Pauline Taylor's Elly's Juxtapose - Author Interview

1) Why did you choose to use historical information?
The reason I decided to use historical information in my book was probably because there are certain times and certain characters in history that capture my imagination.

I was once asked at a writing group to write a short story about a person from history that I admired. There were several people I considered but in the end I chose Charles Darwin because I felt he was the father of curiosity and against all his most powerful critics he pursued his ideals and began a generation of thinkers.

For that particular story I became a cabin boy on board the H.M.S.Beagle and travelled to the Galapagos Islands with Mr Darwin.

History is so diverse and so rich we as writers have a vast warehouse of knowledge to choose from and alter under artistic licence but after saying that it is a big responsibility to try and keep the integrity of the person or event.

2) How did you choose particular historical events and information?

I class myself as being an average reader and if most people are like me, then they are interested in facts and in updating their knowledge. Learning, if you like, without even trying and that is what an author can do in a book. History is part of man’s heritage no matter where we live or how bad or good it is, and we cannot and must not run away from it no matter how much we may want to, as looking at our history is how we progress as a person.

There is something somewhere in history to enthuse everyone, and I suppose I pick the bits out that enthuse me and incorporate them into my story. I tried to give the reader a varied amount of events to think about to keep their interest.

The historical references that I used in ‘Elly’s Juxtapose’ were planned for the most part, but there were a few that just slowly crept in as I followed the plot through to its conclusion.

The settings within the book allowed me to mention people like Lancelot `Capability` Brown, Nicholas Hawksmoor and Sir Frances Dashwood. I was very conscious at all times that I should not mislead the reader into thinking that these people were really involved in any of theses places, just in case there were such places that did exist. I always make statements like ‘they do say it was’ or ‘was thought to have been’ I never put a definite ‘yes they were involved’.

As I mentioned previously the writer’s job is to keep the reader engaged and take them into the story to such an extent that they do not want to put the book down.

3) Why do you use diaries, bibles and messages from the past as a source of information within the book?

Because the story links back to the eighteenth century and the first Robert and Eloise I had to find a way for the past to link in with the present. I had a few ideas milling around in my head, but eventually I thought what better way to do this than with diaries, family bibles and messages? I soon realised that this was the right decision and it worked very well within the parameters of the storyline.

As the story progressed I wanted more for the reader and for my characters. I needed a more complex scenario, but this also had to link in with the houses, the characters and the plot. I did this by inventing a twelfth Century Knight Templar, Sir Robert Carlton. I was surprised how well this worked.

4) How did you differentiate between the past and the present?
I was aware of the different style changes in dress, language and etiquette from one

Century to the other and therefore needed to alter the way the diaries and the letters were written. This was to accommodate the differences in the linguistics and the dress code of the time.

For instance, there is a dream scene where Elly sees herself from the past riding

furiously on a horse. I then had to describe to the reader what kind of riding attire she was wearing and the fact that she was also riding sidesaddle. This was effectively to let the reader know that it was not the present day that Elly was dreaming about.

And when the eighteenth century Robert is writing in his diaries I had to try and make it a little more romantic and drawn out in keeping with the style of that period. But when the early twentieth century Robert wrote his account it had to be written differently but yet still show that it was written by an educated man.

5) How did you research the history and information?

Some of the historical information I already had in my head: names, places, events but I must admit I am terrible when it comes to dates. I do own a good collection of books which do help me with my research but I also used my Kindle to obtain a few more books and the local book shop for those I could not acquire on kindle.

I also find a good resource to be the Internet I usually start with Wikipedia and follow the prompts from there. This can lead to all sorts of information some that I would never have thought of using.

6) How did you go about putting all the information from the past together effectively for it to cause the impact it did in present day?
Putting it all together was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I originally wrote

a plan, a list really of what I wanted the book to be about and what I wanted to put in it

but it just grew and grew until the list was that long it became a little overwhelming.

The hardest thing I think was putting all the information I wanted to use under the right heading that was on the plan and making sure all the chapters linked into each other. I learnt very quickly as a first time author that too much information could be nearly as bad as none in some cases.

The fact is you have to be discerning in the choices you make with information and how it is put together. ‘Elly’s Juxtapose’ was made more complicated due the nature of the plot and the timelines within it.

For instance there is so much written about the Knight Templar movement and I did not want to bore the reader by bombarding them with too much information so I had to think which way I would go with it. Fortunately I had seen a documentary on the TV. about the Knights and the battle of Jacobs ford. This captured my imagination and I decided that I would persue this line and have my knight as one of the guards of King Baldwin.

