Introducing Finola & Friends: An Instagram Live “Tour” for the Bronte’s Mistress Paperback Release

It’s June 2021, which means it’s release month for the paperback edition of my novel, Bronte’s Mistress. If you love historical fiction and/or the Brontes, and are in search of a great beach read for this summer, pre-order your copy now!

In honour of the occasion, I’m doing something a little bit different—an Instagram Live “tour” talking to author friends I’ve made over the last year and a half. It’s my way of thanking them for their kindness and support, and it means I get to tell you about lots of other great books you should read, while celebrating my own release.

The tour kicks off on June 16th. Make sure you follow me on Instagram to be notified when I go live!

Here are the authors I’ll be speaking to, in order of the events:

Lindsey Rogers Cook, author of two books about Southern families, How to Bury Your Brother and Learning to Speak Southern.

Molly Greeley, the writer behind two novels inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I reviewed her first novel, The Clergyman’s Wife, on this blog, and blurbed her latest book, The Heiress.

Julie Carrick Dalton, author of Waiting for the Night Song, a novel about friendship and secrets.

Molly Gartland, whose novel, The Girl from the Hermitage, takes us from the siege of Leningrad in 1941 to 21st-century Saint Petersburg.

Barbara Conrey, USA Today bestselling author of Nowhere Near Goodbye, a novel about a mother’s love vs. a doctor’s oath.

Greer Macallister, bestselling historical novelist. Her latest book, The Artic Fury, is about 13 women who join a secret 1850s Arctic expedition, and the sensational murder trial that unfolds when some of them don’t come back.

A.H. Kim, author of A Good Family, a novel that fans of Orange is the New Black should check out.

Carrie Callaghan, author of two historical novels—A Light of Her Own, inspired by Dutch Golden Age painter Judith Leyster, and Salt the Snow, the story of an American journalist in 1930s Moscow.

Cate Simon, author of historical romance novel Courting Anna, about a woman lawyer in 1880s Montana Territory and an outlaw who crosses her path.

Lyn Liao Butler, author of The Tiger Mom’s Tale, a novel about a woman returning to Taiwan to confront the scars of her past.

Sarah Archer, romance novelist. Her novel, The Plus One, tells the story of a robotics engineer who builds a boyfriend to have a date to her sister’s wedding.

Rowan Coleman, aka Bella Ellis, author of the Bronte Sisters Mysteries series. Check out my review of The Vanished Bride, her first novel starring the Bronte sisters as sleuths, here.

Martha Waters, writer behind Regency romantic comedy novels To Have and To Hoax and To Love and To Loathe. 

Alison Hammer, writer of upmarket women’s fiction. Her novels You and Me and Us and Little Pieces of Me both focus on family relationships.

Natalie Jenner, author of international bestseller The Jane Austen Society. Read my write up of the novel here.

Michael Stewart, another Bronte-inspired novelist. I reviewed his novel, Ill Will, about Heathcliff’s “lost years” in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights here.

Susanne Dunlap, author of 10 historical novels. Her latest, The Paris Affair, is a tale of music, mystery, love, and murder in pre-revolutionary France.

Ellen Birkett Morris, author of Lost Girls, a short story collection exploring the experiences of women and girls as they grieve, find love, face uncertainty, take a stand, find their future and say goodbye to the past.

Sarah McCraw Crow, author of The Wrong Kind of Woman, which transports us back to the 1970s and explores what a woman can be when what she should be is no longer an option.

Lainey Cameron, award-winning author of Amazon bestseller The Exit Strategy, a novel about sexism and the power of female friendship in Silicon Valley.

Linda Rosen, writer behind The Disharmony of Silence and Sisters of the Vine, both great book club picks about women reinventing themselves despite the obstacles in their way.

Elizabeth Blackwell, bestselling writer of four novels. Her latest, Red Mistress, tells the story of a woman who breaks with her past to become a Soviet spy in the wake of the Russian Revolution.

Janie Chang, bestselling writer of historical fiction with a personal connection. Her latest novel, The Library of Legends, explores China’s recent past and is an evocative tale of love, sacrifice, and the extraordinary power of storytelling.

Nicole Mabry and Steph Mullin, a writing duo whose thriller The Family Tree, will be published later in 2021.

Kris Waldherr, author of 19th-century set Gothic historical The Lost History of Dreams, which I reviewed here.

Amanda Brainerd, author of The Age of Consent, literary fiction set in 1980s New York City, where David Bowie reigns supreme. 

Eddy Boudel Tan, award-winning author of the novels After Elias and The Rebellious Tide.

Thank you so much to all the writers who’ve agreed to be part of this, and to everyone who orders a copy of the Bronte's Mistress paperback. It means so much. Stay in touch—via Instagram or Facebook, or by tweeting @SVictorianist. And make sure you sign up to my monthly email newsletter below.

