HISTORICAL EDITORIAL

Hey there, Jenny Q here. It's been a busy time for Historical Editorial, and on top of that, conference planning and working on exciting new offerings for authors have prevented me from posting as diligently as I would like. Until I have time to dedicate posts to each title again, I'm keeping a list here of titles by our clients from spring of 2022 onward, though I confess I am woefully behind in updating it. The best way to stay up-to-date on all of our clients' successes and what news we're sharing is on social media. Click  here  t o catch up with me!

A Motivational Group for Writers Writing a novel can be a very solitary endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be! Being part of a writing community can help you keep your eye on the prize while offering some much-needed camaraderie. Could you use some support and encouragement to reach your writing goals? Are you having trouble getting started or finding the motivation to finish? Perhaps you’re embarking on the querying or publication process? Or maybe you just need to socialize with peeps who understand the crazy ride you’re on! In this group, we will: • Set goals and share our progress • Celebrate our successes and overcome our setbacks • Identify what’s holding us back and how to move forward • Provide and receive support and encouragement It’s like your very own group of accountability partners, moderated by editor and book coach Jenny Q. Grab a beverage and a fuzzy blanket and join us! It’s FREE! This group meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Duration: approximately 60...

Please join me in congratulating Elizabeth St. John on winning 2022 Book of the Year in the Historical Fiction Company Awards with The Godmother's Secret ! I had the honor of working with Liz on this novel through several rounds of developmental editing, I copyedited the manuscript, and I designed the cover. Liz has a storied ancestry, and all of her books feature her St. John ancestresses. In this novel, Lady Elysabeth Scrope, godmother to Edward V, tells the story of what really happened to the Princes in the Tower. This fictional account of what possibly happened is so moving and so well-developed, a reader might close the book on the speculations and say, in effect, “This is it; this is what happened. No doubt.” . . . The authenticity and historical research displayed within this story is immense and exquisite. Ms. St. John is sure to be a new found favorite for fans of not only this fractious time in English history, but of all historical fans who adore rich, immersive prose. ...

Please join me in congratulating Eileen Stephenson on the publication of  Imperial Passions: The Great Palace ! I had the pleasure of working with Eileen on a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover! This is the second book in a series based on the life of Anna Dalassena, a powerful Byzantine woman instrumental in founding the Komnenian dynasty. Here's the book description: From the author of Tales of Byzantium, the epic story of Anna Dalassena continues... Constantinople 1057. The magnificent Byzantine Empire continues to exist only because its enemies have not yet realized how years of corrupt rulers have weakened it. A new emperor, Isaac I Comnenus, seizes the throne expecting to reverse the decline but is overwhelmed by an empty treasury, a troublesome patriarch, and invaders at every border. Isaac struggles against foes both in Constantinople and at the borders, while his brother John shrinks from his growing responsibilities to the dismay of his wife,...

Please join me in congratulating Holly Bush on the publication of her newest historical romance,  The Professor's Lady , the third book in her Thompsons of Locust Street series! I had the pleasure of providing some copyediting assistance, and I helped Holly design the cover. Here's the book description: Meet the Thompsons of Locust Street, an unconventional family taking Philadelphia high society by storm . . . 1870. Kirsty Thompson is determined to begin her own business bringing beloved Scottish fabrics and yarns to Philadelphia, but first she must meet the men and women who weave the plaids and spin the wool. How will she ever escape her protective older siblings and sail to Scotland? Albert Watson is a medical doctor focusing on research, especially that of Joseph Lister and his sterilization techniques. He speaks at universities in America and in England while visiting his London relatives. As he prepares to sail for just such an engagement, Kirsty Thompson boards his ship...

Please join me in congratulating New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis on the publication of her newest historical novel, The Magnolia Palace ! I had the honor of offering Fiona some developmental editorial assistance. Here's the book description: Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue, returns with a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City's most impressive Gilded Age mansions. Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, twenty-one-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely wit...

Please join me in congratulating Anna Castle on the publication of her newest historical mystery,  Lock Up Honesty , book eight in the Francis Bacon Mystery series. I had the pleasure of offering Anna some copyediting assistance, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description: The most corrupt court in Elizabethan England has turned deadly. Francis Bacon’s clerk, Thomas Clarady, has finally passed the bar. Now it’s time to sue for his livery in the Court of Wards. Alas, nothing is simple in the most corrupt institution in Tudor England. The attorney tries to wring a bribe from Tom, who refuses in threatenting terms. When the attorney turns up dead, Tom’s the most likely suspect. He goes into hiding, leaving Bacon and Trumpet--Lady Dorchester--to find out who really did the deed. Every ward has reasons aplenty to hate the court and its officers. Some guardians have been keeping dark secrets from their wards. That attorney had other targets closer to home. As Tom’s wits unrave...

Please join me in congratulating Cryssa Bazos on the publication of her new historical novel, Rebel's Knot , third book in her Quest for Three Kingdoms series! I had the pleasure of working with Cryssa on a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description: Ireland 1652: In the desperate, final days of the English invasion... A fey young woman, Áine Callaghan, is the sole survivor of an attack by English marauders. When Irish soldier Niall O'Coneill discovers his own kin slaughtered in the same massacre, he vows to hunt down the men responsible. He takes Áine under his protection, and together they reach the safety of an encampment held by the Irish forces in Tipperary. Hardly a safe haven, the camp is rife with danger and intrigue. Áine is a stranger with the old stories stirring on her tongue, and rumours follow her everywhere. The English cut off support to the brigade, and a traitor undermines the Irish cause, turning Niall from hu...

