That I honestly wish I could just spend all day reading, but. Instead, I'm letting it keep me awake at night. The good news is that Lauren will be on my podcast probably in the new year. And the book comes out in March of 2021. And of course I have to mention the lovely Stephanie Drai's the women of Chateau Lafayette, which is also coming out in March. I had a huge privilege. I got to interview staff about this fabulous multiple timeline book. It was such a fun interview. It's the October 29th episode. If you want to listen. I suppose I should start numbering these episodes. Now that I've posted over 25 of them. Pretty amazing. To me anyway. One of my most anticipated novels for 2021 is the long way to third installment of Patricia brace Wells, Emma of Normandy trilogy. If you haven't read the first two volumes, do it now. Pat is an absolute genius at evoking, the tensions and atmospheres of this turbulent period in England's history. And she really brings Emma to life for the reader, which I think is hard to do when you're reaching that far back in history. All her other characters are complex and intriguing and I'm so looking forward to finally reading number three, the steel beneath the silk. Because number two ends and I'm went, no, no. I want to know what happens next. Anyway. The steel beneath the silk will be out in March and Pat will definitely come and talk to me about it here. I have a limited tolerance now for world war II stories. But I will always make time for a new book by Kate Quinn. Her novel. The Rose code is coming in March as well. An added bonus for me is that it's about Bletchley park, which is probably the aspect of world war II. I'm most fascinated by. I will definitely be reading that one. Also hoping to get Kate on the podcast, if she can manage it in her busy schedule. An author I'm woefully unfamiliar with, but who is a best seller in several Shara's is Chris Dalian. He's not solely historical. But his upcoming book hour of the, which is what sounds like a fabulous historical thriller and bonus for me, it's set in the 16 hundreds in Boston, a period in place. I haven't often read in historical fiction. This book comes out in April. Before that coming in January is Melanie Benjamin's next novel. The children's blizzard. This one sounds super compelling. Although I'm way behind on reading her recent works, I have to confess. I tend to prioritize books by authors. I'll be interviewing and I haven't been able to get ahold of her yet. I hope maybe I can persuade her to come on in the new year. This book too is not a 20th century novel, no world war II. It takes place in 1888. Another one I'm super excited about is Denny S Bryce's wild women in the blues, a dual timeline, novel interweaving, the present day and the 1920s. Set in the black belt of Chicago. I don't know this writer, but I love this subject and I'm looking forward to reading the book. I am also going to try to get her to come onto the podcast. This one's coming in March. Not that I know every historical novelist, but it always surprises me when I find someone new. So this is another one. By someone I've never read before, meet me in Bombay by Jenny Ashcroft. First she had me at Bombay. I love books that during the colonial era in India, perhaps a hold over from living in London for 10 years. And having lots of friends from the Indian sub-continent. Or maybe it's just my ongoing love affair with Juul in the crown, which I rewatch every now and again at any rate. This book is set in 1913. And I expect it's more of a historical romance than straight historical that's. Okay. I'll let you know how it is. I'm sure that will be many more books to talk about coming up. I will be putting links on the website for the podcast and in the show notes. So you can go and pre-order them or read about them or whatever you want to know. I'd also love to hear what historical novels you're looking forward to and who you'd like me to try to interview on this podcast. You can comment on the site. Or email me at Suzanne. At Suzanne Dunlap edits.com. That's S U S a N N E at. S U S a N N E D U N L a P E D I T S all one word.com. No. Switching gears a little to what's ahead for me. Some of, you may know that in 2021, the third volume of my orphans of Tolosa trilogy is coming out. It's a project that has been in my heart and mind for about 15 years. The first two volumes came out in 2019. I had hoped to get the third volume out in 2020. But I decided to prioritize getting the third Theresa Sherman mystery into the world instead. The Paris affair. So anyway. The third volume of my trilogy, which takes place in medieval long, a doc Southwestern, France. Voices in the mist is its title. It will come out next year. Not as soon as I had hoped. It was initially scheduled for March. But here's the thing about writing? It doesn't always go exactly as planned. Let me explain. Normally you give me a deadline and I made it. I'm very deadline driven. So I thought it would be a relatively easy matter to take my existing manuscript draft that I wrote, which I wrote maybe about 10 years ago. And Polish it up and have it ready to go in the time I estimated. But. I put this manuscript of side. And assumed it would never see the light of day once upon a time. So possibly I didn't Polish it as much as I might have. And what I realized when I started editing, it was that it was in a much rougher state than I thought. And it needed some major rewrites character development. The plot changes. In order to live up to the first two volumes and provide a satisfying tie up to the trilogy. So I wasn't just editing. I was really rewriting, which is almost as hard for me as drafting in the first place. And I just decided recently that I'd rather delay the publication, then send it out into the world. And less than optimal shape. I owe that to my readers. And to myself. Which brings me to this. I'm not ready yet, but I'm looking for willing beta readers to read the manuscript. It's about. 97,000 words. And give me honest feedback. I need to know if it works or if you felt like metaphorically, hurling it across the room. I have given myself time now to continue revising based on feedback. If you're game, you will have my undying gratitude and a mention in my acknowledgements. Just shoot me an email@suzanneandsuzannedunlapedits.com. If you want more information about this. So I think that's everything I have to update on, on this. Thursday, December 3rd. I hope. You are all. Not too crazy. Getting ready for the holidays. Hanukkah is coming up December 10th. And Christmas is soon after that. And the new year 2021. It just doesn't seem like a real date. I can't believe we're already there. in any case, keep reading. Keep writing. If that's what you do. And I hope you'll continue to listen to my podcast and look forward to an interview with Tasha Alexander. Next week. Bye for now.