Author: artefact_admin
There Are Now TWO of Me
There are now officially TWO of me—and there have been since last month when my debut crime novel And by Fire, written as Evie Hawtrey, hit shelves everywhere. Evie may write mystery, but she hasn’t abandoned history. And by Fire features a mystery set in 1666 London before, during and after the Great Fire as one of the book’s two timelines.
So why the genre jump? I sat down with fellow historical novelist Anne Easter Smith and did an interview for the Historical Novel Society discussing just that. You can read it here.
And when you are done, may I suggest you pick up a copy of And by Fire, meet the new me and more importantly Lady Margaret Dove—a woman of science in a time when there was no such thing and a Lady-in-Waiting to England’s queen, who goes looking for a friend disappeared as London burned and finds devilry and murder.
Discover My Novels with My 2021 Spring Book Trailer!
It’s SPRING AT LAST!!!! And time for springtime refresh on my book trailer.🌷🌷🌷
Voila! ENJOY . . .
If you are looking for a spring-time-afternoon-in-the-garden read and female-centered historical fiction is your passion . . . look no further than one of my novels!
MÉDICIS DAUGHTER—Visit the gorgeous palaces of the Loire valley while their gardens are in bloom with French Princess Marguerite de Valois. But be careful, Marguerite’s mother, Queen Catherine de Médicis is always plotting something . . . and a wrong move could be your last. Oh, and if you are invited to Marguerite’s wedding later this summer. . . you’d better dress for a massacre as well as dancing.
⚜ BUY LINKS FOR MÉDICIS DAUGHTER ⚜
Amazon
Bookshop Org
THE SISTER QUEENS—Spend part of your spring in Paris (is there anything better than springtime in Paris?) with Marguerite, Queen of France, then hop to England and join her beloved sister Eleanor Queen of England in the gardens at Westminster. Raised at the court of their father, the Count of Provence, Marguerite and Eleanor are separated by these royal marriages–but never truly parted. Marguerite is the more patient and perfect of the pair . . . used to being first. She wants to be a good wife and a good Queen, but her husband Louis IX is a religious zealot who denies himself the love and companionship his wife craves. Can Marguerite borrow enough of her sister’s boldness to grasp her chance for happiness in a forbidden love?
♔BUY LINKS FOR THE SISTER QUEENS ♔
Amazon
Bookshop Org
RIBBONS OF SCARLET—Have you ever felt like starting a revolution? You’re in good company. This spring Travel to 18th century Paris and meet seven amazing French women who fomented and fought in the French Revolution. RIBBONS is a breathtaking epic novel illuminating the hopes, desires, and destinies of princesses and peasants, harlots and wives, fanatics and philosophers—unforgettable women who leave their distinctive marks on one of the most tumultuous and transformative events in history. But if anyone offers you a ride in a Tumbril just say NO!
🎀 BUY LINKS FOR RIBBONS OF SCARLET 🎀
Amazon
Bookshop Org
Cover Reveal Day: Kate Quinn’s THE ROSE CODE
It is cover Celebration Day for my good friend and Scarlet Sister Kate Quinn’s upcoming novel, THE ROSE CODE.
LOOK at this beauty!!!! And let me tell you WHAT IS BETWEEN THE COVERS IS EVEN MORE exciting (envy me oh readers–I’ve read the whole thing already. Such are the perks of being a critique partner).
Here’s a teaser . . .
ABOUT THE BOOK
The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over.
1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter–the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger–and their true enemy–closer…
Pre Order today from the vendor of your choice! And make sure you subscribe to Kate’s newsletter to stay updated!
RIBBONS OF SCARLET Cover Reveal
Drum roll please (okay maybe not, that does remind one of the moments before the blade falls on the guillotine—at least if one is an aristo) . . .
Here it is,cover of my next novel RIBBONS OF SCARLET–co-authored with the amazing Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Heather Webb, Eliza Knight and Laura Kamoie!!!
