The Writing Desk

Historical Fiction Spotlight: A Hunt for Justice: A historical mystery of murder, superstition and hidden family crimes (The Justice Belstrang Mysteries Book 2) by John Pilkington

2026-07-29T05:50:00.047+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

England, 1617. Susanna Cobbett, teenage daughter of a powerful Worcester landowner, is found dead in a gloomy woodland pond which has an evil reputation as the Witching Pool.

The girl is said to have drowned herself, driven to madness by local widow Agnes Mason, who is arrested on a charge of witchcraft. If found guilty, she will hang at the next Assizes.

But Justice Belstrang, shrewd ex-magistrate and sceptic, does not believe a word of it. And when Agnes's family beg him to help, he finds himself caught up in an ever-darkening mystery.

With the help of his friend and fellow sceptic Doctor Boyd, Belstrang unravels the terrible crimes that have lain hidden behind the doors of the great manor of Ebbfield.

Belstrang must confront and apprehend his suspect - and risk his own life in the attempt.

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About the Author

A writer for over forty years, John Pilkington has written plays for radio and theatre, television scripts for the BBC and numerous historical novels set in the Tudor and Stuart eras. They include the popular Thomas the Falconer series, now being reissued by Boldwood Books, the Martin Marbeck Mysteries featuring a government spy or 'intelligencer' (described by Booklist as 'a seventeenth century James Bond') and the Justice Belstrang Mysteries, also to be republished by Boldwood. Born in the north-west of England, he now lives in a Devon village with his partner, and has a son who is a psychologist and musician. Learn more by visiting his website at www.johnpilkington.co.uk or find him on Twitter @_JohnPilkington and Bluesky @johnpilkington.bsky.social‬

Blog Tour Spotlight: One More Hour of Daylight, by C.M. Gray

2026-07-27T05:01:06.261+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

On the first day of World War II, a young man makes a promise—one that will shape every choice he makes for the next four years.

Essex. September 1939: A wounded German pilot drops from a clear autumn sky into a quiet English field. Seventeen-year-old Derrick finds him—broken and feverish. Not an enemy. Just a young man asking for one small mercy before everything ends.

One more hour of daylight. That is all I ask. A chance to breathe free air before whatever comes next. Derrick gives him until morning. When the stretcher comes, the pilot’s last words strike Derrick like a blow he will never stop feeling.

Scotland. France. Germany. 1941–1943: In the mountains of Scotland, they teach him how to kill, how to lie, and how to endure things that break most men. Then they give him a new name, put him on a plane, and drop him into the dark.

As an SOE operative deep inside occupied Europe, Derrick Sedgley lives on false papers, borrowed names, and nerves worn to nothing by years in the shadows. He moves agents to safety, builds escape routes, and stays one breath ahead of the Gestapo.

Then a mission collapses—and everything changes. Forced to run, Derrick finds himself moving through the most dangerous corners of occupied Europe alongside someone whose connection to his past he cannot yet see. As safe houses fall, loyalties fracture, and the frozen passes of the Pyrenees rise ahead like the edge of the world, Derrick begins to understand something.

The choice he made in an Essex field on the first day of the war has been leading him here all along. Some debts cannot be paid. Some can only be carried. And some—if you are brave enough, and fortunate enough—can finally be laid to rest.

From the quiet fields of Essex to the mountains of Scotland, from the dangerous streets of Lyon to the shadows of wartime Hamburg and the high passes of the Pyrenees, One More Hour of Daylight is an unforgettable story of courage, guilt and redemption—of ordinary people forced to make impossible choices in extraordinary times.

Some promises can survive a war. Some people can too.

Praise for One More Hour of Daylight:

"A beautifully written book with a perfect pace that kept me reading
from start to finish." ~ Bookcollector, Amazon 5* Review

"A confident, carefully crafted novel that handles its subject matter with restraint, earning the weight it carries." ~ Indie Library, Goodreads 5* Review

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About the Author

C.M. Gray's first book, The Flight of the Griffin, was longlisted in the 2015 Times Chicken House Writing Competition. Shadowland, the first book in the Pendragon Saga, has so far received over 900 five-star reviews on Amazon. These things still genuinely astonish him, and he is deeply grateful for every one of them. Most of his previous work has been fantasy: either pure fantasy or historical fantasy, the kind of writing where druids turn up uninvited and one of your main characters develops an unsettling affinity with wolves before you have quite decided what sort of book you are writing. Shadowland began with every intention of staying grounded in historical reality, the story of Uther Pendragon. It did not. It has turned out to be a popular book, so he does not complain. C.M. Gray is now happily settled just outside Barcelona with his wife and partner in life, Adriana.

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Da Vinci’s Masterstroke, by Lorraine Amrani

2026-07-26T05:47:49.448+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

When the guns fell silent in 1945, one man uncovered a secret the world was never meant to see.

Special Officer Max Page-Hamilton – art historian, British officer, and one of the famed Monuments Men – stumbled upon Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring’s looted treasure trove in the final days of the war. Hidden behind the stolen Mona Lisa lay a sealed envelope bearing Göring’s personal wax seal… and inside it, a revelation capable of shaking the foundations of art history. Papers penned by Leonardo da Vinci himself, words so explosive that Max locked them away, swearing never to unleash their consequences on a fragile postwar world.

Decades later, his granddaughter inherits not only his legacy, but the burden of truth he dared not reveal.

Now, as global tensions simmer and the art world stands at a precipice, she steps into the spotlight he avoided. What Leonardo wrote in the 16th century was no ordinary treatise – It was a masterstroke of genius, a confession, and a key. A secret capable of re-drawing the line between myth and history, power and obsession, beauty and deceit.

From the salons of occupied Paris to the shadowy corridors of the contemporary art market, Da Vinci’s Masterstroke weaves together wartime intrigue, artistic passion, and a mystery that transcends centuries. Rich with historical detail, driven by emotion, and brimming with suspense, Lorraine Amrani crafts a thriller for art lovers and truth seekers alike, a story where every masterpiece hides a motive, and every revelation comes at a price.

What if the world’s most celebrated painting was never the real story? Open the envelope. Follow the clues. Discover the secret that could turn the art world upside down.

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About the Author

Lorraine Amrani was born and raised in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and Queens, and was fortunate to have had many opportunities to develop and extend her range of interests, inspired by her historical surroundings. Lorraine spent time working in the Palace of Westminster for a prominent cabinet minister. Following this, Lorraine trained as a nutritionist but her growing passion with art and creativity led to three years studying the History of Art in Greenwich, whilst actively pursuing her career as an artist, first with drawings, but quickly embracing Oil Painting as her preferred medium. Since then, her artwork has been featured in many exhibitions, publications and prominent offices, and in 1995 was honoured to receive a commission to paint the portrait of Wilhelm Roentgen, the inventor of x-ray to celebrate its hundredth-year anniversary. Lorraine continued to broaden her creative passions. She found herself in the London studio of candle-maker to the king, to learn the age-old artisan craft of traditional candle-making, and soon came to understand that producing candles were not for the faint-hearted, due to the unpredictable nature of the molecules when trying to create a distinctive perfume. But finally, a successful brand emerged. More recently, Lorraine has taken advantage of Britain’s world class museums, galleries and exhibitions to indulge her imagination as she examined in forensic detail the lives of the world’s most celebrated artists. It was this, that sparked a creative ambition that persisted until finally sitting down to write her first work of fiction, an art thriller. Da Vinci's Masterstroke was the result. When Lorraine is not working on new creative ventures, she has started to research and collect artefacts from the ancient world. Find out more at https://lorraineamrani.com/ and follow Lorraine on Instagram and X at @Amraniframe

Book Launch Spotlight: The Women Who Clothed the Stuart Queens: Gender and Work in the Royal Wardrobe and the Fashion Marketplace by Sarah A. Bendall

2026-07-25T06:52:40.960+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

This study explores for the first time the changing professions and roles of the women who worked to clothe six Stuart queens between 1603 and 1714: Anna of Denmark, Henrietta Maria, Catherine of Braganza, Mary of Modena, Queen Mary II and Queen Anne.

Queen Anne of Great Britain by Michael Dahl, typically dated to around 1702

Beautifully illustrated in full colour throughout, and using a wide range of written, visual and material sources, this book explores how changing patterns of work and consumption saw women become key producers, retailers and consumers of fashion during the 17th century, and illuminates the strong connections between the royal courts and London's fashion marketplace.

From royal wardrobes, workrooms and laundries to workshops and retail premises in London's bustling streets, Sarah A. Bendall highlights the integral role that women of multiple backgrounds played in the creation and maintenance of elite dress. The royal accounts show that this work was facilitated by migration, global trade, familial networks and changing guild structures, and that the patronage of queens and elite women was integral to supporting and promoting women's rise in the fashion trades as celebrated silkwomen, tirewoman, milliners and mantua makers.

The Women Who Clothed the Stuart Queens challenges understandings of women's work in the court, the household and the fashion marketplace, and shows how clothing played a key role in women's economic participation in 17th and 18th-century England more broadly. It offers fascinating insights for all those interested in the history of women and gender, fashion, material culture and consumption, and, of course, to all those interested in Stuart history.

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About the Author

Sarah A. Bendall FRHistS is an historian of fashion, material culture and women. Her work focuses on the production, trade and consumption of global commodities and fashionable consumer goods, particularly during the long 17th century. She also has expertise in historical dress recreation methodologies. She is a Senior Lecturer at ACU and was appointed as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2023. Her work has been profiled in several media outlets including the Australian Financial Review, The Conversation and Daily Mail Online. She regularly appears as an historical fashion expert on Australian radio. Find out more at https://sarahabendall.com/ and find Sarah on Instagram, Twitter/X and Bluesly @sarahabendall.bsky.social

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Outlaw Knight (III): Romanslayer by David Pilling

2026-07-24T06:04:16.445+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

The Roman Empire is shattered. Constantinople has fallen, and the armies of the Fourth Crusade march unchecked. Nothing seems able to halt their advance.

