Book Review: The Forbidden Queen by Anne O’Brien

Isn’t it great when you suddenly discover a fascinating historical figure you really know nothing about? It doesn’t happen very often, so when it does it’s quite special – and often unexpected. My current WIP is set during the time of Katherine of Valois (the ‘forbidden queen’ of Anne O’Brien’s latest novel), so I’m very familiar with her story. No, the big surprise was her hero, the impressive Owen Tudor, (or Owain ap Maredudd ap Tewdwr as he would have preferred to be called) who of course gave his name to the Tudor dynasty. (There is a theory that the name ‘Tudor’ was actually a typo made by an English scribe who didn’t know any better. We will never know if that is true, although I did read that Henry VIII never described himself as a ‘Tudor’).

The awful way King Henry V treated his new wife has been well documented but there was great secrecy about Katherine’s relationship with Owen Tudor. This makes it all the more interesting, as we do have to ‘fill in the gaps’. Anne O’Brien’s relaxed style does this sensitively and convincingly through the eyes of Queen Katherine. Tricked by Duke Humphrey of Gloucester into a life of widowhood, she slowly becomes aware of the real man behind the role of ‘Master of the Household’. (His real title may have even been ‘clerk of the wardrobe’!)

There is a fascinating postscript at the end of the book where Anne discusses her inspiration for writing it. She says “I decided that Katherine deserves a re-evaluation. I hope I have done her justice in writing The Forbidden Queen, allowing us to see the woman behind the façade.”  Anne has certainly achieved that and more. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to understand what life may have been like for this remarkable woman.

Preview The Forbidden Queen on Amazon US and Amazon UK

Visit Anne O'Brien's website http://www.anneobrienbooks.com/

Book Launch - Faust 2.0 by Michael Brookes

The Internet witnesses the emergence of a new entity:  Is it the rebirth of an ancient evil in a new realm? Or something more dangerous?

A sexy looking avatar is granting wishes for people across the Internet. But nothing is ever truly free and for those accepting the gifts a terrible price must be paid. 

Sarah Mitchell must learn the truth of this creature and stop it while it can still be stopped. She must also find out why a mysterious lawyer is present at every step.

Faust 2.0 is the first book in the new Mitchell & Morton series.

Available now on Kindle:  Amazon (UK)  and Amazon (US) 

Join the Faust 2.0 Facebook page  and follow Michael Brookes on Twitter

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Michael Brookes is an Executive Producer with a leading UK games developer. Working in games and writing are two of his life passions and her considers himself fortunate to be able to indulge them both. He lives in the east of England, enjoying starry skies in the flattest part of the country. When not working or writing he can sometimes be found sleeping. Which is good as that is where many good ideas come from.

Special Guest Post - Priceless: The Author-Reader Bond by Barbara Kyle

Most of us vividly recall a book that touched our lives, whether as young adults or at a crucial moment later in our life. The moment makes us feel a special kinship with the author. It's a meeting of minds, even of souls. It's a bond, and a potent one. 

Any author will tell you it's a happy day when a reader gets in touch to say how much the author's book has meant to them. Sometimes the message is moving, like the Yarmouth museum curator who told me The Queen's Lady helped him as he mourned the death of his father.

Sometimes the message brings a laugh, like the lady who cheerfully told me she got The Queen's Captive out of the library because she remembered having loved a similar book, and then realized, as she was enjoying The Queen's Captive, that this was the very book she'd read and loved!

Here are three readers whose messages to me were very special:

The Colonel

Some years ago I was in England researching The Queen’s Lady and spent a day exploring Hever Castle in Kent. This was the home of the Boleyn family, and Henry VIII came here to court Anne. That tempestuous affair changed the course of England’s history.

As I strolled the grounds in a happy haze of imagination, I picked up an acorn. What a lovely feeling to hold in my hand something living from the so-called "dead" past. I squirreled the acorn away in my pocket and brought it home to Canada, and it sat on my desk beside my computer, a sweet reminder of its place of birth as I wrote The Queen’s Lady. The acorn was still on my desk when I wrote The King’s Daughter. It had become a touchstone that spirited me back to the Tudor world. I was very fond of it.

Then my husband and I moved, and in the shuffle the little acorn got lost.

A few months later I got a cheery email from a reader telling me he was on his way to England for an Anne Boleyn Tour during which he’d be staying at Hever Castle. There would be dinners in the Great Hall where Henry and Anne ate, plus lectures, plays, and demonstrations – “A once in a lifetime experience,” he said. I replied to wish him a happy trip and told him about my acorn. He is a retired air force colonel and lives in Tennessee.

