Jillian Forsberg is a historian and author with a master’s degree in public history from Wichita State University. Her research on little-known historical events led her to discover the true story behind her first novel, The Rhino Keeper. In addition to being the former editor for Wichita State’s The Fairmont Folio, Jillian is an essayist whose articles have been published in academic journals. With a passion for 18th-century history, Jillian can also be found gardening, exploring antique malls, or reading every label at a museum. Vintage dresses are Jillian's clothing of choice, except when she's at the zoo. She lives in Wichita, Kansas, with her husband, child, and pets. She's currently working on her second novel.

Born in Scotland, now living in London, Dr. Ezra Harker Shaw is a non-binary writer who loves all things Gothic. While earning their PhD, Harker Shaw explored the collaborative writing of Percy Byssche Shelley and Mary Shelley, a project that led them to write The Aziola’s Cry, a novel that is forthcoming from History Through Fiction. A celebrated performance poet, Harker Shaw regularly hosts poetry nights in London, and was nominated for the Outspoken Prize for Poetry. Also a playwright, Harker Shaw has written Tolstoy Tried to Kill My Partner and The Grouchy Octopus Story, both of which were originally performed in London by the Pajoda Theatre Co. Harker Shaw has a great passion for teaching, whether lecturing at university, or running workshops with young writers across the world. Their podcast, Meliorist Writing features writing tips and interviews with other creatives.

Eric Z. Weintraub earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Mount St. Mary’s University where he wrote his debut novel South of Sepharad. Growing up in Los Angeles, CA, he came from a family of filmmakers, writers, and educators stirring in him a passion for storytelling from a young age. His short fiction has appeared in Tabula Rasa Review, Halfway Down the Stairs, The Rush, and elsewhere. His novella Dreams of an American Exile won the 2015 Plaza Literary Prize and was published by Black Hill Press. His short story collection The 28th Parallel was a finalist for the 2021 Flannery O’Connor Award in Short Fiction. When not writing fiction, Eric profiles true stories of complex medical cases where he works at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Patricia Bernstein grew up in Dallas and earned a Degree of Distinction in American Studies from Smith College. Returning to Texas, she founded a public relations agency in Houston, while publishing dozens of articles in publications as varied as Texas Monthly, Cosmopolitan and The Smithsonian.

She published three non-fiction books before her first novel. The most recent non-fiction book, Ten Dollars to Hate, about the 1920s Ku Klux Klan, was a finalist for a major award from the Texas Institute of Letters.

A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower, Patricia’s debut novel, based on a true story, tells the tale of a woman who rescued her husband from the Tower of London the night before his scheduled execution. The book has been awarded gold medals by the American Bookfest and the IPPY awards, and was named first-place winner in the Catholic Novel category by the Catholic Media Association.

Patricia lives in Houston with her husband Alan Bernstein. They have three wonderful and very different daughters.

Website: https://www.patriciabernstein.com

Ron Blumenfeld is a retired pediatrician and health care executive. Ron grew up in the Bronx, New York in the shadow of Yankee Stadium and studied at City College of New York before receiving his MD degree from the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences Center. After completing his pediatrics residency at the University of Arizona, he and his family settled in Connecticut, but Tucson remains their second home. Upon retirement, he became a columnist for his town’s newspaper, a pleasure he surrendered to concentrate on his debut novel, The King’s Anatomist (October 12, 2021). Ron’s love of books springs from his childhood years spent in an antiquarian book store in Manhattan, where his mother was the only employee. He enjoys a variety of outdoor sports and hiking. He and his wife Selina currently reside in Connecticut and are fortunate to have their son Daniel and granddaughter Gracelynn nearby.

Alina Adams is the NYT-bestselling author of soap-opera tie-ins, figure-skating mysteries, and romance novels. Born in Odessa, USSR, Adams immigrated to the United States at age seven and learned to speak English by watching American Soap Operas. After receiving her B.A. and M.A. in broadcast communications at San Francisco State University, Adams worked in television as a writer and researcher. Years later she penned the As The World Turns book tie-in, Oakdale Confidential, which became a New York Times bestseller. Adams continued writing and is now a prolific and innovative writer who has authored more than a dozen books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her book, The Nesting Dolls, is a Soviet-Jewish historical novel published by HarperCollins in July 2020. Her newest novel, My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region, was published by History Through Fiction in November 2022. Adams lives in New York City with her husband and their three children.

F.M. Deemyad received her Master’s degree in Creative Writing from John Hopkins University where her debut novel The Sky Worshipers took shape. Born in Kermanshah, Iran, Deemyad grew up in Tehran attending bilingual schools run by Christian and Jewish minorities. At an early age she was exposed to the English language and, through her father’s guidance, she learned to love classic literature. A former translator, Deemyad also has a command of the Persian language, enabling her to access a treasury of information in Persian not readily available to most scholars of Mongol history. More of her work and writing can be found at her website, candleandquill.com.

Colin Mustful is the founder and editor of History Through Fiction. As a traditional publisher, he works with authors who want to share important historical stories with the world. He is also an independent author and historian who has published four historical novels including Resisting Removal: The Sandy Lake Tragedy of 1850. He has a Master of Arts degree in history and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. Mustful is an avid runner and soccer player who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He believes that learning history is vital to understanding our world today and finding just, long-lasting solutions for the future. You can learn more about Mustful and his work at his author website, www.colinmustful.com.

Nancy Burkhalter is an educator, writer, journalist, linguist, and piano tuner. She is the author of The Education of Delhomme: Chopin, Sand, and La France. Burkhalter holds a Master’s degree in journalism and English education as well as a Doctorate in linguistics from the University of New Mexico. She has taught composition for many years in the U.S., Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Her overseas work led to an interest in comparative education, especially critical thinking. Both observations and research led to her book and blog, Critical Thinking Now.

Photo Credit: Austin Irving

Learn more about Nancy by reading this author interview by The Hasty Booklist.

J. E. Weiner is a writer and novelist based in Northern California. Her debut novel, The Wretched and Undone, a Southern Gothic tale set in the Texas Hill Country and inspired by real people and actual events, is forthcoming from HTF Publishing in March 2025. Her previous work has appeared in the literary journals Madcap Review, Five Minutes, and HerStry, as well as the recent grit lit anthology Red-Headed Writing (Cowboy Jamboree Press, 2024). Weiner is a founding member of the Pacific Coast Writers Collective, and while living and writing in blissful exile on the West Coast, her heart remains bound to her childhood home, the Great State of Texas.

C. W. Towarnicki is a father, writer, and educator living in Perkiomenville, PA. He holds an MFA from Arcadia University where he began drafting his first novel following a research subject, William Henry Howe, who left a neighboring property to enlist in the Civil War. He writes historical fiction short stories as well as nonfiction articles in the field of education. His work appears in Education Weekly, Sundial Magazine, Fly Culture Magazine and others. He is currently working on his second novel which is set to focus on the Pennsylvania Lumber Era of the late 1800s. He and his wife are founders of a Learner-Driven School called Seeds Academy in Green Lane, PA.

Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Charles Bush earned degrees from Harvard College and the University of California, Berkeley, both in history. But faced with a dismal job market for professional historians, he switched directions, attended the University of Chicago Law School, and became a lawyer.

In the early 2000s Bush phased out his law practice to focus on writing fiction. He mined his legal career for his first two novels: What Went Wrong with Oscar Toll? and Houseboat Wars. With his latest, The Boy with the Jade, he returns to his first love—history.

Bush lives in San Francisco with his husband in an 1877 Victorian they’ve restored.