When I visited Lisbon last November researching my Zando adult debut historical fiction novel, THE LIBRARIANS OF LISBON, I had the pleasure of taking a “Spies in Lisbon during World War II” tour with academic and researcher, Marisa Filipe. She was gracious enough to show us some of Lisbon’s most beautiful spots, including the spectacular...Read More

When I was writing my historical fiction novel The Librarians of Lisbon, there were two people who kept appearing in mind, beloved ghosts from the past. The first was my aunt, Carol Warfield Tallman, who worked as a librarian for over thirty years at the William Penn Memorial Museum (now the State Museum of Pennsylvania)....Read More

If you’ve read my historical fiction novel, The Librarians of Lisbon, then you’ve already met the lethal double agent Gable. He’s handsome, enigmatic, and mercurial—the man Bea loves to loathe. He’s a man who has as many identities as the lies he’s told to craft them. He works for the Allies and Germany, spinning secrets...Read More

One aspect of World War II that, up until relatively recently, didn’t garner a lot of attention, was the role that librarians, scholars, and academics played in the Allied efforts to win the war. Dozens of women scholars, librarians, and—yes, beautiful socialites, too!—served as World War II spies. These women helped to inspire characters Bea...Read More