The Kraals of Ulundi - David Ebsworth - Author Interview

Today I am very pleased to welcome author David Ebsworth to the blog, with an interview as part of his blog tour. David's new novel is The Kraals of Ulundi: A Novel of the Zulu War.

Welcome to the blog David!

Hello Lindsay, and thanks for hosting this stop on the tour. It’s great to be here.

Please could you tell us a bit about your new book The Kraals of Ulundi: A Novel of the Zulu War?

Yes, of course. It’s set in 1879 and tells the story of the unprovoked invasion of Zululand in a South African land-grab that British history likes to call the Anglo-Zulu War. Kraals picks up the story from the perspective of three main characters – the Zulu warrior, Shaba; the English Lieutenant, Jahleel Brenton Carey; and the renegade trader, William McTeague.

How do you decide what you want to write about next - do you look to periods in history or places that particularly interest you and build a story from there?

Well, basically, I like to write stories that, really, I wish somebody else had written for me to read but which, for one reason or another, don’t yet exist. So yes, they’re usually “little known” periods that intrigue me.

What was the inspiration for this new novel?

In the middle of the Zulu War, the British forces were joined by an unusual observer, the French Prince Imperial, Louis Napoleon. He fell into an ambush and tragically died there. It was a story that I’d known for a long time but hadn’t been covered, so far as I could tell, in any work of fiction. So I decided to use this incident as the catalyst around which my three main characters are linked. In addition, I knew that the 50^th anniversary of the iconic movie, Zulu, was coming up and I realized, in addition, that there are no novels covering the six months of the conflict that took place after the incidents depicted in the film – the defence of Rorke’s Drift. So I like to say that Kraals picks up the story of the Zulu War where Michael Caine left off.

Do you plan extensively in advance when you write, in terms of plot and character, or do you have just an outline/main idea and then see where the words take you?

No, I don’t plan the plot itself very extensively at all. I normally lay out the bones of the actual historical events, then work a fair bit on outlines for my main characters, with lots of personal detail and background behaviour drivers. Then I really just let them loose and see where their personalities (rather than the words) take them.

How long do you spend writing a novel from start to finish, and does it vary depending on the subject matter?

Last week I finished the first full draft of my fourth novel (about the Battle of waterloo, but from the perspective of two French women) which I started last October. That’s pretty standard for me. 8-9 months for the working draft. Then it will stand for a month before I begin re-writing. During that month, I normally visit the locations to check them out and get the feeling or colour of the settings, and allow my “ideal reader” (my wife, Ann) to have a sneak preview and give me her always critically constructive opinion of the plot. Then I edit, rewrite and polish, until I’m happy with the finished version. The whole process, start to finish, takes me a year.

Do you find the novel-writing process addictive - is it hard to stop once you get going, and how do you find editing and revising your work?

Very addictive indeed! After I retired, I was looking for something that would challenge me and retain my work ethic, producing something useful but without all the stresses and strains. Novel-writing has given me exactly that, though I still write almost every day of the year. I think you have to write every day just to keep the plot flowing and get to the end – even if you’ve got limited daily free time to play with. The same applies to editing and revising. I always follow Stephen King’s advice and cut at least 10% of my first draft. That way, you keep your work tight.

Can you recommend some of your own favourite authors and/or novels please?

That’s a tough one. Without thinking about it too much, one of my earliest historical fiction influences (fifty years ago) was Rosemary Sutcliff, and particularly her brilliant Sword at Sunset. Then Dickens, I think, and Great Expectations. But my two all-time favourites must have been, first, Patrick O’Brian (with his Master and Commander, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin series), and then Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mister Ripley, Ripley’s Game, etc). I’m somewhat ashamed to say that I identify closely with Tom Ripley and I simply adore anti-heroes.

Would you recommend the self-published route having done this yourself?

