Special Valentine’s Event
Join me in the illustrious company of the fabulous Essie Fox and the erudite Hallie Rubenhold for a ‘Girls Night In’ at Chiswick Library, Duke’s Avenue, London W4 2AB, on Thursday 13 February 6.45-8.15 p.m. to discuss all things love and romance in times gone by. Essie will be telling some of the tragic tales of love, death and destiny which appear in her gothic novels. Hallie Rubenhold will be drawing back the curtain before Regency prostitutes, and I’ll be revisiting the golden age of...
Read MoreWeapons & Armour
Rather pleased to have taken possession of a few goodies: There are even grooves in the main gauche to let out the blood! The short left handed dagger was used as a parrying weapon in conjunction with the rapier, and together they were the principle side arms carried by any Elizabethan gentleman. The longer rapier blade was used for initial attack and thrust, while the short blade of the main gauche came into its own in close combat when the rapier could no longer be effective. The most common design was like the...
Read MoreResearching HF
I recently had the privilege of contributing a feature on researching historical fiction to the new Catherine Gaskin website. The full text may be found here; what follows is a taster… The tools for research available to historical novelists have changed considerably over recent years with a wealth of data now available online and search engines making access to it appear relatively easy, but basic methods have changed little. Research still requires diligence and patience and the investigative skills...
Read MoreInterview on One More Page
There’s such a lovely interview on One More Page that I thought I’d post it here… Your new historical novel, The Lost Duchess has just been released; please could you tell readers a little about it and the inspiration behind it? The Lost Duchess is an epic adventure with a love story at its heart. It’s set against the backdrop of Sir Walter Raleigh’s attempt to found the first permanent English settlement in America, one that met a mysterious fate and has become known as the ‘Lost Colony...
Read MoreSherborne Launch!
After the fabulous success of the launch for The Lost Duchess at Goldsboro Books in the heart of London, the last of the celebratory events to see the Duchess on her way will be held this Thursday, 21 November, at my local bookstore, Winstone Books, 6.30-8.30, 8 Cheap Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3PX – There’s an invitation here for anyone interested, reader or writer, who is in the southwest and might like to come along. There’ll be wine and nibbles, merriment and mayhem (in the form of...
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