AD 1205. Philip of Cognac—bastard son of Richard the Lionheart—stands in the path of disaster. The Roman armies are scattered and broken. From the crumbling refuge of Nicaea, Philip and Theodore Laskaris struggle to rebuild an empire on the brink.

Sent on a perilous mission, Philip sails west to seek alliance with Bulgaria. Its ruler, Tsar Kaloyan—feared as the Romanslayer—is a ruthless warlord who despises the Romans. To save the empire, Philip must persuade him to set aside old hatreds before the crusaders strike the final blow.

Together, the fallen kingdoms may stand. Divided,

they will be destroyed.

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About the Author

David Pilling is a writer and researcher, addicted to history for as long as he can remember. The medieval era has always held a fascination for him, perhaps because he spent much of his childhood exploring the misted ruins of castles in Wales. David also has a keen interest in the Byzantine Empire, the post-Roman period in Britain and the British & Irish Civil Wars. Follow David on Facebook, Twitter @RobeH2 and on Bluesky @robeh1979.bsky.social

New Book Launch: Jane Seymour: Patronage, Material Culture and Image Crafting (Lives of Royal Women) by Elizabeth Norton

2026-07-23T05:10:19.224+00:00

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII, was queen of England for only seventeen months, something which has accounted for the little interest shown in her by historians. In her lifetime, however, she was a significant political figure, while her legacy and memorialization extended beyond her early death following childbirth in October 1537.

Jane Seymour: Patronage, Material Culture and Image Crafting is the first full length academic study of Jane’s life and queenship. Using extensive archival research, it pulls together all of the surviving information to provide both a biographical and a thematic account.

Chapters include a consideration of Jane’s queenship and political role, her material cultural environment, her household, her financial position and her religion, before also considering her afterlife and attempts to commemorate her both officially and unofficially. In doing so, the book banishes many myths that have grown up around the queen, most notably ideas of her passivity and powerlessness and also often repeated (but unsubstantiated) claims of her conservative religious outlook. This book presents a picture of Jane as an active and highly political queen consort.

The book is a valuable resource for students and established scholars since it adds considerably to knowledge of the queen and re-inserts her into the heart of the dynasty, while also drawing pertinent conclusions on sixteenth-century queenship.

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About the Author

Dr Elizabeth Norton lives in Kingston upon Thames, near Hampton Court Palace, with her husband and two sons. As well as her books she is carrying out academic research at King's College, London into the Blount family of Shropshire, contributing journal articles and giving papers at academic conferences and has appeared as an expert on television, including programmes for Sky Arts and the National Geographic channel. Find out more as her website http://elizabethnorton.co.uk/ and find her on Twitter @ENortonHistory and Bluesky ‪@enortonhistory.bsky.social‬

Special Guest Post by Pam Lecky, Author of The Wild Atlantic Murders (2 book series)

2026-07-22T05:55:25.978+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

From Book 1: Welcome to Westport, where the wild beauty of Ireland’s western coast

hides deadly secrets…

Inspiration for The Wild Atlantic Murders Series

Talk about the past catching up with you! In a way, it has. Don’t get me wrong; I love historical fiction and will continue to write in that genre. However, when I recently contemplated ‘what’s next’, I couldn’t resist thinking about my roots, not only my family ones, but my reading habits as well.

Crime fiction has always fascinated me, but strangely enough, it wasn’t Agatha Christie’s books that caught my attention; it was PD James. I was a teenager when I read the first one, probably Cover Her Face. I was hooked straight away and continued to devour her books. Then I discovered Elizabeth George and Inspector Lynley.

And when my father introduced me to Dorothy L Sayers and Lord Peter Wimsey, my addiction to crime fiction was complete. To this day, I love a good crime story or thriller. Interweaving characters, plots, and settings isn’t easy, but those authors whose work I fell in love with all those years ago had one thing in common: they did it effortlessly. Much as I love writing my Lucy Lawrence Mysteries, I wanted a new challenge, and so attempting contemporary crime fiction felt like the right direction to go in.

My original idea was a female PI series based in Dublin, with my main character visiting locations all over Ireland as she pursued cases. After much discussion with my editor, however, we agreed that my protagonist would be an amateur sleuth instead and would be based in a small rural community. And that is how Ali Brennan (landscape designer with a surprising talent for solving crime) and the village of Glenfinn came into being. In the first book,

Ali moves to Mayo to set up a branch of the family business, but also to escape a disastrous relationship break-up with DI Aidan Cahill. She is soon joined by her nephew, Gavan, who has just dropped out of college.

Why a landscape designer, you ask? I wanted my protagonist to be a professional, running her own business, and as I studied horticulture and design with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), and had even built a show garden at the Bloom Festival in the Pheonix’s Park in Dublin, it is a world I am familiar with. It also offers a host of interesting scenarios that I fully intend to exploit (for murderous intent, of course!).

But when it came to location, I didn’t have to think twice. My mother hailed from a small village in Co. Mayo, in the west of Ireland. As a child, I loved to go there and have always felt it was my spiritual home. Over the years, I have explored and come to love the wild and rugged coast of The Wild Atlantic Way, of which Co. Mayo is only a small part. But again, links to family meant that the area around Westport and Clew Bay drew me in the most.

There are many lovely villages and towns on the shore of the bay in which I could have landed my characters, but none had all the ingredients I was looking for. Glenfinn, although completely fictional, is a small coastal village located close to Ireland’s holy mountain, Croagh Patrick, and is inspired by many of those wonderful real places. It is now home (at least in my head!) to a whole host of interesting characters, some of whom may not live for very long… sadly!

Like most crime writers, for me the puzzle is everything. I wanted to create a locked-room type scenario, which is why the victim in The Clew Bay Detectives dies alone on a small island in the middle of Clew Bay whilst seal watching. On the surface, it looks like an unfortunate accident. John Clifford-Murphy was a diabetic and died because of it. But was that really what happened?

When Ali is approached by the man’s wife, who can’t accept the Gardaí’s assertion that her husband’s death was a tragedy and nothing more, Ali’s innate curiosity gets the better of her, and she starts to ask questions. The ripples from the murder continue to affect the close local community, and once hidden secrets emerge, the danger to Ali and Gavan escalates. Then just when Ali thinks they have the answers, she is forced to confront a past she thought she had left behind, with near-tragic results.

The second book in the series, Murder in County Mayo, will be published in November, and pre-order is now available. When Grace Clark vanishes from an isolated farmhouse on the windswept County Mayo coast one bitter January morning, the Gardaí have their suspect within days: her partner, Cormac. But Ali Brennan is certain he's been framed. When a second body is discovered, she has only days to untangle a decades-old grudge before she becomes the killer's next victim...

The Body at Kincora Estate, the third book in the series, will be published in June 2027.

I hope readers will come to love this part of Ireland as much as I do, and over the course of the series I will explore the area too. Although this series is essentially cozy crime, it is at the harder end of the scale and reflects modern Ireland and its issues.

Pam Lecky

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About the Author

Pam is an Irish author of historical and contemporary crime and mystery, published by Storm Publishing and Avon Books UK (Harper Collins). Pam's bestselling Victorian murder mystery series features Lucy Lawrence, along with her trusty maid, Mary, and the enigmatic investigator, Phineas Stone. Lucy solves some nasty crimes along the way and although she is often a magnet for trouble, she invariably comes good in the end. The books are set in the UK and Europe during the late Victorian period.

The Sarah Gillespie espionage series (trilogy) features an Irish woman working for MI5 during WW2. Pam has also written a standalone WW2 murder mystery, Under A Lightning Sky, set during the Blitz.

The Bowes Inheritance, Pam’s debut novel, was awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion; was shortlisted for the Carousel Aware Prize 2016; made 'Editor's Choice' by the Historical Novel Society; long-listed for the Historical Novel Society 2016 Indie Award; and chosen as a Discovered Diamond in 2017.

Pam’s current project is The Wild Atlantic Murders series, a contemporary Irish crime series (cozy crime with a bit of an edge!). The first book, The Clew Bay Detectives, was published in June 2026 and is set in Co. Mayo and features a landscape designer, Ali Brennan, who discovers she has a surprising talent for solving crime. Murder in County Mayo is slated for release in November 2026 and the third book, A Body at Kincora Estate, will be published in June 2027. Pam is represented by Thérèse Coen at Susanna Lea Associates Literary Agency, London. Pam is a member of the Historical Novel Society, The Crime Writers' Association and the Society of Authors. Find out more at https://pamlecky.com and find Pam on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky @pamlecky.bsky.social

Special Guest Post by Alison Morton, Author of HEROICA: Three women, three centuries, three reckonings (Roma Nova Thriller Series Book 12)

2026-07-21T13:41:17.375+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Even the strongest state is vulnerable to its past: Three stories of the women of the Mitela family, descendants of the founders of Roma Nova, bound by blood and courage.

“What inspires you?” is a question I’m frequently asked in many guest posts, in podcast interviews, or at conferences. Perhaps the people asking are writers themselves, or wish to make a connection on an artistic and creative level or want to know the answer to life, the universe and everything. That last one’s easy: 42. (Apologies to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.)

Let’s be serious. Well, for a moment. I dread this question, not because I don’t want to reveal the secret identity of my silken-gowned muse, nor divulge her equally secret pearls of wisdom. Am I frightened she might run away, never to be seen again? No, I don’t want to let readers down with my answer.

I confess – I don’t know.

An inspiring thought or emotion can be anything and come from anywhere. For me, it’s like being ambushed. I often don’t have a clue until it drops into my head. When it does, it’s something shallow and mundane like being held on the phone in a queue, spotting a bargain or scoffing at a mistranslation at a tourist site.

The long burn

The Roma Nova books originated from a decades’ long fascination with Ancient Rome and women’s roles in the modern world but given it took more than thirty years to get the first words onto the computer screen (bypassing the typewriter), it can hardly be called a *moment* of inspiration. It was a slow-growing, but persistent, climbing plant.

