New Release Coming Soon!

First, an apology. Every day I get emails asking if I am still writing and when the next book will be published. I am writing, it just takes me longer these days. My body doesn't like sitting, my brain is slower and I have to check and recheck every detail. The good news is that my next book. Marguerite: Hell Hath no fury - the story of Marguerite of Anjou is complete, and currently with the editor. That means the end is in sight. I will be setting up a pre-order soon.

I don't think I have read a book, fiction or  otherwise, in which Marguerite is shown in a good light. That is because she is one of history's losers. When her husband, King Henry VI, became mentally ill and unable to rule, she saw it as her duty to step into his shoes. The English lords had other ideas, they disliked her not just because she was a woman but because she was French. England had been at war with France for hundred years but the glory years under Henry V were long over, the country was impoverished yet still men were dying for a war already lost. The union between Henry and Marguerite was part of a peace treaty - a lull in the fighting while the opposing parties worked  out their differences but the English blamed Marguerite for the loss of French territories and viewed her as a spy. 

Marguerite came from a family of strong women, her mother and grandmother both ruled in their husband's stead while their men were otherwise engaged. She had a nose for politics, spoke out when other women kept silent and influenced the king on matters of state. None of these things won Marguerite friends in England. The Duke of York in particular did his utmost to undermine her, even before the king fell ill.

As Henry's heir the last thing he wanted was for Marguerite to prove an adept leader, he was even less enthusiastic for her to produce an heir. So when Marguerite announced her pregnancy shortly after the king was struck with his strange malaise, a rumour began that the child she was carrying was fathered by Edmund Beaufort. You don't have to look far to discern the perpetrator of this rumour.

Without giving away too much of the plot, the dissent between the queen and the Duke of York escalated into a prolonged civil war; a war that lasted for four decades, costing an estimated 30 -38,000 deaths in some of English history's bloodiest battles.

Marguerite's hopes were finally extinguished at Tewkesbury where seventeen year old son, Edward of Lancaster, perished in battle. During the course of the war, Marguerite's power was usurped, her king imprisoned, her son disinherited; she was exiled, slandered and finally beaten but she never gave up until her son was killed and she had nothing left to fight for.

Had circumstances been different of course, she would be lauded as a hero but instead  has been remembered in history as a she-wolf and an adulteress. Modern authors have taken their cue from Shakespeare who pulled no punches when he described as a “Foreigner, white devil, shrew, virago, vengeful fury” and demonised her as  “a foul wrinkled witch’ and a ‘hateful withered hag.” 

As always when I write, I try to stand back and let the protagonist tell their own story. Recorded events remain the same but the perspective alters. Just as Henry VIII in The Henrician Chronicles made his actions plausible, and Margaret Beaufort made it quite clear that she had nothing to o with the deaths of Edward IV's sons, Marguerite turns her own reputation on its head.

She makes bad decision, she takes drastic action but she reminds us that she was slandered, her crown was stolen, her son disinherited and the ruling king, Henry VI murdered. 

She is not without guilt but her crimes were no less than those of York but they were not greater either. In Marguerite: Hell Hath no Fury, the queen emerges as a woman who would do all in her power to protect her son - just as any mother would.

Blurb

Marguerite: Queen of England

From the moment Henry VI's new queen, Marguerite of Anjou, sets foot on English soil she is despised by the English as a foreigner, and blamed for the failures of the hundred years war in France.

 Her enemies impede her role as the king’s consort and when Henry sinks into apparent madness her bid to become regent is rejected. Marguerite must fight, not only for her own position but to maintain Henry’s possession of the crown. 

The ambitious Duke, Richard of York seizes control of the country, thrusting Marguerite aside and inflating the mutual hatred between the houses of York and Lancaster. But the queen refuses to relinquish power and fights determinedly for the rights of her son, Edward of Lancaster.

The long and bitter civil conflict, that has come to be known as the war of the roses, commences.

Delighted to welcome Wendy J Dunn to the blog to talk about her latest release. Henry VIII's True daughter.

 

Hi Wendy, Thank you so much for agreeing to join me on the blog. I cannot wait to read your new book about Catherine Carey. How did you come to write this book and this subject in particular?

