Happy Halloween and welcome to PLW’s October Fifth Friday. Today’s guest blogger is Jackie Lapin, the mastermind of The Historic Traveler, which invites you to “Marry your travel to the books that bring history to life.”

Let’s hear from Jackie…

So It all started when I became riveted on history as a 10-year-old, thanks to a school trip to the San Juan Capistrano Mission. Here was history right in front of me…from the ruins of the church to the living quarters of the padres and mission Indians, to the tanning pits to the kitchens.

History became a hobby. Other kids read Nancy Drew. I read steamy historic novels (courtesy of my romance-loving mother). As a child, I vividly remember my grandmother taking my brother and I for a ride up the turn-of-the-century Angel’s Flight funicular in downtown LA to see the last remnants of the Bunker Hill Victorians before they were torn down to make way for skyscrapers. Soon as I was old enough to drive, I was off to explore historic sites—old adobes, the 1903 Bradbury Building in downtown, Olvera Street, etc.  In high school and college, I took coursework in California History.

No wonder then, as soon as I was working, I used all available time and money to travel to historic locations. And in shooting images to record what I was seeing, I discovered a latent talent for photography. Those photos started accumulating in carousels (remember those?) and notebooks….35,000 of them!

And before I went on a trip, I would combine reading travel guides, history books and, of course, my beloved historic novels to give me the sense, feel and imagery of what happened there—and if based on real characters, the people who made history. My historic reading library grew to be vast as well.

So what do you do with all of this? If you are me, it crystallizes when you hit a certain age and realize you would much rather be doing what you love than doing what you must. I had a yearning to share my knowledge of these historic places, my photography and my zeal for historic novels with others who were also fascinated with the past.

Hence, this year when it all came together in The Historic Traveler, a one-of-a-kind online destination for history lovers offering article features, a quarterly emagazine, travel resources, and stunning photo galleries, along with carefully curated recommendations for historical novels, history books, biographies, films, museums, and more that illuminate some of history’s most treasured stories.

This isn’t just a travel site…What is unique about us is that every article not only features text and photos, but book recommendations!  More than 70 articles have already made their way onto the site.

I am now known as the Historic Traveler-in-Chief and I have the privilege of sharing highlights from more than 500 destinations I’ve visited and photographed, along with contributed articles by authors and freelancers. (A great way to chronicle destinations you’ve researched, while promoting your book!)

But more than that, we’ve created a community and home for people who love history or historic novels. Our free membership in Historic Traveler International includes the following: a members-only book club and online forum, author and expert interviews; complimentary travel concierge services, invitations to future guided excursions with me and one of my favorite things, our one-of-a-kind directories.

Those directories include:

• The world’s most comprehensive directory of historic novels, mysteries and history books by country, state or city
• The world’s first directory of historic TV dramas and where you can find them on broadcast or streaming.
• A directory of thousands of historic hotels, inns and B&Bs internationally and in the U.S.
• The first curated list of history-centric films by era
• A wide-ranging directory of historical museums (coming soon)
• A comprehensive directory of the top travel guides for history buffs

And let’s not forget my photo gallery with images from around the world In 60+ curated collections! (yes.. all 35K have been digitized!)

I’m especially thrilled with the interviews that we are bringing to our members. The Historic Traveler Magazine is divided in half–the first part spotlights destinations and the second media—books, TV and film. The Destinations Q&A spotlights experts—the man who saved the nation’s lighthouses, author JM Penn on graveyards and ossuaries, two men who are saving and refurbishing the country’s Dude Ranches.

I’m also thrilled to report our author interviews have featured some of today’s bestselling historic novelists — Tony Riches, a  leading Tudor and Elizabethan chronicler (Drake: Tudor Corsair,  Essex: Tudor Rebel and Raleigh: Tudor Adventurer, etc) , and Fiona Davis (coming in the fall issue), whose incredibly successful eight novels are set in New York landmarks (The Dollhouse set in the Barbizon Hotel for Women, The Address set at The Dakota, The Masterpiece set at Grand Central Station, The Chelsea Girls set at the Chelsea Hotel, The Lions of Fifth Avenue set at the New York Public Library, Magnolia Palace set at the Frick Museum, The Spectacular set at Radio City Music Hall, and now The Stolen Queen at the NY Metropolitan Museum.)

Also, I’ve got something really exciting on the horizon, and that’s the inauguration of our Hot 25 list—the hot historic novels of the month, debuting this fall. Here’s a preview!

So whether you are seeking your next place to wander, looking to discover a great historic read, or you are just curious and love history, come on over! Sign up for the free membership. You’ll also get a twice monthly newsletter that will keep you up on all the latest news and posts, but also historic-centric news from around the world, and the opportunities to join when I start leading those tours in the future.  And please feel free to introduce us to your friends and family, or pop on over to our social media pages!

You’ll never know where I will pop up next in the world!

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Here are a few recent articles:

• Cape Town: Empire’s Edge, History’s Haven
• Crown and Castle: Denmark’s Royal Legacy Captured Within Copenhagen’s Palatial Heart
• Bridges of Time: Uncovering Ljubljana, Slovenia’s Native Charm
• San Juan, Puerto Rico – Color, Conquest, and Caribbean Charm
• Athens: The City of the Gods
• Monaco & Monte Carlo: A Principal Principality with an Interesting Past
• Spain: Salamanca’s 800 Years of Students
• Portugal: Estremoz — The City with The White Castle
• USA: Breaking Out in Breckenridge, Colorado

About Jackie:

Jackie Lapin is the author of The Historic Traveler Blog for history lovers that combines stunning photos and lively descriptions of historic locations around the world, coupled with recommendations for historic novels, mysteries, histories and biographies that illuminate what it would have been like to live there. An avid historical reader herself, Jackie shares her passion twice weekly with highlights from the more than 500 localities she has visited and photographed. Jackie brings her engaging storytelling skills to the blog after being one of the nation’s first woman sportswriters, a four-time author and a pioneer in multiple marketing industries.

Previously, Jackie owned one of the nation’s leading public relations agencies for 20 years, specializing in sports and cable TV — with a world class client list. She then rebranded her company to focus on helping authors and leaders in the personal growth world reach a wider audience by providing podcast tours.

All during her illustrious careers, Jackie was a closet photographer and history buff, traveling the world capturing the historic character of the world’s cities, villages and historic landmarks. She also immersed herself in reading meticulously researched historic novels, a fun way to inform and increase her knowledge of history—along with straight history books. After decades of traveling and reading, she is now weaving together her images and knowledge in the blog. You can explore more of her images in the gallery, in addition to those pictures in the blog!
But Jackie also found herself fairly isolated from other historic travel and reading buffs, so she wanted a community—and decided to create one dedicated to history lovers like herself! And that’s why she founded Historic Traveler International, the membership alliance that goes deeper, providing an array of resources for history and historic novel lovers found nowhere else.

Through her years of immersive reading and in research for The Historic Traveler Book Directory filled with more than 7,500 historic novels, mysteries, histories and biographies (one of the membership perks), Jackie has also become one of the leading experts on the treasured books of historic reading.  She speaks on both historic travel and historic novels as a gateway to history.

Today, she is thrilled to be bringing forth The Historic Traveler, realizing a long-held dream to bring history to life through images and book recommendations!