Deborah Swift's Blog, page 27

Two contrasting novels of the 17th century #HistFic

I am always fascinated by the different writing styles that conjure an era, and these two contrasting books prove that there is no one style to bring an era to life. Both books are great reads and I recommend them. Traitor’s Knot by Cryssa Bazos This is a wonderful novel – richly detailed and full […]

Book Club Gold – A year’s free books

I’ve teamed with 11 other authors to bring you books you will want to talk about. You can download one, or all of the books. Our aim is to provide thought-provoking reads and get people talking, so each book comes with its own set of discussion questions. These books are all well-written and have been […]

Of Ink, Wit and Intrigue – The Life of the Earl of Rochester #Stuart

I’m delighted to welcome Susan Cooper-Bridgewater to my blog today to talk about her novel about John Wilmot the second Earl of Rochester – one of the rakes and rogues of Restoration London that I am fascinated by, and wrote about here. Welcome Sue!  John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester is known for his satirical […]

The Outlaw’s Ransom – the romance of Robin Hood

  I’m thrilled to welcome Jennifer Ash to my website today to talk about her new novella, The Outlaw’s Ransom. Here’s a description of the book: When craftsman’s daughter Mathilda is kidnapped by the notorious Folville brothers, as punishment for her father’s debts, she fears for her life.  Although of noble birth, the Folvilles are infamous […]

Love and Resistance in WW2 Germany

  I’m delighted to welcome Marion Kummerow to my blog to tell us about her series of books based on the true story of her grandparents. Deborah: I’m interested to know more about your grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime. They died before you were born, so how […]

Historical Fiction: Ten Editing Tools. No 5 – Foreshadowing

As a historical fiction writer, I often want to include major events in history, and usually these are the ‘real’ history that inspired the book. By ‘major’, I don’t necessarily mean big battles, (though the Battle of Worcester forms at least one set piece for me) but they are usually pivotal points of changes in […]

Three great books on The Great Fire of London

Rebecca Rideal – 1666 Plague, War and Hellfire For most of my research books I prefer hard copy, and this is a brilliantly and evocatively written hardback, beautifully produced. Here’s are some of the the opening sentences to whet your appetite: ‘Pale winter sun brought the dawn. Casting a mottled-grey glow on glazed windows and […]

Launch of Shadow on the Highway with Endeavour Ink

Congratulations to all the authors whose books are the first books to be published by Endeavour Press in print. Wishing the imprint and all the authors much success. Reblogged from the Endeavour Press website: On the evening of March 15th Endeavour Press officially launched its new print division, Endeavour Ink, with a party at Waterstone’s Piccadilly. Endeavour […]

Historical Fiction : 10 Editing tools. No.4 – Themes & Threads

One of the most useful things I can do when I have finished a first draft is to examine the themes and the characters and follow their threads. Sometimes a character and a thread can be the same – at the moment I am looking at ‘ambition’, which is both part of Bess Bagwell’s character […]

Happy New Year to all my followers and readers

2017 is here already and, like most writers, the view from my desktop hardly changes. This Christmas I was able to get out into the fresh air, smell the frost in the atmosphere, and admire the lovely village where I live (and which I too often forget is there). Below you can see Warton Old […]