Helen Garraway's Blog, page 14
April 4, 2024
Book Review Alert: Shadow of the Sword by C.J.R. Isely
Reviewed: April 4th, 2024
Released: October 31st, 2022
Genre: YA/Epic Fantasy
He is imprisoned and bound for death.
But could his captor be his savior?
Laster has always wanted to prove himself to his father by becoming a knight of Alamore.
Only months away from the end of his training, he has his chance when his own mentor, Sir Dasroch, gives him the honor of riding in place of a knight on a borderland patrol.
But the perfect dream he has lived is shattered with the strike of a single lethal arrow.
After a nightmarish attack, Laster finds himself captured by the enemy, chained and imprisoned.
As his plans to escape are thwarted one after the next, Laster knows time is running out. It seems there is only one hope left. But can he really trust his life to the very Prince who put him in chains? Read My Thoughts…
April 1, 2024
Live reading of the first chapter from Harmony
Release Day: April 1st, 2024
It’s Launch day! Harmony is live!
Join me as I read the first chapter of Harmony and announce the winner of the International Book Giveaway.
Live reading on Youtube channel
Even Alfie makes a brief appearance and steals the show as always!
If you love:
Immersive worldsEngaging charactersA worthy causeDystopian Science FantasyOppressive regimesA touch of the futureThen grab your copy today!
Harmony
He’s always tried to do what’s right. When ugly truths surface on their sentient planet, will he have the courage to vindicate the wronged?
Kiefer Gallante yearns to prove his worth. Son of two prominent scientists, the dedicated soldier is determined to ensure their legacy and protect their new home’s caring native sentience. So when a power sabotage by rebels leaves a destitute population vulnerable, the heroic young man throws himself into the conflict.
Shocked to discover much of what he’s been taught is a lie, Kiefer reels after learning how his superiors are exploiting the world. But when the revolutionaries plead with him to join their cause, the thoughtful idealist is torn between the life he loves… and fighting for justice for the people.
With the fate of millions at stake and enemies in his inner circle, can Kiefer restore hope for humanity?
Harmony is a page-turning, standalone dystopian science fiction novel. If you like compassionate heroes, awakening to the truth, and immersive world-building, then you’ll love Helen Garraway’s gripping adventure.
Buy Harmony to break the chains of oppression today!
While you are here, check out my epic fantasy Sentinal Series.
The Complete Sentinal Series:
Book One: Sentinals Awaken
Book Two: Sentinals Rising
Book Three: Sentinals Justice
Book 3.5: Sentinals Recovery
Boook Four: Sentinals Across Time
Book Five: Sentinals Banished
Book Six: Sentinals Destiny
If you would like to read an ARC for my future novels, then sign up to my ARC team via the link in my linktr.ee. All I ask is that you leave an honest review on the week of the launch to as many platforms as you can!! (Amazon/Goodreads/Bookbub)
Harmony is Live!!
Release Day: April 1st, 2024
It’s Launch day! Harmony is live! I am so excited to share my latest book, a dystopian fantasy (Or science fiction!). For those of you who entered the Goodreads Giveaway, thank you for your interest in my book. Congratulations if you won a free copy, but if not, I hope you still add Harmony to your TBR pile!
Harmony
He’s always tried to do what’s right. When ugly truths surface on their sentient planet, will he have the courage to vindicate the wronged?
Kiefer Gallante yearns to prove his worth. Son of two prominent scientists, the dedicated soldier is determined to ensure their legacy and protect their new home’s caring native sentience. So when a power sabotage by rebels leaves a destitute population vulnerable, the heroic young man throws himself into the conflict.
Shocked to discover much of what he’s been taught is a lie, Kiefer reels after learning how his superiors are exploiting the world. But when the revolutionaries plead with him to join their cause, the thoughtful idealist is torn between the life he loves… and fighting for justice for the people.
With the fate of millions at stake and enemies in his inner circle, can Kiefer restore hope for humanity?
Harmony is a page-turning, standalone dystopian science fiction novel. If you like compassionate heroes, awakening to the truth, and immersive world-building, then you’ll love Helen Garraway’s gripping adventure.
Buy Harmony to break the chains of oppression today!
While you are here, check out my epic fantasy Sentinal Series.
