Historical Fiction Spotlight: Melusine (The Heirs of Anarchy Book 2) by G. Lawrence

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

Summer 1128:  Matilda, once Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, daughter and heir to the King of England, has been married for the sake of politics to Geoffrey, heir to the Count of Anjou; an untested, untitled boy.

Through hard years of marriage, Matilda seeks to maintain her position as heir to the thrones of England and Normandy, and to be seen as a worthy successor to her father. In this time she will encounter monsters, in herself and in others, and will face darkness, deceit and danger as each step on this path takes her closer to the crown.

Melusine is Book Two in the series The Heirs of Anarchy by G. Lawrence.

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About the Author

Gemma Lawrence is an independently published author living in Cornwall in the UK. She studied literature at university says, 'I write mainly Historical Fiction, with an emphasis on the Tudor and Medieval periods and have a particular passion for women of history who inspire me'. Her first book in the Elizabeth of England Chronicles series is The Bastard Princess (The Elizabeth of England Chronicles Book 1).Gemma can be found on Twitter @TudorTweep.

Surprising Tudor Birth and Death Coincidences

King Henry VIII was born on the 28th June, 1491 at the Palace of Placentia – by chance the same day as Anna of Cleves was born in Düsseldorf.  Henry VIII died on January 28th, 1547, ninety years to the day after his father, Henry VII, was born on January 28th, 1457. This got me thinking about some of the other Tudor coincidences.

Henry’s mother, Elizabeth of York was born on the 11th February, 1466 at the Palace of Westminster – and by coincidence, also died on her birthday in 1503 at the Tower of London, after giving birth the week before, perhaps prematurely, to her eighth child – a little girl, who did not survive long.

Henry’s grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was born on the 31st May, 1443 at Bletsoe Castle, and Lady Cicily Neville, mother of Richard III, died on the same day in 1495 at Berkhamsted Castle.  

Another coincidence is the death of Charles Brandon, in Guildford on the 22 August 1545 – the anniversary of the beginning of the Tudor Dynasty, and of his father’s death at the Battle of Bosworth. (William Brandon was Henry Tudor's standard-bearer, and was thought to have been killed by King Richard III.)

I’m sure there are more, but we don’t even know the birthdays of some of the most famous Tudors, such as Anne Boleyn – if you can think of other ‘coincidences’ let me know in the comments.

Tony Riches

Book Launch Spotlight ~ The Field of Cloth of Gold, by Glenn Richardson

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

Glenn Richardson provides the first history in more than four decades of a major Tudor event: an extraordinary international gathering of Renaissance rulers unparalleled in its opulence, pageantry, controversy, and mystery.

Throughout most of the late medieval period, from 1300 to 1500, England and France were bitter enemies, often at war or on the brink of it. In 1520, in an effort to bring conflict to an end, England's monarch, Henry VIII, and Francis I of France agreed to meet, surrounded by virtually their entire political nations, at "the Field of Cloth of Gold." 

In the midst of a spectacular festival of competition and entertainment, the rival leaders hoped to secure a permanent settlement between them, as part of a European-wide "Universal Peace." 

Glenn Richardson offers a bold new appraisal of this remarkable historical event, describing the preparations and execution of the magnificent gathering, exploring its ramifications, and arguing that it was far more than the extravagant elitist theater and cynical charade it historically has been considered to be.

'This is an impressive piece of work. Its great strength is the author's use of original French material, which has enabled Richarson to reconstruct the French preparations in the same detail as the English, and to explore the cultural significance of the Field for Renaissance diplomacy. Richardson is right to conclude that it was seriously intended, and not merely a jeu d'espirit or an excuse for conspicuous consumption.' - David Loades, author of The Tudors: History of a Dynasty 

'Glenn Richardson has meticulously scoured the archives, in both French and English, to provide a sparkling new account of the Field of Cloth of Gold as an extraordinary demonstration of ostentatious rivalry. Richardson notes that there has been no new history of the Field for forty years; after his definitive, detailed and careful study, there need be no new one for many years to come.' - Suzannah Lipscomb, author of A Visitor's Companion to Tudor England

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About the Author

Dr Glenn  Richardson is Professor of Early Modern History at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. His work concentrates on monarchy as form of government, ideals of princely rule, the royal court and international political and cultural relations between monarchs. His published works include The Field of Cloth of Gold, Renaissance Monarchy: the reigns of Henry VIII, Francis I and Charles V, ‘Contending Kingdoms’ France and England, 1420-1700 (ed.) and Tudor England and its Neighbours (ed. with Susan Doran). Glenn's latest book, a biography of Thomas Wolsey, will be published later this year. Follow Glenn on Twitter @GJ1Richardson

Guest Interview with Doug J. Cooper, Author of Bump Time Meridian (Bump Time Series)

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

David “Diesel” Lagerford rides his T-box across timelines, where each stop is a parallel world with its own Diesel, wife Lilah, and daughter Rose. Its origin uncertain, the T-box is safe for any of the Diesels to use, and they do so to gather and bond in a tight brotherhood. But instant death awaits all other would-be travelers

I'm pleased to welcome science fiction author Doug J. Cooper to The Writing Desk:

Tell us about your latest book?

I write science fiction action/adventure stories where one of the central characters is an artificial intelligence. I’ve completed the four-book Crystal Series (book 1 Crystal Deception), with escapades that take us to the moon, Mars, and the asteroid belt, all led by Criss, a “good” AI who is friendly, cooperative, and moral.

I am now writing the Bump Time trilogy, a time-travel suspense series where amoral AI Ciopova wreaks havoc on the Lagerford family. I released book 1 (Bump Time Origin) in 2019 and just released book 2 (Bump Time Meridian) in May 2020. I am now deep into writing the third book (Bump Time Terminus), due out in 2021.

What is your preferred writing routine?

I am a creature of habit, so my routine is very regular. I get up early every morning and write for a few hours before I start my regular day. Sometime before noon, I find an hour to spend on social media, pleading with the world to read my books. In the late afternoon, I have a second, shorter writing session, often with a glass of wine before dinner.

I don’t outline or plan my stories beyond big picture ideas. I write the books in chapter order, developing the adventure as I go. In fact, a large part of my joy in the writing process is discovering what comes next for my characters. I honestly don’t know in advance, and just as I do when reading a book, I often laugh and sometimes cry when I learn their fate.

On top of that, I edit as I go, refining the passages I’ve written as I contemplate what comes next. The result of these habits is that my productivity is only a few hundred words a day, leaving me in awe of those who write thousands of words in a sitting. But with that said, my persistence leads to finished books. Three hundred words a day leads to a 100K word book in less than a year. I’ve done it six times and am enjoying working on book seven. 

What advice do you have for new writers?

