History Through Fiction - The Podcast

In our final episode of season one, host Colin Mustful talks with novelist, memoirist, playwright, and screenwriter Dale Swanson. Author the historical novels The Thirty-Ninth Man and Tears of Sorrow, Swanson discusses the intricacies of his research, the process of working with an editor to cut 80,000 words from his manuscript, and his goal of inspiring readers toward forgiving but never forgetti...

History Through Fiction: The Podcast continues with episode nine featuring F.M. Deemyad, author of the upcoming historical novel The Sky Worshipers. A novel of Mongol conquests, The Sky Worshipers tells history from a new perspective, showing readers how the vast Mongol empire was transformed from within by three captive princesses. Deemyad, who was born in Iran and developed a love of English lit...

Next up on History Through Fiction: The Podcast is historical novelist and writer of women’s adventure stories set in the West, Ashley E. Sweeney. Her novels include Eliza Waite, which tells the story of widow who heads north during the Alaskan gold rush of 1898, and Answer Creek, a gripping tale of adventure and survival based on the true story of the ill-fated Donner Party on their 2,200-mile tr...

Episode seven features Jason Lee Willis, a prolific author with a passion for storytelling. In this conversation, the author, who is also a High School English teacher, talks to us about his love of writing, his daily routine of writing 1,000 words every morning, and the research that’s led him to make a series of YouTube videos about explorer Joseph Nicollet. We also talk with Jason about writing...

In this episode, we chat with Elizabeth Wetmore, the New York Times bestselling author of the historical thriller, Valentine. A native of West Texas, Wetmore talks about her deep connection to the landscape, the people, and the challenges they face. She also talks about what it’s like to be a working-class writer, the way she allowed her characters’ voices to direct her writing, and the months and...

Episode five of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features our own Nancy Burkhalter, author of the novel, The Education of Delhomme: Chopin, Sand, & La France. With Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2, as intro and outro music, listeners will enjoy some great music along with great literary conversation. In this episode, Nancy Burkhalter talks about writing fiction as therapy, the unique symbiosis t...

If you love stories, you’ll love this interview with Thomas Maltman—a magnificent storyteller and author of The Land. Listen as host of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, Colin Mustful, chats with the historical novelist and mystery writer about the challenges of mixing genres, the value of fiction to keep stories alive, and the importance of going deep into the lives of his characters to revea...

This episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast features Finola Austin, author of the wildly popular historical novel Brontë’s Mistress. Austin, who is also known as The Secret Victorianist, talks with host Colin Mustful about her love of nineteenth century English literature, her transition from academia to becoming a novelist, and the moment she knew she had a story to tell.

In episode two we talk with Stephen Yoch, author of the novel Becoming George Washington. Yoch, a lawyer by day, discusses the value of research while noting the importance of precision in his writing so that readers know what’s real and what’s not real. He also talks about the long but rewarding process of bringing history to life stating, “adding human detail to history, I think, is the great qu...

William Kent Krueger is a nine time New York Times bestselling author. Known for his Cork O’Connor mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota, Krueger is also the author of several stand alone novels such as The Devil’s Bed and Ordinary Grace . Krueger, who grew up in Oregon and now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, is the recipient of numerous awards including the Minnesota Book Award and Edg...

Host Colin Mustful introduces listeners to a brand new podcast featuring historical novelists talking about their craft.