24 December 2020
Stories of the Tudors podcast: Queen Elizabeth I Part Three
23 December 2020
Special Guest Interview with Rebecca Kightlinger, Author of The Lady of the Cliffs, Book Two of The Bury Down Chronicles
In Book One, Megge was charged with accepting this ancient—and frightening—power as her birthright. In Book Two, when a murder, an orphan, and an old woman’s tales draw Megge to Cornwall’s cliffs, she discovers that her birthright is far different—and even more daunting—than she had feared.
What is your preferred writing routine?
When I’m writing the first draft, I clear the decks, sit down at an old kitchen table set up in my living room, and just close my eyes until a scene starts. I watch and listen, writing what I see and hear as clearly as possible. I write until the scene is complete, then I make a note of where the story has to pick up next time and call it a day. Sometimes the scenes are quite long, other times only a few pages. I do this almost every day until I think the story is done. (It is never done at this point.)
The editing routine is much different because when you write this way, letting the story take you where it will, you go down a lot of side streets that are interesting and that tell you a lot about the characters, but that lead nowhere and have to go. So editing days entail long hours squinting at scenes spread out all over the dining room table, hung on chairs, and organized in big notebooks. There’s a lot of sifting and tossing until the real story comes to light.
What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?
Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research
Bury Down, I discovered, is the site of a Neolithic hill fort and still retains the stone ruins beneath wild grass and windblown thorn trees. [History of Bury Down, written by its caretakers]
Daymer Bay (“The Sorrows Cove” in the book) also exists. It is located on the North Coast, and alongside it is Brea Hill, a cliffside hill topped by the stones of several ancient burial cairns. At the foot of the cliff is a sea cave much like the goddess cave. At the mouth of the cove is a treacherous sandbar called “Doom Bar,” said to have been cursed by a lovesick mermaid.
What was the hardest scene you remember writing?
What are you planning to write next?
About the Author
In her twenty years of medical practice as an obstetrician gynecologist, Rebecca was privileged to care for the women of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Guyana, South America. She now holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maine’s Stonecoast MFA Program and studies ancient medicine, medieval midwifery and surgery, and the manuscripts and arts of the mystical healer.A full time writer and literary critic, the award-winning author of the Bury Down Chronicles studies the history of Cornwall and travels to Cornwall to carry out on-site research for each book of the series. She and her husband and their pets live in Pennsylvania. Find out more at Rebecca's website www.burydownchronicles.com/ and follow her on Twitter @RS_Kightlinger
18 December 2020
Special Guest Interview with Oliver Webb-Carter, Editor & Co-Founder of Aspects of History
Oliver Webb-Carter
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About the Author
Oliver Webb-Carter is the Editor of Aspects History. He studied Ancient History and Classical Archaeology at the University of Warwick, and then worked as an archaeologist for the Museum of London. He co-founded Aspects of History after a career in the City of London. Find out more at and follow on Facebook and Twitter @aspectshistory16 December 2020
Special Guest Interview with Simon Fairfax, Author of A Knight and a Spy
January 1410, and King Henry IV is brought down with an unknown illness. Despite his 10 year reign the kingdom is far from secure: he is at odds with his son Prince Hal who vies for a new Council; Owen Glyndower threatens his Welsh border, whilst the Scots are ever in revolt seeking secret alliances with France.
13 December 2020
Historical Fiction Spotlight: The Templar's Garden (Maid of Gascony Book 1) by Catherine Clover
Young mystic Lady Isabelle d’Albret Courteault’s family is forced to flee the Duchy of English Gascony for a new and unforeseeable life in England. While they become established in the courts, Lady Isabelle discovers dark secrets about their chaplain and tutor. As their growing relationship places her in harm’s way, can she remain steadfast in her promises to uphold the monarchy and her faith?
Set amidst a period of grave uncertainty, this is the story of a woman learning to stand up for her beliefs in a patriarchal world - a beautifully crafted narrative of faith, love and grace.
11 December 2020
Historical Fiction Spotlight: Old Foxes (The Elizabeth of England Chronicles Book 9) Kindle Edition by G. Lawrence

10 December 2020
Book Launch Spotlight: Sleepless, by Louise Mumford
Thea is an insomniac; she hasn’t slept more than three hours a night for years.
