are you following the Who Was She Project?

For the last several years, every March, I’ve done some kind of project for Women’s History Month, like Women’s History Reads or Read 99 Women. This year my project is taking place on social media instead of the blog, and I’m keeping it brief: one book recommendation per day, based on a woman from history whose name I think you should know. They range from civil rights pioneers and early feminist writers, to scientists and inventors, to self-made millionaires and Prohibition-era brewing company CEOs (really!)

On Twitter, you can follow me at @theladygreer or search for the tag #WhoWasShe; on Instagram, same handle, with the slightly longer #WhoWasSheProject tag.

And! Best of all, you can hop over to Bookshop and buy any of the books listed, and you’re benefiting indie bookstores without losing the convenience of ordering online. Win/win!

looking for a historical novel about Kate Warne?

You know, every Women’s History Month there’s a spike in Kate Warne content online, which makes me very happy as a charter member of the Kate Warne Awareness Society! But every once in a while I see people online responding to the great basics of Kate’s story — first woman detective, first female Pinkerton, Union spy during the Civil War, woman who saved Abraham Lincoln’s life en route to his inauguration — with some variation on “OMG WHY ISN’T THERE A BOOK ABOUT THIS WOMAN?”

I do not think it’s appropriate to write back to them individually and say, “Actually, there is.” So I’m writing this post instead.

And if you’re wondering why there’s no full-length biography of Kate, it’s because the historical record really doesn’t offer enough detail to support a chapter or two, let alone 200 or so pages of content. So if you want all of Kate’s story, imagination will definitely have to be a part of it.

There are lots of great takes on Kate, fiction and non-fiction, and I encourage everyone to explore them. Obviously, I’m a bit partial to my own take on Kate, but the more Kates the better, if the end result is that more people know her name. (And spell it correctly, unlike her gravestone.)

listen to the DMPL podcast about THE ARCTIC FURY!

This is my second visit to the Des Moines Public Library’s podcast, and Aaron always asks such great questions! You can listen to just the first part if you haven’t read the book yet, but there’s a section full of spoilers (with a clear warning beforehand!) if you’ve read THE ARCTIC FURY and want to know all my secrets.

Listen to our super-fun conversation (including news about what I’m up to next!) here.

Women's History Month 2021: Who Was She?

A very quick note about something I’ll be talking more about all month long: a project I’m calling “Who Was She?”

Every day on my social channels, I’ll highlight a book about a woman from history who did something amazing. If you want to peek ahead at some of the selections, or if you’ve seen a book on my social channels and want to pick it up while also supporting indie bookstores from the comfort of your own home, I’ve got great news!

More info on, and links to buy, all the books can be found in this Bookshop list, Who Was She?

THE LOST APOTHECARY interview for CHIRB!

Just a quick note that Sarah Penner’s marvelous debut, THE LOST APOTHECARY, is out today! You’ll love this dual-timeframe novel that follows three fascinating women: an apothecary who only allows her poisons to be used to kill misbehaving men, a clever girl whose curiosity about the apothecary leads her to quickly get in over her head, and the modern-day woman whose discovery of an 18th-century apothecary vial spurs her to investigate the unknown as a distraction from her crumbling marriage. I can’t even list how many Most Anticipated lists this book is already on… expect to see it on more lists (like the bestseller lists) soon.

Read our interview here.

join us for a trip to Paris, the Arctic and Cuba!

Just one event this week, and it’s a corker! I’m delighted to be appearing at An Unlikely Story* with Serena Burdick and Judithe Little, talking about THE ARCTIC FURY along with their new historical novels FIND ME IN HAVANA and THE CHANEL SISTERS!

(* = yes, I have events this month at both A Likely Story and An Unlikely Story and I’m glad I didn’t show up at the wrong one… yet)

Sign up to join us Thursday, won’t you?

join us at Friends & Fiction this Wednesday!

The Arctic Fury has been out for 10 weeks now and I still get to have virtual events every week! How awesome is that? Things will be slowing down soon, but… not for another month or so, and that’s amazing.

And I’m particularly thrilled to join this Wednesday’s event with Friends & Fiction, the powerhouse group of five bestselling authors who have taken these awful pandemic lemons and made sweet, lively, delicious lemonade. I’m even more excited because my fellow guest is Susan Meissner, whose new novel The Nature of Fragile Things is set in one of my favorite moments of historic importance — the 1906 San Francisco earthquake — and I adored that book. So join us! There will be much gushing!

rave review for THE ARCTIC FURY at AudioFile!

A very happy Friday indeed! Just got word that AudioFile Magazine gave Eva Kaminsky’s narration of THE ARCTIC FURY a rave review. She really is the perfect match for the material (her Brooks! I love her Brooks so much) and I’m thrilled the audiobook-specific review acknowledges how she makes the story “come alive for listeners.”

And besides, I mean, this is a pretty sweet lead-in:

Dramatic and atmospheric, this audiobook is a powerful story about loss, determination, and hope.

Read the full review here.

podcast time! THE ARCTIC FURY on Wine, Women & Words

Yes, I have been spending an awful lot of time lately spiffing up with lipstick and eyeliner to appear on your computer screens via Zoom (and Crowdcast, and Streamyard, and Facebook Live, etc. etc.) And loving every minute, by the way. But! Sometimes I get to kick back, literally in my pajamas, and do a voice-only podcast, which is a bit more relaxing on my end and hopefully just as fun on yours.

And when we’re all really lucky, these podcasts involve talking to brilliant, book-loving people like Diana and Michele of Wine, Women and Words. So! Make sure you’ve read THE ARCTIC FURY before diving into this spoiler-filled discussion of my real-life inspirations, poor decision-making on the part of certain characters, and just how early on in the book the nature of the Very Bad Thing is revealed if you happen to catch the hint…

Listen to our wide-ranging, spoiler-filled conversation here.

another wonderful replay: Literature Lovers' Night Out!

I’ve written and talked before about how virtual events have allowed me to work with more bookstores and reach more readers in more places than a traditional book tour — and here’s another great benefit! If you miss the event itself, many of them are recorded for later viewing.

So! Last night’s Literature Lovers’ Night Out panel was a smashing success, and the replay is now available. So not only can you learn about THE ARCTIC FURY, but also Lauren Fox’s SEND FOR ME (a Jenna’s Book Club pick!), Judithe Little’s THE CHANEL SISTERS, and Sarah Penner’s much-buzzed-about debut THE LOST APOTHECARY, all in one tidy hour. And the sponsoring Minnesota bookstores, Excelsior Bay Books and Valley Bookseller, have signed copies of all the books we talked about — until supplies run out, anyway, so if you want one, get to it!

You can watch the whole fabulous session here.