As a writer, I spend a lot of time talking about my process and how my books come to life.  But, as a reader my favourite thing to do is talk about other writer’s books.  I am a voracious reader and inspirational fiction has been my passion since I was 10 years old.

Book often inspire my writing. Perhaps not in topic or genre always, but certainly when it comes to what I aspire the hallmarks of my own writing to be: character-driven fiction completely immersed in setting –whether the setting be historical as is the case with the 1940 Boston canvas of Murder in the City of Liberty or in my contemporary Three Quarter Time series of modern romances set in gorgeous Vienna, Austria.

I am a constant re-reader and often return to favourite books even to study or revisit a scene.

Here are some inspirational books that continue to shape my writing (but most importantly are also just really good reads):

The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay

I love how Reay transfuses classic literary themes into contemporary fiction.  I actually took The Bronte Plot with me when I visited Ha’worth the summer before last because Reay (who is so clearly familiar with the settings she beautifully paints on the page) continually nudges me to revisit my relationship with books I have read several times before: from Jean Webster’s Daddy Long Legs to Bronte’s Jane Eyre.  She is a complete romantic: both in the relational way in the quiet love stories that ripple through her women-driven fiction and in the way she inspires her readers to experience art, culture and travel the way she does. Reay is a vacation in a book.

Rel: I adore Katherine’s stories for all the reasons you say.

Becoming the Talbot Sisters by Rachel Linden

As a lover of travel, I love books that transport me to new settings and inspire me to add to my never-ending travel bucket list. Linden writes transportive women’s fiction that thematically weaves strong faith themes in a lyrical way. Her readable voice matched with her evident passion for travel takes us across the world and in Talbot Sisters to Budapest with such attention to detail you will wind the streets and taste new cuisine and smell and feel and experience Linden’s own passion. The best fiction can inspire us to grab our gear and go — or find the most wonderful literary trips from the comfort of our own home and Linden excels at plopping us straight in the middle of whatever city she is writing about.

Rel: Must get to Rachel’s stories…in my TBR stack, of course 🙂

Love’s Pursuit by Siri Mitchell

Mitchell consistently colours outside the lines of any presumed Christian Fiction parameters. This is never more apparent than when she was writing genres before they became the thing.  For example, her Chateau of Echoes was a time slip novel before it became a mainstay of the Christian genre. In Love’s Pursuit she paints a visceral and moving portrait of love set in Puritan New England. This was another book I took with me when I traveled to coastal Massachusetts upon its publication and was so impressed by how Mitchell coloured this world so vividly. The ending will break your heart and sew your faith stronger.

Rel: This story!!!! Love, love, love!

Wolves Among Us by Ginger Garrett

Like Siri Mitchell, Garrett impresses me as an author who was way ahead of the game in paving new avenues for Christian and inspirational writers to pursue.  She is a pioneer in so many ways: including in this bleak and haunting portrayal of life in a small German village during the epidemic of “The Burnings”: a witch hunt that called the question of faith, innocence and guilt into constant play.  It is a bold and completely unforgettable offering in the inspirational fiction world and encouraged me to keep taking chances: not only with setting and time period and theme but also with character.  You can introduce flawed characters, you can expose supposed weaknesses in hopes that readers will glean strength. Hamish DeLuca’s very prevalent mental illness, for example, is bolstered by the confidence I got reading deep and troubled characters who, like humans, elicit complicated feelings and inspire us to look to see if we can identify with the good and the bad in their complex makeup.

Rel: Yes, yes! Ginger’s books are exceptional.

Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene

This is the book that kick-started so many of the passions that I maintain to this day: reporter heroes for one (hello, Ray DeLuca in my Herringford and Watts series), my passion for classical music (which is explored in-depth in my modern marriage of convenience story Rose in Three Quarter Time ) and my lifelong dream of travel—especially in Europe. In early 2020, my first non-fiction releases and is part travel journal, part guide for women traveling abroad independently. My first big trip was my first trip to Vienna: long inspired by this immersive book that paints the opulent city so beautifully you feel that you feel you are there.

Rel: I was equally enamoured with Bodie’s stories in my younger days. Still am!

High as the Heavens by Kate Breslin

All authors keep dozens of research books at their desk. For my current historical project, I have several historical books and maps that are helping me bring my post-war London to life. But I also have a copy of High as the Heavens. The first time I read it, I was struck by how well it portrayed one of my favourite romantic tropes: two people madly in love estranged and changed by war who must find themselves again in the midst of monumental challenges and work to forging an even stronger relationship through moments of vulnerability and mistrust.  The way that Breslin executes the beautiful story of Simon and Eve is something that stayed with me. From a craft perspective, it is so expertly plotted: from uncovering Simon and Eve’s shocking reunion in occupied Brussels to the flashbacks that sew together their beautiful love story.

Rel: Love the nuance in all Katie’s stories

Levi’s Will by W. Dale Cramer

This was the first book written for a Christian audience that I hand-sold to non-Christian buyers at the bookstore in Toronto I worked at during university. Cramer’s prose put me immediately in mind of writing greats like Faulkner and Twain and his faith themes were so quietly and poetically sewn that his story worlds created an accessible way for non-Faith readers to be introduced to one of the most intelligent narratives in the business.

Rel: I wish Dale was still writing. Loved each and every one of his novels.

Fire by Night by Lynn Austin

Followers of my social media know that Lynn Austin is my favourite author.  I am consistently inspired and uplifted by her books and they have done such an amazing job at validating my faith and encouraging me as an independent woman. There always seems to be room for all women—those married and non, those driven by career or by raising children and her ongoing thesis that all women’s roles are worthy if they are determined by seeking God first. As well as being a gripping look at women’s roles in the Civil War era (a young woman who disguises herself as a soldier to fight in a regiment and save her childhood friend and a high born woman who steps beyond her society world to be a nurse) and a delicious romance, Fire by Night is a perfect example of impeccably researched historical fiction. Austin has a pretty wide range of historical competency as you can see by reading through her long backlist, but Fire by Night remains one of my most underlined books… moreover, one of my most loaned books.

Rel: I have a whole shelf of Lynn’s books, too!!

I hope you find something new to read and maybe your next favourite book!

Thank you, Rach- these novels bring back so many good reading memories for me!

Rachel is kindly giving away one copy of her new release, Murder in the City of Liberty – be sure to enter via the Rafflecopter form below!

Hamish DeLuca and Regina “Reggie” Van Buren have a new case—and this one could demand a price they’re not willing to pay.

Determined to make a life for herself, Reggie Van Buren bid goodbye to fine china and the man her parents expected her to marry and escaped to Boston. What she never expected to discover was that an unknown talent for sleuthing would develop into a business partnership with the handsome, yet shy, Hamish DeLuca.

Their latest case arrives when Errol Parker, the leading base stealer in the Boston farm leagues, hires Hamish and Reggie to investigate what the Boston police shove off as a series of harmless pranks. Errol believes these are hate crimes linked to the outbreak of war in Europe, and he’s afraid for his life. Hamish and Reggie quickly find themselves in the midst of an escalating series of crimes.

When Hamish has his carefully constructed life disrupted by a figure from his past, he is driven to a decision that may sever him from Reggie forever . . . even more than her engagement to wealthy architect Vaughan Vanderlaan.

Rachel McMillan is a keen history enthusiast and a lifelong bibliophile. When not writing or reading, she can most often be found drinking tea and watching British miniseries. Rachel lives in bustling Toronto, where she works in educational publishing and pursues her passion for art, literature, music, and theater.

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Buy from Amazon: Murder in the City of Liberty or Koorong

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