Fortuna, Capitoline Museum, Rome (Author photo)

Like all authors, whether they admit it or not, I drew on events, people and experiences from my life up to that moment to write that first book, INCEPTIO. We are all shaped by these experiences and by our background and values.

Alison in the military

There will always be a little bit of the author in her book however much any author claims to deny it. And if we don’t show that in our main character, we switch it into another prominent secondary character. We all live in our own little world at the centre of which is our own delightful/dreadful ego, so any self-expression like writing is bound to reflect it.

Readers and bets

After nine Roma Nova thrillers featuring tough and lively heroines, my readers demanded I write the foundation story of Roma Nova. Thus inspired, that spilled out into two books – JULIA PRIMA and EXSILIUM – set in the fourth century.

In between, I wrote three modern thrillers based on Mel/Mélisende, a dual national Franco-British special forces heroine working for a European security service. Writing them was triggered (inspired?) by a bet from fellow author Conn Iggulden who had given me a fabulous front of cover endorsement for the fifth Roma Nova thriller, INSURRECTIO.

So…HEROICA, out today(!)

This new book of three stories was a case of inspiration via curiosity. I wanted to write a story featuring my original heroine, Carina, in one of her investigations. Her professional life wasn’t spent entirely on saving her country, but like most law enforcers had its fair number of routine cases. Of course, being Carina, the case turned out to be anything but routine.

Why isn’t Revolution? a full-length novel? Because the story ended when it did. We can’t always insist on dragging a story out to 100,000 words when it doesn’t naturally end at 24,000. But what to do with it? It’s too long to be a short story and compared to my two novellas – CARINA (38,000 words) and NEXUS (39,000 words) – not enough for a novella. So I thought about adding a couple of historical long short stories from Roma Nova’s past, but staying within Carina’s family in order to have a connecting thread running through them.

Honoria’s Battle is set near Vienna when that city was being besieged for the second time by forces from the Ottoman Empire. It was hailed as an existential fight by Christian Europe against the tide of Moslem Turks. Historians continue to disagree about the battle’s significance but to people of the time it was one of survival. Of course, Roma Nova was going to be involved! Researching characters such as the ebullient John Sobieski, King of Poland and the best commander of his day, was fascinating.

The Idealist connects with Giuseppe Mazzini’s attempt to form a new Roman Republic and unite Italy in the nineteenth century – another time of crisis and transition. It’s also the story of unrealistic expectations, family secrets and pragmatism. The inspiration was curiosity about the past and wondering what a terrible threat of the past coming back to bite those in the present would do to them.

In brief

Inspiration for me is a formless cloud, wisps, really, wafting around in my mind with no fixed abode. It takes something to come along – a bad film, five words in an email from a Very Famous Author, idle attention to a television report of a coup – to get the cloud to clump and produce a bolt of lightning. Usually, it’s a little crackle at the back of the sky that grows into a steady blaze.

Alison Morton

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About the Author

Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her twelve-book Roma Nova series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the Roman Empire has survived into the 21st century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but use a sharp line in dialogue. She blends her fascination for Ancient Rome with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history. Alison lives in Poitou in France, the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her two contemporary thrillers, Double Identity, Double Pursuit and Double Stakes For the latest news, subscribe to her newsletter at https://www.alison-morton.com/newsletter/ and receive 'Welcome to Alison Morton’s Thriller Worlds’ as a thank you gift. Connect with Alison on her World of Thrillers site: https://alison-morton.com and Alison’s writing blog https://alisonmortonauthor.com/. You can find Alison on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky @alisonmorton.bsky.social and Twitter/X: @alison_morton

Book Review: The Orphan from Verona, by Siobhan Daiko

2026-07-21T05:14:00.807+00:00

Available for pre-order from

Amazon UK and Amazon US

Verona, 1944. When an air raid strikes Elisa's home, she is left with nothing but the clothes on her back, the teddy bear clutched in her arms and her beloved older brother. Traumatised into silence, six-year-old Elisa can no longer speak and relies on Robi to guide her through this war-torn world.

Siobhan Daiko’s The Orphan from Verona balances human drama with an atmospheric sense of a city steeped in history. Set against the lingering shadows of the past, the novel offers an immersive exploration of identity and family secrets.

At the heart of the novel is a cast of compelling, related characters, and their journey through grief and personal awakening. Their relationships are portrayed with sensitivity, capturing the tension between desire and duty.

I particularly liked the details of life in occupied Verona, the counterpoint of past and present storylines and interwoven character arcs. The gradual revelation of secrets keeps readers guessing, as the plot unfolds at an engaging pace, weaving together intimate, character-driven moments with elements of mystery.

The Orphan from Verona is a well-paced, memorable novel with a sophisticated narrative that explores the complexities of human resilience. Highly recommended.

Tony Riches

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About the Author

Siobhan Daiko is a British historical fiction author. A lover of all things Italian, she lives in the Veneto region of northern Italy with her husband, a Havanese dog and a Siberian cat. Siobhan was born of English parents in Hong Kong, attended boarding school in Australia, and then moved to the UK — where she taught modern foreign languages in a Welsh high school. She now spends her time writing page-turners and living the dolce vita sweet life near Venice. Her novels are compelling, poignant, and deeply moving, with strong characters and evocative settings, but always with romance at their heart. You can find more about her books on her website www.siobhandaiko.org and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @siobhandaiko

Book Launch Spotlight: The Falcon's Triumph: A novel of Anne Boleyn (The Falcon's Rise Book 3) by Natalia Richards

2026-07-20T06:17:19.153+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

A novel of ambition, love, and betrayal in the Tudor court

A broken heart. A shattered dream. A future she never expected…

Fresh from her time in the dazzling courts of Europe, Anne Boleyn returns to England with charm, wit, and an ambition she dares not reveal. Her place at court and her future in Ireland seem secure. But when a forbidden love affair threatens scandal, Anne is dismissed and disgraced.

Then King Henry VIII takes notice.

Captivated by Anne’s beauty and boldness, the king is determined to have her—not as his mistress, but as his queen. Yet his wife, Queen Katherine of Aragon, stands in his way… and so does the Church. In a kingdom still firmly Catholic, Henry’s obsession with Anne now acts as a smouldering tinder, igniting a political and religious fire that threatens to tear England apart.

Set against the glittering and dangerous backdrop of Tudor England, The Falcon’s Triumph is a gripping tale of love, power, and the woman who would change history.

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About the Author

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

Special Guest Post by Elena Maria Vidal, Author of My Queen, My Love: A Novel of Henrietta Maria (The Henrietta of France Trilogy Book 1)

2026-07-18T05:19:52.577+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

The youngest daughter of Henri IV, the first Bourbon King of France, Henriette-Marie always knew she would have to marry a prince. When the Prince of Wales, Charles Stuart, travels through Paris he sees her dancing at the Louvre and within two years a marriage is arranged. However, Henriette is Catholic and Catholicism is banned in England. In preparing to become Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, Henriette has no idea of the obstacles that must be overcome before

she can find happiness with Charles.

In the lone tent, waiting for victory,
She stands with eyes marred by the mists of pain,
Like some wan lily overdrenched with rain:
The clamorous clang of arms, the ensanguined sky,
War's ruin, and the wreck of chivalry
To her proud soul no common fear can bring:
Bravely she tarrieth for her Lord the King,
Her soul a-flame with passionate ecstasy.

~from "Henrietta Maria" by Oscar Wilde

Discovering Henrietta Maria

First of all, let me thank Tony Riches for inviting me to compose a guest post about the Henrietta of France Trilogy which I am in the midst of writing, Book 1 being completed. I grew up in Maryland, a state which was once a colony called “Mary's Land”, named in honor of Henrietta Maria, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Wife of the ill-fated Charles I, the colony named for her was intended to be a refuge for Roman Catholics, the Catholic religion being forbidden in the Three Kingdoms. In my room as a teenager there was a print of the Van Dyck portrait of Henrietta Maria, the original of which is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Called “Mary” by her subjects, the second Stuart queen of England peers down from the portrait with her black eyes, which contemporaries described as large, sparkling and beautiful. Her dark curls with auburn highlights contrast against the deep marine blue shimmer of a silk dress, with the salmon-pink bows and elaborate white cuffs and high starched collar. A wide-brimmed plumed black hat was of the type made famous by the cavaliers who later fought for her husband in the English Civil Wars.

The white plumes are reminiscent of the one made famous by her father Henri IV of France, which he wore into battle so that his men could always find him. Like her father, Henrietta Maria was not afraid to stand out, remaining a devoted Catholic in a land where her faith was banned, becoming the number one lawbreaker, while also striving to be a traditionally obedient wife, as was expected. But the expectations placed upon her made her life a tightrope walk which almost broke her.

The life of Henrietta Maria of France (1609-1669) was turbulent from the beginning. Half-Bourbon and half-Medici, her father, the famous Henri IV, was assassinated when she was an infant. Brought up by her mother, the Queen Regent Marie de’ Medici, to be a devout Catholic, she also mastered ballet, singing, and acting, skills which she would use in masques to entertain the Bourbon Court and later the Stuart Court. At fifteen she was sent to marry Charles Stuart, grandson of Mary Queen of Scots, who had just succeeded his father James I to the throne of the Three Kingdoms.

While Charles I never converted to Catholicism, as had been hoped by many, his relationship with his wife was profoundly spiritual, enhancing the intense physical passion between them. After the initial clashing of cultures and personalities, theirs became one of the most devoted in the history of royal marriages, and was blessed with nine children. During the troubles which led to the English Civil War, Henrietta Maria became a liability to Charles because of her religion and her meddling, both perceived and actual. But her courage and her devotion fuelled the royalist cause, as she sold her jewels to raise money for arms and led soldiers to aid her husband.