If your goal is to attract readers to your work, pace yourself. As in the realm of music, there are some authors who are “one hit wonders.” But the reality is that most people who develop a readership have been plugging away at it for many years. So keep writing. And when you finish a piece, enjoy an afternoon basking in your success, and then sit down and start the next one. They say you need to work at something for ten thousand hours to perfect it as a skill. If you write for twenty hours per week, every week, that will take you ten years.

Also, the longer you live, the more experiences you have to draw upon to make your stories more engaging. On a forum I recently read, someone wrote, “I just turned thirty-two and want to become an author. Is it too late for me?” I released my first book at age fifty-eight and will be sixty-five when my seventh book is released. I feel my collection of experiences make my stories richer. So don’t let age be a factor in your pursuits.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

I wish I had a good answer to this because it is a persistent problem. Readers have so many choices, and finding ways to push my books above it all is difficult. The only reliable long-term method I have found is paid advertising. But advertising is so expensive, often costing me fifty cents every time a customer clicks just to look at my Amazon page, that I have not had a positive balance on my book-writing ledger for quite some time. 

Recently I’ve had success giving away Crystal Deception, book 1 of the Crystal Series, with the thought that some will enjoy it enough to continue through the series. While it seems to be a winning strategy today, the publishing landscape is constantly shifting, so I remain vigilant for the next new marketing idea.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

As an engineering professor at the University of Connecticut, I have studied such a breadth of technology issues that I can handle the science part of science fiction without further research. Interestingly, most of my discovery comes from learning the nuances of grammar, book construction, and the like from my beta readers and editor. As a kid in school, I focused on math and science, ignoring language arts because it didn’t seem useful. Now I know better, and I’m enjoying learning.

I also have spent many hours reflecting on human-machine interaction as I decide how an AI should behave as a person, how it should interact with humans, and how it should behave in society. As the influence of AI grows in our society, the topic is both interesting and relevant. 

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

Death of a beloved character is very hard.

What are you planning to write next?

I am now enjoying writing Bump Time Terminus, the third book in the Bump Time trilogy, due out in 2021. After that, I’m thinking of going back into space, but deep space this time. I won’t know until I start writing, though, and I’m looking forward to finding out. 

Doug J. Cooper

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About the Author

When he is not writing science fiction novels, Doug fills his day working as a professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Connecticut, and as founder and director of Control Station, Inc., a manufacturing plant optimization company. His passions include telling inventive tales, mentoring driven individuals, and everything sci-tech. He lives in Connecticut with his darling wife and with pictures of his son, who is off somewhere in the world creating adventures of his own. Find out more at Doug’s website  crystalseries.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter @crystalseries 

Guest Interview with Anna Chant, Author of the Quest for New England Trilogy

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

After the defeat at Hastings,

The failure of rebellions,

And the devastation of the North,

England desperately needs a new hero.

1066 is probably the most famous date in English history and we all know what happened. Duke William of Normandy invaded, defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings and brought an end to the Anglo-Saxon era. But was it really the end? Not all Anglo-Saxons were quietly amalgamated into the new Norman regime.

There were rebellions and when those proved futile, some opted for a voluntary exile. Based on what is probably a true story the Quest for New England trilogy follows a large group of exiles in their search for a new home. I say it is probably a true story as the records are scarce and riddled with inconsistencies. As an example, the leader of this group is named as the Earl of Gloucester, although as far as we know there were no earls of Gloucester pre-Conquest! But for me, this is my favourite kind of history to fictionalise, with plenty of gaps for my imagination to take over.

The story is told over three books and at the beginning in 1073 there are no plans to leave England with the characters still hoping to overthrow the Conqueror and place Edgar, the last of the Wessex line on the throne. Although the action takes place some years after 1066, that year overshadows the trilogy as the characters struggle to come to terms with the grief and bitterness of defeat. 

Siward, the leader, remains traumatised by what he witnessed on the battlefield of Hastings aged just 17, while his wife, Oswyth was orphaned that day and still grieves for the father she idolised. Other characters include a bishop driven from office, a nobleman injured at Stamford Bridge struggling with the guilt at not fighting at Hastings and a man whose entire family were wiped out in the Harrying of the North. Can they overcome the ghosts of the past to succeed in their search for a New England?

Many thanks to Tony Riches for inviting me onto his blog today. Now for a few questions!

What is your preferred writing routine?

I don’t have a particular routine, but in 2016 I made it my new year’s resolution to write or edit at least one sentence a day, which with very few exceptions I have maintained ever since. It may not sound like much, but it’s easy to get out of the habit of writing. However no matter how busy life gets it’s always possible to manage one sentence. Of course, usually once I start writing I don’t want to stop.

What advice do you have for new writers?

Just write. Don’t worry too much about whether what you’re writing is any good. Once you’ve written something you can always improve it. Also try not to worry about whether other people will like it. Write the book you want to read. I would also strongly recommend connecting with other writers, both in real life and social media. The writing community is such a supportive one, always ready to offer advice and encouragement.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

I find promoting my books very difficult, mostly using social media, particularly Twitter to get the word out. Awareness of my books has increased with each new release with more sales of my first novel, Kenneth’s Queen in an average week now than I did in the first three months after its release in 2016.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

The best discoveries are always on those links I nearly don’t click, thinking it won’t be interesting/something I knew already, but something makes me check it out anyway. The Quest for New England series is an example of this. It started with an article about medieval New England. Assuming it was going to be about Vikings in America, I nearly ignored it. By the time I finished reading it, I knew there was going to be a book. There ended up being three.

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

I struggled writing the death of Liudolph, Duke of Swabia in God’s Maidservant. Usually I quite enjoy wallowing in a good death scene, but writing it for Liudolph was hard. I think it’s because Liudolph was a character who had been born in my previous book, The Saxon Marriage. After ‘watching’ him grow up, I hated to ‘see’ him die and, as a parent myself, portraying the grief of his father was particularly daunting. Writing about the medieval period, he is not the first character I’ve written to die young but to me he is the most tragic.

What are you planning to write next?

We are currently in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and the decision I made last autumn, before the current crisis struck, was that my next book was going to be set in a pandemic – the 6th century Plague of Justinian. Writing about a pandemic while being in one has been challenging, with the fears and experiences of the characters feeling a bit too real. As a result progress has been sporadic and it’s still at the first draft stage, so that’s all I can reveal about the story for now!