I’d recommend self-publishing with a few health warnings, I think.  My first novel, The Jacobites’ Apprentice, was critically acclaimed by lots of lovely folk, including the Historical Novel Society, but was never going to be commercially viable enough for a traditional publisher to pick it up. So self-publishing was the obvious option. The intelligent thing would have been to simply self-publish as an eBook but, sadly, vanity kicked in and I decided to go for a print version also. There’s nothing quite like holding a ‘real’ copy of your book for the first time – but that costs money. Especially if you want it to look good. And you’re not likely to make enough sales to get your money back from the publication of one book alone. That’s true. Just look at the statistics for how many copies are sold by most first-time authors. A few hundred, if you’re lucky. So I wrote a second (The Assassin’s Mark, a Spanish Civil War thriller). More investment but better returns. Because guess what? The people who liked Assassins went off and bought Jacobites too. So then I found myself running a small business. As an authorpreneur. Spending almost as much time marketing as writing. The third book (The Kraals of Ulundi) has almost helped me to break even. And the fourth one, due to publish later this year as The Last Campaign of Marianne Tambour, will see me making a small profit. Successful friends in the business tell me that, after book number five, it’s all plain sailing. Well, we’ll see! But at least I’m in control of the whole process rather than being at the whim of an agent/publisher. Because your excellent question has another side to it. What happens if you’re phenomenally lucky to be offered a traditional deal? The vast majority of first-timers get paid pathetically small advances by publishers. Most first-timers make buttons in royalties. And most publishers will do little or nothing by way of marketing to help you get your work on bookstore shelves. So self-publishing? Yes, go for it! And if you want to test the water, be sensible and produce an eBook first. You can always go for the print version once you’ve tested the market.

But hey, thanks for the interview, Lindsay. And if any of your readers want to know more, I’m happy to pick up any questions or comments.

Author Links ~ find David on twitter @EbsworthDavid

About the novel ~

1879 – the British army has suffered one of the worst defeats in its history at the hands of the Zulu King Cetshwayo. Now the British seek revenge and a second invasion of Zululand is about to take place.

Within the Zulu regiments charged with repelling the assault is Shaba kaNdabuko − driven by ambition to share the glory of battle, to bring honour and cattle to his family.

Meanwhile, new British soldiers are shipped out to replace those lost in the military disasters, and among them is Lieutenant Jahleel Carey, likewise also hoping that adventure will bring him a change of fortune.

But there are also always those on the sidelines of conflict, profiteers like renegade trader William McTeague.

Three men, three women, will be brought together by one of the Zulu War’s strangest episodes, and their destinies will be changed forever.

Author Interview - Joanne Phillips

Today I am really pleased to feature an interview with author Joanne Phillips. Joanne's latest novel is Cupid's Way.

Welcome Joanne, and thank you for agreeing to answer my questions! 

Please could you tell us a bit about your new book, Cupid's Way?

Cupid's Way is a feel-good romantic comedy about a woman called Evie Stone, who finds herself in the middle of a battle to save a Victorian terrace: Cupid's Way. Her grandparents live there, along with a host of colourful characters, but Dynamite Construction are threatening to demolish the site in the name of development. Evie begins to fall for charismatic Michael Andrews at an eco conference, not realizing he is in fact the CEO of Dynamite Construction ...

I know you've started a series of mystery novels too, I'm looking forward to reading the first one when I get chance. How do you decide what you want to write about next?

I have a notebook full of ideas, some are pretty detailed novel outlines and others just brief sketches, but I need to feel fired up about an idea to begin writing. A novel, even if you write quickly, takes a big chunk out of your life, and you have to love the characters and feel totally immersed in the plot to live with it for so long.

Do you plan extensively in advance when you write, in terms of plot and character, or do you have just an outline/main idea and then see where the words take you?

I do both, depending on the type of book. For a mystery, plotting is essential. The latest Flora Lively mystery was carefully plotted, scene by scene, before I started writing. You don't have to do it this way, of course, but if you don't it definitely means more re-writing and editing later to make sure you've laid a trail of clues and made the final denouncement totally credible. But my usual way of writing is to take an idea or a character and just begin. When I get to chapter 3 or 4, if I'm happy and certain I'm heading in the right direction, I might stop and jot down some ideas about where I want it to go. But plotting too much can suck all the joy out of it, for sure.