When I reached the end of the book I realised that there was scope for a sequel if I wanted to write one, so I did what a lot of authors have done and left the conclusion open with an unspoken question.

I am presently nearing the end of my second book, which is a re-write of a Mesopotamian myth; this book has more twists and turns than ‘Elly’s Juxtapose’. But the amount of historical facts and research for this book far out way the amount I had to obtain for my first one. I find history intriguing and it is not only the reader that is gaining a small amount of knowledge but I myself am learning with every chapter.

About the book

Some things need to be forgotten - others cry to be uncovered. In this fascinating story which stretches from the Crusades to the present day, Elly's Juxtapose follows the twists and turns of a love that will not die.

About the author

Pauline was born in a little mining village in South Yorkshire called Wath-upon-Dearne. She left school at fifteen and by the time she was twenty-seven was married with four children.

At the age of thirty-five her husband was taken ill and she was nearly a widow three times. She decided to follow one of her dreams and became a qualified nurse. She found it hard bringing up four children, working full time and looking after a sick husband.

In 2008 she was taken ill herself and after two operations that did not go well she was forced to retire early from the job that she loved so much.

In 2010 her husband died and she went into a depression. Her son persuaded her to get out more so she joined the Rotherham branch of the U.3.A. This is where her second dream started to be fulfilled to become a writer.

In 2012 her son again persuaded her to go on a short holiday with a member of the U.3.A. While on this holiday she met her now partner and moved to Derby to be with him. He encouraged her to write as he could see that she really enjoyed it but unfortunately he also was taken ill and is now in rehab learning to walk and talk again. But Pauline is looking forward, not back, and is hoping to have him home soon.

Spotlight on Mark Patton's Omphalos

Please join Mark Patton as he tours the blogosphere with HF Virtual Book Tours for Omphalos, from December 5-19.

Publication Date: December 5, 2014
Crooked Cat Publications Formats: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 312
ISBN: 978-1-910510-06-3
Genre: Historical Fiction

   

SIX EPOCHS, TEN LIVES INTERSECTING AT A SINGLE PLACE.
2013: Al Cohen, an American in search of his European heritage.
1944-1946: Friedrich Werner, an officer of the Wehrmacht and later a prisoner of war. His wife Greta, clinging to what remains of her life in war-torn Berlin.
1799: Suzanne de Beaubigny, a royalist refugee from revolutionary France.
1517: Richard Mabon, a Catholic priest on pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his secretary, Nicholas Ahier.
1160: Raoul de Paisnel, a knight with a dark secret walking through Spain with his steward, Guillaume Bisson.
4000 BC: Egrasté, a sorceress, and Txeru, a man on an epic voyage.
Transgressions, reconciliations and people caught on the wrong side of history.
Omphalos. A journey through six thousand years of human history.

Praise for Omphalos
"Omphalos is a powerful word, a powerful connotation, as are the stories focused on in this excellent collection. The author leads the reader from one story to the next like an easy progress through the chambers of La Hougue Bie, followed by a reverse journey of revelation. To say too much of how this is cleverly achieved through the excellent use of letters, prose and poetry, I feel, would spoil the enjoyment of a potential reader. The skilful writing techniques used make it a thoroughly engrossing read. I have no qualms in recommending ‘Omphalos’ to the lover of historical fiction and to those who enjoy a well-crafted tale." - Nancy Jardine

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About the Author
Mark Patton was born and grew up on the island of Jersey. He studied Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge and completed his PhD at University College London. He has taught at the Universities of Wales, Greenwich and Westminster, and currently teaches with The Open University. He is the author of two previous historical novels, Undreamed Shores (Crooked Cat, 2012) and An Accidental King (Crooked Cat 2013).

For more information please visit Mark Patton's website and blog. You can also connect with him on Twitter and Goodreads.

Omphalos Blog Tour Schedule

Friday, December 5
Review at Back Porchervations
Monday, December 8
Guest Post & Giveaway at Words and Peace
Wednesday, December 10
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews
Thursday, December 11
Spotlight at Book Babe
Guest Post at Just One More Chapter
Monday, December 15
Review at Book Nerd
Tuesday, December 16
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views
Wednesday, December 17
Spotlight at The Writing Desk
Thursday, December 18
Spotlight at Historical Fiction Connection
Guest Post at What Is That Book About
Friday, December 19
Review at Diary of an Eccentric
Spotlight at Let Them Read Books

Sherry Jones' The Sharp Hook of Love - Guest Post

Heloise and Abelard and the Happily-Ever-After Ending

Woe to those critics of my new book THE SHARP HOOK OF LOVE who, hooked by the cover, hoped for a sweetness-and-light romance with an HEA (Happily-Ever-After) ending. But then, it’s unkind of me to send them woe, since that’s what these readers are trying to escape from.