The challenges the royal couple faced in their early years of marriage are told in Book 1 of the Henrietta of France trilogy, My Queen, My Love. Book 2 will deal with the Civil Wars and Book 3 will be about the Queen’s widowhood as well as the adventures of her surviving children.

My view of historical fiction is that the author attempts to paint a portrait of the past with words. A historical novel is like a portrait come to life, allowing the reader to step into the past. Authenticity is vital, and that comes only from thorough research. While it is not always possible to visit the historical places that play a part in the novel, it helps.

The internet has been a gift to historical fiction writers, making accessible old documents, manuscripts, pictures and books that one once had to travel far to find. I found the original program of the 1623 masque performed by Anne of Austria and Henrietta of France at the Louvre during Shrovetide. It was at the rehearsal of the masque that Charles Stuart first saw Henrietta during his incognito visit to Paris. Such primary sources, like the Queen’s letters, are indispensable for creating a living portrait.

So much of what people think they know about Henrietta Maria has been filtered secondhand through multiple writers, some of whom view her as a frothy but tiresome fanatic who led her husband into ruin. This is often accompanied by the perception of the Queen as a dangerous seductress, who used her French wiles in the boudoir to subject Charles to her will.

And others decide that Charles was not enough for her but she had lovers such as Henry Jermyn who actually told her what to do, while fathering her children. Just as her enemies called her the “popish brat of France,” she has been portrayed erroneously either as a sex fiend soaked with crazed religiosity, or as a shy, pious pawn.

On the other hand, there have in the past decades been some excellent biographies of Henrietta Maria, based upon superb research. I include them, and other sources, in a bibliography at the end of the novel My Queen, My Love, to encourage further exploration. The latest biography of Henrietta Maria to date is that of Leanda de Lisle. De Lisle takes into account the women of Henrietta’s family, all of whom were active rather than passive as consorts, like Henrietta herself. Henrietta’s faith is repeatedly demonstrated as not only sincere and unwavering but as an impetus for charitable and creative endeavors throughout her life.

And it becomes obvious Henrietta was a most discerning and insightful patroness of the arts, literature and architecture, employing names such as Inigo Jones, Ben Jonson, Van Dyck, Artemisia Gentileschi, while encouraging educators like Mary Ward. She brought to England the music of the continent, particularly magnificent liturgical music for her various chapels. Even in her days of hardship, Henrietta continued to give to others, whether it was giving a beggar woman her last valuable possession, or endowing a Visitation Monastery in France as a harbour for pious women.

Even as a great portrait reveals something about the soul of the subject painted, so does a written portrait. Yet each soul remains an enigma, especially souls who loved deeply, like Henrietta. Art offers a glimpse behind the veil of the senses, but it is done by using the imagination to describe the exteriors, the sounds, the smells, the foods, the music. By understanding a little bit about a world that is gone and the people who are gone, but whose actions have directly or indirectly influenced us, like the founding of Mary’s Land by Charles I and Henrietta Maria, we can better understand the present.

Elena Maria Vidal

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About the Author

Elena Maria Vidal was born in Florence, Oregon in 1962 but grew up in Frederick County, Maryland. She received her BA in Psychology from Hood College and her MA in Modern European History from SUNY Albany. She has been a member of the Secular Order of Mount Carmel since 1986. Elena enjoys cooking, gardening, opera and working with the elderly. She lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with her family. She is currently engaged in writing a historical fiction trilogy about Queen Henrietta Maria. Elena’s Tea at Trianon blog deals with social, religious and political issues as well as history. My Queen, My Love: A Novel of Henrietta Maria is her fifth novel and sixth book. Find out more from her blog, Tea at Trianon and find her on Twitter @emvidal

Book Launch Guest Post by Naomi Kelsey, Author of Pale Mistress: Lover. Courtesan. Survivor.

2026-07-16T04:06:10.132+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Cyprus, 16th century. Murder, lies and vengeance has left lovers dead, promises broken and no one to trust. Only one woman survives, Bianca. The slain? History knows their names: Emilia, Desdemona, Othello.

“I am no strumpet”: the inspiration behind ‘Pale Mistress’

If you speak to most people, the female characters they remember from ‘Othello’ are Desdemona and Emilia. Very few recall Bianca – and yet, she has the dubious distinction of being the only named female character in Shakespeare’s four major tragedies who does not die!

Now, it’s entirely possible Shakespeare intended to kill Bianca off. He leaves her being escorted away by Venetian soldiers after Iago has accused her of complicity in the attempted murder of her lover (or fiancé!), Michael Cassio. Iago tells Bianca, “Come, mistress, you must tell’s another tale.” Within the text, this is taken to imply that Bianca will be tortured until she confesses her role in the plot – which is, of course, entirely of Iago’s own making. However, as a novelist, this felt like an invitation. Just what tale would Bianca tell? What would her story be?

Indra Ové portraying the character Bianca in the

1995 film adaptation of Othello.

My initial inspiration for ‘Pale Mistress’ came during an A Level Literature lesson in 2024. I’d studied the play myself as a teenager, and have taught it multiple times over the years. But the wonderful thing about returning to classic texts again and again, at different stages of my life and with different students in front of me, means that new ideas emerge each time. On this occasion, during a lesson on Act 4 Scene 1, in which Cassio and Iago talk about Bianca behind her back before she storms on stage in a fury, one of my students made the immortal observation, “Cassio’s a bit of a douche, isn’t he?”

Tom Hiddleston performing as Cassio alongside Martina Laird
as Bianca in a 2007 production of Othello

This was the first time I’d taught ‘Othello’ post #MeToo. The first time I’d taught it since ‘gaslighting’ became one of Oxford Dictionary’s buzzwords of 2018, and since Merriam-Webster made it one of their words of the year in 2022. And suddenly I was looking at this play in a very different light.

Cassio’s generally regarded as a chivalrous chap: handsome, noble, much-admired by Venetian society. He’s played by attractive actors – Nathaniel Parker, Jonathan Bailey, Tom Hiddleston. His fate, being gravely injured by Iago and accused of sleeping with Desdemona, is usually interpreted as thoroughly unfair. However, to a modern audience, his behaviour is decidedly two-faced.

On the one hand he describes Desdemona as “the divine Desdemona” and “a maid / That paragons description and wild fame, / One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens”. On the other, he describes Bianca as a “monkey”, a “bauble”, and a “rogue” behind her back, yet to her face calls her “my most fair Bianca” and “my sweet Bianca”. The chivalrous courtier’s mask slips: away from the postures of courtly love performed for and about Desdemona, Cassio reveals himself to be mocking, scornful, even cruel.

Of course, there’s another character in ‘Othello’ who speaks derisively of others behind their backs, then is all charm to their faces. But while Iago is ultimately revealed as a villain and abhorred as a “demi-devil”, Cassio is rewarded with the governorship of Cyprus, and the power to punish Iago as he sees fit. What Shakespeare doesn’t mention is that this also grants Cassio the ability to decide Bianca’s fate.

What would Cassio do, I wondered, to a woman he thought had betrayed him, even conspired to mutilate and murder him? Would he carry out the torture Iago had threatened? Would he put her on trial – perhaps even condemn her to death?

Once I’d started asking this question, I couldn’t stop. Everything about Bianca started to fascinate me: who was she, really? We know very little about her, other than that she must be extremely skilled at embroidery, given that Cassio asks her to “take the work out”, or copy, the fateful handkerchief Iago has planted in his chamber. Iago calls her a whore, but then Iago calls all three female characters in the play a whore, so why do audiences and critics only believe it of Bianca, especially when she herself insists “I am no strumpet, but of life as honest as you that thus abuse me”?

Iago also says in the first scene of the play that Cassio is “a fellow almost damned in a fair wife”, which could either mean Cassio is such a catch he’s bound to marry sooner or later, or that Cassio has a fiancée already. Bianca moves freely about Cyprus, with a degree of confidence and independence that neither Desdemona or Emilia are permitted – was this the freedom of an unmarried woman, or a sex worker? And then her freedom is abruptly, brutally, unjustly curtailed.

My question about what Cassio might do branched out: what would Bianca do to prove her innocence – or get her revenge?

Two years ago, I half-heartedly joked to my A Level students that one day I would write a novel about Bianca, and it would be full of feminist rage! And here we are. As for whether Cassio receives the comeuppance I promised them, you’ll have to read ‘Pale Mistress’ to find out…

Naomi Kelsey

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About the Author

Naomi Kelsey's debut novel, The Burnings, was published by Harper North in 2023, followed by The Darkening Globe in 2025. Her next book, Pale Mistress, a reimagining of Shakespeare's 'Othello', is out now. She is the winner of two Northern Writers’ Awards and of the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Competition 2021. Her fiction has been published in Mslexia magazine and shortlisted for several further awards including the Bridport Prize and the Bristol Prize. She posts about books, history, and the chaos of writing around small children and teaching English on Instagram as @naomikelseybooks and on X as @naomikelsey_ Bluesky @naomikelsey.bsky.social and writes a monthly-ish newsletter on Substack at @naomikelsey

Blog Tour Book review: The Making of Marigold McGrath: A Novel of London in the Second World War, by Carrie Hayes

2026-07-15T04:04:32.306+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

New York City, 1937. Seventeen-year-old Marigold McGrath is coming undone. Her mother is dead. Her father is drawn to dangerous politics. The only place she feels joy is behind a camera — where she can frame the world on her own terms. After a series of her own missteps, she reinvents herself in London. She falls in love with Joop, a charming Dutch student, and shrugs off the war gathering around her.

Readers could be forgiven for thinking there isn’t much more to say about London during the Blitz, yet Carrie Hayes’s The Making of Marigold McGrath is a fresh and sometimes moving story.

Seventeen-year-old Marigold McGrath leaves New York to make a new life as a photographer in London. She tries to frame the world on her own terms, documenting the arrival of Kindertransport children, but the beginning of the devastating Blitz forces her to choose what kind of observer she is going to be.

I particularly like Carrie Hayes’s engaging character development, and the London setting is well researched and authentic. Marigold’s journey from a privileged teenager to a wartime photographer is convincing and often poigniant.

