Sharyn Mackaye
@sharynmackaye.bsky.social
Historical fiction writer, harp player, world traveler
I think some of the hardest disappointments in life come from things that aren't really disappointments at all. They're simply things that couldn't possibly become what we needed them to be. Those stories stay with me.
June 22, 2026 at 6:02 PM
I think some of the hardest disappointments in life come from things that aren't really disappointments at all. They're simply things that couldn't possibly become what we needed them to be. Those stories stay with me.
My novel follows a young woman searching for the one thing she wants most:
A place where she belongs.
What she finds is far more complicated.
#HistoricalFiction #BookClubBooks #ReadersOfInstagram #amwritingfiction
A place where she belongs.
What she finds is far more complicated.
#HistoricalFiction #BookClubBooks #ReadersOfInstagram #amwritingfiction
June 19, 2026 at 4:02 PM
My novel follows a young woman searching for the one thing she wants most:
A place where she belongs.
What she finds is far more complicated.
#HistoricalFiction #BookClubBooks #ReadersOfInstagram #amwritingfiction
A place where she belongs.
What she finds is far more complicated.
#HistoricalFiction #BookClubBooks #ReadersOfInstagram #amwritingfiction
One of the reasons I love historical fiction is that it reminds us how little human nature changes. A hundred years ago, people still longed to belong. Still made mistakes. Still confused hope with certainty. The details change. The heart of it rarely does.
June 17, 2026 at 6:02 PM
One of the reasons I love historical fiction is that it reminds us how little human nature changes. A hundred years ago, people still longed to belong. Still made mistakes. Still confused hope with certainty. The details change. The heart of it rarely does.
Sometimes the stories that shape our lives aren't the ones we're told. They're the ones we tell ourselves. The ones we need to believe.
June 15, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Sometimes the stories that shape our lives aren't the ones we're told. They're the ones we tell ourselves. The ones we need to believe.
I'm drawn to stories about people who leave one life behind believing they know what comes next. And then discover they don't. In some ways, my novel is a story about that kind of journey.
June 12, 2026 at 4:03 PM
I'm drawn to stories about people who leave one life behind believing they know what comes next. And then discover they don't. In some ways, my novel is a story about that kind of journey.
The older I get, the less interested I am in whether a character is likable. I'm much more interested in whether they're understandable. Sometimes the most frustrating characters are the ones who reveal the most about being human.
#AmWriting
#HistoricalFictionWriter
#WritersOfInstagram
#Bookstagram
#AmWriting
#HistoricalFictionWriter
#WritersOfInstagram
#Bookstagram
June 10, 2026 at 6:02 PM
The older I get, the less interested I am in whether a character is likable. I'm much more interested in whether they're understandable. Sometimes the most frustrating characters are the ones who reveal the most about being human.
#AmWriting
#HistoricalFictionWriter
#WritersOfInstagram
#Bookstagram
#AmWriting
#HistoricalFictionWriter
#WritersOfInstagram
#Bookstagram
Most life-changing decisions don't feel life-changing when we make them.
They feel obvious. Maybe even necessary and hopeful.
That's part of what makes their consequences so interesting.
#Bookstagram
#ReadersOfInstagram
#HistoricalFiction
#BookLovers
They feel obvious. Maybe even necessary and hopeful.
That's part of what makes their consequences so interesting.
#Bookstagram
#ReadersOfInstagram
#HistoricalFiction
#BookLovers
June 8, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Most life-changing decisions don't feel life-changing when we make them.
They feel obvious. Maybe even necessary and hopeful.
That's part of what makes their consequences so interesting.
#Bookstagram
#ReadersOfInstagram
#HistoricalFiction
#BookLovers
They feel obvious. Maybe even necessary and hopeful.
That's part of what makes their consequences so interesting.
#Bookstagram
#ReadersOfInstagram
#HistoricalFiction
#BookLovers
Happy Women's Fiction Day! I'm thinking about the stories that trust women's inner lives to be every bit as compelling as the events around them. Like The Four Winds, by Kristen Hannah. A woman making difficult choices under pressure, where resilience and identity matter as much as plot.
June 8, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Happy Women's Fiction Day! I'm thinking about the stories that trust women's inner lives to be every bit as compelling as the events around them. Like The Four Winds, by Kristen Hannah. A woman making difficult choices under pressure, where resilience and identity matter as much as plot.
Not every story about a young woman finding her way ends with freedom.
Sometimes it ends with understanding.
My novel explores what happens when a choice that feels like salvation slowly reveals its cost.
Sometimes it ends with understanding.
My novel explores what happens when a choice that feels like salvation slowly reveals its cost.
June 5, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Not every story about a young woman finding her way ends with freedom.
Sometimes it ends with understanding.
My novel explores what happens when a choice that feels like salvation slowly reveals its cost.
Sometimes it ends with understanding.
My novel explores what happens when a choice that feels like salvation slowly reveals its cost.
One of the things I love most about historical fiction is that it reminds us people have always been people.
The details change.
The clothes change.
But longing, fear, hope, and regret rarely do.
The details change.
The clothes change.
But longing, fear, hope, and regret rarely do.
June 3, 2026 at 6:02 PM
One of the things I love most about historical fiction is that it reminds us people have always been people.
The details change.
The clothes change.
But longing, fear, hope, and regret rarely do.
The details change.
The clothes change.
But longing, fear, hope, and regret rarely do.
Some people spend years trying to become who they think they should be.
Others spend years recovering from becoming that person.
Those stories interest me most.
Others spend years recovering from becoming that person.
Those stories interest me most.
June 1, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Some people spend years trying to become who they think they should be.