Four weeks later a small package arrived in my mailbox. It was from the Colonel. Inside was a note: “I looked for an acorn to replace the one you lost but couldn’t find one. I did get you this.” Nestled under the note was a pine cone. He had scoured the Hever grounds for it. “It’s from the area where Henry courted Anne, according to the castle staff,” wrote the Colonel.

I was so touched. The pine cone has had pride of place on my desk beside my computer while I've written three more “Thornleigh” books. Thank you, Colonel, for what you gave me. A once in a lifetime experience.


The Embroiderer

A music educator in Ontario recently emailed me with praise about my books and told me she was part of a sewing club of about three dozen ladies who get together at a shop with the delightful name The Enchanted Needle. She said they were working on Tudor period sewing techniques, and she attached images of historic Tudor-era embroidery. Now, I know little about sewing, but I know beauty when I see it, and these works were stunning.

As she waxed lyrical about bygone sewing techniques like "stumpwork" and "Assisi," "blackwork" and "bargello," "cross-stitching" and "the morphing power of color," I could only, in ignorance, try to keep up, but when she said my books inspired her in this Tudor-era needlework I was moved again by how glorious and various are the connections between author and reader.


The Boy

That's what I'll call him, the gangly pale-faced kid who showed up at a public reading I did from The Queen's Gamble and listened so intensely. He looked about fourteen, the only person there who was so young. After the reading I saw him at the edge of the knot of people I was chatting with. The others all asked lively questions, but he said nothing. He looked like he wanted to, but he never took a step nearer. When I finished talking to the people, I noticed the boy was gone.

About a week later I found in my mailbox a package: a slender book and a note. The writer of the note said he'd been at the reading, and was a high school student who loved history, and he hoped to one day be a history teacher. My novels were his favorites, he said. The book he'd enclosed was The Bloody Tower by Valerie Wilding, a young adult novel in the form of a Tudor girl's diary. It had meant a lot to him when he was younger, he said, so he wanted to share it with me.

There, now I've shared it with you. That's what the writer-reader bond is. We share what moves us. And that connection is what makes the writer's work a joy.

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Barbara Kyle is the author of the acclaimed “Thornleigh” novels Blood Between Queens, The Queen’s Gamble, The Queen’s Captive, The King’s Daughter and The Queen’s Lady, which follow a rising middle-class family through three tumultuous Tudor reigns, and of contemporary thrillers including Entrapped, a B.R.A.G Medallion winner. Over 400,000 copies of her books have been sold in seven countries. In July 2013 Barbara will be a speaker at Ontario's Stratford Festival with her talk about royal cousins Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots who feature in Blood Between Queens.  Barbara has taught writers at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies and is known for her dynamic workshops for many writers organizations and conferences. Before becoming an author Barbara enjoyed a twenty-year acting career in television, film, and stage productions in Canada and the U.S. 

Visit www.barbarakyle.com and @BKyleAuthor on twitter

Following her perilous fall from a throne she’d scarcely owned to begin with, Mary, Queen of Scots, has fled to England, hoping her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, will grant her asylum. But now Mary has her sights on the English crown, and Elizabeth enlists her most trusted subjects to protect it.

Justine Thornleigh is delighting in the thrill of Queen Elizabeth’s visit to her family’s estate when the festivities are cut short by Mary’s arrival. To Justine’s surprise, the Thornleighs appoint her to serve as a spy in Mary’s court. But bearing the guise of a lady-in-waiting is not Justine’s only secret. The weight of her task is doubled by fears of revealing to her fiancé that she is in truth the daughter of his family’s greatest enemy.

Duty-bound, Justine must sacrifice love as she navigates a deadly labyrinth of betrayal that could lead to the end of Elizabeth’s fledgling reign.  

Preview Blood Between Queens, Barbara Kyle's latest novel on Amazon US and Amazon UK

Indie Publishers: Promote Your Books on Google Books

Google Books allows publishers and authors to submit their books for inclusion in Google’s search results. This helps readers discover your books, matching the content with user searches and connecting your books with the users who are most interested in buying them. There is no cost and, as well as increasing awareness of your books, it's a great way to tap directly into Google’s worldwide user base and increase qualified traffic to your website. Google Books previews also appear on book-related sites like online retailers and social book networks. 