If you like original WW2 historical fiction, this is a story of survival and resilience that I am happy to recommend.

Tony Riches

# # #

About the Author

Carrie Hayes lives with her husband and two spoiled dogs in a rambling Victorian house just outside of New York City. Her previous historical Fiction novels deal with the suffragist movement. Find out more at www.carriehayeswrites.com and find Carrie on Facebook and Instagram

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Book Title: The Quest for the Crown of Thorns, by Cynthia Ripley Miller

2026-07-14T05:47:35.771+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

AD 454. Three years after the Roman victory over Attila the Hun at Catalaunum, Arria Felix and Garic the Frank are married and enjoying life on Garic's farm in northern Gaul (France). Their happy life is interrupted when a cryptic message arrives from Arria's father, the esteemed Senator Felix, calling them to Rome. At Arria's insistence, but against Garic's better judgment, they leave at once.

On their arrival at Villa Solis, they are confronted with a brutal murder and a dangerous mission. The fate of a profound and sacred object--Christ's Crown of Thorns--rests in their hands. They must carry the holy relic to the safety of Constantinople, away from a corrupt emperor and old enemies determined to steal it for their own gain.

But a greater force arises against them--a secret cult who will commit any atrocity to capture the Crown. All the while, the gruesome murder and the conspiracy behind it haunt Arria's thoughts.

Arria and Garic's marital bonds are tested but forged as they partner together to fulfill one of history's most challenging missions, The Quest for the Crown of Thorns.

# # #

About the Author

Cynthia Ripley Miller is a first-generation Italian-American writer with a love for history, languages, and books. She has lived in Europe and traveled worldwide, holds two degrees, and taught history and English. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthology Summer Tapestry, at Orchard Press Mysteries.com, and The Scriptor. She is a Chanticleer International Chatelaine Award finalist with awards from Circle of Books: Rings of Honor and The Coffee Pot Book Club. She has reviewed for UNRV Roman History, and blogs at Historical Happenings and Oddities: A Distant Focus and on her website, www.cynthiaripleymiller.com. Also connect with Cynthia on: Twitter:@CRipleyMiller

Book Launch: Queen Anna, Book One of the Stuart Queens Trilogy

2026-07-13T07:00:33.986+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

A crown won in the eye of a storm. A queen who refuses to be broken... Princess Anna of Denmark sails for Scotland to marry King James VI, but storms ravage her fleet, igniting a deadly obsession with witchcraft in her new home. Arriving in a strange and paranoid court, Anna finds her new husband’s bed is a treacherous place.

After fourteen years researching and writing the twelve books which tell the story of the Tudors, it seemed natural to explore the succession in more detail and understand the rise of the Stuarts.

I discovered Anna’s story while writing about Bess and Walter Raleigh, and like most people, knew little about her life. I’ve enjoyed the year of research behind this book, uncovering primary sources – and even learning a little Danish.

With notable exceptions, Anna is largely overlooked by historians, and I found myself wondering about the image of her as shallow, with little influence. I don’t recall her being mentioned in my history lessons at school, but Anna was the daughter of a king, wife of a king and mother of a king.

I became intrigued by the idea of a fourteen-year-old Danish princess being forced by her parents into a strategic, arranged marriage with King James of Scotland. Anna had to leave her friends, her family, and everything she knew, for a strange country across a dangerous sea where she could barely speak the language.

There is also the question of her relationship with King James, and how they had so many children. As well as her daughter Elizabeth, the ‘Winter Queen’ of Bohemia, Anna was the mother of Henry, possibly the greatest king we never had, and the ill-fated King Charles I.

Prince Henry Stuart

My research took me from the Danish Court to Holyrood House in Scotland and on to the palaces of Westminster and Anna's beloved Denmark House. Her vibrant personality can be seen in her surviving letters, some of which I had translated from old French, (and include in the book in italics).

I enjoyed following Anna to England after the death of Queen Elizabeth Ist, and making a new life died as queen consort of three kingdoms. She ordered the old queen’s priceless gowns to be used as costumes in her legendary masques, and slept in the same bedchamber as Queen Jane Seymour, her favourite bed.

I found a resilient woman and a devoted mother to her children. Anna was a creative patron of the arts, and did her best to be a loyal queen consort to King James. I am now researching the second book in this trilogy, and exploring troubled the life of Henrietta Maria of France, queen consort to King Charles Ist.

Tony Riches

Tony Riches · Anna of Denmark

Special Guest Post by Anna Belfrage, Author of A Rip in the Veil (The Graham Saga Book 1)

2026-07-11T05:18:26.853+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

On a muggy August day in 2002 Alex Lind disappears. On an equally stifling August day in 1658, Matthew Graham finds her on a Scottish moor. Life will never be the same for Alex – or for Matthew.

Dressing for success in the seventeenth century

In a A Rip in the Veil—the first book in The Graham Saga—the unfortunate (or not, depending how one sees it) Alex Lind has the misfortune of falling three centuries backwards in time to land at the feet of Matthew Graham. Matthew Graham is a devout Presbyterian who has fought in the Commonwealth armies in the Civil War. To Alex, he is initially very strange. Heck, the entire situation is strange: no, wait—it’s impossible!

Matthew is as taken aback as Alex is—perhaps even more, as the only explanation to her sudden appearance in his life must be magic. Or? Besides, what is the woman wearing? Those tight, tight breeches she calls ‘djeens” showcase her every curve, as do her other garments.

No, had she been his woman, he’d never have allowed her to set a foot outside dressed like that, all of her exposed, like.

Alex quickly realises that in this new time she has to adapt. ASAP. And one of the first things she must embrace is an entire new wardrobe.

“Yay me,” she mutters as she shakes out shift and petticoats and heavy skirts and bodice and. . .

This period dress thing is difficult—and not only for my reluctant time traveller Alex. As a writer of historical fiction it is important to understand what people wore, who wore what and how it was worn. In some cases it's straightforward: stockings cover your feet and the nether part of your legs no matter if you live in the twentieth century or the fifteenth.

But take that rather ugly male adornment that Henry VIII was so proud of flaunting - the codpiece - and I am somewhat stumped. How did it work? ( Okay, so I've looked this up; strings, buttons or hooks kept this decorative little (hmm) flap of fabric in place.)

There must also be a familiarity with how people dress and undress. “He told her to turn around and zipped up her gown,” is not a good description of the intimacy between man and wife in the fourteenth century. (BTW, the modern zipper owes a lot to Swedish inventor Gideon Sundback. It's nice to know us Swedes have contributed to human development: dynamite, zippers, gauge blocks, the AGA cooker)

To avoid such gaffes, I’ve spent a lot of time researching my period and have accordingly done my fair share of staring at what few clothes survive from the seventeenth century—like James II’s elegant attire exhibited in the Victoria & Albert museum. Okay, so that is later in the century, but all that lace, all those embroideries, and that gigantic wig! Plus, the high heels on the shoes. . . Nope, not at all my cup of tea.

Earlier in the 1600s, men wore wide breeches, sashes, lace, ribbons—like these young and elegant Stuart brothers in Van Dyke’s portrait:

To the seventeenth century young girl, they were likely delectable. To Alex, not so much. She’d be hard put not to laugh her head off. So it is fortunate that Matthew would no more adorn himself with ribbons than he would dance attendance on the king—he is a man of Parliamentarian convictions. No, Matthew wears plain and well-made clothes, now and then adorned with a ruffled cuff or an elegant collar.

Obviously, Matthew expects this new, alluring female companion of his to dress sedately, which is how Alex finds herself obliged to re-learn just how to dress.

In the seventeenth century, there were no bras, no panties. Instead, the undergarment is a shapeless elongated linen shirt that comes to just below the knees. This shift is worn over stockings that come to just above the knee and are fastened by garters.

“I can help you with those,” Matthew suggests, and there is a twinkle in his eyes as he helps Alex fasten the stockings with pink ribbons. Just because he doesn’t wear ribbons, it doesn’t mean she can’t, he says. In fact, he rather likes the fact that she is wearing them—and that he tied them into place.

Over the shift—which also doubles as nightgown—Alex dons a corset.

“Ugh!” she groans as she tightens into place. The corset she has ties in front—only people who can afford a lady’s maid have corsets that tie in the back. Then there are the petticoats, tied into place at her waist and falling to mid-calf. Only the very, very rich have garments that fall all the way to the floor. Most women have skirts high enough to allow them to work and walk without dragging the hem in the dirt.

“Here.” Matthew hands her the heavy skirts. And yes, they are heavy, making it hard to, for example, run. Or jump a fence.

A bodice, a shawl to cover what may remain exposed of her chest and then Matthew holds out a cap.

“No way!” She backs away, staring at the embroidered linen coif.

“You must cover your hair,” he says.

She refuses.

There is a slight. . . er . . . argument. Things end in a compromise: she will not cover her hair indoors, but otherwise she will either wear a coif or a hat. Matthew would prefer both, but he is pragmatic enough to realise this isn’t a battle he will win. Besides, Alex is having to handle a lot of change as it is.

“Tell me about it,” she mutters. She isn’t overly impressed with the food. Or the lack of chocolate. Or of tea. “I thought they had tea in the seventeenth century,” she groans.

“They do,” I tell her, “but it is very, very expensive.”

“Oh.” She gnaws her lip, her shoulders slumping. Which is probably why Matthew expends a ridiculous amount on a ridiculous small quantity of tea next time he goes to Edinburgh, pleased by the way she lights up from within when he hands the precious package over.

Over time, Alex will become accustomed to her new clothes, even if she will quite often think longingly of jeans and sweatshirts, of Converse and shop-bought socks. (She hates to knit)

But while she adapts to her new life on the outside, she remains a woman of modern convictions, which will now and then cause her quite some problems in her new time.

