Author: sophie
New Year. New Adventure. New Home .
It occurred to me, as I sit at my desk looking out at the surprisingly blue winter sky, that I made a major change in late 2025 and never let my readers know.
After three-plus decades living in Washington, DC metro area, I am now living in York, England and LOVING IT.
I’ve been visiting York for a decade. But now I am not on vacation—I am home.
*Cue the trumpets* I am delighted to tell you all that I’ve been granted the UK Global Talent Visa in Literature as a novelist and that makes the UK my home. A home I am enjoying immensely.
Living in York gives me a chance to connect more closely with friends among the UK historical fiction community. I’ll be sitting on a panel at the 2026 Historical Novel Society Conference in Maynooth Ireland with the uber talented Michelle Moran and Chris Cevasco. I hope to connect with even more of my colleagues during the three-day conference.
Best of all—for this history addict—daily life in York means being steeped in and surrounded by the past, from the rear wall of one of my favorite pubs (The House of Trembling Madness) which dates back to 1180 AD, to the glorious interior of the York Minster, to the countless historical buildings I pass daily just running round the shops or walking to my fitness classes.
York brings history to life, just as good historical novels do. As I hope that I do and will continue to do here at my new desk, with my new view.
The Holidays are Almost Here!!!
This year give your friends or yourself a portal to the past–give historical fiction. Maybe treat yourself to a cold-weather read while you’re at it? Have you ever given one of my novels as a holiday gift? Have you ever received one?
Introducing The Historic Traveler
Dear readers, I know that all of you are lovers of history and historical fiction, and I suspect, like me, quite a few of you love traveling to historical sites. So I am delighted to introduce you to an amazing resource for those of us who think everything is better with a dash of history—The Historic Traveler.
At the Historical Novel Society’s 2025 conference, I had the good fortune to meet The Historic Traveler’s founder and Traveler-in-Chief Jackie Lapin. I was intrigued by her venture, and several conversations later realized she’d created just about the perfect resource for the historically-driven explorer of the world—one that allows readers to marry their travel to the books that bring history to life.
The Historic Traveler is a unique online destination for history lovers offering feature articles, travel resources, and stunning photo galleries, along with carefully curated recommendations for historical novels, history books, biographies, films, museums, and more that illuminate some of history’s most treasured stories. All these goodies are presented through a quarterly e-magazine, website, newsletter, and the Historic Traveler International membership community—a dynamic network of like-minded travelers and readers.
Currently (during this introductory period) you can join The Historic Traveler for free!
Oh, and while you are clicking on links, guess who is the feature author for this week’s newsletter?
Monday? I’ve got a fix for that ;)
It’s Monday.
Just because it’s another work-week doesn’t mean you can’t escape.
Books can take you just about anywhere . . . including through time. Let me give you a hand, no plane ticket or packing necessary . . .
Explore my books in more detail under the “my books” tab of this website.
Get Away from it All
Does our modern madness have you feeling down? Is “news avoidance” part of your current plan for getting a decent night’s sleep? What you need is some time travel. And that’s where my novels come in.
Whether you want to hang out in 18th century France and get some advice from the women of the French Revolution, or you are interested in a mystery with a twist of Great Fire of London history, I have a book for that!
More Progress on a Limited TV Series of A Day of Fire
WOW, wow, wow. We have an executive producer for the limited series based on our collaborative novel A DAY OF FIRE 
Of course we can’t be 100% sure it will go forward until it is filming, but I am still crossing toes and fingers that I and my co-authors — Kate Quinn Eliza Knight Ben Kane Victoria Alvear and Stephanie Dray, — get to see the characters we lived and breathed through while creating the novel come to life on TV screen!
From “The Wrap” article . . .
All I want for Christmas . . .
I made my list for Santa. If you are reading this, I hereby designate you as one of his elves this season. A special kind of elf—a bookshelf sort of elf. Take a minute to think about the fiction you’ve read this year. The books you really enjoyed. And then make an author’s holiday brighter by taking one or two minutes to leave a review for some of those memorable reads.
Reviewing is free, it’s fast and it makes authors feel fantastic. It also helps other readers to discover their books. Thank you in advance if one of the books you review this season happens to be mine.
Thankful for You
A Day of Fire Might Be Coming to A Screen Near You
Hello all!
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but I have something really special to share!
The TV rights to A DAY OF FIRE, the brilliant collaborative novel that I co-wrote with a super-star author team (Kate Quinn, Eliza Knight, Ben Kane, Stephanie Dray and Vicky Alvear) has been acquired by Amazon / MGM Studios UK!!!
That means—fingers crossed—we are hoping to see it as a TV series! Is it wrong that I am daydreaming of seeing my heiress, Aemilia, sweep across a screen? Of watching Sabinus, a man I love for his honorable character, risk himself for others in keeping with his strong sense of right and wrong?
I will certainly keep you updated as the situation progresses. Meanwhile, if you haven’t read AND BY FIRE, or haven’t read it lately. Pick up a copy and get started! Between the covers you will find the tale of the last days of Pompeii—a lively resort flourishing in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius at the height of the Roman Empire.
When Vesuvius erupted in an explosion of flame and ash, the entire town would be destroyed. Some of its citizens died in the chaos, some escaped the mountain’s wrath . . . and A DAY OF FIRE tells their stories:
A boy loses his innocence in Pompeii’s flourishing streets.
An heiress dreads her wedding day, not knowing it will be swallowed by fire.
An ex-legionary stakes his entire future on a gladiator bout destined never to be finished.
A crippled senator welcomes death, until a tomboy on horseback comes to his rescue.
A young mother faces an impossible choice for her unborn child as the ash falls.
A priestess and a prostitute seek redemption and resurrection as the town is buried.
The six of us brought to life overlapping stories of patricians and slaves, warriors and politicians, villains and heroes who cross each other’s paths during Pompeii’s fiery end. But who will escape, and who will be buried for eternity?
You’ll have to finish the book to find out 😉
However picky she is . . . at least your mother is NOT Queen Catherine de Médicis
Had a bit of fun imagining what it would be like to be shopping for Queen Catherine de Médicis this Mother’s Day.
Poor Princess Margot—Catherine’s youngest daughter and the main character in my novel Médicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois! I mean the mother-daughter relationship is always somewhat perilous. But when your mom is Catherine de Médicis the peril isn’t just emotional, it can rather quickly turn deadly.
ENJOY! And maybe consider giving your mother a book this Mother’s Day 😉