Bookish Flights: Books, Author Interviews & Must-Read Recommendations · Kara Infante

Historical Fiction: Remarkable Women and the Rich History of the South with Katherine Scott Crawford (E203)

·38 min·2 clips

Crawford argues that historical fiction is time travel because 2004 and 1804 still share the same human wants.

Kara starts with wayfinding, pointing listeners to the Bookish Lights Roadmap, a genre-sorted guide for browsing the show's many past recommendations. From there, the episode settles into familiar Bookish Flights territory: books as a way into reading, everyday life, and whatever season a person happens to be in. Katherine Scott Crawford joins warmly. Kara introduces her as the author of The Miniaturist's Assistant and Kiowee Valley, and the conversation eases into books, history, and the odd little truths of creative work. Katherine is especially good on writing process. She talks about learning to trust her instincts instead of trying to force a method that no longer fits, or maybe never did. Age has softened that lesson. Some projects need one kind of process, some need another, and Kara gives that uncertainty room to breathe. Perfection becomes the tender snag. Katherine remembers spending weeks on the same eight to sixteen pages, polishing so hard the story stopped moving. These days, she wants motion first: get the pages down, come back, shape them, and bring in smart people who can help. Kara follows that thread without turning craft into homework. When she asks what Katherine hopes readers carry from The Miniaturist's Assistant, Katherine lands on transport. She wants 2004 and 1804 Charleston to feel reachable: known enough to step into, strange enough to wake something up. The ending stays soft, with thanks for Katherine's love of history, her writing process, and the way stories can make another century feel close to now.

As heard by us

A thoughtful historical-fiction interview about craft, instinct, and the pull of Charleston.

Katherine Scott Crawford’s conversation with Kara Infante lands on historical fiction as an immersive read and on the shifting work of writing itself.

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Why you'd press play

You want a bookish conversation about reading, life, and a historical novel that aims to transport you to Charleston.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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