Blog Tour ~ RETALIO by Alison Morton

 I am delighted to welcome back to Jaffareadstoo

Alison Morton 

Jo, Jaffa and Roma Nova

Jaffa has been reading the Roma Nova thrillers since 2013. He’s graciously allowed Jo to share. When I first met them I was a nervous newbie, unsure what a book blogger was and what they did. However, before writing I’d run a business and been an arch-networker, so I reckoned the way was to be polite and honest. After all, I was pitching for a place in the bloglight.

Jaffa and Jo welcomed me and guided me about what was needed. On Wednesday 10 April 2013, I was thrilled out of my socks to see INCEPTIO here on a well-known blogger’s site. And there were comments! I nearly fainted.

Well, over the intervening years Jo and Jaffa have invited me back to talk about PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO, AURELIA, INSURRECTIO and now RETALIO. All six books are set in an imaginary Central European state about the size of Luxembourg, but one that’s remarkable in two ways: firstly, it’s the last remnant of the Roman Empire to survive into the modern age, and secondly, it’s a more or less egalitarian society which although very Roman in nature and values is run by women. 

The first three books, set in the present, feature Karen Brown who reverts to her birth name of Carina Mitela and takes on crazy killers, betrayal and a nasty nemesis from the past, all while engulfed by a passionate love that doesn’t run smoothly.

The second three books – AURELIA , INSURRECTIO and RETALIO – go back to the late 1960s to early 1980s when Carina’s grandmother was a young Praetorian officer hunting smugglers and trying to prevent Roma Nova being taken over by a charismatic, but brutal, demagogue.

We’ve covered a lot of ground with interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and giveaways. This year it’s RETALIO, the sixth book and the third part of the second trilogy within the Roma Nova series. It’s the endgame of a strong and many layered antagonism between Aurelia Mitela and Caius Tellus that’s political as well as individual. As Aurelia says, “With Caius, it’s always personal.” More below!

But I really want to thank Jo and Jaffa for their support over four years, especially in taking on that newbie in 2013. Book bloggers don’t always get the consideration they deserve and I’d like to leave you with some tips for interacting with them.

1. The overriding one is simple. At a business seminar in a past year far,far away I was in an invited audience when the keynote speaker – a stellar level marketing guru – was introduced. He bounced onto the stage full of energy with an all-teeth smile that was reflected as a twinkle in his eyes. After an effusive, positively sycophantic introduction from the event organiser, the guru looked at us all and said, “You all expect me to give you strategy, tactics, funnels and segmentation. You know all that already or you wouldn’t be here. I’ll give you the true secret.” We sat up and leaned forward. He smiled again and said, “Be nice.”

2. I’d add to that, “Be professional.” Have an author photo in a sensible size 250-500 Kb, not 2.9Mb, ditto your book cover image and any photos which should be sent separately, never embedded in the text of your post. Photos should be royalty free, your own or public domain images, or if taken from Wikipedia under a Creative Commons licence, credited.

3. Send everything in a good week ahead of your date. As a blogger myself I know it takes time to fiddle around laying everything out properly. Insert any hyperlinks cleanly into your document and send your social and buying links in with your bio. Nothing more annoying than having to go chasing round the Internet for somebody’s Facebook or Amazon page.

4. Make a note in your calendar of the day of your guest spot. If the blogger doesn’t send you the link on the day (most do), make sure you go and look, just to check everything is perfect and later to see if there are any comments. And check back in the next day or so. Reply to every comment – you may pick up some new fans! Do leave a thank you to the blogger in the comments.

5. And a final one that should have been first chronologically. If you are looking for a review, it’s worth remembering that although book bloggers love reading, their ‘To Be Read’ piles are probably higher than the London Shard building. It may take a few months to get to your book, so plan ahead if you’d like a review around a particular time.

Maybe Jo and Jaffa have some tips to add, but that’s my pennyworth!

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Huge thanks, as always, to Alison for this guest post today. It's been a real pleasure to have worked with you and to have had the chance to feature such a fascinating alternate historical adventure series on the blog.

My own advise to bloggers is always to be professional. Make sure that blog posts are written up and posted on time, on the date specified, and that everything is put together in an easy to read manner. I always, thank the contributor, as without their input, the blog would just be all about me, and that was never the intention when I started out with Jaffareadstoo. I welcome guest posts and interviews from authors as they can give a unique perspective on what it is like to write a novel and how it feels to see it published either independently or by a recognised publisher.