No one understands misery better than I. I grew up in an abusive household with two dysfunctional parents and no other family nearby — hence, no support system. It’s no wonder I fell, for a time, for the ultimate HEA ending: the promise of an eternally sweet hereafter in a heavenly city with gold-paved streets and unremitting bliss.

The longing for a life without suffering is as old as we are. Anthropologists think organized religion began around the same time humans began growing our food instead of hunting and gathering. Hoping not to starve, we began praying to the sun for shine and to the clouds for rain — fruitless efforts, no doubt, except that they helped us feel better, as though we had some control over our lives.

Is Paradise overrated?

 And yet, I wonder about the HEA mindset. What would it be like, a life without struggles, challenges, obstacles, frustrations, conflicts, heartaches, setbacks, sorrows, or discomfort of any kind? Odysseus had it with Calypso on her idyllic island, Ogygia, but seven years of pleasure took its toll and boredom set in. He couldn’t wait to get away from all that great food and sex, perfect weather, and instant gratification.

One wonders, too, about Abelard and Heloise, the famous 12^th-century Parisian intellectuals whose passionate, erotic, scandal-ridden tale has survived these 900 years precisely because of the tragic way their love affair ended — with a brutal stroke of revenge that tore them apart for the rest of their lives. Would they have been happier with an HEA ending, riding off into the sunset hand and hand, you and me and baby makes three?

Heloise suspected not, and it’s one reason she initially said “no” to Abelard’s proposal of marriage, as Abelard wrote in his autobiography:

Consider, she said, the true conditions for a dignified way of life. What harmony can there be between pupils and nursemaids, desks and cradles, books or tablets and distaffs, pen or stylus and spindles? Who can concentrate on thoughts of Scripture or philosophy and be able to endure babies crying, nurses soothing them with lullabyes, and all the comings and goings of men and women about the house?

These were prescient questions, especially for their time, when marriage and children were not only de rigueur for women, but absolutely required for those of Heloise’s exalted socio-economic class. But then, theirs would have been a marriage made for love, not to create heirs. Perhaps Heloise could see the fallacy inherent in that arrangement.

Nipped in the bud — a good thing?

The love affair of Heloise and Abelard, by scholars’ accounts, lasted no more than a couple of years. Take into account the weeks, if not months, they spent resisting their sinful desires before finally succumbing to temptation, and it seems they barely had time for the pheromones to subside before the Church and Heloise’s uncle ripped them apart. What if they’d openly married, instead, forsaking their scholarly — Church-controlled — careers and devoting themselves to domestic life?

Would they have lived Happily Ever After?

By the time their love affair ended, Abelard was starting to feel a bit bored with the relationship, it seems. His visits with Heloise became “few and furtive,” necessary to avoid being discovered, he wrote — this from the man who had loved with such reckless abandon that he’d sung Heloise’s praises to his students in class when he was supposed to be teaching philosophy.

Had they remained together, what would their lives had been like?

Without the prebends and benefices of a canon, Abelard would have been forced to reclaim his inheritance, and become lord of the family castle in Le Pallet, a tiny rural outpost in the hinterland of Brittany — the very life he’d rejected, withdrawing, he wrote, “from the court of Mars in order to be educated in the lap of Minerva.”

There they would have lived, secluded from the stimulating life of the mind both enjoyed so much in Paris. Would discontent have ensued, and bickering? Would Abelard had turned to drink, or the servant girls? Would Heloise have become another Xanthippe, the supposedly quarrelsome wife of Socrates whom she’d held up as an example of why she and Abelard should not marry?

Fantasy vs. reality

Parted from each other at the height of their passion — or just when it was beginning to wane — the lovers were free, then, to remember the good times and even to invent their own fairy-tale endings by drawing from the realm of the might-have-been.

And when Abelard became deathly ill, 25 years after saying good-bye to Heloise, he asked the Church to let him live his final months in the convent where she was abbess. Denied the request, he asked that his body be entombed at her Oratory of the Paraclete so she might pray over him daily. He did not want to be forgotten by her — and he was not. She did as he asked, for 20 years. Before she died, she asked to be buried in the same coffin with him.

