Author Gini Rifkin’s historical romance “Undercover Outlaw” takes place in 1888, but the pervasiveness of human trafficking moved her to include a hotline number.
historical fiction
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Colorado disability rights activist Wade Blank triggers a revolution
In “Colorado Phantasmagorias,” author Joan Jacobson imagines the state’s historical difference makers transported to the present day.
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An old family story about her dad riding the rails gave Jeanette Minniti inspiration
Author Jeanette Minniti began her novel “The Only Way Home” in a writing class, where it developed into historical fiction and a coming of age story.
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SunLit Interview: How a single line in a travel guide led EJ Levy to write “The Cape Doctor”
EJ Levy’s novel, “The Cape Doctor,” was named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and one of Barnes & Noble’s Best Books of Summer 2021. Her story collection, ”Love, In Theory,” won a Flannery O’Connor Award and GLCA New Writers Award for Fiction. Levy’s anthology, “Tasting Life Twice: Literary Lesbian Fiction by New American […]
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SunLit Excerpt: An account of improbable cesarean success by “The Cape Doctor” introduces this historical novel
Author’s Note: “The Cape Doctor” was inspired by the life of a brilliant, irascible, 19th-century Irish army surgeon, Dr. James Miranda Barry, who practiced medicine in the British colonies in the first half of the 19th century. Dr. Barry performed the first successful caesarian recorded in Africa, improved medicine for the socially marginalized, was caught […]
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SunLit Interview: Sheri Cobb South went deep on research for her historical mystery series
Sheri Cobb South is the bestselling author of more than 25 books. Her John Pickett series of humorous historical mysteries has been widely praised and has won several awards. Her novels have been translated into half a dozen languages. A native of Alabama, she has lived in Colorado since 2011. Tell us this book’s backstory. […]
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In this excerpt from “Creatures of Charm and Hunger,” astral projection yields heartbreaking results
Miriam locked herself into her room that night, which was not her custom. She also set up diabolic wards similar to those that protected the farmhouse, some to alert her if she were to be observed physically or diabolically—and others that would hopefully prevent any observation to begin with. She was ready. She had the […]
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SunLit interview: Molly Tanzer melded World War II with the supernatural to continue a tradition of “secret histories”
Molly Tanzer is the author of the Diabolist’s Library trilogy: “Creatures of Will and Temper,” the Locus Award-nominated “Creatures of Want and Ruin,” and the Colorado Book Award finalist“Creatures of Charm and Hunger.” She is also the author of the weird western “Vermilion,” an io9 and NPR “Best Book” of 2015, and the British Fantasy Award-nominated collection, “A Pretty Mouth.” Her critically acclaimed […]
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Cindy Burkart Maynard’s visits to the archeological sites of ancient Puebloans sparked a novel idea
The author of historical fiction spent a lot of time exploring the Four Corners area on trips with her husband. Eventually, her fascination with the disappearance of a people led her to add her own speculation to the mix.
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A chance visit to two historic grave sites set in motion the author’s wish to cast Billy the Kid in her fiction
Diana Holguin-Balogh spent childhood Fourth of Julys at Billy the Kid Days in Lincoln, New Mexico. She found historical fiction possibilities fascinating — thus the catalyst for “Rosary without Beads.” “Shadowboxing Lupe’s Ghost,” her first manuscript, was named Top of the Mountain Book Award finalist for Northern Colorado Writers. Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Anthology, “Found,” […]