The New York City Chapter of the Historical Novel Society presents this special program recorded on June 7, 2025 in the virtual reality space of the Foremothers Café. Helen Lundström Erwin hosted us in her VR space inspired by the research she conducted for her book Sour Milk in Sheep’s Wool. She invited our members to a discussion of images provided by authors Loretta Goldberg (Beyond the Bukubuk Tree: a World War II Novel of Love and Loss ), Faith L. Justice (Theodosian Women series ) and Sarah Relyea (Playground Zero). They talked about the images and their relationship to their books; social customs dealing with marriage and gay/lesbian relationships in the times they write about, and much more. A fascinating program for our writers and readers alike.

Additional Information:HNS-NYC website: https://hnsnyc.org

Guests:

Loretta Goldberg https://lorettagoldberg.com/

Beyond the Bukubuk Tree: a World War II Novel of Love andLoss https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4MH8D63

Faith L. Justice https://faithljustice.com

The Theodosain Women series https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QFLHD6K/ and Sword of the Gladiatrix https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WTCSPN6/

Sarah Relyea https://www.sarahrelyea.com

Playground Zero: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1631528890

Host:

Helen Lundström Erwin https://helenerwin.com/

Sour Milk in Sheep’s Wool (19C Sweden)

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Helen-Lundstr%C3%B6m-Erwin/author/B0979XTDXV

The New York City Chapter of the Historical Novel Society presents this program on writing alternate history in historical fiction, recorded on May 27, 2025. What is the balance needed in writing a novel based in fact, but embroidered with flights of fancy? Author Kris Waldherr (Unnatural Creatures is in conversation with Elizabeth Crowens (Bye Bye Blackbird) and Susan Wands (Emperor and Hierophant) who took license with set stories and provided an “alternate reality” in executing their narrations. They discuss how they wove fact, fiction, and other worlds into their writing. A fascinating program for our writers and readers alike.

Information about our chapter is available at our website . Thank you and enjoy the program.

HNS-NYC website: https://hnsnyc.org

Panelists:

Elizabeth Crowens https://www.elizabethcrowens.com/

Bye Bye Blackbird https://www.amazon.com/dp/1685128408

Susan Wands https://susanwands.com/

Emperor and Hierophant https://www.amazon.com/dp/1684633028/

Host

Kris Waldherr https://kriswaldherr.com/

Unnatural Creatures https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B26TYV2S/

The New York City Chapter of the Historical Novel Society presents this debut program in our “Authors Under 40” series, conceived and developed by Sarah Relyea (Playground Zero), and recorded on April 22, 2025. Author Leslie Carroll (Confessions of Marie Antoinette ) is in conversation with LCW Allingham about her novel Lady, in which a young noble woman dons her dying husband’s armor to protect their lands and people during the violent War of the Roses. They discuss Lady Rosalynde’s exploits in the context of the times as well as Allingham’s research, writing challenges, and much more.

HNS-NYC website: https://hnsnyc.org

Guest:

LCW Allingham https://lcwallingham.com/

Lady https://www.amazon.com/dp/1998360059

Host:

Leslie Carroll (a.k.a. Juliet Grey) www.lesliecarroll.com

Confessions of Marie Antoinette: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345523903

The New York City Chapter of the Historical Novel Society presents this recording from March 25, 2025. Sarah Relyea (Playground Zero) hosted a wide-ranging conversation on historical fiction with Leslie Wells, Jane Rosenman, and Judy Sternlight. These three veteran editors from 5E, an independent editors' collective, have worked on several successful historical novels. They discussed trends in the market, how to maintain personal momentum while writing, the process of working with a developmental editor, and much more.

HNS-NYC website: https://hnsnyc.org

The New York City Chapter of the Historical Novel Societypresents this recording from February 22, 2025. Christina Britton Conroy (His Majesty’s Theatre ) is in conversation with authors David Blixt (The Master of Verona ) and Valerie Nieman (Upon the Corner of the Moon ). They discuss the challenges and pleasures of writing about historical characters that appear in Shakespeare’s plays such as history vs. the Bard’s literary license, research on the times and cultures, the adventures of site visits, and much more. An exciting and interesting discussion for our readers and writers alike.

HNS-NYC website

Panelists:

David Blixt https://www.davidblixt.com/

The Master of Verona https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007XKROAY

Valerie Nieman https://www.valnieman.com/

Upon the Corner of the Moon https://www.amazon.com/dp/1646035356

Host:

Christina Britton Conroy https://www.christinabrittonconroy.com/

His Majesty’s Theatre https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077LFB8VG

The New York City Chapter of the Historical Novel Society presents this recording from November 13, 2024: "What Was Napoleon Doing in Egypt?" Host and Steering Committee member ⁠Julieta Almeida Rodrigues⁠ (⁠Eleonora and Joseph. Passion, Tragedy, and Revolution in the Age of Enlightenment⁠) introduced the program and participants and moderated the questions. Leslie Carroll (Confessions of Marie Antoinette) interviews Michelle Cameron about Cameron's latest book, Napoleon's Mirage, an epic saga of love and adventure that spans continents and conflicts during the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt. They discuss the research process, writing from a multi-character POV, and how to handle character opinions and values that are not shared in the modern world.

Michelle Cameron is the author of Jewish historical fiction, with her most recent being Napoleon’s Mirage, the sequel to Beyond the Ghetto Gates. Previous work includes Babylon: A Novel of Jewish Captivity, a finalist in religious fiction in the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the award-winning Beyond the Ghetto Gates and The Fruit of Her Hands: the story of Shira of Ashkenaz. Michelle is a director of The Writers Circle, a NJ-based creative writing program serving children, teens, and adults. She lives in Chatham, NJ, with her husband and has two grown sons of whom she is inordinately proud.

Leslie Carroll is the author of twenty-two books in three genres: women’s fiction, historical fiction, and historical nonfiction. She is also a professional actress and an award-winning audiobook narrator. Her novels have been translated into several languages and optioned for film and television. A native New Yorker, Leslie and her husband reside a stone’s throw from Central Park.

HNS-NYC website: https://www.hnsnyc.org

Contact: info@hnsnyc.org

The New York City Chapter of the Historical Novel Society presents this recording from an October 22, 2024 live panel. Sarah Relyea (Playground Zero) is in conversation with authors Jeanne Mackin (Picasso's Lovers) and Susan Wands (High Priestess and Empress) on how historical novelists handle iconic characters and their descendants with regard to self-censorship, publisher and reader expectations, and other constraints on authorial freedom. A great program for writers and readers alike.

Learn more about us at our HNS-NYC website.