Anna Chant

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About the Author

Anna Chant is a historical fiction author of nine books set in the early medieval period. Her debut novel, Kenneth’s Queen was published in 2016 and was the first of six books in the Women of the Dark Ages series, telling of the lives of the often forgotten and uncelebrated women who lived in that era. Taking inspiration from both history and legend, Anna particularly enjoys bringing to life the lesser known events and characters. When not writing, Anna enjoys walks on the moors and coastline of Devon where she lives with her husband, three sons and a rather cheeky bearded dragon. Find out more at Anna's website darkagevoices.wordpress.com and find her on Twitter @anna_chant

Special Guest Post by Linda Porter on writing Mistresses: Sex and Scandal at the court of Charles Il

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US 

Mistresses is the story of the women who shared Charles’s bed, each of whom wielded influence on both the politics and cultural life of the country. From the young king-in-exile’s first mistress and mother to his first child, Lucy Walter, to the promiscuous and ill-tempered courtier, Barbara Villiers. From Frances Teresa Stuart, ‘the prettiest girl in the world’ to history’s most famous orange-seller, ‘pretty, witty’ Nell Gwynn and to her fellow-actress, Moll Davis, who bore the last of the king’s fifteen illegitimate children. From Louise de Kéroualle, the French aristocrat – and spy for Louis XIV – to the sexually ambiguous Hortense Mancini. Here, too, is the forlorn and humiliated Queen Catherine, the Portuguese princess who was Charles’s childless queen.

Blooming Beauties

Barbara Villiers, later Mrs Roger Palmer and eventually countess of Castlemaine and duchess of Cleveland, was described in her teens as ‘that blooming beauty’. There were other, far less complimentary, judgements of her during the 1660s, when her highly public affair with Charles II was the talk of the Restoration court. Barbara is one of seven ladies featured in my book on Charles II’s mistresses and his long-suffering queen, published in April, 2020. Writing it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, as well as a revelatory one. For, like most historians and biographers who have written about the ‘Merrie Monarch’, I found that he did not improve on acquaintance.

Quite why this indulgent view of Charles II has held on for so long is hard to say. The Stuarts have never captured the public imagination in the same way as the Tudors, despite the 17th century being every bit as colourful as the 16th. Charles II and his licentious court may be the most familiar aspects of British 17th century history, with the Civil Wars which shaped politics for centuries afterwards largely forgotten, featured only as an option on some ‘A’ Level history courses. We prefer the certainties of endlessly re-visiting Henry VIII’s six wives to exploring the richness of 17th century political thought and literature, not to mention religious turmoil. Roundheads and Cavaliers have gone out of fashion.

Yet Charles II, the epitome of the tall, dark and handsome prince, is still remembered fondly. The heaving bosoms of his mistresses and the elaborate dress of his courtiers speak to our natural inclination to find such carefree hedonism attractive. The success of the series ‘Versailles’, a fictional account of the court of Charles II’s cousin, Louis XIV, illustrates that there is a tangible level of interest in the 17th century, though it doesn’t yet threaten the stranglehold of the Tudors. The goings-on at the Restoration court can certainly match Versailles for salaciousness but, despite the fact that Charles II had more mistresses than Henry VIII had wives, and they were much better-looking than Henry’s rather odd assortment of ladies, the only one most people will have heard of is history’s most famous orange-seller, the actress Nell Gwyn.

Nell and her rivals are featured in my book. I came to write it, as is so often the case, somewhat by chance. In 2016 I left the 16th century behind and published ‘Royal Renegades: the children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars.’ Unlike my previous three titles, on Mary I, Katherine Parr and Mary Queen of Scots, to my dismay it attracted very little attention, despite some readers being kind enough to say that only after reading it had they finally understood the Civil Wars. Reviewers, however, largely ignored it, perhaps because it came out in October, a month when publishers unleash their pre-Christmas offerings in great numbers. And, of course, I was generally known as a Tudor specialist, something which I had become of necessity because it was an easier route to being published. I had planned to follow ‘Royal Renegades’ with a book on the family and friends of Oliver Cromwell, which would have involved a daunting amount of research.

I worked hard on the proposal but it was deemed to be insufficiently commercial and so, having occasionally entertained thoughts of writing about Charles II’s mistresses, I decided to put that forward as an alternative topic. This was accepted and I set about the research. If I am honest, I wasn’t overly engaged with it at the outset. I believed I could do a professional job and then began to find the research enjoyable. The fruits of all of this finally saw the light of day on 16 April, 2020 and I’ve been surprised and gratified by the response. As a writer, you never really know how your work is going to be received. I was also very lucky that my book was, indeed, published on the expected date, as so many others have been postponed, sometimes into next year. It also seems to have been the kind of entertaining, slightly escapist, reading that has struck a chord during lockdown and the exceptional times in which we now live.

Charles II’s mistresses were a varied and often very clever group of ladies. Aside from their looks, they can be distinguished from Henry VIII’s wives by their ability (with one exception) to ensure their survival and protect their own interests. The Civil Wars increased the confidence of many women, even if not much had changed in terms of their legal submission to their husbands. But Charles’s mistresses were not a submissive lot. Even the hapless Lucy Walter, Charles’s mistress in his early years of exile at The Hague, tried to assert herself through her determination to use the future duke of Monmouth, Charles’s eldest illegitimate son, as a bargaining chip. She failed because of her tempestuous nature and poor judgement. Her successors in Charles’s bed before the Restoration were quieter ladies who managed their relationships with him better.

Barbara Palmer was even more passionate than Lucy and much more successful. Detested by almost everyone who knew her, Barbara was viewed by contemporaries as sexually voracious and incurably greedy. Some of the things that were said about her might shock even today’s Twitter trolls. It was all water off a duck’s back. Shame had no place in Barbara’s arsenal. Instead, she made sure that she enhanced her own status and finances, while being careful to further the interests of her five illegitimate children with Charles II, though whether her maternal tenderness went much beyond such practical considerations is open to question. In an age in which many women died in childbirth, Barbara recovered effortlessly from its perils, her striking beauty scarcely changed. Even when the king had finally tired of her tantrums, she continued to attract lovers, including John Churchill, later duke of Marlborough, the father of her youngest daughter.

I found it particularly interesting to write about one of the ladies who is less well-known, Frances Teresa Stuart. I labelled her ‘the one who got away’ because she managed to avoid actually sleeping with Charles II. For five years, during which she was viewed as an airhead by everyone at court, this pretty teenage daughter of an obscure royalist exile in France evaded the king’s clutches while having to endure almost daily sexual harassment from him. Realising that this could not go on for much longer, she took the desperate step of eloping with the king’s cousin, the duke of Richmond and Lennox and marrying him secretly at his home in Kent. Charles II was furious and Frances only returned to some degree of favour when she caught smallpox and the king took pity on her predicament.

For this perhaps reveals one of Charles II’s better points. He could be tender-hearted on occasion, though not towards the men who had signed his father’s death warrant and other convinced republicans. He had no great loyalty to his ministers but did not actually execute any of them, as Henry VIII had done. He was outraged by attacks on his wife by the charlatan Titus Oates during the furore over the imagined Popish Plot in 1678 and never considered divorcing her, despite the fact that by the end of the 1660s it was evident she could not bring a pregnancy to term. Still, I have to take issue with the person on Facebook who described him as being ‘nice to his wife.’ He generally treated her with absolutely no care for her feelings and was adamant that she had to accept Barbara Palmer as one of the ladies of her household. But at least Catherine of Braganza wasn’t sent to the block, as Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard had been.

