Freda Lightfoot's Blog, page 14

Toledo

On our way to the UK from our home in Spain we spent a couple of nights in Toledo, a beautiful Medieval city with gothic architecture in soft earthy tones. This is a view from the parador, where we stayed.




We visited El Greco's house. A Cretian by birth, he settled in Toledo after learning his craft in Venice and Rome. His work apparently wasn't particularly well thought of during his life

Duchess of Drury Lane - Readers Guide

Some readers have asked for a reader's guide to use as discussion points in their reading groups, so as there was no space to include one in the book itself, I've put one here for anyone to print off if interested.

1. It must have been devastating for Dora when her father deserted the family and then died so young. How do you think that affected her outlook and behaviour in her future life?

2.

New tiles out this month:

A collection of six heartwarming short stories - previously published in
My Weekly, My Story, People’s Friend or Woman’s Realm, is now available
as an ebook on Kindle. In addition you can get it for FREE FROM 10 - 14 MARCH, just in time for Mother’s Day.




Find it on Amazon

Also out this month is the ebook for The Duchess of Drury Lane, now published by Severn House as an ebook.



Passion,

Mrs Jordan's Children

Dorothea Jordan, or Dora as she preferred to be called, presented the Duke of Clarence with ten children, known by the name of FitzClarence, plus two from previous liaisons. What happened to them all? Were they accepted by society? Did they live a contented life, and remember their mother with affection? Dora had been an indulgent, loving mother. Here is the statue William had made of her after

Interview with Alison Morton

Today, I’m delighted to welcome my Romantic Novelists’ Association colleague, Alison Morton to my blog, to tell us about her publishing journey and her different way of looking at history. 

Thank you very much for welcoming me to your blog, Freda.

Today 1st March, my debut novel, INCEPTIO, is published. Hooray! Three years of slog – researching, writing, and polishing – have led to this

Twelve Points about Creating your Brand

1: The brand is not the book. It is a guarantee of quality. E.g: Beanz mean Heinz.

2: It is also your identity. Your Voice. It is You.

3: Don’t expect the publisher to create the brand for you. You need to grow your own and take charge of your own career.

4: Know your reader and identify your target audience. Readers don’t always know why they like your books, but you have to know. Develop a

Seville

Rich in history, Seville is well worth a visit. We spent a few days there, staying at the Hotel Bécquer  in the centre, where we enjoyed a most pleasant stay. As an introduction we took a carriage ride around the city, the driver pointing out places of interest. Romera, our lovely horse, was completely unfazed by the traffic and most friendly.




Here we are in front of the Plaza de Espania in

Girl Bands in World War II

Girl Bands in World War II

Girl Bands are not a new phenomena. Long before Girls Aloud, The Spice Girls, or even The Supremes there were girl bands of quite a different sort. During World War II Girl Bands took over when the boys joined up. But it was a time when prejudice against women performing was still quite strong. Many people thought it wasn’t quite proper for women to blow into a trumpet

Girl Bands in World War IIGirl Bands are not a new ph...

Girl Bands in World War II

Girl Bands are not a new phenomena. Long before Girls Aloud, The Spice Girls, or even The Supremes there were girl bands of quite a different sort. During World War II Girl Bands took over when the boys joined up. But it was a time when prejudice against women performing was still quite strong. Many people thought it wasn’t quite proper for women to blow into a trumpet

Out and About

Unbelievably, Christmas is almost upon us. After a wet summer spent at our holiday home in the UK, we are quite pleased to be back in sunny Spain. Within days of arriving home we were into the olive harvest, ably assisted by our trusty band of pickers. The day was bright but with a cold wind and we were glad to warm up with a lunch of hot chilli and apple crumble. Wine, of course, was involved