It is fortunate that she has Matthew to guide her. On the other hand, there will be countless of occasions when Matthew will owe his life and sanity to her, the strange lass he found concussed and burned on an empty Scottish moor. Two halves made whole are my Alex and Matthew, no matter such details as sartorial arguments!

Anna Belfrage

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About the Author

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England. Her Castilian Heart is the third in her “Castilian” series, a stand-alone sequel to her September 2020 release, His Castilian Hawk. Set against the complications of Edward I’s invasion of Wales, His Castilian Hawk is a story of loyalty, integrity—and love. In the second instalment, The Castilian Pomegranate, we travel with the protagonists to the complex political world of medieval Spain. This latest release finds our protagonists back in England—not necessarily any safer than the wilds of Spain! Anna has also authored The Whirlpools of Time in which she returns to the world of time travel. Join Duncan and the somewhat reluctant time-traveller Erin on their adventures through the Scottish Highlands just as the first Jacobite rebellion is about to explode! All of Anna’s books have been awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion, she has several Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choices, and one of her books won the HNS Indie Award in 2015. She is also the proud recipient of various Reader’s Favorite medals as well as having won various Gold, Silver and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards. Find out more about Anna, her books and enjoy her eclectic historical blog on her website, www.annabelfrage.com and find her on Facebook, Twitter @abelfrageauthor and Bluesky @abelfrageauthor.bsky.social

Blog Tour Spotlight: Mrs. R. Pacheco: The Untold Story of Playwright and California First Lady Mary McIntyre Series, by Rose Ann Woolpert

2026-07-10T05:40:51.523+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

It is 1859, and the glittering promise of the California Gold Rush has faded into dust, leaving behind a land suspended between ambition and uncertainty.

Into this shifting world steps Mary Catherine "Molly" McIntyre, a young woman newly unmoored by loss, carrying both the weight of family duty and the quiet, persistent call of her own dreams.

Based on the remarkable life of Mary McIntyre Pacheco, Mrs. R. Pacheco unfolds as an intimate portrait of a woman caught between cultures, expectations, and the fragile hope of self-determination. When Molly marries Romualdo Pacheco, a Californio statesman destined to become California's first Hispanic governor, her life is swept into a world both foreign and exhilarating, where love must contend with tradition, and identity is shaped by forces beyond her control.

As Molly navigates the complexities of marriage, society, and a rapidly changing California, she discovers within herself a fierce creative spirit that refuses to be silenced. Her journey from grieving daughter to pioneering novelist and playwright becomes a testament to resilience, illuminating the quiet strength required to carve a voice in a world not yet ready to hear it.

Rich in historical detail and alive with emotional depth, this novel evokes the textures of nineteenth-century California, from its sunlit landscapes to its deeply rooted cultural divides. Through Molly's eyes, readers are drawn into a story of longing, reinvention, and the delicate balance between belonging and becoming.

Both sweeping and deeply personal, Mrs. R. Pacheco is a story of love shaped by circumstance, ambition tempered by sacrifice, and the enduring courage it takes to stand between worlds and claim a life as one's own.

# # #

About the Author

Rose Ann Woolpert is drawn to questions history leaves unanswered. As an author whose work is grounded in fact and shaped by imagination, she writes stories that explore how individuals navigate change, loss, ambition, and identity. Her writing is often inspired by California history, particularly the lives of women whose stories risk being lost to memory. Family recollections, historical records, and careful research inform her work, while fiction allows space to imagine motives, choices, and inner lives beyond the historical record. Find out more at www.roseannwoolpert.com, Facebook and Rose Ann's Substack / Blog: https://roseannwoolpert.substack.com

New on Kindle: Queen Anna (Stuart Queens Trilogy Book 1)

2026-07-09T15:35:15.024+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

A crown won in the eye of a storm.

A queen who refuses to be broken...

Princess Anna of Denmark sails for Scotland to marry King James VI, but storms ravage her fleet, igniting a deadly obsession with witchcraft in her new home. Arriving in a strange and paranoid court, Anna finds her new husband’s bed is a treacherous place.

Surrounded by whispering courtiers and shifting alliances, Anna refuses to remain a passive pawn. When the court takes her children to raise them away from her, the young queen draws her line in the sand.

From the windswept castles of Scotland to the glittering, dangerous English court, Anna is restored to her rightful place in history.

Paperback and audiobook editions coming soon

Tony Riches

Tony Riches · Anna of Denmark

Book Launch Guest Post: Trailblazing Medieval Women, by Ashley Sarah Firth

2026-07-09T05:34:40.235+00:00

Available from Amazon UK

and pre-order from Amazon US

The lives of remarkable, trailblazing medieval women who refused to be written out of history. In a world dominated by men, they defied convention, challenged gender expectations, and carved out legacies as rulers, consorts, warriors, authors, and visionaries.

Trailblazing Medieval Women is my first book, and it grew out of the research I undertook for my PhD. As I worked through my sources, I became increasingly aware of just how many women defied the gender expectations of their day and, at times, the men who were theoretically placed above them.

Their stories often brought to mind my own grandparents: to the outside world, my grandfather appeared to be in charge, yet behind closed doors, it was my grandmother who truly wore the trousers. That contrast led me to think more deeply about the gap between theory and practice in medieval gender roles, a theme I later explored with my students during my time as a university lecturer.

It was not difficult to find examples of trailblazing women for my book. The deeper I delved, the more figures I uncovered who became prime candidates for inclusion. The list seemed never-ending, and I found it incredibly difficult to make my selection.

Interestingly, that process did not begin at my desk, but in a theatre while watching SIX the Musical. One of the characters asks if anyone knows the names of the wives of Henry VI or Henry VII. When I put the same question to my companions, their uncertainty reflected a wider lack of awareness about medieval queens, and medieval women more generally.

That moment stayed with me and shaped my approach: I wanted to introduce readers to compelling figures who remain largely unknown outside academic circles.

The wives of Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou, and Elizabeth of York, consort to Henry VII, became my starting point. These two women had very different experiences of queenship. Margaret found herself at the centre of the Wars of the Roses, with a weak and mentally ill husband who lost the crown for himself and effectively disinherited their son.

She found the strength and fortitude her husband lacked and pursued her son’s claim to the English throne. Elizabeth of York, on the other hand, was the wife of a strong and effective king. She was a potential threat to Henry’s kingship, but instead offered legitimacy to her husband’s position. Quiet and demure, she avoided the political spotlight, perhaps learning from the example of her mother, Elizabeth Woodville.

Marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville (Wikimedia Commons)

Elizabeth Woodville’s own story demonstrates how disruptive female influence could be. A widow with two children from the knightly class, Elizabeth’s marriage to King Edward IV was highly controversial. Elizabeth and her numerous relations challenged the status quo at the English court, which fostered resentment.

Another woman embroiled in the Wars of the Roses was Elizabeth of York’s mother-in-law, the formidable Margaret Beaufort. Margaret’s power and influence were unparalleled; it was she who was ultimately responsible for securing the succession of her son, Henry VII. Through lineage, strategy, or sheer force of will, these women helped shape the course of English history at a pivotal time.

Having taught undergraduate modules on early medieval Britain, I have always been fascinated by the story of Æthelflæd, the daughter of King Alfred the Great. After the death of her husband, Æthelflæd ruled the kingdom of Mercia during a time of Viking incursions and even performed the role of military commander.

Many other women also undertook military roles; Matilda of Tuscany is another example, whom I was pleased to discuss in my book. Matilda was a wealthy heiress in her own right, forced to fight for her inheritance against the might of the Holy Roman Emperor. The story of Sikelgaita, wife of the Norman Robert Guiscard, is remembered for rallying fleeing troops with the striking command ‘Halt! Be men!’ She offers a remarkable example of a trailblazing woman. Her story was recorded by Anna Comnena, a female writer who also earned a place in the book.

Anna, the first female Byzantine historian, provides a rare insight into the workings of the Byzantine court. As the daughter of the emperor, she enjoyed access to the most influential figures in Byzantine society, and her work remains invaluable to medieval historians. At the French court, Christine de Pizan also challenged gender limitations, earning distinction as the first recorded female author to make a living solely from her writing.

She composed works intended for French royalty and offered political commentary on current events. Across the Channel, her near contemporary, Margery Kempe, was determined to have her story committed to writing. A self-proclaimed mystic, Margery attracted the attention of authorities for her unusual displays of piety during a time of growing anxiety about religious dissent.

Winchester Cathedral, the final resting place of Emma of Normandy(Author’s Photo)

Some women were incredible politicians who rejected gendered limitations. Emma of Normandy was the only woman to be crowned queen of England twice, first as the wife of Aethelred II the ‘Unready’ and then as King Cnut. Her experience and influence at the English court partly explain why Cnut sought her as a bride. Empress Matilda, the heiress of her father, Henry I, found that her cousin Stephen had snatched the throne.

Not content to remain sidelined, she fought for her inheritance, plunging England into a brutal civil war. Her daughter-in-law, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was a wealthy heiress in her own right and the only woman to have been both queen of France and England, through her marriages first to Louis VII and then to Henry II. In her twenties, she embarked on the Second Crusade, and later in life exercised considerable political influence both as Henry’s consort and as the mother of his successors, Richard the Lionheart and King John.

Few women could boast greater courage than Isabella of France, who, after launching an invasion of England in 1326, deposed her husband, Edward II. These medieval women demonstrate the power women could wield when given the right opportunity, circumstances, and skills.

Joan of Arc, victorious over the English, returns to Orleans
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean-Jacques_Scherrer_-_Jeanne_d%27Arc,_victorieuse_des_anglais,_rentre_%C3%A0_Orl%C3%A9ans_et_est_acclam%C3%A9e_par_la_population.png

I wanted to include at least one household name, and I could think of no better example than Joan of Arc, a medieval woman who rejected the limitations placed upon her because of her sex. It continues to fascinate me how a French girl of relatively humble origins rose to such prominence, playing a key role in the coronation of the French king.

