Thanks to my long-standing interest in historical fiction I connected with the author, MK Tod. I follow Mary’s tweets @MKTodAuthor and she pointed me to a very interesting survey she has been conducting which seeks to find out what makes historical fiction buffs love this genre. You will find a lot of information on this in her blog A Writer of History.As you know, the canvas of the historical fiction genre is huge and virtually unlimited. You could write about a war of a hundred years ago, just as you could write about a love affair of even earlier. Mary’s 2012 survey brought out findings which reveal what respondents liked including the most written about time periods and the top ranking authors in the genre. Brief details of the 2012 findings are here. As you can see, it is indeed a comprehensive survey. You could search for specific information by searching categories such as Historical Fiction Survey, Connecting Readers & Writers, Top Historical Fiction Authors and Top Historical Fiction Sites.
She has launched the survey once again in 2013. This is supported by Richard Lee, founder of the Historical Novel Society.
Mary says she is especially interested in what readers of historical fiction in India and Asia look for. I would urge you to participate and give your views in the 2013 Survey here.
Prem Rao : Stories from a Story Teller 
Many thanks for publicizing the survey, Prem Rao. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more participants from Asia and India 🙂