Blog
My cold weather reading: ‘After the Fire’ and ‘Those Who Know’
Here in the North West, we've had a sudden change of the weather from tropical to arctic, meaning my lockdown walks have been replaced by staying inside with a good book. Now my most recent novel is done, I've been able to let go of research reading, and read for my...
Building Blocks of Historical Fiction no 2 – Suspicion versus Suspense #HistFic
Often writers think that in order to convey mystery, or to keep the reader in suspense, they must withhold information. A typical example is that someone (mystery man) kills/kidnaps a mystery person on page one. In practice, this is just annoying. Much better is to...
Review – Sex and Sexuality in Stuart Britain by Andrea Zuvich #SexyStuarts
Sex and Sexuality in Stuart Britain by Andrea Zuvich - Review As many of you know, I've had an abiding interest in the Stuart period, so I was thrilled to be offered an ARC by Pen and Sword Books for this new non-fiction book by Andrea Zuvich, also known as the...
Tom Williams – ‘Burke in the Land of Silver’ #spies #Argentina
Tom Williams is the author of several historical novels, including The White Rajah' which I really enjoyed. 'Burke in the Land of Silver' is a tale of spies and skulduggery in the Napoleonic Wars as Britain invades Argentina. You can read about Tom's research for this...
Recent Recommended Reads Private Lives by JG Harlond and Daughters Of India by Jill McGivering
With lockdown in progress, and my new book just finished, I've made time for plenty of reading this month. Here are the first two reviews and I'll be posting the rest of the reviews shortly. Private Lives by J G Harlond I read the first of these Bob Robbins mysteries...
Bob Robbins Home Front Mysteries – J.G Harlond on writing about life in wartime England
I'm delighted to welcome J.G Harlond today, for a post about memory and research, and the writing of her cosy Bob Robbins Home Front Mysteries. J.G Harlond is a British author of historical crime novels. After travelling widely, Jane and her Spanish husband are now...
The Road to Liberation – Excerpt from ‘Stolen Childhood’ #WW2 #WWII
To mark 75 years since the world celebrated the end of WW2, I'm delighted to host an excerpt from Marion Kummerow's book, Stolen Childhood, from the collection, The Road to Liberation. Enjoy! Marion Kummerow, “Stolen Childhood” “Watch me and learn,” Laszlo whispered...
The Gossip’s Choice, an interview with Sara Read #midwifery #17thCentury
Welcome to Sara Read, whose new book The Gossip's Choice is out next week. As a fellow enthusiast for the Seventeenth Century, I was particularly keen to interview her and discover more about her new novel. The Blurb: “Call The Midwife for the 17th Century” Lucie...
Recommended Historical Reads for wet Tuesdays #TuesdayBookBlog
The Silken Rose by Carol McGrath Married at only thirteen years old to a King she has never met, Ailenor of Provence has to learn quickly what it is to be a Queen, and how to manage her relationship with her husband Henry III during the turbulent world of the...
Interview with Mary Anne Yarde – Saints, Standing Stones and an Ancient Curse
I'm delighted to welcome Mary Anne Yarde to my blog today. Mary Anne is the multi award-winning author of the International Bestselling Series — The Du Lac Chronicles. Did you envisage writing a long series when you started the first book, or did the idea grow? What...
Ailenor of Provence and Queenship by Carol McGrath #medieval
I'm delighted to welcome historian and novelist Carol McGrath to my blog today, to tell us about the concept of Queenship as it relates to her new novel The Silken Rose. Ailenor of Provence and Queenship Ailenor of Provence was married to twenty-eight year old Henry...
The String’s the Thing – Manet and fashion by Drema Drudge #art #historicalfiction
I'm delighted to welcome Drema Drudge to my blog today to talk about Manet's models and their clothing, which feature in her new novel 'Victorine.' The String's the Thing In Victorine, my historical novel coming out in the next few months, I write about the black...
Review: The Bleak Midwinter by L C Tyler
The fifth John Grey historical mystery 1668. John Grey is now a Justice of the Peace and lives in the manor house he has inherited on his mother's death with his new wife, Aminta. As the village is cut off from the rest of the world by a heavy snowfall, George Barwell...
A Place in the World by Amy Maroney – review
This is the last in the series and I'm sad to see it end. I thoroughly enjoyed this dual time-line narrative that takes us back to the sixteenth century, and Mira, a female artist trying to find her place in the world. On the trail of this artist is Zari, an art...
17th Century Witchcraft by L C Tyler
Accusations In 1664, in Bury St Edmunds, the judge Sir Matthew Hale* - great lawyer but ‘as gullible as the simplest peasant’ concerning witches - had to sit on a case of purported witchcraft. A child had become ill and was taken to a ‘cunning man’, who advised the...