And the Winner is….

This week I was very lucky to win a copy of Sandra Gulland’s latest novel Mistress of the Sun on Julianne Douglas’ brilliant blog, Writing the Renaissance

I’m so pleased 🙂

 

Various Reviews for Mistress of the Sun ~

“[A] captivating jewel of a novel.”– Historical Novels Review, editors’ choice

“Here’s a warning: Mistress of the Sun is dangerously seductive. It’s one of those books that will grab you and hold you captive till the last page is turned.”– Montreal Gazette

“Teeming with the rich period details that make historical fiction so rewarding, Gulland’s dynamic and nuanced portrait of Louis’s notorious reign thrums with page-turning expediency and deliciously seductive machinations.”– Booklist

“Suspenseful, evocative, atmospheric, and deliciously satisfying reading, with an immensely appealing heroine.” — Margaret George, author of Helen of Troy

“I fell in love with Petite from the moment she tamed her wild, white horse, and I galloped along with her through her undying devotion to one of France’s most colorful kings.” — Anne Easter Smith, author of The King’s Grace and A Rose for the Crown

“An irresistible story” — Ottawa Citizen

~

I can’t wait to read it. Thank you both!

Historical Fiction

I’ve been following Julianne Douglas’ wonderful poll about historical fiction and marquee names on….

Writing the Renaissance

It has brought up and addressed many issues to do with the state of play in the HF world today. It has also opened up many other avenues of thought – for me at least.
Many months ago I wrote a note to myself in my workbook….

‘Today we are looking at these events through the lens of history.

At the time they were just normal people with normal emotions, living their lives.

Narrow the view.

Forget what happened later.

At any given time the characters were the centre of their own world.

Make them intensely human.’

A quick look at Dictionary.com for the word FICTION gives….

1.
the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration, esp. in prose form.
2.
works of this class, as novels or short stories: detective fiction.
3.
something feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story: We’ve all heard the fiction of her being in delicate health.
4.
the act of feigning, inventing, or imagining.
5.
an imaginary thing or event, postulated for the purposes of argument or explanation.
Imaginary or not. Market forces or not…

Fundamentally — Historical fiction is for people and about people.

And I for one love it!