FATAL THRONE Is Out!

Today’s the day! Fatal Throne, my collaborative novel on the six wives of Henry VIII, is finally out in the world!

What a thrill it has been to work with the talented M.T. Anderson (Henry), Candace Fleming (Katharine of Aragon), Stephanie Hemphill (Anne Boleyn), Lisa Ann Sandell (Jane Seymour), Linda Sue Park (Catherine Howard) and Deborah Hopkinson (Kateryn Parr) on such a fascinating, and tragic, chapter in history.

I wrote Anna of Cleves, the “ugly” queen, and it turned out to be one of my favorite projects ever. I lost myself in her. She changed me forever. It’s always an honor to invoke a real person from history in my work — but Anna was special. She was smart and practical and she’ll be an inspiration to me for the rest of my life.

Isn’t this 500 year-old portrait of Anna amazing? (Zoom in and look at the details of her headdress and the embroidery on her clothing.) It’s by Henry’s Court portraitist Hans Holbein, and it’s thought that he painted Anna to look prettier than she really was. Maybe that’s true – but I look into those shrewd, skeptical eyes and it’s clear that he captured her true beauty perfectly.

FATAL THRONE is available at bookstores everywhere in the U.S. (no international editions yet, but I promise to post release dates for other countries as soon as I get them!), including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local independent bookstore.