And the apparent glamour of his court was really a sordid charade. Charles was so chronically short of money that he sold his kingdoms to Louis XIV for a handy pension, which he spent on himself. The Secret Treaty of Dover is one of the most shameful pieces of underhand diplomacy ever undertaken by a British monarch. True, he took the money but did not honour the agreement, but honour was not something Charles valued much, which gives him a lot in common with most politicians today. Charles ruled a deeply divided kingdom, or, more accurately, three deeply divided kingdoms, though during his reign he never set foot outside England. His foreign policy was a humiliation best forgotten and at home he could not treat either Catholics or Protestant dissenters fairly.

Still, for all my reservations about this best-known king of the Stuart dynasty, it’s pleasing that the 17th century as a whole is beginning to come to the attention again of a wider public. For this, we should be very grateful to three excellent writers of historical fiction. I urge everyone to read the wonderful novels of SG MacLean, whose Damian Seeker series is set in Cromwellian England, and also of Andrew Taylor, whose crime novels featuring James Marwood and Cat Lovett, give a lot of background on the political shenanigans of the Restoration period. Finally, there is newcomer Miranda Malins, whose novel ‘The Puritan Princess’ about Frances Cromwell, the Protector’s youngest daughter, is set in the little-known Cromwellian court. Each of these authors will broaden your horizons and, hopefully, inspire you also to read more non-fiction, like my own.

Linda Porter

In telling the story of Charles's mistresses, Porter skillfully interweaves the politics with the passion . . . an enlightening read. -- Tracy Borman, The Sunday Time  

The lives of these seven women make a terrific story and Porter tells it well. -- Andrew Taylor, The Times

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About the Author

Linda Porter has a B.A. and a D.Phil from the University of York. She spent nearly ten years lecturing in New York, at Fordham and City Universities among others, before returning with her American husband and daughter to England, where she embarked on a complete change of career. For more than twenty years she worked as a senior public relations practitioner in BT, introducing a ground-breaking international public relations programme during the years of BT’s international expansion. The attractions of early retirement were too good to miss and she has gone back to historical writing as well as reviewing for the BBC History Magazine, The Literary Review and History Today.. Find out more at Linda’s website http://lindaporter.net/ and follow Linda on Twitter @DrLindaPorter1

Special Guest Post by Ellen Alpsten, Author of Tsarina

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Spring 1699: Illegitimate, destitute and strikingly beautiful, Marta has survived the brutal Russian winter in her remote Baltic village. Sold by her family into household labour at the age of fifteen, Marta survives by committing a crime that will force her to go on the run.’

The Forgotten Empress

Never before has there been so much interest in female power, and female reign, be it historically, or in current politics. Literature and TV adaptations are no exception: ‘So, is it another novel about Catherine the Great?’ People asked about my epic debut ‘Tsarina’. Yet the two women bearing the same name, ruling the same country, in the same century, could hardly be more different! ‘Tsarina’ tells for the first time ever the astonishing rise of Catherine I. of Russia from illiterate and illegitimate serf girl to Empress of the world’s largest and wealthiest realm. It is also the story of the birth of modern Russia, of a rising Empire in turmoil and change, of the madness of war, the recklebrutality of absolute monarchy when nothing is as abundant and worthless as human life.

Catherine’s story had fascinated me ever since I read about her in a book called ‘Germans and Russians’, which charts the joint millennial history of those two people. I liken her to Tut-Ankh-Amun: The Tsars preceding and succeeding her had shed so much light, that she slid into the shadows of history. The research, until I dared to enter her shocking and sensuous world, drafting the opening sentence of ‘Tsarina’, was arduous, and the writing-routine stringent, as I worked as an anchor for Bloomberg TV, mostly rising at 2am.

‘My’ Catherine overcomes a fate raging against her and embarks on one of the world’s most astonishing, passionate, and lasting love-stories. Her story is as marked by surprising opposites as the Russian Soul itself: callous cruelty and overwhelming empathy; overt hostility towards all things foreign, yet selfless hospitality to strangers; freezing, interminable winters - zima –, and the summers’ balmy white nights. Yet her world of constant change and ever shifting circumstances bore many threats.

Female maltreatment was rampant and her life with the Tsar was like a river tearing her along: sink – or swim. Daisy Goodwin called ‘Tsarina’ the ‘ultimate Cinderella story’, yet Catherine pushed herself tirelessly: bearing the Tsar thirteen children, travelling all over Russia, Europe, and Central Asia, and even accompanying him into the field. Next to being passionate lovers they were great friends. She stood up to him and supported him through hardship and moments of doubt; she remained level-headed and merciful, yet ruthlessly defended what she had gained. If a contemporary observer wrote: ‘She wasn’t beautiful, but as warm as an animal,’ he spoke of her smouldering sex-appeal, as well as of her indomitable spirit. Her ascent bears testimony of the strength and the will to survive.

Yet while she managed to overcome a fate raging against her and rose far beyond the strictures imposed on her by a male-dominated society and world, the ‘good old times’ were not such for most women. People’s longing for more social cohesion and the comfort of limited horizons might explain the renewed passion for historical novels, yet for normal women those were frankly terrible days. My research made me think a lot about the female condition in the past - no education, early marriage, annual childbirth - which was a gamble of life and death - no privacy, neither horizons nor hope for any change to the better, ever. Life was marginally better for high-born women. The Petrine laws of inheritance changed this - as often, war was a harbinger of progress. If all men are in battle, women have to run the trade. If sons stay in the field, unmarried daughters ought to inherit. So, while equality brings its own challenges, I do prefer to live today. The choices we have are a tremendous luxury and a true achievement.

Interestingly enough though, when looking at Catherine’s portraits, people might struggle to see her appeal. Though this, too is a very modern message. You can succeed without adhering to any norms, let alone beauty ideals. Also, Russia is once more a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma for the Western World; What surprises us today was already present in the nation’s social make-up back then. Finally, Vladimir Putin is Russia’s quasi-absolute ruler, a country which ‘Tsarina’ observes with a foreigner’s keen eyes. So, the book – albeit being presented in a historical framework – answers to a lot of contemporary questions.

Peter the Great loved ‘turning the world upside down’: Catherine exceeded her brief, setting in motion everything that was to follow in Russia politically: a century of unprecedented female reign. She ruled a mere two, peaceful and prosperous years, a rarity in Russia. As a lasting legacy she financed Bering’s ship to find his eponymous strait.

Nobody who reads ‘Tsarina’ shall ever forget ‘my’ Catherine again. 