It is little wonder that her story continues to captivate audiences today.
Trailblazing medieval women can be found in all corners of society, from those born to be queens to the middling classes and even among the poor. As the study of women’s history continues to expand, so too does our understanding of their contributions. The more closely we look, the more clearly it becomes that these women were not exceptions, but an integral part of the medieval world and their stories deserve to be far better known.

Ashley Sarah Firth

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About the Author

Ashley Sarah Firth holds a BA (Hons), MA, and PhD in medieval history from the University of Huddersfield. Her research focuses on the history of women, medieval gender and the Crusades. Formerly a university lecturer, she taught a wide range of topics from the Anglo-Saxon period to the Stuart era. Now a full-time historian, author and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield, Ashley is dedicated to bringing the stories of the past, especially those of overlooked women, to life for a wider audience. She lives in Manchester with her husband, their two children, and three dogs, where her love of history continues to inspire her writing and research. You can find out more about Ashley on her website: https://manchistorian.com/. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.and Bluesky @drashleyfirth.bsky.social

Book Review of Two Graves (REVENGE Book 3) by Terry Tyler

2026-07-08T16:18:20.846+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Two novellas. Two lives changed forever by the need for retribution.

Terry Tyler continues to impress with compelling Story telling and talent for building psychological suspense in Two Graves, the third instalment of her REVENGE series.

This double novella delivers two different stories, yet both explore the dark consequences of obsession, betrayal and the desire for retribution with remarkable insight. The series is built around standalone tales of revenge, each examining how seemingly ordinary people can be driven to extraordinary actions.

I particularly liked the believable, flawed characters whose motivations feel authentic, even when their choices become increasingly disturbing. The tension builds steadily, drawing the reader deeper into lives where every decision carries unforeseen consequences.

The novella format suits Terry Tyler's writing perfectly, and the pacing is superb throughout. Both stories are tightly plotted, with enough twists to keep you guessing without feeling contrived. Just when you think you know where events are heading, the narrative changes direction, delivering endings that are satisfying and thought-provoking.

Two Graves is another excellent addition to the REVENGE series, and I look forward t0 wjhat comes next. Highly recommended.

Tony Riches

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About the Author

Terry Tyler lives in the North East of England with her husband, where she goes for long walks with camera in hand, feeds birds and tries to grow stuff, as well as ploughing through her TBR list and writing books. She loves history, particularly Saxon, Plantagenet and Tudor, and is still waiting for the zombie apocalypse. You cna find Terry on Twitter @TerryTyler4, Instagram @terry__tyler and Bluesky @terrytyler.bsky.social

Historical Fiction Spotlight: The Versailles Formula (The Genevieve Planche Mysteries Book 3) by Nancy Bilyeau

2026-07-06T06:06:23.712+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Genevieve Sturbridge thought she’d left danger behind in London. Now she lives a quiet life in the countryside with her husband and son. But an invitation to dine at Sir Horace Walpole’s eerie Gothic estate pulls her back into a deadly world of deception, espionage and murder.

A missing formula. A deadly secret. A race against time that could alter the fate of nations. In the simmering unrest of 18th-century Europe, Genevieve Sturbridge is thrust into a perilous mission—one she never imagined but cannot refuse.

A formula for a dazzling shade of blue has resurfaced, one tied to alchemy, espionage and a power that could tip the balance between France and England. Some will kill to possess it. Others will kill to keep it buried.

As revolution stirs and shadows lengthen in the ornate drawing rooms of Paris and the back alleys of London, Genevieve must navigate treacherous alliances and a past that refuses to stay hidden. The formula’s secrets could bring untold wealth—or unimaginable destruction.

With time running out, Genevieve must unravel the mystery before the Versailles Formula falls into the wrong hands — because this time, the price of failure is more than just her own life.

‘A masterful work . . . the reader treads a thrilling path which keeps you on the edge of your seat.’ - Bestselling historical novelist Griff Hosker

‘A plucky heroine, intriguing mystery, and rich, well-researched historical background. Nancy Bilyeau has found the winning formula!’ - Eva Stachniak, author of The School of Mirrors

‘A compelling adventure replete with spies, political intrigue, gorgeous gothic manor houses, romance, impeccably researched history.’ Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope series

# # #

About the Author

Nancy Bilyeau is the author of the Joanna Stafford trilogy: The Crown, The Chalice, and The Tapestry. The series was published in the UK, North America, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Denmark. Orion Publishing is re-issuing The Crown and The Chalice in the UK with new covers for the paperback. In North America, the Joanna Stafford trilogy is available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audio formats here. Nancy lives with her family in the Hudson Valley in New York. Find out more at Nancy's website, NancyBilyeau.com and find her on Facebook, Twitter @Tudorscribe and Bluesky @nancycb.bsky.social

Visiting Elizabeth Castle: Jersey's Island Fortress

2026-07-02T09:44:00.403+00:00

Elizabeth Castle is in St Aubin's Bay, just off the coast of St Helier on the island of Jersey. This historic fortress has been watching over the island for more than four centuries, and getting there is part of the adventure. You can risk the winding causeway at low tide or take a ride on one of the amphibious castle ferries.

I first explored the history of Elizabeth Castle when researching my book, Raleigh Tudor Adventurer. Walter Raleigh was appointed Governor of Jersey in 1600, and with typical flattery named the castle after the queen, calling it 'Fort Isabelle Bellissima' (Elizabeth the Most Beautiful).

Elizabeth Castle is a collection of fortifications with a rich history and hidden corners spread across a rocky tidal islet. Every section has its own story.

Sir Anthony Paulet, who handed over

governorship to Raleigh in 1600

The castle was built in the late sixteenth century after the invention of gunpowder made Jersey's older fortress, Mont Orgueil, less effective as a defensive stronghold. The new castle was designed to protect the island and its harbour, and over the centuries served as a military base, a prison and a refuge during times of conflict.

Most people remember Walter Raleigh as the adventurer who searched for the mythical city of El Dorado, but few know he served as Governor of Jersey between 1600 and 1603.

Sir Walter recognised the strategic importance of Jersey and took a genuine interest in strengthening the island's defences. During his time as Governor, he inspected the fortifications and encouraged improvements to the castle's military capabilities.

His influence can still be felt today. As well as establishing hte lucrative Newfoundland fishing industry with a Jersey fishng fleet, he formalised the Jersey land register. This remains the basis of Jersey's property conveyancing system and is one of the oldest land registries in Europe.

Standing on the ramparts and looking across St Aubin's Bay, it's easy to imagine Walter Raleigh considering how best to defend this small but important outpost of the English Crown. He is also credited with saving Mont Orgueil Castle from destruction when others suggested it be dismantled to provide materials for Elizabeth Castle.

Another of Elizabeth Castle's significant events came several decades later during the English Civil War. While England was torn apart by fighting between Parliament and the Royalists, Jersey remained loyal to the Crown - and Elizabeth Castle became one of the last Royalist strongholds.

In 1646, a young Prince Charles arrived in Jersey after his father, King Charles I, suffered a series of military defeats. At just sixteen years old, the future Charles II found himself living in exile. For several months, Elizabeth Castle became his home and a place of relative safety while events unfolded across the Channel.

It's strange to think that the man who would eventually reclaim the English throne once walked these same stone paths, looking out across the sea and wondering what the future held. Life in exile could not have been easy, but Jersey's loyalty provided an important sanctuary during one of the darkest periods in Royal history.

Visitors can still see the room in the Governor's House, which overlooks the castle's Parade Ground, and is traditionally associated with Charles II's stay. While it has naturally been restored over the centuries, standing inside offers a tangible connection with those turbulent years.

Eventually, after years in exile across Europe, Charles II returned to England in 1660 as part of the Restoration, reclaiming the throne and ending the republican Commonwealth. Jersey's support was remembered, and the island retained a reputation for loyalty to the monarchy.

Elizabeth Castle is one of those rare places where the setting is every bit as memorable as the history. You arrive expecting an old fortress, but you leave having walked through centuries of stories involving explorers, kings, sieges and survival.

Whether you're interested in Sir Walter Raleigh's efforts to strengthen the island's defences or the remarkable tale of a teenage prince finding refuge before becoming Charles II, the castle brings history to life in a way that few attractions manage.

If Jersey is on your travel list, make sure Elizabeth Castle is too. It isn't just somewhere to tick off an itinerary. It's a place where every stone seems to have a story, and where the island's remarkable past is never far from view.

Tony Riches

Discover the real story of adventurer, courtier, explorer and poet, Sir Walter Raleigh, who has been called the last true Elizabethan: https://mybook.to/Raleigh

Special Guest Post by Namita Kumari, Author of The Serpent's Longing: The Naga Princess And The Himalayan Yogi

2026-06-27T05:23:19.442+00:00

Available from Amazon UK,

Amazon US and Amazon India

For eleven stolen days, in the warm green dark at the edge of the world, a man and a woman who were each meant to be alone forever are simply, quietly, secretly happy. She has worn a thousand shapes and never wanted to keep a single one. He crossed a sea with nothing but a dream of her, having given everything else away, and arrived wanting only the woman the dream had promised. In the hours they steal together — talking late, laughing like fools, learning the shape of each other in the firelight — they find the one thing neither of them was ever built to survive: being truly known,

and not wanting to be anywhere else.

The Love Story Nobody Told: How a Research Grant Became My Debut Novel

It began as scholarship, not storytelling.

A few years ago, I was awarded a research project (book) by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts — India's premier institution for cultural research, under the Ministry of Culture — to study the ancient cultural links between India and Cambodia.

The project was academic in intent: to trace the threads of mythology, art, architecture, and civilisational exchange that connected these two worlds across centuries of maritime trade and cultural contact. The outcome of this research (book) will also come in late 2026.

What I did not expect was to find a love story.

Deep in my research into the founding myths of Cambodia, I encountered a legend preserved in 3rd-century Chinese chronicles and in Cambodian oral tradition: an Indian Brahmin named Kaundinya arrived by sea on the Cambodian coast. He carried a magic bow.

