Meet Loretta Goldberg

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Loretta Goldberg a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Loretta, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I grew up in Melbourne. Australia in circumstances that were very constricted economically but intellectually and culturally exciting.

I credit my parents for any resilience I have. It was no-option but to plug on. It sounds dull but is utterly romantic at its core.

Mom was a promising pianist whose hoped of a career outside Australia. my birth country, were dashed by the Great Depression. She gave up all to teach young students to help the family draper business that was crushed by the Depression. Later, when she was married and had me, shortly after that, she got TB of the bone and had to go to bed for over a year to avoid an amputation, When she got up, she limped terribly and had to work to bring in some money. I still see that permanent limp that had her climbing infinitely slowly up and down the staircases at the schools, whole classes waiting patiently as she made her way from class to class.

Dad was the youngest of six boys, the only one to go to college. Against all odds he became a professor of Accounting and wrote many books. He rose at 5.00 am to write then did full-time work as Dean of the Department. It was always, you do it. No excuses.

So as a musician first, when I got an idea or inspiration to perform new music, I ploughed on until the project was complete. Seven commercial CDs now in over 700 libraries was the result, but that didn’t bring financial security.

To make a living I sold insurance and investments. I grieved that music hadn’t generated the income and stability I craved, but I found money highly interesting and slowly built a sustainable practice.

When I got bitten by the writing bug I looked for a compatible community of writers since I hadn’t taken creative writing classes. The wonderful Historical Novel Society was the key to finding my way. I plugged on, years on each novel. I am thrilled that my two novels have won multiple awards and seem to give readers a, well, they tell me, a rich, deep, even transforming experience.

I don’t know what’s next; I wait for the compelling nag in my brain: you must write……

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I write historical literary fiction with battle scenes. I love this genre because in history’s frames, where events have beginnings and endings, we can peer into a magical mirror that reflects back ourselves more fully.

My characters are flawed strivers, often in love with the wrong person or at odds with social norms, or both, who get caught up in history’s iconic struggles and risk all to make a difference. The Reversible Mask: An Elizabethan Spy Novel is set in England, Europe and Constantinople, based on a double agent of the time. Beyond the Bukubuk Tree: A World War II Novel of Love and Loss is set in Australia and Papua New Guinea 1941-2

I am current chair of The Historical Novel Society New York Chapter and an active member of The Authors Guild.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

What helped me write was my first BA (Hons) from the University of Melbourne. I majored in English Literature, History and Musicology. I taught 16th and 17th century poetry at Melbourne University and 19th century novels. This made me a good reader. I had no notion of creative writing at all, but the foundation of taste was a critical help.

My biggest lack, or weakness was that I never took courses in advanced research and finding primary documents. So as I tip-toe into a new period or novel setting I am at a disadvantage.

I would not presume to give anyone any advice; my own journey is evolving and always feeling behind the competence yardstick. Except, that if you have a dream, chase it. It’s deep fun.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series. I return to them again and again. Although there are so many books that have inspired me that I can’t begin to name them, O’Brian’s stand out for three reasons.

His language and the characters’ dialogue sit perfectly in the era. You really enter the eighteenth century. HIs two protagonists, Jack Aubrey, the naval officer and Stephen Maturin, the surgeon-naturalist-spy, are both complex, flawed and brilliant in different ways. You never mistake who’s talking or thinking. This is rare in novels in my experience. And third, while O’Brian feels makes their wives very attractive, he doesn’t feel the need to glamorize his principals,, with whom you’ll journey through 19 books!

O’Brian is so skilled that I don’t feel I can learn anything from him. Just be inspired.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lorettagoldberg.com
• Instagram: Instagram
• Facebook: Facebook
• Linkedin: Linkedin
• Other: https://www.tudorsociety.com/innovation-and-panic-at-the-siege-of-antwerp-1584-5-by-loretta-goldberg/

Image Credits

1. Art the ALA Conference 2025, photo by Ted Oldzak

4. Me at a bulubuk tree Rabaul Papua New Guinea

5. Me at the summit of active volcano Tavuvur, Rabaul Papua New Guinea

7. The Foremothers Cafe Virtual Reality of Helen Lundstrom Erwin.