One of my favorite podcasters is Alison Treat who asks wonderful questions & is a writer herself. We had quite an enjoyable time discussing books, life, & more. Have a wee listen below!

Historical Fiction Unpacked

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One of my favorite things about the 18th-century is the fashion. This silk cape is a beautiful, even whimsical example of why it’s a favorite for me. At first glance it may seem just another pretty, genteel garment but…

Per The Met, “The extraordinary embroidery of this cape shows the delight of the British in the age-old tradition of representing nature in embroidery. The whimsy and pleasure expressed in the embroidery is evident.” I especially love the beribboned straw hat!

In this third Scottish novel I’m writing I have toddler twins. My heroine meets them & is wearing this cape. Her heart for children leads her to choose something she knows will appeal to them. The nursery scene is one of the favorites that I’ve ever written. Children add so much to a story.

For those patiently waiting, this third Scottish novel will release January 2025. There’s another novel coming out before then in January 2024. I promise I’m writing as fast as I can. It’s research that takes time. And I try to get it right. I love the working title of this novel though I’m not going to share it since it gives too much away. I’ve just reached the midpoint in writing so the novel is half finished. And wheest, I do love it!

Here’s hoping you love it, too!

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So, I’ve just returned from the Lucy Worsley tour. France has never been on my bucket list but that’s entirely my mistake. If I was younger, I’d become fluent in French & move there! While there, thanks to my hosts, I was blessed to visit the chateau that opens this upcoming Scottish novel releasing next January 2023. It was interesting to see how my pandemic research lined up with reality. Walking the grounds and gardens of this castle was an emotional experience for me. Setting is so important in my novels and actually being there was more beautiful and grand than I ever imagined it to be. I could easily envision my heroine moving along the chateau’s paths and parterres and fountains in her beautiful 18th-century gown!

I’ve been a Lucy Worsley fan for years, both her books and her BBC series. She really is the historical queen! As Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, her office, from what I understand, is Hampton Court Palace. She is a fascinating speaker and so personable.

I had a cheeky American moment & remarked that if she ever tired of British history I had some American I would give her;) But honestly, who ever tires of centuries of British history? She was gracious about my novels and took a bookmark from me. I now wish I’d gotten a selfie with her but I wasn’t that cheeky!

We experienced so many amazing things while in France like the Louvre museum, the palace of Versailles, Malmaison – the country estate or chateau of Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine, the little village of Barbizon which was the historical home to artists, the Conciergerie where Marie Antionette was imprisoned before her execution, and much more. French cuisine is delicious! Best croissants and coffee ever. I’m still not a fan of macarons but I did try Laduree!

I’ve been blessed to travel quite a bit since childhood, even attending school in England years ago, but the more of the world I see the less I know! If you’d like more photos, please visit me on Instagram. If you’re wanting even more photos, tap my Travel button on that page…

Laura’s IG

So thankful to be out & about in the world again!

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During my last stay at Colonial Williamsburg’s historic lodging, this clever little sign on my door made me chuckle. But the truth is, the 21st-century is what I need rest from, not the 18th-century! Writing, a doorway to the past, has always been a blessed escape. So… what worlds am I in for the next contracted books?

January 2022

A Heart Adrift

The cover for my 13th historical novel is one of my favorites, compliments of Revell’s Laura Klynstra who has designed covers for New York Times bestselling authors. While it would be a dream to land on such a list, my real hope is that this sea captain hero & chocolatier heroine sweep you away in this next Tidewater tale that opens in autumn of 1755.

January 2023

The Rose &Thistle

I’ve finished & am editing/polishing my second Scottish novel due in January. My tentative title is The Rose & Thistle though my publisher might decide on a better title. I have a few most beloved stories I’ve written and this is one of them. Inspired by my Scottish heritage, this novel of a Lowland Scot and a Northumbrian heiress weighs in at over 400 pages. Cover art begins soon!

