C. P. Lesley, Novelist

On problems with keeping characters' details straight while writing the Legends of the 5 Directions and Songs of Steppe & Forest series

Novels on my bookshelf, Winter 2025, by Su Chang, Elyse Durham, Lora Jones, Kate Maruyama, Victoria Christopher Murray, and Jane Yang

New Books Network interview with Fiona Davis, whose latest historical novel, "The Stolen Queen," just came out from Dutton

Interview with Kate Mosse, whose historical novel "The Map of Bones" has just appeared, closing out her Joubert Family Chronicles series

A sneak peek at author interviews planned for January 2025, with Fiona Davis, Joseph Finder, Poppy Kuroki, and Kate Mosse

C. P. Lesley's annual overview of tasks attempted, accomplished, and not yet attained in 2024

A discussion of what an author means by "watching characters grow" in a single novel or across a series

New Books Network interview with Monica Chenault-Kilgore, whose historical novel The Jewel of the Blues just came out from Graydon House

Interview with historical novelist Mimi Matthews about The Muse of Maiden Lane, book 4 in her Belles of London series

More buried treasure from my Kindle library, here books by Erika Monahan, Marlowe Benn, Jessie Burton, and Debra Dean

Buried treasure in books, unearthed from the depths of my Kindle library, here by Jane Johnson, Paullina Simons, and Xinru Liu.

New Books Network interview with Vanessa Kelly, whose "Murder in Highbury" came out with Kensington Books in October 2024.

Interview with historical novelist Alyson Richman, whose The Time Keepers looks at the Vietnam War and its aftermath

A glimpse into the history of wild silk and its possible relevance to my forthcoming novel, Song of the Silk Weaver

Author interview with Anna Lee Huber about her historical novel Sisters of Fortune, about a family that traveled on the Titanic

Fall 2024 Bookshelf: Suzanne Allain, Monica Chenault-Kilgore, Christina Dodd, Vanessa Kelly, Mimi Matthews, Alyson Richman, and Elif Shafak

New Books Network interview with Madeline Martin, whose latest World War II novel, The Booklover's Library, has come out from Hanover Square

Interview with Cynthia Reeves, whose third novel, The Last Whaler, is set in the Arctic and has just come out from Regal House

Interview with Andrew Varga, whose latest Jump in Time novel (YA), set on the Eurasian steppe, has just come out from Imbrifex Books

New Books Network interview with Heather Redmond about her latest historical mystery featuring Mary Shelley and the Godwin family