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November Articles about Bronte’s Mistress

My debut year is almost over and I’m still sharing roundups of the lovely coverage my historical novel, Bronte’s Mistress, has been receiving. If you’re interested in going back in time, check out the February/March, April/May, June/July, August, September and October editions too!

In November, I received one of my favourite five-star reviews so far—this write up from the San Francisco Book Review. The reviewer calls the novel and my Author’s Note “fascinating,” and concludes, “wicked women of the [Victorian] era were humans as well and deserve to be remembered as such, Lydia Robinson included.”

Bronte’s Mistress was also the weekly book pick for radio show What’s the Story? on The Krush 95.9. Check out the full episode here.

My interview with Carol Fitzgerald at Bookreporter, centred on my research for Bronte’s Mistress, was part of the Miami Book Fair, a huge event in the publishing calendar, which went virtual for the first time. It’s free to register if you’d like to hear us chat all things Brontes and to check out other great literary content. 

Dixon Public Library recommended Bronte’s Mistress on National Author’s Day, which falls on November 2nd. I loved that they used the day to celebrate and support other debut authors and me!

Personally, the highlight on my month was spending time at a socially distanced writers’ retreat hosted by the Highlights Foundation. Check out my full review of the experience here, or check out this blog post from my friend and fellow writer Cate Simon, who was reading Bronte’s Mistress during our time away!

If you’re looking for a great read this holiday season or the perfect book to give as a gift, I’d of course recommend Bronte’s Mistress! And, don’t be a stranger. If you’d like to get in touch for any reason, contact me via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and make sure you sign up for monthly updates on my writing and me below.

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Writing Retreat Review: Unworkshops at the Highlights Foundation

One of the questions I’m asked most frequently, as a published novelist with a demanding day job, is how I have time to write. I very much admire those authors who can and do write every day, but I’ve never had a lifestyle that can support that sort of schedule. Instead, I’ve written before about the importance to me of making time to write i.e. setting aside intense periods of productivity, devoid of competing demands and distractions.

My cabin!

Over the last few years I’ve adopted a pattern of going on spring and fall retreat weekends with one of my writers’ groups. We (a group of 10-15 people) typically rent an Airbnb somewhere within three hours’ drive of New York City (e.g. in the Hamptons or in upstate New York). We spend our days writing in companionable silence, and our evenings drinking while making far too much noise. It’s cheap, fun, and effective. However, in 2020, retreats like this (often with crowded sleeping quarters) have obviously been impossible. 

This was why I was delighted when my friend and fellow historical novelist Kris Waldherr introduced me to the Highlights Foundation, a retreat centre in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. The Highlights Foundation normally runs workshops for writers of children’s books, with time dedicated to learning together as well as writing alone. However, during this pandemic period, the facility has pivoted, becoming a destination for “Unworkshops”—unguided, socially distanced retreats for writers. I attended an Unworkshop there in mid-November and wanted to share my thoughts on the experience.

Cosy in my cabin

Is it safe?

The Highlights Foundation has gone out of its way to make their Unworkshops the least risky retreat possible in our current circumstances, and, while I was there, all attendees were scrupulous about following Covid-19 protocols. 

Accommodations are mostly private cabins—each with twin beds, a writing desk, a fully equipped bathroom, and a snacks and beverages station. There’s no need to go anywhere else.

Meals are served at the central barn. You can order your food to go, eat outside (there are heat lamps, as well as crackling fireplace), or dine in the barn, spread out and behind Perspex dividers. I ate almost all meals outside so I could safely socialise between writing sprints. Yes, it was a little chilly, but as someone who’s been alone for most of the pandemic, it was worth it.

Walking in the woods

Is it inspiring?

The Highlights Foundation facility is in a beautiful location, so if you’re inspired by walking through the woods before returning to a cosy cabin, this could be the retreat for you. The books and artwork in the cabins were all focused on kids and children’s literature, so I imagine children’s book writers would feel even more at home.

The view from my writing desk

Is the food good?

Hard yes. The staff was also really accommodating to those with particular dietary needs. Wine and beer was served with dinner (though perhaps not in the quantities of my usual writing retreats!). I brought extra (and harder) liquor for late night nightcaps by the heat lamps.

Is it worth the money?

Everyone has a different tolerance for what they’re willing to spend on a weekend away. This retreat was certainly pricier than the DIY retreats I’ve done with my writers’ groups in the past but, in this case, a) I had much more personal space, b) food and wine was included, and c) there was no need for arguments over who was doing the dishes! 

For me, it was pretty priceless to enjoy a retreat experience safely during the pandemic. I’d even consider going back to the centre in a (hopefully) post-Covid reality, especially if they expanded their workshop purview to include writers of fiction for adults.

The Highlights Foundation

If you want to keep up to date with news on my writing (including on the book I was editing at the Highlights Foundation…), sign up for my monthly email newsletter below. My first novel, Bronte’s Mistress, is available for order in hardcover, audiobook and e-book now. And don’t forget, you can always connect with me on social media—find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

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