Blog
Powerful drama of a King’s Execution – The Crimson Ribbon
Blurb: Based on the real figure of the fascinating Elizabeth Poole, The Crimson Ribbon is the mesmerising story of two women's obsession, superstition and hope. May Day 1646. The Civil War is raging and what should be a rare moment of blessing for the town of...
The Home of 1609
In A Divided Inheritance, Elspet Leviston stands to lose her family’s house and business to a cousin she never knew existed. To recreate the house in my mind I researched the late Elizabethan and Early Jacobean style – a period much overlooked, but with its own...
Ring of Stone by Diane Scott Lewis
A decade ago, when researching my first novel, I traveled to Cornwall, England. After reading so many books on the West Country, and then seeing the countryside for myself, I became interested in the strange rock formations that the Cornish imbue with mystical powers....
The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau – historical fiction highlight
Occasionally I will highlight books that I think readers of Royalty Free Fiction might enjoy. Nancy Bilyeau's tudor series with the nun, Joanna Stafford fits my criteria well. The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau Paperback Publication Date: February 13, 2014 Orion Publishing...
DJ Niko explains why the Ancient World matters today
I am delighted to welcome D J Niko to give us her thoughts on why the Ancient World matters. Scroll down to yesterday's post for a review of her page-turning novel The Tenth Saint. Why the Ancient World Matters People often ask me why I choose to write about the...
The Tenth Saint by D J Niko
Welcome to readers on DJ Niko's blog tour for The Tenth Saint. I was lucky enough to have this book on holiday with me, and it was the ideal poolside companion. Desperate to escape the seventeenth century for a few weeks, I plunged into this adventure and was rewarded...
Archaeology, Tombs and Prophecies – The Tenth Saint by D.J.Niko
Welcome to readers on DJ Niko's blog tour for The Tenth Saint. I was lucky enough to have this book on holiday with me, and it was the ideal poolside companion. Desperate to escape the seventeenth century for a few weeks, I plunged into this adventure and was rewarded...
Researching historical fiction – The Lady’s Slipper
Many people have asked me about how I do my research and how much time it takes to write a historical novel. So in this post I will take a little about my process, and also tell you about some of the some of the books I found invaluable in my research for my first...
The not-quite-so-swashbuckling duel of Alexandre Dumas
A belated Happy New Year to all my followers. I had a wonderful Christmas in which I got a whole pile of books, one of which was 'Love Sex Death and Words - surprising tales from a year in literature', by John Sutherland and Stephen Fender. This is a marvellous book...
Forget the Sensational – in Praise of Quiet Books
One of the things I've noticed about the new self-publishing phenomenon, and also about traditionally published books fighting for their corner in the ever expanding book market, is that many of them seem to be shouting. The covers are shouting, the tag-lines are...
Floats the Dark Shadow by Yves Fey
Floats the Dark Shadow had a long gestation. I tried writing a different Belle Époque novel for about a year. I had a heroine I liked and kept telling her she was an artist. As an artist myself, I knew I could bring Paris of that era to life through my...
The Prodigal Son – Anna Belfrage
In retrospect, I suspect my subconscious had been doing its own little things for years before I finally sat down to write The Graham Saga. Since well over a decade, I had nursed an interest for the 17th century, and in particular for the religious conflicts that...
Life with Anne Boleyn – Interview with Judith Arnopp
I am delighted to welcome Judith Arnopp who has just released her Tudor novel about Anne Boleyn - The Kiss of the Concubine. I was interested to find out from Judith about the endless appeal of the Tudors, and about how she has welcomed them them into her writing...
A Divided Inheritance by Deborah Swift
I was exploring the time right after the gunpowder plot in England when Catholic recusants were being persecuted for their faith, when priests had to be hidden behind chimneys, and when England was in the grip of the new King James. I already knew I wanted to...
What to do on the day your book comes out
Today my third historical novel, 'A Divided Inheritance' is out. For me, this is the culmination of eighteen months of research and writing and so deserves to be celebrated. Trouble is - often it is only the writer who is so keenly aware of this date - the date that...