“When her dead body was carried to the opened tomb,” an anonymous witness wrote, “her husband, who had died long before her, raised his arms to receive her, and so clasped her closely in his embrace.”

Now, that’s my kind of HEA.

To read the first two chapters of “The Sharp Hook of Love” and to see a video about the lovers, sign up for Sherry’s newsletter at www.authorsherryjones.com/swag.   

Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Gallery Books
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 352
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

The first retelling of the passionate, twelfth-century love story since the discovery of 113 lost love letters between Heloise d’Argenteuil and Pierre Abelard—the original Romeo and Juliet.

“While I sleep you never leave me, and after I wake I see you, as soon as I open my eyes, even before the light of day itself.” —Abelard to Heloise

Among the young women of twelfth-century Paris, Heloise d’Argenteuil stands apart. Extraordinarily educated and quick-witted, she is being groomed by her uncle to become an abbess in the service of God.

But with one encounter, her destiny changes forever. Pierre Abelard, headmaster at the Notre-Dame Cloister School, is acclaimed as one of the greatest philosophers in France. His controversial reputation only adds to his allure, yet despite the legions of women swooning over his poetry and dashing looks, he is captivated by the brilliant Heloise alone. As their relationship blossoms from a meeting of the minds to a forbidden love affair, both Heloise and Abelard must choose between love, duty, and ambition.

Sherry Jones weaves the lovers’ own words into an evocative account of desire and sacrifice. As intimate as it is erotic, as devastating as it is beautiful, The Sharp Hook of Love is a poignant, tender tribute to one of history’s greatest romances, and to love’s power to transform and endure.

Praise for The Sharp Hook of Love

“Heloise is the sort of heroine you cannot help rooting for: brilliant and naïve, vulnerable and tough. The Sharp Hook of Love will have you up all night holding your breath as you turn each page.” (Rebecca Kanner author of Sinners and the Sea)

“Jones weaves history and passion in a tale full of emotional heft that questions what it means to truly love someone…” (Kirkus Reviews)

“A sensual journey into twelfth century Paris. With a sharp eye for historical detail, Jones weaves an unforgettable, compelling tale about enduring love.” (Lynn Cullen nationally bestselling author of Mrs. Poe)
“Passion and treachery mingle in Sherry Jones’s explosive novel The Sharp Hook of Love. Wrenching and erotic, this is a grand romance in every sense of the word.” (Mary Sharratt author of Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen)

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About the Author

Sherry Jones is the author of five biographical fiction books: The Sharp Hook of Love, about the famed 12th-century lovers Abelard and Heloise; The Jewel of Medina and The Sword of Medina, international — and controversial — best sellers about the life of A’isha, who married the Muslim prophet Muhammad at age nine and went on to become the most famous and influential woman in Islam; Four Sisters, All Queens, a tale of four sisters in 13th century Provence who became queens of France, England, Germany, and Italy, and White Heart, an e-novella about the famous French “White Queen” Blanche de Castille.

For more information please visit Sherry Jones’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter,YouTube, and Goodreads.

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Stephanie Thornton's The Tiger Queens - Guest Post and {Giveaway}

Genghis Khan: Perception v. Reality

History is chock full of half-truths and lies.

I went into writing The Tiger Queens with the image of Genghis Khan as a sword-wielding, long-haired monster galloping helter-skelter across the steppes, mostly because that’s always how he’s portrayed in history books.

(I mean, come on, he’s not in charge of the Mongol phalanx or the Mongol tribes, but instead the Mongol horde.)

Yes, but Genghis was also a wily practitioner of propaganda, meaning that you were just as likely to be slaughtered by the crafty old guy as you were to surrender to him long before you could see the whites of his eyes. (Side note: He only killed men and boys taller than the lynchpin of a cart. Who knew Genghis had a soft side?)

In fact, Genghis propagated myths that his skin was made of impermeable copper and his men could actually ride on the wind. (In fact, they just rode hard and fast because that meant they didn’t have to stop to urinate as often.) He was also known to send ahead inflated casualty lists to make his next target city quiver with fear and capitulate long before he showed up at their gates.

Yet this is also the same guy who poured molten silver down the throat of the governor of Otrar because he’d been insulted. (Sound familiar to all of you Game of Thrones fans?) There are also accounts of pyramids being built from the severed heads of his enemies, a tactic which one of his daughters certainly used after destroying the city of Nishapur.

