History Through Fiction: The Podcast

Featuring Interviews with Historical Novelists Talking About Their Books and Their Craft

Season 6, Episode 11 - Yangsze Choo
Colin Mustful Colin Mustful

Season 6, Episode 11 - Yangsze Choo

Season 6, Episode 11 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Yangsze Choo, author of the novel The Fox Wife. During the interview, host Colin Mustful chats with Choo about the mythology of the fox in east Asian culture, the tradition of detective novels in Chinese literature, and the years Choo spent writing her first manuscript that was never published. Choo also talks about the joy and challenges of narrating her own audiobook. Don’t miss it!

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Season 6, Episode 10 - Marthese Fenech
Colin Mustful Colin Mustful

Season 6, Episode 10 - Marthese Fenech

Season 6, Episode 10 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Marthese Fenech, bestselling author of historical novels set in 16th-century Malta and Turkey. During the interview, host Colin Mustful chats with Fenech about the rich history of the island country of Malta, her dedication to her craft, and the inspiration that led her to write her Knights of Malta series. Don’t miss it!

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Season 6, Episode 9 - Jenny Quinlan
Colin Mustful Colin Mustful

Season 6, Episode 9 - Jenny Quinlan

Season 6, Episode 9 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features historical fiction editor and founder of Historical Editorial, Jenny Quinlan. During the interview, host Colin Mustful chats with Quinlan about when she discovered her love for historical fiction, how and why she started Historical Editorial, what advice she has for authors when working with an editor, and the challenges and rewards of chairing the Historical Novel Society North American Conference. Don’t miss it!

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Season 6, Episode 8 - Jennifer Ryan
Colin Mustful Colin Mustful

Season 6, Episode 8 - Jennifer Ryan

Season 6, Episode 8 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Jennifer Ryan, author of the novel The Underground Library. During the interview, host Colin Mustful chats with Ryan about how she creates authentic characters, how the Bethnal Green Library became an underground library during The London Blitz, and how Ryan’s grandmother inspired this and other stories. Don’t miss it!

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Season 6, Episode 7 - Robin Oliveira
Colin Mustful Colin Mustful

Season 6, Episode 7 - Robin Oliveira

Season 6, Episode 7 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast has Robin Oliveira, the author of A Wild and Heavenly Place. Host Colin Mustful talks with Oliveira about immigration to Seattle in the late 1800s, her dedication to the facts and extremely thorough research, and how she combined her ancestry with her love of the Pacific Northwest to write this novel. Don't miss!

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Season 6, Episode 6 - ReShonda Tate
Colin Mustful Colin Mustful

Season 6, Episode 6 - ReShonda Tate

Season 6, Episode 6 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features ReShonda Tate, author of The Queen of Sugar Hill. Host Colin Mustful chats with Tate about the challenges, personally and professionally, Hattie McDaniel faced after becoming the first black woman to win an Oscar, the relevance of Hattie’s story today, and the reasons behind Tate’s decision to write historical fiction. Be sure to tune in!

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Season 6, Episode 5 - Candace Simar
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Season 6, Episode 5 - Candace Simar

Season 6, Episode 5 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast has Candace Simar, the author of Sister Lumberjack. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Simar about how her own family history inspires her stories, what life was like for 19th century lumberjacks, and the history behind the Benedictine Health System. Don't miss this great chat!

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Season 6, Episode 4 - Elizabeth R. Andersen
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Season 6, Episode 4 - Elizabeth R. Andersen

Season 6, Episode 4 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Elizabeth R. Andersen, author of The Alewives. Host Colin Mustful chats with Andersen about beer vs. ale, how her tech and journalism experience helped her write historical novels, and her choice to go for independent publishing right away. They also discuss the stunning Pacific Northwest, where Elizabeth lives and enjoys hiking. Be sure to tune in!

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Season 6, Episode 3 - Brock Meier
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Season 6, Episode 3 - Brock Meier

Season 6, Episode 2 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast has Brock Meier, the author of The Stone Cutter. Host Colin Mustful talks with Meier about the history of the Nabataean Kingdom, the biblical origins of his main character Nahor, and the unique rock-cut architecture of Petra. Don't miss this great chat!

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Season 6, Episode 2 - Angie Elita Newell
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Season 6, Episode 2 - Angie Elita Newell

Season 6, Episode 2 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast has Angie Elita Newell, the author of All I See is Violence. Host Colin Mustful talks with Newell about the history of the American Indian Wars and the Battle of the Little Big Horn, how to make historical events into a compelling fictional narrative, and what it means to infuse history with emotion so we don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Don't miss this great chat!

