THE ARCTIC FURY in great company at Greatist!

How fun is this!? THE ARCTIC FURY made a list of 15 Best Historical Fiction Books at Greatist.com, in amazing company with the latest from Chris Bohjalian, Pam Jenoff, Michelle Gable, Kristin Harmel and more!

(Honestly, fully half of the authors on this list are friends of mine, and I’m genuinely delighted for every one of us! I am so lucky to run in these circles.)

I particularly love that the intro points out that “historical fiction” just means these novels are set in the past, though “many of them are inspired by real people and events, use familiar settings as backdrops, or retell old stories from new perspectives.“ Nicely put.

Jump straight to the writeup of The Arctic Fury or check out the whole list here.

interview with Kerstin Hall at CHIRB!

You probably know me as a historical fiction writer, but have you heard I have an epic fantasy novel coming out in 2022? It’s the beginning of a series, even. BIG change. We’ll have a cover reveal soon, and I’ll tell you more about the book then (including its title, premise, all the good stuff!)

To go with that shift, I’m making some other changes, including expanding my beat at Chicago Review of Books to include more fantasy and sci-fi along with the historical fiction and thrillers I’ve been reading and review the past couple of years.

So I was thrilled to read Kerstin Hall’s STAR EATER and interview her about all the rich complexity of her novel, including the joys of world-building, the “minefield” of genre categorization, and why some readers insist on labeling books with no teenage characters as YA.

I also got to ask her one of my favorite questions about SFF:

Fantasy novels set in matriarchal worlds seem to be surprisingly few and far between, considering how open the genre is to invention and imagination. Why do you think that is?

Read Kerstin’s answer, and the complete interview, here.

THE ARCTIC FURY in great company at CrimeReads!

Sorry it’s been so quiet around here! Between last week’s very busy and very enjoyable virtual Historical Novel Society conference and an upcoming book deadline breathing down my neck for next year’s epic fantasy novel (about which more soon!), not much time for blogging. But I’ve got a couple fun links to share, so here’s the first!

Loved seeing THE ARCTIC FURY included in a roundup of “immersive” historical novels at CrimeReads. “The Arctic setting really crystalizes this story.“ Check out Martha Hall Kelly’s great list of recommendations here.

one-day deal on THE ARCTIC FURY!

April 15 looks a little different this year — not only am I not scrambling to get those last-minute tax forms in on time (phew), it’s a big day for THE ARCTIC FURY, my historical adventure-slash-courtroom drama about an ill-fated all-female Arctic expedition! The ebook is a BookBub deal, meaning it’s $1.99 across all major book platforms, as well as a Kindle Daily Deal. So if you haven’t read it yet, snap it up! And if you’ve read it and loved it, please spread the word!

Easy-peasy lemon squeezy buy links:

Apple Books

Google Books

Kindle

Kobo

Nook

catch the replay of Ask an Author with Julia Kelly

After a few weeks off, I’m barnstorming the virtual event circuit again! Check out my Events page for details.

I kicked off a week of five (five!) events with a very fun hour talking to Julia Kelly, hosting me on Facebook Live for her Ask An Author series. Couldn’t make it live? No worries! Catch the replay here.

are you following the Who Was She Project?

For the last several years, every March, I’ve done some kind of project for Women’s History Month, like Women’s History Reads or Read 99 Women. This year my project is taking place on social media instead of the blog, and I’m keeping it brief: one book recommendation per day, based on a woman from history whose name I think you should know. They range from civil rights pioneers and early feminist writers, to scientists and inventors, to self-made millionaires and Prohibition-era brewing company CEOs (really!)

On Twitter, you can follow me at @theladygreer or search for the tag #WhoWasShe; on Instagram, same handle, with the slightly longer #WhoWasSheProject tag.

And! Best of all, you can hop over to Bookshop and buy any of the books listed, and you’re benefiting indie bookstores without losing the convenience of ordering online. Win/win!

looking for a historical novel about Kate Warne?

You know, every Women’s History Month there’s a spike in Kate Warne content online, which makes me very happy as a charter member of the Kate Warne Awareness Society! But every once in a while I see people online responding to the great basics of Kate’s story — first woman detective, first female Pinkerton, Union spy during the Civil War, woman who saved Abraham Lincoln’s life en route to his inauguration — with some variation on “OMG WHY ISN’T THERE A BOOK ABOUT THIS WOMAN?”

I do not think it’s appropriate to write back to them individually and say, “Actually, there is.” So I’m writing this post instead.

And if you’re wondering why there’s no full-length biography of Kate, it’s because the historical record really doesn’t offer enough detail to support a chapter or two, let alone 200 or so pages of content. So if you want all of Kate’s story, imagination will definitely have to be a part of it.

There are lots of great takes on Kate, fiction and non-fiction, and I encourage everyone to explore them. Obviously, I’m a bit partial to my own take on Kate, but the more Kates the better, if the end result is that more people know her name. (And spell it correctly, unlike her gravestone.)

listen to the DMPL podcast about THE ARCTIC FURY!

This is my second visit to the Des Moines Public Library’s podcast, and Aaron always asks such great questions! You can listen to just the first part if you haven’t read the book yet, but there’s a section full of spoilers (with a clear warning beforehand!) if you’ve read THE ARCTIC FURY and want to know all my secrets.

Listen to our super-fun conversation (including news about what I’m up to next!) here.

Women's History Month 2021: Who Was She?

A very quick note about something I’ll be talking more about all month long: a project I’m calling “Who Was She?”

Every day on my social channels, I’ll highlight a book about a woman from history who did something amazing. If you want to peek ahead at some of the selections, or if you’ve seen a book on my social channels and want to pick it up while also supporting indie bookstores from the comfort of your own home, I’ve got great news!

More info on, and links to buy, all the books can be found in this Bookshop list, Who Was She?

THE LOST APOTHECARY interview for CHIRB!

Just a quick note that Sarah Penner’s marvelous debut, THE LOST APOTHECARY, is out today! You’ll love this dual-timeframe novel that follows three fascinating women: an apothecary who only allows her poisons to be used to kill misbehaving men, a clever girl whose curiosity about the apothecary leads her to quickly get in over her head, and the modern-day woman whose discovery of an 18th-century apothecary vial spurs her to investigate the unknown as a distraction from her crumbling marriage. I can’t even list how many Most Anticipated lists this book is already on… expect to see it on more lists (like the bestseller lists) soon.

Read our interview here.