Ellen Alpsten

'Alpsten's colourful narrative does full justice to her extraordinary career' 
Sunday Times

'With its sprawling canvas and huge cast ... it's an entertaining romp through the endless intrigue, violence and debauchery of court life'
Mail on Sunday

'A vivid page-turner of a debut'
The Times

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About the Author

Ellen Alpsten was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands. Upon graduating from the l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, she worked as a news-anchor for Bloomberg TV London. While working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work, a nap and a run. Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint, and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three sons, and a moody fox red Labrador. Tsarina is her debut novel. Find out more at Ellen's website www.ellenalpsten.com and find her on Facebook and Twitter @EAlpsten_Author

Blog Tour Excerpt from COUNTERPOINT: Henry, the King's Cavalier (The Lydiard Chronicles) By Elizabeth St.John

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

A man may think his life is only measured by battles fought for the king. Until he meets a woman worth fighting for. Henry Wilmot. Cavalier. Seasoned soldier. Grieving widower. On the eve of battle he is sent by the king to requisition arms. What he did not expect was that the supplies were a gift from a feisty and attractive widow who was hiding her own Royalist beliefs in plain sight. Even more alarming was that his quest took him into the heart of an enemy Parliamentarian household. Will Henry survive the fight of his life? 

And will Nan remember him if he does?

Excerpt:

On the eve of the battle of Edge Hill, Henry Wilmot is in a desperate race to acquire arms on behalf of the king. He enlists the help of Allen Apsley, who leads him to his cousin.

The foolish groom just ignored me before bending and feebly pushing the guns back into a pile. He was a weed of a man, the guns near as long as him. At that rate, we would be there all night.

I nudged him with my boot. “Don’t be so bloody stupid, you whoreson. Get out of the damned way. Now.”

The fellow snatched up a gun and pointed it at me. “And you don’t be so bloody rude.” In a swift motion, Allen seized the weapon and flung it to the ground—and then burst out laughing. I was still struggling to understand why a stripling whose voice had not even broken was on a mission like this.

Allen hugged the lad, knocking off his hat. The recruit laughed with a laugh that sent heat to my gut. And shook loose a wash of auburn curls.

“Allen!”

“Nan!”

“Dear God!” I exclaimed.

She swept me a look that would have stopped the Earl of Essex dead and saved us the trouble of fighting again that month.

“Where’s my brother?” she demanded of Apsley.

“With the advance cavalry, on his way to London.” He paused. “Ned’s perfectly safe, Nan. We meet up from here and ride together.”

She nodded in my direction. “Who’s this?” 

“Henry Wilmot, at your service.” I swept my best bow. Somehow her attitude and the occasion demanded it.

“Should I know you, Mr. Wilmot?”

Again that arrogance. I just stared at her.

Apsley rushed to my rescue. “Colonel Wilmot is the king’s Commissioner General of the Horse. He leads the cavalry in his army, Nan. He is the most experienced military commander, second only to Prince Rupert.” He paused. “And more popular.”

She sniffed. “Let’s see if you can ride as well as you curse.” She turned to Apsley. “Give me a leg up, Allen. I’ll show you the shortcut across Ditchley Park. It’ll save you two hours on the track.”

This was too much. We did not need a woman slowing us down at this vital moment. “Can’t your men lead us? This is really no place for a lady.”

As Apsley cupped his hands and Lady Lee stepped up on her high horse—if it was even possible for her to climb any higher—her cloak swung open, revealing a pair of breeches and a man’s jacket, some kind of linen shirt and velvet waistcoat. None of which did anything to hide her figure nor her agility.

“Not what I had expected, Apsley,” I muttered under my breath. “Yet certainly more than I wished for.”

He grinned and quickly mounted, as did I. “Ride forward with Nan, Colonel, and I’ll bring up the rear to ensure the pack ponies don’t lag.” Cantering down the track, he left me at his cousin’s mercy.

“Shall we go?” She shot me another glance. “Or are you concerned about keeping up with a woman in unknown territory?”

She urged her horse forward, her hair streaming behind like the mane of a wild filly.

# # #

About the Author

Elizabeth St.John was brought up in England, lives in California, and spends most of her time in the 17^th Century. To inspire her writing, she has tracked down family papers and residences from Nottingham Castle, Lydiard Park, and Castle Fonmon to the Tower of London. Although the family sold a few castles and country homes along the way (it's hard to keep a good castle going these days), Elizabeth's family still occupy them - in the form of portraits, memoirs, and gardens that carry their imprint. And the occasional ghost. But that's a different story... Find out more at Elizabeth's website http://www.elizabethjstjohn.com/ and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @ElizStJohn

A page a day is a book a year #AuthorToolboxBlogHop

“You can learn only by doing.” ― Stephen King 

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

I write a book a year, and have done for the past ten years. Some people tell me they would never have the time to write a book. I suspect the truth for many is they don't have confidence in their writing skills.

Like any skill, writing a book takes time to learn. You wouldn't expect to pick up a musical instrument and play it well right away, but if you learn a new tune every day, you will soon improve. (I taught myself to play the flute with the ‘Tune a Day’ books.)

Of all the writing advice I've ever seen, the one I recommend is the only way to learn to write is to just write, every day. The typical novel has around three hundred words on a page, so if you can write just one page a day, that's a book a year.

That means making the time to sit down and write, even if you don't feel like it, until writing a page a day becomes a habit - and a skill. In a year you will write well over a hundred thousand words.

Tony Riches  

If you have more ideas on how to improve writing productivity please comment below

The #AuthorToolboxBlogHop is a monthly event on the topic of resources and learning for authors. Feel free to hop around to the various blogs and see what you learn!

Book Review: Elizabeth's Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester, by Nicola Tallis

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

The little I knew of Lettice Knollys created a picture of her as reckless, perhaps even foolish, in how she knowingly provoked the legendary fury of her friend, (and half-sister?), Queen Elizabeth, but of course, the truth is more complicated.

Lettice can be admired for her courage, risking everything for Robert Dudley, although she might have sensibly avoided travelling with such an entourage that people mistook her for the queen.

I'm also fascinated by her children, who all have amazing stories in their own right. Lettice's story could have ended in the Tower of London, but instead she outlived three husbands, her brother and sisters, and of her six children (that we can be sure of), to die on Christmas day, 1634, at the age of ninty-one.

Nicola Tallis explains she was inspired to research and write this book after visiting Lettice's tomb. Amazingly, for such an important Tudor woman, this is the first full biography of Lettice Knollys, and I think she would have been pleased to know her life is finally explored in the context it deserves. Highly recommended.  

Tony Riches

# # #

About the Author

British Historian Nicola Tallis graduated from Bath Spa University with a first class BA Hons. degree in History in 2011, and from Royal Holloway College, University of London in 2013 with an MA in Public History and her PhD from the University of Winchester. Nicola also worked as a historical researcher, most notably for Sir Ranulph Fiennes whilst he was working on his 2014 book, Agincourt: My Family, the Battle and the Fight for France. Find out more at Nicola's website http://nicolatallis.com/ and find her on Facebook and Twitter @NicolaTallis

Book Review: The Falcon’s Flight, A novel of Anne Boleyn (The Falcon's Rise Book 2) by Natalia Richards

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Anne Boleyn's life is threatened, intrigue, gossip and treachery abound, and her destiny is finally revealed.