There’s another side to Genghis too, because this is the guy who moved heaven and earth to reclaim his first wife after she was kidnapped by a rival clan, and maneuvered his daughters to govern many of his territories even as his sons were drinking themselves to death. He also gave a whole slew of orphan boys to his mother to raise, rather than put them to the sword.

So was Genghis a marauding conqueror responsible for the deaths of thousands of people? Certainly. Was he also a political mastermind, capable of cowing his enemies while drawing allies to him in droves? Absolutely. And was he also a man of intense loyalty who cared for and honored his family, especially his wives and daughters? Yes indeed.

In short, Genghis Khan was one complicated guy.

***************

Publication Date: November 4, 2014
NAL Trade
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction



In the late twelfth century on the sweeping Mongolian grasslands, following a violent feud between blood brothers, the victor Temujin ascends to power, declaring himself Genghis Khan. But behind one powerful man stand many strong women…

After her mother foretells an ominous future for her, darkness looms over Borte’s life. She becomes an outcast among her clan and after seeking comfort in the arms of an aristocratic traveler, she discovers he is the blood brother of Temujin, the man she was betrothed to years ago but who abandoned her long before they could marry. And he will only leave her behind again.

Temujin will make Borte his khatun, his queen, yet it will take many women to safeguard his fragile new empire. Their daughter, a fierce girl named Alaqai, will ride and shoot an arrow as well as any man. Fatima, an elegant Persian captive, seeks revenge against the Mongol barbarians who destroyed her city and murdered her family, but in the end will sacrifice everything to protect the Golden Family. Demure widow to Genghis’ son, Sorkhokhtani positions her sons to inherit the Empire when it begins to fracture from within.

As Genghis Khan sets out to expand his conquests and the steppes run red with blood, Borte and the women of the clan will fight, love, scheme, and sacrifice, all for the good of their family and the greatness of the People of the Felt Walls…

Praise for The Tiger Queens
“A gripping epic of sacrifice, revenge, and conquest…kept me riveted from beginning to end!” –Michelle Moran, bestselling author of The Second Empress

“From under the felted ger tents of Genghis Kahn emerge four powerful women. It is a testament to Thornton’s writing prowess that she can so intricately whittle heroines that are both compassionate and ruthless from the bones of our ancestors…a stunning achievement!” — Barbara Wood, New York Times bestselling author of The Serpent and the Staff and Rainbows on the Moon

“A vivid depiction of warrior women tough as the harsh, windswept steppes which nurtured them and who, as the warring Mongol clans battle for supremacy, survive… to ensure their men emerge the victors. Gripping stuff!” –Alex Rutherford, author of the Empire of the Moghul series

“A sprawling historical saga centering on the wives and daughters of Genghis Khan. These bold, courageous women make tremendous sacrifices in the face of danger, revenge and high-stakes survival, all in the name of family love and loyalty. Be prepared to be swept away by Thornton’s richly drawn epic of an empire and its generational shifts of power.” –Renee Rosen, author of Dollface and What the Lady Wants

“They were the Golden Family of Genghis Khan. Yet their lives were anything but golden as they struggled to hold together the very center of the largest empire the world has ever known. An empire that was built in one lifetime, and would have been destroyed in the next had it not been for the wives and daughters of the Great Khan. This is historical fiction at its finest.” — Gary Corby, author of The Marathon Conspiracy

“Three generations of strong women live, love, suffer, and triumph in a fresh and gritty setting—Genghis Khan’s forging of an empire in thirteenth century Mongolia. Marginalized in most histories, these Mongol mothers and daughters, empresses and slaves, claim their voices again in Stephanie Thornton’s The Tiger Queens. Unusual and imaginative!” –Elizabeth Loupas, author of The Second Duchess and The Red Lily Crown

“Stunning. The Tiger Queens sweeps the reader into the ruthless world of Genghis Khan’s wives and daughters with a gritty realism as intense as the eternal blue sky and blood-soaked steppes. Vivid characterization and top-notch writing. This story of strong women, their enduring friendships and passions give a rare glimpse into a shadowy period of history. A worthy successor to Taylor Caldwell’s The Earth is the Lord’s.” –Judith E. French, author of The Conqueror, The Barbarian, and The Warrior

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About the Author
Stephanie Thornton is a writer and history teacher who has been obsessed with infamous women from ancient history since she was twelve. She lives with her husband and daughter in Alaska, where she is at work on her next novel.

“The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora” and “Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt” are available from NAL/Penguin. “The Tiger Queens: The Women of Genghis Khan” will hit the shelves November 4, 2014, followed by “The Conqueror’s Wife: A Novel of Alexander the Great” in November 2015.