 When Pen and Sword Books included that question as part of their promotional materials, I decided I would take up Judith’s lovely offer of writing something for her blog and provide an answer.  

 I confess. Writing Henry VIII’s True Daughter: Catherine Carey, A Tudor Life hadn’t been on my bucket list of things to do in my life. Yes, sometimes, I had thought of writing a nonfiction book about the Tudors, but my writing passion is to write novels. That gave me plenty to do in my writing life. Yet, in 2020, someone unexpectedly approached me on twitter. Of all things, a commissioning editor for Pen & Sword Books. They asked if I was interested in writing a Tudor non-fiction book for this history publisher.

 Before I responded in any way, it was my turn to check out this unknown person. Was I being scammed? I asked myself. ‘Tricked?’ To my surprise, I discovered this person was indeed a commissioning editor. I became curious, and asked them, ‘What kind of project?’ They replied to that question by giving me three projects to choose from. They obviously had done their homework in establishing my Tudor interests. All three projects intrigued me, but one more than simply intrigued me. It called for me to discover more about Catherine Carey, one of my favourite Tudor people, the person I gave voice to in The Light in the Labyrinth, my second Anne Boleyn novel. 

Catherine Carey is yet another woman almost forgotten by history. As a writer of fiction, I welcomed that gap. It both invited and gave me the freedom to imagine her as a teenager witnessing the final year of Anne Boleyn’s life. Now offered with the opportunity to return to investigating her life and find the evidence that would offer strong proof for me to argue that she was what I believed; she was Henry VIII’s true daughter, was too hard to resist. I soon signed a contract to begin my research.

 David Starkey once remarked, ‘We really should stop taking historical novelists seriously as historians. The idea that they have authority is ludicrous. They are very good at imagining character: that’s why the novels sell. They have no authority when it comes to the handling of historical sources. Full stop.’

It strikes me that, by approaching me to write this book, Pen and Sword Books must see things differently to Dr Starkey. They must take historical fiction writers seriously to commission them to write nonfiction works. 

I understand why.  Like I said, I am primarily a writer of historical fiction. I have written historical fiction for decades. One reason I have only published four novels is because of the extensive research put into writing each novel. Even my unpublished novel set in 2010 about a woman writing a Tudor novel – a novel I hope to find a good publisher for, if not self-publish it myself – involved extensive research. Yes, Dr Starkey, I handle historical sources, but I use them in my novels in a far different way than in a work of nonfiction.

 Historical fiction demands a lot from writers. It is not only is a multifaceted genre that uses history for its storytelling, but one involving ethics – simply because we give voice to the dead. I spent many sleepless nights struggling with this. I can only go on with my story knowing I have respected my historical people by all the research I have done to tell my imagined story well. 

 I have never met a fellow writer of historical fiction who has not loved research. We all pride ourselves on the research we do. But research is always for the purpose of writing fiction – and to inspire imagination. Kundera (2003, p. 44) writes, ‘…fidelity to history is a secondary matter as regards the value of the novel. The novelist is neither historian nor prophet: he is an explorer of existence’. In other words, research is the means to write fiction that sets out to create the past and its people. Research illuminates that ‘The past is another country; they do things differently there’ (Hartley 2004, p.5).

 I can now say the same of researching a work of nonfiction set in the past. Each of my novels has been a writing adventure I embarked on and successfully accomplished. I did not expect that my nonfiction book would also become a wonderful writing adventure, too. It deepened my knowledge about Catherine Carey, as well as reassured me that my fictional reconstruction of her was still safe in the realms of possibility. It also increased my knowledge about her Tudor world. I love learning more about the Tudors, and having people step out as vivid and powerful personalities. People like the spellbinding Elisabeth Parr, a woman deserving so much more attention by historians. Because of writing this nonfiction book, I even have a new history crush – Dr John Dee. And that’s despite his beard. I am like Katherine of Aragon. Bearded men are not my thing.  I knew of Dee before, but now I want to know so much more about him. 

