Sharon Kay Penman's Blog, page 65

Dogs are amazing

I've been trapped in Outremer all day, just surfacing to say Hi, and to share this video for all my fellow dog lovers.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/dail...

Wolf Hall query

On a historical front, today was the wedding of a very mismatched royal pair, Henry VI and Marguerite d’Anjou, on April 22, 1445. And I forgot that yesterday was the death date of Henry Tudor in 1509, or otherwise I’d have baked a cake. Interestingly, they don’t seem to know for sure what killed him; he was only in his early fifties. He’d apparently suffered from ill health for some time and I’ve seen tuberculosis suggested as one possibility; that seems to be the most likely cause of death of his grandson, Edward VI.
I’ve been meaning to ask this. Are many of you watching Wolf Hall? And what is the verdict so far?

David Blixt

I would like to thank all of you who have posted such wonderful compliments about Sunne on my blog. If only I had enough copies, I’d love to give one to every one of you.
There is good news about one of my Facebook friends and fellow writers, David Blixt. I know many of you share my enjoyment of his novels, so I thought this would be of interest. He gave me permission to post this. David and I are meeting for the first time at the Historical Novel Society Convention in Denver in late June, and for me, one of the highlights will be attending the two seminars he is giving, one on swordplay and one on the proper way to dispatch someone with a dagger. He’s had a lot experience doing that—no, not lurking in alleys to ambush book reviewers and critics, although all writers would find that tempting. He commits his mayhem on the stage; in addition to being a gifted writer, David is an actor, producer, and director. He says he likes to recruit volunteers from his audiences, but being close to my biblical three-score years and ten and an all-around klutz, I plan to cheer him on from the sidelines. It would be embarrassing if I accidentally zigged when I should have zagged and caused him to lose a body part. https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

SUNNE IN SPLENDOUR BOOK GIVEAWAY

My new blog is up, the one with a book giveaway for Sunne, open to all; to enter, just post a comment on the new blog. http://sharonkaypenman.com/blog/?p=504

SUNNE IN SPLENDOUR BOOK GIVEAWAY

UNNE IN SPLENDOUR BOOK GIVEAWAY

When Pan-Macmillan, my British publisher, recently ran a book giveaway for Sunne on their website to coincide with Richard’s remarkable re-interment in Leicester, some of my readers felt left-out since it was open only to my British readers.   I promised that I would hold one of my own for everyone as soon as I got the chance.   It took a while, thanks to the antics of the Deadline Dragon and to my dealings with the Grim Reaper—I had to kill a character and since we do not know his fatal disease, I had to choose one and then run it past several good-natured doctor friends of mine.    This happens surprisingly often, unless a character was thoughtful enough to die on the battlefield or in childbirth.  Occasionally, a chronicler will actually know what illness killed someone and wins the hearts of historical novelists by writing it down.  For example, we know that Henry II’s son, Hal, AKA the Young King, died of dehydration caused by dysentery.  Henry II most likely died of septicemia.  The Lionheart died of gangrene and I’ve always thought that Edward IV caught a fatal case of pneumonia, which was a deadly disease in the MA—and still is in many areas of the world today.   The Black Prince seems to have died of cancer, as did Llywelyn Fawr’s son, Davydd.   I usually attempt to choose a disease that was a common cause of medieval deaths; for example, peritonitis for Joanna’s husband, the King of Sicily, typhus for John the Scot, Earl of Chester, and pneumonia for Llywelyn’s Joanna.   This latest Grim Reaper brought typhoid into my last chapter, which was known as hectic fever back then.

I did not mean to go off on such a morbid tangent—sorry.   I am still marveling at the events in Leicester, turning a controversial medieval king into a media rock star; who could ever have predicted that?   So I am giving away a signed hardcover copy of Sunne, brought out by Macmillan in September, 2013 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Sunne’s publication in the UK—and no, I never imagined that Sunne would still be so popular and attracting new readers, some of them not even born when I was working on Sunne.   In order to be eligible, you simply have to post a comment on this blog.  Anyone on the planet can enter, and the winner will get the hardcover edition.  I am offering a consolation prize, too, a copy of the new British paperback edition of Sunne.   I would also have offered a copy of the American paperback of Sunne, but it does not have the new Author’s Note that I wrote about the discovery of Richard’s lost grave or the corrections and minor dialogue changes that I made in the hardcover edition of Sunne.  For that, you must buy the e-book edition, and I haven’t yet figured out a way to sign a Kindle—although I was once asked to autograph a Kindle cover on a book tour!

Speaking of book tours, many writers fear that they are on the endangered species list.  Publishers have been cutting back, focusing more on regional tours if they do book tours at all.  The turmoil in publishing plays a role in this, the Internet even more so.   It is so much easier to reach out to readers than it was even ten years ago, thanks to social media like Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter, just to name a few.  I admit I have not ventured onto Twitter myself; a woman who writes 800 page books does not take naturally to expressing herself in just 140 characters—and yes, there are actually on-line calculators for that very purpose.  I am curious; how many of you use Twitter?    Do you think writers should use it?   Would you follow your favorite writers on Twitter?

And while we are at it, what do you all think about book tours?   Would you enjoy going to a bookstore to attend a book signing and reading?    I know that some publishers think book tours will eventually become obsolete, believing that there are more efficient means today of promoting a book.   I do not agree, for I would really miss these opportunities to meet my readers, especially those I have been interacting with on Facebook on a daily basis.   But then it is difficult to imagine what changes lie ahead for the publishing industry.  It has certainly been transformed in the thirty-three years that I’ve been a published writer.  Who knows what it will be like in another thirty-three years.  It has even been suggested that books could disappear entirely, at least in their present formats.   If that does ever happen, I hope I’ll be dead by then!

