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Showing posts from April, 2023

#TheRabbitHoleReadingChallenge Book Review: The Alchemist

Review When you love a book, there are two differents approaches to reading it and, after reading The Alchemist , I realised that I do both - depending on the way the story moves and inspires me. The first is to gobble up the book: tearing through the story and utterly immersing yourself in the world it creates. I often do this when I'm reading my sisters' writings for the first time, but I also do it with Neil Gaiman's work and (randomly enough) Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The second is to eat it a little piece at a time, to make it last as long as possible. Roald Dahl described this perfectly when Charlie (of eponymous Chocolate Factory fame) nibbles his one bar of chocolate to make it last as long as possible. Before reading The Alchemist , I had only ever thought of myself as a gobbler. Books I absolutely love always got read very quickly. But you don't want to do this with this gem by Paulo Coelho: you want to eat it slowly and feel yourself graduall...

#HistFicThursdays - Spotlight on A Matter of Faith (Henry VIII: The Days of the Phoenix) - Judith Arnopp

Today, I'm delighted to be shining a spotlight on Judith Arnopp's fabulous book, A Matter of Faith (Henry VIII: The Days of the Phoenix) as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club tour! So, let's meet the book... Finally free of Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII, is now married to Anne Boleyn and eagerly awaiting the birth of his son. In a court still reeling from the royal divorce and growing public resentment against church reform, Henry must negotiate widespread resentment toward Anne. He places all his hopes in a son to cement his Tudor blood line, but his dreams are shattered when Anne is delivered of a daughter. Burying his disappointment, Henry focuses on getting her with child again, but their marriage is volatile and as Henry faces personal bereavement, and discord at court, Anne’s enemies are gathering. When the queen miscarries of a son, and Henry suffers a life-threatening accident, his need for an heir becomes critical. Waiting in the wings is Jane Seymour, a lady-in...

#HistFicThursdays - Girolamo Savonarola (Poisoned Pilgrimage) - An Unlikely Friendship

There are very, very people I could write and write about, but Savonarola is one of them. In fact, last year, I wrote a c.160,000 word observation about my own journey into his life and preachings. This appealed to the theologian in me as well as the historian! Shockingly, despite spending years studying RE and Theology across various levels of education, Savonarola was not a character I had come across until very recently. I've suppose this is because his work did not directly influence my areas of study, but I remain quite surprised that he never cropped up in my education. And here's why: although geographically he never left Italy - and northern Italy at that - his preaching and the awareness he raised concerning the direction of the church was to send shockwaves across the Christian world. He is the most fascinating character to write in fiction, too. Driven entirely - and often perilously - to do what he believed was right, he was not open to disagreement. But one of the...

#HistFicThursdays - An Open Invitation to Historical Fiction Writers: #HistFicMay

I'm always impressed by the power of social media in spreading the word about books and writing. In the hope of giving back to that, I'm going to be running a social media event throughout May to help spread the word for the fabulous historical fiction authors who are in the online writing community. All you have to do is answer the questions/challenges which match up to each day on the list. Remember, posts with pictures are always more eye-catching. You can include pictures, quotes, and purchase links in any of these. If you don't have a picture for any post, just use the #HistFicMay banner (which you can download from this blog). You can choose light or dark depending on which best suits your writing. And remember to use the #HistFicMay hashtag so I can find your post! I will retweet, share, and like all the posts which answer these challenges on Twitter (@DaysDyingGlory), Facebook (@DaysDyingGlory), and Instagram (@StomperMcEwan), and please feel free to give me a nud...

#HistFicThursdays - Close Your Eyes: A Fairy Tale - Chris Tomasini - Book Excerpt

This week for #HistFicThursdays, I'm delighted to once again be teaming up with The Coffee Pot Book Club for author Chris Tomasini 's blog tour! Today, I'm sharing an excerpt from his fabulous book, Close Your Eyes - A Fairy Tale ! First of all, let's meet the book... Set in early 1400s Europe, Close Your Eyes is a sincere, yet light-hearted and lustful, ode to love. As Samuel, the court jester, struggles to describe why his friends, Agnieszka the cook, and Tycho the story-teller, fled the King of Gora's service, he learns that love was the beating heart behind everything that happened in the castle. He learns as well that more ghosts than he knew of walked the midnight halls, and that the spirit of Jeanne d'Arc haunted his friend, and once slid into bed with Tycho, daring him to leave - to take to the cold roads of Europe, where he had once wandered orphaned and alone, and find his destiny there. You can buy Close Your Eyes - A Fairy Tale...