 But what really came even more home to me in writing Henry VIII’s True Daughter: Catherine Carey, A Tudor Life was what I see as one of the tragedies of history. History has forgotten far too many women. Women whose lives provide simply footnotes to the lives of their menfolk. History writes of their lives with such brevity that it breathes the appalling nature of our recent past. Being born in the female gender simply resulted in the erasure. If we do not restore the stories of women from the past to recorded history, then half our human story remains hidden in the dark. One reason I signed to new a second nonfiction work on another little-known Tudor woman is that I feel more committed than ever to return women’s stories to where they belong – as an equal part of our shared past.   

 What I hope I have achieved with my first nonfiction work is that readers will see her as I do – a fascinating, intelligent woman with power. True power. Catherine is an important player in the story of Elizabeth I. She helped shape her into the queen England calls Gloriana to this day. Henry VIII’s True Daughter: Catherine Carey, A Tudor Life shows how much Catherine deserves that recognition.  

 

Wendy J. Dunn is an award-winning Australian writer fascinated by Tudor history – so much so she was not surprised to discover a family connection to the Tudors, not long after the publication of her first Anne Boleyn novel, which narrated the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the elder. Her family tree reveals the intriguing fact that one of her ancestral families – possibly over three generations – had purchased land from both the Boleyn and Wyatt families to build up their own holdings. It seems very likely Wendy’s ancestors knew the Wyatts and Boleyns personally. Wendy is married, the mother of three sons and one daughter—named after a certain Tudor queen, surprisingly, not Anne. She is also the grandmother of two amazing small boys. She gained her PhD in 2014 and loves walking in the footsteps of the historical people she gives voice to in her novels. Wendy also tutors at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia.

You can find out more about Wendy and her books HERE

Website: http://www.wendyjdunn.com/

Twitter: @wendyjdunn

Instagram: @wendyjdunnauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorwendyjdunn

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/197156.Wendy_J_Dunn

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/wendy-j-dunn

Bluesky: @wendyjdunn.bsky.social

Dr Wendy Dunn - Academic Tutor and Lecturer. - LinkedIn

 https://au.linkedin.com › dr-wendy-dunn-6358181a

Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/2sajpkc9

Great news! The Second Book in Lynn Bryant's Manxman Series is OUT NOW!

 

31st October 2019 sees the publication of the second book in Lynn Bryant’s Manxman series. The first book, An Unwilling Alliance was recently shortlisted for the Society for Army Historical Research 2019 fiction prize. Its sequel, This Blighted Expedition, tells the story of the Walcheren campaign of 1809.

Hugh waited, feeling oddly nervous. He had last seen his son as a small baby of four months. After their marriage in Denmark almost two years earlier, Roseen remained with him, even when his ship, the Iris, was sent to Gibraltar as part of a squadron to defend the island, which was a major supply base for the war against Bonaparte in Spain.

Roseen adapted to shipboard life with typical Manx practicality and Hugh loved having her with him although the times he had to leave her on shore worried him. Gibraltar was known to be an unhealthy place with regular outbreaks of disease and after Roseen’s brush with death on a fever-ridden ship going to Denmark, Hugh was permanently on edge about her health. Hugh was overjoyed when Roseen announced that she was with child and she had sailed through both pregnancy and childbirth without difficulty but Hugh knew that his wife and son could not remain with the Iris or on the fever-ridden shores of Gibraltar.

Parting from her tore a piece from Hugh’s heart, and he had lived the last eight months waiting for her letters and dreaming of her at night. He was shocked at how much his happiness had come to depend upon her, but the knowledge that she was safe and well back on Mann was a comfort through the long months.

Orders had brought Hugh back to England, ready to join a new expedition. There was no official destination yet, although navy gossip suggested it was likely to be somewhere in the low countries. Hugh, who had his own sources of information, summoned his first officer and asked for news.

“It’s not official yet, sir,” Lieutenant Durrell said.

“Clearly not, or I’d be telling you, not asking you. Sit down, pour the wine, and remove the stuffed owl expression from your face, I’m not going to write to the London Gazette with the information. Where are we going?”

Alfred Durrell folded his lanky frame into the chair in Hugh’s dining cabin and poured for both of them. “The island of Walcheren,” he said. “My brother writes that the government wishes to support Austria in its new campaign against Bonaparte, with more than just money.”