For more information please visit Stephanie Thornton’s website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

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Elizabeth Chadwick's The Summer Queen

About the Book
Young Eleanor has a bright future as the heiress to wealthy Aquitaine. But when her beloved father dies, childhood is suddenly over. Forced to marry Prince Louis of France, she barely adjusts before another death catapults them to King and Queen. Leaving everything behind, young Eleanor must face the complex and vivacious French court – and all of its scandals.

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About the Author
Elizabeth Chadwick (UK) is the author of 20 historical novels, including The Greatest Knight, The Scarlet Lion, A Place Beyond Courage, The Outlaw Knight, Shadows and Strongholds, The Winter Mantle, and The Falcons of Montabard, four of which have been shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Awards.

Spotlight: Pilgrim Footprints on the Sands of Time by Sylvia Nilsen {Giveaway}

Publication Date: December 2, 2013
LightEye Editions
Paperback; 396p
ISBN-10: 2917183349

A few months after Richard FitzUrse and his fellow knights murder Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, Lord Robert and Lady FitzUrse are instructed by King Henry to make a penitential pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint James the Greater in Spain in order to earn redemption for his disgraced family.

William Beaumont has made a promise to his dead mother and younger sister to go on a pilgrimage to save their souls. William is secretly in love with Alicia Bearham, niece of Lord Robert. He is overjoyed when he is asked to accompany the family and their servants on their three-month pilgrimage.

They face many adversities, dangers, and an attempted murder on the long and hazardous journey across England, France and Spain. Who is trying to kill Sir Robert and Alicia? What does the gypsy woman they meet in Paris mean when she predicts that Alicia and William are destined to be soul mates, but only when the eleventh flaming star returns to the skies and the water carrier rises over the horizon? One fateful night, a shocking event changes their lives forever.

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About the Author
Sylvia Nilsen, well known in the Camino world for her ‘amaWalker blog’ is a South African freelance writer who has been published in numerous local and international publications.

She has worked as a research agent and editor for a UK-based travel guide publisher and produced several African city and country guides.

Sylvia has walked over 5,000 km of pilgrimage trails in Europe including Paris to Spain, the Camino Frances from St Jean Pied de Port and Roncesvalles to Santiago, from Lourdes to Pamplona, el Ferrol to Santiago, Santiago to Finisterre and from Switzerland to Rome on the Via Francigena. She also walked from Durban to Cape Town as part of the ‘Breaking Free’ team in aid of abused women and children. Sylvia has served as a volunteer hospitalero in Spain and is a Spanish accredited hospitalero trainer having trained over 40 people to serve as volunteers in Spain. She was the Regional Co-ordinator for the Confraternity of St James in South Africa from 2003 to 2010.

In 2009 she started amaWalkers Camino (Pty) Ltd and takes small groups of pilgrims on three weeks walks of the Camino Frances in Spain.

For more information on Sylvia Nilsen please visit her website. You can also find her on Facebook.

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The Fifth Knight by E.M. Powell

Please welcome E.M. Powell as part of her virtual tour while promoting her novel, The Fifth Knight.

My medieval novel, The Fifth Knight, was first published by Thomas & Mercer as a Kindle Serial in November 2012. For the first three episodes, I had posted a related blog post on the date of each episode’s release. Episode four was released on 25 December. I should have posted on that date but I held back until 29 December for a very special reason. The novel is based on the infamous murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, in his own cathedral in 1170. On the 29 December, 1170, to be precise. It felt only right and proper that I dedicated that post to Becket- and here it is:

It’s rare to know what was happening on this day 842 years ago. It’s even rarer to know what was happening at a specific time of day. But we do. For on 29 December 1170, as Vespers were being sung in Canterbury Cathedral, a group of knights forced their way in and brutally murdered the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. My novel, The Fifth Knight, is based on this infamous historical event.

In the course of writing my novel, I researched Becket’s life and found an intriguing individual. Born around 1118 to Norman French parents, he rose to archdeacon in the church. He was known for his brilliant mind, described as ‘winning…in his conversation and frank of speech in his discourses.’ He had a slight stutter, particularly when his emotions were aroused. He had a gift for managing delicate negotiations. When King Henry II was seeking a new chancellor, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald, recommended Becket.

