However picky she is . . . at least your mother is NOT Queen Catherine de Médicis

Had a bit of fun imagining what it would be like to be shopping for Queen Catherine de Médicis this Mother’s Day.

Poor Princess Margot—Catherine’s youngest daughter and the main character in my novel Médicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois! I mean the mother-daughter relationship is always somewhat perilous. But when your mom is Catherine de Médicis the peril isn’t just emotional, it can rather quickly turn deadly.

ENJOY! And maybe consider giving your mother a book this Mother’s Day 😉

Médicis Daughter Has a New Fall Trailer to Go With Its Stunning New Cover

The weather is getting cooler—I like to call it “book weather.” Time to curl up in a favorite chair with a roaring fire, something nice to drink and, of course, a book.  If you are looking for royal intrigue, forbidden love, and bloody religious war to keep you occupied on a cool evening, than Médicis Daughter is an autumn read certain to satisfy your cravings.

Check out the novel’s new fall trailer! Then FALL into the 16th Century.

⚜ ⚜ PRAISE FOR MÉDICIS DAUGHTER ⚜ ⚜

This is Renaissance France meets Game of Thrones: dark, sumptuous historical fiction that coils religious strife, court intrigue, passionate love, family hatred, and betrayed innocence like a nest of poisonous snakes.”

―Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Huntress

“Amid the glamorous intrigues of the 16th-century French court, Marguerite de Valois . . . deftly balances secret escapades and public duties . . . . Perinot matches the rhythm of Margot’s life to the political storms: as the battles escalate, so do the perils of love and lust.

―Kirkus Reviews

⚜ ⚜ ⚜ PICK UP A STYLISH NEW COPY OF MÉDICIS DAUGHTER IN PAPERBACK OR EBOOK TODAY and settle in for what Kirkus calls “a riveting page-turner skillfully blending illicit liaisons and political chicanery.” ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

AMAZON: Kindle or Paperback  

BARNES & NOBLE Nook or Paperback

INDIEBOUND

Médicis Daughter Out in PAPERBACK TODAY!!!

At last, at last!!! So many readers have been asking me: when will Médicis Daughter release in paperback? When will it be available in ebook format again? Well, the wait is over!

MÉDICIS DAUGHTER my dark tale of Marguerite de Valois, daughter of Catherine de Médicis, sister to three kings, is NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND EBOOK!

So what do you think of THE NEW COVER? Let me know in the comments below!

Out today BETTER

⚜ ⚜ PRAISE FOR MÉDICIS DAUGHTER ⚜ ⚜

Amid the glamorous intrigues of the 16th-century French court, Marguerite de Valois,. . . deftly balances secret escapades and public duties… Perinot matches the rhythm of Margot’s life to the political storms: as the battles escalate, so do the perils of love and lust. A riveting page-turner skillfully blending illicit liaisons and political chicanery.”―Kirkus Reviews

This is Renaissance France meets Game of Thrones: dark, sumptuous historical fiction that coils religious strife, court intrigue, passionate love, family hatred, and betrayed innocence like a nest of poisonous snakes.” ―Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Huntress

Absorbing… an engrossing read.”―Publishers Weekly

An enthralling page-turner which lovers of royalty fiction and strong female leads should enjoy thoroughly.”―HNR Magazine

⚜ ⚜ ⚜ BUY LINKS ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

AMAZON:

Kindle

Paperback

B&N:

NOOK

Paperback

KOBO

 

Spring! A Young Woman Thinks of Love

Ah, what a wonderful thing it is to be young and in love–unless you are a 16th century Valois Princess and your mother, Catherine de Médicis, disapproves of your entanglement.  That is precisely the situation of my heroine, Princess Marguerite, in Médicis Daughter.  Of course she should have known that marriage is not a matter of love when you are a royal. After all didn’t her dear friend and mentor, Henriette Duchess de Nevers, warn her long ago:

Fair of face’ is a fine consideration for flirting but of little import in marrying . . . .“Remember girls, marriage is a matter of politics, finance and family.  Looks are for lovers.

What to do, what to do?

Enjoy the Official Spring Trailer for Médicis Daughter!

Lucky Seven!

Seven is a lucky number—or so the tradition holds. I am a woman who believes STRONGLY in making her own luck. And I am going to ask you all to help me. Here are seven things you, my much appreciated fans, can do to generate good fortune for Médicis Daughter in its seventh week on sale:

1 & 2 (not cheating! This one is THAT important): Recommend the novel to someone, in person or on social media. Word of mouth is still the most powerful force in lifting a book from mid-pack to hit!

3: Write a short review somewhere (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, your blog) so that people looking for a book with passion, intrigue and history will find Médicis Daughter in their search. lucky-7

4) Ask your library if they have a copy. By requesting a copy from your librarian you put the book on the radar of your library system, making it more likely they will buy and shelve the book and thus making it possible for those who cannot afford to spend money on book-buying to have a chance to read Médicis Daughter.

5) Suggest Médicis Daughter to your book club. Did you know I DO book clubs! If you are in the Washington DC Metro area I will actually trot out and see you in person if my schedule permits. If you live elsewhere I am generally able to participate in your discussion by Skype.

6) Reign fan? Hiatus is a painful time but you can help your fellow Reign aficionados by sharing this blog post with them: “5 Books Reign Fans Should be Reading Right Now.” And by mentioning that Médicis Daughter offers them Valois intrigue and that “Catherine shows up, of course, in all her devilish glory.

