One benefit of writing historical fiction: you already know what happens to the major characters, even if they're in the background of the book.
So Candace Robb knows which pretender dethroned which king, but she can create and flesh out characters off to the side. And people have to read her books to find out what happens to them.
Her latest novel is The Service of the Dead, set in England at the turn of the 15th century. Candace Robb visits Ashland for a reading event, and stops by the studio on the way.