How long do you spend writing a novel from start to finish, and does it vary depending on the subject matter?

It does vary. Now I'm on my fifth novel, I usually spend about 6 months writing and editing, but often the idea will have been working itself out in my head for far longer, or will be based on notes and character sketches I've developed over time. Writing a novel for me doesn't only include sitting down at my desk and typing out the words - much of it goes on in my head while I'm doing other things.

Do you find writing addictive - is it hard to stop once you get going?

It is addictive, and I would write all day, every day if I could!

I love your site offering advice on writing and publishing from your own experiences. I read that you have done different roles prior to writing, but did you always have that itch to write?

I've always written, no matter what job or role I've had. I can still remember the feel of my school exercise books: red, blue or green covers with lined paper inside. I still think in stories all the time, and my characters have conversations with each other in my head! I think the big moment came for me when I realised that you need to take your dreams seriously, and give yourself every chance to achieve what you want, which for me was to have my work in front of readers. I'm enjoying sharing my journey on my blog and I'll always continue to do that too. 

Many thanks for being my guest on the blog today, Joanne!

You can visit Joanne's website here, and find her on twitter @joannegphillips and visit her amazon page here.

Men Of Letters - Duncan Barrett - Author Q&A

Today I am very pleased to welcome author Duncan Barrett to the blog! 

His new book Men of Letters is out now. (AA Publishing, £8.99, softback)

Hi Duncan, please could you tell us a bit about your new book Men of Letters?

Men of Letters tells the true stories of some of the thousands of Post Office workers who went off to fight in the trenches during the First World War, in particular those who served with the organisation's own battalion the Post Office Rifles. Based on their trench diaries and the letters they wrote home from the western front, it looks at every aspect of their experiences of war, from the rituals of daily life in the trenches (in particular the importance for morale of regular mail and food packages from home) to the terrible slaughter of the Somme and Passchendaele, when men saw former post office colleagues suddenly killed alongside them. These very ordinary men living through extraordinary times give us a glimpse of the war as the average tommy experienced it. 

What drew you to this topic - I understand that there is a personal link in your family to the Post Office Rifles? 

Actually, the only personal link to the POR story is that my great-great-uncle fought alongside them in the battle for High Wood in September 1916, and like many of the PORs he was killed there. But I didn’t actually realise the connection until I began researching their stories. I visited High Wood as part of my research for the book, hoping to see the land where they fought and he died. Sadly, though, the only people allowed inside these days are those who come to shoot game birds in the wood. 

Do you enjoy researching the books that you write, and how easy/difficult was it to find out about this topic in order to put your book together?

I was very lucky that there is a wealth of material on the Post Office Rifles held at the Imperial War Museum, and also at the British Postal Museum and Archive. Many of the PORs shared their own stories with each other before they died, and some of these were printed in the POR Association newsletters. I also had access to lots of the original letters they wrote to their loved ones from the front lines, which helped me to get to know them on a personal level. I found the research fascinating – although occasionally I did find it frustrating that all the people I was writing about were no longer alive. With my previous books, The Sugar Girls and GI Brides, which are both based on interviewees with living subjects, I’ve always been able to pick up the phone if I realised something was confusing me. 

Do you find the writing process addictive - is it hard to stop once you get going?

To be honest, I find that I’m always on such a tight deadline that I don’t have time to stop even if I wanted to! But certainly, you do get into the flow of writing once you’ve been doing it for a while. The first few weeks on a new book are always the hardest, trying to get back into that daily rhythm again. Then after a while it begins to get more enjoyable!

I really enjoyed your book about The Sugar Girls. How do you decide what you want to write about next? 