The Complete Sentinal Series:
Book One: Sentinals Awaken
Book Two: Sentinals Rising
Book Three: Sentinals Justice
Book 3.5: Sentinals Recovery
Boook Four: Sentinals Across Time
Book Five: Sentinals Banished
Book Six: Sentinals Destiny
If you would like to read an ARC for my future novels, then sign up to my ARC team via the link in my linktr.ee. All I ask is that you leave an honest review on the week of the launch to as many platforms as you can!! (Amazon/Goodreads/Bookbub)
March 28, 2024
Book Review Alert: Legend of Tal: A King’s Bargain by J.D.L. Rosell
Reviewed: March 28th, 2024
Released: June 1st, 2020
Genre: Epic Fantasy
The legend of Tal Harrenfel is sung across the Westreach—and with each telling, the tales grow taller. But though his king declares him a hero, Tal has never claimed to be more than a man…
After three decades of fighting warlocks, killing mythical beasts, and hunting enchanted treasure, Tal has had enough. Running from the deeds of his past, he retreats to his home village under a different name and meets an unlikely companion: Garin, a village boy who dreams of making a name for himself and seeing the world beyond their sleepy town.
When Tal receives a mysterious visitor, both he and Garin are thrown into a journey across the kingdom. Soon, they become embroiled in the plots of monarchs, on the frontlines of an ancient war, and at the mercy of a fabled sorcerer.
Now Tal must live up to his legend, and Garin discover his own power, to survive the forces pitted against them…….Read My Thoughts…
March 26, 2024
Author Interview – Brooke Martin
Helen: Welcome Brooke. I am so excited to talk to you about your debut book. Tell us all about it!
Brooke: Seregn is a portal fantasy novel for adults that takes readers on an exhilarating emotional journey, challenging the core of big concepts like love, loyalty, and sacrifice. My main character, Ada, is a young woman thrown into a strange world against her will. She is forced to embark on a perilous quest to save a cursed, dying king – by attempting to steal a fabled weapon from a cruel tyrant, and journeying deep into enemy territory to shoot a star from the sky. In so doing, Ada will not only confront a dangerous, cruel world around her, but also confront herself. She is joined on her quest by four of the king’s bodyguards – one of whom is terminally ill, and another is a traitor with purposes of their own. The consequences of their quest will shake their entire world – literally – and leave Ada questioning everything. I wrote Seregn with a goal to sound beautiful as it’s read, capture imaginations with lush worldbuilding, and encourage readers to ponder deep matters of character and identity. I wanted to write a story that considered what the cost of love is, whether it’s worth it, and what might ultimately break it. But also, I simply wanted to write a fantastic, engaging, adventurous story full of action and drama that leaves you feeling changed at the end of it. The book is intended for adults due to some mature content – moments of strong violence occur in the novel, and in one section in particular.
Helen: I love immersive fantasy books, where you can lose yourself in a new world. It sound like a wonderful premise. How did you translate your vision for the book into the cover?
Brooke: It was hard to imagine the cover for Seregn when I set out on this journey, because I really struggled to know what it ought to be. But I love what the cover designer came up with (with my feedback/input). To explain the cover, starry skies are a massive part of Seregn and one of the only things I was sure on – I knew stars needed to be incorporated, somehow. Beyond that, as I played with ideas, I thought stars over the sea would work nicely, as there are a few sailing journeys in the novel. Seregn is all about a quest to shoot down a star, and the dark starburst behind the title was an inspired idea by the designer– representing the stars, but also almost looking like a stylised gunshot shattering the sky (how’s that for a sneaky hint at what is to come?). The hardest part for me was actually choosing the font, I had a very specific idea in my mind, and we went through a fair few options before settling on the final choice.
Helen: I always find designing the covers the hardest part of the formatting. All my ideas for the Sentinal series wouldn’t work for an epic fantasy. Fortunately my designer had some great ideas, and I love the final result. What about the book title, Seregn. What is Seregn?
Brooke: The book is titled Seregn, and it wasn’t originally my first choice. In the story, Seregn is a fabled weapon, a powerful steampunk gun that can break the barrier between earth and sky. I made up the word by playing around with the words ‘star’ and ‘reign’, and was also influenced by the Welsh word for star – ‘seren’. Originally, I had other ideas for the title, but over time I realised that the whole story really revolves around this devastatingly powerful weapon – what it means to possess it, use it, and carry those repercussions with you. While I was a bit hesitant to go with a made-up word for the title, I decided it would at least stand out, and went with it!
Helen: Made up words work for me, I think we have to create new words in fantasy worlds, otherwise how do we differentiate from the normal world around us? What made you write this particular book?