When a Naga princess named Soma — daughter of the king of the deep waters — paddled out to meet his vessel, he shot an arrow into her boat. She agreed to marry him. Her father, the Naga king, drank up the great waters and drained a swamp to give them a kingdom. Together, Kaundinya and Soma founded Funan — one of the earliest recorded kingdoms of the Mekong delta, the civilisation that preceded the Khmer and eventually gave rise to Angkor Wat.

Cambodia still remembers this as the origin story of the Khmer people. Cambodian children learn it. It is woven into their cultural identity, retold in temples and oral tradition, living in the country's memory as the moment of their civilisational beginning.

And yet — as I travelled deeper into my research, I made a discovery that astonished me.

This myth is almost entirely unknown in India. It was from this country that Kaundinya set sail. It was from this civilization's mythology that Cambodia obtained its founding story.

Most Indians have not heard of Funan; they know nothing about Kaundinya; and they are unfamiliar with Soma, the naga princess who stands at the root of Khmer identity. Outside of India and Cambodia, this legend has no significant presence—unknown in the West; lacking in the canon of world mythology; and never told as fiction in English.

A story so important, so lovely, so full of life to one country and so completely forgotten by another—it deserves a literary work that will give it the kind of exposure it should get.

As I continue to work with primary sources, I realize that the chronicles provide us with the foundation of the kingdom but do not provide us with the woman. Her name appears. Her lineage is listed. Her consent to marry is documented.

And then she disappears into the founding narrative which like so many other founding narratives, is really the story of the man who arrived, and the kingdom he created. She is the woman whose waters he entered; whose father's sea he drained; and whose land became the kingdom—her footnote in her own story.

I couldn't leave her there.

Soma is a naga princess. What does that mean? In Indian and Southeast Asian mythology it means someone extraordinary. Not a human woman playing a mythological role—she is a shapeshifter of deep waters.

A being capable of holding any shape you want her to take on and choosing none permanently. Ancient like rivers are ancient. Here is this yogi arriving from the Himalayas—a man who spent years mastering the art of wanting nothing—asking her to become one thing forever.

That tension between infinite freedom and singular love—is the novel.

I have written The Serpent's Longing": The Naga Princess And The Himalayan Yogi around my teaching schedule at my College in Delhi University. It is not invented—the mythology is real, documented, ancient. I just gave it a voice it has been missing.

What I didn't expect to find when I started reading the mythology against today was how much of a role it still plays today in Cambodia. It is not just history. The founding legend of Funan lives—today it is in temples and in conversations. This is a part of the cultural identity of people who have survived extreme devastation and yet remember where they come from.

The serpent's Longing reached #1 on Amazon India in Mythology & Folk Tales (for a short time above palace of illusions & Alchemist) with a 4.9-star readers' ratings. It also reached #3 on Amazon India in Fantasy. It is free on Kindle Unlimited. My next book will return to the same ancient Indian-Southeast Asian tradition.

To new writers, I would say this: sometimes the most important story you will ever tell will arrive disguised as a research question. Pay attention to these moments when scholarship becomes personal. If you think about that footnote every day—then probably that is the book you always intended to write.

Namita Kumari

# # #

About the Author

Namita Kumari is an Assistant professor at SPM College, Delhi University with a PhD from the University of Trento, Italy. Her research on the ancient cultural links between India and Cambodia was supported by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Ministry of Culture, Government of India. A previously published author of a work on women entrepreneurship, her debut novel The Serpent's Longing: The Naga Princess and the Himalayan Yogi reimagines the founding legend of Funan — the myth that created the Khmer civilisation — as a fantasy romance rooted in 3rd-century Chinese chronicles and Cambodian oral tradition. The book reached #1 in Mythology & Folk Tales on Amazon India. Her second book is due in September 2026. which is also set in the same ancient world of SEA. Find her at on Instagram and amazon.in

Blog Tour Excerpt: Book Title: Queen of Shadows, by Anna Belfrage

2026-06-24T05:29:09.082+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

She should have stayed in the shadows—but Leonor de Guzmán yearned for the sun. Castile in the 1330s is a place of constant turmoil. King Alfonso must contend with the incursions from the Muslim Marinids eager to reclaim Al-Andalus while struggling with repeated rebellions against his firm rule.

Excerpt:

Alma felt safer the moment she entered her city. One of the guards at the city gate recognised her and asked her to give his regards to her mother. She slowed her pace along the familiar streets, passed by the huge cathedral just as the bells in the Giralda rang out the noon hour, and came to an abrupt stop at the sight of her childhood home. The gates stood wide open, people spilling out from the courtyard within to stand in the street. She pushed her way through, her initial fear that something bad had happened assuaged by the laughter, the loud voices.

The small patio was crowded with people, and sitting on a chair in the centre was Ramona, her cheeks flushed.

“Alma!” Abuela greeted her with a hug. “How propitious that you should come today. We are celebrating.”

One of the women present broke out in song. Several others fell in, some clapping out the rhythm. A song of love, of marriage and future babes, and Alma turned to blink at Ramona, who gave her a smug look.

“You’re getting married?” Alma asked.

“I am. The contracts were signed earlier today. I come with an adequate dowry, so Mamá has arranged a good marriage for me.” Ramona smirked. “Not much left for you. Or Nuria.”

For the first time ever, Alma felt a twinge of jealousy. Not because Ramona was to wed, but because she, Alma, would never have anything to offer someone like Rodrigo.

“Is he handsome?” she asked.

Ramona shrugged. “I have not met him. Mamá says he is.” She lowered her voice. “He’s a widower, father of three.”

“Ah.” Whatever jealousy she’d felt dissipated. “Is he from Sevilla?”

“No.” Ramona frowned. “He is from Cádiz.”

So far away!

“Have you been there?” Ramona asked.

She had, some years back when Doña Leonor had instead on accompanying the king when he set out to visit both Cádiz and Tarifa, central locations for his plans to one day retake Gibraltar from the Marinids.

“Mamá says it is a good place to live.” Ramona snorted. “How would she know? She’s never been further away than the Sierra Morena.”

“It benefits from the sea,” Alma said. “It is never as hot as Sevilla because there is always a breeze.” And it was also very small compared to Sevilla, the protective walls resulting in cramped conditions, but she did not think Ramona needed to hear this. “Is your future husband a caballero?”

“Sí. He now serves the king as a tax collector,” Ramona replied. “Before that, he served the local adelantado for years. He commanded men at the siege of 1333 but was grievously wounded and can no longer ride to war.” She cocked her head. “Mamá says the king should have persisted until he won.”

“Mamá knows nothing of what it is to be king.” Alma knew, from listening to Doña Leonor, that the king had every intention of retaking Gibraltar, but then, back in 1333, he’d had to break the siege to handle Juan Manuel and his cohorts, who had been happily raiding their way through Castile. Outlaws and renegades the lot of them! Since then, Juan Manuel had been reined in—until last year, when he’d allied himself with Portugal.

“No, I suppose she doesn’t. Just as she doesn’t know anything about living in Cádiz.” Ramona sighed. “I won’t know anyone.”

“You will make friends soon,” Alma told her. “Your husband will be so proud of you and will likely parade you round every plaza, every church.”

Ramona gnawed her lip. “You truly think so?”

“You are very pretty.” And also very young, only a year older than Alma. Her husband-to-be had to be at least twice her age if he’d held command in 1333. She dug into her basket and found the pair of ivory hair combs she’d intended to give Mamá. Of Moorish origin, they were old but beautiful. “Here. For the bride-to-be.”

Ramona gaped. And then she threw her arms around Alma.

“I bought them for you,” Alma said much later to her mother. “But Ramona—”

“You did the right thing,” Mamá said. “You made her very happy.”

Anna Belfrage

# # #

About the Author

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with three absorbing interests: history, romance and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England. Anna has just released the final instalment, Their Castilian Orphan, in her other medieval series, The Castilian Saga ,which is set against the medieval conquest of Wales. She has recently released Times of Turmoil, a sequel to her time travel romance, The Whirlpools of Time, and is now considering just how to wiggle out of setting the next book in that series in Peter the Great’s Russia, as her characters are demanding. . . Find out more from Anna's website www.annabelfrage.com and find her on Facebook, Bluesky and Twitter @abelfrageauthor

Historical Fiction Book Launch: Massawa: a Tale of Espionage, Love, and Illusion, by Pam Webber

2026-06-23T05:35:48.764+00:00

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

1942: During the height of World War II, Wild Bill Donovan, the director of the United States' first spy agency, believes women are the key to winning the intelligence battle with the Nazis.

To that end, he partners fledgling agent Kit Thomas with British MI6 agent Mark Williams and sends them to one of the most perilous places in the world - Massawa, Eritrea - to investigate the theft of millions of military payroll dollars.

In Massawa, Kit and Mark discover a conspiracy by Nazi sympathizers, known as the Vichy, to shut down the only Allied naval base on the Red Sea - which is an essential resource in stopping the Nazi invasion of North Africa. As they work to reveal the conspirators, Kit and Mark engage in a dangerous and tempestuous dance of trust versus mistrust.

“With empathy and care, Webber brings to life the hidden world of ‘The Wiregrass’ in the 1960s. This is a coming-of-age story that will move you profoundly.” Susan Breen, author of “The Fiction Room”

“‘Moon Water’ is a flood of love and tragedy. There is intense action and humor, soul satisfying courage and redemption, and throughout, Webber's knowing, authoritative hand with setting and character.” David L. Robbins, New York Times-bestselling author

# # #

About the Author

Pam Webber is a bestselling second career novelist, and was honored to be a panelist at Virginia Festival of the Book, the Library of Virginia, and James River Writers. Pam is also an internal medicine nurse practitioner and former nursing educator. She and her husband, Jeff, live in the beautiful Northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Find out more Learn more at: www.pamwebber.com and find Pam on Facebook, Twitter: @PamWebber1 and Instagram: @PamWebber1