Others spend years recovering from becoming that person.
Those stories interest me most.
Others spend years recovering from becoming that person.
Those stories interest me most.
I love stories where wrong decisions don't look wrong at first. Someone choosing what they believe will save them, but learning what that choice ultimately asks. Emotionally complicated historical fiction.
May 29, 2026 at 4:02 PM
I love stories where wrong decisions don't look wrong at first. Someone choosing what they believe will save them, but learning what that choice ultimately asks. Emotionally complicated historical fiction.
There’s a point while writing a character where you realize you can’t protect them .
Not because you stop caring about them, but because the consequences matter.
I think the hardest characters to write are the ones whose choices make emotional sense, even when they lead somewhere painful.
Not because you stop caring about them, but because the consequences matter.
I think the hardest characters to write are the ones whose choices make emotional sense, even when they lead somewhere painful.
May 27, 2026 at 6:02 PM
There’s a point while writing a character where you realize you can’t protect them .
Not because you stop caring about them, but because the consequences matter.
I think the hardest characters to write are the ones whose choices make emotional sense, even when they lead somewhere painful.
Not because you stop caring about them, but because the consequences matter.
I think the hardest characters to write are the ones whose choices make emotional sense, even when they lead somewhere painful.
I’m drawn to characters who mistake desperation for certainty.
The decision makes perfect sense to them at the time.
That’s what makes the consequences hurt.
The decision makes perfect sense to them at the time.
That’s what makes the consequences hurt.
May 25, 2026 at 6:02 PM
I’m drawn to characters who mistake desperation for certainty.
The decision makes perfect sense to them at the time.
That’s what makes the consequences hurt.
The decision makes perfect sense to them at the time.
That’s what makes the consequences hurt.
This isn’t a novel about a woman trapped by her life.
It’s about a woman who chooses something believing it will save her—
and slowly discovers what that choice requires of her.
I wrote it for readers who like emotionally complicated stories that don’t rush to comfort.
It’s about a woman who chooses something believing it will save her—
and slowly discovers what that choice requires of her.
I wrote it for readers who like emotionally complicated stories that don’t rush to comfort.
May 22, 2026 at 4:03 PM
This isn’t a novel about a woman trapped by her life.
It’s about a woman who chooses something believing it will save her—
and slowly discovers what that choice requires of her.
I wrote it for readers who like emotionally complicated stories that don’t rush to comfort.
It’s about a woman who chooses something believing it will save her—
and slowly discovers what that choice requires of her.
I wrote it for readers who like emotionally complicated stories that don’t rush to comfort.
One of the hardest things while writing this book was allowing the main character to make choices I understood, even when I knew they would cost her.
I didn’t want to rescue her from herself just because I loved her.
I didn’t want to rescue her from herself just because I loved her.
May 20, 2026 at 6:03 PM
One of the hardest things while writing this book was allowing the main character to make choices I understood, even when I knew they would cost her.
I didn’t want to rescue her from herself just because I loved her.
I didn’t want to rescue her from herself just because I loved her.
I’m drawn to characters who mistake desperation for certainty.
The decision makes perfect sense to them at the time.
That’s what makes the consequences hurt.
The decision makes perfect sense to them at the time.
That’s what makes the consequences hurt.
May 18, 2026 at 6:02 PM
I’m drawn to characters who mistake desperation for certainty.
The decision makes perfect sense to them at the time.
That’s what makes the consequences hurt.
The decision makes perfect sense to them at the time.
That’s what makes the consequences hurt.
This book is for readers who don’t need a story to make things better than they were.
It follows a girl who chooses marriage as a way out, and slowly realizes what that choice asks of her.
It’s quieter than a lot of novels in this space—but I hope it lingers longer.
It follows a girl who chooses marriage as a way out, and slowly realizes what that choice asks of her.
It’s quieter than a lot of novels in this space—but I hope it lingers longer.
May 15, 2026 at 6:01 PM
This book is for readers who don’t need a story to make things better than they were.
It follows a girl who chooses marriage as a way out, and slowly realizes what that choice asks of her.
It’s quieter than a lot of novels in this space—but I hope it lingers longer.
It follows a girl who chooses marriage as a way out, and slowly realizes what that choice asks of her.
It’s quieter than a lot of novels in this space—but I hope it lingers longer.
There’s a kind of decision that feels like relief when you make it.
Not because it’s right—
but because it’s the only way forward you can see.
I think about that a lot when I write.
Not because it’s right—
but because it’s the only way forward you can see.
I think about that a lot when I write.
May 13, 2026 at 6:01 PM
There’s a kind of decision that feels like relief when you make it.
Not because it’s right—
but because it’s the only way forward you can see.
I think about that a lot when I write.
Not because it’s right—
but because it’s the only way forward you can see.
I think about that a lot when I write.
No big resolutions this year for me.
January 7, 2026 at 1:34 PM
No big resolutions this year for me.
Whether you celebrate or not, may you all have a joyous day today and every day!!!
December 25, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Whether you celebrate or not, may you all have a joyous day today and every day!!!
Miss Annie's shoe fetish continues....
December 4, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Miss Annie's shoe fetish continues....
With the new year coming up quickly, now is a good time to reflect and celebrate on the positive things from this year. Let's share the positive!
November 30, 2025 at 2:43 PM
With the new year coming up quickly, now is a good time to reflect and celebrate on the positive things from this year. Let's share the positive!
Does anyone think Miss Annie likes a fire in the fireplace?
November 29, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Does anyone think Miss Annie likes a fire in the fireplace?
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this day brings peace to your heart and joy to your home.
November 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this day brings peace to your heart and joy to your home.