How the second novel is like a middle child

Advice to the parent writer Works of creative fiction are really like children. The first novel, aka the debut novel, is a big miracle. It’s a wondrous burst of creative energy and an absolute marvel when you finally hold the finished product in your hands. It started out as a wee kernel of an idea, and it was just you and that kernel for so long (cough…seven years). Some writers share their kernel with anyone who will ask—baristas, busboys and the counter girl in the bakery—while others keep it close to their chest until it’s nearly ready. You can get…

Sugar Production in 17th century Colonial Barbados

November 14, 2018September 25, 2022 Categories: 17th century · The Severed KnotTags: Barbados sugar plantation · Countess of Carlisle · Courteen · Earl of Carlisle · Featured · History of sugar · history of sugar in the Caribbean · history of sugar production · Lucy Hay · St. Nicholas Abbey Barbados · Sugar production in Barbados · The Severed Knot8 Comments

Part of researching my novel, The Severed Knot, included learning about sugar production in 17th century Barbados and how this sweet substance transformed the island. Sugar wasn’t just a luxury commodity. It served as the chief form of currency on Barbados (slaves and servants were paid for in pounds of sugar) and fuelled British colonization in the Caribbean. Colonial Barbados was at the centre of the sugar trade going back to the mid-17th century and was known as the Sugar Island. Colonizing Barbados The earliest English settlement was established in 1627 through a private venture corporation headed by the Courteen Company,…

The HNS New Novel Award 2018

August 22, 2018August 19, 2019 Categories: 17th century · Laurels · The Severed KnotTags: 17th century Barbados · HNS New Novel Award 2018 · HNS New Novel Award 2018 Long List · The Severed Knot9 Comments

I’m especially really pleased to share with you my good news. My second novel, The Severed Knot, has been longlisted for the HNS New Novel Award 2018. Making the long list is a huge accomplishment. The Historical Novel Society is a respected literary society devoted to the promotion of historical fiction. The Severed Knot is set in the UK and Barbados during the 17th century and follows one of the characters from Traitor’s Knot after the disastrous Battle of Worcester. Here is what they had to say about my work: The Severed Knot Bleakly impossible choices face the protagonists in…