Okay, the book drawing is officially open.

April 21, 20015

Game of Thrones recap

Here is a very funny recap of Sunday’s Game of Thrones episode by Entertainment Weekly’s James Hibbard, who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite writers. Don’t read it, though, if you have not yet watched the show, for spoilers abound. http://www.ew.com/recap/game-of-thron... Also, I hope to have a new blog up later today; wish me luck.

Paul Dalen rocks!

I am sorry I’ve been so scarce lately, but the Deadline Dragon must have been watching Game of Thrones with me, for he has become as pushy as Danni’s temperamental teenage dragons, and I’ve had to spend most of my waking hours in Outremer, under his unblinking green eyes. This weekend I had a visit from the Grim Reaper, having to kill off a character. I now have such an impressive collection of books about typhoid fever that it is likely to be very contagious in coming books whenever I have another character who has to die.
My website now boasts the amazing graphic created by our own Paul Dalen. Here is the link; check it out and enjoy. We hope to add a link that will allow readers to print out a version, too. http://sharonkaypenman.com/pressroom.htm

My favorite Founding Father

Yesterday was the date of death of my favorite Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, who died of pleurisy on April 17, 1790. He was 84, a respectable age today and a vast one back in the 18th century. About twelve years ago, I did some extensive research about colonial America and the Revolutionary War. It was a way of escaping from a painful reality, for I was taking care of my dad then as this wonderful man fought a battle he could not hope to win with Alzheimer’s. I became fascinated with this period of history in general and Ben Franklin in particular. He’d always been a favorite of mine and the more I learned about him, the more convinced I became that America owes its independence to two men, George Washington, who miraculously managed to hold the colonial army together, and Ben Franklin, who bedazzled the French court into throwing in with the Americans; had they not done so, I think it exceedingly likely that the British would eventually have prevailed. Being a writer, I found myself seriously tempted to write about this period in our history; it really was our first civil war. John Adams, who was in a position to know, once commented that 25% of the population were rebels, 25% were Tories, and the rest were on the fence, hesitant to commit themselves. I even went so far as to envision two fictional families, one in Boston that supported independence and one in Philadelphia that supported the crown. I was looking forward to bringing Ben into the storyline, naturally; he’d be as much fun to write about as he must have been to know in person. But that would end up as a book not written, which I do regret, especially on days like this. Rest in peace, Ben; you earned it. And if any of my readers have some free time, use it to find out more about this remarkable man.

World's worst dinner guest?

Sorry I haven't been around much lately, but I've been busy researching the awful things that typhoid does to the human body. On a much cheerful note, I know many of you have already seen this, but it is so hilarious that it well deserves a repeat performance. I can guarantee Game of Throners will be on the floor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Babsg...
Special thanks to Charlene for calling this to my attention!

A death in exile

Ah, the hypnotic powers of Game of Thrones. I was so occupied with its new season premiere on Sunday that I completely forgot that was also the date that a major character in one of my books died. On April 13, 1275, Eleanor de Montfort, Countess of Leicester, daughter and sister of kings, widow of Simon de Montfort, died in exile at Montargis, France. At least Kasia did not forget and she posted about it. So here is a belated recognition of the death of a woman who knew both great joy and great tragedy in her sixty years.
The Reckoning, pages 137-138
* * *
Nell’s dreams were deeply rooted in her yesterdays. They were, for the most part, tranquil and reassuringly familiar. With the blurring of time’s boundaries, her loved ones were restored to her, her family was once more intact, inviolate. She awakened from such dreams with regret, often with confusion. So it was now. The darkness was aswirl with floating lights; they swam before her dazzled eyes like phosphorescent fish in a black, black sea. For a moment she was lost, adrift on unknown currents. But as her eyes adjusted to the dark, the fish transformed themselves into the flickering flames of a servant’s candelabra, and she returned to reality with a rueful smile. This was no alien world. She was in her chamber at Montargis, on an April eve in Holy Week, and although death waited in the shadows, she had nothing to fear, for she had made her peace with God.
There was a great comfort in knowing that all had been done. Her confessor had shriven her of her earthly sins, her will had been made, and she’d arranged for largesse to be distributed to members of her household, to the nuns and villagers who’d sought to make her exile easier. Nothing remained now except her farewells.
(omissions)
“I want Ellen to have my jewels, Marguerite, except for my ruby pendant. That is for you. I’ve named Amaury as my heir, for Ellen will have Llywelyn to look after her, and the Church would not allow Guy to inherit. Dearest, will you and Philippe entreat Edward on my behalf, ask him to allow my will to be carried out? And….and urge him to be fair to my son. Amaury is innocent, should not have to pay for Guy’s sins. Make Edward see that, Marguerite, make him see that he ought to let Amaury come home…”
“Of course we will, Nell.” Marguerite tried to sound confident, as if she truly believed that Edward would heed them. But then, she doubted if Nell believed it, either. “Nell, you must not give up. I spoke to your doctor and he still has hope, thinks you might yet rally….”
“Simon does not think so,” Nell said softly and then smiled at the startled, dismayed looks on their faces. “My wits are not wandering. I always knew that Simon would come for me when my time was night. And now….now he is close at hand. I can feel his presence….”
“Truly, Mama?” Ellen whispered, sounding both awed and envious.
“Truly, love. And you know your father; he’s never been one for waiting. He always swore that I’d be late for the Last Judgment…” Nell lay back weakly on the pillow, fighting for breath. “I will not let his first words to me be ‘I told you so’” she said, summoning up one last smile, and her children discovered that it was possible to laugh while blinking back tears.
* * *