Brooke: I have always wanted to write a fantasy book, and when I reached the point where I felt I could really try to accomplish it, I threw everything I had at it – all my favourite ideas, characters, themes – you name it. I suppose, then, that I wrote this particular book, because it had all the things I loved in it, all the parts of a story that I myself wanted to read. I wanted to write a story with heart and soul, a story about what it means to love, to sacrifice, to be a hero (for better and for worse), to experience the tension between conflicting loyalties, to be willingly vulnerable – and what can happen if/when you do. All these ideas were swirling in my mind as I came up with the story of Seregn, and adding to them my love for the night sky, for candles, for the seas and the mountains and adventure and romance… out came Seregn.
Helen: I’m so glad you managed to encapsulate all that you love into your novel. Congratulations again on releasing your debut book. When did you realise you had a passion for writing?
Brooke: For as long as I can really remember I’ve loved books. I remember reading The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time in primary school, gobbling up The Ranger’s Apprentice, being handed The Hobbit at age 10, and The Lord of the Rings at age 11. That kicked off a love for Middle-earth that remains to this day. I wanted nothing more than to write my own great tome with such depth and richness as Tolkien’s works. That love for writing and for story was always with me, but it wasn’t until university though I managed to complete my first manuscript – Seregn!
Helen: Who is your protagonist and why did you write her/him?
Brooke: My protagonist is Ada Wrembeck, a historical consultant in her 20s with a bit of a tragic backstory (because she’s the lead in a fantasy novel of course). I wrote Ada for a couple of reasons. For my first novel, I thought it wise to create a protagonist who, while she was different to me, had enough elements of myself (or that I could easily relate to) to make her a compelling central character. As a new author I really wanted Ada to be believable, well rounded, and complex. The easiest way to do that was to take elements of myself (a real person!) and reimagine them into her, along with adding plenty of other traits of course! As an example, Ada has a couple of panic attacks in the book, which I describe from personal experience. Secondly, I wrote Ada the way I did as part of my overall plan for the theme of the story. Ada is emotionally closed off, and fairly selfish, but as the reader we know over time that she does actually care deep down (or would if she’d let herself). This provides so much opportunity for character development as Ada begins to open up in multiple ways. Even her job (historical consultant) I chose for a reason – she is always looking back.
Helen: Ada sounds like a really well thought out character. Let’s move to your writing process. Are you a Pantser or a plotter?
Brooke: I believe these things are very much on a spectrum, but I’m very far into the planner side. Whenever I had tried to write books in the past (when I was in school for instance) I never got farther than a few chapters, which I came to realise was because I hadn’t had the story planned out properly beforehand. It was only once I’d started following a writer’s blog and read a couple of craft books – all from the plotting side of the spectrum, that I was finally able to write Seregn. Just knowing what came next made all the difference for me! That said, I believe that there is the freeform expression of ‘pantsing’ and the planning of ‘plotting’ on both sides of the spectrum, they just occur at different times. For plotters, that freeform creativity is concentrated right at the start of the process, when the brainstorming and ideation occurs. For pantsers, the ‘planning’ aspect, to me at least, is in the editing after the fact. The framework I’ve used for Seregn (and will continue to use until it doesn’t work for me) is that outlined in C.S. Lakin’s ‘The Twelve Key Pillars of Novel Construction’ and ‘Layer Your Novel’ and (for the editing process) Charlotte Nash’s ‘How to edit at novel’. I’ve found these all incredibly useful in every aspect of novel writing. It also means that I haven’t had writers block while writing the story itself.
Helen: Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?
Brooke: I would say probably the initial brainstorming. Because I am a ‘plotter’ the bulk of the creative work (in the sense of coming up with the story) happens at the outset. For me, I really just cannot start writing without knowing what comes next. I’ve found, now that Seregn is finished and I’m starting to think of other ideas, I put pressure on myself in the early brainstorming phase to come up with the next great idea, instead of letting the ideas come naturally as they did for Seregn. I suppose this could also be my equivalent of ‘writer’s block’ – but instead of occurring while I write the novel, it occurs while I plan it! Now that I’m a wife and mother (I was neither when I first wrote Seregn) it seems even more challenging to try to find not only the time, but the mental capacity to put towards cultivating creativity. But I won’t give up!
Helen: I’m glad to hear that you are now addicted to writing. I am too! I can’t stop. There is always something I need to be capturing. I usually ask which genre you write, but with one book released, tell us about what you did choose to write.
