Writers Tricks of the Trade SPRING 2017 ISSUE 2, VOLUME 7 | Page 23

The Five Senses of Historical Fiction (Cont’d)
W HAT DRAWS
you will have some idea what the richer homes were eating in fourteenth century
London.
Be creative in your investigating of the five senses. It’s a treasure hunt that will pay
off big in opening up new worlds for your readers.
READERS TO GENRES
LIKE MEDIEVAL
MYSTERY ?
***
TO LIVE ONLY INSIDE
Los Angeles native and award-winning author JERI WESTERSON writes the critically
acclaimed Crispin Guest Medieval Mysteries, historical novels, urban fantasy (including
the upcoming BOOKE OF THE HIDDEN series), and the Skyler Foxe LGBT Mysteries.
To date, her medieval mysteries have garnered twelve national award nominations,
from the Agatha to the Shamus, and her LGBT mysteries have received four Best Top Pick
nods. Booklist said of her latest Crispin Guest Medieval Mystery A MAIDEN WEEPING,
“There are plenty of mysteries set in the medieval era, but the Crispin Guest series sets
itself apart from the crowd by its gritty, noirish atmosphere and the author’s writing
style, straight out of Hammett and Chandler.”
Jeri is former president of the SoCal chapter of Mystery Writers of America, former
vice president for the Los Angeles chapter of Sisters in Crime, and former president of the
Orange County chapter of Sisters in Crime. In 2013 she served as co-chair for the joint
SinC-LA and SoCalMWA California Crime Writer’s Conference. She frequently guest
lectures on medieval history at local colleges and museums, and lives in southern
California with her home-brewing husband, a complacent desert tortoise, and 40,000
bees. Her website JeriWesterson.com is chock full of fun stuff including discussion guides,
a series book trailer, maps, and more.
ONE ' S OWN PARTICULAR
TIME AND SHAPE OF
SPACE AND THOUGHT , IS
LIKE LIVING IMPAIRED IN
SIGHT AND
UNDERSTANDING .
T O BE ABLE TO SEE WITH
OTHER EYES , THE ABILITY
TO THINK — EVEN
PERIPHERALLY OR FOR A
BARE FEW MOMENTS —
IN ANOTHER ' S MIND , TO
FEEL WITH A SET OF
FEELINGS OTHER THAN
OUR FAMILIAR EVERYDAY
ONES , IS TO GROW — TO
STRETCH OUR LIMITS OF
INDIVIDUALITY A LITTLE
LARGER — TO REACH OUR
MINDS A LITTLE
FARTHER — TO OPEN THE
PERCEPTION OF OUR
WORLD AND SELVES A
LITTLE WIDER .
R EADING BOOKS SET IN
ANOTHER TIME AND
PLACE TAKES US INTO A
WORLD THAT IS
DIFFERENT .
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE
P AGE 15
S PRING 2017