Blog
A Poisonous Trade – Join Cathie Dunn as she lurks in The Shadows of Versailles
Cathie Dunn and I have both been working on books about poisoners, so it's fab to have Cathie as a guest to give us an insight into one of the important objects in her new book, The Shadows of Versailles. Over to Cathie: Thank you so much, Deborah, for inviting me to...
A Matter of Conscience by Judith Arnopp #Review #CoffeePotBookClub #Tudor
This was a bold move by Judith Arnopp to get inside the head of Henry VIII and tell the story of his reign from his point of view. And the Henry that she has created for us is utterly believable as we chart his journey from carefree younger brother to king. The...
Launch Day for The Poison Keeper, cover reveal for The Silkworm Keeper #HistoricalFiction
I'm thrilled to see The Poison Keeper finally available for sale on paperback and ebook and in the KindleUnlimited Subscription Library. This is a novel written entirely during this Covid year without any travel. I had a first draft but was going to Naples to finish...
Under the Light of the Italian Moon by Jennifer Anton – Review #HistoricalFiction #CoffeePotBookClub
Under the Light of the Italian Moon by Jennifer Anton This book was not at all what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it all the same. It is a love story and family drama set within a real Italian village, Fonzaso, and although set during the rise of fascism in...
An Excerpt from The Queen’s Rival by Anne O’Brien #HistoricalFiction
The Queen's Rival by Anne O' Brien I'm delighted to feature this brilliant excerpt from Anne O'Brien's new novel, The Queen's Rival. More about best-selling author Anne O'Brien can be found on her website, or chat to her on Twitter BACK COVER COPY: England, 1459. One...
White Space in Historical Fiction
The reader's reaction happens in the gaps. I've just been reading a book about time. In it, we were encouraged to take a pause for a few seconds to allow a breathing space. Later that night I was reading a historical novel as my bedtime reading, and noticed that it...
An interview with Keith Stuart – Pied Piper a #WW2 novel set in 1939
I'm delighted to welcome Keith Stuart to my blog today to tell me about his new book, Pied Piper. Here's the blurb: In September 1939 the British Government launched Operation Pied Piper. To protect them from the perils of German bombing raids, in three days millions...
The Chinese Puzzle by J C Briggs – Review #Victorian #MurderMystery
I have enjoyed several of J C Briggs books and I intend to catch up with them all eventually. This one centres around a mysterious Chinese Ambassador who appears at the opening of The Great Exhibition. At first the mystery is about tracing a missing person, a Chinese...
The Damask Rose by Carol McGrath #medieval #SheWolfQueens #Review
"Edward, always Edward. He came first. He was her husband and her King." I have read all of Carol McGrath's books and find them to be impeccably-researched and detailed evocations of the period. This one is no exception, and paints a vivid picture of Eleanor of...
Is your editor your servant or your master?
As an author whose books are set in the past, servants and masters often come up, and the idea of a hierarchy based on who pays who. (see this post) Also as an author I rely on my editors to help me make my book the best it can be. I love editors, and most authors...
Hotel Obscure – short stories by Lisette Brodey #GreatReads #TuesdayBlogs
Every now and then I feel like reading something different . Hotel Obscure is about as far away as you can get from my current life as a comfortably-off, middle aged (if not old!) woman in a small quiet village in Northern England. Hotel Obscure of the title is an...
Murder at Beaulieu Abbey by Cassandra Clark is out today! #MurderMystery
I'm delighted to spotlight the new Abbess of Meaux murder mystery by Cassandra Clark on it's publication day! From Cassandra: I am now writing the Abbess of Meaux series of historical mystery novels set in fourteenth century Europe. I'm pleased to be able to draw on...
Courting Danger by J G Harlond #WW2 #MurderMystery
I've read both the other books in this series so was really looking forward to this third book. And its an absolute cracker. When the local doctor is found semi-submerged in a pond associated with the Old Gods - Gogmagog Ditch, Bob Robbins and his sidekick Laurie...
Historical Fiction – Info-dumps and how to ditch them #amwriting #HistFic
Readers of historical fiction love complex world-building, but only when it is integral to the story. How do I tell if I've written an info-dump? Nothing within the info dump is occurring in the actual moment of the scene. Often they are regurgitations of the past...
Paul Walker’s ‘A State of Treason’ Elizabethan Spy Thriller #audiobook #CoffeePotBookClub
I'm delighted to highlight the new Elizabethan spy mystery 'State of Treason' today by Paul Walker. Audiobook listeners will be delighted that it is already available in audio - Listen Here London, 1578 William Constable is a scholar of mathematics, astrology and...