I love historical fiction. It’s been my favourite genre since I hit a reading level that actually had historical fiction. The series that solidified my love of historical fiction was the Royal Diaries, which are a branch of the Dear America books. The first two installments; Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor by Kathryn Lasky and Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile by Kristiana Gregory, came out when I was eleven. There are eighteen subsequent additions to the collection and though I didn’t end up reading all of them, they were some of my favourites growing up. Their subjects span four continents and just shy of two thousand years of history, all from the perspective of the girls who lived through defining events.
My favourite non-historical growing up was Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. It’s the first of a series of five books in the Kiesha’ra Collection. The basic premise is that two cultures, the Avian and the Serpiente, have been at war for a thousand years and the new leaders are searching for a way to bring peace. It’s wonderfully written and it has managed to still be a favourite today though I first picked it up twelve years ago.
Two authors that I follow regularly now are Michelle Moran (http://michellemoran.com/) and Stephanie Thornton (http://www.stephanie-thornton.com/). Both authors write about lesser-known women in history, such as Pharaoh Hatshepsut, Empress Marie-Louise, Empress Theodora, Madame Tussaud, among others.
Thanks for stopping by!
-Erin