By Nancy Bilyeau
My 2012 debut novel,
The Crown, was set in Tudor-era England with a Dominican novice, Joanna Stafford, as the protagonist. The historical thriller found readers in the United States and United Kingdom as well as other markets worldwide, from Germany to Spain to Russia. I followed it with
The Chalice and, finally,
The Tapestry.
I'm pleased to report that
Orion Publishing, the respected house that put out my Joanna Stafford novels in the UK and Australia, is publishing
The Crown and
The Chalice with new covers to bring them to the attention of readers who might not have discovered the novels the first time.
Aren't these covers fantastic?
When
The Crown first came out, it was dubbed by
Oprah magazine "the Page-Turner You'll Tear Through." The review said: "Bilyeau deftly weaves extensive historical detail throughout, but the real draw of this suspenseful novel is its juicy blend of lust, murder, conspiracy, and betrayal."
Authors who endorsed the book included:
Alison Weir: “A stunning debut. One of the best historical novels I have ever read.”
Deborah Harkness: "Nancy Bilyeau's polished, inventive debut has all the ingredients of the best historical fiction: a broad cast of characters, well-imagined settings, and vivid story-telling. . . . In Joanna Stafford, Bilyeau has given us a memorable character who is prepared to risk her life to save what she most values, while Stafford's desperate search for a lost religious relic will satisfy even the most ardent mystery fans."
As for
The Chalice, it won the Romantic Times Award for Best Historical Mystery and was praised by
Parade: “English history buffs and mystery fans alike will revel in Nancy Bilyeau's richly detailed sequel to The Crown.”
You can pre-order
The Crown as a paperback
here
and
The Chalice paperback
here. This is for the UK market only.
In America, the novels with their original covers are very much on sale. I still get royalties every year for
The Crown! You can find them in paperback, hardback, and ebook
here.
I loved writing these books and hope new readers will discover Sister Joanna...