The History Quill Podcast: Writing and Publishing Historical Fiction

For many aspiring writers, the challenge isn’t just learning the craft – it’s giving yourself permission to be a writer in the first place. In this episode, Katherine Pandora shares how she built a career in academia while quietly holding on to a long-standing desire to write fiction, and what changed to make her start taking her writing seriously.

We talk about the subtle expectations that can shape choices, the fear of putting your work out into the world, and how your children can inspire you. We also explore the influence of writing communities, science, and Sherlock Holmes.

All our guests this season are members of The History Quill. Learn more about our membership here: https://thehistoryquill.com/join-us/

Marketing your books can feel uncomfortable, especially if you’re an introvert who’d much rather stay behind the scenes. In this episode, Carol Amorosi shares her journey from avoiding visibility to gradually finding a way to market her books that works for her.

We talk about what makes social media feel so daunting, reframing marketing around passion rather than selling, and learning from the experiences of other authors. We also touch on the differences between traditional publishing and independent publishing, and writing two series in very different time periods.

All our guests this season are members of The History Quill. Learn more about our membership here: https://thehistoryquill.com/join-us/

What if the problem isn’t your creativity – but the way you’ve been trying to write? In this episode, Robert Dempsey shares how years of frustration with the ‘conventional’ way of writing left him stuck, convinced he simply wasn’t capable of doing it.

Robert talks about how being diagnosed with ADHD helped him understand how his brain works, and how discovering a different approach to writing allowed him to finally make real progress. We also talk about the differences between technical and creative writing, how your career can influence your stories, and proving your teachers wrong!

All our guests this season are members of The History Quill. Learn more about our membership here: https://thehistoryquill.com/join-us/

Why do so many writers tell themselves they 'just don’t have time' – and what’s really going on underneath that? In this episode, Emma Strangwayes-Booth talks about the stories she told herself about not having enough time to write and how they were tied up with self-doubt, fear of failure, and the pressure to write in the 'right' way.

Emma shares how a solo writing retreat and the confidence boost of a pitch party helped her break out of that spiral and build momentum again. Along the way, we talk about creative routines, the value of community, and what it really takes to get unstuck.

All our guests this season are members of The History Quill. Learn more about our membership here: https://thehistoryquill.com/join-us/

The books we read as children are hugely formative, shaping our tastes long after we’ve moved on to adult literature, and often drawing us back to old favourites to re-read to ourselves or future generations. 

 

It’s an opportunity and responsibility that Karen Inglis is well aware of. Karen talks about drawing inspiration from everyday life, digging beyond the moment of initial inspiration, and the importance of not preaching to or trying to teach children in fiction. The author-publisher of timeslip series The Secret Lake, among other books, also shares some of her recipe for success in self-publishing, while explaining how traditional publishing models have helped her sell overseas and in additional languages.

 

Go to https://thehistoryquill.com/bonus to get access to our special bonus podcast episode on how to succeed in historical fiction, available exclusively to our email subscribers. The episode features accomplished historical fiction authors Gill Paul and David Penny exploring how they’ve achieved success during their very different writing and publishing journeys and how you can achieve success on your own journey.

 

To get the transcript for this episode, visit https://thehistoryquill.com/12 for the episode page on our website.