Brooke: I write fantasy. Having only written one book, I suppose I could say, specifically, portal fantasy. Which, to be honest, is almost a surprise to me, because I’m actually not that much of a portal fantasy fan. In general, I tend to prefer stories that are wholly set in a fantasy world – without being ‘tainted’ by association to ours. But, somehow, that’s not the story I wrote! I have ideas for short stories or novellas that are a mix of epic fantasy and portal fantasy as offshoots of Seregn, along with full novel ideas set completely in the world of Seregn. But definitely a fantasy writer – I’m also a fantasy reader, so it works!
Helen: When you are in the throes of writing, do you listen to music or do you prefer silence?
Brooke: I do listen to music when I write, but it’s only ever instrumental music – usually orchestral or movie scores and soundtracks. I find songs with lyrics really tend to crowd out my own words in my head, but instrumental music can help set the tone and get me into a groove when writing. I listened to all sorts of soundtracks while writing Seregn, from The Lord of the Rings to Stardust to Guardians of the Galaxy. At times there were very specific songs I’d play on repeat while writing certain scenes, because they fit the scene (and sometimes the action) exactly!
Helen: If you didn’t write fantasy, is there another genre you would be tempted to try?
Brooke: I would probably try history – when I’m not reading straight fantasy, I enjoy historical fantasy and even a time travel or two. I love a wide mix of history but particularly medieval and ancient, there’s so much that can be done in various historical timeframes, it’s similar to fantasy in that it transports you to another world – in a way.
Helen: Do you have any advice you would like to share with new writers?
Brooke: Don’t try to chase trends or fads or what you think the industry, the agents, or the publishers want. Write the story that YOU want to write, that YOU’RE passionate about. Writing a book is a massive task, so it’s important to do it for yourself. And if you’re passionate about your story, someone else will be too! As a new mum I also want to encourage others who juggle multiple responsibilities that you can work on your own timeline. Of course, sometimes you need to push to achieve a dream, but you’re not failing by doing what you can as you can!
Helen: Great advice. Thank you for sharing that with us. Thank you so much for joining me today. It has been a lot of fun learning about you and your book. Just to finish, could you share some of the books you’ve been reading recently?
Brooke: I really enjoyed A Crack in the Rock by Amber Gabriel – if you like Seregn there’s a good chance you’d like it too – even though they’re quite different in some ways. I found it to be so well written and I was so invested in the characters – the romance is compelling without too much ‘spice’, the dark moments perfectly depicted, the rising conflict and sense of doom at the right moments of the story were so well realised. Another would be Liberation by RM Krogman, this one is more brutal in some ways, but so well done. Liberation is the first of a trilogy – with multiple novellas – and it’s shaping up to be a brilliant one. Some other books I’ve read recently are Taliesin by Stephen Lawhead (a spin on King Arthur mashed up with Atlantis), Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (and instant classic), and Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (I’m so keen to read the next one).
About the Author
Brooke MartinBrooke has always loved reading – from the days of sturdy baby books to the day she picked up The Lord of the Rings at age 11, she’s never looked back. Her desire to be an author is nearly as old, and in those early years she spent afternoons and weekends at her computer, tapping away on her novel ideas. Since then she’s grown up, studied, and worked in radio, print, and online journalism. These days, Brooke spends her days as a stay-at-home mum, and studying a professional development course to start working as a copy editor and proofreader. All the while, her stories have been bubbling away – tales of adventure, fantasy, romance, struggle, sacrifice, and emotion – all infused with her faith and homeland. As a Christian, Brooke aims to craft stories that are accessible to everyone, whilst imbuing the tales with courage, compassion, sacrifice, faith, perseverance, and personal growth. She’s utterly thrilled to bring her first novel, Seregn, to publication.
Follow Brooke:
Purchase Brooke’s book: Seregn via Amazon – also available on other platforms
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback
As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.
If you enjoy epic fantasy then the award winning Sentinal series is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fiction? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.
Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Sentinals Stirring
By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
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March 23, 2024
Time to celebrate Book Birthdays – International Book Giveaway!
Giveaway running March 23rd – April 1st, 2024
Open Internationally
1 signed Paperback up for grabs – winner chooses one book from my catalogue.
Terms and conditons for giveaway in entry form.
Enter today for a chance to win one a signed copy of one my books.
Enter todayHarmony will release on April 1st, 2024 and is currently on preorder.
Blurb for Harmony which releases April 1st, 2024.
He’s always tried to do what’s right. When ugly truths surface on their sentient planet, will he have the courage to vidicato vindicate the wronged?
Kiefer Gallante yearns to prove his worth. Son of two prominent scientists, the dedicated soldier is determined to ensure their legacy and protect their new home’s caringnative sentience. So when a power sabotage by rebels leaves a destitute population vulnerable, the heroic young man throws himself into the conflict.
