Susanna here, just back from the sunny south and the wonderful Tucson Festival of Books, where I had the privilege of sitting on two panels—one called "Keeping History Fresh" (pictured above), with Susan Meissner and Kristina McMorris, moderated by Anne Spieth, and another called "Transported by Words", moderated by Victoria Marie Salajko, in which R.O. Kwon, Shobha Rao, and I talked about the use of setting in fiction. Both panels were great, and the questions we were asked could provide the jumping-off point for any number of posts here, but in the panel on setting we were asked, “What writers... Continue reading

Susanna here, inviting you to join me in wishing a very Happy Book Birthday to THE WOMAN IN THE LAKE by our own Nicola Cornick! This is its American birthday, actually, which will be followed on March 7 by its British birthday, so we will be keeping the celebration going here at the Word Wenches (any excuse for cake, really). It’s a dual-time novel, linking the lives of two women together over centuries through one lovely but ill-fated gown… *** ‘I see it all again: the silver moon swimming beneath the water and the golden gown billowing out about her…’... Continue reading

Susanna here, and with Valentine’s day approaching, I thought I’d share some of my earliest romantic reads—ones that captured my heart in my youth, and continue to hold it. They’re not all historical, but they all hold pride of place in my bookshelves. And while it’s not, by any means, a full list (there would be too many titles!), here are five of my “first loves” that, after all these years, remain my favourite comfort reads: THE FIRST YEAR, by Lucilla Andrews This is the book that, for several years, made me consider becoming a nurse (I even did a... Continue reading

Detail of a portrait of Madame Pompadour by François Boucher Susanna here. Welcome to our monthly What We're Reading post! I’ve been reading mostly primary documents and very old letters in indecipherable handwriting, but unfortunately I can’t share any of them here because I don’t have permission to, so instead I’ll share the books that are currently on my nightstand, waiting to be read… Erin Davis, a much-loved radio personality here in Canada, who recently lost her daughter, has written a very personal and uplifting memoir that Olivia Newton-John praises as “a gift of love to others who are seeking... Continue reading

Susanna here, sitting in my writing room and waiting for my characters to lead me where they will. I remember once listening to a famous Canadian literary writer (and no, I won’t name names) say adamantly, during a radio interview, that characters were mere creations, and as such, were under the complete control of the writer at all times, with the writer firmly laying out what the character would say and do, and the character falling into line—and so any writer who claimed that their characters took on a life of their own was a liar. I remember my reaction... Continue reading

Fishermen at Sea, by J.M.W. Turner Susanna here, with a true-life New Year’s tale for you, from Aberdeen (well, properly from Footdee—pronounced “Fittie”—which is like a little early 19th century fishing village tucked within the city, by the harbour). So much of the news always seems to be negative, but even our forebears did their best to look for the positive. I came across this little gem in the Aberdeen Herald for Saturday, January 6, 1844 (courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive, of which I’ve been a member for several years). Rather than trying to paraphrase or summarize it, I’m... Continue reading

Susanna here, running around as usual trying to get everything finished before Santa comes tonight, and, as usual, failing miserably. I had the best intentions of cleaning my house this year, and instead it looks like something from the TV show Hoarders. I’ve yet to excavate my kitchen table from under the piles of papers and books so we can eat dinner on it—and come to that, I’ve yet to get to the grocery store to buy the turkey to actually cook for our dinner. On top of which, I have two writing projects on the go, and Christmas cards... Continue reading