THE NEXT BIG THING: AUTHORS TAGGING AUTHORS!
I am really pleased to be taking part in The Next Big Thing: Authors Tagging Authors!
I was tagged by my really good friend, author Karen Aminadra
and it's my pleasure to keep this going.
So, what I do is answer the questions below, tag a new set
of authors, then they answer, tag authors, etc.
I’m answering questions about my novel, The Winchester Goose
which will be available very soon in paperback and is also currently available
through Amazon Kindle.
What is the working
title of your book?
The title has always been The Winchester Goose. I did
consider ‘Geese’ at one point, since there is more than one ‘Goose’ involved
but I decided the singular had more impact.
Where did the idea
come from for the book?
The Winchester Geese were prostitutes, living and working in
Southwark who paid their rents to the Bishop of Winchester. I have studied
medieval women for years and most of them have been depicted in historical
fiction in one way or another, so I was delighted to find a social group that
is largely overlooked. I began to think about how a prostitute from the lowest
segment of society might have viewed the goings on at Henry VIII’s court.
What genre does your
book fall under?
It's Historical Fiction with a dollop of romance and a hint
of adventure.
What is the one
sentence synopsis for the book?
Tudor women, high and low, living and loving beneath the
shadow of King Henry VIII.
How long did it take
you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Drafting the first manuscript is the easy bit, it took about
a year but the research took a great deal longer than that …and then the
redrafting and the edits longer again.
Which actors would
you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
 |
| Simon Woods to play Francis Wareham |
 |
| Alex Kingston to play Joanie Toogood |
A movie! What a
lovely thought. I am not very good at remembering the names of actors but I
will give it a shot. Francis Wareham is very dashing and handsome but not very
old. He would need to be played by someone like, erm …Simon Woods who was Mr
Bingley in Pride and Prejudice, the Keira Knightly one. I think Alex Kingston
would make a brilliant Joanie Toogood, the ‘goose’. She did a great job with
Moll Flanders and I think she has all the necessary credentials.
 |
| Rupert Grint to play Peter the Costermonger |
Isabella and Evelyn Bourne are gentlewomen from court. Emma
Watson (Hermione in Harry Potter) would be good as Eve, and the girl who plays
Edith in Downton Abbey, Laura Carmichael, would make a lovely Bella. For Peter,
who is a costermonger from Southwark it would have to be Rupert Grint –
wonderful young actor who played Ron Weasley in Harry Potter. Henry VIII would
not be played by Jonathon Rhys Meyers (as gorgeous as he is) I think the role
is better suited to Steven Waddington who played Lord Buckingham in the Tudors.
As to Katherine Howard and Anna of Cleves, goodness, I have no idea. I will
leave that to the directors!
What other books
would you compare this story to, in your genre?
I’m not sure. It is quite different coming as it does from
the mouth of a prostitute. Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the
White is similar in theme although that is set much later in Victorian England.
It offers a new perspective on events in Henry VIII’s reign
and looks at how the lower echelons of society might have viewed matters. It contrasts
the rougher side of life in Tudor England with the glittering royal court.
The Winchester Goose will be
available on Amazon Kindle before
Christmas and in paperback early in 2013.
And for the authors I have tagged:
Helen Spring – Author of Memories of the Curlew, Strands of Gold and The Chainmakers.
Mary Middleton – Romance Author of Vittorio’s Virgin, Come, Dance with Me and
Where the West Wind Blows.
Gregory House - Author of The Red Ned Tudor Mysteries
Anna Valentine -Romance Author of Love Torn
Over to you guys!
Over to you guys!
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