Enjoy this in-depth author interview with New York Times bestselling author Kathleen Kent. Kathleen opens up about her writing process, her journey from aspiring writer to published novelist, and the craft behind transforming family history into compelling historical fiction.

Kathleen's debut novel, The Heretic's Daughter, tells the story of her ancestor Martha Carrier, who was executed during the Salem Witch Trials on August 19, 1692. Martha was from Andover, the town with the most accused witches was blamed for a smallpox epidemic that killed 13 people. Even when her children were tortured into confessing against her, Martha refused to admit to crimes she didn't commit.

This episode offers invaluable insights for aspiring novelists and historical fiction writers, covering everything from research techniques to finding your voice as a writer. Whether you're working on your first novel or looking to deepen your craft, Kathleen's experience and teaching expertise provide practical guidance for writers at every level.

Kathleen Kent is a New York Times bestselling author and member of the Texas Institute of Letters. Her novels include:

• The Heretic's Daughter (David J. Langum Sr. Award for American Historical Fiction, Will Rogers Medallion Award)

• The Traitor's Wife

• The Outcasts (American Library Association "Top Pick" for Historical Fiction)

• The Dime, The Burn, and The Pledge (Edgar Award-nominated crime trilogy)

• Black Wolf

Kathleen teaches writing workshops and has worked with Texas Writes to mentor aspiring authors.

• Kathleen's journey from aspiring writer to published author

• The writing process behind The Heretic's Daughter

• Research techniques for historical fiction writers

• How to balance historical accuracy with storytelling

• Finding and developing your unique voice as a writer

• Working with family history and sensitive historical material

• Navigating the publishing process

• Teaching writing and what aspiring novelists need to know

• Transitioning between historical fiction and crime fiction genres

• Martha Carrier's powerful story of resistance

• The Andover witch trials and why this town had the most accusations

• The 1690 smallpox epidemic and its connection to witch accusations

• How children were tortured into testifying against their parents

• Cotton Mather's role in documenting the trials

• The legacy of Salem Witch Trials victims

historical fiction writing, Kathleen Kent, The Heretic's Daughter, writing process, aspiring novelists, Salem Witch Trials, Martha Carrier, Andover witch trials, writing advice, author interview, historical research, novel writing, writing workshops, craft of writing, historical fiction authors, publishing advice

#WritingCommunity #HistoricalFiction #AuthorInterview #WritingAdvice #KathleenKent #SalemWitchTrials #NovelWriting #WritingPodcast

Links

Kathleen Kent Website

Purchase the novel: The Heretics Daughter by Kathleen Kent

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The Thing About Salem YouTube

⁠The Thing About Salem Patreon

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts YouTube⁠

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

The Thing About Salem website

Is The Witch of Blackbird Pond historical fact or beloved fiction? Museum educators Martha Smart and Gillie Johnson from the Wethersfield Historical Society pull back the curtain on Elizabeth George Speare's classic novel by revealing what she got right and what she invented. This episode demonstrates why Connecticut's real witch trials deserve more attention than they've gotten.

Discover the true story of Katherine Harrison, whose 1669 witch trial revealed the dangerous reality for independent women in Puritan Connecticut. Learn why Gershom Bulkeley, a real historical figure who appears in the novel helped end witch executions in Connecticut by declaring he'd seen no legally proven case of witchcraft.

From the Charter Oak legend to the history of slavery in colonial Connecticut, this conversation goes far beyond the novel to explore what life was really like in 1680s Wethersfield and whose stories have been left out of the history books.

• The real Katherine Harrison witch trial and how it differed from the novel's dramatic courtroom scene

• Why Connecticut's witch trials ended decades before Salem's panic began

• How The Witch of Blackbird Pond has shaped—and sometimes distorted—Wethersfield's historical identity

• What Elizabeth George Speare got wrong about Puritan social customs, trade, and the treatment of outsiders

• The truth behind the Charter Oak legend and Connecticut's resistance to British rule

Martha Smart - Research and Reference Librarian, Wethersfield Historical Society

Gillie Johnson - Museum Educator, Wethersfield Historical Society

Learn more at wethersfieldhistory.org, where you can explore their database of people of color in Wethersfield's history.

Elizabeth George Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Connecticut's colonial-era witch trials, including the 1669 case of Katherine Harrison in Wethersfield, form an important part of the state's historical narrative, though they remain less widely recognized than their Salem counterparts.

Links

Wethersfieldhistory.org

Webb Deane Stevens Museum

Purchase the book: The Witch of Blackbird Pond from our nonprofit bookshop

Connecticut Witch Trial History

End Witch Hunts Nonprofit

In this episode, Josh and Sarah speak with the creative team behind "The Witch of Woodbury," a theatrical production at Connecticut's Glebe House Museum that brings 17th-century witch trial victims to life through performance.

Featured Guests:

• Linda Barr-Gale - Actress portraying Moll Cramer for 13 years and production writer

• Loriann Witte - Director of Glebe House Museum, portraying Rebecca Greensmith

• Maribeth Cummings - Actress portraying Katherine Harrison for 5 years

• Vail Barrett - Actor portraying accuser Thomas Allyn

Key Topics:

• The legend of Moll Cramer, the "Witch of Woodbury" who was banished to Tophet Road

• Connecticut's witch trial history from 1647-1663, including 11 executions

• How Governor John Winthrop Jr. transformed Connecticut's approach to witchcraft accusations

• Accused Witch Katherine Harrison's well-documented case and its role in changing spectral evidence standards

• Executed woman Rebecca Greensmith's role in the Hartford Witch Panic of 1662

• The perspective of accusers like Thomas Allyn and the climate of fear in colonial Connecticut

• Using theatrical performance to make history accessible and memorable for modern audiences

Historical Context: The performance emphasizes the stark differences between Connecticut's evolving legal standards under Winthrop and the later Salem trials.

Learn More:

• Glebe House Museum

• • Connecticut Witch Trial History
  • End Witch Hunts Nonprofit