Evocative and atmospheric, the second book in Natalia Richards' series on the life of Anne Boleyn covers her time in France. Often skimmed over by historians, understandably keen to move on to the tragedy of Anne's later life, this immersive, first person narrative places the reader firmly in Anne's shoes.   

Having quite a detailed knowledge of the events and places featured in the book, I know how inaccessible the primary sources can be - and how secondary sources are often contradictory. I was therefore pleased to see how consistently the author has followed actual events. 

I particularly enjoyed Natalia's description of the sights (and smells) of medieval Paris, and to find myself returning to the The Field of Cloth of Gold, where King Henry VIII met King François I of France, on the five-hundredth anniversary, as it took place in June 1520.

In her author's note, Natalia Richards reveals her secret was to personally visit the actual locations used in the book, and says, 'Anne's years in France honed her intelligence and wit, and she had much to offer long before she ever met King Henry.'

Highly recommended.

Tony Riches

# # #

About the Author

As a curator and historian for over 30 years, Natalia has worked in many museums in Derbyshire and later in London. She also worked free-lance for the History Channel USA as researcher, co-ordinator, and interviewer on the award-winning production 'Secrets of War.' However, her passion since a very early age has been the study of the Tudors, particularly Anne Boleyn and the court of King Henry VIII.  She did not begin writing seriously until around 2008 and originally wanted to write about Anne Boleyn at the English court. However, a great deal had already been written about this period, and Natalia began to look at her earlier life from around 1500 to 1521. The result of her research was 'The Falcon's Rise,’ set at the court of Margaret of Austria. She then followed this up with part two 'The Falcon's Flight'. This second book covers Anne's time at the French court, with Queen Claude, and ends as she is about to return to England. In her spare time, Natalia loves travelling, gardening, rambling, and visiting historic houses, as well as constantly reading and researching the Tudor period. She spends her time between Derbyshire and Chelsea, in London. Find out more at Natalia's website https://www.nataliarichards.com/ and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @nat_wieczorek

Interview with Samantha Wilcoxson, Author of Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Catherine Donohue's life was set on an unexpected course when she accepted a job at Radium Dial. The pay was great, and her co-workers became her best friends. But a secret was lurking in the greenish-grey paint that magically made things glow in the dark. When Catherine and her friends started becoming sick, this shy Catholic girl stood up to the might of the radium industry, the legal and medical communities, and townspeople who told her to be quiet. Would she be too late?

I'm pleased to welcome author Samantha Wilcoxson to The Writing Desk:

Tell us about your latest book.

My novel, Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl, was just published a few days ago. It is the story of Catherine Donohue, who worked at Radium Dial in Ottawa, Illinois during the 1920’s and 1930’s. It was during this time that those working with radium began to sicken and die, but the radium industry attempted to deny liability or even that the illnesses could be caused by radium. Catherine’s story is one of a quiet, small-town girl finding the courage and strength to stand up to the radium industry and the legal system in an effort to save herself and her friends.

What is your preferred writing routine?

Although writers are infamous night owls, I prefer to write during the day, especially first thing in the morning when my mind feels sharp. I have a small office set up in my home, but I prefer to take my laptop out on the deck when the weather is nice. Occasionally, I am able to get away for a couple of days to focus solely on writing, and it is wonderful to spend some time free of distractions.

What advice do you have for new writers?

I would advise writers to follow their passion – for writing and when it comes to what topics to write about. I was in the middle of the draft of an entirely different novel when I decided to set it aside to write Luminous. It felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders to write a story that I was truly excited about telling.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

My favorite way of spreading the word about my books is being involved in online history groups. I love discussing history, and people are much more likely to be interested in my books if they already know me. I also have regular traffic to my blog where I write about history and historic places that I have visited.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research.

While researching the town of Ottawa and Radium Dial, I was shocked to learn that companies had been legally allowed to continue exposing their employees to radium for many more years than they should have been. Although it was well-known that radium was dangerous by the end of the 1930’s, Luminous Processes (a company started by Radium Dial management) was not shut down until 1978. It made me so angry to hear how long workers were exploited, and it made me wonder what such stories continue to this day.

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

In this book, the most difficult scene occurs during Catherine’s hearing with the Illinois Industrial Commission. Her health is failing due to radium exposure and this is her chance to have Radium Dial held legally responsible. She and her husband are forced to listen to doctors testify regarding her condition. I don’t want to give away too much, but it is one of the most tragic and emotional scenes that I have written.

What are you planning to write next?

That’s a great question! I have been proven a liar on more than one occasion after responding to similar inquiries. The best I can say is that I plan to continue writing about American history, but two ideas are competing for my attention at the moment. I may even veer into the world of writing nonfiction.

Thank you, Tony, for welcoming me to your blog! I hope that your readers enjoy Luminous and that it inspires them to strive to make our world a better place in the same way that Catherine Donohue did.

Samantha Wilcoxson

# # #

About the Author

Samantha Wilcoxson is a history enthusiast and avid traveler. Her published works include the Plantagenet Embers series with novels and novellas that explore the Wars of the Roses and early Tudor era. Luminous is her first foray into 20th century American history, but she suspects that it will not be her last. Samantha enjoys exploring the personal side of historic events and creating emotive, inspiring stories. Find out more at Samantha's website samanthawilcoxson.blogspot.com and find her on Facebook and Twitter @carpe_librum

Guest Interview with Rebecca Bryn, Author of The Chainmakers' Daughter

Available  from Amazon UK and Amazon US

“Some make chains. Some wear them.” Rosie Wallace survives on three slices of bread a day. Scarred by flame and metal, she makes her life as her ancestors have: making chains for the rich chain master, 

Matthew Joshua

I'm pleased to welcome author Rebecca Bryn to The Writing Desk:

Tell us about your latest book.

I’ve just completed The Chainmakers’ Daughter; it’s historical fiction, set between 1901 and 1910, and is set (loosely) in The Black Country of England. It was inspired by a short TV article about women chainmakers who fought the chain masters for a minimum wage. I love researching the lives of ordinary people and discovering how they lived and the challenges they faced. How the past has influenced our present fascinates me.

“Some make chains. Some wear them.” Rosie Wallace survives on three slices of bread a day. Scarred by flame and metal, she makes her life as her ancestors have: making chains for the rich chain master, Matthew Joshua. There is no hope for a better future. No hope even for a green vegetable on the table. Her life will be making chains, marrying Jack, the boy she loves, and babies every year. But when an assault by the chain master’s son threatens the very fabric of her tenuous existence, Rosie finds the courage and the reason to fight for her survival and the lives of her family and neighbours. Set in the first decade of the 20th century The Chainmakers’ Daughter is a haunting portrayal of abject poverty, ever-present death, and modern day slavery.