The Walcheren campaign was the largest British operation of the war, with 40,000 men and around 600 ships heading to the Scheldt for a lightning strike against Bonaparte’s dockyards at Vlissingen and Antwerp, yet most people have never heard of it. Possibly this is because it turned out to be one of Britain’s greatest military disasters. Vlissingen was almost destroyed by a bombardment, but the progress of the operation was so slow that the French had time to pour in reinforcements while the navy spent a good deal of its time pegged down by contrary winds. By the time Lord Chatham’s army was ready to march on Antwerp, the French had improved their defences and the British army were beginning to show signs of the dreaded Walcheren fever which killed over four thousand men and left many more on the sick list for years to come.

This Blighted Expedition follows the story of six people through the horror of the Walcheren campaign and its aftermath. Captain Hugh Kelly of the Iris, the Manx hero of An Unwilling Alliance is enjoying a brief reunion with his wife and baby son when he receives new orders to join the expedition on the south coast, along with his first lieutenant, Alfred Durrell. In the meantime, the second battalion of the 110th infantry is waiting to embark for Walcheren. Among them are a young lieutenant of the seventh company, Giles Fenwick, who is a permanently broke younger son of the aristocracy and Captain Ross Mackenzie, who is recovering from the tragic deaths of his wife and daughter and has recently transferred in to command the light company. Meanwhile, in Walcheren, Katja de Groot, a young Dutch widow is raising three children while managing her husband’s textile business, and worrying about the impact of a British invasion on her workshops, her family and her home.

The interaction of these six people with each other and with a host of secondary characters, both fictional and real is at the heart of the novel. In particular, Lieutenant Durrell finds himself torn between old family loyalties to the Earl of Chatham, who commands the army, and the clever, manipulative Sir Home Popham who serves the interests of the navy – and himself.

I love every one of my six protagonists. Hugh and Roseen are old friends, and it has been fun to revisit them two years into married life and in particular, to see how much Roseen has grown up from the shy, awkward tomboy that Hugh fell in love with. It is also interesting to see how much Hugh still has to learn about his wife.

Ross Mackenzie and Katja de Groot are both new characters, and have a lot in common. Both are widowed and have experienced the loss of a child to illness and both have become used to managing alone, not sharing their feelings. They are on opposite sides of a war, and the book explores what that means to them and whether friendship can develop in spite of it.

Giles Fenwick is the hero of The Reluctant Debutante, and features in the Peninsular War Saga and in one of my short stories, An Exploring Officer. I’m going back in time with Giles here, exploring his early history with the regiment, before he arrives in Portugal and it’s fascinating to be able to weave in his story to show how Giles became the man he is in later books.

But of all my characters, this book belongs to Alfred Durrell. Durrell was a secondary character in the previous book, a gangly, awkward young man who provided a comic foil to Hugh’s Manx directness. Durrell had the education and the political connections while Hugh was the man of action who “had the reputation of a man who could snatch a prize out of thin air and could keep any leaky old bucket afloat.”

Durrell isn’t a typical hero, but Walcheren isn’t a typical campaign. He’s very intelligent, well educated and very confident in his own abilities, but has no idea how to gossip, flirt or stop talking once he’s started. While Hugh Kelly managed to kiss Roseen on their second ‘date’ poor Durrell is more likely to give a girl a lecture on the physiology of crying. What Durrell has is integrity, and honesty and a good deal of kindness. He is incapable of being a bystander, he’s always the man who steps up and takes responsibility. Your brother and sister would take the mickey out of you if you brought Durrell home for dinner, but your Mum would be very pleased.

This Blighted Expedition is available on Amazon kindle here and will be out in paperback by the end of November. 

To celebrate publication, the first book, An Unwilling Alliance is available from 1st to 5th November 2019 FREE on Amazon here.

In the meantime, I am about to embark on book six of the Peninsular War Saga. It’s called An Unrelenting Enmity and to give myself a kick start with the writing process, I am attempting NaNaWriMo for the first time ever. 

To follow my progress why not join me on my blog over at Writing with Labradors, or on Facebook or Twitter? 

Welcoming author Sally Spedding to the blog

I am very pleased to have Sally Spedding on the blog today. She is the author of multiple spooky crime noir novels. Tell us about your work Sally.

