Researching Historical Fiction

While writing my first six books, I avoided research and wrote only what I knew with the facts I could easily look up. Now I find diving into history is exciting and gives me a better sense of the people and places about which I write. Now I'm a believer. Researching for historical fiction is … Continue reading Researching Historical Fiction

Is Comedy a Modern Thing?

We attended a performance of The Play that Goes Wrong at the Florida Rep in downtown Fort Myers last night. I love the old intimate theater, and the goofy play gave us plenty of laughs. Slapstick comedy has kept audiences laughing for a thousand years, and it got me to wondering…did French peasants in the … Continue reading Is Comedy a Modern Thing?

Gossip and News: How 17th Century French Peasants Shared Information

We can’t live without our phones, email, TV, and podcasts. How did the people of yore manage? In a 17th-century French village, news traveled at the pace of footsteps and farm carts, stitched together by habit, ritual, and the human love of a good story. Most peasants lived within a few kilometers of one another … Continue reading Gossip and News: How 17th Century French Peasants Shared Information