So when an ad for a sleep trial that promises to change her life pops up on her phone, Thea knows this is her last chance at finding any kind of normal life.
Soon Thea’s sleeping for longer than she has in a decade, and awakes feeling transformed. So much so that at first she’s willing to overlook the oddities of the trial – the lack of any phone signal; the way she can’t leave her bedroom without permission; the fact that all her personal possessions are locked away, even her shoes.
But it soon becomes clear that the trial doesn’t just want to help Thea sleep. It wants to control her sleep…
'An unputdownable thriller… Absolutely brilliant read that had me on the edge of my seat!’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
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About the Author
Louise Mumford was born and lives in South Wales. From a young age she loved books and dancing, but hated having to go to sleep, convinced that she might miss out on something interesting happening in the world whilst she dozed - much to her mother's frustration! Insomnia has been a part of her life ever since. She studied English Literature at university and graduated with first class honours. In the summer of 2019 Louise experienced a once-in-a-lifetime moment: she was discovered as a new writer by her publisher at the Primadonna Festival. Everything has been a bit of a whirlwind since then. Louise lives in Cardiff with her husband and spends her time trying to get down on paper all the marvellous and frightening things that happen in her head. Find out more at Louise's website www.louisemumfordauthor.com and find her on Facebook and Twitter @louise_mumford9 December 2020
Historical Fiction Spotlight: Beneath a Starless Sky, by Tessa Harris
I can’t recommend this book enough. I wouldn’t even want to put in into a category because this for me is a book of life. One woman, brave and determined. A Perfect ending too. ~ Goodreads Reviewer.
3 December 2020
Author Interview with Thomas J. Berry, Author of Gifts of the Gods: Fire and Ash
2 December 2020
Historical Fiction Spotlight: Between Two Kings, by Olivia Longueville
Anne Boleyn is imprisoned in the Tower of London on false charges of adultery, high treason, and incest on the orders of her husband, King Henry VIII of England. Providence intervenes – she escapes her destined tragedy and leaves England. Unexpectedly, she saves King FranΓ§ois I of France, who offers her a foolhardy deal, and Anne secretly marries the French monarch.
With FranΓ§ois’ aid, she seeks vengeance against the English king and all those who betrayed her and designed her downfall in England. Henry must face the deadly intrigues of his invisible enemies, while his marital happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour, is lost and a dreadful tragedy also strikes the king. The course of English and French history hangs in the balance.
From the gloomy Tower of London to the opulent courts of England, France, and Italy, brimming with intrigue and danger – Anne Boleyn survives, becoming stronger and wiser, and fights to prove her innocence. Her hatred of Henry is inextricably woven into her existence.
30 November 2020
Historical Fiction Spotlight: Lady Sophia: a novella (Georgian Tales Book 1) by Pamela Stephen
Henry Jenkins, meanwhile, is on the loose, in pursuit of a hedonistic lifestyle. He is in the city as part of his Grand Tour after his latest misdemeanour at home. He is also in the crowd at the festival that day, accompanied by his friend James Connaught, as the pair ready themselves for the dubious delights of an evening in the company of the infamous Count Albanolo.
When the worlds of the three young people collide, their encounter will have repercussions that will follow them home and reverberate for years to come.
The novella is the first in a series of three, chronicling the lives and romantic relationships of a group of fictional characters who live in 18th century West London. It introduces us to the young lives of a number of the characters who feature in ‘Artists and Spies’ thirty years later.
About the Author
Pamela Stephen is the author of ‘Artists and Spies’, a novel about Charlotte Le Juge, stepdaughter of the celebrated 18th century artist Hyacinthe Rigaud. She was born in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom, but has spent most of her life in the East of England. Pamela Stephen lives in Lincolnshire with her husband. She retired from teaching after more than thirty years in schools and colleges. Her interests include Art History and Architecture. You can find out more at Pamela's blog and follow her on Twitter @PamStephen1320 November 2020
Historical Fiction Spotlight ~ The Shadows of Versailles: A gripping tale of seduction, loss, and revenge, by Cathie Dunn
Nine months later, when the boy she has given birth to is whisked from her grasp, she flees the convent and finds shelter at the brothel of Madame Claudette.
