As the end of the year approaches and maybe you are still looking for the perfect book for someone for Christmas, I thought I would share my top five books from 2025. This did not include any books I reread—I spent time rereading The Squire’s …
Read MorePreparing for Book Events
This weekend, I had a table at the Twin Cities Book Festival, which was the first big book event I’ve done. It was a great experience, and I am already looking forward to next year’s festival. Being at such an event as a vendor is, …
Read MoreErin’s Favorite Historical Sites to Visit
In my previous blog, I wrote about the surprising things you can learn when doing on-site research, and I considered making a list at the end of places I think are well-worth a visit, but then I realized I had more to say (surprise, surprise) …
Read MoreDISCOVERING THE UNEXPECTED
Research is (obviously) a huge part of writing historical fiction, and luckily for us today, there is so much available through libraries and online that research is—at least I imagine—so much easier today than it was even 20 years ago. A huge shout-out to our …
Read MoreRevisiting Old Favorites
Although I love discovering and reading new books, sometimes I just have to revisit old favorites. Books that I have read before and loved are like old, comforting friends, and yet every time I read them, I notice something new or see or understand something …
Read MoreStacks of Summaries
One of my least favorite parts of the querying process (for those of you who are not writers, the process of trying to find an agent to represent you and your novels in the publishing world) aside from the waiting—which I established in an earlier …
Read MoreAmerican Revolution 250, Part II: Reenactments and Revolution 250 Events
**To see more pictures and videos, find me on Facebook: Erin Makela – Author. While museums, monuments, and burial grounds can be seen at any time, the big draw for this weekend was the reenactments and Real Time Revolution events that were happening. There was …
Read MoreAmerican Revolution 250, Part I: Burial Grounds, John Hancock, and Museums/Historic Buildings
*I will be doing this is two parts because there is too much to say in one blog. The reenactments will be in Part II. **To see more pictures and videos, find me on Facebook: Erin Makela – Author. Because of how Easter fell this …
Read MoreWhy Shakespeare?
Two things shape my novel (and the series): the American Revolution and Shakespeare. If you’ve read my previous two blogs, you know my reasons for choosing to use the American Revolution as the setting, but why incorporate Shakespeare into my novel? Why not? I supposed …
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