Have a look HERE to see the Google Books Store, which has the top five paid and free books, as well as book recommendations and books organised by category. Each book includes an 'About this book' page with basic information but where it gets interesting is when the publisher has added all kinds of relevant information, such as a preview, book reviews, web references, maps, key terms and phrases or even a list of related books. For every book, you'll also see links directing you to bookstores where you can buy the book. If the book is out of copyright or the publisher made the book fully viewable, you can view any page and if the book is in the public domain, you can download, save and print a PDF version.

The Google Books Partner Programme

I always assumed all this was for the big publishers but you can simply sign up as a Google Books Partner HERE.  Once your account has been created, you can provide hyperlinks to where ebooks are available, upload pdf versions or even send paperbacks to Google in the mail.  Although Google Books has been around since 2008 the pdf upload is quite 'clunky' and still in ‘beta’ but worked OK for me. (It took a couple of attempts, as there are strict file naming rules and you upload the content, front and back covers as separate files.)  

Customising Your Book Information   

It takes a week or so for Google to ‘process’ your books then you will have access to Google Preview  code that enables you to embed previews of your books on your own website. Visitors to your site are then able to browse and search within your books on each book’s product page. (See example of 'The Shell' on my blog sidebar.)

Managing Your Books on Google

There is a well thought out and easy to use page where you can add or update your book files, add and manage links and produce reports on activity:

The way I see it, anything you can do to help readers find your books has to be good – particularly if it’s free. It takes a while for your books to be 'processed', so the sooner you start the quicker you’ll get results. Have a go - and let me know how you get on.

Tony Riches

Blog Tour - White Swans: The New Girl in Town by Annamaria Bazzi

One important question that is always wanting an answer from readers is: has your own life influenced the subjects you write about?

Readers need to understand that writing is always an extension of the author, who he is—his experiences, influences from society, family upbringing, the peer pressures endured as a teen… and much more. The author’s personality is also a factor in his writing. When did my passion for writing start? It started when I learned to write back in Sicily, Italy. I suppose you need to understand how I ended up in Italy. Simple, my father kidnapped his three children and brought them to Sciacca, Sicily where he was born and raised, where his family lived.

I grew up there for six years, enjoying the company of all my cousins, and I have quite a few since my father was one of eight siblings. My cousins always turned to me to invent exciting games, filled with great adventures. When I learned to write, I found great pleasure in writing down many of the ideas that floated through my kiddy brain. They usually involved fairies and magical beings because, even at the age of eight, all things magical had fascinated me. Since I had no magic, it was fun to daydream about it. These pieces always ended up as part of my homework, and my fourth grade teacher felt obligated to show my writings to my father.

Well, six year later, after I had adjusted to life in a new world, my mother kidnapped my sister and me and brought us back to the states, where once again, I had major adjustments to make. But each time this happened, I saw life as an adventure to be enjoyed and to participate in it fully.

The new world theme is in practically all my writings. It’s a part of me I can’t let go. So, I let my heroes experience the wonders and tribulations of finding themselves in strange new worlds, where they need to learn to adjust to survive. It’s an expression of my life.

My adventures into untested territories continue well into my life. As a strict Roman Catholic I married a Lebanese Moslem—this adventure is still going as I raise four daughters. Moving to Virginia with my job was a completely different type of adventure and discovery—all the nuances of southern living. Yes, folks, I’m a northerner from the Midwest—Michigan.

The sense of adventure still lives in me, and I release it through my short stories and novels, and that’s why Jillian, The New Girl in Town, finds herself in a new world after wishing upon a star. However, this new world is not without perils to her existence.

White Swans is a fantasy series for young adults comprised of short stories. Why short stories you ask? My youngest daughter swears she doesn’t read because novels are just too long. Some of her friends feel the same. I wondered how many young teens use this as an excuse not to read. The thought process led me to create the short story series also perfect for very busy adults who would like to read, but don’t have the time.

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Although born in the United States, Annamaria Bazzi spent a great deal of her childhood in Sicily, Italy, in a town called Sciacca. Italian was the language spoken at home. Therefore, she had no problems when she found herself growing up in a strange country. Upon returning to the states, she promised herself she would speak without an accent. She attended Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Computers with a minor in Spanish. Annamaria spent twenty years programming systems for large corporations. During those years, she raised four daughters and one husband. Annamaria lives in Richmond Virginia with her small family where she now dedicates a good part of her day writing.

White Swans: A Regency Era

which is book of the series:

 Preview on Amazon

Visit Annamaria at her blog http://annamariabazzi.com 

find her on facebook and follow her on twitter

Preview White Swans:
The New Girl in Town
on Amazon

Kipling’s secret to good writing: "I Keep Six Honest Serving Men ..."

