An Update, and Some Public Service Announcements

It’s been a while since I mentioned any news about my books, so I wanted to give you an update on what’s going on (and, alas, what’s not going on) with me.

First, the good news: my first nonfiction book, The Woodvilles, will be published in October in the UK and in January in the US. You can find a description of the book, plus an excerpt and ordering information, here. I’m setting up a tour of my favorite blogs as my publication date grows closer, so keep an eye on this space!

Second, I’m excited to note that my novel about Katherine Woodville and her husband, The Stolen Crown, will be coming out as an audiobook on August 12. John Lee and Alison  Larkin are the narrators. I shall have to buy a copy to see what Harry and Kate sound like!

Now for the bad news. Some of you have been expecting my novel on Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox. This isn’t happening, at least as a full-length book. I am a novelist who has to love my main characters, and with Margaret, the older she got, the harder I found it to connect with her. I couldn’t connect with anyone around her either, which made matters even worse.  After a rather embarrassingly long and very frustrating period, I finally had to throw up my hands and admit that this was a project that was not meant to be.

I do find the younger Margaret likable, and it may be possible to salvage a shorter work about her from what I’ve written so far. I’ll be looking over what I have and seeing if this is viable. If it is, I’ll probably make it available on Amazon; if it’s not, I won’t inflict it upon you, but will instead consign it to my computer’s version of an attic.

And now back to the good news! I’m back to writing about the character I should have been writing about all along, and the writing is going much better. My characters are chatting in my head, in contrast to the stony silence I got from Margaret and the gang, and I find myself thinking about them when I’m brushing my teeth and walking the dogs (not, fortunately, at the same time). Until I get a lot further along, I’m keeping mum on the details, though.

Finally, I’ll be doing a search terms post soon. Til then, as a public service announcement, here are short (and straight) answers to some questions that keep popping up in searches for my blog:

did Edward of Lancaster rape Anne Neville?

There’s not the slightest evidence he raped his wife, or anyone else.

did henry vii rape elizabeth of york?

There’s not the slightest evidence that he raped Elizabeth of York, or anyone else.

was margaret of anjou having sex with her son?

There’s not the slightest evidence that she . . . Well, you get the picture.

did henry the 8th king of england wear glasses?

Yes, he did. A number of pairs are listed in the inventory of his goods. (And before someone asks, there’s not the slightest bit of evidence that he raped any of his wives. Or his son. Or his daughters.)