Generally, I find that working on one book I start to have ideas about the next one. When my partner Nuala and I were researching The Sugar Girls, we spent a lot of time interviewing old ladies in the East End, and Nuala started to think, ‘I’m getting to know all these other people’s grandmothers, but I’ve never really interviewed my own grandmother.’ When The Sugar Girls was out of the way, she spent several days talking to her grandmother Margaret, and hearing about her experiences as a GI Bride in WW2 – and that inspired us to write our next book about the GI Brides. One of the women we wrote about in that book was in the ATS during the war, and we were so fascinated by that aspect of her war experience that we decided our third book would be about women in the forces – we’re working on that now, and it should be in shops March 2015. Men of Letters was a little bit different in that the publisher approached me about writing something to do with the First World War, to tie in with the Centenary this year. I wanted it to be a story that focused on ordinary men on the front lines, and if possible using some of their own words – we eventually agreed on a book about the Post Office Rifles (a battalion of ordinary postmen and telegram boys) incorporating the letters they wrote home. 

Thank you for answering my questions Duncan!

The Visitors - Rebecca Mascull - Review & Author Q&A

Today I am reviewing The Visitors by Rebecca Mascull, and I'm delighted to also welcome  the author herself to the blog in an interview below! 

My review

'I know there is a land that surrounds me, but always lies just beyond my grasp. I feel its constant presence through everything everyone else can do and I cannot.'

The Visitors is an intelligent, imaginative and beautifully written debut novel which I found absorbing and really enjoyed reading. The author has created a wonderful, convincing narrator in Liza, a young deaf-blind girl, and by telling the story in her voice almost throughout, we are drawn deeply, vividly into her unique world and able to share in all that she can, and cannot, be part of: 

'...I cannot imagine comprehending an object through anything but the feel of it, the shape, the weight, the texture and the space it inhabits. Does all this also come through sight, or is it something so different it cannot be conceptualised, as different from touch as smell is? Another country, another language, another arena of sensation? I ache for it.'

I found this a captivating read that I was eager to continue with. It was a pleasure and a joy to read because of the way the reader could share so closely in Liza’s joy as she discovers more of the world around her through the use of finger spelling with Lottie, and then in other ways as things change further for her than she could have hoped. 

Lottie is a hop picker working for Liza's father, and in her Liza finds a very dear and devoted friend, the way they are together is heartwarming, with Lottie patient and kind. Liza finds love and friendship amongst Lottie's family too, with her brother Caleb's letters from the Boer war in the second half of the book adding further shape and historical context to the narrative. Liza has a loving father, their closeness was wonderful and I was glad she had this relationship, as, at least at first, her mother was too weak to be there for her. 

With the Visitors, the ghostly apparitions seen by Liza when she closes her eyes, and with whom she can communicate in her mind, the author adds another dimension to Liza's experiences and to the tale. I liked the significance of the role they played towards the end of the novel, though of course I won't write more about that here so that I don't spoil the story. The descriptions of the Kent hop fields, the oyster beds, and the Boer war are vivid and evocative. The book has a very attractive cover design, too. 

What I think I liked most of all was that Rebecca Mascull makes us see anew through Liza’s eyes much of the wonder in the world around us every day, and made this reader think about appreciating it all, and not taking things for granted. 

For me this was a very engaging, moving and atmospheric story of devoted, wonderful friendship, first love and attraction, of travel, adventure and war, and of ghostly visitors. I looked forward to getting back to it every time I had to put it down, and I read it in only a few sittings. An impressive debut.

Thanks to amazon vine for a review copy of this novel. 

Author links twitter @RebeccaMascull  | tumblr
Published by Hodder & Stoughton 

Q & A with Rebecca Mascull

Q. The Visitors is set in the late 19th/early 20th Century. What prompted you to set the tale at this point in history? Was this a period you already knew about, was there a lot of research involved?