Thomas Becket

Theobald had hoped that Becket would be a strong ally for the church, but Becket took to court life with great flair, keeping apartments that were finer than Henry’s. He demonstrated skill in hunting and loved to wear the finest of clothes. More importantly, he became the closest of friends and allies with the younger (by twelve years) Henry. It is recorded that people spoke of them having ‘one heart and one mind.’

When Theobald died in 1161, Henry appointed Becket to be his new Archbishop of Canterbury. In doing so, he passed over far more experienced clerics and it is believed he appointed Becket to increase his own influence and hold over the church. But Henry, like Theobald before him, was to be disappointed. Becket was nobody’s pawn. Instead, he threw himself into his new role in the church. Within weeks, he had resigned as chancellor. He began to work as hard in his role in the church as he had at court. He wore a hair shirt under his robes (discovered after his death), took cold baths as penance and washed the feet of 30 paupers every day.

It wasn’t long before Becket came into conflict with Henry. The justice system of the time meant there were two courts of law: one for the church, one for the state. Clerics were tried in church courts, which did not have the death penalty, even for murder. And the church, through its independence, could criticise the monarch. Becket resisted royal demands for change, a decision that cost him his life.

In my novel, I follow many of the records of Becket’s death. These scenes were very difficult to write, for by then, I had come to know and admire so much about Becket. His death was particularly savage, with his skull carved in two, shattered from a knight’s sword blow. But if I, over 800 years later found it hard to re-tell, it is even harder to fully grasp the shock and outrage of society at the time. People’s belief in the church was absolute. The idea of the archbishop being murdered was difficult enough, but for it to happen in his own cathedral was unthinkable.

Becket's brutal murder

Becket’s murder was viewed as martyrdom, that he died defending his faith. Miracles were attributed to him immediately. The cloths stained with his blood brought cures to local women. The monks brought Becket’s body to the crypt and kept guard over it, fearful that the king would try and have it removed. As people came to see the body, the monks recorded any miracles attributed to Becket. The archbishop’s broken skull was put on view. An astonishing 100,000 people came to pray and visit Canterbury Cathedral in 1171 alone. The attributed miracles mounted up and in ten years, there were a total of 703 recorded. Becket’s intercession was in healing, casting out demons. He was prayed to by women in childbirth. When Queen Eleanor, the wife of King Henry III was expecting her fourth child, 1,000 candles were lit around Becket’s shrine.

Becket was canonized in 1173 and his popularity as a saint grew. Canterbury became hugely popular for pilgrims. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote his famous ‘Canterbury Tales’ about pilgrims, and he calls Becket the ‘holy, blessed martyr’. Myths grew up around Becket. One woman claimed she had taught a bird to pray to the saint. When the bird was hunted by a hawk, it sang out Becket’s name and was released. A story circulated that while Becket was alive, he needed a woman to mend his clothes while on his travels. The woman that did so in a convent mysteriously disappeared after completing her task. The woman was deemed to be Our Lady.

Canterbury Cathedral today

And what of Henry, the king whose supposed utterance of ‘who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?’ set the murder in motion? Henry had to give in on the matter of church courts. He also performed a number of acts of penance for the man who had been his dear friend. The most extreme was on the streets of Canterbury on 12 July 1174, where he was scourged by eighty monks before spending the night praying at Becket’s tomb. In death, Becket had been victorious.

Saint Thomas Becket was a venerated saint for the next four hundred years. Until the arrival of another King Henry, Henry VIII. This Henry was going to take on the church. When he achieved his aim of total control of the church, Henry VIII denounced Becket as a traitor. Becket’s shrine was destroyed, his bones were burned and the mention of his name was outlawed.

But Henry didn’t manage to erase Becket. People continued in their devotion to him as a saint. Today, Canterbury Cathedral still marks the place of Becket’s martyrdom and thousands continue to visit every year. Think of him today, at day’s close.

About the book:
Publication Date: January 22, 2013
Thomas & Mercer Publishing
Paperback; 390p
ISBN-10: 1611099331

To escape a lifetime of poverty, mercenary Sir Benedict Palmer agrees to one final, lucrative job: help King Henry II’s knights seize the traitor Archbishop Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. But what begins as a clandestine arrest ends in cold-blooded murder. And when Fitzurse, the knights’ ringleader, kidnaps Theodosia, a beautiful young nun who witnessed the crime, Palmer can sit silently by no longer. For not only is Theodosia’s virtue at stake, so too is the secret she unknowingly carries—a secret he knows Fitzurse will torture out of her. Now Palmer and Theodosia are on the run, strangers from different worlds forced to rely only on each other as they race to uncover the hidden motive behind Becket’s grisly murder—and the shocking truth that could destroy a kingdom.