I keep six honest serving-men

(They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who.

I send them over land and sea,

I send them east and west;

But after they have worked for me,

I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,

For I am busy then,

As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,

For they are hungry men.

But different folk have different views;

I know a person small—

She keeps ten million serving-men,

Who get no rest at all!

She sends'em abroad on her own affairs,

From the second she opens her eyes—

One million Hows, two million Wheres,

And seven million Whys!

Rudyard Kipling 1902

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Rudyard Kipling
by John Collier 1891

British poet and novelist Joseph Rudyard Kipling became one of the most popular writers of his day.  To me, his greatest gift to me was to remind us, when we are writing, to remember his 'six honest serving men.'

Whether it is a novel or a short piece for the local paper, writers do well to answer what and why and when and how and where and who?

(See Changing minds for more)

The poet T.S. Eliot once wrote that Rudyard Kipling has:

“An immense gift for using words, an amazing curiosity and power of observation with his mind and with all his senses, the mask of the entertainer, and beyond that a queer gift of second sight, of transmitting messages from elsewhere, a gift so disconcerting when we are made aware of it that thenceforth we are never sure when it is not present.”

Special Guest Post - Behind the Rainbow, the tragic life of Eva Cassidy by Johan Bakker

Returning home from my holidays in 2001 I found an envelope on the doormat containing a CD and a letter requesting I review it. Looking at Songbird’s brown cover design framing a photograph that was unintentionally out of focus, my expectations were far from high. But as soon as Eva Cassidy started to sing the opening lines of ‘Fields Of Gold’ I was nailed to the ground. This unknown singer enchanted me for 45 minutes until the closing notes of the final song ‘Over The Rainbow’.

The letter told me that Eva had died at the tragically young age of 33 in 1996. Listening to the album a second time it was not only Eva’s voice that struck me, but her song selection as well. All possible scepticism disappeared immediately when Eva sang: ‘I’m going there to meet my Father, in that bright land of which I go’. Her interpretation of the lines: ‘The dreams that you dare to dream really do come true’ convinced me of the fact that Eva believed them. From that moment on I needed to know more about this remarkable woman.

Eva Cassidy’s albums were distributed in my native country the Netherlands by the same label that provided Katie Melua with a home. After the release of The Katie Melua Collection in 2008 I was given the chance to interview the Irish-British-Armenian singer in Grand Hotel Amrath in Amsterdam: “I grew up in a time of hip-hop and R&B,” Katie told me, “The show-element, the slick presentation and the uniformity of these musical styles began to pall on me. Then I discovered the amateur-like filmed performance of Eva Cassidy. The pictures were static and sometimes even colourless, but Eva and her band did exactly what they had to do – perform beautiful, often vulnerable songs. Eva didn’t care about the glitter and the glamour of a musician’s life, but she sang so convincingly that she gave all other singers the go-by. When I heard her sing I knew that this was what I wanted.”

After the interview with Katie Melua I spoke to Daniëlle and Alice of Dramatico about the surprising notion that so many people were fascinated by the voice of Eva Cassidy, and yet we knew so little about her. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to write a book? The A&R agents agreed that this might be interesting, especially since the bottom of Eva’s song reservoir was coming into sight. A biography would certainly keep the flame alive. We agreed that I would look into anything that could be found about Eva’s life and that I would inform them about my progress.

The Cassidy Family produced their own authorised book. Songbird gave the impression that family, friends and band members commemorated Eva Cassidy seemingly in harmony with one another. Many urgent questions remain unanswered, though. Why did a singer of her caliber remain unknown for such a long time? Why was she so popular in the UK and other European countries, while Americans passed her by with indifference? What about the visual art that she created, has it been displayed in a museum? Did she compose songs herself? Why did she still live with her parents at the age of 33? Could it have been possible to prevent her early death from the effects of skin cancer? Why did she sing so many gospel songs? High time to start my own investigation!

The two most important people in Eva’s life were producer, band member and friend Chris Biondo and her mother Barbara. “It’s as if I lived in one house with Picasso without realising it,” said Biondo about Eva Cassidy. After the release of Eva’s albums Songbird (1998), Time after Time (2000) and American Tune (2003) he made several journeys to Europe, where he was interviewed on radio and television. Yes, he is Eva Cassidy’s ambassador. “It’s as if I have to protect her from the evil outside world,” Chris explained. “Eva was a vulnerable person during her life. She is no longer with us and suddenly she has reached stardom and that is something that doesn’t bring back the best in other people.” Chris revealed that the stay-behinds treat each other in a less harmonic way than the Songbird book suggested.

I discovered a website about Eva’s art owned by Eva’s sister Margret and half-sister Anette. It was possible to order replicas of paintings, drawings and beads that Eva created on their site. In an email I introduced my investigation into the life and work of Eva Cassidy, and that I would like to contact people who had known Eva personally. This email hit target. Hugh Cassidy, Eva’s father himself, replied. We started an interesting email exchange – the queries and answers flew back and forth. Hugh answered dozens of emails in a rather candid manner. Barbara, who was born in Germany and experienced World War II there, wrote personal letters about that dark period.

A few months later Eva’s brother Dan Cassidy wrote, completely out of the blue, that he would like to meet me. We found a suitable date: 23rd November 2009. Thanks to Dan’s mediation, I managed to organize a personal meeting with Hugh and Barbara Cassidy. Dan was staying at his parents’ home and he invited me to visit him there, so that he could show me where Eva grew up. A journey like that needed to be prepared in advance, and I arranged meetings with as many of the characters in this story as possible: friends, relatives and band members.

In the summer of 2010 I started writing my Dutch biography. A friend suggested to publish an English edition as well. When I finished my book I sent an email to the largest publisher of music related books in the world Omnibus Press. Senior editor Chris Charlesworth responded within thirty seconds:

“I am very familiar with Eva Cassidy, her music and her short life. Music Sales, Omnibus Press’ parent company, publishes her songbooks, that is songbooks containing the music for the songs she recorded (even though they were written by others) with the pictures from her CDs on the front covers, licensed through her estate which is controlled by her family. I am aware of the difficult relationship between her family and the musicians she worked with, and the probable reasons for this. I would certainly like to see your book with a view to obtain English language rights.”

February 2012 my Eva Cassidy biography Behind the Rainbow was published. I focused on Eva’s artistic life (music and visual art), her friendships and her spiritual views.  Any interview with a member of Eva’s close friends or family began with a question about her stature as a singer. But very quickly the tone changed to one of frustration over everything that has occurred since Eva’s death. In the aftermath of her all too short life came recognition. Here was an unknown artist and gifted singer finally receiving the acknowledgement she deserved when she was alive.

Chris Biondo and Eva’s mother Barbara would get together every year at The Steamboat Landing, Eva’s favourite restaurant in Annapolis, to celebrate her life. Everyone felt good about discovering jewel after jewel in the tapes of Larry Melton, Lenny Williams and Biondo. Finally Eva’s unique voice would be heard by the whole world. But those celebrations didn’t last. The life of Eva Cassidy has become a study in contrasts: unchecked admiration for a unique talent against a sad and rather shocking soap-opera that has seen former friends become bitter enemies. Maybe Eva, knowing who she was dealing with, foresaw this when she hesitated to sign a record contract. She was often heard to say, “When it comes to money, people show their true colours.” 

Is Chris Biondo right in asserting that Eva was the best singer in the world? Yes and no. There have been more mature jazz singers than Eva, purer folk singers, more convincing gospel singers and tighter R&B singers, but no one singer mastered all these genres as well as Eva Cassidy. It’s about time that those concerned decided to bury the hatchet. 

In May 2012 Behind the Rainbow won the People’s Book Prize, a British competition aimed at finding, supporting and promoting new works. Becoming a finalist of this prize was more than I’d expected. Winning it was simply beyond my imagination. Behind the Rainbow was written as a tribute to a woman who conquered misery by creating beauty. I hope that reading this biography will help people to understand and to appreciate Eva’s music. It’s about time that the world will honour Eva Cassidy as one of the most versatile, authentic and gifted singers the world has ever seen. Not because it is politically correct to say so, but because it is the truth.

Johan Bakker

Dutch music journalist Johan Bakker (1961) studied English linguistics and literature, and submerged himself in the study of Art history. His focus shifted from making music to writing about music. Johan published hundreds of concert and CD reviews, as well as interviews, and broadened his perspective to include literary fiction, film and the visual arts. Eventually, his love of art in general, and music in particular, culminated in a thorough study of the life and work of the American singer-guitarist, and artist, Eva Cassidy (1963 – 1996). The biography Behind the Rainbow is the crowning achievement on Johan Bakker’s work – for the time being.

Visit Johan's website www.johanbakker.org and follow @EvaCassidyBio and @JohanBakker14 on twitter

Preview Behind the Rainbow

on Amazon US and Amazon UK