Jacques de Montagnac, a spy working for the Lieutenant General, investigates a spate of abducted children from the poorer quartiers of Paris when his path crosses Fleur’s. He searches for her son, but the trail leads to a dead end – and a dreadful realisation.
Her son’s suspected fate too much to bear, Fleur decides to avenge him. With the help of her new acquaintance, the Duchess de Bouillon, Fleur visits the famous midwife, La Voisin, but it’s not the woman’s skills in childbirth that Fleur seeks.
La Voisin dabbles in poisons.
Will Fleur see her plan through? Or can she save herself from a tragic fate?
Delve into The Shadows of Versailles and enter the sinister world of potions and black masses during the Affairs of the Poisons, a real series of events that stunned the court of the Sun King!
19 November 2020
Stories of the Tudors podcast: Queen Elizabeth I Part Two
17 November 2020
New Historical Fiction Anthology: Betrayal
About Betrayal
Read twelve tales by twelve accomplished writers who explore these historical yet timeless challenges from post Roman Britain to the present day.
“I read this anthology from start to finish in a matter of days.... Each story is gripping.”– Discovering Diamonds Reviews
Perfect for historical fiction readers, Betrayal spans eras from post-Roman Britain to the present day, bringing to life both legendary moments of deceit as well as imagined episodes of treachery.
Besides an extract from my new book, Drake - Tudor Corsair, there are stories by Judith Arnopp, Anna Belfrage, Cryssa Basos, Derek Birks, Helen Hollick, Amy Maroney, Alison Morton, Charlene Newcomb, Mercedes Rochelle, Elizabeth St John, and Annie Whitehead.
And the best part . . .
We'll be offering this anthology for free as a thank you to our readers, and to bring people entertainment during these difficult times. This is a great opportunity to get a taste for new authors and new periods of history.
16 November 2020
Special Guest Post by Tim Darcy Ellis, Author of The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives
When I first stumbled across the name Juan Luis Vives - quite by accident - I was just blown over. I started looking for the novel, or the film, but I couldn't find it. So I had a reason to write and a sudden sense of purpose; this man's incredible story just had to be brought into the light.
Juan Luis Vives (1492-1540) is one of those forgotten players of the Tudor narrative: a footnote to the story of Thomas More, a sometime friend of Catherine of Aragon, a tutor to Princess Mary (from 1523 to 1526). He was a foreigner, perhaps a Jew, who was considered 'subversive' by Cardinal Wolsey and during the second half of the sixteenth century, his writings were banned by the Jesuits, the theologians, the Pope and the Inquisitor General.
If you scratch beneath the surface, though, you'll find a remarkable man. He led an extraordinary life, and he contributed significantly to European social history. His books were translated into most European languages - and Arabic, some were reprinted over a hundred times (in Protestant lands) before the end of the sixteenth century.
Vives was a humanist philosopher who was the first European to write about the education of women. He considered that the education of a woman was just as important as the education of a man. He firmly believed that women's roles were not limited to producing heirs or as acting as pawns in dynastic power struggles.
Vives was born to a family of Spanish Jews in Valencia in 1492. That was, of course, the year of the decree of Alhambra, that expelled the Jews from Spain. Although his parents made a public conversion to Catholicism in 1491, within the next thirty years, the Inquisition had destroyed them and most of his extended family.
I set the scene of the book by giving an introduction to the characters that feature; only four of whom were fictional. I deliberately chose the first-person voice because I felt that Vives negotiated life with a forever bitten tongue. I wanted to give him his human voice back, and for the reader to experience his emotions. As a Spanish Jew living in self-imposed exile, Vives wrote cryptically; some have called it 'abstruse,' and I had to dig deep to find the real man.
As a former Museum of London Archaeologist, I was intimately acquainted with the areas of London that are mentioned in my book, that experience helped me to bring those scenes to life in a sensory, three dimensional way. I wanted to write about the fringes of the old city: areas like Houndsditch, just outside the city walls, where my family, the Elishas (who sneakily creep into the novel) lived, and where immigrants tended to settle.
