Artwork for podcast Book Lover's Companion - The English Version
Historical Heroines: Behind the Scenes of Feisty Deeds Anthologies
Episode 22620th July 2026 • Book Lover's Companion - The English Version • EZ Fiction
00:00:00 01:15:31

Share Episode

Shownotes

Host Edith welcomes returning guest Kimberly Sullivan and fellow editors/writers Elaine, Carolyn, Christy, Kay to discuss the anthology Feisty Deeds 2: Historical Tales of Badges and Bruises. They explain eligibility and guidelines within the Women’s Fiction Writers Association historical fiction affinity group, including a 3,000-word limit, historical settings (50+ years past), fictional female protagonists, and a “Batches and Brews” theme tied to food, drink, and related dangers. The group describes selection criteria balancing story quality, variety, global and temporal range, and how they organized stories by geography. They outline a multi-round editing workflow (developmental, line, final pass, plus external proofreading), formatting challenges, research and historical authenticity debates, and the timeline from theme to publication. They note proceeds support the WFWA Scholarship Fund and the books are available in print and on major ebook platforms.

Find out more about my guests here:

https://kimberlysullivanauthor.com

https://carolynkorsmeyer.com

https://www.kaysmith-blum.com

https://christymatheson.com

https://elaineschroller.com

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and No Football

00:38 What Is Feisty Deeds 2

01:57 Submission Rules and Theme

03:39 Global Settings and Story Selection

08:16 Editing Assignments and Author Feedback

10:55 Three Round Editing Workflow

17:25 Timeline From Theme to Publication

24:00 How the Anthology Began

27:15 Formatting and Production Challenges

29:46 Historical Language and Research Checks

36:07 Scholarship Fund and Budgeting

37:44 Authenticity and Modern Sensibilities

40:57 Modern Values vs Past

42:08 Diversity in Historical Stories

45:09 Writing Heavy History Well

47:47 Why Short Stories Work

49:19 Women Writers and Initials

53:10 Historical Fiction Boom

56:35 Getting People to Read

59:53 Novels vs Short Stories

01:03:26 Indie Anthology Challenges

01:05:26 Collaboration and Rejections

01:11:49 Kimberly Returns and Process

01:14:07 Where to Buy and Goodbye

If you like what we do, you might consider buying us a coffee.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/booklovercom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://ko-fi.com/bookcompanion⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow us here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://book-lovers-companion.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/book_companion⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/ez.fiction.7⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/book_companion/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6vyAyrh3zzsxNeexfyU0uA⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Feedback is always welcome: [email protected]

Music: English Country Garden by Aaron Kenny Video Link: https://youtu.be/mDcADD4oS5E

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube