Please Welcome.... My Guest of the Month....

Please Welcome - My Pirate

2012-03-01T10:39:00.002Z

.... Captain Jesamiah Acorne

Having been let down by the person who was supposed to be my guest, I thought I'd ask my favourite pirate along instead. He's quite happy to fill a gap as long as there are a few pretty ladies around....

I 'met' Jesamiah on a cold, wet, windy beach in Dorset several years ago. My agent (now ex-agent) wanted me to write something with a fantasy element. I had been researching the history of pirates - so the Sea Witch Voyages were born. How I met Jesamiah - the full story

To me, Jesamiah is a very real person. I know a lot of people I have never met in real life - my friends in the USA and Australia for instance. It just happens that Jesamiah lives in that distant land of Imagination; still at least the communication between us is free!

He was born on December 4th 1693 (and I can't say where because that will be a plot spoiler for the adventure I am currently writing) He is 5'10, has black, curly hair, dark eyes; is quick to laugh but formidable when angry.
He has a scar above his right eye (cause as yet not revealed) and several on his body, along with a variety of tattoos. He is lean, muscular - OK, drop dead gorgeous....

His trademark is his famous blue ribbons. (Pirates really did wear ribbons) He likes to give one to the ladies he meets as a keepsake, but they have a more sinister purpose. Made of silk, they are strong, flexible and as he usually has one or two tied into his hair he always has one to hand. When he is planning a raid, or thinking he fiddles with the golden acorn earring he wears, but when he is annoyed, when someone has angered him - beware! If he fiddles with that blue ribbon.... run! Why? Because a silk ribbon makes a very effective garrote....

photo: Nicola Witcombe

Jesamiah ran away to sea when he was almost fifteen years old. His bully of a half brother had made most of his life a misery, but one event triggered the explosion - on the night when they buried their father, Phillipe taunted Jesamiah once too often - and the victim fought back. Fearing he had murdered his half brother, Jesamiah fled, found his father's friend and went to sea with him. Naturally, that friend, Malachias Taylor, was a pirate and he taught Jesamiah all he knew.

Sea Witch opens with a pirate chase, one Jesamiah has misgivings about. Aboard the anticipated Prize is a young woman, Tiola Oldstagh (say it Tee-o-la Oldstaff) and she is not all she seems....

Later, Jesamiah is to meet her again, briefly. Their paths cross and part several times, until on his birthday Jesamiah is attacked by pirate hunters. Close to bleeding to death Tiola finds him, heals him - and thus the romance begins.

The path of love never runs smooth, however, for they are parted, and that bully brother turns up again...
I won't say more because it will spoil the story. You'll just have to read the book.

In the second Voyage - Pirate Code, and subsequent adventures, Jesamiah has given up piracy, but he is a useful man to know and various government officials (Gov Woodes Rogers of Nassau, Gov Alexander Spottiswood of Virginia....) manage to co-erce him into helping out in various dastardly plots. An ex pirate makes an excellent spy.
In Bring It Close Jesamiah helps in the downfall of Blackbeard. Voyage Four, Ripples in the Sand will see him mixed up in a smuggling ring and one of the failed Jacobite rebellions, while in Voyage Five On the Account - who is the mysterious Nightman, and what is it he really wants? Voyage Six, we are back to the Gentlemen of the Free Trade (smuggling) again, and Jesamiah (as always) is in big trouble - the title of this one will be Gallows Wake.

Trouble follows Jesamiah Acorne like a ship's wake.

And then there is the matter of Tiola, who is not all she seems, for she is a White Witch, and there is Jesamiah's dead father who wishes to make amends, and Tethys, the spirit Goddess of the Sea who wants Jesamiah for her own....

Tiola is on the back cover

In an nutshell (or maybe that should be an acorn shell) the Sea Witch Voyages are a treasure chest of adventure yarns.

I describe Jesamiah as a blend of Indiana Jones, with a pinch of Jack Sparrow, mixed in with Richard Sharpe and a dash of Hornblower.

available from:
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com

or order from any bookstore in book or e-book format (Kindle & Nook)

So who would Jesamiah invite as his ten dinner guests?
Seeing as this is make-believe I think he can take liberties with the dates when these lovely ladies were alive: as he is something of a lady's man, I would imagine his guests will all be female, and very possibly famous for one thing in particular...

Nell Gwynne (1650-1687) was a long-term mistress of King Charles II of England, also famous for selling oranges.
Samuel Pepys called her 'Pretty, witty, Nell'.

Moll Flanders from a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1721. The novel's full title gives insight into the outline of the plot:

The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. Who was Born in Newgate, and during a Life of continu'd Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her own Brother), Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest, and died a Penitent. Written from her own Memorandums.

Molly Malone 'In Dublin's Fair City, where the girls are so pretty, I first laid my eyes on sweet Molly Malone ...' The song tells the fictional tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin, but who died young, of a fever. In the late 20th century a legend grew up that there was a historical Molly, who lived in the 17th century. She is typically represented as a hawker by day and part-time prostitute by night. Right up a pirate's street.

Helen of Troy I can't imagine Jesamiah not asking the legendary most beautiful woman to dinner; and after all, she does have a connection with ships....

Emma, Lady Hamilton - mistress to Admiral Lord Nelson, so another sea nymph

Cleopatra - certainly a woman on the most famous mistress's list. Mind you, Jesamiah might be equally as attracted to her famous golden barge.

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, December 1721 – 15 April 1764 was of the French court, and the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.

Fanny Hill is tthe lead character in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure an erotic novel by John Cleland first published in 1748 written while the author was in a London debtor's prison. It is considered to be the first original English prose pornography .

Madame du Barry the last mistress of King Louis XV, she went to the guillotine on 8th December 1793

Violetta, the lead character in la Traviata which means, literally,

the Fallen Woman.

.... and seeing as Jesamiah has a passion for rum as well as women....

The Sea Witch Voyages
Helen's main website

photo: Nicola Witcombe

Rosemary Morris

2012-02-17T09:52:00.003Z

welcome to....
a touch of

Tangled Love

Rosemary Morris

The theme and plot for Tangled Love evolved while I read about the Stuart Kings and Queens.

What, I asked myself, would the effect have been on a child whose father did not like James’ II character, politics or religion?

To explain the background to Tangled Love, I wrote the following Author’s Notes.

“When the outwardly Protestant Charles II died in 1685, he left a country torn by religious controversy but no legitimate children. The throne passed to his Catholic brother James.

It was an anxious time for the people, whose fears increased when James II, became so unpopular that he was forced into exile. In 1688, James’s Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange, became the new queen and king of England.

Some English Protestants, who had sworn allegiance to James II, refused to take a new oath of allegiance to William and Mary and joined him in France.

When James’s younger daughter, Anne, inherited the throne in 1702, many Protestant exiles returned to England. Others declared themselves Jacobites, supporters of James II son, James III, by his second wife, Mary of Modena, and stayed abroad. They believed James III should be king.”

Tangled Love begins with a prologue set in 1693 in which, Richelda, my ten year old heroine faces her first major conflict. When my reader next meets Richelda at the age of eighteen Queen Anne is on the throne and she has suffered the result of her father’s decision to follow James II to France.

Tangled Love is the story of two estates, dilapidated Bellemont and Field House. When Richelda’s parents died she was left penniless and alone, holding onto the oath she gave her father to reclaim Field House, their ancestral home.

Richelda entrusts her heart to the parson’s son, Dudley, but he is not all that he seems. Her wealthy aunt saves her from poverty, and wants to arrange her marriage to a dashing Viscount, whose care and attention make Richelda think and feel against her wishes.

However, as she travels a new path to London, she never forgets her oath. But hidden danger lurks. When she tries to find a legendary treasure trove, she must also fight not only for her life but for true love.

Prologue

1693

Nine year-old Richelda Shaw sat on the floor in her nursery. She pulled a quilt over her head to block out the thunder pealing outside the ancient manor house while an even fiercer storm raged deep within. Eyes closed, she remained as motionless as a marble statue.

Her mother’s personal maid, Elsie tugged the quilt from her head. ‘Stand up child, there’s nothing to be frightened of. Come, your father’s waiting for you.’

Richelda trembled. Until now Father’s short visits from France meant gifts and laughter. This one made Mother cry while servants spoke in hushed tones.

Followed by Elsie, Richelda hurried down broad oak stairs. For a moment, she paused to admire lilies of the valley in a Delft bowl. Only yesterday, she picked the flowers to welcome Father home then arranged them with tender care. Now, the bowl stood on a chest, beneath a pair of crossed broadswords hanging on the wall.

Elsie opened the massive door of the great hall where Father stood to one side of an enormous hearth. Richelda hesitated. Her eyes searched for her mother before she walked across the floor, spread her skirts wide and knelt before him.

Father placed his right hand on her bent head. ‘Bless you, daughter, may God keep you safe.’ He smiled. ‘Stand up, child. Upon my word, sweetheart, your hair reminds me of a golden rose. How glad I am to see roses bloom in these troubled times.’

Richelda stood but dared not speak for she did not know him well.

Putting an arm round her waist, he drew her to him. ‘Come, do not be nervous of your father, child. Tell me if you know King James II holds court in France while his daughter, Mary, and William, his son-in-law, rule after seizing his throne?’

‘Yes, Mother told me we are well rid of King James and his Papist wife,’ she piped up, proud of her knowledge.

With a sigh, Father lifted her onto his knee. ‘Richelda, I must follow His Majesty for I swore an oath of allegiance to him. Tell me, child, while King James lives how can I with honour swear allegiance to his disloyal daughter and her husband?’

Unable to think of a reply, she lowered her head breathing in his spicy perfume.

Father held her closer. ‘Your mother pleads with me to declare myself for William and Mary. She begs me not to return to France, but I am obliged to serve King James. Do you understand?’

As she nodded her cheek brushed against his velvet coat. ‘Yes, I understand, my tutor told me why many gentlemen will not serve the new king and queen.’

‘If you remain in England, you will be safe. Bellemont is part of your mother’s dowry so I doubt it will be confiscated.’

If she remained in England! Startled, she stared at him.

Smiling, he popped her onto her feet. ‘We shall ride. I have something to show you.’

*****

Before long, they drew rein on the brow of a hill. Father pointed at a manor house in the valley. ‘Look at our ancestral home, Field House. The Roundheads confiscated it soon after the first King Charles’ execution. Richelda, I promised my father to do all in my power to regain the property.’ Grey-faced, he pressed his hand to his chest. ‘Alas, I have failed to keep my oath,’ he wheezed.

Richelda not only yearned to help him keep his promise to her grandfather, she also yearned to find the gold and jewels legend said her buccaneer ancestor, Sir Nicholas, hid.

She waited for her father to breathe easy before she spoke. ‘If we found the treasure trove you could buy Field House.’

‘Ah, you believe Sir Nicholas did not give all his plunder to Good Queen Bess,’ he teased.

‘Elsie told me legend says he hid some of his booty in Field House.’ The thought of it excited her. In his old age, when Sir Nicholas retired from seafaring, is it true that he put his ship’s figurehead, Lady Luck, in the great hall?’

‘Yes, for all I know she is still above a mighty fireplace carved with pomegranates, our family’s device.’

‘I would like to see it.’

‘One day, perhaps you will. Now, tell me if you know our family motto.’

‘Fortune favours the brave.’

‘Are you brave, my little lady? Will you swear on the Bible to do all in your power to regain Field House?’

To please him and excited by the possibility of discovering treasure she nodded.

Rosemary Morris’s ten dinner guests:

A.C. Baktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Years ago, when my husband came from Kenya to read law at Middle Temple, he was desperate to find an English translation of The Srimad Bhagavatam, which relates the pastimes of Lord Krishna in his original and other forms. At that time his search was unsuccessful but, eventually, he came across The Bhagavadgita As it Is, the Srimad Bhagavatam and many other praiseworthy books translated by A.C.Bhakrivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Like the famous Mahabharat and Ramayana the Srimad Bhagavatam rivals the Iliad and the Odyssey. It would, therefore, be a pleasure to dine with His Grace who spread the knowledge of Lord Krishna all over the world without denigrating other religions.

Indradyumna Swami, a disciple of A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He was born on May 20th, 1949 in Palo Alto, California in the U.S.A. In Detroit in 1970, he met Swami Prabhupada’s disciples in Detroit. They made such a strong impression on the 21 year-old that in due course of time he took initiation from Swami Prabhupada. Since then he has preached all over the world and writes the Diary of a Traveling Preacher in which he introduces the reader to amazing places he has visited such as the ancient Vedic Temple of Fire, on the outskirts of Baku in Azerbaijan.

“The history of the place, with its natural gas fires coming out of the earth goes back thousands of years …”

Diary of a Traveling Preacher Volume V {May 2003 – November 2004}

Lord Jesus Christ. There is so much speculation about Him that I would ask him to reveal the truth. During his lost years did he go to India? Did he visit Glastonbury? Did he die on the cross or did he survive and spend his remaining years in India? Was he buried in Kashmir? Was Mary Magdalene his wife? Was he an Essene?

St Francis of Assisi His deep sense of brotherhood under God embraced others, and he declared that “he considered himself no friend of Christ if he did not cherish those for whom Christ died.” He believed nature is the mirror of God, and regarded all creatures as his brothers and sisters, to the point at which he preached to birds. It is also alleged he tamed a hungry wolf, persuading it not to attack villagers if they fed him. I would like to hear him recite his “Canticle of the Creatures” in which he refers to ‘Brother Sun’, ‘Sister Moon’, the wind and water and ‘Sister Death.’

Mother Theresa. When I think of her I am in awe. She renounced material life in order to become a nun and humbly minister to lepers, the homeless and the poorest of the poor in the Calcutta slums.

Edward II King of England and Wales. I am writing a novel set in his reign so I want to know if he was more than Piers Gaveston’s devoted friend. I also want to know if he was murdered or if an unfortunate man was murdered in his place. If Edward II was not murdered, where did he live for the rest of his life?

Georgette Heyer in her lifetime, a reclusive author. I would enjoy hearing her speak about her historical novels, and listening to her share her knowledge of the Regency period.

Elizabeth Chadwick. I enjoy her mediaeval novels which are enhanced by the lengths she goes to research them. It would be fascinating to hear her speak about William Marshal, The Greatest Knight.

William Ewart Gladstone four times Prime Minister. In spite of accusations of time-serving and hypocrisy it is said he was the most faithful and enlightened steward there has ever been of our national finance. He could not stand waste. In the phraseology of the time he believed the country’s resources should ‘fructify the pockets of the people’ and not be wasted on public or private extravagance. (What would he think of today’s fat cats?) Amongst other worthy causes he advocated right against might when setting free smaller nations crushed by militant autocracies. What would he make of modern day Britain?

Prince Charles. I would like to discuss his stance on Green issues and wangle an invitation to visit his organic gardens at Highgate, his country house. I would also like to invite him to visit my own humble organic garden and state my case for vegetarianism.

Tangled Love by Rosemary Morris.

Published by MuseItUp

Available from MuseItUp Book Store Amazon and elsewhere.
Amazon.co.uk Kindle
Amazon.com Kindle

Helen, Thank you for inviting me onto your blog. Please join me and my guests for dinner,

Rosemary

HH: Thank you - I would be delighted to accept & to meet such interesting guests (I had lunch with Elizabeth Chadwick recently! Lovely lady!)

Rosemary Morris’s forthcoming releases from MuseItUp.

Sunday’s Child June 2012

False Pretences October 2012

Rosemary's website

Rosemary's Blog

Floating Gold (well you know me and anything nautical!

2012-02-02T14:25:00.002Z

Please welcome my guest, author Margaret Muir :

Dear Helen,

Like you, I share a love of adventure on the high seas. Thank you for inviting me to your Guest Blog.

Margaret - a bit cold in Antartica

My first flashes of writerly inspiration came when I was aboard a tall ship in the Indian Ocean. Sailing in the silence of a moonless night, I was alone on deck gazing at the sea curling from the ship’s bow when suddenly, I was mesmerized.

There, dancing in the water, were thousands of pin-pricks of light, sparkling like tiny fireflies, appearing for an instant then disappearing just as quickly. They made me think of a magician’s magic dust and I nicknamed them illusive diamonds.

Marine bioluminescent particle

(courtesy D.P. Wilson)

Later I was to learn that the stars twinkling in the foam were marine bioluminescent particles which emitted light when the water was stirred by the ship.

Original Cover Design

For me, however, these illusive diamonds inspired my first novel, SEA DUST. Strangely, that scene appears in Chapter 11, which any budding author, might think is a crazy place to start a story! But I suppose we are all different. After publication by Hale Books in 2005, I wrote two more historical novels both set in Yorkshire where I was born and bred.

Being a late starter as a writer, I undertook a course in Creative Writing in order to improve my writing skills and around the same time I sailed to Singapore on a cruise ship. This was where I met Peter. Though I don’t write romance, our meeting would have made an excellent episode on The Love Boat. Apart from sharing a love of writing, we shared a love of travel.

After sailing across the Atlantic in a barquentine, we cruised around South America and visited the Antarctic Peninsula, and it was the sights I saw on these voyages which inspired my next two books.

But when Peter died suddenly in a road accident, my writing came to a sudden halt. I felt the need to escape and start life afresh, so in 2007, I flew to Tasmania for a week’s holiday and immediately fell in love with the place. Two months later I was living in a house on a ridge overlooking the beautiful Tamar Valley near Launceston, Tasmania (obviously the early settlers didn’t have much imagination as far as place names were concerned).

From my window, overlooking the river winding its way towards Bass Strait, I can see Brady’s Lookout, the place where Matthew Brady, the ‘Gentleman Bushranger’ hid while watching for a ship to carry him to freedom. Unfortunately, his ship never came and he was captured and subsequently hung in Hobart in 1826.

MM aboard sailing ship at night

Today, when I gaze at this landscape which has remained unchanged over 200 years, I consider the deprivation and hardship of men like Brady who were sentenced to transportation, to the lash, and to hard labour for committing petty crimes such as stealing a lump of cheese. I think of the first convict ships which used shackles taken from the

Guinea

slave trade vessels, and of the penal settlements where young men suffered unspeakable deprivations and punishments, which made the two dozen lashes handed down on His Majesty’s ships look like child’s play.

Though SEA DUST was my favourite book, I believe FLOATING GOLD is my best novel. Written in the style of a C.S. Forester or Patrick O’Brian classics, it is directed at a male readership. However, it is pleasing to see so many female mariners these days who enjoy reading nautical fiction stories.

(H.H. I loved it - I would have made it my editor's choice for the Historical Fiction Online Indie Published Books Reviews - but the rules state that Ed's Choice must me a newly published book, not a re-published.)

Because of my interest in convicts, cannibals and Aborigines, over the last two years I have delved further into the colonial history of Van Diemen’s Land, and, in December, I graduated from the University of Tasmania with an Associate Degree in Arts.

Graduation Dec 2011

FLOATING GOLD was first published in hardback in limited numbers but I have recently self-published it in paperback.
It is available from www.lulu.com, www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com. SEA DUST is also available in paperback and as an e-book and although I intend to write the story of the ‘Gentleman Bushranger’, I have just commenced writing the sequel to FLOATING GOLD.

Thank you, Helen, for allowing me to share something of my story with your readers.

H.H. My pleasure Margaret - and I can highly recommend Floating Gold

MM at Brady’s Lookout

Here is my list of dinner guests:

As it comprises males only, I imagine the location must be aboard one of His Majesty’s fighting ships.

As a lover of adventure in the age-of-sail, I would have to include CS Forester, author of the Horatio Hornblower stories.

I won’t include Patrick O’Brian for if his dinner conversation is as verbose as some of his paragraphs, I feel be could hog the conversation. However, I would not say no to Russell Crowe in the guise of Jack Aubrey.

Johnny Depp would have to be on my list – not because he makes a fine pirate, but because he is a brilliant actor. His dark dramatic roles in The Secret Window and The Libertine are examples. (HH. Please can I come Margaret - I'll wait at table, wash up .... anything..... )

I would also love to meet Anthony Hopkins – a great actor and a gentleman.

Explorer, adventurer Ernest Shackleton is my hero. I believe his adventures far outweighed those of Captain Scott. Thanks to Shackleton all his men survived.

Matthew Brady – bushranger – hung in Hobart town 1826. I would like to hear his side of the story.

Also J.M. Barrie, playwright of Peter Pan. Perhaps he would show me the way into the wonderful world of his imagination.

William Wilberforce showed dogged determination and persistence against insurmountable opposition in his quest to bring an end to the slave trade. His qualities are something every author should aspire to.

I would also like to include my father, Frank Leak. He died in 1972 and I never really spoke to him as an adult.

My 10^th place is set for the uninvited guest. The first time I did this, I received a phone call during dinner to say a friend had died. It seemed fitting that I had a welcome awaiting him at the table.

H.H. Can I volunteer as waitress? Washer-upper even????

For the Historical Novel Society's review of Floating Gold click Here

My next guest: Rosemary Morris

Stephanie Keyes - Star Child

2012-01-19T16:00:00.000Z

Who I Am

Hello everyone! My name is Stephanie Keyes, but you may call me Steph. Personally, I am many things: a choc-o-holic, work-a-holic, mom-a-holic- well, you get the idea. For the past twelve years, give or take, I’ve been working as a full-time Corporate Educator and Curriculum Designer. That means that I’ve done everything from writing training programs, to delivering them, working on graphic design projects, developing on-line promotions, technical writing, and mentoring.

I started out as a Music Education major in college, but quickly learned that playing the clarinet wasn’t going to give me the income that I needed. So I put on my IT hat and switched to Management Information Systems and later graduated from Robert Morris University, eventually going back to school for my Master’s degrees in Education. I worked in the IT field for roughly eight years before making the switch to Human Resources, which has been a great move for me personally.

Writing became serious for me when I reached my twenties. Prior to that I was always making up short stories and penning them, but the characters were never interesting enough for me to follow through with them. Kellen St. James in The Star Child changed all of that.

The Star Child

The Star Child was my first foray outside the short story arena. Like many other writers I was spurred on by tragedy in my own life. My father was very ill when I started to formulate the outline that would become the earliest version of my novel. In addition, I was also suffering from post-partum depression after the birth of my first son. So there were many not so great things happening to me and then the idea for The Star Child came to me.

Many of you may have read that the idea for the book came to me in the shower, which is absolutely true. However, I wrote it because of the events afterwards. I came out of the shower, grabbed a journal and a pen, and started writing the first chapter. Two hours later, I knew that I had the idea for my first novel. Why? Because I cared. I finally came up with a character that mattered to me. Interestingly, my husband was hooked too. From the moment he read the first chapter, he said, “You have to write this, Steph.”

The storyline came alive and I instantly felt a desire to write and never stop. However, I am married to a very wonderful man and at the time had one son who was two years old. In addition, I was also working about fifty hours per week, so it was challenging finding the time to write the book. I ended up limiting myself to my son’s naptimes on weekends.

Video Trailer designed by Avalon Graphics

soundtrack by Bronwen Harrison

What It’s About

The Star Child is about Kellen St. James, who is incredibly bright. He’s a prodigy, has a photographic memory, and a truly dysfunctional family. Kellen also has to contend with constant, strangely-realistic dreams that he has about a girl he met when he was six years old, Calienta. She simply turns up one evening in a remote cove in Ireland, several hundred yards from Kellen’s Gran’s house. After the encounter, she is frequently in his dreams. Then, after his Grandmother’s death, he meets her again and finds out that she’s more real than he imagined.

This encounter hurtles Kellen from his reality in upstate New York straight into the underworld of Celtic mythology. He is forced to navigate in an environment that he never believed existed, all the while fighting the clock to meet the demands of a prophecy that places him center stage.

One of the things that I love best about Kellen is that he is such a skeptic. Everything that crosses his path is met with a great deal of scrutiny and sarcastic wit. In that regard we could be twins. The other thing I enjoy about this character is that he has no special “powers”. There’s no super strength, he isn’t drop-dead gorgeous, he isn’t particularly athletic; he’s just very intelligent. So when he gets into tight situations he leverages his brain every time. There’s also a strong moral backbone to Kellen. Early on you really get a sense, I believe, of what he will or will not do. He’s honorable, but real.

I’ve always enjoyed Celtic folklore and a branch of my family is from Golden, Ireland. The stories, the traditions, the warnings about the good people - this was all passed down to me through my grandmother. There’s so much content that’s been written about this topic and each author seems to take their own liberties with the content so that the tales aren’t usually consistent.

When I began to build the storyline that would surround Kellen, I decided that I would pull in some of the legend that I heard or read about and place them in the context of the St. James world. The Tuatha Dé Danann is the underlying legend of the story, the idea that gods and goddess were banished to the underworld and have become the faeries of Irish folklore today. Again, I took pieces of that concept and wove them into the story of the Star Child.

I love the idea of our world blending with fantasy, the concept that magick could be just around the corner if you only choose to look closely. That’s what you get in The Star Child: reality intertwined with fantasy.

My Dinner Party Guest List

If I could invite anyone to a dinner party, these individuals would be on the guest list:

Sting, Musician, Alive: I am a huge fan of new and interesting music. He is always coming up with something new, something that hasn’t been done before.

Carl Jung, Psychiatrist, Deceased: His viewpoints on inborn personality traits are interesting to me.

Brian Boitano, Figure Skater, Alive: Not only could he provide entertainment during the meal but he’s apparently an excellent chef.

Scarlett O’Hara,Character From Gone With the Wind, Immortal: Scarlet was the eternal optimist. After all, she coined the phrase “tomorrow is another day”.

Dexter Gordon, Jazz Saxophonist, Deceased: I play the saxophone myself and I love Dexter’s bebop style. I’d be very interested in hearing about his treatment of reeds.

J.K. Rowing, Author, Alive: I don’t believe that I would be writing in the Fantasy genre if it weren’t for the influence of the Harry Potter series and Rowling’s determination to write as a young mother.

Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, Paranormal Investigators, Alive: After the meal is over they could lead us on a ghost hunt where we debunk individual perceptions in favor of scientific evidence. The deceased guests could play a starring role.

The Star Child is available from:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

In paperback and on Kindle

Find out more about Stephanie at her website

Friend her on Facebook

Follow Her On Twitter

next time: we go to sea with author Margaret Muir

please welcome: author Gabrielle Kimm

2012-01-03T16:22:00.001Z

IT STARTED WITH A POEM ...

Photo – Charlie Hopkinson 2010

Thank you so much for inviting me onto your blog, Helen!

At author events, when it comes round to the Question and Answer time towards the end of the evening, writers often get asked, ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ My answer to this is always pretty much the same – I don’t get ideas. Ideas get me. One minute I don’t have the idea, and then I do, and it’s got me by the throat, and won’t let go, and then I have to write it, and when I start writing, I often have perilously little idea where I’m going to end up.

I’ve just published my second novel, and it’s probably fair to say that the whole thing – my whole publishing experience to date – stems from one small inspirational source, which ‘got me’ in a really big way. That inspirational source was a poem: a particularly wonderful, fifty-six line dramatic monologue by the Victorian poet, Robert Browning.

I first met Browning’s My Last Duchess as an undergraduate, at Reading University, in a tutorial session run by a darling professor called Geoffrey Matthews (a brilliant elderly academic who endeared himself to me for ever by revealing that he had a copy of The Beano delivered to his study every Thursday). I was, to use a hackneyed phrase, utterly blown away by this dramatic monologue, narrated by a sinister, smug Renaissance aristocrat, who coldly admits that he had his first wife permanently silenced because she had annoyed him once too often. So much untold back story, a complex, fascinating, dangerous protagonist and an intriguing setting – the Italian Renaissance.

The narrator – the duke – was in real life Alfonso d’Este, the fifth duke of Ferrara, and his late duchess was a Medici heiress, one Lucrezia de’ Medici.

I’d like to say that I decided to write a novel based on the poem there and then, but in fact I didn’t. It wasn’t until more than twenty years later that I came across the poem again, now as a teacher, working with a group of Year Eleven English GCSE students. There in the AQA GCSE Poetry Anthology was Browning’s poem – I was absolutely delighted to find it again. It was like meeting an old friend! (well, no ... thinking about it, perhaps not a friend. Given the duke’s homicidal proclivities.)

In the process of preparing my lessons, I started really thinking about the poem in depth, and the more I thought about it, the more questions I found myself unable to answer satisfactorily. Why, if the duke so despised his late wife that he resorted to murder to rid himself of her, is he still so fascinated with her painted image that he keeps it reverently hidden behind a sumptuous curtain which only he has the right to draw back? Why does he feel the need to show her portrait off to prestigious visitors, almost like a holy relic? Could the poor girl really have been as ghastly a creature as he describes? If she wasn’t – why did he hate her so much? Is he slandering her deliberately in the poem, to exonerate himself of guilt at her demise, or did he in fact genuinely misunderstand her through some psychological flaw of his own?

It began to obsess me. I busied myself researching the facts which lay behind the poem, but signally failed to find adequate answers. The only way, it dawned on me one afternoon, to find out what really happened to these people and why, was to write it myself.

And thus was born my first novel, His Last Duchess (Sphere 2010). If you’d like to read Browning’s poem, and to find out more about how my book grew and developed – click here to link to my website

In the course of writing His Last Duchess, I gave Alfonso, my duke, a mistress. He is a damaged and difficult man, though, and I knew that anyone prepared to cope with the demands of a relationship with so volatile and dangerous a lover would have to be seriously resourceful. Which is just what Francesca Felizzi turned out to be. Spotted by the duke and rescued by him from life as a street whore in Ferrara, she spends the best part of eight years as his paid mistress, and learns much about survival and self-preservation along the way. Francesca is beautiful and sexy and clever and fundamentally adaptable, and she uses all these attributes shamelessly.

When I finished His Last Duchess I was surprised to find that, although I was happy to say goodbye to my characters and move on, Francesca stayed with me. She kept on intruding into my thoughts, and I found myself musing about her, and wondering what she was doing, and how she was managing. I had sent her off to Naples at the end of His Last Duchess and I began to need to know how she was, as badly as I had needed to know the truth about the marriage of Alfonso and Lucrezia when I first hatched the idea for the first novel. It began to feel like an obsession, all over again.

It was clear what I was going to have to do! A new novel was obviously brewing, and over the next couple of years it grew and developed and changed, and eventually became The Courtesan’s Lover.

The following link will take you to a blogpost I wrote about how the writing of The Courtesan’s Lover began and progressed Click Here and you’ll find some review excerpts for both The Courtesan’s Lover and for His Last Duchess on the home page of my website

I love the idea that a single source of inspiration – one fifty-six line poem – has taken me on such a journey. To take it right back to its start, Robert Browning was inspired by what he discovered about the marriage of the fifth duke of Ferrara, and that inspiration sparked the creation of his poem, My Last Duchess. His poem then inspired me, and led me to write my first novel – His Last Duchess. A fictional character created by me in the course of writing that book inspired me to produce a second book ... and to let you all in on a secret, I’m just in the early stages of planning a new book – a new book which, if things go the way I hope they’ll go, might just round the story off into a trilogy.

Helen, you’ve asked me to come up with ten potential dinner guests – alive, dead or fictional. I’ve had such fun putting this list together – though it wasn’t easy! I originally came up with so many, I reckoned I’d need a giant marquee and corporate caterers, rather than creating the suggested intimate dinner party. So I started cutting the list down, and below are the ten who made the final cut. (I’m a strict vegetarian, so I hope all my guests will be happy with the veggie menu I’ve devised for them) I hope you’ll come along to the dinner too, Helen.
(H: I'll be delighted to attend - thank you!)

The final ten are here partly for their achievements and partly because I think they will all be wonderfully entertaining; I’ve tried to pick people I think will get on with each other too ...
Jane Austen A number of my chosen guests here are story tellers. Jane Austen of course needs no introduction – I’m just in awe of her abilities. She will be a quietly entertaining companion, I think - she has such a keen understanding of human nature, such a delightful, ironic wit. I adore her books, and I can’t wait to talk to her about plotting and characterisation.

Victoria Wood Dinner parties are best when the conversation is amusing, I reckon, and Victoria Wood is simply one of the funniest people on the telly. I wish she was on screen more often. I’ve always loved her observational humour, her insight, her brilliant characterisations – and her wonderful skill on the piano. (Hopefully, she’ll give us a rendition of The Ballad of Barry And Freda at the end of the meal.)

Alan Bennett I have two Bennetts on my chosen list. Alan is the first. Again, here’s a consummate story teller, with a dry, gentle wit, and a piercing ability to understand the frailty of the human condition. From the Talking Heads monologues to The History Boys – just utterly brilliant drama, told with an unmistakeable voice.

Mercutio Shakespeare’s wild and wonderful dreamer from Romeo and Juliet. It’s always been a toss-up for me as to whether the most fanciable man in literature is Mr Darcy or Mercutio. It’s a difficult one, this, but given that Mr Darcy can, as we know, be rather reserved in less than aristocratic social situations, I’ve plumped for Romeo’s excitable cousin instead. I love his wild, exuberant character, and his courage and loyalty. I’m not at all sure he’ll behave himself, but I hope my other guests will be up to the task of containing Mercutio’s effervescence.

Geoffrey Chaucer For me, he is just the best story teller of them all. Down to earth, funny, vulgar, poignant, endlessly inventive ... simply wonderful! The Canterbury Tales is, to my mind, one of the most impressive collections of stories ever written – and the foundation of so much of English literature. I hope it will entertain Mr Chaucer to meet people like Victoria Wood and Alan Bennett, who are so very clearly his literary descendents (albeit in other genre), and we’ll all have so much to learn from him.

Elizabeth Bennett I feel rather diffident bringing my second Bennett to the table. After all, I’m going to be sitting her down either next to or opposite her creator. But Elizabeth Bennett, from Miss Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has to be one of the most delightful heroines in any novel. Intelligent, funny, determined, independent and compassionate – I hope she will enjoy the evening and be suitably diverted by the assembled company.

Leonardo da Vinci Given the era and settings of my two novels, I felt I ought to have a Renaissance man at the dinner. And Da Vinci has probably the greatest mind that there has ever been. Artist, scientist, inventor, anatomist – the list of his achievements is unique. I’m a little worried that he will be SO frighteningly clever that I won’t be brave enough to say a word to him, but, given that he is a well-known and life-long vegetarian, at least we’ll have that in common as a topic of conversation, if I find myself lacking in other respects.

Bill Bryson On a number of occasions I have been acutely embarrassed in public by Mr Bryson - because I have been reading one or other of his books, and have ended up shouting with laughter (they are howlingly funny), and have had to apologise to my companions for disturbing the peace. I’m a rubbish traveller, but I’m sure I would manage much better were Mr Bryson to travel along with me. (I’m lucky enough to be represented by the same literary agency, too) I think I’ll sit him next to Geoffrey Chaucer – and then I can just sit back and listen to the ensuing conversation.

Robert Browning Apart from the fact that I think Browning is a wonderful poet, and the fact that I know from what I’ve read of him that he was an entertaining and interesting companion, I will SO enjoy asking him whether he approves of what I’ve done with his duke in my novel, and discussing Signor d’Este with him. I have so much to thank Mr Browning for! I’ve tried writing verse in Browning’s style in the past – rhyming iambic couplets with the rhymes hidden in run-on lines - so if I’m feeling brave enough, I might show him one or two of my poems and see if I can get some feedback ...)

Modesto Helen, I’m hoping you won’t mind if I pick one of my own characters to come to this dinner party. Modesto is my eponymous courtesan’s manservant, and ever since he first came into my head, he’s been the character I’ve written with whom I would most like to sit down and have dinner – so I hope it’s OK if he comes along to this occasion. Modesto is what was known in the Renaissance as a castrato – as a ten year old boy (along with tens of thousands of other boys) he was castrated by the church authorities to preserve his extraordinary singing voice and keep him a permanent soprano. Despite this appalling start in life, Modesto is witty and wise and loyal and kind, and will so much enjoy the company around the table at this dinner.
(You can meet him here for yourself in the first chapter of the book on my website!)

Helen: what a delightful post Gabrielle - I'm dashing off now to buy the books!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabrielle.kimm

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/gabrielle_kimm

Buy Gabrielle's books from
Amazon.co.uk
or
Amazon.com

Down Under For Christmas

2011-12-21T22:38:00.004Z

It's Christmas but I thought we would visit somewhere

different for the festivities.

So here we are in.....

Australia!

welcome and g'day to my guests, friends and avid readers

Paula Mildenhall

and Jel Cel

Paula and Helen

Paula
I am an Optometrist living in a small country town in Victoria, the south eastern part of mainland Australia. I have made some amazing friends on Facebook, two of the most special being Helen Hollick and Sharon Kay Penman. Another new Facebook friend is Jel Cel, my co guest on this blog. We met via posts in the Sharon Kay Penman Australian fan club Facebook group. This year has been a great year for me as I met Helen in person in London and then I met Sharon in Paris on the ‘In the footsteps of Eleanor of Aquitaine’ tour.

Sharon Kay Penman and Friends

Reading historical fiction is one of the biggest interests in my life and I also love to travel so being able to combine the both was truly a dream come true. On the ‘Eleanor’ tour I met 35 other SKP geeks and it was bliss! Conversations did not have to begin with an explanatory prologue. We all just ‘got’ each other and we saw some pretty amazing places. It was Jel’s idea that we have a Helen Hollick Australian fan club Facebook page, which we started soon after I returned home from London. Thank you Helen for inviting us onto your blog.

(Helen: my pleasure Paula!)

Jel

I am a secondary teacher living in the capital of Victoria. I have lived in a city all my life, except for two years when I lived in Papua New Guinea teaching at a Secondary School there. I finally decided to try this Facebook thing that my children were using, and one day noticed that there were groups pages for authors whose books I liked. Sharon Kay Penman’s page led me to find the Australian equivalent, and I have been blessed with meeting some likeminded souls, including Paula my co guest on this blog, who can talk all things medieval, and enjoy the books that I have loved. Sharon will often recommend books that she has enjoyed by other authors, and she recommended the books of Helen Hollick. Fortunately my library had them, and when I learned that Paula had had the pleasure of meeting Helen in London, and saw a squirrel with Helen in the park, we talked about the possibility of setting up an Australian page for Helen as well. So we have, and you can find it on Facebook.

Christmas in Australia.

Paula

I guess the biggest distinction of Christmas in Australia is long, hot days rather than the short, cold days you experience in the UK. In 1989 I spent Christmas in York. My Grandmother and Mother had Yorkshire pudding in a local pub and I had the Vegetarian version. I had no idea what being cold meant until I spent that December and January in Europe!

When I was a child, my family always had a traditional Christmas dinner, Turkey with Cranberry sauce, ham, and Plum Pudding with coins in it. In my adulthood I have had a lot more variety, some traditional and some not so traditional Christmases.

When I lived in Adelaide and had no family with me I spent one Christmas Day having a picnic at the beach with Buddhist friends.

A lot of people I know have seafood salads for Christmas. If it is a 35 degree Celsius day (95 Fahrenheit), often the last thing you want to do is roast a turkey. I remember steering clear of the kitchen on hot Christmas days if there was roasting going on. I have grown up with the images of Christmas trees with snowflake decorations, Santa with his winter suit on, Reindeer and the North Pole. We would often buy a can of fake snow to spray around. It seemed normal to see people with Santa hats complete with fake fur trim and also wearing a sun dress or shorts and a t-shirt. It became popular for a while to have a second Christmas in July so you could have the Christmas experience in cold weather.

I grew up in the country so my town had a volunteer fire brigade, the CFA (Country Fire Authority). On Christmas eve the CFA would bring Santa into town on the back of a fire truck and he would hand out icy poles and lollies to all the local kids. Hot days always bring the threat of bushfires. I can’t recall any Christmas celebrations being affected but it is always in the back of your mind.

Another strong memory of childhood Christmases in Australia is going to town to see the Myer Christmas windows. Myer is one of the large department stores in Melbourne. Every year they decorate their shop windows with a Christmas story or theme. They are so popular now the crowds tend to keep me away.

Myer Department Store

Jel

I knew that Christmas was coming when I was a child when the out of bounds living room was given an extra good clean. This was followed by the freshly chopped and purchased Christmas tree being put in a bucket. Around this time (later than the cook books would recommend) the afternoon with the Christmas pudding boiling on the stove would happen, followed by the cooking of the Shortbread. One year Mum left the puddings cooking on the electric stove while we made a dash trip to the shop for something she needed, only to be delayed, and on arriving home found the power was out, and so she had to start over. Second try – again the power went out thanks to a summer thunder storm. She risked it again – and third time lucky – we had Christmas puddings. We had coins boiled in our pudding; after 1966 the stock of coins was traded with the decimal currency – pre decimal had silver and was safe to boil, post, less or no silver and not safe.

Meals were traditional (I see them as traditional) Roast Turkey and warm ham with Cranberry sauce and roast vegetables followed by hot Plum Pudding with Brandy Butter. Repeated cold for days. Only later did the family relax the tradition, having cold food on some days, or having an Icecream Plum Pudding instead of the traditional one. Now seafood platters may appear, other roast meats along with the Turkey, and other forms of puddings although my brother prides himself on his Plum Puddings.

I have memories of Midnight services for Christmas, which Mum took me to, because she held a champagne and omelet breakfast on Christmas day for her friends – up to 40 would come. So an impatient child had to wait till after Christmas lunch for the presents under the tree, but Santa left some in a pillowcase overnight – he somehow knew to swing by after 12.40am when we were back from Church and I was asleep.

Why we love historical fiction.

Paula

I have always been a reader, the first books I remember loving were mysteries and fantasy novels as well as the odd classic. My parents were also readers of fantasy and I am forever grateful that 'Here Be Dragons' by Sharon Kay Penman was misclassified as fantasy and was bought by my father. It sat on the bookshelf for a while, then when I was 16 and meant to be studying for exams I picked it up and read it. I still have very clear memories of that first reading, especially the scene where Llewelyn has to make a humiliating surrender to King John and Joanna helps him to save face. I had never read anything so powerful.

(Helen: same here Paula!)

The rest, as they say, is history. I still love fantasy novels as they take you away to another place. Historical fiction also takes you to another place, but it is not so far removed from ours. You can step out of the book and on to the actual ground walked by those who have been before. It may not look just the same or smell just the same as it was say in medieval times but you can often feel the energy of a place. I had tingles in my spine when I first visited Henry II's keep at Dover Castle.

I was a bit of an ‘Arthurian’ nut in my youth and I liked interpretations of the legend that had a lot of fantasy and magic. Since reading the ‘Pendragon’s Banner’ series by Helen Hollick I have changed my opinion on that. Her realistic portrayal of Arthur and the times he probably lived in reinforced my new love of historical fiction.

My love of historical fiction has inspired 3 trips to the UK (so far, I hope to travel there again). I have been to Scotland, and seen a lot of the countryside from the Isle of Skye to Stirling. I have been to Gwynedd and travelled to the top of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) twice. As I stood on the shore near Aber, looking across to Llanfaes on Mon (Anglesey) I was hoping so much that Llewelyn forgave Joanna as portrayed in 'Here Be Dragons'.

In England I have been to so many historical sights it would take a long time to list them all. One of the most memorable was Evesham, visiting the memorial to Simon de Montfort and walking around the battle ground.

On my most recent trip in May/June this year I spent some time in London and then did a self guided mini William Marshal tour in South Wales. That was inspired by ‘The Greatest Knight’ by Elizabeth Chadwick. Since my return to Australia, I have found out from my ancestry guru friend Fiona that I am related to William Marshal (he is my 23 times great grandfather).

The Twelve Apostles - Victoria

I love reading about Kings, Queens, Bishops, Cardinals and all the people with power, seeing how political systems, church and secular law have changed over time. I also love to read about more ancient history, England in the dark ages just after Roman occupation, Druids in Ireland, Egyptians and Romans. And that only just scrapes the surface of what I want to read. I love the saying, 'So many books, so little time'. If only there weren't exams, work and other commitments - by the way, I did pass those exams when I was 16!

Melbourne

Jel

Both my father and my mother were avid readers, and for many years they despaired over me, for I could not feel the bug. But finally and I wish I knew the name of the book, I met a book that hooked me – hook, line, and sinker as we Aussies like to say.

After that I could not find enough books, and my mother despaired of the History course at school, so she introduced me to the books of Anya Seton. Dragonwyk was the first but Katherine led me to fall in love and not with John. I then sought out other historical books to learn more and more about life in different ages, reading Victoria Holt, and Georgette Heyer - her Regency novels kept me sane in my last year of school!

Later my mother gave me a book about Richard III – she had been a Ricardian for many years, and I met Sharon Kay Penman’s writing. The years between books allowed time to read other works. Through Sharon I have met Helen’s writing and other authors. So I am grateful to my mother for introducing me to such a wonderful world.

I read many different genres of books, and am known at work to stop and talk to students to encourage them to read books.

Melbourne by night

dinner guests

as always my guests get to invite ten people to dinner - alive, dead or fictional -

but this is Christmas - so Paula and Jel get to choose ten each.

What a party this will be!

Paula

Eleanor of Aquitaine: My acquaintance with Eleanor of Aquitaine began with 'Here be Dragons' by Sharon Kay Penman and grew from there, culminating in the trip of a lifetime when I went on the 'In the footsteps of Eleanor of Aquitaine' tour escorted by the wonderful Sharon herself. Eleanor impresses me in so many ways, but mostly when she came out of semi retirement after the death of Richard the Lionheart to help secure the throne for John. During that time she was besieged at Mirebeau by her grandson Arthur, inspiring John to his greatest military triumph when he raced to her aid. I think it says a lot about how remarkable she was. Her beloved son Richard was dead but she still did all she could to preserve the Empire for a son who she hadn't seen much in his childhood and who had been a thorn in Richard's side.

Henry FitzEmpress: A remarkable but flawed man. He was gifted Normandy by his own father, but was never able to do the same for his sons, the 'Devil's Brood'. A man of boundless energy who could never sit still. His fierce intelligence and great political and military skills helped him to hold together a massive Empire. A pity he couldn't hold together his family. Each of his sons rebelled against him, most having just grievances. He died a broken man, betrayed and alone. I would like to have him as a dinner guest when he was a young man, newly crowned as the King of England and already the Count of Anjou, the Duke of Normandy and through his wife Eleanor, the Duke of Aquitaine.

Emma of Normandy: Wife to two Kings of England and mother to two more. A complex woman who had to make some difficult decisions but managed to navigate a way through political upheavals and invasions and stay in power. Portrayed wonderfully in 'A Hollow Crown' by Helen Hollick, our host.

(Helen: Note - this novel is called the Forever Queen in the US)

Helen Hollick: I am honoured to include our host in the dinner party. I was lucky enough to meet Helen in person on my last trip to the UK. A wonderfully generous and giving woman with a great sense of humour. We were sitting in Regent Park, London, talking serious historical things when all of a sudden I cried out with joy and pointed to a squirrel that had ventured close to the park bench. Helen has gifted me with many wonderful squirrel pictures via e-mail and Facebook since then.

and here is that very same squirrel
he/she was around for quite a while -
must have enjoyed listening to
Paula and me chatting!

(Helen: thank you Paula - I had a fabulous afternoon with you. Because of the time difference I reckon I can come to dinner with you - and make it back for Christmas Dinner with my family as well! *laugh*)

Davydd ap Gruffydd

The last Welsh prince, brother to the remarkable Llewelyn ap Gruffydd. Davydd is portrayed so wonderfully in the novel 'The Reckoning' by Sharon Kay Penman. Davyyd is devious, funny, romantic, clever, witty and charming. He was overshadowed by his remarkable brother who was a great Prince of Wales, but I think he would be great fun at a dinner party.

Fiona and Lesley: I only joined Facebook when Sharon Kay Penman did as I was very much a Facebook snob before that. What I didn't anticipate was that it would change my life! Next thing you know I have met Fiona (who started the Sharon Kay Penman Australian fan club Facebook page) and Lesley when we all flew to Sydney for the first annual general meeting of the the Aussie SKP fan club. Next thing you know we have a fan club t-shirt to wear and the next annual meeting in Melbourne. The amazing thing about Facebook is that I can maintain friendships with these two like minded and wonderful women who live in Brisbane and Perth. A great addition to any dinner party. I would have added Sharon to my list as well, but Jel has already invited her.

Omar Rodriguez Lopez: Songwriter for my all time favourite band 'The Mars Volta'. I have not had any other CD's in my player at home for years. Their music resonates so closely with me and I never tire of listening to it. I often say that if Omar ruled the world it would be a much better place, if a little crazy and weird at times.

Vincent Van Gogh: I always enjoyed Vincent's paintings and I was lucky enough to visit the Vincent museum in Amsterdam twice. But, Monet was my favourite, couldn't get enough of those water lilies! That was until I was lucky enough to see 'Starry Night on the Rhone' by Vincent when it featured in an exhibition in Melbourne. I was transfixed! Never before and never since has a painting been able to create so much emotion in me. I felt a sense of loss when I had to leave it. I barely saw any of the other paintings in the exhibition. I was lucky enough to see it in person a second time and it was just as moving.

John Phillips: I got to know John when we both posted on Sharon Kay Penman's blog. When we found out we both had places on the 'In the footsteps of Eleanor of Aquitaine' tour we started chatting on Skype. It was so nice to actually know someone before the group met in Paris. I travelled to England before the tour and met up with John for a day. He took me to see Hedingham, Framlingham and Orford castles. We also had lunch at a beautiful old English pub. John describes himself as an 'enthusiast' which seems to me an admirable trait to aspire to. Enjoy the dinner John, as the last place at the table was fiercely contested by Richard Armitage as well. You won by a nose!

My mother has asked if she can be the waiter/ cup bearer for the night.

Jel

Anya Seton: Author, writer of historical novels - my mother introduced me to historical fiction by giving me Dragonwyk to read , and I loved it so much I had to follow on with the rest of her books, and then moved on to other authors.

Sharon Kay Penman: Author of historical novels and mysteries– who is incredibly generous and gave time to our Australian Fan Club to speak for over an hour to us, and would have continued if we had not had a Chocolate tour to get to. The Sunne in Splendour was another book my mother introduced me to, and I am so thankful, for when Here Be Dragons came out and I saw it in a book shop I knew I had to buy it. I love the way she writes, and believe her research is extensive and serious, so that the books are historically as correct as they can be at the time. I have recently met at my school a parent who is writing a book, and to whom Sharon has provided much encouragement and assistance.

Katherine: Mistress and later wife of John of Gaunt – Anya Seton’s book about her made me fall in love with John of Gaunt and Katherine, and I would love to see what sort of woman she was and to talk about her experiences. The fact that her descendants rose to the throne is amazing.

Llewellyn ap Iorweth: The great Prince of Wales – for he had vision to allow his land to remain independent and to stand against King John. Unfortunately when another Llewellyn was Prince of Wales the divisions of the Welsh proved the weakness needed by Edward I to overcome Wales.

Pierre de Fermat: The “lawyer” who in his spare time studied Maths and in the margin of a book wrote that he had solved a question of maths that showed that for x^a +y^a = z^a the only power that a can be that works with whole number solutions is the power 2. I would love to see and write down his theorem, because it took another three hundred years for Andrew Wiles to produce a solution, with an unfortunate error in his initial unveiling that led to the creation of a new field of mathematics by a Japanese collaborator in the final solution. A German Industrialist had offered a huge prize to the one who could solve it, but it was wiped out in the Great Depression.

Alan Alda: An actor well known for his character Hawkeye in MASH. I loved his playing of Senator Vinnick in West Wing, and loved Four Seasons a movie from a while ago. The title of his first memoir – “Never have your dog stuffed” makes me think that he looks at life in an amused , caring way. I would like to meet the man behind the characters and see if the eyes that look as though they come from a sympathetic person do so.

Leonardi Da Vinci: Scientist, Artist, Inventor , left hander like me. A scientist before the structure of modern science was developed, probably mainly considered an inventor – but to be able to invent some of the machines he had an idea of science. An experimental scientist in understanding the structure of the muscles by his investigations (I will not say more for any squeamish readers).

Antonio Vivaldi

Composer and violinist. There are many musicians that I would love to invite, but The Four Seasons has meant special things to me at different stages of my life, so I would love to meet him. There is a link with Alan Alda as the movie about stages in a marriage was to the background of Vivaldi’s music.

Ken Rosewell: An Australian elite tennis player who never won Wimbledon but should have who shone in the 50’s and 60’s and still played Wimbledon in the 70’s. When I was growing up his nuggetty tenacity inspired me. He always acknowledged the good shots his opponents had made, told the umpire if the ball they had called out, served by his opponent, had actually touched the service line, and so conceded points. He seemed to be a nice gentleman, and I would love to speak things tennis with him.

Audrey Hepburn: Actress, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Hers was such a varied life, from work as a child in World War 2 to her ballet, to becoming an actress and the work at the end of her life as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. See the eyes, and you recognize the person. I loved Breakfast at Tiffany’s and recently have grown very fond of How to Steal a Million.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone - wherever you are!

Karen Charlton

2011-12-07T23:12:00.006Z

'When we shook our family tree - a convict fell out.'

Please welcome my guest this week -

new author Karen Charlton!

Karen was born in Sheffield UK and grew up in Leeds. She completed an English degree at Hull University and after a few years of roaming between various jobs in Harrogate, Ripon and Scarborough, she finally settled in Teesside.

Her novel Catching the Eagle is based on the true story of her family's notorious ancestor, Jamie Charlton.... tell us more Karen.

Thank you, Helen, for inviting me to post on your blog and dine in your home with my ten favourite guests.

As a debut novelist this is a really exciting time for me. My novel, ‘Catching the Eagle’ is based on the true story of the controversy surrounding Northumberland’s largest robbery back in 1809. My husband and I had always shared a mutual interest in genealogy and we stumbled across this amazing story while carrying out some family history research into his ancestor, Jamie Charlton.

For an aspiring historical novelist like me, this discovery was like winning the jackpot. When we shook our family tree - a convict fell out. I quickly realised that the perfect plot for a historical novel had just landed in my lap.

I’d wanted to write a book since I was eight years old and used to scribble down stories in old exercise books. I always loved the historical fiction – especially the Regency period - and I devoured the Georgette Heyer, Jean Plaidy and Catherine Cookson in the bookshelves in my mother’s dining room. Unfortunately, real life got in the way of literary ambition. Work commitments and raising a family took a large chunk out of my time and I just never got around to writing that bestseller. Until now.

Back in August 2004, when we made our amazing discovery, I was chatting on a genealogy message board with another forum member. He directed us to an online document which suggested that hubby’s four x great-grandfather was a convicted felon, sentenced to transportation to New South Wales, Australia.

We were stunned. Transported? If so, what had James Charlton done?

It took years of painstaking research at The National Archives in Kew and the local libraries in Northumberland to uncover the truth. What started as a hobby quickly became a quest.

Kirkley Hall

James Charlton had been convicted of stealing over £1,157 from Kirkley Hall in 1810. He had allegedly been involved with the biggest heist Northumberland had ever known. The mystery of the burglary at Kirkley Hall had never been properly solved. Even by Regency standards James’ conviction was dodgy and there was a public outcry amongst the influential and literate middle-classes following his imprisonment.

Bit by bit, the story came together. By January 2009, I had enough information to start writing the novel – and then the real hard work began. An English degree and a lifetime of teaching English in secondary schools do not automatically turn someone into a writer. It was a steep learning curve – and I’m still learning.

Last June ‘Catching the Eagle’ was bought by Knox Robinson Publishing and is available from Amazon, Knox Robinson Publishing, The Book Depository and selected Waterstones’ branches in the UK. It is the first in a trilogy of novels about the Charlton family. Our research has uncovered enough material for two more books.

In the meantime, I am also writing a spin-off series featuring two of the minor characters from ‘Catching the Eagle’: Detective Stephen Lavender and Constable Woods. Lavender was a real historical figure, of course. He was a principal officer with the Bow Street Magistrates court in London and later became the Deputy Chief Constable of Manchester when Sir Robert Peel introduced the police force to the United Kingdom. Back in 1809, he was employed by Kirkley Hall’s owner to try to solve the mystery of the robbery. I enjoyed creating his character in my first novel – and that of Constable Woods - and I was not prepared to let them go. The first novel in the Detective Lavender Mystery Series is nearly finished and it has been a dream to write. I have called it: ‘The Missing Heiress.’

Here my intrepid pair of Regency sleuths are back in Northumberland to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy young woman who vanishes out of a locked bed chamber into a wintry October might...

In the middle of all this writing it is great to have a night off and attend a dinner party, Helen. Hopefully, the guests I have invited will ensure we have a night to remember for a long, long time!

Ten dinner guests :

Well, firstly I would invite our hostess, Helen Hollick to the table. (It seems a tad churlish to leave her in the kitchens, boiling lobster and scrubbing dishes all night. J )
(Helen - you reckon you could keep me out of the way .... with Sean Bean in the house....!)

My next guest would be the late and very gifted Winston Graham: author of the Poldark series. I must have read these twelve books about six times. He brought Regency Cornwall to life and created memorable characters. (Helen: I have a favourite teddy bear called Demelza.... My husband found her in a dustbin when he was working as a refuse collector. She looked such a waif & stray, the name came instantly to mind! She is quite the lady now of course.)

He also was a perfect gentleman. According to his biography on his website, even in his nineties Winston enjoyed ‘regaling all with his vast memory store of poetry, anecdotes and stories.’ I am sure he would make a fabulous and very entertaining dinner guest and hopefully he might even give me a tip or two about writing the remainder of the Regency Reivers series.

Eleanor of Aquitaine. I have always been fascinated by this lady. Born the wealthiest heiress in the world she became the Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right at the age of fifteen. She achieved the double by marrying both the King of France and the King of England and was imprisoned by both husbands for insubordination. She had ten children and was still sorting out their problems when she was nearly eighty.

I think Eleanor might have some very useful tips on the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of maintaining marital harmony, staying out of prison and dealing with a houseful of fractious teenagers.

Richard Sharpe

Every dinner party needs a piece of best British beef. For me this is actor Sean Bean, star of TV series Sharpe (based on the best-selling novels of Bernard Cornwell.) However, he would only be allowed to join us if he was wearing the uniform of the 95^th rifles. This will definitely get the saliva flowing amongst the ladies.

Helena Bonham-Carter is my favourite British actress. I adore every character she plays and think she is probably our most versatile female performer – as well as being the one we most overlook when it comes to giving out the plaudits. I think she would be great fun.

Apart from a bit of mint in the potatoes, dinner parties also need a bit of myth in the company. For that reason I think I would also invite Orlando Bloom as Legolas, the gorgeous elf from the Peter Jackson film versions of The Lord of the Rings. Again, Orlando must be wearing the full costume – including the ears. I’m not 100% sure what elves eat but I have heard that Helen is a brilliant cook and I’m sure she would be able to rustle up some lembas bread in the kitchen.
(Helen: you can't possibly mean me! *laugh* I can't cook for toffee - I've only got a kitchen because it came with the house.... As this is fictional I will hire in a chef, and I would have Henry Crabbe from the old TV police drama series Pie in the Sky. I liked that show - and the character was a fabulous cook. For those unfamiliar: Crabbe was a semi retired policeman who ran his own restaurant in between solving crimes.)

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy, who has recently been released after spending nearly fifteen years under house arrest for her beliefs. This lady has my most sincere respect.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Bishop Desmond Tutu. The South African activist and retired Anglican bishop. I have always admired the stance he took against apartheid and saw in him an influential voice of reason and forgiveness following the country’s reunification. Besides that, he is jolly good fun and – as he showed at the South African World cup – can boogie with the best of them. Rock on, Desmond.

Helen Sharman. The first Briton in space. Apart from being a lady who has some fascinating stories to tell, she is also a gal who has shown us all how to reach for the stars.

And finally my late grandfather: Bob Baker. He gave me lessons in how to get along with people I didn’t like. He believed in my mad-cap ventures and was prepared to put his money where his mouth was. And he taught me the real meaning of unconditional love. He’d have been so delighted with my recent writing achievements that he would not have been overawed by the auspicious company above. In fact, after dinner he would have hobbled to the pool table on his artificial hips and insisted everyone joined him. Then, smiling happily, he would have raised the stakes, cleared the table and fleeced every one of their cash.

Good for you, Bob.

Helen: What a guest list Karen.... I so hope they all accept the invitation! The book sounds fascination.... must dash to Amazon to order a copy...

Your cover is very eye-catching Karen - another fabulous design by Cathy Harmon Helms of Avalon Graphics who also takes care of my UK covers and has provided several covers for Knox Robinson I believe

Karen's website
Karen's Facebook

Buy Catching the Eagle (Hardback edition only available at the moment)
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com

Catching the Eagle

by Karen Charlton

(Based on a true story)

Easter Monday, 1809: Kirkley Hall manor house is mysteriously burgled. When suspicion falls on Jamie Charlton, he and his family face a desperate battle to save him from the gallows.

When £1,157 rent money is stolen from Kirkley Hall, it is the biggest robbery Northumberland has ever known. The owner sends for Stephen Lavender, a principal officer with the Bow Street Magistrates’ Court in London, to investigate the crime. Suspicion soon falls on impoverished farm labourer, Jamie Charlton, and the unpopular steward, Michael Aynsley.

Jamie Charlton is a loving family man but he is hot-tempered and careless. As the case grows against him, it seems that only his young brother, William, can save him from an impending miscarriage of justice.

But William is struggling with demons of his own. Desperate to break free from the tangled web of family ties which bind him to their small community, he is alarmed to find that he is falling in love with Jamie’s wife.

Set beneath the impenetrable gaze of a stray golden eagle whose fate seems to mirror that of Jamie's, Catching the Eagle, the first novel in the Regency Reivers Series, is a fictionalised account of a trial that devastated a family and divided a community.

Published by Knox Robinson

Welcome to Beachy Books!

2011-11-24T15:02:00.001Z

I met Philip on Twitter - his tweets made me laugh, I looked at his website and his books - and was so impressed I asked him to be a guest:

So please welcome Philip Bell Of Beachy Books

Pick a category: How would you describe your book?

I was asked the other day how I would describe our Jack and Boo children’s books. I answered by saying they were nature-led stories for children that combined fact and fiction, with spotter guides! Not exactly as catchy as Don Draper from Mad Men would have come up with, but it did start me thinking, was it an accurate description of the book? Just what category or genre does my writing fit? Do categories matter anymore? How would you describe your book? I don’t have definitive answers, but these are my musings...

I’m going to start by defining what I mean by category. I’m basically talking about the genre, the subject I guess. I didn’t use genre as it tends to only refer to fiction and most booksellers define it as category anyway.

The wonderful thing about being independent is you don’t have to fit into any particular category, genre or adhere to a publisher’s list. You can write the most unfashionable book ever if you so desire, you can splice up the genres, you can even mix fiction with non-fiction – shock horror! However, from a booksellers point of view, this can be a nightmare, as you may find retailers scratch their heads over where to place your book. My books have been found in various locations around the bookshop, from Local Interest to Nature sections, to Activity Books, and, only very occasionally, in the actual main children’s book section! But then, what sub section to put Jack and Boo in? Children’s picture books, early readers, spotter guides? And they are written in a poetic style – part free verse, part prose poetry, part my style – so why not the Poetry section then?

And don’t get me started on what age range they are for. I’m not a fan of age guides printed on the back of a book. As a child, I’d not want to be deterred from reading a book that a publisher thought wasn’t age appropriate for me or, worse, be put off a book that might turn out to be a gem, just because I thought it might be too childish for me. I came across this problem the other day when my 7 year old son frowned at me when I suggested we read (the original) Winnie The Pooh by A.A Milne for bedtime reading, saying he thought it was a “baby book”. Fortunately I insisted we read on and he soon found he was chuckling away. In many cases the sub text went way over his head (and mine at times!) making me laugh and prompting questions from him – all great food for the mind. I must admit this edition dared not to have a reading age on the back, but it was more his perception of the book, from a time when he was younger when I’d tried to introduce him to it. Only you know what level your children are at. And anyway, sometimes it’s nice to blow their minds – in a literary sense.

Of course, as a parent myself, I can see the benefit of being able to quickly choose a book for your child by going to a handy category or age range, and especially when trying to buy a present for another child, but it all depends on the child – we are all individuals, with our own needs, desires and interests. I’m not a number, I’m a free man!

A category can be a straitjacket. It can narrow down the topics that writers think they can write within. How many ideas have you disregarded just because you thought your subject wouldn’t fit neatly into a category? It’s a publisher and bookseller controlled model of the world, which I’m glad to see, with the advent of independent publishing, eBooks and online bookshops, is fast disappearing. Of course, as has always been the case, any good, independent bookshop will steer you towards the more interesting books that sit in the blend between hard categories. For the writer too categories or genres can also soon typecast you. You become known as one type of writer. It’s no wonder many authors have pseudonyms when they publish books different from the genre they’ve become known for. And some authors (or is it their publishers?) keep strictly within their category, even though their books are ostensibly in another, and in turn, would attract a different set of readers if they were. An example is the brilliant and diverse, Margaret Atwood, who is known as a “literary” author but who writes many speculative books, like The Handmaid’s Tale, that some would classify as “science fiction”.

I do think search engines have helped liberate readers (and writers). There’s no excuse now not to write the book you want to write, for the audience you want to write for. All that book buyers have to do now is use a search box to type in the subject they are interested in, and they can even get recommendations based on their previous searches and purchases.

I find it difficult to categorize my books, which is no surprise because, when I conceive them, I just write what I enjoy. It’s only when I come to redraft that I think about how a child or parent would perceive it, or where it may be stocked, and then decide if I should make any appropriate changes.

I’m about to publish the third Jack and Boo book in the series, a winter book called Jack and Boo’s Snowy Day. By now, I have a good idea of the audience, as I’ve had a chance to speak directly with parents and children who have bought our previous books. One thing I’ve learned is our books cross a wide spectrum of ages and subjects. They have been chosen by parents and grandparents of toddlers and young children for bedtime reading, as well as, teachers of reception to year 3 classes, who use our books across a range of curriculum topics including, nature, wildlife, conservation, the seasons, literacy and poetry. The feedback I’ve received has helped me shape this new book, and in turn, broadened the subject matter. As a result, it’s probably even harder to find a definitive category for our books, and for that I’m glad – at least we’re different and diverse! So, I now ask you to pick a category: How would you describe your book?

Helen has asked me to choose 10 guests of my choice – alive, dead, or fictional, with reasons, if I were having a dinner party. I was daunted by this, as I do agree that, as a general rule, you should never meet your “heroes”. But, just for fun, here is my list...

Chris Packham – I’ve briefly met Chris Packham at IOW Zoo, where he does much fundraising work, and he was kind enough to endorse our Jack and Boo’s Wild Wood book with lovely words. He’s always been a passionate environmentalist and communicator of conservation and wildlife knowledge, starting when I was a child on the Really Wild Show to Autumn Watch today. He’s also a great photographer and has brilliant music taste too – so he could supply the sounds!

Caroline Lucas – I’d love to meet Caroline Lucas as I have total respect for her in becoming the first green MP in the 2010 UK elections. I think she’d have many interesting things to say about how we could run the country in a more sustainable way.

Brian Cox – Brilliant physicist and intelligent communicator. I think it would be fascinating to chat to him about the universe, but please don’t bring any D:Ream Brian!

(HH: ooh can I come - I like him!)

Micky Flanagan – His London accent, jaunty comedy and brilliant stories would have us all in stitches.

Adam and Joe – They really count as one, so they can share a chair. Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish, comedians, actors, film directors, and creators of the funniest radio show ever. Intelligent and hilarious conversation, or just idiocy.

Hunter S Thompson – Late, writer of one of the funniest books on the planet, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, and creator of gonzo journalism. He was supposed to be a bit unhinged at parties, so perhaps it would be best to leave him outside?

Roger Deakin – The late, founder member of Friends of the Earth and nature writer. I’ve just discovered him from reading one of his books, Waterlog, where he swims the lakes, rivers and seas of the UK, ruminating on wildlife and conservation issues. It’s comforting to know there are other people out there who care.

Father Christmas – Errr, I’d just like to ask him how he does it all.

Jamie Oliver – He gets a lot of stick, but he also uses his fame to try and spread a positive message about good food and healthy eating. I’d rather he cooked dinner though!

David Cameron – I should start by saying he is not a hero. I’d like our PM at the dinner party so I could look him square in the eye and ask him why he isn’t doing much to protect the environment? Oh and I’d get all the other guests to educate him and grill him on the subject!

Thank you Philip - that was interesting and entertaining.

Buy the books my dear readers - ideal Christmas presents for putting in those stockings!
(I've bought them for my step-great-grandson....ssshhh! Don't tell him!)

Philip Bell is a writer, publisher and dad of two. He and his illustrator wife’s latest book, Jack and Boo’s Snowy Day, is out now, priced at £5.99 and published by Beachy Books – the perfect winter book for nature loving children everywhere!

More information at
www.beachybooks.com

Books available from
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com

and Follow Beachy Books
on Twitter
and on Facebook

Next time: Karen Charlton author of Catching the Eagle

My guest this week: Christina Courteney

2011-11-10T11:37:00.000Z

Thank you, Helen, for having me as your guest as part of the blog tour for my latest novel Highland Storms. As we share a love of history, I thought I’d talk a little bit about that, and in particular about doomed causes.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been fascinated by history ever since I was a child. I still remember my very first history lesson at school, when the teacher told us about Stone Age cultures and we were taken to see a sort of canoe or boat made out of a hollowed out tree trunk. I couldn’t believe someone had made that using only stone tools and from then on I was hooked.

As I was always a voracious reader, my father pointed me in the direction of things like the Norse sagas, the Odyssey and Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers. I think at first I took them as real history, until I learned to distinguish between fact and fiction. But they were the basis for my love of historical fiction and when it came to writing my own novels, there was never any doubt in my mind that this was the sort of thing I wanted to write myself.

Certain times in history seem more interesting than others, and also specific events. Personally, I love reading about doomed causes, the ones that in my opinion were just or right and should have succeeded. Throughout history, there seem to be so many of these doomed causes, which could have turned out well, but for one reason or another didn’t. These absolutely fascinate me.

I know you’ve written about King Harold and his doomed attempt to keep the throne of England. He came so very close to succeeding, and I have to admit I would very much have liked him to. It’s the same with the English Civil War – I so wish the Cavaliers had won and by rights they should have done! It’s only small consolation that they triumphed in the end through the restoration of Charles II. Most of all, however, I’m fascinated by the Jacobites, which is why I couldn’t resist setting my latest novel in the Highlands (although some time after the defeat at Culloden).It seems Bonnie Prince Charlie could definitely have achieved a free Scottish kingdom, but he’d set his heart on the throne of England as well and so he failed.

These “if only” moments stir up your emotions and you can’t help but take sides, I think. You ask yourself what if Harold hadn’t had to fight the Vikings first? What if King Charles I hadn’t been quite so unwilling to listen to good counsel? What if Bonnie Prince Charlie had been content with his Highland domains? But you know you can’t change history, you can only lament what happened and weave your own stories out of what occurred.

But that, in itself, is the fun part of being an author, because even if your fictional characters take part in doomed uprisings or whatever, you can let them survive and live a long and happy life, unlike the real protagonists. And apart from doomed causes, I love a happy ever after ending, so for me perhaps it’s best to stay in the world of make-believe I create myself.

Dinner guests

I’d like to invite (I’m sure there are lots I’ve forgotten, but these were the ones that sprang to mind right away):-

Jesus – I’m not religious, but I’d really like to meet the real historical figure and find out what it was about him that was so charismatic. I’d also like to clear up a few things that a lot of people seem to have misunderstood with regard to what he said/didn’t say, like the role of women within the church and so on.

Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar – I’d try to persuade him to tell me what secrets they were really hiding. I know people laugh at all these conspiracy theories, but those guys were definitely onto something or they wouldn’t have become so rich so quickly, or flourished for so long. I hate unsolved mysteries, I want to know what it was!

Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert of the Rhine – I have a thing about Cavaliers, as I mentioned, and he sounds like a fascinating man, not just handsome (and a renowned ladies’ man), but also intelligent and inquisitive. I think he’d be fun to talk to. If only King Charles had listened to him before the battle of Naseby, he may not have lost!

Bonnie Prince Charlie – here’s a man I’d like to talk some sense into! If only he’d been happy with being king of the Scots and not insisted on the throne of the whole United Kingdom, he could have been king, lived happily ever after and Scotland would have been its own country again. I would love to debate this with him!

Jared Leto – at last someone who’s not a historical figure, I hear you say, although his performance as Hephaistion in the film Alexander often makes me see him that way. Jared seems like a really interesting guy, a very complex character, and I’d love to chat to him about his various personas as an actor, singer, songwriter and film producer. And if that fails, well, I could just look at him … :D

The Queen – I think she’d hold her own in any conversation and she looks like she has a great sense of humour. It would be fascinating to hear her real views on the world.

Joe Elliott (lead singer of the band Def Leppard) – a bit of northern charm and down to earth attitudes would add spice to the table I think. Not sure he fits in with any of the other guests, apart from maybe Jared, but sometimes it’s good to have a mixture. And hopefully he could be persuaded to sing for us as well.

Roger Moore – I think he personifies the “English Gentleman” and he seems to have a great sense of humour too. I used to watch him as “The Saint” when I was a little girl and have liked him ever since – he’s my favourite James Bond of course.

Georgette Heyer – a very forthright lady, from all accounts, and one who could be counted on to stir up the conversation. I think she was very sharp, very intelligent, and it would be fascinating to talk to her about her books.

You Helen – as a previous blog guest said, it would be rude to leave out the hostess! We could debate lost causes between us and you can help me talk sense into Prince Charles Edward.

Thank you for the invite Christina -
can I sit next to him please? :-D

Many thanks for having me here!

It was a pleasure Christina - I am reading Highland Storm at the moment - love it! My next Sea Witch Voyage (Ripples In The Sand) is connected to the Jacobite Rebellion, although a little earlier than Bonnie Prince Charles - a bit part will be his father James III and the failed attempt to launch an armada in 1719.

Christina's website

Highland Storms

ISBN: 978-1-906931-71-1

published by Choc Lit

1^st November 2011

Who can you trust?

Betrayed by his brother and his childhood love, Brice Kinross needs a fresh start. So he welcomes the opportunity to leave Sweden for the Scottish Highlands to take over the family estate.

But there’s trouble afoot at Rosyth in 1754 and Brice finds himself unwelcome. The estate is in ruin and money is disappearing. He discovers an ally in Marsaili Buchanan, the beautiful redheaded housekeeper, but can he trust her?

Marsaili is determined to build a good life. She works hard at being housekeeper and harder still at avoiding men who want to take advantage of her. But she’s irresistibly drawn to the new clan chief, even though he’s made it plain he doesn’t want to be shackled to anyone.

And the young laird has more than romance on his mind. His investigations are stirring up an enemy. Someone who will stop at nothing to get what he wants – including Marsaili – even if that means destroying Brice’s life forever …

Read an Extract

Note from Helen:
I have just finished reading Highland Storms.
I suppose there are a few stereotypical characters - the bad man, the beautiful girl, the handsome, well muscled hero who can ignore any injury, no matter how painful.
There's the boy meets girl but neither of them are willing to admit they have fallen instantly in love... boy thinks he's lost his girl; girl thinks boy doesn't love her anyway..... bad man ends up..... (well I'm not divulging that bit!)
But to bake a quality cake you need a favourite recipe, and I can assure you, Highland Storms is fit for a Baker's Masterclass.
It has all the right ingredients required for a scrumptious read - and the icing on the cake is Christina Courtenay's wonderful ability as a writer of historical romance.
Highland Storms - highly recommended!

my next guest Beachy Books - fun books for children

Samantha Rendle

2011-10-27T00:57:00.003+01:00

My guest for Halloween...

Young Indie Writer Samantha Rendle
talks about her hopes, ambitions and her Vampire Novel!

I grew up surrounded by creativity. I’d watch my mum draw portraits of actors, actresses and band members and wonder how she did it. Her portraits were so accurate and so fascinating to me, and I thought that she could’ve easily made a career out of it. I started drawing people too, but found it very difficult. I thought, if she doesn’t make a career out of her art, I would. However, it took years and years of practice and I’m still far from perfect, far from my mother’s standard. But I knew that whatever career path I wanted to take, I wanted it to be creative.

I found my next idea in secondary school, in Textiles. I knew I’d enjoy it because I spent a lot of time as a child sewing with my Nan. At the end of Year Nine, the time to choose our GCSE options came and I put Textiles down for my DT option. I remember feeling terribly out of place; everyone was wearing makeup, and had styled their hair, whereas I walked into class in a hoodie, with no makeup on and unstyled hair. Everyone wanted to make dresses, but I made a hoodie. However, at the end of Year Eleven I was the one with an A under my belt, so I went on to do Textiles in my A Levels, along with Art and Media. I made a ball gown in my AS year, which was also awarded an A. But sewing always stressed me out and, at some point, had me in tears because I was convinced I couldn’t do it. I figured I didn’t want to pursue a career in fashion.

Next came my idea to be involved in the film industry. In my Media class, I was the quiet one with no one to work with, so I always worked alone. Not even the teachers noticed me, until I began my practical piece. Everyone worked in teams, except me. I gathered three friends from outside education and together we filmed a horror trailer. When I told the class my idea of a trailer for a vampire film, I was laughed at, even by the teacher. But I began editing alone in my corner, undisturbed, until Mr Talarico came over to me and asked to have a look. Embarrassed, and certain he wouldn’t like it, I reluctantly showed him, and he liked it. I remember the word ‘poetic’ being used. Suddenly my Media teachers liked me. They thought I was the best in the class, a genius. Mr Kaye-Smith even called me ‘Miss Samantha Rendle.’ However, I knew that even though I was good at practical work, my theory wasn’t up to scratch. Mr Talarico, however, was convinced I’d get an A. When I got an A in my AS year, I thought, maybe I could go on to do this. I could direct or edit films or TV shows. But my theory work still wasn’t good enough, and often had me stressed.

I clung onto the dream of pursuing a creative career. I’d often read a book or watch a film, an insight to someone’s thoughts or dreams, and feel something – happiness, sadness, confusion, inspiration – and I remember wanting to make people feel that way with my ideas. These were forms of art that offered an escape, if only for a little while. I remember the first story I wrote. It was in primary school. We had to write a short story in Literacy. I wrote about a boy on a flying pirate ship, with fairies for friends and pirate enemies. I handed it to my teacher at the end of the lesson, and the next day she told me it was the best in the class. When I reached secondary school, I was writing whenever I could. I had an ancient computer at home that I’d spend hours on, writing chapters or drafts, convinced each one would be my bestseller. I remember short stories I wrote for school – one about aliens in Year Nine and one based on the 2005 film The Skeleton Key that received an A* from my teacher in Year Ten. I continued to write throughout my secondary school years, but I never finished a story. I remember writing a few chapters of a story and emailing it to my sister, who asked me what author they were by. Then, in sixth form, I got a laptop for my seventeenth birthday, partly with birthday money and partly out of my own EMA. With no wireless, all I could do on it for the moment was write, so that was what I did. After a month or so, I had 250 pages, filled with my thoughts and imagination. I found SilverWood’s website on Google and sent them my story. Soon enough I was working on publishing my book with SilverWood.
It’s now my dream to write stories for anyone who wants to read them. I’m always searching for inspiration from anything and everything – adverts, films, books, plays, experiences – and moulding them into a story. It may never be a career as such, but it’s something I’d like to do, make people feel something with my words, my characters and my thoughts.

Available now on Amazon.co.uk
House Of Vampire Facebook Group

And your ten dinner guests Sam?

My Ten Dinner Guests

1. Sean Smith, vocalist for my favourite band The Blackout – The Blackout is my favourite band for a number of reasons. The first reason is because they can make me feel better in any situation. The second is because their music makes me feel something – You’re Not Alone often reduces me to tears. Another reason is because a lot of their songs often inspire me for stories. I chose this particular member of The Blackout because he’s hilarious and always has something funny or interesting to say. Also I’d like to talk to him about his music and his inspiration. (He’s also Welsh, which is a bonus – I love the accent!) I’ve met him twice, but you can never meet your heroes too many times.

2. David Cage, writer and director of PS3 game Heavy Rain – Heavy Rain is a game that makes you think. It’s a game that, in a lot of ways, mimics real life and makes the player think and reflect. It has multiple endings for each choice you make, and a strong ideology: in life, you only get one take and you can’t go back on the decisions you make. I’d like to talk to Cage about what brought the idea about and ask him which ending he thinks he’d get.

3. Joss Whedon, Screenwriter, television director, executive producer, composer, actor –He created the Buffy series and wrote and directed the new Avengers film. I think that’s enough said.

4. Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein – Frankenstein was just genius! I’d want to know how she came up with the idea, the characters, everything. I loved that book.

5. Altaïr, character from the game Assassin’s Creed – I’d have so many questions for him – what’s it like being an assassin in 1191? Will you teach me to climb buildings? – and he’s just cool.

6. R.L. Stine, Goosebumps author – I read a lot of his books when I was younger, and a few of them are still with me now. Night of the Werecat was one of my favourites, and is part of my inspiration for a book I’m currently planning for.

7. Alex Gaskarth, vocalist and rhythm guitarist for another band that’s close to my heart, All Time Low – Alex writes most of the band’s lyrics. I’d ask him about his music, but also about his experiences and how it felt to be signed at such a young age.

8. Jack Barakat, lead guitarist for All Time Low – I’d invite Jack as well as Alex because they interest me in different ways. Jack is the funniest member of the band, and maybe the funniest person I know of. He also has such a presence on stage and always puts on a good performance, so I think having him at a dinner party would be fun.

9. J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter – she’s just a genius.

10. Narnia’s Aslan – He’s a talking lion. How much cooler can you get? I’d imagine it like The Tiger Who Came To Tea but with more guests.

Join Samantha on Facebook

Next time - Special Guest - Christina Courtenay

Mr Mick Rooney

2011-10-13T11:03:00.003+01:00

Mick Rooney is an author, editor and publishing consultant from the Republic of Ireland. He has published nine books since 1990, through his own imprint, using author solutions services, and he has also published through mainstream publishers.

Welcome to my Guest Page Mick!
Thanks Helen for having me along as a guest for the blog book tour of my new novel The Memory of Trees.

I wanted to talk about the rebirth of the culture of the spoken word. In spite of the growth of ebooks, the competition from entertainment mediums like TV and gaming, and not to mention the challenges facing authors and the publishing industry in difficult economic times; the spoken word as a vehicle for the delivery of literature appears to be undergoing quite a renaissance. While we hear a lot about digitalisation in publishing and sales of ebooks soon to go into double percentage figures in the UK, we should not overlook the significance of the boom in audiobooks as well.

For me, in all the books of fiction I have written, short story collections and novels, I performed the work publically at readings and also set much of to spoken word and music performance. My new novel will be no different. When I write, I am usually writing with music in the background, so sound and rhythm permeates every word I write. That process of creation has become second nature to me.

Music and literature have always had a unique relationship, with both composer and writer in a never-ending struggle to perfectly construct and record their definition of experience through seduction and mystery.

Spoken word can be used to describe a musical or term of entertainment, referring to works or performances that consist mostly of one person speaking or reciting literary work (published or unpublished). Music in spoken word, more often than not, plays a background or accompanying role enriching rather than overpowering the word. The work may be written by the speaker (sometimes improvised in performance) or originate from a renowned writer, but the key should always be to deliver the words in a natural voice. Though presented musically, the song "Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)" by Baz Luhrmann, is an ideal example of this, as distinct from modern rap music where rhythm and melody is intrinsically interwoven into the overall performance. In entertainment, spoken word performances generally consist of storytelling or poetry, best exemplified by artists like Hedwig Gorski, the originator of performance poetry, British punk poet John Cooper Clarke, the monologues written by Spalding Gray, and the spoken word improvisations by Henry Rollins. In the 1980’s, the BBC began broadcasting British playwright Alan Bennett’s series of monologues called “Talking Heads”.

Spoken word as we understand it today in the western world—as a delivered performance—did not fully evolve until the late 1980s with the emergence of "Poetry slams," where spoken word artists would square off in duels (the equivalent of poetry’s X-Factor). Slam poetry and vocal events have been popular in India and Pakistan and many areas of the Middle East for centuries as part of the cultural ritual to weddings and other celebrations and festivals. In the United States, the competition of slam poetry arose in the 1980’s from rap music and competitions for rap vocalists. Like the previous Beat generation of the 1960’s, the common elements were political activism, social commentary and self-exploration. Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City is one of the earliest venues where poets could go and protest in spoken word about the ills of society. Def Poetry on HBO became the most visible venue for slam-type protest poets, but the poets did not necessarily compete against each other for audience approval. Indeed, every nation perhaps has its own story and folklore on the history and emergence of spoken word artists through culture and song.

Spoken Word as a new wave of cultural expression, just like the writers of the Beat Generation, was adopted by the youth of college circuits to describe a performing art form that began with the Postmodern Art Movement. Spoken Word has become something of a catchall phrase to describe anything that doesn’t fit into the already established categories of performance arts such as music, theatre or dance.

Two prime examples of the explosion of the live spoken word circuit closer to my own home are the Glor Sessions, streamed live across the globe with poet and MC, Stephen James Smith. It takes place in Dublin City every Monday night, featuring a host of local and international writers and musicians in an intimate and impromptu setting. The success of the Glor Sessions has led Stephen and some of the performing artists and writers on to large European music festivals such as Electric Picnic. Dublin also has its own Poetry slam in the guise of Literary Death Match.

Another example of spoken word flourishing is London’s Book Slam. Book Slam was London’s first true literary nightclub, featuring writers, live music and a Serbian DJ. Guests over the years have included the likes of Hanif Kureishi, Dave Eggers, Adele, Nick Hornby and Kate Nash. BookSlam was founded in 2003 by ex Everything But The Girl musician, Ben Watt, and author and Whittbread Book Award winner, Patrick Neate. Elliot Jack, promoter and producer, and Canongate’s Head of Publicity, Angela Robertson now run the event on the last Thursday of every month. This year BookSlam has taken its first step into book publishing with the release of an anthology of written material—appropriately, considering the subject of this article—inspired by music. The anthology features writing by Irvine Welsh, William Boyd, Hari Kunzru, Simon Armitage, and several other established and new authors.

For the record, Armitage chose to write a poem based on Joy Division's "New Dawn Fades" to explore lead singer Ian Curtis' suicide, Kunzru piece is based on "New Gold Dream" by Simple Minds, Boyd chose Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' "Tears of a Clown", and Welsh went for Republic of Loose’s “Comeback Girl”.

And in the digital age of publishing, BookSlam’s first published anthology will be available as an ebook, multi-platform app, and audio download as well as hardback. The stories will also be available individually.

However, many more spoken word artists and poets have not chosen publish their work in book form, preferring instead to use video and audio recording and the reach that mediums like You Tube and live performance can deliver. Spoken word artist Hedwig Gorski rejected what she described as the "dull-drums" of book publishing in the 1980’s. What is very definitely clear about the place the spoken word movement has in our oral culture and literature today is its continued rise across the world in all languages. The new wave of self and digital publishing has given a voice to many writers without a formal academic background, and whether live on a stage of performance, or through digital and audio platforms of distribution, the modern writing community is embracing spoken word in a way not seen since before the days of the Guttenberg Press.

Believe me, this whole digital age of publishing is not all bad news for the book reader and purist. Now, more than ever before, there are more and more chances to get close and personal with local and international poets and authors. Check your event listings for literary events, slams and festivals in your local area.

More about Mick:
Several years ago he began researching the publishing industry, and in particular Independent, POD (print-on-demand) and subsidy/self-publishers. Many of the findings of his research can be found at his site, The Independent Publishing Magazine together with his own experiences in the world of writing and publishing. He is the author of To Self Publish or not to Self Publish? A Seriously Useful Author's Guide.

He is also a contributor to many magazines and online resources including, Writers’ Forum, Publishing Basics Magazine, Publetariat, Carnival of the Indies, selfpublishingreview.com, Irish Publishing News, as well as many writing and publishing forums.

In September 2011, he published his latest novel with Book Republic, The Memory of Trees, available in hardback and Kindle ebook. When he completed writing the novel, he launch a spiritual site, Strength Through Joy featuring the serial pieces, Things That Happen, chronicling his own spiritual journey.

Mick Rooney can also be found on Facebook

H.H. The Memory of Trees: So what is your book about?

M.R. The Memory of Trees is the story of Carlos, a shepherd boy, who travels from his village home in Cyprus. He feels driven to following in the footsteps of Saint Paul, and his uncle, into the Middle East, through Israel, into Syria, and along the road to Damascus. Carlos is a teenage boy, bright, thoughtful and passionate, brought up on the traditions of his village and wise elders. So many of the experiences in the book for Carlos are microcosms of what we all have to experience in life loss of loved ones, exile from our natural environment—that safe place we all want to hold on to—and the journey of risk we all take in life without always knowing why we put one foot in front of the other.

I wrote The Memory of Trees very much in the style of a parable. It’s deceptively simple, and it was a change from what I had been writing up till then. In a nutshell – it’s a parable about listening to the inner voice, seeking our truths, rather than seeking inspiration or motivation from others in your life. I think it’s great to be inspired and influenced positively by others, but only so long as you understand what has made those people around you reach the decisions they make. Too often we follow footprints in the sand ahead of us without being willing to carve out our own track and plan.

H.H Is this your first book? If not what else have you written?

M.R. No, Helen, it’s not. I’ve think this is number nine! I’ve actually been writing and publishing books since 1985. I started out self-publishing my first book in 1990 with my own publishing imprint, long before the days of POD (print on demand) and ebooks. Back then, for a number of years, I was desktop publishing the print proofs, guillotining, sewing, binding and making up the hardback cloths and boards myself. I was a micro-publisher, packager, distributor and marketer all rolled into one!

I had an equal passion for the world of publishing as well as writing. I think even in my early twenties that I understood the life of a writer was a marathon rather than a sprint; a passion and dedication rather than a career move; and every book I wrote became a long book project—many revisited and rewritten over the years. I’ve written everything from poetry, experimental fiction, historical fiction, and literary fiction, articles on music and the publishing industry, and even managed a self-publishing guide! I’ve always prided myself in the fact that the written word can be published, read to an audience, performed, set to music—you name it. Certainly today innovation and reinvention are critical for authors and publishers.

H.H. You seem to be a bit of a champion for self published authors who have run into trouble? How did you get involved with this?

M.R. Ah, Helen, we’re in the gondola of self-publishing now, sailing down a tricky waterway! I’ll leave the romanticism to one side. Yes, I’ve self-published a number of books, but in the past two years I’ll been involved and published with a couple of mainstream publishers – Troubador in the UK, and Book Republic, an imprint of Maverick House in Ireland. Both have proved themselves to be very innovative publishers, way ahead of many big publishing houses in the manner both have operated their publishing models for their authors.

I don’t consider myself a champion of self-publishing, as such. Self-publishing is a very personal decision for any author, and for many, it isn’t the right way to go unless you have a grasp of how publishing really works, and you have considered all the reasons why you are looking at the self-publishing avenue.

I started The Independent Publishing Magazine in late 2007 as a resource for authors, because back then—and even now—there are just not enough information portals demonstrating a critical and objective eye on so-called self-publishing services, or as I’d rather refer to them as – author solutions services. That label brings together everything from printers, binders, packagers, subsidy, self-assisted and even out and out vanity presses.

I’ve always preferred to be called an author advocate, rather than some kind of champion or promoter of self-publishing services. It’s a bit like teenage sex. It’s going to happen no matter how much a parent can advise against it, so as a publishing consultant, I’d rather an author be well informed and advised on all the avenues and paths to publishing than see them make ill-informed choices or lose a lot of money on a poorly considered publishing venture.

H.H. From experience I have learnt that there are pros and cons in independent publishing - self or assisted. What advice can you give for authors who are thinking of going "independent"?

M.R. Helen, firstly, authors need to ask the question why they are self-publishing. Then, very critically examine what expectations they have for their book and career as a writer. None of those answers can come unless authors understand how publishing works, and unless their work has undergone proper and professional review in manuscript form from a skilled editor or writing workshop class or group. In the publishing world, and for perspective future readers – what your Aunt Mable or spouse thinks about your book really isn’t going to cut it as a marker of its true value. So—in short—write, write, write; edit, edit, edit; and research, research, research; before you ever consider approaching a literary agent, publisher, or the self/subsidy option.

As a consultant and research editor of The Independent Publishing Magazine, I’m inundated with emails every day. The two biggest bugbears I have are the emails that ask – What publishing service should I use? And, I self-published and got burned. That can be frustrating, because it tells me many don’t know how the publishing business works, and worse, report back to me of bad experiences with a service I’ve flagged as poor, or where there are outstanding problems. It was one of the reasons I introduced my Publishing Index on the site – a sort of stock exchange evaluation of 70+ services worldwide for authors. It gets updated about every two months, includes review ratings, email feedback from authors, updates and improvements on the services, and many other statistics I have built into the evaluation engine.

H.H. Tell us about where you live - Ireland isn't it? A town, a village....?

M.R. I grew up in a south suburb of Dublin City. Dublin is a thriving city of culture, literature, art galleries and music. Irish people are instinctively chatty, open and helpful, so it should be on any tourist’s literary holiday spot. I actually divide a lot of my time commuting between Dublin and Amsterdam (close to where my girlfriend lives), and another very classy, literary and cultural city!

My Dinner Party Ten Guests

I think it would just rude not to invite my hostess to the top of the table, Ms Hollick! (HH - thank you - I accept!)

Samuel Beckett is my favourite Irish author, but I’m not sure if he were alive today that he would take up the invitation! He could be a grumpy reclusive sod when he wanted.

Every dinner party should have a master of ceremonies, and Mr South Bank Show, Melvine Bragg, fits the bill for me. I haven’t read any of his fictional work, but during the 1980’s he wrote a wonderful book called Ten Great Writers.

Dennis Potter, gritty British playwright and writer of The Singing Detective. Who can ever forget that final interview with the above on Channel Four in the 1990’s.

R. D. Laing, the brilliant Scottish psychiatrist and author. I remember reading a book he wrote on Alchemy when I was researching my next novel (many years ago!) and when he turned up ‘tired and emotional’ on Ireland’s national chat show, confronted by his ‘condition’, snapped out of it and tore the host apart in one of the most sober and eloquent tirades I have ever heard.

Edgar Allan Poe, another of my favourite authors, and one we’ll have to keep an eye on as the night progresses. I reckon if we seat him next to Potter, he’ll be able to handle any political manifestos Poe sprouts during the evening.

Ernest Hemmingway. The only author, if pushed, and knows the guest list, he will bring a secreted revolver with him to the party. Hemmingway will definitely be the last to leave, and may insist on stopping over for the evening. He won’t be short of conversation and talking about himself.

Edna O’Brien, Irish novelist, having the advantage of living, she will be well able to deal with the many male egos around her. A cutting and brilliant literary tongue! She is one of the true respected voices of literary Ireland.

I think William S. Burroughs will do well to last past the starter once he knows Hemmingway is at the table, and chances are, both of them will end up in the back garden playing some form of dare game for keeps. Remember, Hemmingway came with the gun, but I reckon Burroughs it good with sleight of hand. Burroughs, for me, remains one of the true experimental mavericks of US literature.

I’ve long been a reader and admirer of what British novelist and feminist, Eva Figes, represents. She was born in Berlin, a Jewish survivor, and great supporter of all that is different and experimental about literature in England for many years.

It’s best if we put Franz Kafka sitting in between Figes and Bragg, both will listen entertain him in short bursts, but we need to keep him away from Hemmingway. I wouldn’t want any harm to come to the master of the physiological, but he will spend his evening watching everyone!

All in all, we might be able to pull this dinner party off with some delicate seating arrangements, and at worst, we might have a couple of manly brawls in the back garden and a few hastily-called midnight taxis.

Courtly Love and Anne Boleyn

2011-09-28T21:28:00.004+01:00

The Art of Courtly Love:
Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII

By Sandra Byrd

The art of courtly love and chivalric romance so popular during the early medieval period saw a revival during the Tudor era. Because the majority of noble marriages were arranged, with the focus being on financial or political gain, courtly love was a gentle, parrying game of flirtation wherein people might express true, heart-felt affections. According to historian Eric Ives, “The courtier, the ‘perfect knight’, was supposed to sublimate his relations with the ladies of the court by choosing a ‘mistress’ and serving her faithfully and exclusively. He formed part of her circle, wooed her with poems, songs and gifts, and he might wear her favor and joust in her honor … in return, the suitor must look for one thing only, ‘kindness’ – understanding and platonic friendship.” Many of the plays and entertainments in Henry the Eighth’s court reflected these values and Henry himself, early in his reign, was very chivalrous and courtly indeed.

Andreas Capellanus, in his definitive twelfth century book, The Art of Courtly Love, set out to inform “lovers” which gifts could be offered, (among them a girdle, a purse, a ring, or gloves) and to clarify the signs and signals that indicated such a love game was underway – or on the wane. This way the participants, and those around them at court, would know that the game was afoot. Physical attraction was one of many factors in courtly love, but sexual expression was not necessarily an element of the relationship. Cappellanus further posits that a beautiful figure, excellence of character, and extreme readiness of speech are required for a man or woman to fall in love, with character being the most noble element of all.

The longest game of courtly love, played out before all of Europe, was undoubtedly between Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. The relationship started out as courtly flirtation but as sometimes happened, it then progressed to a more serious, deeper connection with a significant goal in outcome and purpose. Although their courtly relationship did not follow each of the thirty-one rules Capellanus lists from the “King of Love,” it did dovetail with some of them – a few of which have been examined below.

Rule II. He who is not jealous cannot love. This rule immediately brings to mind the incident between Henry and Thomas Wyatt during a game of bowls. Thomas Wyatt used one of Anne’s ribbons and bauble to mark distance, and he meant to use it to provoke or test Henry’s jealousy. Henry, predictably, flew into a possessive bluster. Anne recovered nicely from Wyatt’s foolishness, but there was no further doubting that she was Caesar’s and not to be touched.

Rule IV. It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing. One of the most extraordinary things about Henry’s affection for Anne is that she was able to not only capture it but build upon it over a remarkable period of time – seven years from 1525 when it was clear he had fallen for her, to 1533 when their public marriage took place – allegedly, without physical consummation. He did not become bored or disinterested in her companionship. This was no mean feat when one considers Henry’s short attention span. He wrote tender love letters to Anne, some of which still exist, a powerful demonstration of his growing love as Henry loathed writing.

Rule XI. It is not proper to love any woman whom one would be ashamed to seek to marry. Much has been made of the fact that Anne “held out” sexually from Henry for personal reasons, and that Henry wanted his heirs by her to be legitimate, two among other valid reasons why they did not simply have an affair. But there is strong evidence to suggest that Henry found Anne worthy of marriage – he crowned her –and took great pride in displaying her before all the court. In Anne it is clear that for some time Henry believed he’d found a spirited soul mate who was as vibrant as he was and he desired for her to be his wife.

Rule XIV. The easy attainment of love makes it of little value; difficulty of attainment makes it prized. We’re often reminded that Henry left his wife and broke away from the Roman Catholic Church during his pursuit to marry Anne, courting war and ill will in the process. But Anne, too, made sacrifices. Her child-bearing years were quickly slipping by; there was a rush to judgment as she was reviled by much of the populace as a usurper; she had no official role nor position; and, finally, there was no guarantee that she would even have her marriage. Both of them risked much. Only one of them, in the end, lost everything.

Rule XXVIII. A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved. In the end, it took very little to convince Henry that Anne had betrayed him, a ridiculous acceptance of circumstances that demanded Anne be in places she clearly was not and act in ways that would never have gone unnoticed and that were in stark contrast to her character. . One must ask, why? Cappellanus answers that question for us, too.

“…when love has definitely begun to decline, it quickly comes to an end unless something comes to save it.”

At the point when the King’s affections began their precipitous drop, long after their game of courtly love was over and well into their marriage, the only thing that could have saved Anne was the son she miscarried. Chivalric values included integrity, protecting the vulnerable, and acting with self-sacrificing honor. Sadly, Henry did not turn out to be the “perfect knight” Ives speaks of. In Capellanus’s concluding section, The Rejection of Love, he references , “…lovers who have been driven by love to think of killing their wives and they have even put them to a very cruel death – a thing which all will agree is an infamous crime.” Unfortunately, this evil came to pass. In Anne’s final months, Henry was likely not driven to this crime by love of another woman, although he clearly had one in mind, but perhaps primarily out of love for himself, a nonvalorous motivation indeed

.HH. Thank you Sandra - that was so interesting! This is one of those periods that could have sent hustory off in a different direction (I find them fascinating!) Had Katharine of Aragon borne a son England would have stayed Catholic. Had Anne given Henry a living son.... maybe we would not have had Elizabeth I. I always feel so sorry for Anne - if only she had known that her daughter would become one of England's greatest monarchs.

A couple of questions:

HH : I admit to loathing the Tudors - Henry VII and VIII especially (probably because I am a firm Richard III supporter!) I haven't made up my mind about Anne yet. Was she a scheming little madam, out for all she could get (a crown!) or was she an innocent victim of Tudor politics? What do you think?

SB : I often say that Anne is either portrayed as vixen or victim and I don't think she was neatly either. All of us are three dimensional; Anne was, too. I think she was an ambitious and strong-willed woman in a time when meek and mild was the expected and admired norm. Remember, after all, during those years a woman could be publicly "clucked," or dunked, for appearing to be a scold to her husband or her father or brother. Women were chattel. She also appeared "foreign" for her French polish. Some liked that, some did not. I believe that's why she chose to go to her execution in English gable hood rather than the French hood she was famous for. She was making a point, at the end, that she was English through and through.

History, as recorded during those years, was written down mainly by men who held to those standards of the day. So I take their impressions with a bit of proverbial salt.

Anne certainly did seek to advance her family and herself through her marriage, and was encouraged in that direction by those who would benefit. But the same could be said for any of Henry's wives as well as 99% of the nobles and gentry class. It was the way things worked, then. She was a kind and loyal friend, an active supporter of the English Reformation, a fashionista, and politically astute, up till near the end. But she was also blunt, which made her enemies. The forthrightness that king loved in her in the beginning he was irritated an angered by in the end. What really did her in, though, like the queen who came before her, was the lack of a son.

Even her enemies admitted that charges against her were impossible and untrue.

HH ; Anne is obviously one of your favourite "Queens" - who is second on your list?

SB : Of Henry's wives, Kateryn Parr would be second, followed closely by Katherine of Aragon.

HH : I believe you are now working on another novel? Is it a sequel, or something completely different?

SB :There will be two more books in the Ladies in Waiting series. The second book, The Secret Keeper, takes place during the queenship of Kateryn Parr. She was a strong woman, given to the reformation, and a best-selling author. But she had a soft spot for a bad boy and it led her, and those under her care, into trouble and distress. I hope readers will find a deep, witty, and nuanced Parr in this book with perhaps a surprise ending.

The third book in the series will take place in the court of Elizabeth, and will also be told from the point of view of one of her ladies. We often hear about Gloriana, her power and amazing intellect, but not as often about Elizabeth's softer side as it intersected with her friends and her loves. Elizabeth was loyal but could also be a tempestuous friend, which made being her lady in waiting a bit of a balance walk and dangerous in its own right.