This is a lovely review I received from a beta reader:

‘Rebecca Bryn’s The Chainmakers’ Daughter is not only the most vivid and haunting portrayal of the 20th century struggle for workers and women’s rights but it is also timely and a mirror to our own modern struggles. Bryn’s novel is to be lauded for its attention to historical detail and its sharp depiction of true and crippling poverty but it is first and foremost a love story. Rosie Wallace is a woman both out of time and very much in time. Bryn has managed to produce a heroine that is recognizable as a feminist to modern readers and yet not a unicorn to the early 1900s. The Chainmakers’ Daughter is quite simply one of the most compelling and haunting works I have read in years. Characters, vices, and even steel comes alive under Bryn’s fingers and the chain of love she creates is nothing short of miraculous.’

The Chainmakers’ Daughter is available to pre-order and will be released on June 28th 2020.

What is your preferred writing routine?

What I prefer and what actually happens are two very different things. I wake full of good intentions and determined to write a thousand words at least, and may, if I’m lucky, manage five hundred just before bedtime. Promotion of my existing books is time-consuming, social media drags me in, and then are life’s little quirks that distract – like shopping, gardening, and if desperate, housework.

With The Chainmakers’ Daughter, begun in July 2019, the writing process was at snail’s pace, barely five hundred words a week. There was a lot of research to do, some conflicting, and I couldn’t work out how to integrate the necessary politics that were an essential background to the chainmakers’ strike of 1910 into the human story of working-class people who would know nothing of the workings of government. 

I even broke off somewhere around chapter nine, and wrote a how-to book on painting watercolour seascapes while waiting for inspiration. Then Rosie had the bright idea of writing a letter to Mary Macarthur – who was a real-life union agitator and a very influential woman in the Socialist party – and the rest fell naturally into place; the remaining twenty-one chapters were written in three months, which is very fast for me.

What advice do you have for new writers?

Grow a thick skin and have faith in your characters. The thick skin is to allow you to take criticism and that ability is essential. Feedback on your work is the only way to learn what needs changing and how to improve your writing, and constructive criticism is invaluable even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time. The faith in your characters is trusting them to grow, evolve, and react to situations that drive the story – I like character-driven rather than plot-driven tales. All my stories have a beginning and an end in my mind when I begin, but the characters decide how they’ll get from one to the other. So far, they’ve managed very well with little interference from me.

Oh, and join a good writing group. Support and advice from other authors is invaluable. I don’t believe you can create in a vacuum.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

That’s the million-dollar question, and I wish I had the answer. As an indie author, I have to be all things to all people. The writers who have most success are those who write books along the lines of ‘How to Write and Market a Best Seller’. I use Facebook, Facebook groups, Twitter, Pinterest, and Wordpress to advertise and talk about my books. I do interviews whenever I get the chance and have my books on a few websites like The Independent Author Network, Goodreads, and Bookbub. Word of mouth and book fairs also play a part though I’m very bad at face-to-face promoting, being an introvert, which is the main reason I shy away from traditional publishing. I think a broad approach probably works best.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

Um… One of the weirdest things was while writing The Silence of the Stones. One of the characters decided she was into runes and rune casting. I researched runes extensively and discovered that many of the place names in my location – West Wales – may have their origins in Norse mythology. Tyr –Tiers Cross, Freya - Freystrop, and Asgard – Hasguard Cross are three. Intrigued, I began making up rune castings to suit the story. Then, on a whim, I got out some scrabble letters and did an actual casting to see what happened. The result took the story in an interesting direction, and from then on, every time I was stuck, I did real rune castings and wrote the story accordingly. It was quite a spooky process as the castings were perfect for the plot development.

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

That would have to be a scene in Touching the Wire, a story of the women of Auschwitz. It still makes me cry as did researching it. The scene is copied below:

The woman gathered herself for a huge effort. She gripped Miriam’s hands and pushed, and a small body slithered onto the table.

Miriam’s face shone. ‘A girl, Darja. God has given you a little girl.’

He clipped the cord and cut it and then wrapped the baby in a clean rag. Gently, he put his thumb and forefinger over the baby’s nose and his palm over its mouth. Tiny fingers curled around his thumb.

‘What are you doing?’ Miriam swept his hand aside. ‘What are you doing, you monster?’

The woman levered herself up on one elbow. ‘Moy dzіtzya. Dzye moy dzіtzya?’

He glared at Miriam and replaced his thumb and forefinger before the child could take its first breath. ‘You think I take pleasure in this?’ If it took a breath… ‘It must be done.’ The grip of the tiny fingers loosened; the little body went still and limp. He felt for a pulse: nothing. He lifted the child and gave her to her mother. ‘I’m sorry. Your baby’s stillborn.’

Darja’s face shone, but then her eyes widened in understanding. ‘Nye, nye…’ She rocked backwards and forwards holding her baby to her cheek.

‘She must go back to her bunk. No one must know of this.’ He gripped Miriam’s arm. ‘No one. I’ll bury the child myself.’

Miriam helped Darja back to her bunk. Both were sobbing. He carried the small bundle outside. The rats would not have her. He fetched a shovel, left by workers digging out the latrines, and laid the baby in a shallow grave against the back wall of the infirmary. ‘I’m sorry, little one.’ He crossed himself. ‘Father, forgive me.’

A train whistle split the night. Blinding lights flashed on at the sidings. A movement at his side startled him.

‘Why?’ Miriam’s voice was angry, uncompromising.

He wiped away tears with a bloodied hand. ‘Do you realise what would have happened if I’d let the child live?’

Miriam stared at the grave. ‘They’d have sent them to the family camp with the rest of the mothers and children and the old people. I could have sent a message with Darja for my sister.’

He stared at her. ‘But you must know…’

‘Someone could have translated a message. I haven’t seen my baby since we arrived. I want her to know I love her.’ She rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes. ‘We are taught that all men are good at their core. I thought you were a good man, but you’re evil.’

Was she right? Was this a lesser evil, or had he become a monster after their image? She had to be told: the truth must be reported by those who survived. ‘Miriam, mother and child would have been thrown alive into the ovens. This way, Darja will live.’

She stared at him, mouth open. ‘No one would do such a thing.’

‘You think not? Why do you suppose I told you to leave your baby? To say you were well? Resisting in every little way I know is all that keeps me sane and, sometimes, all that keeps us alive. I need you to believe, to help me resist.’ He jabbed a finger at the drab group that had arrived on the late-night transport. ‘Where do you think they are going?’

The lights on the guard towers picked out pale faces making anxious procession along the railway tracks and along the road between the barbed-wire fences. Old men walked with backs bowed and beards jutting forward. Women of all ages, heads covered against the wind, carried babies swaddled in blankets. Children, who should have been asleep in their beds, trotted at their sides carrying cherished toys, or chamber pots, or still smaller children. Behind them, the slow, the lame, and the sick were helped by friends and family, and behind them, driving them on with dogs, whips, and curses, came the guards.