When I decided to portray a deaf-blind child and her education, I wanted to set this at a point in history where she was facing a huge struggle against the odds. I didn't want her to necessarily be the first to do this - as there are well-documented real-life cases such as Helen Keller that have already covered that ground - but certainly at an early stage, so that essentially my character would be seen as an idiot before she had learned to communicate effectively - that is, until she learned language.

I didn't know much about the late Victorian/early Edwardian period at all - yet that was part of the challenge for me, and indeed, part of the fun! I love to learn and having an excuse to read lots of history books, visit old houses and inhabit another era is part of what I love about being a novelist. In his novel 'The Go-Between', L. P. Hartley writes: 'The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.' So true. And anyone who knows me well will tell you that I do inhabit another country in my head much of the time, and that I do live in the past! I like many things about the modern world - mostly its convenience and some of its technology - but my heart resides in history.

Q. Have you wanted to write about a deafblind character for a long time or did the idea come to you quite recently?

I was lucky enough to work with deaf students about twenty years ago and was hooked on the idea of writing about deafness, as it is such a fascinating area of study. There are theories about the differences between the deaf brain and the hearing brain, as well as so much to consider when it comes to the structure and nature of sign language and how it compares to spoken and written language. I also saw a TV movie about Helen Keller as a child and tried very hard to imagine what it must feel like to have no sight and no hearing. These influences stayed with me and when I came to decide on this project, they came together and insisted they be written!

Q. I felt like Liza was very convincing, that you got inside her head and really showed how things were for her. How easy was it to write Liza's character and write about the way she experiences the world?

I'm so glad you felt that about Liza. It was difficult at first to imagine her world, particularly before she could see. I had to shut off the two senses I tend to use most when writing. I made lots of errors in early drafts where I forgot that she couldn't hear, and had her turning towards sounds and all sorts! So it was a big learning curve. I also had to embrace my sense of smell, which for me is not particularly good, and imagine how it would be to live through touch and smell primarily. It wasn't easy, but for me writing about myself or people similar to me would be dull. One of my motivations in writing is to escape, I suppose! The same as my motivation in reading or watching movies or engaging in any sort of narrative. So I do like to explore people in different times and lives and experiences, different to myself, that is. That's one of the joys of writing novels, for me.

Q. I loved the way Liza made me appreciate things that I can see and do, is there anything in particular that you appreciated anew as you were writing her character?

That's a super question. In the early chapters, before she can see, I tried hard not to pity her. She didn't pity herself as she didn't understand the pathos of her own condition. And even once she did understand, I think it just made her more determined to push forwards. This made me think the next time I was whining about some minor problem or inconvenience I'd had to put up with and made me tell myself, just shut up, Mascull: you've got NOTHING to complain about! 

Q. When is your favourite time of day to write, or do you just write as and when you can, whatever time it is?

I do have a routine, which these days is largely dictated by the school day and holidays. Thus, I write from 9.30 to 2.30, 5 days a week during term times and don't do much writing at weekends or in school holidays. However, I get a lot of research reading and note-taking done out of school hours, whenever I can fit it in: in the bath, in the evenings, while I'm waiting for my daughter after school or during clubs. In a perfect writer's world, I'd write all day from 9 - 5 in an empty house while it's snowing outside; there's something about the silence snow creates which is very conducive to writing. But who wants to live in a perfect world? That'd be dreary.

Q. Are you writing a second novel, and if so can you share anything about it yet?

Actually I've just finished writing my next novel. I don't have a title yet to share with you (I'll let you know as soon as I do!), but I can tell you a bit of what it's about. It's set in the C18th, where an orphan girl is educated through a benefactor. She becomes a scientist - or as they were called back then, a Natural Philosopher - she travels abroad and makes a remarkable discovery... It has various themes, of the sea, of love and war, of poverty and the position of women; and it was a joy to write. I enjoyed the C18th hugely. I'm about to get cracking on the line edit and I'm looking forward to diving back into its world, and particularly the C18th, which was chaotic and a little bit scary, but hugely entertaining! The novel is due for publication around this time next year. 