HH :Why - how - did you become interested in the Tudor period?

SB : I was always a nerdy girl who loved reading, and Jean Plaidy/Victoria Holt got me onto British history when I was young. She wrote quite a bit about the Tudor era, and I suspect the drama of the era hooked me and never let go. The "players" all seem like friends, and enemies, by now!

HH : When I was writing my novel Harold the King (titled I am the Chosen King in the US) I had great difficulty writing scenes about William, Duke of Normandy because I can't stand the man. I mentioned this to author Sharon Penman, who advised "Think of something good about him. It will help." That was quite a few years ago - and I'm still trying to think of something good about the wretched man! *laugh* In your opinion, what was "good" about Henry VIII?

SB : First, it's important to see him as the loving and charismatic man he was to Katherine of Aragon for many, many years, and to Anne, too, till very near the end. He did, absolutely, turn into a tyrant, and there is little left to love by the time he made it to Parr.

There is no doubt that Henry was a strong man, and during that period in English history, I think a strong sovereign was needed to coalesce the kingdom and bring peace and stability among the noble class, which then trickled down. Did that strength do harm? Yes, indeed, to a great many people. But when Henry VIII took the throne the Tudor claim to it was still a wee bit wobbly. After all, he and his mother had taken refuge in the Tower during his father's reign. I also believe that his "Great Matter," while initiated for personal intent, also brought about more freedom in religion, eventually, for everyone in the kingdom, and that includes peasants. I have a line in my book that says a farmer does not choose the gentlest beast to break a hard field, but rather the strongest one. The two are rarely the same beast.

thank you Sandra - you've been a very interesting guest!

Learn more about Sandra’s books Here : or purchase her new book about Anne Boleyn, told from the point of view of Meg Wyatt, To Die For

This original article first appeared at the site, The Tudor Trail

And Finally:

Choose ten dinner guests - alive, dead, or fictional, and why you've chosen them.

Although I adore the Tudor era, and most of the women who lived in it, I don't think I'd invite them all to dinner at the same time. Wouldn't make for a very good vibe, I don't think, no matter how good the food and wine. Instead, I think I'd choose 10 w

omen who have influenced me artistically and because I think they'd get on really well. That's the job of the hostess, right, ensuring that?

Jean Plaidy/Victoria Holt: It's all her fault. She's the author who first piqued my interest in British historicals. I'm eternally grateful.

Mary, the Mother of Jesus: I have always admired her graceful readiness to the challenges set before her, but she really came alive to me as played by Keisha Castle-Hughes in The Nativity Story.

Dr. Susan Doran: She's a solid historian (Oxford) who is meticulous with detail and able to remain nonbiased. Her voice isn't overly academic, she speaks easily to the common reader while commanding respect. Good sense of aesthetics in her books, too.

Mariko, from the novel Shogun: Brave, wicked sword fighter, loyal, feminine, terrific mother, great friend, open minded, educated, self-sacrificing. What's not to like?

Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane: Mother-daughter authors and editors, they worked seamlessly to bring Laura's stories to life. I'd like to work with my daughter one day, too.

Tiffany Arbuckle: She's an amazing, genre-bending musician with both contemporary and ethereal qualities that I love.

Cate Blanchett: Brilliant actress, melts into every role she plays.

Julia Child: So honest, so personable, so willing to be herself and not a people pleaser. And I need someone to plan the menu, right?

2011-09-15T15:53:00.002+01:00

My guest is Michele - known to her readers as

'Banana the Poet'

Hello Michele -

tell me about yourself, not just about your book.... who you are, what you do…

Who I am is rather confused. Part of what I do, is try to make sense of things using poetry. Often if I've been pondering on a particularly confusing part of life I will let my mind empty, sit at the keyboard and wait and see what emerges. Then I read the resultant poem and it clarifies matters. I am also a commissioning editor for a tiny independent press, a blogger, social media addict and a thwarted snorkeller.

I believe you used to live in Greece - that sounds idyllic to me. Sun, sand, sea.... what were the nice bits about living abroad?

I loved:

Snorkelling almost every day.

Getting free wild food…

Figs, lemons, oregano, fennel, rock samphire,

sea bass, all manner of fish.

Sleeping at night with the mosquito screens pulled shut but the double windows wide open

so I could see and hear the wildlife, gaze at the stars as I drifted off and then waking up to the cool morning breeze through the trees on the nearby mountainside.

Getting five or six loads of washing done a day because it took at most an hour to dry on the lines hanging from the balcony.

Feeling as if we were a welcome part of the community.

The beautiful flowers.

The sea, the sea, the sea.

Feeding Fish - Antissamos Beach

What were the not so good?

Not having good enough conversational Greek to communicate comfortable.

Not being able to flush used toilet paper down the toilet and having to have a little bin for that sort of thing.

Mosquitoes, no-see-ums and other bitey insects .

The constant sound of barking dogs. They were everywhere in Greece, and they never shut up.

One of the first things I had to do when we were over there was buy earplugs so I could get a proper night's sleep.

Finding out the level of corruption when things went wrong.

Are you intending to stay in Wales now - or does the better weather lure you back to Warmer Climes?

We will probably move again. Home is not a place but a state of mind. Our son is in his twenties and we are about to enter a new phase in our lives as a family. Wherever he goes we'll probably go too.

Have you always written poetry - why and when did you start doing it "seriously"

I think I began making songs and rhymes from the moment I could verbalise. I was very solemn about my poetry throughout my young life. I went on a residential course run in South Wales for young poets when I was in my early teens and 'discovered' Lorca and meter. I mostly wrote songs rather than poems in my twenties. Then in my late thirties I met another writer online who suggested I write and submit some poems to a few anthologies MacMillan books were putting together for children. I wrote six poems over the course of a couple of weeks, sent them off and got one accepted, paid for and published! That experience shocked me rigid and I stopped writing poetry for a couple of years and tried stand-up comedy instead. In 2005 I discovered blogging. A year later I started my funny poetry blog but it wasn't until 2009 I was brave enough to post my serious poetry online and start publishing my poetry as books.

What influences your ideas?

Absolutely everything and anything.

What advice can you give to people who want to write - and publish - poetry.

It's not that easy is it?

I'm not the person to ask for advice on this. I don't submit any more, I don't get involved in competitions any more and I self-publish. My personal goal is to produce books people want to read and which are not too embarrassing. So I'm paranoid about production values. Publishing poetry is easy - doing a good job of it is hard and selling it is even harder. I have no idea why people buy mine and I am astonished and grateful every time they do. When my books get into the bestseller lists I am flabbergasted.

Michele is on Facebook if you would like to chat to her

or her website

Ten dinner guests I'd invite and why.

Dan Holloway - writer and general mover and shaker.

Ann Holloway - musician, mathematician and original thinker.

Russell Brand - comedian and slightly less wacky than Dan.

Katy Perry (Brand) - singer and intelligent, innovative successful woman.

Eric Morecambe - He does that thing with the glasses :)

Mrs Eric Morecambe - to keep Eric company.

Elton John - he could do the thing with the glasses with Eric and they could do a duet on the piano. (HH. playing the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order? *laugh* - a famous Morecambe & Wise sketch.)

David Furnish - only polite to invite the partner. I expect he is interesting.

Miranda Hart - I would love to have my photo taken next to her. She is so tall and I'm only 4' 10 ¾. Plus she is so witty and clever.

Stevyn Colgan - writer, twitterer and generally lovely, lovely bloke who I haven't met yet and want to.

I would like these guests because I'm sure we would all have loads of fun and music and laughing and they are all people I either know (Dan and Ann and Stevyn) or think I would be able to get on with. Though it would be a bit of a squeeze in my tiny living room, if we had nice weather we would be able to have a nice al fresco taverna type dinner outside on our extensive decking. I hope they all like Greek food.

The best dinner party ever.

Holloways Dan and Ann

are the people I'd choose first of all

and then Miranda Hart

Cos I'm very short and she's tall.

I'd have to invite Steve Colgan

who is clever and fun and well-read,

and Eric Morecambe & wife

ignoring the fact that he's dead.

David Furnish & Sir Elton John

to keep the party merry

and hilarious Russell Brand

and his wonderful wife Katy Perry.

Well those are who I'd invite

for my ten dinner guests

But I have to say I doubt

that they would all say yes.

But the ones I know would come

are the ones that I love best.

Buy Michele's Poetry books from Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Question for you Michele - perhaps you could answer in the comments below....
Why 'Banana the Poet'?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2nd sept - My Guest - The Great Fire of London

2011-09-02T00:51:00.002+01:00

How I used one fire to make a game and two books

by Richard Denning

Thank you, Helen, for allowing me to visit your Guest Blog as a port of call during my blog tour.

This guest post is one of a series celebrating the release of my historical fantasy novel, The Last Seal. which is set during the Great Fire of London in 1666 and concerns the battle between secret societies over a demon imprisoned beneath London.

In 2010 I published another novel, Tomorrow's Guardian which is a time travel adventure in which as well as going to other time periods, the heroes visit the Great Fire. October 2010 also saw me bringing out a board game - The Great Fire of London 1666. So, as it transpires, this one event has had a rather dramatic influence upon me. This article is going to look a little at that influence and how it led to two books and one game.

I should start with a little explanation for readers who are not that familiar with the fire. Children here in Britain learn a lot about the Great Fire at school. Readers, however, may need a reminder - especially those from overseas.

London in the 17th century was built, in the most part, of wooden buildings leaning very close together. Many warehouses in the city stored vast quantities of items which would burn easily. The city was vulnerable to fire. All it took was a spark . That spark came in the early hours of September 2nd 1666 when a careless baker in Pudding Lane forgot to put out his oven fire, creating an inferno which would destroy much of London. It is estimated that the destruction included 13,200 houses, 87 churches, 44 Guild Halls, St Pauls Cathedral, Baynard’s Castle, the Royal Exchange, Newgate prison and many other important sites. Maybe 1 person in 3 or 4 of Greater London was made homeless. Something like £14 Billion of damages in today's terms was caused.

Now the time period concerned is a fascinating one. The English Civil war had torn the country apart and had only ended 14 years before. Charles I had been executed and the country was governed as a Republic from 1649 to 1660. There had been Royalist uprisings during that period and republican ones since Charles II returned to rule in 1660. There were serious religious tensions between the established Church of England, the Roman Catholics and the Puritans and other nonconformists. Plus, the great fear of a papist plot to force England to become Catholic again. England was at war with France and Holland and many people regarded foreigners with great suspicion. Trials for witchcraft still happened and people believed in omens such as eclipses and comets (both of which had occurred in the previous few months before the fire started).

London was still recovering from the horrors of the Great Plague. Finally this was 1666. The 666 in that date, mentioned in the book of revelations, had been seen by many as implying the end of the world would come.

All that added up makes for a great mix of elements that have bubbled away in my mind for a few years. When I decided to write a time travel novel a few years ago, and have my hero, Tom, rescue individuals from moments of great peril in history, the Great Fire seemed such an obvious one to visit.

I am a boardgame player and designer as well as an author. I had been messing about with some ideas for a board game linked to a great disaster and trying to escape it when I fell upon the idea of both controlling the fire and trying to protect London from it. In my board game the players are men of wealth and standing who own property around London. They can use pawns representing the London trained bands of militia to fight the fire, use demolitions to destroy blocks of housing to prevent the fire flowing or turn a blind eye and allow the fire to spread and damage a rival’s property. Victory can belong to the player with the most property left but putting out fires can give you a boost. In addition, each player will have several hidden objectives which might include helping protecting parts of the city.

The process of publishing a board game is a little like writing and publishing a book. Indeed some companies call game designers the Game Author. You first produce a early version and begin play testing it. This will be cardboard and sellotape and made on your home PC. You need to see if the game MIGHT work. This means getting players (often friends and family) to play the game over and over again till they and you are sick of it.

The game will go through various versions, akin to drafts of a book, and just as an author needs an editor to see what does not work in a book, a designer needs play testers to pick up on the flaws in a game concept.

After many plays the game design will take shape.

It is a good idea to bring the game to a convention such as UK Games Expo which I run as you can get feedback from players. Taking it to a games club is a good idea as well. You now need to get a publisher. Here you have the choice of doing it yourself if you can find printers and component manufacturers or using an existing company. Just like an author landing a publishing deal you will need to convince a company that you have a game people will buy.Finally if all goes well the game gets released. It is good to link this to a large convention. In the UK the UK Games Expo is the one to choose but the largest in the world is the immense Essen Spiel with 150,000 attendees over 4 days. Getting a stand there is a good way to reach a large audience of board game enthusiasts. We sold almost 400 games in 4 days there.

Now do not get the idea that you can retire on the proceeds. Just like publishing books most games will not sell much. You can also forget about being the next Scrabble, Monopoly or Cluedo. Just as it is hard for new authors to break into the mainstream so is it very hard to get anywhere near a high street store. But as with books, there is pride in producing a game and saying - look what I did.

When I was researching the start of the fire, I started thinking that given the superstitions of that time period in which many people did believe in supernatural explanations for much of what they saw around them, it was only a small jump to a plot focused around a fantastical basis for the fire.

This, then, was the spark of an idea that became The Last Seal. So we have the real world of 1666 with its cramped London of tenements and warehouses, celebrities and historical buildings, its markets and its thieves. Blended amongst it we have the spies working for the King, secret societies, sorcery and a demon.

The Last Seal is, I hope, fast moving, exciting and at times frightening, but I have strived to make it a good recreation of the period.

HH. Thank you for that Richard - its been fascinating learning about how board games are made.

Which ten people would you invite to a dinner party and why?

You can have anyone, alive, dead or fictional.

Richard: All four of my favourite authors – Tolkien, Pratchett, Frazer and Cornwell. I would love to be able to chat about their books and their writing. Bilbo Baggins because he knows how to have a good time and likes his food and drink. Hercule Poirot for when someone gets murdered (come on its inevitable - it is a dinner party). The Duke of Wellington and Alexander the Great so we can discuss the great battles of history. Sir Ian Botham (I am a cricket fan so he and I can talk about the game). Oh and why not Steven Moffat the Dr Who director and writer. Love to talk about his stories and find out what is going to happen in the next series.

You can read parts of all Richard's books and find out more about the game on his website.

and can purchase The Last Seal and any of Richard's books Here on Amazon.co.uk
and on Kindle UK

The Great Fire of London Board Game here

Mercia Books

Two Remarkable Parents

2011-08-18T13:41:00.002+01:00

Author Andrew Bradford talks about his parents who were both disabled by Polio - and were remarkable people.

AB: First of all let me thank Helen for inviting me to post on her blog and share this story. I haven’t known Helen for long; we got to know each other when for a short time we were published by the same company. Earlier this year I published ‘Live Eels and Grand Pianos’.

‘Live Eels’ is both a family memoir and, I hope, an important contribution to the social history of the twentieth century.

HH: Tell me about your family Andrew?

AB: My parents, Charlie and Kathy Bradford, were both seriously disabled by Polio when they were young children. Charlie caught the virus when he was three, in 1909, and Kathy when she was ten months old in 1912.

HH: How did it affect them?

AB: Charlie was less than five feet tall and he was disabled in both legs, his left arm and he had a severe curvature of the spine that meant he had to wear a leather and steel spinal corset that weighed over twenty pounds. Kathy was disabled in both legs. They both used crutches and leg –irons to walk around the house, and used wheelchairs outside.

HH: But they married and had a family?

AB: Yes. They met in 1940 when disabled adults were evacuated from London. They married in 1945 and I was born in 1948. We lived in Edmonton, North London.

HH: Were they able to work?

AB: Charlie left school in 1922 and for the next eighteen years he peddled sweets from his wheelchair outside the local grammar school. Kathy left school at 14 and found work as a tailoress. Her first job lasted one year, as did her second job and then her third. When she was sacked for the third time she asked her employer why, and she was told that the boss had found out that due to her disability, the employer would have to pay extra national insurance contributions, backdated to the day that she started. Kathy’s employer said that he couldn’t afford to pay that. Somebody else could do the job more cheaply. She had to go. She therefore came to an arrangement that she would reimburse the firm for the extra national insurance stamp.

She did this for ten years until the start of World War II, and she recorded all the payments she made in a series of notebooks. In 1938 she attended one of the first meetings of what became the British Polio Fellowship, a self-help organisation for people with her disability. A few years later the Polio Fellowship submitted these notebooks as evidence to the Beveridge Commission, and the national insurance rules were changed.

World War II changed their lives forever. Charlie was conscripted into the labour force and worked in a munitions factory. After the war he found work on the assembly line at the British Oxygen Company and he stayed there for the next twenty two years. He was very proud of that.

HH: Kathy must have been very proud that her evidence changed the National Insurance Rules. Did they campaign to change other things?

AB: They were always campaigning for improved access and mobility. They were committee members of the local branches of the British Polio Fellowship and the Disabled Drivers Association.

HH: What did they drive? Adapted cars?

AB: No, motorised invalid tricycles, known as trikes. The trikes only had one seat, and could only do about 40 miles an hour on flat roads. It was illegal to carry passengers, but they had to break the law if they wanted to take me with them when I was a small child. I had to sit in the space that was provided for a folding wheelchair. We had to travel in convoy, Charlie leading with me by his side, Kathy following with Charlie’s wheelchair by her side. It meant we could only go to places where Kathy could manage without a wheelchair, as Charlie depended completely on a wheelchair outside the house.

HH: What were other people’s reactions to your family?