She looked from the grave to the straggle of humanity and back to him. ‘To the family camp. I could ask one of them to take a message.’

The file of people reached the far junction and turned to the left. He put a hand on her bony shoulder and caught at a breath. ‘Miriam, there is no one to take a message to.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘There is no family camp, or only for the Roma and the Jews from the ghetto at Theresienstadt. And I heard the order for the Jews was SB – six months.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘It means the Theresienstadt camp is a sham, a model ghetto to fool the International Red Cross. There’s a visit due soon. That’s why they get better treatment. They’ll all be dead in six months.’ His hands made a helpless gesture. ‘You must have heard about the chimneys – the gas chambers. I know you don’t want to believe it, but it’s true.’

She stared at the smoke that hung over the camp, blotting out the stars. ‘But the Red Cross truck is going there now, look.’

‘It carries the Zyklon B canisters – the gas.’

‘Gas? Gas chambers. The chimneys. But you said… No, no! Efah, Grandmother, my little Mary. Oh, God, no.’

‘I’m sorry, Miriam. I’m so sorry.’ He held her as she cried. He had no tears left.

‘And Father?’ Her eyes pleaded for something to hope for.

‘He may be in Buna-Monowitz or at one of the other factories or sub-camps. It may be possible to find out.’

The hope that lit her eyes faded as she watched the people who walked the road to the chimneys beneath the lights of the towers and the watchful eyes at the guard posts.

How many tramped past in the night? Three thousand? More? The chimneys that had belched flame all day smoked blackly. By morning, the uneconomic to feed, the old, the sick, the lame, the anxious mothers, and the little children would be gone: ash to float on the air, to fertilise the fields, and make the paths upon which they all walked. Ash to leach into the waters of the Vistula, fat to make the soap.

‘Mama, Mama,’ a little boy cried as he looked back for something he’d let fall. Mama. Mama. Sometimes, they said, the Nazis used too little gas, and it didn’t quite kill them. Sometimes, they said, the cries could be heard from the flames.

He turned away and vomited. When he looked back, all that was left of their passing was a child’s toy.

***

Yes, it still makes me cry. I think it must have affected the judges too, because the book won the IAN Book of the Year prize 2019 and a Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal 2019. The research was harrowing, I often had to walk away and try to come to terms with the horror of what I was discovering. The book was written over a number of years, had four different titles, and even more versions. It took a long while and a lot of harsh but honest feedback, some from agents, to get it right. 

When it was finished, I took quite a while to pluck up my courage to press publish – it’s a controversial and highly emotive subject, and I was terrified of not doing the victims of the Holocaust justice. In the end, I trusted my characters. They demanded to have their story told, because it’s the story of all the women of the Holocaust. I’ve had two messages from survivors of the camp who thanked me for writing their story. One said ‘After seventy years, I can at last begin to contemplate forgiveness.’ That one letter has made my whole writing career worthwhile.

What are you planning to write next?

I’m not sure. I have an idea for a horror/mystery, for a change, a loose collection of short stories, called Th1rte3n, or a rewrite of a book I wrote some years ago, called The Thief of Freedom, which is also a mystery. I liked the story but it wasn’t very well written, and I think I can improve on it. I’ve learnt a lot since then. – all that valuable feedback and growing a thick skin… and having great support from fellow authors.

Rebecca Bryn

# # #

About the Author

Rebecca Bryn lives near Britain's smallest city, St Davids, in the far west of Wales with her rescue dog, rescue husband and twenty very sheepish sheep. She says, 'I write fiction under the name of Rebecca Bryn, chosen because I always wanted to call a daughter Rebecca, but had two sons, though I now have a granddaughter Rebecca. And Bryn because I’ve lived in two Pembrokeshire cottages with Bryn in their name. Until recently, I lived near St Davids, but have downsized to a village closer to Newgale, one of my favourite beachesAs I write, my husband and I are in partial lockdown because of the Coronavirus, and I haven’t seen the sea for eleven weeks – I miss it so much. Having been born in the Midlands, as far as you can get from the sea in England, the beaches have never lost their magnetism for me. Also, my little rescue dog loves the beach, and that’s a good enough reason to walk along the shoreline. It’s where I do some of my best creative thinking. I write mainly historical fiction, though I’ve strayed into mystery and post-apocalyptic, and some of my historical novels are inspired by a murky family history – murderers, prostitutes, and thieves, or as my mother once called them, ‘loose-knickered, murdering thieves’. They obviously had little respect for the law, and some, apparently, were violent alcoholics, so I wonder where my law-abiding genes come from? Anyway, they inspired great characters for my tales.'  Find out more at Rebecca's website https://rebeccabrynblog.wordpress.com/ and find her on Twitter @RebeccaBryn1

Books by Rebecca Bryn:

Historical fiction

http://mybook.to/TouchingtheWire – the women and children of Auschwitz and a man who tied to save them. – ‘Outstanding storytelling.’

http://mybook.to/DandelionClock – war changes everything. Lovers torn apart by WW1. Can their love survive the horrors of war? – ‘Totally compelling and unmissable.’

For Their Country’s Good series – three young poachers are convicted of killing a gamekeeper and exiled to Van Diemen’s Land. Ella is the girl who wouldn’t be left behind. – ‘Truly exceptional trilogy from one of the finest writers of our time.’

http://mybook.to/OnDifferentShores

http://mybook.to/BeneathStrangeStars

http://mybook.to/OnCommonGround

and the box set of For Their Country’s Good

http://mybook.to/FTCGboxset

http://mybook.to/KindredandAffinity – When the man you love marries the sister you hate. Annie Underwood lets faith and family bigotry get in the way of love, and lets Edwin go to prevent escalating their families’ war and to save his heart. She is distraught when she loses him to her estranged sister who has no such qualms. ‘Gritty and realistic.’ 

Mystery

http://mybook.to/SilenceoftheStones – Can Alana discover the secret written in the stones before her daughter is sacrificed by an eccentric old lady? Perjury, wrongful imprisonment, and a tissue of lies. – ‘Beautifully choreographed tale of murder, deceit, and redemption.’

Post-apocalyptic

http://getbook.at/WhereHopeDares – When a young healer is kidnapped to fulfil an ancient prophecy, her husband heads into peril to rescue her and discovers that prophecy can be dangerous. ‘Holy cow!! – What an amazing book.’

Non-fiction by Ruth Coulson

http://mybook.to/WatercolourSeascapes – a how-to book with six detailed step-by-step demonstrations to paint seascapes in watercolour. Tackles the difficult subject of using masking fluid. ‘A lovely book.’

Website: www.rebeccabrynblog.wordpress.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rebecca.bryn.novels

Twitter: www.twitter.com/rebeccabryn1

IAN: www.independentauthornetwork.com/rebecca-bryn

Amazon: http://author.to/RebeccaBryn

Thank you for reading, and if you pick up one of my books, I’d love to know what you think of it – thick skin and all that.