Q. Can you recommend a book or two you've enjoyed reading this year/or a couple of favourite books?

Ooh, good question. One of my favourites in the last year was 'Where D'You Go Bernadette?' by Maria Semple. From the rather gaudy cover, I didn't expect to like it at all, and I only read it because my lovely editor at Hodder gave it to me. But it was brilliant - very, very funny and thought-provoking and full of interesting stuff - such as Antarctica, where I've always wanted to go - and also things I could totally relate to, like the pressures of the school run, for example. I couldn't put it down, and that doesn't happen for me much any more. Sadly, reading novels can become a bit of a busman's holiday for me at times. I have to really be grabbed by a book to carry on reading after the first 30 pages, let alone finish it. I find myself over-analysing novels too much, and if any of the cracks show I end up tearing it to shreds in my head and get thrown way out of that necessary suspension of disbelief. So when I find one I can't stop reading and get lost in and don't remember I'm actually reading a constructed novel written by someone...well, I get terribly excited! Old favourites include anything by Salinger; The Great Gatsby, Wuthering Heights, Atwood's The Blind Assassin; Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain; most of Amy Tan's early novels - the ones about China and sisters and mothers; and then odd, quirky ones like The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos. One of the best writers around right now I believe is Marilynne Robinson; the quality of her prose is so far above the rest of us, it's terrifying - and inspiring. 