AB: Many people showed us great kindness and gave us practical support. Some others didn’t. We were so unusual that the National Press often wrote about us. After “The People” wrote an article in 1950 Charlie was verbally abused and spat at by a man in the street who accused him of having a child that would grow up crippled, just like him.

HH: I hope times have changed. Could that happen now?

AB: Unfortunately it can and does happen today. Today you can read in the press about ‘disability hate crime’; which is mainly targeted at people with learning disabilities. But on the whole attitudes are much more informed and positive today. There’s less ignorance and prejudice.

HH: So Polio isn’t hereditary? What causes it?

AB: It’s a virus, similar to flu. In the twentieth century there were lots of severe epidemics in the UK that caused 4,000 deaths and left 58,000 people with disabilities. It was eliminated in the developed world by a vaccine in the 1950s, but it still affects people in Africa, India and Pakistan.

HH: So what made you write the book?

AB: I am so proud of what my parents, and other disabled people of their generation achieved. I wanted to tell the story in a way that it could be understood by a younger generation.

HH: Where can people buy “Live Eels and Grand Pianos”?

AB: From my website, www.andrewbradfordauthor.com or from Amazon.co.uk or Waterstone’s Enfield branch

HH: What are you writing now?

AB: I’m writing another non-fiction book. It’s the story of Dorothy O’Grady, the only woman to be sentenced to death for Treason during World War II. There’s the strong possibility that she wasn’t the German master spy she said she was, but a complete fantasist and an attention seeker who made it all up.

HH: Finally Andrew, which ten people would you invite to a dinner party and why? You can have anyone, alive, dead or fictional.

AB: I’ll invite nine people to make it a round number. My guests would be George Orwell, Dave Eggers, Joan Baez, King Juan Carlos of Spain, John LeCarre, Australian novelist Kate Grenville, travel writer Norman Lewis, and Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. You can come too Helen.

HH: Thank you, I’ll be there – I’d love to meet Joan Baez

Orwell has always been my favourite author since I was a teenager, and as well as being remembered for “1984 and “Animal Farm” his journalism and non-fiction writing is still admired today. Dave Eggers is an American writer who is following in Orwell’s footsteps as a non fiction writer and campaigner. Joan Baez has had a remarkable career as a singer, songwriter and peace activist spanning five decades. I hope she’ll bring her guitar to this dinner party and sing to us.

King Juan Carlos was chosen by Franco as his successor, and everybody expected him to continue as absolute rules of a Fascist Spain. Instead, he was instrumental in restoring democracy and making Spain a modern European nation.

I’ve read every book that John LeCarre had ever written, and I cannot fathom why he’s never won the Booker Prize. Nobody writes about moral ambiguity better than he does.

Norman Lewis was very under-rated a travel writer who wrote about Spain, Vietnam and Cambodia in the nineteen fifties, and was instrumental in the founding of Survival International, which campaigns for the rights of aboriginal people all over the world.

Kate Grenville’s “The Lieutenant” is a historical novel about the settlement of Australia. It’s deeply moving and also well researched. It’s about an Englishman who sets out to learn the aboriginal language, but more than that it’s about what makes us human. Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche writes about modern Africa and makes themes such as the Biafran war of the 1960s accessible to a European reader.

Andrew’s website website

1066: Apocalyptic Visions with Paul Bailey

2011-08-04T18:16:00.003+01:00

Hello my name is Paul Bailey and I’m a full time Marketing Manager, husband, father and amateur historian who enjoys writing about the Anglo-Saxon era.

Having recently published my historical novel 1066: Apocalyptic Visions as an eBook, I decided to dedicate more time to writing again, as my youngest son is now at University and my legs won’t take the punishment of playing football on a weekly basis!

I bought Helen’s excellent book, Harold the King in 2000 (still not signed by Helen yet, but hope to remedy that in October! ....HH. see my comment below Paul) ) and decided to contact Helen for her opinion of my book. As you would expect, Helen was very positive and she gave me the encouragement to write the sequel 1066: Rebellion!

I am in the process of planning this book now and hope to have it published by the end of 2011. I also have a third book 1066: Domesday in the pipeline. Therefore, I hope to have all three books printed in one as a trilogy. I think I will be talking to SilverWood Books nearer the time to try and make this dream come true.

My interest in the Anglo-Saxon era stems from the fact that it was never fully discussed as a topic at school. The World Wars were debated in great detail, but the English were on the winning side. Is it feasible that if Harold had won the Battle of Hastings that every child would know him as a great battle commander instead of the King that lost to the Normans?

It is also interesting to learn about how the Anglo-Saxons lived over 1000 years ago. We take running water, electricity, supermarkets, motor vehicles etc for granted, so it is quite humbling to learn how our forefathers coped with daily life.

There are so many unanswered questions regarding the Norman conquest of Anglo-Saxon England that is very intriguing. The propaganda of the Normans has to be commended because it is only recently that their convenient explanations for the invasion are being challenged.

I am challenging these every day as I write my books and articles and know that there are a number of English people that feel aggrieved at the poor treatment of King Harold’s memory. ( of history and kings: article )

I am looking forward to the Battle re-enactment in October and have even created enough interest for my wife to join me! I hope to meet some of you there.

H.H. I'll be at Battle in October Paul - in the English Heritage tent down on the field, usually from about 11 a.m (both days) Bring your book and I'll sign it! Or maybe we could meet for dinner on the Friday or Saturday?

Paul now has a blog where he writes "everything 1066" do join him!
1066 Trilogy Blogspot

Paul's Dinner Guests:

Harold Godwinson, a number of questions for the rightful King. What does he now think of Morkere and Edwin?

Tom Baldwin, my Father-in-law, whom I never met, as he died when my wife was 10 years old. So many questions I have to ask him!!

Tchaikovsky to play during the meal

Tommy Cooper for entertainment

Billy Wright, first England player to gain 100 caps and Wolverhampton Wanderers legend

Sydney Bailey, my Grandfather, who passed away 5 years ago. Still have a number of questions regarding his Second World War exploits that I need so that I can write about his experiences.

Amy Bailey, my Grandmother, who passed away 7 years ago, just to keep my Grandfather on his best behaviour!

Winston Churchill, inspirational leader and great dinner guest

Sir Arthur Wellesley, for his account of Waterloo

William the Bastard, just to ask him about his guilty conscience!

Buy Now on Kindle

Inspiration (a musical interlude)

2011-07-23T11:20:00.014+01:00

~ A Musical Interlude - Part One ~

Welcome to my Guest: Bronwen Harrison

Leli and Bronwen
Lumina

Bronwen is a talented musician and songwriter; she has two musical outfits, Lumina and Guesswork each very different – both awesome.

Bronwen is also on the 1066 movie team with me, her music and haunting songs will be used in the soundtrack (when we eventually get this movie made that is). More recently you would have heard her on the soundtracks to my book trailer videos for Harold the King (U.S. I am the Chosen King) and Sea Witch.

Many authors use music as inspiration for their work – for instance, Elizabeth Chadwick uses “mood music” a lot. As do I. Maybe a soft, romantic flavour, or something dramatic to help the Muse along with a difficult, action-packed battle scene?

Last year Bronwen gave a superb talk for the NewWriters UK Book Festival in Nottingham and I persuaded her to send me her notes. As with writers, musicians and singers have a hard time marketing their work and getting noticed. So here’s my personal bit to bang the drum for Bronwen Harrison....

Bronwen’s words:

I don’t have a clue what constitutes the perfect inspiration for getting the feel of a scene just right! I don’t think it can be quantified, categorised or pinned down to a particular factor or source. Yet I do know that often it’s simply having the time and place in sync and the mood a perfect fit.

I think the key to inspiration is not to look for it. It can’t be forced – it will come when the circumstances and timing are right. At the same time, it’s important to be always open, with the antennae primed for receiving what life may present. An addiction to ‘people watching’ helps!

I’m not a novelist or a writer of stories in the usual way, but as a songwriter, I also seek inspiration and often find it when I am least expecting it – odd situations and events producing a ‘short sharp shock’ that in turn sparks off the need to write.

As a small child I quickly developed a love of music. I was not academically gifted at school. Difficulties during my teens were dealt with by going spectacularly off the rails! When I was fourteen, a student science teacher worked at my school for a few weeks. I welcomed her with one of my usual, ‘I’m not interested in this crap’ presentations during a lessons and she kept me back after class. ‘Well, what are you interested in?’ she asked. So I told her; words, wordplay - arty-farty stuff that just wasn’t on the school agenda. The following day she brought in a small book of Haiku – a precisely structured form of poetry (usually three lines, seventeen syllables).

Those little snapshots of emotion and observation were like nectar to me – cleverly capturing a world in a few words – rather like song lyrics. They provided the inspiration I needed to begin a lifelong relationship with writing combined with my first love of music. I saved my pocket money, bought a tatty old guitar from a jumble sale, taught myself to play and began writing songs. I’ve been a songwriter now for over 40 years, professionally for the last 21.

That student teacher provided the catalyst that helped change my life! I hardly need say how grateful I came to be that she had the guts to challenge the grumpy teenager.

My song, ‘Mentors & Muses’ (Listen here on Cabin Fever) is about some of the people who have influenced or inspired me in life. Her contribution features in the opening lines:

‘You who took the trouble – you who took the time

When all around was desert, you were my irrigation

Just passing through with your oriental rhyme

Did you recognise some water in motion?’

Although being a songwriter is different to being a novelist, comparisons can be made. In songs, the story is honed down to a snapshot. To give an example; in Helen’s historical novel Harold the King – a hefty book full of wonderful period detail and great storytelling - the depiction of his battle against William at Hastings is rich and action packed, covering many pages. On the same subject, ‘This Land’ which I hope you will one day hear on the 1066 movie soundtrack, comprises just a few lines:

‘This land of wind and rain and frost and fire

This land of sun and sea and mountains all

Infinite life it begets

Worth the price that it demands

This man of heart and mind and strength and valour

This man of flesh and blood and mortal pride

All held on the breath of a moment

Plays the dice the day has cast

One life, one heart, to win, to lose

This love, this prize, this land

That lives and waits upon no man’

(HH Take it from me - This Land is a beautiful song! Another song that Bronwen has composed for probable use in the 1066 movie is "God Be With You" - Edyth Swanneck's prayer to Harold as he marches north to face battle at Stamford Bridge. You can hear the entire song below as the soundtrack to my Harold the King (I am the Chosen King) book trailer below)

Guesswork

I am often inspired by other people’s work and unashamedly use those influences. It can be a line or phrase; a captured feeling or even a character.

For instance, I have always been intrigued by Miss Haversham in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Her world - a dusty room full of cobwebs adorning a wedding breakfast; she herself withered by lost love into a dry empty shell. Pathetically she sits, an embittered old woman in a yellowing bridal gown, her life suspended, as though time has stood still, her life put on hold since she was jilted at the alter. Her lover having pushed the pause button, poor Miss Haversham would never play again.

The character inspired the song, ‘Gathering Dust’ – with the chorus: ‘You hit pause and now I’m gathering dust’ and a video to accompany it.

(HH: information snippet - the wedding dress in the Gathering Dust Video was mine!)

Some years ago I wrote the song ‘Anything’ – inspired by the film Fatal Attraction. It has become known affectionately as my ‘bunny-boiler’ song! On first hearing people often comment on what a sweet love song it is. On the surface, yes, it would seem to be about a great love: ‘I’ll do anything for you, anything!’ - I tell them to listen again and more closely to the background vocals. They reveal an underlying meaning – a dark hearted song about possession, a claustrophobic and dangerous obsession. Listen to Anything here on Cabin Fever

(HH for some reason when I first heard this song I thought of vampires – of someone claiming a life forever through a Dracula-type possession!)

Other people’s poems have often influenced me greatly too.

In the C15th, a medieval nobleman, Anthony Woodville, wrote an amazing poem in his prison cell in the Tower of London, just a few hours before he was beheaded. On reading it, I wrote a song called ‘Your Poetry’, using some of his own phrases which I hope capture the strong emotion and desperate nature of his situation - the life of ‘this worldly being’ hanging on a thread soon to be broken as a result of ‘fortunes irony’. Listen to Your Poetry on Cabin Fever

Some 50 years on, another poet was writing from a cell in the Tower after witnessing an execution. Thomas Wyatt, Court poet to Henry VIII, had been in love with Anne Boleyn. Arrested with her, his life was spared but he was exiled.

Wyatt watched her death and wrote emotionally of it afterwards. The writing is poignant and all too human as he tells of being unable to get the sight out of his head, his tears running through the grill in the window as he watched Anne die. It moved me to write the song ‘Sorrow’s Tears’.

(available on This Ae Nite Lumina Music

It’s not all tears and fears though. I was once more happily inspired by a rather beautiful moment when I suddenly became sharply aware of my connection with the world. I was working on a Victorian Farm at an Open Air Museum. I was shown how to work two gorgeous Shire horses. After several months of instruction, having grown muscles on muscles, I was finally allowed out on my own with them to harrow a field.

As I walked behind the pair, I was suddenly struck with a powerful awareness that I was walking in the path of my ancestors. I was doing what people before me had done for centuries. In that instant, the title and idea for ‘Dead Men’s Shoes’ formulated. It was one of those rare moments that crystallise all existence; when your place in the Universe is briefly clarified as part of the continuing cycle of life.

‘Look out through the hollow of sunken eyes, see what lies ahead when I look behind me’

Listen to Dead Men's Shoes on Cabin Fever

I was keen to capture the rhythm of the horses in the music; the wonderful sway and hypnotic percussion of their walk. The song has become a personal favourite as it evokes warm memories of those beautiful Shires.

Many of my songs have very specific inspirational sources like that. One afternoon, I was walking my dogs in nearby fields. Feeling particularly low that day and further depressed by the rain, I noticed a tree (I must have seen it on many occasions). It had no top and the trunk was split, the inside black and burnt out. That tree seemed to symbolise how I felt – empty, hollow, dead inside! Like looking into a mirror. On returning home I wrote ‘Sometimes’. There is nothing poetic about the lyrics – just a matter-of-fact recollection. No exotic inspiration; a mundane tree trunk that I’d passed many times without notice. Only, on this occasion, it had become my mirror.

‘Today I went out to the fields nearby

Walking while the rain came down like a torrent of tears

That had waited a century to fall

I passed right by an old dead tree

With its trunk split open from the ground to the sky

And someone had burnt out the middle

Leaving nothing but a big black hole inside

Sometimes you look into a mirror

Sometimes you glimpse a sad reflection

And it feels good from time to time

Just to howl at the moon’

HH And often, the mirror into the soul is what sparks the words to write.

This track is Featured on the solo album Undying Love

Bronwen’s Blurb

Bronwen was born in north-east London. Music has been a continuing passion throughout her life and she has been keen to embrace a variety of genres. Although she continues to write, record and produce her own material, Bronwen is happiest when working with others who share the bliss of creating music.
In the late 1990’s she met the amazingly versatile guitarist Peter Stothart and together they formed Guesswork. They regularly perform live and have produced two albums, attracting great reviews.
www.guessworkmusic.co.uk
In contrast, Bronwen is also part of period music duo Lumina with Leli Hockin. They perform the beautiful music of our past, from medieval times to the Victorian era.
www.luminamusic.co.uk
Bronwen composes original music to accompany short online trailers for authors promoting their books. In this field, she works closely with Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics, who creates each film individually to best capture the essence of the book.
www.avalongraphics.net
In addition, Bronwen creates music and songs for most kinds of theatre productions and films. She has recently composed a number of original songs which will be featured in the proposed movie production, 1066

Also a professional actor, Bronwen has worked with numerous children’s touring theatre companies as well as taking on serious roles in political plays and contemporary mask and physical theatre productions. She has also performed in Panto and Street Theatre comedy shows.

Bronwen’s Dinner Guests

1. Charles Dickens (a favourite writer)

2. Richard 111 (to discover the truth)

3. Emily Bronte (bonkers but so interesting)

4. William Hogarth (for humour & social comment)

5. David Starkey (provocative & knowledgeable)

6. Gunter Van Hagen (contemporary anatomist)

7. William Marsworth (a hangman who developed the successful long-drop)

8. Ella Fitzgerald (to sing for us)

9. Samuel Pepys (for humour & interesting stories)

10. Marco Pierre White (who else will cook for us?)

Thank you Bronwen (You & Ella Fitzgerald singing together after dinner... wow!)

A wonderful bonus to setting this particular Guest Post - I have been listening to Bronwen's songs

and her beautiful voice - and they call this job I do "work"?

Buy Cabin Fever - or listen to some tracks

Buy Enter Alone - or listen to some tracks

Book Trailer Soundtracks - Bronwen Harrison
(designed by Avalon Graphics

~ A Musical Interlude - Part Two ~

I am proud to announce the launch of Songs of a Sea Witch
a collection of nautical-based songs.

The CD has been especially put together by Bronwen Harrison
to compliment my Sea Witch Voyages.

Click here to listen to some excerpts from Songs of a Sea Witch

Listen Here

Sea Witch

Porthia Tango

The Seer

Drown

Between

Across the Sea

Dark Music

Breeze

Heading North

Beyond the Clouds

Endless

The Moons of Grieving

She Calls Me / Siren

Gallows Wake

Seabirds

BUY HERE

Dark Music is a song about Blackbeard

Gallows Wake will be the inspiration behind a future adventure for Jesamiah Acorne

and a small part of it is the soundtrack for the Sea Witch Trailer

Believe me you are in for a treat!