Deborah Swift's Blog, page 25

10 tips for Editing Historical Fiction – No 9 Change

                    Change. It sounds obvious, doesn’t it, that in a novel things need to change; that to keep a reader interested the characters must change. In reality is is a more complex process than that. As the character changes, then so does everything and everyone the […]

The Troubadour Quartet by Jean Gill #recommended #HistFic

  The first book Song at Dawn is set in the Narbonne in the 12th Century and is the story of Estela who starts the book on the run and hiding in a ditch, but soon is rescued and taken to the Court of Queen Alienor, (Eleanor of Aquitaine), who recognises her talent and extraordinary voice. From there she […]

The Ancient Secrets of Welsh Gold #history #Wales

Welcome to author Jean Gill to inpire us with the ancient secrets of Welsh gold. The Ancient Secrets of Welsh Gold In 1824, a gold treasure hoard came to light, found in the South Wales estate of Dolaucothi. The exquisite jewellery included wheel designs on chains and snake bracelets, and was dated as 1st-2nd Century, […]

Shopping with Elisabeth Pepys in Restoration London

  Through the diary of Samuel Pepys, we get a remarkable insight into the City of London in the seventeenth century. Here, amongst Samuel Pepys’ political exploits, and his reports of the Navy, the King and the Court, we can also get a picture of where and how his wife Elisabeth shopped at the time. […]

Got Ghosts! – A Halloween haunted manor #history #ghosts

I’m delighted to welcome fellow Westmorland Writer and pal, Fiona Glass to tell us about her new book, ‘Got Ghosts?’ Live in Cumbria? You can find the Westmorland Writers here on Facebook. Over to Fiona! It’s history, Jim, but not as we know it You may wonder what I’m doing here on Deborah’s blog. Fair […]

Historical Fiction – Halloween winter reads #HistFic

The Dark Side of Magic Sunday morning, and outside there is what my mother used to call a ‘mizzle’, which is a cross between rain and mist. Autumn is already here and after a hectic time launching Pleasing Mr Pepys, I’ve finally got the time to write reviews for some of the books I’ve read, […]

The writer who does not write his own book

Two things came to my notice this week. The first was an email from another writer. Please buy my book now, he said, if you’re going to, because I’m withdrawing it from sale. Why, I wondered? It was quite a successful book. Well, the reason, he said, is that another multi-million selling author wants to […]

Publication Day for Pleasing Mr Pepys – Read an extract!

Publication Day Pleasing Mr Pepys I’m delighted to announce that Pleasing Mr Pepys is out today with Accent Press. In years gone by, when there were far less books produced, and all of them physical copies, publishing a book was a much more unique and celebrated event. Now there are thousands of e-books released every […]

More than one way to tell a story – The Girl and the Glim

This week sees the launch of not just one, but two books in my family. First to launch this week is ‘The Girl and The Glim’ – a graphic novella, by Doig and Swift to be launched at the Thought Bubble Festival in Leeds this weekend. Here’s a page from the book, which has been […]

Carol McGrath’s ‘The Woman in the Shadows’ – Review

Carol McGrath’s new novel is a wonderful insight into the world of the Tudor merchant class. Elizabeth Williams, a widow who has inherited her husband’s cloth business, meets Thomas Cromwell, at her late husband’s funeral. She remembers him as a childhood friend, and from there a sturdy marriage alliance is begun. Like most marriages of […]