In 1997, having moved from rural Wales to Northampton, because of my late husband’s new job, I used a ruler to find the nearest coast, where Norfolk is divided from Lincolnshire by the River Nene. These atmospheric flatlands became the setting for ‘Wringland’ where a new housing development is haunted by a woman hanged in public in that very place.

Published in 2001 in a two-book deal with Pan Macmillan, this was the start of a journey where settings are paramount. Where characters don’t change, they just reveal themselves, and now with ‘The Devil’s Garden,’ set near Tulle in France, published by Sharpe Books as part of a seven-book deal, wannabe gendarme, Delphine Rougier faces a truly dangerous crisis.   

About the book

DI John Lyon Thriller - Book 1

  

One false move is all it takes...

  

France, April 1986.

John Lyon, newly retired Detective Inspector from Nottingham, breaks off his holiday in the eastern Pyrenees when he encounters Karen Furst.

This attractive, wheelchair-bound woman with a new name and nationality, soon draws him into her world. Karen is the product of a tragic past, a past which is slowly but surely catching up with her.

Yet the woman's story doesn't entirely add up. John suspects that Karen is lying to him. And how much is he lying to himself about how he feels, what he thinks?

  

Karen will soon be targeted - and John with her - by unseen enemies.

  

Only La Chasse, a hunt to the death in wild scrubland, will reveal the truth.

  

Blood will be shed.

  

The Nighthawk is a dark, enthralling novel that grips from start to end.

Recommended for fans of Gillian Flynn, Bernard Minier and Manda Scott.

PRAISE FOR SALLY SPEDDING:

‘Sally Spedding has been credited with being a latter-day Du Maurier.’ Crime Squad

‘Sally Spedding is a font of creepy stories, the kind of tales which wheedle their way into your mind days and weeks later.' Western Mail

‘Sally Spedding has unquestionably got what it takes.’ Crime Time

‘No-one does evil like Sally Spedding.’ Thorne Moore

BUY NOW

www.sallyspedding.com

@SharpeBooks

Jennifer C. Wilson NEW RELEASE!

In the Kindred Spirits series, we meet the ghosts of historical characters, in a range of contemporary settings. Have you ever wondered what Richard III and Anne Boleyn might have in common, what Mary, Queen of Scots is getting up to now, or what happens when the visitors leave some of the most popular attractions in the country? Well, here’s your chance!

In the fourth of the series, we’re heading to York, and a whole new community of ghosts are ready to greet us, including some visiting favourites, taking advantage of a much speedier transport system than they were ever used to…

Kindred Spirits: York

Release date: 31^st January 2019

Publisher: Crooked Cat Books

Genre: Paranormal historical fiction

Blurb: In the ancient city of York, something sinister is stirring...

What do a highwayman, an infamous traitor, and two hardened soldiers have in common? Centuries of friendship, a duty to the town, and a sense of mischief – until they realise that someone is trying to bring chaos to their home.

Joining forces with local Vikings, the four friends keep an eye on the situation, but then, disaster strikes.

Can peace be restored both inside and out of the city walls?

Sales link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindred-Spirits-York-Jennifer-Wilson-ebook/dp/B07KKLZ4DT/

Praise for the Kindred Spirits series

“A light hearted, humorous, and at times tender read which you'll enjoy whether you like history or not.”

“This light-hearted, imaginative read is a new take on historical fiction but make no mistake, this is not only a fun read but an educational tool.”

“A brilliantly unique idea from a distinctive new voice in fiction.”

“A darn good read.”

Praise for Kindred Spirits: York

Another joyous ghostly romp from the pen of Jennifer C. Wilson. The nightly ghost walks around the ancient city of York will never seem the same again after you read this – with its tales of kings and queens, saints and sinners (Dick Turpin and Guy Fawkes anyone?), spending their afterlives among the iconic streets and sites of the town they frequented in life. But this is no sleepy existence: unruly spirits are disrupting the lives of both the living and the dead. With Romans, Vikings, medieval warriors and traitors to the Crown never the most natural of companions, it takes little to stir them up to wreak some light-hearted ghostly havoc – until, that is, events take a shocking turn....

