I write historical fiction.
My Tudor-era novel Dark Lady: A Novel of Emilia Bassano Lanyer tells about one of the first women to publish poetry in English, an early feminist, and possibly the “Dark Lady” of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Dark Lady focuses on Emilia Lanyer’s struggles to survive and become a published poet, her connections with women, her relationship with William Shakespeare, and her family’s hidden identity as secret Jews. (SheWrites Press, 2017) My second Tudor-era novel, Flight of the Duchess, tells the story of Katherine Willoughby, Baroness Willoughby de Eresby and Duchess of Suffolk, who goes from devout Catholic to an ardent supporter of the Protestant Reform Movement in England.
When Mary Tudor ascends the throne, Katherine must flee for her life with her husband and children to the Continent. She undergoes many hardships as they travel in a covered wagon across Europe to Poland-Lithuania, where they find refuge in the province of Žemaitija, only to find more political conflict and spiritual challenges.
Under the name Lily Charles, my wife Libby Ware and I have written two bibliomysteries: Murder at the Estate Sale (Black Opal Books, 2020) and Murder at the Book Fair (Black Opal Books, 2023) The Molly and Emma Booksellers Series follow two women booksellers who investigate murders involving antiquarian or collectible books.
I’ve published short stories, some of which have appeared in Sinister Wisdom, The North Atlantic Review, and other journals. I‘ve published academic articles in the NWSA Journal, The Journal of the Short Story in English, and reference works. I’ve taught writing, English and world literature, and women’s studies. I hold a B.A. and M.A. in English and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature concentrating on Renaissance, or Early Modern literature. When I discovered Emilia Lanyer, I found a way to link my fascination with the Early Modern period with my feminism. In 2009, I retired from Georgia State University’s Women’s Studies Institute where I taught and served as program administrator.
Since retirement, I write and sell books with my wife Libby Ware. We sell antiquarian and collectible books and ephemera through her book business, Toadlily Books. I belong to two writers’ groups, one that I helped found. I belong to the Atlanta Writers Club and the Georgia Writers Association. I am a Fellow of the Hambidge Center for the Arts and held a residency at the Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico. I’m a member of the First Existentialist Congregation (UUA) of Atlanta.
Libby and I live in Atlanta with our dog Grover, who also loves books.