Patricia Furstenberg, Writer of Historical Fiction, Children's Books
Travel via Stories
In medieval Transylvania shoes were more than mere protection… Yes, like almost everywhere in the world by that time. In medieval Transylvania shoes were markers of identity, status, and survival.
Continue reading “Shoes, Status, and Survival, Historical Footprints from Medieval Transylvania”
Enjoy your pick at 10 historical fiction doorstoppers written by women writers as part of the Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, Jana, and created by The Broke and the Bookish.
Continue reading “10 Historical Fiction Doorstoppers by Women Writers You’ll Love Getting Lost In”
Does When Secrets Bloom holds truth in its historical fiction setting, story line, secrets? Does it stay true to history? Ask my readers. Here’s why these questions matter.
Continue reading “Truth in Historical Fiction, Why Readers Ask and Why It Matters”
I never intended to write women who refuse to follow the norms, radical women who refuse to disappear. But I continue to find them.
Or maybe they keep finding me.
I wrote How Humor Finds a Voice in Historical Fiction for History Through Fiction, a historical fiction publisher, because writing my medieval novel When Secrets Bloom showed me that even in the past shadows’ laughter found a way to bloom.
Humor does more than entertain; it reveals the soul of a character; it gifts a moment of pause in a world of tension, and it builds a surprising bridge between reader and history. Far from softening the blows of the past, wit sharpens our understanding. In this piece, I explore, through examples, how a well-timed quip or a subtle smile can cast light on the darkest chapters, reminding us that even in the gravest of times the human spirit dared to laugh.
Continue reading “Quills and Quirks: Humor in Historical Fiction”