With early special guest appearances from some of my own favourite Yorkists (and a less-agreeable Tudor hanger-on) visiting a city they once loved, the book offers another sparkling cast of the dearly (not-quite) departed. What’s not to like? Except thinking once again ‘I wish I’d had that idea!’ – Alex Marchant, author of The Order of the White Boar.

I love this series and it’s going from strength to strength. This one was great, the author has created a little gem. From Richard III taking a day trip to Harry Hotspur, Dick Turpin and Guy Fawkes protecting their city, this is probably my favourite so far. Really looking forward to seeing where the author has us visiting next. – Amazon Reviewer.

About Jennifer

Jennifer C. Wilson is a marine biologist by training, who developed an equal passion for history and historical fiction whilst stalking Mary, Queen of Scots on childhood holidays (she has since moved on to Richard III). Enrolling on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east of England for work reignited her pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling notebooks ever since.

In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story competition, and has been working on a number of projects since, including co-hosting the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle. Her Kindred Spirits novels are published by Crooked Cat Books and her timeslip novella, The Last Plantagenet?, by Ocelot Press.

She lives in North Tyneside, and is very proud of her approximately 2-inch sea view.

Website:              https://jennifercwilsonwriter.wordpress.com/

Amazon:              https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jennifer-Wilson/e/B018UBP1ZO/

Facebook:           https://www.facebook.com/jennifercwilsonwriter/

Twitter:                https://twitter.com/inkjunkie1984

Instagram:          https://www.instagram.com/jennifercwilsonwriter/

Christmas Giveaway!

It is Christmas! and I am happy to offer two paperback copies of Sisters of Arden, hot off the presses. All you need do is comment below on why you'd like to be one of the winners and your name will be entered into a draw. Please share on social media.

Arden Priory has remained unchanged for almost four hundred years. When a nameless child is abandoned at the gatehouse door, the nuns take her in and raise her as one of their own.

As Henry VIII’s second queen dies on the scaffold, the embittered King strikes out, and unprecedented change sweeps across the country. The bells of the great abbeys fall silent, the church and the very foundation of the realm begins to crack.

Determined to preserve their way of life, novitiate nuns Margery and Grace join a pilgrimage thirty thousand strong to lead the heretic king back to grace.

Sisters of Arden is a story of valour, virtue and veritas.

Excerpt from Sisters of Arden

1537 - Yorkshire

We run, heads down through the darkness, away from the cries of our dying friends and the sickening thud of their falling bodies.

Ducking through a garden gate, I cast about for a hay store or a tangle of bushes that might conceal us. Grabbing her wrist, I pull Frances into a briar patch, the thorns snagging and tearing at our robes and limbs. As we crouch in the dark, she trembles and wipes her wet cheeks on my sleeve. I can just distinguish her bone-white face and the stark terror in her eyes, and I am sickened with guilt that I have led her to this. Her life is now forfeit to my mistaken conviction that simple folk can make a difference.

I grope for God in the faithless void of my mind, begging that the king’s men grow tired of the hunt and ride away, back to their warm hearths, their laden tables, and their fragrant, sinful wives. Frances’ teeth begin to rattle, her breath faltering as her courage dwindles. I give her a gentle shake and put a warning finger against her lips, beseeching her to be silent, to be brave for just a little longer.

As the stealthy hooves draw closer to our hiding place, we hold our breath, sinking deeper into the undergrowth when he halts just a little way above our heads. The dank aroma of rotting vegetation rises; the tang of frost tickles my nose and pinches my toes. Frances trembles so violently it is indistinguishable from the juddering of my own body. I fumble for prayer, nausea washing over me as I fail to recall a single one.

 A creak of harness as the rider shifts in his saddle. I cannot see him but when the horse snorts, in my mind’s eye his breath mists the darkness, rising wraith-like in the night. I can feel the rake of the man’s gaze as he searches, seeking out our hiding place. My lungs strain fit to burst, my chest is aching, and I am ready to relinquish my freedom for just one blessed breath. The horse stirs, turns and moves away, and we fill our lungs with fresh damp air. We clutch hands as the vague hope of escape returns.

