Book Lindsay for an Event
Engage Your Group with Novelist Lindsay Marie Morris
Looking for a dynamic speaker for your book club, bookstore, library, or organization? Invite novelist and journalist Lindsay Marie Morris for engaging virtual or in-person appearances!
Lindsay loves connecting with readers and hearing how her characters resonate with them. As a special bonus, she provides a downloadable list of thoughtful book club discussion questions for The Last Letter from Sicily and Beneath the Sicilian Stars to enrich your group's literary conversations.
In addition to book talks and signings, Lindsay offers inspiring presentations on historical fiction and storytelling, plus personalized coaching for writers seeking guidance on developing their historical novels. Perfect for writers, history buffs, and book lovers alike. See details of her latest talks and coaching services below.
Family to Fiction: Unearthing Historical Narratives
In this engaging and interactive lecture, historical novelist Lindsay Marie Morris invites participants to explore how personal history can inspire compelling historical fiction. Drawing from her experience writing about Italians during World War II in the United States and Sicily, Lindsay shows how family anecdotes, cultural traditions, and geopolitical events intersect to create rich, authentic narratives. Whether you're writing a novel, memoir, or short story, this session offers practical tools and creative inspiration to bring personal history to life on the page.
Participants will learn practical research techniques—such as conducting family interviews, exploring archives, and mining public records—while discovering how to weave individual stories into broader historical contexts. Using her debut novel, The Last Letter from Sicily, inspired by her own grandparents' wartime experiences, Lindsay demonstrates how personal stories can illuminate universal themes of resilience, identity, and transformation.
Ideal for aspiring writers, family historians, genealogists, and lovers of historical fiction, this lecture offers tools to uncover and reimagine the past. As part of the interactive experience, attendees will begin drafting outlines for their own historical fiction projects, applying key concepts to their personal stories and receiving feedback to help bring them to life.
Key Topics:
- Researching your family history: Tips for interviews, archives, and records
- Building connections between personal stories and historical events
- Finding universal themes in individual experiences
- Balancing historical accuracy with creative storytelling.
Contact Lindsay for details.
Forgotten Voices: Italian Americans Uprooted in Wartime California
Dive into a lesser-known chapter of American history: the experiences of Italian Americans on the West Coast during World War II. Based on the real events that inspired her historical novel Beneath the Sicilian Stars, Lindsay Marie Morris brings to life the stories of families labeled "enemy aliens," forced to evacuate their homes, as well as men imprisoned in internment camps.
Through archival photos, historical context, and personal storytelling, Morris examines the impact of Executive Order 9066 on Italian American communities—especially in Pittsburg, California, where 22% of the population was displaced. Audiences will learn about surveillance, civil rights violations, and the long-buried trauma passed through generations.
Highlights include:
- The little-known internment of Italian Americans alongside Japanese and German communities
- The devastation of family-run industries like fishing in California
- Stories of resilience, cultural erasure, and rediscovery
- Legislation and resolutions acknowledging past injustices
Ideal for libraries, museums, historical societies, universities, Italian American organizations, and civic groups interested in World War II history, civil rights, or immigrant stories.
Contact Lindsay for details!
Worldbuilding from the Inside Out: Creating Authentic Historical Fiction Without Info Dumps
Historical fiction thrives when the world feels lived-in—not through info dumps, but through immersive, character-driven detail. This practical session shows writers how to layer setting, texture, and time period into story without slowing the narrative. We'll explore how to anchor historical detail in voice, action, and emotion, so your world comes alive on the page and in the reader's mind.
We'll cover:
- How to weave research organically into story
- What to leave out (and why)
- Why character is the key to believable worldbuilding
- Techniques for evoking time and place without exposition
Includes a short scene breakdown and a writing prompt to generate new material. Ideal for anyone writing historical fiction or contemporary fiction with historical elements.
Contact Lindsay for details.
The Emotional Blueprint: Writing Trauma, Memory, and Belonging
This workshop provides writers with tools to navigate emotionally charged material with nuance and control. Through the "emotional blueprint" framework, we'll explore how to write trauma without clichés, build authentic emotional stakes, and evoke themes of identity and belonging that resonate across generations.
You'll learn how to:
- Portray trauma with restraint, not exposition
- Use memory and emotional pacing to shape character
- Anchor emotion in physical detail and scene
- Balance lived experience with narrative craft
Includes a short example breakdown and a guided writing prompt. Designed for fiction writers working with themes of grief, displacement, or intergenerational storylines.
Contact Lindsay for details.
Coaching
Novel Coaching to Elevate Your Historical Fiction
Write the Past into Powerful Fiction
You have a story to tell—one rooted in history, rich with detail, and alive with emotion. But bringing the past to life on the page takes more than research. It takes the right balance of historical accuracy, compelling characters, and immersive storytelling.
I'm a traditionally published historical novelist and journalist whose work focuses on overlooked histories, especially those of everyday families swept up in major events like World War II. Through one-on-one coaching, I'll help you turn your ideas into vivid, reader-ready fiction.
What I Offer
- Intro to the Scaffolding Approach to Historical Fiction – My signature method for developing your novel's supportive structure.
- Character Building in Historical Context – Learn how to craft characters who feel authentic to their time and place while still resonating with modern readers.
- Blending Fact and Imagination – Discover how to weave real history into fiction seamlessly, keeping your narrative pace and emotional core intact.
- Story Structure for Historical Fiction – Build a strong narrative arc that connects personal stories with larger historical events.
- Research Strategies – Find, evaluate, and organize historical sources (from archives to oral histories) without getting overwhelmed.
- Targeted Feedback – Receive actionable notes on your pages, outline, or concept to strengthen your story's voice, accuracy, and emotional impact.
Rates & Packages
- Hourly Session – Starting at $175/hour
Perfect if you're looking for targeted feedback, help with research strategies, or solutions to specific craft challenges. - 3-Session Package – $495
Designed for developing one stage of your novel—whether that's refining your outline, deepening your characters, or polishing a set of chapters. - 6-Session Package – $950
For writers who want guidance from concept to completed draft, with consistent feedback and accountability along the way.
All sessions are one-on-one via Zoom or phone and tailored to your unique project and goals.
How It Works
- Initial Consultation – We'll discuss your project, goals, and challenges so I can tailor a coaching plan to you.
- Personalized Coaching – Each session focuses on your specific needs, ranging from story development to line edits, with actionable takeaways.
- Ongoing Support – Between sessions, you'll receive resources, prompts, and accountability check-ins to keep you moving forward.
Who This Is For
- Writers of historical fiction at any stage, from concept to near-finished draft.
- Authors who want to deepen historical accuracy while keeping the story engaging.
- Writers who have strong ideas but need structure and accountability to bring them to life.