In terms of my writing processes, my feeling is that, with historical fiction, you simply have to go there. Writing in the first person, I needed to be brave enough to become the character, if only for an hour or two, each day. It was like being a character actor. I had to allow myself to freefall until I felt that Vives was writing through me. I don't honestly know if I am doing him justice or not, but, by consistently going there, as best I could, I was able to write authentically, and I could keep his voice consistent.
I also felt that, despite the darkness of the Inquisition, that I still had to have fun in this novel, the Tudors were not all a glum lot. Tudor era novels can seem dark, speeding towards the inevitable the grisly fate of the main characters. I tried to get around that with banter, practical jokes, and, in the comfort of my own home, by whiteboarding relationships. Vives often says, 'what you can laugh at, you can rise above.'
There is a beautiful bond between Margaret Roper (the daughter of Thomas More) and Vives: one that can't ever be thoroughly enjoyed or explored. They were both married, and they understood commitment and fidelity. Still, they couldn't deny their feelings for one another. A writer has to take a stance on Anne Boleyn. Anne was so amazing, and as soon as she loses her head, as far as I am concerned, the Tudor narrative loses its pazazz, its greatest asset. I love Anne, and I was working against my admiration of, and sympathies towards her in my book. Vives, who in my novel first meets Anne in Paris (historically plausible), acknowledges her wit and intelligence, and they consider working together, but soon discover that they can't. He has tremendous loyalty to the beleaguered Catherine of Aragon.
In reality, Vives changed the stuffy pedagogy of the English universities; he encouraged the broader education of women; he also set the framework for secular care of the poor and the sick. Many of his ideas were put into action throughout protestant Europe in the later sixteenth century and beyond. Many European institutions are named after him, yet, he still fell between the cracks.
By giving Vives a voice in The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives, I hope that my novel brings the epoch-making adventures of this incredible man back to life.
Tim Darcy Ellis (BA BSc, MHSc) is a writer, physiotherapy business owner and formerly a professional archaeologist. Tim studied Archaeology at the University of York (BA Hons 1988) and as a professional archaeologist, worked on sites throughout England and Wales. He held posts at the Museum of London and the British Museum's medieval galleries. Tim is currently Managing Director and Principal Physiotherapist of Excel Physiotherapy and Wellness. He qualified as a physiotherapist at the University of East London in 1998. He moved to Sydney in 2000 where he completed his master's degree in 2002. Tim is chief writer of Excel Life magazine: writing and teaching extensively on health and wellness and specializing in the treatment of complex hip and pelvic pain. Find out more at Tim's website http://timdarcyellisauthor.com/ and follow him on Twitter @darcy_author
11 November 2020
Special Guest Post by Nicola Cornick, Author of The Forgotten Sister
Amy Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley, the childhood friend and favourite courtier of Elizabeth I, is largely famous for the way in which she died. When she fell down the stairs at Cumnor Hall in Oxfordshire on 8th September 1560, a scandal erupted over whether she had tripped, taken her own life or been murdered. Dudley, intent on clearing his name of all suspicion, might have initially thought that his wife’s death opened a path by which he might marry the Queen. However, the taint of Amy’s death was to prove fatal to his matrimonial ambitions even if Elizabeth had been prepared to accept him.
It was the mystery of Amy’s death that first caught my interest. Having read The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey at a young age, I’m fascinated by historical puzzles. The gaps in the historical record gives a novelist space for their imagination to roam. Once I started to research Amy, however, it was her life that became the focus of my book rather than her death. I wanted to find out more about Amy herself, a woman who is so often eclipsed by her husband and by the dazzling Queen Elizabeth I.
This was the basis for The Forgotten Sister, my dual time novel set in the present and in the years between 1550 and 1560. I wanted the present-day story to be a mirror of the historical one but not a precise parallel; the two timelines begin in different places but come together at the end.