Then noise erupts with a harsh yelp. A hound is loosed and, with a furious growl, it crashes through the hedge. As I fall backward, I glimpse a lolling tongue, and yellow eyes stare briefly into mine; cold, murderous eyes. Frances’ scream shatters the night as the jaws clamp down upon her wrist.

“Let go! Let go!” I strike out with my bare feet, feeling the crack of bony ribs beneath a silken coat. The hound yelps but holds on fast, screaming aloud as I kick out again, hammering his head with my heels. The air fills with a confusion of hooves, screaming women, and triumphant male laughter as they lay hands upon us. As they drag me to my feet, Frances gives a loud unintelligible sound that breaks my heart.

“Please,” I beg, as my hands are wrenched behind me and roughly held. “We are nuns from Arden. My sister has done nothing. Take me, but … let Sister Frances go – she ... she doesn’t understand.”

A white dagger of agony flashes through my skull as my captor clouts me around the ear. My head rings and my vision blurs. Through a fog of pain, I realise they are hauling Frances from the ground, dragging us both rudely forward.

“Hold them,” the man on the horse orders, and their grip tightens as he slides from his saddle, hawks and spits on the ragged skirts of my habit before slowly unfurling a rope from his belt.

 The knots are tight about my wrists; my hands are numb. I cry out as the horse jolts forward and, tethered to the saddle, all we can do is follow him. Agonisingly, we retrace our route back the way we have come, through the hamlets and homesteads that earlier offered us shelter.

Our cause is lost. Our peaceful mission to bring England back to the true church has failed; doomed by the promises of a false king. In the lightening dawn, the slack-limbed, sightless bodies of those who aided us sway as we pass. The voiceless, lifeless men, women and children who dared to share our questioning of the king’s wisdom gape blindly at our passing.

 We will join them soon; our useless lives cut short, our fruitless existence ended in ignominy.

My throat grows tight. How have we come to this?

Paperback will be available on Amazon very soon. Also available on kindle

Merry Christmas Everybody!

mybook.to/sistersofarden
www.judithmarnopp.com
author.to/juditharnoppbooks

Sexuality and Its Impact on History: The British Stripped Bare

Sexuality and Its Impact on History: The British Stripped Bare

Available March 2018! 

Pre-order now!

Sexuality and Its Impact on History: the British Stripped Bare chronicles the pleasures and perils of the flesh, sharing secrets from the days of the Anglo-Saxons, medieval courtly love traditions, and Tudor escapades - including those of Anne Boleyn and Mary Queen of Scots - the Regency, and down to the 'prudish' Victorian era. This scholarly yet accessible study brings to light the myriad varieties of British sexual mores. Published by Pen&Sword Books, UK.

Chapter 1

Godiva: Lady, Legend, Legacy

Emma Haddon-Wright

Chapter 2

Rioting in the Harlot’s Embrace: Matrimony & Sanctimony in Anglo-Saxon England

Annie Whitehead

Chapter 3

The Art of Courtly Love: The Ideal and Practice of Love in the Middle Ages

Jessica Cale

Chapter 4

The Tudor Marriage Game

MaryAnne Coleman

Chapter 5 

These Bloody Days: The Relationship between Anne Boleyn & Thomas Wyatt

Judith Arnopp

Chapter 6 

The Marriages of Mary Queen of Scots

Gayle Hulme

Chapter 7

Succession, Confusion and Ramifications: Who Should Wear the Crown?

Dr. Beth Lynne

Chapter 8

Lips of Flame & Heart of Stone

The Impact of Prostitution in Victorian Britain and its Global Influence

Hunter S. Jones

My Humble Apologies and an update

I have neglected this blog badly this year, and here we are almost at the end of September. This year has not been kind to me so far and I have struggled to keep writing, let alone blog and socialise as much as I usually do. I did manage to attend Raglan Castle for their Tudor Weekend (who would miss that) where we had a fantastic time. It was great to meet readers, both old and new to my work. We did so well that I sold out on some titles. The season of book fairs began last weekend at Narberth where my books were also very successful. It was great to catch up with my fellow authors from Wales, and meet the readers once again. It was a reward for a rotten year and I am so glad I managed to keep up with is my work in progress, The King's Mother which, you will  be glad to hear, has just entered the editing stage.

