I wanted to mention several things that I’m excited about. First and foremost, here’s the cover design for my forthcoming nonfiction book about the Woodville family. Love it! The book will be released by the History Press in October of this year and is available for pre-order at Amazon UK.
Second, the Historical Novel Society is having its North American conference in St. Petersburg, Florida from June 21-23. If you haven’t signed up, now’s the time to do so! I’ll be part of a panel called “The Feisty Heroine Sold into Marriage Who Hates Bear-Baiting: Clichés in Historical Fiction and How to Avoid Them.” This is a great conference for authors, readers, and publishing professionals, so hope to see you there!
Third, my friend Sarah over at Sarah’s History Blog is celebrating Women’s History Month with a series of posts, some by Sarah and some by guests. There’s already some great posts up, and more are on the way! I’m doing a guest post at the end of the month–probably on Alice de la Pole, Duchess of Suffolk. Do stop by–it’s a great blog.
Wow, how evocative is that cover! Looking forward to the book!
Thanks, Marie!
Congratulations on the new book, Susan! Beautiful cover. Looking forward to seeing you at HNS!
Thanks, Julianne! It should be a great conference!
Nice cover, and I look forward to reading it. I hope you might be able to blog about the conference for those of us who can’t attend … it sounds interesting.
Thanks, Esther! I’ll try to take better notes about the conference this year.
Congratulations on the book! I don’t know much about the Woodvilles in general, so I’m looking forward to learning more.
I love the title of your talk. The feisty heroine who wishes to marry only for love is pretty much a given at this point, but I’m glad somebody else is tired of the “I’ll show how sympathetic I am by anachronistically hating cruelty to animals” trope. One day I’d like to see a woman other than Lady Rochford who quite enjoys a good bear-baiting and still manages to do the occasional good deed. (While we’re at it, could the bad men stop being aspiring or actual rapists unless they’re actually recorded as such?)
Thanks, Sonetka! Heartily agreed about the rapists. (John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, is recorded as meeting with an ambassador during a bear-baiting–I couldn’t bring myself to include that little detail in my last novel.)
I would have loved to read a scene like that (maybe next novel? Or else I should write it myself). I picture it being sort of like the people who have executive lunches in those expensive suites at baseball games; negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, roar from the crowd — “What was that?” “Looks like the bear just lost an arm.” “Dogs are in good form today. So, about the provision should the bride be widowed without children …”
Love it!
Oh, I wonder which ambassador that was! John Dudley’s biographers sadly didn’t include this episode either (in case they knew about it …). – I am looking forward to learn about the knights errant, Edward and Anthony Woodville!
Thanks, Christine! I’ll try to look for the bit about the bear-baiting–it’ll drive me crazy until I remember where I saw it.
Ah, here it is, from Jehan Scheyfve, writing in January 1551: “The Italian Antonio Guidotti, who arranged the last peace with France, is also often there. On the day of the Epiphany the said ambassador was summoned to Court and dined with the King and the Lady Elizabeth, and after dinner the King and the Lady Elizabeth were taken to see some bear-baiting and other sports, while the ambassador went to see Lord Warwick, and they too saw the bear-baiting and talked unceasingly all the time.”
Oh, that’s absolutely wonderful, thank you so much! There is a very beautiful letter from July 1551 where Dudley seems to refer eyactly to these meetings with Guidotti, perhaps at the bearbiting! Apparently Guidotti gave Edward VI a miniature of Elisabeth de Valois at the dinner. The letter is early on in HMC Bath 2nd volume, and here: http://allthingsrobertdudley.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/a-picture-from-the-french-queen-for-the-french-queen-2/
It’s so lovely when things connect like that!
What a gorgeous cover! The book sounds intriguing! I look forward to reading this novel. Congratulation Susan!
Thanks, Carole! It’s nonfiction, though.
Terrific cover, Susan!
Thanks, Karen!
GREAT cover! And I’m really looking forward to your post about Alice – she’s someone who I know a lot about her circumstances (ie, famous family members) but not her personally. Can’t wait!
Thanks, Kerry!
I can’t wait to read what you’ve discovered on the Woodvilles and the cover is simply stated and compelling! Where you very involved in the design process or does the publisher get to narrow down the possibilities? I’m also curious to know how you would rate the writing process of this nonfiction work vs. your novels…
No, in this case the publisher just sent me a proposed design for my input, and I loved it! I have to say that writing this was easier in some respects than writing novels, since there’s no need to invent dialogue and so forth. The challenging part was to put the information together in an interesting narrative flow, and to make sure that all of my assertions were properly referenced.
You sure Sue you wouldn’t prefer something a little more snazzy? A pic of my road sign that comes emblazoned with the Borough coat of arms. Here in Barnet we have a coat of arms for every WOTR aficionado to die for, two crossed swords crossing a white background with a red rose and a red background with a white rose, topped by a blue strip with three golden crosses for St Albans just up the road – we’re in that diocese – and surmounted by a hart for Hertfordshire.
Seriously any chance of you coming over for the book launch? Your books are beginning to sell, the British Library is beginning to stock up, the BL conference centre provides excellent meeting facilities, on the other side of the road is a newly-open swanky hotel which is attached to St Pancras Station where you can catch a train to Paris that gets you there in only 2 hours an ideal place for a romantic weekend for you and Thad.
Thanks, Trish! Wish I could make it, but I don’t think it’s in the cards this year.
Very tempting, but I don’t think I’ll have either the vacation time or the money! Maybe next year.
Can’t wait for the Woodevilles book! and the conference sounds great!
Thanks, Anerje!
That is a terrific cover
mary
Thanks, Mary!
Looking forward to the book Susan, you do a terrific job in the research department.
Thanks, Edith!