Blog
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Research snippets – John, Count of Mortain: traitor turned loyal brother
John, Count of Mortain, the youngest of Henry II and Eleanor’s brood, conspired with King Philip of France to usurp his brother’s throne while Richard I, the Lionheart, was a captive of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. Their scheming failed, and Richard looked past John’s traitorous activities. “He is my brother and should have…
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Research snippets – Arthur of Brittany
One major plot line in Swords of the King involves King Richard, the Lionheart’s nephew, Duke Arthur of Brittany. Swords ends in 1199 when the young duke is 13 years old, but Arthur’s story goes on a few more years. [King] John himself now attempted to deal with Arthur in another way. Being at Falaise…
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#OTD 27 May 1199 – John crowned King of England at Westminster
Richard I, the Lionheart, died on April 6, 1199. His brother John was in Brittany at the time visiting a possible rival to the crown, the young Duke Arthur, son of Richard and John’s late brother Geoffrey. John fled the Breton court secretly after a messenger delivered the news. Had the Bretons heard it earlier, we might…
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A Discovered Diamond – Book Review of For King and Country
There is a new site in town – rather, on the web – for reviews of historical fiction: Discovering Diamonds. You should definitely bookmark or follow this site if you are looking for good historical fiction. And I am thrilled to report that For King and Country, Book II of Battle Scars, has been selected as…
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Writing Medieval Lincoln – Lincoln Castle
I wish I lived closer to Lincoln or could have the Enterprise transporter take me the 4000+ miles in a few seconds. While I am wishing for the transporter, I might as well add a time machine to the mix. Where is the TARDIS when you need it? I didn’t have a chance to visit Lincoln until…
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B.R.A.G. Medallion awarded to For King and Country
Thank you, indieBRAG! I am thrilled For King and Country has been awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion. B.R.A.G. is the Book Readers Appreciation Group. Indie-published books are put through a tough review process. As indieBRAG notes on their website: This entails an initial screening to ensure that the author’s work meets certain minimum standards of quality and…
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A shout-out from Sharon Kay Penman
August slipped past and I never managed to mention that the lovely Sharon Kay Penman mentioned both For King and Country and Men of the Cross on her blog at the end of July. Sharon writes: “I think they might be of interest to my history-loving, book-loving readers and friends.” What a thrill to have my books noted by a best-selling author…
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Voting begins today – Summer Indie Book Award
VOTE EARLY AND DAILY!! Both of my historical fiction novels – Men of the Cross and For King and Country – have been nominated by a lovely reader for a Summer Indie Book award in the historical category. Readers can vote once a day Sept. 1 – 11. You can even vote for both books! Vote here! http://goo.gl/zK9veq Metamorphic…