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