Searching for evidence of Amy Robsart’s life is difficult. She is elusive. A couple of her letters are extant, from which we can deduce that she was literate and wrote a good hand, and that she was involved in the wool trade associated with the Norfolk estates she had inherited from her parents. Some mention is made in Robert Dudley’s household accounts of her expenditure on clothes. Perhaps it is as a result of this that some authors of non-fiction as well as fiction have portrayed her as being a fashionista with no other interests. A lack of evidence of her other activities can lead to a disproportionate amount of emphasis being placed on the things that we do know about.
As well as drawing on a couple of excellent books on Amy’s life, Death and the Virgin by Chris Skidmore and Amy Robsart A Life and its End by Christine Hartweg, I also read some of the earlier books about her, such as “An Enquiry into the particulars connected with the death of Amy Robsart” which was written in 1859. These were of special interest to me because as a public historian, I am as interested in the myths and legends that grow to surround a historical event or character as I am in the facts. Many Victorian writers were strongly influenced by the writing of Sir Walter Scott, who had written about Amy in his novel Kenilworth. They were not sympathetic to Robert Dudley.
One of the ways in which I found I could broaden my understanding of Amy and her background was to visit the places where she had lived. She was born in Stansfield in Norfolk which during her teenage years was in the throes of Kett’s Rebellion. With relatives on both sides of the dispute, Amy would have had an emotional understanding of the effects of political discord. East Anglia in that period was considered a wild and lawless place which was one of the reasons why Robert Dudley’s father, the Lord Protector, was keen to shore up alliances with prominent gentry such as the Robsart family.
Amy went from this relatively sequestered life to London and the royal court on her marriage to Robert. For a while she was at the pinnacle of society but it all came crashing down with the Duke of Northumberland’s failed attempt to place Jane Grey on the throne in 1553. Such extremes of fortune are always fascinating to explore and of course there was the very real prospect of Robert’s execution at this point. Amy was permitted to visit him during his incarceration in the Tower of London – what must such spousal visits have been like, one wonders.
After Robert’s release from the Tower of London, his and Amy’s stories diverge. Again I had to trace her in the places where she lived apart from him – at Throcking in Hertfordshire and then, finally at Cumnor Place in Oxfordshire, where she died. They are quiet places that must have been both isolated and isolating in the 16th century, a stark contrast to London and the court.
I visited Cumnor on a miserably grey and wet day which seemed all too appropriate. The manor house where Amy fell to her death was demolished at the start of the 19th century but a few walls remain in lonely isolation beside the churchyard. In the church is the life-size statue of Elizabeth I, said to have been commissioned by Robert Dudley in tribute to the Queen, which seems somewhat tactless in the place his first wife died. Amy’s tomb in the University Church of St Mary in Oxford has similarly been lost. All that is visible is a small plaque referring to the fact that she was buried close by.
Amy Robsart remains an elusive figure and one who’s life I would very much like to explore further. Again, as a public historian I am interested in the historical figures whose stories have not been told, including women from the footnotes of history. In some ways Amy Robsart’s afterlife has been much more significant than the mere 28 years that she lived for. Her death and the impact that it had on Robert Dudley’s life has ensured a sort of immortality for her but it is important to see her a woman in her own right and try to tease out the real person behind the myths.
Nicola Cornick
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About the Author
Nicola Cornick grew up in Yorkshire and studied History at the University of London and at Ruskin College Oxford where she was awarded a Distinction for her Maters dissertation on heroes and hero myths. She worked in academia for a number of years before becoming a full-time writer. She is the author of acclaimed dual-time mysteries as well as of award-winning historical romance. When she isn’t writing, Nicola volunteers as a guide and researcher for the National Trust at the 17th century hunting lodge Ashdown House. She has given talks and chaired panels for a number of festivals and conferences including the London Book Fair, the Historical Novel Society and the Sharjah Festival of Literature. Nicola also gives talks on public and local history topics to WIs, history societies and other interested groups. She is a former Chair of the Romantic Novelists Association and is the current RNA archivist, and a trustee of the Friends of Lydiard Park. In her spare time Nicola is a puppy walker for the Guide Dogs charity. Find out more at Nicola's website www.nicolacornick.co.uk and follow her on Twitter @NicolaCornick