Tag Archives: Civil War

E165: Interview with Fred Durbin, author of The Country Under Heaven

June 10, 2025Author InterviewAmerican Historical Fiction, Civil War, Fantasy, frederic s durbin, historical fiction, Science Fiction, the country under heaventopshelfatmerricklibrary

Celebrating my 165th episode with award-winning author Frederic S. Durbin! Fred joined me to talk about his brand new historical fiction novel, The Country Under Heaven. Set in the 1880s, this western follows former Civil War soldier Ovid Vesper as he travels across the country haunted by visions from the Battle of Antietam, encountering both the dangers of the Wild West and mysterious otherworldly forces. This terrific book is being touted as Louis L’Amour meets H.P. Lovecraft and I loved every page. For this conversation, we discuss how The Country Under Heaven evolved from a short story, his research process and inspirations, plus Fred shares great book recommendations and gives us an exciting sneak peek at his next project. Thank you for joining me Fred!

The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin is such a special book – it’s one of my favorites of the year.

Place your holds here for all Frederic S. Durbin titles.

Frederic S. Durbin recommends: t he work of Ray Bradbury; Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury; Ture Grit by Charles Portis; Enchanted Night by Steven Milhauser; The Knife Thrower and Other Stories by Steven Milhauser; the work of Steven Milhauser.

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Episode 17: Interview with Tatjana Soli, author of THE REMOVES.

July 17, 2018Author Interviewbiographical fiction, Civil War, Custer's last stand, Elizabeth Custer, frontier life, General Custer, historical fiction, pioneer life, Staff Pick, Tatjana Soli, wild westtopshelfatmerricklibrary

I had the absolute pleasure of hosting Tatjana Soli last month. We talked about her newest book, The Removes, a riveting historical fiction tale of General Custer, his wife Libby and Anne Cummins, a 15-year-old girl abducted by the Cheyenne. The book takes place just at the end of the Civil War and rides us up and into the Battle of Little Big Horn. Did I say it was riveting? Please check it out.

Tatjana Soli is the bestselling author of not-to-be missed books like “The Lotus Eaters, “The Forgetting Tree” and “The Last Good Paradise”.
Must reads all of them and perfect for your book discussion groups.
Soli’s work has been awarded the UK’s James Tait Black Prize and she’s been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award. Her books have also been twice listed as a New York Times Notable Book.