Christy English's Blog, page 56
March 30, 2011
Historical Fiction Welcome for TO BE QUEEN
With TO BE QUEEN coming out next Tuesday, many fellow authors and bloggers have been so gracious as to let me write guest posts for their blogs. I am very touched by the support and kindness that is rampant in the historical fiction world. "Rampant kindness"…how often do we hear that phrase? Not nearly enough. [...]
March 28, 2011
Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Mother of Kings
Long after my novel, TO BE QUEEN begins, Eleanor of Aquitaine wears two crowns in her lifetime as Queen of France and later Queen of England. She only gave birth to two daughters with her first husband, Louis, but three of her sons with Henry went on to wear the English crown. Henry the Younger was crowned during [...]
March 25, 2011
The Road to Santiago de Compostela
I am currently fascinated by the medieval pilgrimage from southern France to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. I have read that Santiago de Compostela translates to "St James the Greater of the Field of Stars" which is poetic beyond belief and enough to make me love the road sight unseen. I read of it years ago [...]
March 23, 2011
Serenity in the Midst of the Busy
I am preparing for TO BE QUEEN to come out on April 5th, so I am writing guests posts, contacting bloggers and reviewers, and getting ready for signings. All of this makes for a lot of busy-ness. I am reminded of THE TAO OF POOH by Benjamin Hoff. His Rabbit was always "Busy, Back Soon." [...]
March 21, 2011
Goodreads Romantic Historical Fiction Lovers Give Away
Today's post is to all members of the Goodreads group, Romatic Historical Fiction Lovers. I am conducting a give awayexclusively for this group of one signed copy of TO BE QUEEN. The give away will run from today, March 21 until the day the novel comes out on April 5th. Just leave a comment here [...]
March 18, 2011
Strategies to Selling A Novel: Freelance Editors
The hardest part of being a writer is still learning to see my work with a modicum of objectivity. It is hard, almost impossible, especially after the first draft is done, and I feel as if my work is a miracle. It IS a miracle to finish a first draft. It is a time to [...]
Strategies to Selling A Novel: Free Lance Editors
The hardest part of being a writer is still learning to see my work with a modicum of objectivity. It is hard, almost impossible, especially after the first draft is done, and I feel as if my work is a miracle. It IS a miracle to finish a first draft. It is a time to [...]
Strategies to Sell a Novel: Becoming a Better Writer
I believe that ultimately, the only and best strategy for selling a novel is to become a better writer. I know that sounds like a cop-out. I know it sounds like an oversimplification and annoying to boot, but it was my experience. I found that once I had developed my query letter, I began to get [...]
March 16, 2011
Strategies to Sell a Novel: Getting an Agent
I have found that the best strategy to selling a novel is hard work…aka making the writing so good that an agent and then an editor says…"I love this. I want to work with this writer." Even at that point, there are ages of edits to go through, but once you have developed your voice [...]
March 14, 2011
Eleanor of Aquitaine and Divorce
Eleanor of Aquitaine is known for the fact that she divorced her first husband, King Louis VII of France to marry her second husband, King Henry II of England. Of course, this well known 'fact' is only part of the story. To begin with, there was no such thing as divorce in medieval France. Divorce [...]