Q. As a published debut novelist, are there any particular tips you'd give to aspiring writers?

You do have to possess a kind of stubborn determination to carry on, I think. There will be many obstacles in your way, including your own insecurity. There will be many gatekeepers saying No Entry. You have to find ways around and past these, including using charm, side-stepping and sheer bloody-mindedness to keep going and going, improving your writing, picking yourself up from rejections and criticisms and downright hatchet jobs of your work. Somewhere inside there needs to be a kernel of self-belief, that your work is good, that you can make it better every time you sit down to write, and that one day you will find the readers who 'get' you, the ones that say, Yes, I know what you're trying to say and I like it! It may take years and years of trying, but if you get enough signs and signals from the world that what you're doing is good, then you must keep going, you simply must. I wish every writer on this journey the best, as it's not an easy road to travel. But I wouldn't choose any other path.

~~~~~

Thank you so much, Rebecca, for being on my blog today! 

Here's a glimpse of the paperback cover design for The Visitors, to be published on July 18th 2014.

Elizabeth Fremantle - Author Q&A

Today I am delighted to share with you all a lovely author Q&A with historical fiction writer Elizabeth Fremantle. Elizabeth is the author of Queen's Gambit, recently published in paperback in the UK by Penguin.

I've read some wonderful reviews from other bloggers and reviewers of this novel, and it has been sitting on my TBR pile far too long, so I hope I can manage to read it soon.

If you're interesting in reading more, I recommend the author's website - link here.

Elizabeth Fremantle is also on twitter here @LizFremantle

Author Q&A with Elizabeth Fremantle

Can you tell us about your latest book?

Queen’s Gambit is tale of love, tragedy and politics. It tells the story of Henry VIII’s last Queen, Katherine Parr. Set in the turbulent and dangerous Tudor court at a time of great change we see how Katherine has to tread a political knife-edge to survive. Her loyal maid Dot offers a below stairs perspective on the machinations of the court giving a sense of what life was like for ordinary women during those uncertain and perilous times.

What kind of research did you do for your latest novel?

I spent months and months with my nose between the pages of books. Initially my research focused on primary sources, the surviving letters and contemporary texts (like Parr’s two books) and the biographies of Katherine Parr. I also read biographies of all the other main figures that appear in the novel, as well as histories focusing on the sixteenth century in general and social histories. Contemporary plays and poetry as well as etiquette books and cookbooks, were another source of information. I am lucky enough to live close to some extraordinary Tudor buildings, Hampton Court being one. It was there that Katherine married Henry and I spent days wandering about there absorbing the atmosphere. It was the Hampton Court kitchens that provided the inspiration for Dot’s character. They are vast, a collection of buildings almost as expansive as the palace above, and seeing them allowed me to imagine all the thousands of forgotten people whose hard graft kept the world of the court turning. Another conduit to the past is portraiture. Katherine Parr’s time was the moment in history when painting came off the church walls and became secular. Holbein was the court painter for much of that time and his work, even his rough sketches, are so brimming with life they give the impression of actually confronting people from the past.

Are there any authors who have inspired you?

So many: for sheer stylistic brilliance I love Stephan Zweig. His novel Beware of Pity is possibly my favourite book. It was criticised in its time for being too conventional – it was published at the height of modernism – but for me it holds a subtle experimentation that takes second place to the story, enhancing it but never subsuming it. I have long been a fan of Sarah Waters for her ingenious plotting and Rose Tremain for her humour. Elizabeth Bowen and Rosamund Lehmann, who though completely different from me as authors, have taught me much about how to tell a story with elegance; then there are the classics: Conrad, Fitzgerald, Hardy, Flaubert – I could go on and on.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

The whole process has been a great joy but I suppose the moment when having scrapped a whole draft and begun to rewrite from the beginning, I felt my characters really come alive and story begin to find its shape. But also all the research reading, coming upon new nuggets of information, is an enduring pleasure.

What sparked your interest of Women in History?

I have always been interested in the forgotten women behind the great men of history. When studying for my degree in English I explored the work of the early female writers of the Renaissance. These writings (and there are more of them than you’d think) allow us access to women’s voices from a past from which they have been largely erased. I wanted to give them a voice for the twenty first century.

What drew you to Katherine Parr specifically?

I was always attracted to the label of ‘survivor’ that was applied to Katherine Parr, and she was one of those women writers I mention above. She was one of the first women to write an original work in the English language – her style is intimate and lyrical and made a great impression on me. She wrote two books, the second was a highly controversial political text and was written at great personal risk which made me think there was more to her than met the eye. She had always been touted as the dull wife who nursed Henry through his dotage and was eclipsed by her more glamorous predecessors. But her books and letters spoke of another woman altogether and I wanted to show that intelligent, vibrant, daring woman and set the record straight about Katherine Parr.

Which of Henry VIII’s wives do you like the least?

Probably Jane Seymour. She didn’t live long enough to really show her colours and seems a very pale, ghost-like creature. Though she must have had something going for her to have snagged Henry at the height of his powers.