Please join me in congratulating G.K. Brady on the publication of Twisted Wrister , seventh book in the Playmaker Series! I had the pleasure of working with G.K. on a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description: He’s not looking for happily-ever-after. She’s not looking for a hockey player. Can love score a win, or will it get iced? Blake Barrett’s star is streaking into the upper reaches of the galaxy, and it’s his wicked wrist shot that’s fueling the twenty-four-year-old’s meteoric rise. Top center for the NHL’s Cup-winning champs? Check. Millions in the bank? Yep. As self-assured in his stickhandling abilities off the ice as he is on it? Not so much. Women might be throwing themselves at him, but he needs a little more practice to figure out what to do if he catches one. Though after growing up with a front-row seat to his parents’ disastrous marriage, he’s convinced the closest he can get to happily-ever-after is settling for someone...

Please join me in congratulating Priscilla Royal on the publication of Prayers of the Dead , the seventeenth installment in her Medieval Mystery series! I had the pleasure of offering Priscilla some copyediting assistance. Here's the book description: November 1283. Prioress Eleanor’s cousin, the Earl of Ness, visits with his wife, Eda. When his unloved spouse is murdered in the priory chapel with his knife, he becomes the prime suspect. Another murder follows. Eda’s quiet priest is killed in the same chapel. Eda had many enemies, so what connection could there be between a ruthless woman and a pious man who cared nothing of earthy things? Crowner Ralf insists the crimes fall under the king’s law and that Prioress Eleanor lacks objectivity because of her cousin’s involvement. Prioress Eleanor refuses, claiming that she must determine why the crime occurred in her priory. She also believes that her cousin is more likely to tell her needed details than to an unknown crowner. But...

Please join us in congratulating Susan Higginbotham on the publication of John Brown's Women ! Jessica Cale assisted Susan with a copyedit, and Jenny Q had the pleasure of designing the cover. Here's the book description: As the United States wrestles with its besetting sin—slavery—abolitionist John Brown is growing tired of talk. He takes actions that will propel the nation toward civil war and thrust three courageous women into history. Wealthy Brown, married to John Brown's oldest son, eagerly falls in with her husband's plan to settle in Kansas. Amid clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, Wealthy's adventure turns into madness, mayhem, and murder. Fifteen-year-old Annie Brown is thrilled when her father summons her to the farm he has rented in preparation for his raid. There, she guards her father's secrets while risking her heart. Mary Brown never expected to be the wife of John Brown, much less the wife of a martyr. When her husband's d...

Please join me in congratulating Andrea Matthews on the publication of Shake Loose the Border , book three in the Thunder on the Moor series! I had the pleasure of working with Andrea on a copyedit, and I designed the cover. Here's the book description: With Will and Maggie’s wedding just a week away, the last thing they need to stumble upon is Johnnie Hetherington’s dead body tied to a tree, especially one that’s so close to their cottage. Recognizing it as a sure sign that Johnnie has betrayed the family once too often, Sergeant Richie Carnaby gathers Will and his family together for questioning, though it seems obvious only a fool would kill a man on his own land. Then who did murder the rogue, and why? Feeling confident it wasn’t any of the Fosters, Richie allows Will and Maggie’s wedding to proceed, but the couple has barely exchanged vows when the Armstrongs attack in force. Geordie is determined to rescue his niece from the clutches of Will Foster, whether she wants to go or...

Please join me in congratulating Sylvia Barbara Soberton on the publication of her newest nonfiction book,  The Forgotten Tudor Women: Gertrude Courtenay: Wife and Mother of the Last Plantagenets . I had the privilege of offering Sylvia some copyediting assistance on this intriguing glimpse into the life of a woman who played a supporting role in some of Tudor England's biggest moments. Here's the book description: Gertrude Courtenay led a dangerous life, both in a personal and political sense. Daughter of a prominent courtier, she started her career as maid of honour and then lady-in-waiting to Katharine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife. She sided with the Queen during the Great Matter, as the divorce case between Henry VIII and Katharine of Aragon was then often known. A bitter enemy of the King’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, Gertrude plotted and intrigued with Henry VIII’s enemies, brushing with treason on many occasions. Wife and mother of the last Plantagenets of the ...

Please join us in congratulating Stan Haynes on the publication of his debut historical novel,  And Tyler No More ! Aaron had the pleasure of assisting Stan with a developmental edit, and Jenny Q designed the cover. Here's the book description: Kill the president of the United States? How could a rational and law-abiding citizen ever conclude that assassination is an option? What if one death could stop the growth of slavery? 1844. President John Tyler is weeks away from submitting to the Senate a treaty for the annexation of the Republic of Texas into the Union. Slaveholding Texas. A doubling of the amount of enslaved territory in the country. Giving the southern states a majority in the Senate. Monty Tolliver, a former top aide to an influential senator, is as sane and dutiful as they come. Along with his best friend, Ben Geddis, a naval officer and an abolitionist, they determine to stop Tyler, an unelected president who, in their view, has already committed multiple transg...