Blog
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...
Spotlight on Tony Riches’ new novel ‘Katherine – Tudor Duchess’
Attractive, wealthy and influential, Katherine Willoughby is one of the most unusual ladies of the Tudor court. A favourite of King Henry VIII, Katherine knows all his six wives, his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and his son Edward. When her father dies,...
New Release! Silent Water by P K Adams – the Cracow Royal Court
My new historical mystery Silent Water is a personal project in a way that my other writing has not been. It is set in the 16th century—an era that has many fans among historical fiction readers. But the setting is different to what the readers are used to. It does...
July’s Recommended Historical Fiction
Now my next two novels are with their publishers I've had more time for reading, and so here are two books that are well-worth your time and money. The Lady of the Tower by Elizabeth StJohn I've a massive interest in the seventeenth century and have written nine books...
Severed Knot : Ingenio – Sugar in 17th Century Barbados
Congratulations to Cryssa Bazos on the release of her romantic thriller, Severed Knot. The novel is set mostly on a 17th Century sugar plantation in Barbados. Here's Cryssa to tell us more about what the manufacture of sugar involved. Ingenio We have a complicated...
Recent reads and reviews of Historical Fiction
The Doubtful Diaries of Wicked Mistress Yale by David Ebsworth 'For is that not the secret of life? To keep open as many of our options as possible for as long as we may dare. And if my only remaining option to keep them alive...' This is the first of a trilogy set in...
The appeal of the 17th Century to a novelist by Jemahl Evans
Today I'm pleased to welcome Jemahl Evans to my blog to tell us why he's chosen to write three novels set in the 17th Century. Over to Jemahl. I’ve always been fascinated by the Seventeenth Century; it is the great turning point in British history. The divisions of...
The Fascinating Facts about Smugglers by @HelenHollick
I'm delighted to welcome Helen Hollick to the blog today to tell us a little about her new book. Helen is a great champion of historical fiction, and now has turned her researcher's eye to bring us two great non-fiction books - one on Pirates, and the latest on...
Building Blocks of Historical Fiction – no.1 Balance
Each historical novel is different, and each requires attention to the balance of the book, depending on whether it is a thriller, a saga, a romance, or a portrait of a well-known figure. A recent historical novel I read was very heavy on the dialogue - and...
How a cemetery in Bodmin, Cornwall inspired the idea for a Time Travel novel
I'm delighted to introduce Diane Scott Lewis to talk about her new book, Beyond the Fall, and the visit that inspired it. A Cemetery in Bodmin, Cornwall inspired the idea for a Time Travel Over a decade ago my husband and I visited Cornwall, England so I could...