7) Let me know you enjoyed Médicis Daughter. Writing can be an isolated business—and not just when you are snowed in as I am now. Facebook messages, emails and notes from readers are such a treat. I am always interested to hear how people react to characters that I spent many months of my life with. And I am fascinated by the tremendously varied feelings and opinions Margot and Catherine in particular have raised in Médicis Daughter readers. So what was yours?

5 BOOKS REIGN FANS SHOULD BE READING RIGHT NOW

Twenty-two days. If you are a fan of Reign you know exactly what I mean.

There may be only eight days until Christmas, but the gift that devoted watchers of the CW’s Reign are really waiting for—the return of the show after winter break—doesn’t arrive until the evening of January 8, 2016. “What can we do,” I hear a communal cry rising, “besides re-watching the existing episodes, to ease our pain during in the countdown?”

How about reading about the Valois and the Queen of Scots? There’s enough intrigue, forbidden love, and danger among that cast of characters to fill not only hours of TV but shelves of books. Ask Santa to deliver a little 16th century Reign-related love when he climbs in his sleigh a week from today by bringing you one or more of these . . .

FIVE BOOKS DESTINED TO DIVERT REIGN FANS while the show is on hiatus (and I want you all to remember, I scooped Buzzfeed Books on this one):

 1.  Médicis Daughter by Sophie Perinot (hey, it is my blog so I get to lead with my book, but that’s not naughty because the critiques agree the book is oh so nice): This story of Valois family dysfunction, political treachery, forbidden love and bloodiest massacre in French history has been called, “A riveting page-turner skillfully blending illicit liaisons and political chicanery.” (~Kirkus Reviews)

More importantly for Reign fans, Amazon reviews suggest it “would be a great gift for any … fan of the show Reign.”

Médicis Daughter draws readers deep into the world of the Valois in the post-Francis period. With young King Charles IX on the throne and Catherine de Médicis pulling the strings and plotting the plots (some things never change), you KNOW there will be plenty of dark and dirty. Viewed through the eyes of the youngest Valois Princess, Marguerite, the court comes alive: “Atmospherically, the novel swept me off my feet. Perinot’s depiction of the French court was beautifully drawn and I was wholly captivated by both the political and social interaction that unfolded among its players.” (~Flashlight Commentary). When the hearts break and the blood flows you will be right there, unable to look away. “I couldn’t put down. And when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it.” (~The Readers Hollow)

Catherine for the holidays

2.  The Serpent and the Moon by HRH Princess Michael of Kent: Instead of heading forward, travel backward to the pre-Reign Valois world with this fascinating volume of popular history. This book relates the story of the battle between Catherine de Médicis and Diane de Poitier for the heart of, and influence over King Henri II of France.

There are so many fascinating but at the same time creepy details here for Reign fans to savor. From the moment 14-year-old Catherine arrives in France to discover her husband already in the thrall of a woman who was present at his birth (I told you it was creepy), through the humiliating and disgusting remedies she tried to combat a decade of childlessness, up to Catherine’s vengeful taking of Château Chenonceau from Diane after Henri’s death (and the evidence of the black arts that Diane found when she took possession of the Chateau she was given in exchange) this book will illuminate Catherine to her fans and foes alike.

Need a tempting detail? How about this: Catherine summoned an Italian carpenter to the Place of Saint-Germain where her bedroom was immediately above that of her husband’s mistress. She had two holes made in the floor of her room and then watched Diane and Henri in bed, sobbing later to friends that “her husband had ‘never used her so well.’”

3.  The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner: In this novel “the most dramatic events of Catherine’s adult life includ[ing] the 1572 Bartholomew’s Day massacre of Protestant Huguenots, [are] vividly and chillingly depicted” (~Historical Novel.info). Publishers Weekly called Gortner’s novel, “”A remarkably thoughtful interpretation of an unapologetically ruthless queen,” and I must say I quite agree. Catherine devotees among the Reign fandom will eat this one up.

 4.  Blood Between Queens by Barbara Kyle (part of her Thornleigh Saga): Like a thriller element with your history? Have you been enjoying the Mary vs. Elizabeth of England plotline in Reign? Then try this book. My friend Nancy Bilyeau (whose own series about Tudor-era England—beginning with The Crown–I utterly adore) called Kyle’s book, “a fast-paced and exciting historical novel that plunges readers into the deadly rivalry of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots just as the beautiful three-time-married monarch had fled Scotland for her cousin’s kingdom.” If Nancy says, it “captures the high-stakes politics of the Tudor court, depicting its most famous personages with both accuracy and imagination,” I guarantee you it does.

5.  The Wild Queen: The Days and Nights of Mary, Queen of Scots by Carolyn Meyer (from the Young Royals series). I am closing out my list with this YA novel recommended by a big-time Reign fan of my acquaintance (she’s also a history devotee who is always stumping her fellow fans with her “royal pop quizzes”). Currently the Amazon #1 Best Seller in Teen & Young Adult Renaissance Historical fiction, this novel follows the recently widowed Mary home to Scotland where she hopes that a new husband will not only help her to secure  her own throne but will allow her to take the crown of England from her cousin, Elizabeth. Too bad, as the back cover reveals, “the love and security she longs for elude her . . . [and she] finds herself embroiled in a murder scandal that could cost her the crown.” Or rather too bad for Mary but NOT for Reign fans because if that doesn’t sound like an episode of the show I don’t know what does!

So there you have it, a bit of Christmas magic for all the Reign fans out there who need something both naughty and nice to get them through until the next new episode. Spread the word . . . spread the Reign-style joy. And Happy Holidays!



 



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