History Through Fiction - The Podcast

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 a...

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 co...

Season 5, Episode 7 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features New York Times bestselling author Amy Harmon, author of the novel A Girl Called Samson. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Harmon about Deborah Sampson, the woman upon which her novel is based, the process of relying on peripheral research to tell Deborah’s story, and Harmon talks about her own journey going from...

This special Bonus Episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features K.M. Butler, author of the novel House Aretoli. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Butler about how to create historically authentic fiction characters, the influential role of women in Medieval Venetian society, and the craft of balancing history and fiction. Don’t miss it!

Season 5, Episode 6 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features S. Lee Fisher, author of the novel Becoming Olive W. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Fisher about the challenges each female main character in her Campbell County Family Saga faces, her brilliant organization method to keep all the details in her writing straight, and her own determination to be independent in...

This episode is sponsored by Barbara Sontheimer, author of the novel Victor’s Blessings: A meticulously researched tale of a half-Osage Union soldier, torn between honor, duty and perhaps the most difficult human emotion of all... forgiveness. Season 5, Episode 5 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Emily Hourican, author of Mummy Darlings and the Glorious Guiness Girls novels series....

Season 5, Episode 4 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features an interview with Colin Mustful, author of the novel Reclaiming Mni Sota, with special guest host Stephanie Landsem. During the interview, Landsem talks with Mustful about what inspired his years of research on the U.S. - Dakota War, the work he did in order to convey Dakota and Ojibwe history and culture, and the literary divers...

Season 5, Episode 3 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Tracey D. Buchanan, author of the novel Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Buchanan her love for her hometown of Paducah, Kentucky, the ghost tours that inspired her novel, and the challenges of going from journalist to a fiction writer. Don’t miss it!

Season 5, Episode 2 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Linda Joy Myers, author of the novel The Forger of Marseille. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Myers about Varian Fry, the American journalist who ran a rescue network in Vichy France that helped 2,000 to 4,000 anti-Nazi and Jewish refugees to escape Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, the surprising moment of insp...

Season 5 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast kicks off with Vanessa Riley, author of Queen of Exiles. During the interview, host Colin Mustful talks with Riley about the history of the Haitian Revolution, the rise to power and then exile of Queen Marie-Louise Christophe, and the issue of reparations for Haiti. Riley also delves into her past, going from a mechanical engineer to a prolific and...

Get ready for an exciting new season of History Through Fiction: The Podcast! Season 5 is starting on Monday, September 18 and includes a fantastic lineup of fourteen weekly episodes that you won't want to miss. To kick off the season, we have an engaging interview with Vanessa Riley, the esteemed 2023 Georgia Author of the Year in Literary Fiction. But that's not all! We also have special episode...

In this special bonus episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful chats with author Linda Ulleseit about her recently released novel, The River Remembers. During the conversation, Linda talks about how, as a 5th generation Californian, she became interested in the history of Fort Snelling in Minnesota Territory. She also talks about the challenges of writing outside of her...

In the final episode of our Author Spotlight series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction, Colin Mustful, chats with Lauren Belfer, author of the novel Ashton Hall. During the interview, Belfer talks about how we go about rediscovering the past, using authentic historical details to create and maintain trust with her readers, and the challenges and importance of writing a neurodivergent c...

In episode 13 of our Author Spotlight series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction, Colin Mustful, chats with Nicola Matthews, author of the novel Kitty Canham. During the interview, Matthews talks about the local lore of the real Kitty Canham, the rhythm of the seasons she experiences living in North Essex, and her journey from theater acting to fiction writing in her forties. She also t...

In episode 12 of our Author Spotlight series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction, Colin Mustful, chats with Robert Bruton, author of the Double Edged Sword Series: Empire Resurgent, Empire in Apocalypse, and Empire in Twilight. During the interview, Bruton talks about the life of Byzantine Military Commander Belisarius, the reason he writes fiction instead of nonfiction, and how 6th cen...

In episode 11 of our Author Spotlight series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction, Colin Mustful, chats with Stephanie Landsem, author of the novel Code Name Edelweiss. During the interview, Landsem talks about the rise of facism in the 1930s, the life and heroism of Leon Lewis, and the way she defines success as an author. Don’t miss it!

In episode 10 of our Author Spotlight series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction Colin Mustful chats with David Tory, author of the Stanfield Chronicles: Exploration and Retribution. During the interview, Tory talks about the English Separatists of the 16th and 17th centuries and why they came to the “New World.” He also talks about his career as a computer engineer and philanthropist,...

In episode 9 of our Author Spotlight series, Founder and Editor of History Through Fiction, Colin Mustful, chats with Chaya Rochel Zimmerman, author of the novel The Next Pair of Shoes. During the interview, Zimmerman talks about her grandparents and their escape from the Pogroms in Poland, the challenges for today’s Jewish Orthodox community, and the meaning of communal self-reflection. Don’t mis...

In episode 8 of our Author Spotlight series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction Colin Mustful chats with our very own Patricia Bernstein, author of the novel A Noble Cunning. During the interview, Bernstein talks about the history of Catholic persecution in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, her transition from writing nonfiction to fiction, and her route to publication. Don’t m...

In episode 7 of our Author Spotlight series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction Colin Mustful chats with Edie Cay, author of A Viscount’s Vengeance. During the interview, Cay talks about her decision to write regency romances, some of the famous female boxers that have inspired her stories, her route to indie publishing, and the author marketing collective she belongs to, Paper Lantern...

In episode 6 of our Author Spotlight series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction Colin Mustful chats with Wanda M. Morris, author of Anywhere You Run. During the interview, Morris talks about the historical background of the novel, her decision to alternate between third and first-person points of view, using her writing to highlight important civil rights issues, and the Spotify playlis...

In episode 5 of our Author Spotlight series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction Colin Mustful chats with Gail S. Fraser, author of the novel Song for the Widowmaker. During the interview, Fraser talks about the history of jute spinning, the value of fiction to fill in historical gaps, travel research she did for the novel, and the way she incorporated authentic music into the story. Don...

In episode 4 of our Author Spotlight Series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction Colin Mustful chats with Ciera Horton McElroy, author of the novel Atomic Family. During the interview, McElroy talks about her process of revising first drafts, how her own family history relates to her new novel, and the connections that the Cold War era has with political and social issues of today. Don’t...

In episode 3 of our Author Spotlight series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction Colin Mustful chats with Joanna Politano, author of the novel The Lost Melody. During the interview, Joanna talks about the science behind music therapy, the asylum system during the Victorian era, and where she gets the ideas for her novels. Don’t miss it!

In episode 2 of our Author Spotlight podcast series, founder and editor of History Through Fiction Colin Mustful chats with Alina Rubin, author of the novel A Girl With A Knife. During the interview, Alina talks about her inspiration to begin writing after years of working in IT, the historical women who inspired her main character Ella Parker, and some important advice she received from an editor...