Shocked to discover much of what he’s been taught is a lie, Kiefer reels after learning how his superiors are exploiting the world. But when the revolutionaries plead with him to join their cause, the thoughtful idealist is torn between the life he loves… and fighting for justice for the people. With the fate of millions at stake and enemies in his inner circle, can Kiefer restore hope for humanity?
Harmony is a page-turning, standalone dystopian science fiction novel. If you like compassionate heroes, awakening to the truth, and immersive world-building, then you’ll love Helen Garraway’s gripping adventure.
Buy Harmony to break the chains of oppression today!
If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Sign up to my newsletter and download Sentinals Stirring for freeBy clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.
March 22, 2024
Harmony – Goodreads Giveaway!
Giveaway running March 22nd – March 31st, 2024
USA Only
100 ebook copies up for grabs
Enter today for a chance to win one of one hundred ebooks copies.
Enter todayHarmony will release on April 1st, 2024 and is currently on preorder.
He’s always tried to do what’s right. When ugly truths surface on their sentient planet, will he have the courage to vidicato vindicate the wronged?
Kiefer Gallante yearns to prove his worth. Son of two prominent scientists, the dedicated soldier is determined to ensure their legacy and protect their new home’s caringnative sentience. So when a power sabotage by rebels leaves a destitute population vulnerable, the heroic young man throws himself into the conflict.
Shocked to discover much of what he’s been taught is a lie, Kiefer reels after learning how his superiors are exploiting the world. But when the revolutionaries plead with him to join their cause, the thoughtful idealist is torn between the life he loves… and fighting for justice for the people. With the fate of millions at stake and enemies in his inner circle, can Kiefer restore hope for humanity?
Harmony is a page-turning, standalone dystopian science fiction novel. If you like compassionate heroes, awakening to the truth, and immersive world-building, then you’ll love Helen Garraway’s gripping adventure.
Buy Harmony to break the chains of oppression today!
If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Sign up to my newsletter and download Sentinals Stirring for freeBy clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.
March 19, 2024
Book Review Alert: A Dowry of Blood by S.T Gibson
Reviewed: March 19th, 2024
Released: February 23rd, 2022
Genre: Gothic Fantasy
This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .
S.T. Gibson’s sensational novel is the darkly seductive tale of Dracula’s first bride, Constanta.
Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.
Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband’s dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death….Read My Thoughts…
March 17, 2024
Author Interview – Helen Pugh
HG: I can see this getting confusing, so I’ll use my initials (HG) for me in this interview! Welcome, Helen. I am so excited to talk to you about your book. Especially as we have just been celebrating International Women’s Day. Tell us a little about your book.
Helen: Unsung Women in Somerset is a book of real-life and legendary women who lived, loved, worked and made a difference in the county of Somerset, England. Often, these women were erased from the narrative, both when they were alive and after they died in terms of how their stories were overlooked.
Starting in pre-Roman times, we go right through to the mid-20th century. The book is made up of 23 chapters that generally consist of a short story followed by historical notes, a chapter bibliography and shorter sections on other women of note from the same era.
As well as gender discrimination, some of the women encountered discrimination due to ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, social standing and so on.
Examples of the women in the book include an African princess who survived and thrived despite the odds, a woman who had two funerals and an enslaved Roman woman who married a priest.
HG: I think it is so interesting that you chose a variety of women through the ages who lived in Somerset. Who are the women on the cover of the book?
Helen: The cover represents women in different eras and undertaking different tasks. The woman at the top represents the book’s Medieval women, who included a translator, various queens, churchwardens, a witch and a baroness. The woman in the middle represents the women who took holy orders, such as an abbess, a prioress, a hermitess and a vowess. The woman at the bottom represents the women in the world wars, for instance a doctor, a tram driver and a member of the French Resistance. Behind the words are sections of a 17th-century map of Somerset.
HG: I hadn’t even noticed the maps behind the words until you mentioned it. This is why I Iove asking that question, you always see more when you understand the author’s intent. What about the title, what were your thoughts behind that?
Helen: The title, Unsung Women in Somerset, refers to how many of these women have been marginalised in the past. They have not often been celebrated, mainly because most people nowadays have not heard of most of them. And I chose “in Somerset” rather than “of Somerset” because not all the women were born or raised in Somerset. Some of them came into the county later in life and so I felt the word “in” conveyed this idea better.
HG: What made you write this particular book? And why women in Somerset in particular?