What were your favourite books as a child?

I tended to read the books I enjoyed over and over again – I loved Jean Plaidy’s historical fiction, which I read voraciously and happily she was incredibly prolific, writing three novels a year under her different pseudonyms so it was almost impossible to run out of her work. A favourite series was the Narnia books as well as Laura Ingles-Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie novels, which I read until they fell apart. I can’t forget Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals, which was sheer escapist joy.

Which book particularly inspired you to write?

No one single book – any of those I have already mentioned and many more, but if I had to pin down a single text I would probably say reading The Great Gatsby as a teenager and seeing how he got so much narrative into such a short space – the cleverness of his writing and the way he invoked emotion – that made me want to tell stories.

What have you read recently?

Rose Tremain’s Merivel – hilariously clever; Hilary Mantel’s Bring up the Bodies – darkly thrilling; Andrew Millar’s Pure – visceral; Rachel Joyce’s Perfect – poignant; Helen Walsh’s The Lemon grove – steamy; Jane Thynne’s Black Roses – intriguing; Nell Leyshon’s The Colour of Milk – exquisitely narrated; Leanda de Lisle’s Tudor: The Family Story; a brilliant broad brush-stroke view of England’s most dysfunctional family and Linda Norton’s Crown of Thistles – meticulously researched history of Mary Queen of Scots. And then of course there’s my research reading…

What books are next on the reading pile?

As I’m nearing the end of the first draft of my third Tudor novel I will be starting to research the next one in earnest. I have a huge pile of books about the early Stuart period, focusing in particular on Arbella Stuart and poet Aemelia Lanyer who will be my next heroines. I hope to get in some reading for pleasure and will probably turn to some of the Bailey’s prize longlist: I bought Rachel Kushner’s The Flamethrowers recently and I’m drawn to Evie Wyld’s All the Birds, Singing.

What are you working on next? (If you can tell us of course!)

My third (as yet un-named) Tudor novel is about Lady Penelope Rich, the sister of the Earl of Essex. She was a cousin of Queen Elizabeth and not only a beauty who inspired great poetry but was a shrewd political operator as well as a free spirit who lived openly with her lover at a time when such things simply were not done. She was embroiled in her brother’s disastrous coup against the queen. It is set in the dying days of the Elizabeth’s reign, a time when Shakespeare, Donne and Sidney were writing plays and poetry that still resonates today and Ralegh and Drake were opening the world and changing it forever.

When can we be expecting your next title?

Sisters of Treason, which tells the heart-rending story of the two younger sisters of the tragic Lady Jane Grey, is coming out in May. Beginning in the aftermath of Jane’s execution, the sisters’ Tudor blood has become more a curse than a blessing. Queen Mary’s succession is by no means stable; many covet the crown, and some say the Grey sisters have a better claim to the throne than the queen.  Neither sister is well suited to a dangerous life at court.  Flirtatious Lady Catherine, thought to be the true heir, cannot control her compulsion to love and be loved, and clever Lady Mary is burdened with a crooked spine and a tiny stature. For either girl to marry without royal permission would be a potentially fatal political act, perceived as a treasonous grab for the throne.

I have woven the Grey girls’ story in with that of painter Levina Teerlinc who helps them negotiate the perilous terrain of the court. But when Mary’s hot-headed sister Elizabeth inherits the crown, life at court becomes increasingly treacherous for the Grey sisters. 

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About 'Queen's Gambit'...

DIVORCED, BEHEADED, DIED, DIVORCED, BEHEADED, SURVIVED…
The court of henry VIII is rife with intrigue, rivalries and romance – and none are better placed to understand this than the women at its heart.

Katherine Parr, Widowed for the second time aged thirty-one, is obliged to return to court, but, suspicious of the aging king and those who surround him, she does so with reluctance. Nevertheless, when she finds  herself caught up in a passionate affair with the dashing and seductive Thomas Seymour, she believes she might finally be able to marry for love. But her presence at court has attracted the attentions of another.
Captivated by her honesty and intelligence, Henry Tudor has his own plans for Katherine and no one is in the position to refuse a proposal from the king. So with her charismatic lover dispatched to the continent, Katherine must accept the hand of the ailing egotistical monarch and become Henry's sixth wife - and yet she has still not quite given up on love.

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About Sisters of Treason

Two young girls tread dangerously close to the throne after their sister, the deposed queen, Lady Jane Grey, is executed.

Lady Catherine and Lady Mary are reeling after their elder sister, the seventeen-year-old Lady Jane Grey, is brutally executed. Their Tudor blood is now more a curse than a blessing. Queen Mary’s succession is by no means stable; many covet the crown, and some say the Grey sisters have a better claim to the throne than the queen.      

Neither sister is well suited to a dangerous life at court.  Flirtatious Lady Catherine, thought to be the true heir, cannot control her compulsion to love and be loved, and clever Lady Mary has a crooked spine and a tiny stature when physical attributes are thought to reflect moral character.  For either girl to marry without royal permission would be a potentially fatal political act, perceived as a treasonous grab for the throne.  

 It is the royal portrait painter, Levina Teerlinc, who helps the girls survive these troubled times. She becomes their mentor and confidante; with her painter’s observation she is able to see more at court than the sisters, who are watched closely.  But when the hot-headed Elizabeth inherits the crown, life at court becomes increasingly treacherous for the Grey sisters.  Ultimately each young woman must decide how far she dares to go to defy her Queen and risk her life for love.