Join us for the next edition of What’s New in Historical Fiction, a live panel series celebrating powerful new historical novels and the authors who bring forgotten voices, hidden histories, and extraordinary true events to life. Moderated by Colin Mustful, founder of History Through Fiction, this session spotlights four remarkable writers whose books explore resistance, identity, justice, and the enduring struggle for freedom across centuries and continents.

Panelists and Their Novels:

• Karla Cruise — The Water Lilies of Mishipeshu

• Vanessa Riley — Fire Sword & Sea

• Gabriella Saab — The Star Society

• Nancy Bernhard — The Double Standard Sporting House

Karla Cruise — The Water Lilies of Mishipeshu
A long-lost botanical manuscript sparks a centuries-spanning battle over culture, power, and survival. From a secret medicine society in the 1700s to a present-day race against a ruthless pharmaceutical company, Cruise blends Indigenous history, natural lore, and supernatural myth into a gripping ecological thriller. As the Algonquin goddess Mishipeshu rises to foretell destruction and rebirth, the question looms: will the manuscript heal—or devastate—the world?

Vanessa Riley — Fire Sword & Sea
Acclaimed novelist Vanessa Riley brings to life the real history of the Caribbean’s women pirates in this sweeping saga inspired by Jacquotte Delahaye. Disguised as a man, Jacquotte forms fierce bonds with fellow outcasts, falls in love, and becomes a feared—but principled—force at sea. When the pirates’ pursuit of wealth turns to the slave trade, she risks everything to wage a war of liberation. A thrilling tale of courage, rebellion, and freedom on the high seas.

Gabriella Saab — The Star Society
Inspired by Dutch resistance fighters and the resilience of Audrey Hepburn, Saab’s novel follows sisters Ada and Ingrid as their lives collide in postwar Hollywood during the Red Scare. Ada, a rising actress hiding a traumatic past, and Ingrid, a private investigator hunting communist influence, must navigate secrets, danger, and loyalty. Their intertwined missions for justice and survival highlight the sacrifices women make in pursuit of safety and truth.

Nancy Bernhard — The Double Standard Sporting House
In Gilded Age New York, brothel nurse Nell “Doc” Hastings fights to protect women from brutality in the sex trade. When a teenage girl arrives bruised and terrified, Doc forms alliances with reformers, a rare honest cop, and a determined newspaper publisher to confront corruption at the heart of Tammany Hall. Full of suspense, compassion, and courage, Bernhard’s debut celebrates the women who risked everything to defend one another in a dangerous and unforgiving world.