Margaret Beaufort's latter years are not as dramatic as her earlier life. Established as The King's Mother, she is gratified to finally see her son, Henry Tudor, on the throne of England, and the royal nursery filling with grandchildren. However, Henry's reign is not an easy one and there are hidden dangers: his early years as king are fraught with uprisings, imposters, and the fear of possible assassins. As the years pass and one by one their enemies are vanquished, a more personal tragedy strikes. For once, Margaret finds herself powerless as slowly and inexorably, death takes those that Margaret loves best. 

It has been an uphill struggle for both Margaret and I, yet finally against all odds, the book is undergoing the first round of edits, the illustrator Kate Murray, and cover designer Cover Girl have done marvelous things with the exterior. It won't be long now until the book hits the shelves and all my fears of not making the deadline seem to have been vain.

I have also been involved in a non-fiction project with a authors, Annie Whitehead, Jessica Cale, Hunter S. Jones, Gayle Hulme, Dr Beth Lynne and Emma Hadden Wright which is to be published by Pen & Sword Books in March 2018. The book comprises of a collection of scholarly essays examining love and romance through the ages and the impact it may or may not have had on British history. I shall provide more information on this when I have it.

So, please forgive my neglect. I promise I shall strive to do better in the future. On my facebook page you will find an on going competition to come up wth ideas for the historical woman to be featured in my next book - preferably Tudor or late medieval. I shall peruse your ideas, and select my favourite. The person who comes up with the most inspiring idea will be mentioned in the dedication and receive a FREE copy of the book when it is published. So please, have a think and join us.

https://www.facebook.com/thetudorworld/

www.judithmarnopp.com

Meet Sheila Dalton, who is talking about her new historical novel, Stolen.

I was inspired to write Stolen by trips to both Morocco and Devon, England. I was born in England, and Devon is one of my favourite areas. I love the moors, the wild ponies, the whole atmosphere. I now live in Canada, but went back to Devon recently to visit a friend. While there, she took me on a tour of the pirate caves and coves. I also visited the wonderful old library in Newton Abbot, and buried my nose in many of the publications in their local history collection.

When in Morocco, I saw the underground dungeons where the Christian slaves were kept in the 17^th century. When I asked our guide who it was they imprisoned there, he looked at me pointedly and said, “You.”  He meant, of course, ‘white people like you’. This was very intriguing.

When I got home to Canada, I began researching white slavery and was excited to discover a connection between the Barbary Corsairs and the coast of England I had so recently visited. I began to think about what it might have been like to have your friends or relatives abducted and sold into slavery.

Stolen is about more than white slavery, though. The seventeenth century saw the rise of black slavery in the New World, and was also considered The Golden Age of Piracy. The era was extremely complex and interesting. Researching it was a pleasure.

I absolutely love reading historical fiction, and was nervous about trying my hand at it. Stolen isn’t my first book, but is my first historical novel. I eventually plunged in, because I couldn’t resist. Lizbet Warren, my main character, became more and more real to me, and her story unfolded in my imagination without much prompting.

Lizbet is nineteen when her parents are captured by Barbary Corsairs and carried off to the slave markets in Morocco. Desperate to help them, she sets out for London with the only other survivor of the raid, the red-haired orphan, Elinor, from the Workhouse for Abandoned and Unwanted Children. The unlikely pair are soon separated, and Lizbet is arrested for vagrancy. Rescued from a public whipping by a mysterious French privateer, Jean Vallée, she is taken to his Manor House in Dorchester, where he keeps her under lock and key. Later, Lizbet is captured at sea by the pirate Gentleman Jake, and forced to join his crew. She forms complex bonds with both her captors, but never forgets her parents and uses all her skills to enlist the aid of these men to find them. Her quest leads her to the fabled courts and harems of Morocco and the tropical paradise of Barbados.

Stolen is the story of a brave but endearingly human young woman who perseveres in the face of incredible odds to establish her place in a new world. It is also the story of friendship, the mother-daughter bond, the complexities of consent and love -- and a daring rescue.  

Available from Amazon Kindle

You can purchase your copy here if you are in the UK

Here if you are in the USA

Here if you are in Canada

For more information about Sheila and her books visit her webpage: http://www.sheila-anne-dalton.com