Delighted to be Exiled (with a bunch of fantastic authors)

I have exciting news of a historical anthology that launches today! Historical Stories of Exile is a fantastic collection of original short stories that explores the theme of exile, written by best-selling and acclaimed authors. My contribution to this anthology is a story called Exiled Heart, which is about Susanne von Kuffstein, the daughter of an Austrian nobleman, who falls in love with her father’s high profile prisoner, Prince Rupert–yes, that Prince Rupert, of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms fame. Exiled Heart is about bittersweet first love and the duty that stands in a young couple’s way. I’m honoured…

Wise without pomp – Charles I’s Scottish Tutor: Guest post by Mark Turnbull

I’m so very excited to introduce you to a fellow Wars of the Three Kingdoms enthusiast, Mark Turnbull. He is the author of The Rebellion Series, a thrilling trilogy set during the first English Civil War, and the creator of CavalierCast: The Civil War in Words, a wonderful historical podcast. His fiction is well-researched and gripping, and his podcast is informative and insightful. Recently, he has ventured into non-fiction with his biography of King Charles I, Charles I’s Private Life. Mark has graciously given us a taste of his biography in this guest post about an influential man in the…

Robin Hood statue

Writing Robin Hood who-is-not-yet-Hood, a guest post by Charlene Newcomb #histfic @charnewcomb

I remember the first time I read Robin Hood. I knew the story thanks to Disney and Errol Flynn, but reading it fired my imagination. To my mother’s horror, I was launching myself from couches and brandishing a long wooden spoon that stood in for Little John’s wooden stave. The Robin Hood story is baked into our collective DNA. The story is timeless with endless opportunities to reimagine it, and with each retelling the story burrows deeper into our hearts. Historical fiction author Charlene Newcomb has explored Sherwood Forest, first with her acclaimed Battle Scars series, and now with a…

The Kennedys of Mount Kennedy: Research for a 17th century Irish family – guest post by Therese Hicks

I met Therese Hicks through my newsletter as she shares an interest in 17th century Irish history. Therese is a historian who has been researching an Irish family, the Kennedys, with what started as local history. She soon realized that the Kennedys were more than that. The family survived, in fact prospered, during some of the most tumultuous periods of Irish history.