About the author:

E. M. Powell was born and raised in Ireland, a descendant of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins. At University College, Cork, she discovered a love of Anglo-Saxon and medieval English during her study of literature and geography. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Manchester Irish Writers, the Historical Novel Society, and International Thriller Writers. A reviewer for the Historical Novel Society, she lives today in Manchester, England, with her husband and daughter.

For more information, please visit E.M. Powell's website and blog. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

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Giveaway! Illuminations by Mary Sharratt

October 9th 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Please welcome author Mary Sharratt during her blog tour for her October 2012 release of Illuminations, and see the bottom of the post for a book giveaway of Illuminations!

The Soul is Symphonic: The Music of Hildegard von Bingen

Born in the Rhineland in present day Germany, Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) was a visionary nun and polymath. She founded two monasteries, went on four preaching tours, and wrote nine books addressing both scientific and religious subjects, an unprecedented accomplishment for a 12th-century woman. Her prophecies earned her the title Sybil of the Rhine.

873 years after her death, Hildegard was canonized in May 2012 and will be elevated to Doctor of the Church in October, a rare and solemn title reserved for theologians who have made a significant impact.

But to most people today, Hildegard is known best for her soaring ethereal music.

The first composer for whom we have a biography, she composed seventy-seven sacred songs, as well as Ordo Virtutum, a liturgical drama set to music.

Her melodies are completely unlike the plainchant of her era—or anything that has come before or since. Likewise her lyrics are highly original and feel fresh to us even today. She was the only 12^th century writer to compose in free verse.

A Benedictine superior, Hildegard and her nuns sang the Divine Office eight times a day. She believed that song was the highest form of prayer—the mystical power of music reunited humankind to the ecstasy and beauty of paradise before the fall, connecting the singer directly with the divine, and joining heaven and earth in a great celestial harmony.

Singing the divine praises was absolutely central to Hildegard’s identity as a nun. But late in her life, the great composer and polymath was silenced.

Hildegard and her nuns were subject to an interdict, or collective excommunication, when they refused to disinter a supposed apostate buried in their churchyard. As punishment for their disobedience, they were forbidden the sacraments, the mass, even forbidden to sing the Divine Office.

It was the prohibition against singing that hit Hildegard the hardest. She wrote a passionate letter to her archbishop in protest. “The soul is symphonic,” she told him. She also warned him that by forbidding her and her daughters from singing God’s praise, the archbishop himself risked going to an afterlife destination where there was no music, ie hell.

Hildegard’s words seemed to give the man pause for thought. He lifted the interdict just a few months before her death in 1179.

“There is the music of heaven in all things,” Hildegard wrote. “But we have forgotten to hear it until we sing.”

 

I find her song Caritas Abundant in Omnia (Divine Love Abounds in All Things) to be particularly stirring. Hildegard conceived of Caritas, or Divine Love, as a feminine figure, an aspect of the Feminine Divine:

 Caritas habundat in omnia

Divine love abounds in all things.

She is greatly exalted from the depths to the heights,

Above the highest stars,

And most loving towards all things,

For she gave the highest King the kiss of peace.

(Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv3CDYpkrSw)  

Mary Sharratt’s Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen is published in October by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and is a Book of the Month and One Spirit Book Club pick. Visit Mary’s website: www.marysharratt.com 


Synopsis of Illuminations: Illuminations chronicles the life of Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179), who was tithed to the church at the age of eight and expected to live out her days in silent submission as the handmaiden of a renowned but disturbed young nun, Jutta von Sponheim. Instead, Hildegard rejected Jutta’s masochistic piety and found comfort and grace in studying books, growing herbs, and rejoicing in her own secret visions of the divine. When Jutta died some three decades later, Hildegard broke out of her prison with the heavenly calling to speak and write about her visions and to liberate her sisters and herself from the soul-destroying anchorage.

Like Anita Diamant’s portrayal of Dinah in The Red Tent, Mary Sharratt interweaves historical research with psychological insight and vivid imagination to write an engaging and triumphant portrait of a courageous and remarkably resilient woman and the life she might have lived. Deeply affecting, Illuminations is a testament to the power of faith, love, and self-creation.


  To enter the giveaway for your own copy of Illuminations, please comment here with your email address. What intrigues you about Illuminations? Open to USA and Canada followers of HF-Connection, contest ends on 10/8/2012 and will be announced 10/9/2012 on the release day of Illuminations!