I do have a passion for storytelling; for visiting the fantasy worlds in my head and returning with something that must be transposed onto paper; a painting of words, one...
Read More

The Historical Background Blog
Where the journeys lead to stories and the stories lead to journeys.
January 21, 2021
How Mussolini Got Blindsided
I do have a passion for storytelling; for visiting the fantasy worlds in my head and returning with something that must be transposed onto paper; a painting of words, one...
Read More
January 7, 2021
Christmas Traditions and Recipes from My Novels’ Worlds to Yours
I do have a passion for storytelling; for visiting the fantasy worlds in my head and returning with something that must be transposed onto paper; a painting of words, one...
Read More
November 12, 2020
A War of Broken Promises: The Sudetenland
Regardless of where I choose to set my next historical fiction novel, I have to do a lot of research. I try to travel to all of the destinations. My...
Read More
October 17, 2020
Transforming Monuments into Objects of Collective Remembrance
In light of the memorials that have been destroyed and taken down from public spaces this past year, historian Hannes Obermair examines how monuments and memorials should depict both perpetrator...
Read More
After WWI and ratification of the Versailles treaty, Italy, as a European ally, was ceded the portion of Tyrol south of Brenner Pass. As part...
Read More
April 18, 2020
Ukraine and Ukrainians in WW2: Part Three
(Part 3 of 3) Photo: Property of the author The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) In 1941–42, Bul’ba Borovets had formed a non-political unit of resistance...
Read More
February 19, 2020
Ukraine and Ukrainians in WWII: Part Two
“Ukraine was, to the Germans, first and foremost a source of food; secondly, of coal, iron and other minerals; and thirdly, of slave labour.” –...
Read More
January 18, 2020
Ukraine and Ukrainians in WWII: Part One
(Part 1 of 3)Souvenirs from Kiev will be releasing on Jan 31, 2020. It is a collection of six stories by six distinct voices that provide...
Read More
November 24, 2019
How a Nazi Gauleiter made my day, …and perhaps my book.
Now working on the fourth book in the series (not including the prequel), I am dealing with the events that led the Third Reich and...
Read More
October 19, 2019
Bean Counters: Italy’s and Austria’s Coffee Drinking Culture
Food is one of my passions, a close second to writing. When penning the scenes in the Reschen Valley series, I make sure that my characters eat and...
Read More
September 21, 2019
The Fashion Fascisti: Mussolini’s Design for the “New Italian Woman”
The Italian woman must follow Italian fashion. Taste, elegance and originality have demonstrated that this initiative can and must be successful. –Italian Fascist Party edict...
Read More
August 18, 2019
The Third Reich’s Faith and Beauty “Factory”
Each of my novels requires anywhere from 20 to 30 books of research about the era I’m writing in. For the Reschen Valley series, I read...
Read More
July 21, 2019
Hiking for History: The Dolomites’ Battle Scars – Part 2
In the second of this two-part series, I’ll introduce you to the top museums dedicated to depicting the historical battles of WW1 (and WW2) in the...
Read More
June 22, 2019
Hiking for History: The Dolomites’ Battle Scars – Part 1
In this two-part series, we’re going to take you on a hike through the Italian Dolomites in South Tyrolean territory. In our post in July,...
Read More
May 19, 2019
Ukrainian-American Marries Austrian: The Cultures, Rituals and Heritages around Spring’s Feast Days
Last month, I posted the first of two parts regarding the Catholic rituals and heritage of Palm Sunday through Easter Monday. Having grown up in...
Read More
This year, my husband and I celebrated Catholic Easter in Pitigliano, Italy. Our “big bash” was on Orthodox Easter a week later. I grew up...
Read More
Like the United States has George Washington as its iconic founding father, an Austrian province in the middle of Europe, called Tyrol, gives homage through...
Read More
February 17, 2019
Where Pagan and Christian Rituals Meet
European Traditions and Culture Around Carnival and Lent One of the things that never cease to amaze me when I travel or visit other cultures...
Read More
January 28, 2019
Souvenirs from Kiev
Before I started the Reschen Valley series, I was writing about Ukraine in WW2. Shortly after I completed my debut novel, I realized I still...
Read More
The Treaty of St Germain. If you are in the least bit familiar with how WW2 came to a head, then you are also aware...
Read More
November 24, 2018
For Reader’s Sake! Three lessons about mass-produced misconceptions
Reinforcing a reader’s misconceptions is like feeding junk food to their intelligence. I am not a perfect author. I don’t even know what that is...
Read More
September 1, 2018
Why I write historical fiction
This is going to be a short post. I am still reeling from watching The Promise last night, which takes place in 1914 Istanbul/Constantinople and reveals the...
Read More