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Season 6, Episode 1 - Eric Z. Weintraub
Colin Mustful Colin Mustful

Season 6, Episode 1 - Eric Z. Weintraub

Season 6, Episode 1 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast has Eric Z. Weintraub, the author of South of Sepharad. Host Colin Mustful talks with Weintraub about developing his characters Vidal and Bonadonna, the Jewish diaspora after the Alhambra Decree, and how his MFA program helped him craft his first novel. Don't miss this great chat!

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Get Excited for a New Season of History Through Fiction: The Podcast!
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Get Excited for a New Season of History Through Fiction: The Podcast!

History Through Fiction: The Podcast is about to launch its thrilling 6th season! Starting on Monday, February 19th, we're kicking things off with a lineup of authors who have mastered the art of weaving historical facts with riveting fiction. Every week, you'll get to meet these talented writers and hear about their experiences turning the rich tapestry of history into spellbinding stories.

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Season 5, Episode 14 - J.L. Oakley
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Season 5, Episode 14 - J.L. Oakley

In our final episode of the season, Season 5, Episode 14 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features J.L. Oakley, author of the novels The Quisling Factor and The Jøssing Affair. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Oakley about the Norwegian resistance movement during WWII, the important reason her main character can speak in sign language, and how her own family history helped make her into a storyteller. Don’t miss it!

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Season 5, Episode 13 - Marlie Parker Wasserman
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Season 5, Episode 13 - Marlie Parker Wasserman

Season 5, Episode 13 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Marlie Parker Wasserman, author of the novel Path of Peril. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Wasserman about why President Theodore Roosevelt was the first U.S. president to travel abroad while in office, the career of White House Secretary Maurice C. Latta who served for nine different presidents, and how she went from a university press publisher to writing historical crime fiction. Don’t miss it!

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Season 5, Episode 12 - D.G. Schulman
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Season 5, Episode 12 - D.G. Schulman

Season 5, Episode 12 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features D.G. Schulman, author of the novel Anna’s Promise. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Schulman about the circumstances facing Poland during WWI, her extremely positive experience working with Wild Rose Press, and what it means to hold tight to one’s faith, religious or otherwise. Don’t miss it!

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Season 5, Episode 11 - Cy Stein
Colin Mustful Colin Mustful

Season 5, Episode 11 - Cy Stein

Season 5, Episode 11 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Cy Stein, author of the novel A Time for Lies. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Stein about the rise of McCarthyism in the 1950s and the danger it represented, why he chose to write alternate history instead of historical fiction or nonfiction, and the direct links he sees between McCarthyism of the past and what’s happening today. Don’t miss it!

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Bonus Episode! - Ellen O’Brien, winner of HTF Short Story Contest
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Bonus Episode! - Ellen O’Brien, winner of HTF Short Story Contest

In this very special bonus episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful chats with Ellen O’Brien, author of The Hills That Hold Me and grand prize winner of History Through Fiction’s first annual short story contest. During the interview, Mustful talks with O’Brien about Melangell, the Catholic Saint upon which her story is based, the value of study landscapes to bring historical narratives to life, and her research into servant narratives buried within the English country house tradition. Don’t miss it!

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Season 5, Episode 10 - Jennifer Cody Epstein
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Season 5, Episode 10 - Jennifer Cody Epstein

Season 5, Episode 10 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Cody Epstein, the author of The Madwomen of Paris. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Epstein about the history of the Salpêtrière asylum, the curious, startling nature of Victorian death photography, and the realities and consequences of gender inequity in health care. Don’t miss it!

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Season 5, Episode 9 - Gin Hammond
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Season 5, Episode 9 - Gin Hammond

Season 5, Episode 9 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features actor, playwright, and author Gin Hammond, author of the novel Returning the Bones. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Hammond about the amazing accomplishments of her aunt, Dr. Caroline Beatrice Hammond, the travel research she did to create more authentic scenes and settings, and her method of teaching accent and dialects in a way that deepens our humanity and makes a better world. Don’t miss it!

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Season 5, Episode 8 - Lola Jaye
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Season 5, Episode 8 - Lola Jaye

Season 5, Episode 8 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Lola Jaye, author of the novel The Attic Child. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Jaye about the practice of capturing African children and bringing them to Great Britain to act as “companions”, something that happened to her main character, how she went from hating to loving history, and using her writing to contribute to making a better world. Don’t miss it!

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