Helen: I chose to write a book that focused on historical women because in general, women have been overlooked in the study of history. There are so many books, news articles etc that focus almost exclusively on men. An old saying goes: “Geography is about maps. History is about chaps.” This mindset of focusing on men when studying history has meant that amazing women who lived in Somerset have often remained obscure. Problems with the records themselves have also kept women marginalised, such as simply not documenting women’s achievements and contributions, documenting those achievements using the passive voice rather than naming the woman or women involved, not bothering to preserve documents relating to women and unforeseen circumstances like archives going up in flames. Some women’s stories may never be known. Alice atte Castle is possibly an example of this. She is listed as a tenant of Fenny Castle, near Wells, in 1354, but I can’t find any other information about her.
Countless women, imperfect and human just like us, have pushed boundaries, in big or small ways, so that future women could lead better lives– entering male-dominated spheres, demanding their rights, breaking gender norms, taking on positions of power… The list goes on. At times, these women’s obscurity is just due to their gender but can also be because of multiple forms of discrimination, including social standing, race and disability.
And I chose to write about Somerset because I wanted to write a book that would explore the place I live in now, whereas my previous books were about where I used to live (Ecuador and so my books were based on South American history, with a particular focus on women).
I’m one of those people who used to think local history is boring but it definitely isn’t, not always. If you look in the right places, you can find incredible things, sometimes even things that happened in the tiniest hamlets. Another reason for picking Somerset is that bigger cities do get more focus in terms of history and things going on now. Bristol gets talked about a lot.
It’s exciting to get to know the spaces we visit day to day, that we look at the same hills people in years gone by looked at, walked the same paths, even if a lot has changed over time.
HG: History is full of amazing facts, you just have to dig a little to find them. I think it is wonderful that you found these unsung heroines to write about. I imagine that you have to do a lot research for each story you include?
Andrew: Tons! Most of the time I spend on my books is researching. Sometimes it can take an hour of research just to write one or two sentences! It can be very tricky to pinpoint information about the women and/or tricky to find a consensus in the sources being looked at.
HG: When did you first realise you had a passion for writing?
Helen: I’ve been writing since I was really little, about 7 or 8. I wrote stories as a child, starting off with things about my teddies, then as a teenager I wrote science fiction for a while. Now I’m writing about history.
HG: Thank you so much for joining me today. It is so interesting to learn more about these amazing women. Just one more question for you. What are you working on next?
Helen: One fascinating aspect that I’ve come across in researching historical women in Somerset is the global nature of Somerset’s residents. For instance, the Roman Empire was culturally diverse, many Medieval queens were from mainland Europe and I mentioned before an African princess who came to Somerset. With that in mind, my next research project will look at cultural diversity in Somerset and I’m also working on a junior edition of Unsung Women in Somerset, aimed at ages 9 and above.
About the Author
Helen PughHelen Pugh is the author of Unsung Women in Somerset, a collection of short stories focussing on real-life and legendary women in Somerset.
Her other works include Jungle-tastic Tales and Inca-tastic Tales, short story anthologies for children based on extensive research into the rainforest and Inca history, respectively, as well as Cuentos incatásticos for Spanish speakers.
Helen studied Spanish and Italian at university and has a lifelong passion for history, especially that of women who made history but have been edited out of history.
Follow Helen:
Purchase Helen’s book: Unsung Women in Somerset via Amazon
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback
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If you enjoy epic fantasy then the award winning Sentinal series is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fiction? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.
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Book Review Alert: Crescent City: House of Blood and Earth by Sarah J Maas
Reviewed: March 16th, 2024
Released: March 3rd, 2020
Genre: Fantasy
BOUND BY BLOOD.
TEMPTED BY DESIRE.
UNLEASHED BY DESTINY.
Bryce Quinlan loves her life. Every night is a party, and Bryce is going to savour all the pleasures Lunathion – also known as Crescent City – has to offer. But when a brutal murder shakes the very foundations of the city, Bryce’s world comes crashing down.
Two years later, Bryce still haunts the city’s most notorious nightclubs – but seeking only oblivion now. Then the murderer attacks again. And when an infamous Fallen angel, Hunt Athalar, is assigned to watch her every footstep, Bryce knows she can’t forget any longer.
As Bryce and Hunt fight to unravel the mystery and their own dark pasts, the threads they tug ripple through the underbelly of the city, across warring continents and down to the deepest levels of Hel, where things that have been sleeping for millennia are beginning to stir …Read My Thoughts…