January 2024

Untitled

It’s always a joy & a challenge to begin a new novel. This time I go north before I veer south again with an Acadian heroine and a frontier hero. I have a stack of research books I’m wading through, taking notes, and combing through character names. I’m returning to Colonial WIliamsburg in the year 1755 and will also move west over the mountains. I love my heroine’s unique but period-appropriate name.

January 2025

?

Exciting adventures ahead!

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I had a delightful time on the CHRISTIAN HISTORICAL FICTION TALK podcast with author Liz Tolsma. Nothing two wordsmiths like better than talking books! If you enjoy audio then please have a listen at the link below…

CHRISTIAN HISTORICAL FICTION TALK

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I really enjoyed my time on HISTORICAL FICTION UNPACKED despite being camera & microphone shy:) It’s always fun talking books with another bibliophile. Alison has a voice made for audio & asks all the right questions. Have a wee listen as my new hero might say. Just click on the link below…

Podcast

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Today I happily turned in the pages of Tidewater Bride, my last look at the book before it goes to print. January 5th will be here before we know it! I hope you enjoy reading this novel as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now if only I could time-travel back to the 17th-century and meet some of those characters who inspired my characters. One of them was considered a master gardener in James Towne, a woman by the name of Joan. That tiny speck of research helped inspire 398 pages. So in honor of Joan, I ran out to my garden and brought it some of the flowers and fruit she must have loved way back then.

Only 148 days till release!

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Thanks to reader and agent request, I now have an epilogue for you!

Please stay tuned for how to access the reader gift and read more of this frontier story..

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Recently I ‘sat’ down with readers for a day in December and invited their questions. We talked Christmas and books! I’ll be doing these chats once a month on my Facebook author page and would love for you to join me next time in January.

Here are a few fun questions from last time…

Carey: I love to talk about books! How do you come up with different names for the heroines? I would love one of your characters to be named Carey.

Laura: I’ll remember that. You just might just find yourself in those pages 🙂 I always try to find period-appropriate names. Not anything remotely modern but not the tried-and-true 18th-century names like Ann, Martha, Mary, Jane, etc. I draw from ship’s logs and census records, old documents and family genealogies, even my own family. Finding unique, memorable names like Lael and Morrow and Lark is a delight. My hero names are more traditional though you’ll find no Georges or Johns!

Kim: I’d love to know how you’re inspired to write a particular character and their story. What triggers a book idea?

Laura: It always starts with fragments – scraps of dialogue or a name that comes to mind out of the blue, or even an image like I’m watching a movie – often when I’m out on a walk or even in the shower which is maddening since I don’t have pen & paper. Usually I find something fascinating in research that makes me think, what if? In An Uncommon Woman, I relied on my lifelong fascination of Indian captivity narratives for the bones of that story. Sometimes I know the end of the story before I begin.

Looking forward to a New Year’s chat in January!

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So I’m about to begin another novel. Years ago, when the publishing door opened, I felt I’d be blessed to publish one book. Now, ten years later, I thought it might be fun to revisit those first lines of past novels if for no other reason than I don’t want to repeat an opening but start fresh. Here goes…

The Frontiersman’s Daughter: In the fading lavender twilight at the edge of the clearing stood half a dozen Shawnee warriors.

Courting Morrow Little: Morrow paused on the river trail to wipe her brow with the hem of her linsey shift.

The Colonel’s Lady: This is madness.

Love’s Reckoning: ‘Twas time for his daughters to wed, Papa said.

Love’s Awakening: “You’ve a visitor, sir.”

Love’s Fortune: For the rest of his life James Sackett would remember this moment.

The Mistress of Tall Acre: On this day, 8 August, 1778, a child was safely delivered…

A Moonbow Night: What cannot be cured must be endured.

The Lacemaker: Elisabeth took a breath, breaking an intense hour of concentration.

A Bound Heart: As the sun slid from the sky, Lark pressed her back into the pockmarked cliff on the island’s west shore.

An Uncommon Woman: Why could she not quit pondering that flounced petticoat?

Next time it might be fun to do last lines. Thankfully, all my books are happily~ever~afters! 

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