Are those the Market Women, members of the original WOMEN’S MARCH, marching on Versailles? Why yes!!! But my role in RIBBONS OF SCARLET was to offer the story of the only Royalist—The king’s intelligent, pious, and ultimately daring sister Princess Elisabeth, who takes a stand to defend her brother, spirit her family to safety, and restore the old order, even at the risk of her head.
As Madame Elisabeth scrambles to save those she loves, and the women of Paris march on towards Revolution and their destinies, you dear readers can march to your favorite purveyor of books and PRE-ORDER your copy of RIBBONS OF SCARLET (which will release October 1) TODAY!
Here are those handy “buy” links–
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Indiebound
Why Our Sisters are NOT Ourselves
Some things stick with you.
Last fall I heard this piece on NPR about breakthroughs in sibling research. It has been with me ever since—rumbling around in my brain.
This is the quote that got me:
Physically, siblings tended to differ somewhat, but they were a lot more similar on average when compared to children picked at random from the population. That’s also true of cognitive abilities.
“The surprise,” . . . “is when you turn to personality.”
Turns out that on tests that measure personality — stuff like how extroverted you are, how conscientious — siblings are practically like strangers.
“Practically like strangers” yet raised together. I’ve certainly had moments when I’ve thought how can my sister and I have had such a different experience of the same childhood or how could we have played the same games (together), walked to the same school (together) and heard the same family stories and yet turned out so very differently? If you have a sibling chances are you’ve had such thoughts as well. At the heart of my questions lay the idea that nurture shapes people, and since my sister and I were raised in the same environment that should have made us similar.
Turns out that’s just dead wrong when it comes to siblings. Being raised in the same environment helps to make us different. The three theories posited in the radio report sounded eerily familiar—though, as an author not a scientific researcher, I’d given them different names while writing The Sister Queens.
Not THAT Sophie (Tales from the “Writer’s Life”)
The discovery that my forthcoming historical novel, The Sister Queens, had appeared on Amazon for pre-order was magic – magic with a little “humbling experience” tacked on for good measure.
I was ecstatic when a friend told me that my book was listed. Here was proof indeed that I had not imagined the whole “book deal thing.” Ha, I thought, let’s see NAL wiggle out of this now. But my enjoyment soon led to a sober realization – you are only as good as your sales and rankings. I may have a book listed on Amazon (and IndiBound and Books a Million. . .) but I am NOT a household name. I am not even close.
What, you may ask, brought this fact home to me? To paraphrase Pixar’s marvelous Toy Story, “a child’s plaything.” You see I am NOT the first “Sophie” Amazon suggests when one goes to the search window and begins to type. Doing this (when I should have been researching my next work of historical fiction) I discovered that when I get to “p” (s-o-p) Amazon kindly suggests another Sophie – obviously a sales-super-star – “Sophie the Giraffe.” I was not familiar with Ms. Giraffe before this, or with her body of work. Sophie the Giraffe is a teether, as in infants gum her with vigor, drop her on the floor and then squeal impatiently until she is returned to their grasp. I have included a picture of Sophie G so you can appreciate her magnificence.
Coming behind a rubber toy in a “suggested search” list is a humbling experience. But when I looked more closely at Sophie G, I realized I could learn a thing or two. Sophie is NUMBER ONE in the Amazon “Baby” bestseller rankings (we will not discuss how far from number one I am on any list presently). She gets an average of 4.5 stars from reviewers. And she is able to command some serious cash for a figure only 7” tall. In fact, a single giraffe teether costs $7.00 more than a copy of my novel. Wow (hint to readers, buy the book – I don’t care if you chew on it).
Sophie G is obviously doing something right. Here’s what I think.
Continue reading Not THAT Sophie (Tales from the “Writer’s Life”)
“The Sister Queens” now available for pre-order!!
Want to receive your copy of Sophie’s debut as soon as it’s available? You can pre-order “The Sister Queens” now IndieBound, Amazon, or Books a Million.