Like all book bloggers, Jaffa and I blog because we love bringing interesting stories to a wider audience and if we can help, in some small way, to increase awareness of such talented writers, like Alison, along the way,  then that is real bonus and an added pleasure. As Alison so rightly points out, most bloggers have To Be Read piles bigger than the Shard and my own TBR pile is no exception, a new set of bookshelves acquired in October last year is already full to bursting, and the new 2017 family of review books, which arrive on a daily basis, much to the dismay of my postman whose postal bag is usually filled with packages for me, are already as high as the Eiffel Tower.😃

All I want to add is that bloggers simply can't read books as speedily as genies appear from a bottle, sometimes we might take months to get round to a book which is stored in an e-folder or on a bookshelf, but rest assured your book is never forgotten and will be reviewed ...one day.

Our twitter header reads Jaffa and I love to curl up together with a good book. Jaffa turns the page, while I read all the big words. What I should also add is... sometimes we just can't read quick enough !!!

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More about Alison Morton 

Alison Morton, writes the acclaimed Roma Nova thriller series featuring modern Praetorian heroines. She blends her deep love of Roman history with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, adventure and thriller fiction.

The first five books have been awarded the BRAG Medallion. SUCCESSIO, AURELIA and INSURRECTIO were selected as Historical Novel Society’s Indie Editor’s Choices.  AURELIA was a finalist in the 2016 HNS Indie Award. The sixth, RETALIO, is out on 27 April 2017.

A ‘Roman nut’ since age 11, Alison has misspent decades clambering over Roman sites throughout Europe. She holds a MA History, blogs about Romans and writing.

Now she continues to write, cultivates a Roman herb garden and drinks wine in France with her husband of 30 years.

RETALIO

Early 1980s Vienna. Recovering from a near fatal shooting, Aurelia Mitela, ex-Praetorian and former foreign minister of Roma Nova, chafes at her enforced exile. She barely escaped from her nemesis, the charming and amoral Caius Tellus who grabbed power in Roma Nova, the only part of the Roman Empire to survive into the twentieth century.

Aurelia’s duty and passion fire her determination to take back her homeland and liberate its people. But Caius’s manipulations have isolated her from her fellow exiles, leaving her ostracised, powerless and vulnerable. But without their trust and support Aurelia knows she will never see Roma Nova again.

Social media links

Connect with Alison on her Roma Nova site: http://alison-morton.com

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alison_morton @alison-morton

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5783095.Alison_Morton
Alison’s Amazon page: http://Author.to/AlisonMortonAmazon

Buying link for RETALIO (multiple retailers/formats):

http://alison-morton.com/books-2/retalio/where-to-buy-retalio/

RETALIO book trailer: https://youtu.be/Mql2Mm3ytJc

Enter this fabulous giveaway to win a a signed copy of  RETALIO for yourself



a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Blog Tour ~ Hitler's Forgotten Children by Ingrid Von Oelhafen with Tim Tate

Jaffareadstoo is honoured to host today's stop on Hitler's Forgotten Children Blog Tour

Published by Elliot & Thompson in paperback 4 May 2017

What's it about...

A powerful first-person account from a child of the Lebensborn: the Nazis’ programme to create an Aryan master race. 

Forcibly adopted into a Nazi family as part of the Lebensborn programme, Ingrid’s heart breaking story is a quest for her own identity and an important historical document, touching on the untold stories of thousands like her. 

By the 1940s, Himmler’s diabolical breeding programme had failed to provide adequate numbers of ‘racially pure and healthy’ children, so Lebensborn sought to boost the flagging German population by sinister means. Children in the occupied territories were examined and any exhibiting ‘Aryan’ qualities were taken from their parents by force to be raised by the regime. 

In 1942 Erika, a baby girl from Yugoslavia, was examined by the Nazi occupiers, declared an ‘Aryan’ and removed from her mother. Her true identity erased, she became Ingrid von Oelhafen. 

Later, as Ingrid began to uncover her true identity, the full scale of the Lebensborn scheme became clear – including the kidnapping of up to half a million babies like her, and the deliberate murder of children born into the programme who were deemed ‘substandard’.

What did I think about it...

I have to say that I knew nothing about the Lebensborn programme before I started to read Ingrid's fascinating and at times, difficult account of how, in 1942 aged just 9 months, she was taken from her parents in Yugoslavia and  'adopted' into the Von Oelhafen family.

When the war ends, Ingrid is three and half years old and is living with her mother, grandmother and younger brother, Dietmar in Bandekow in the Mecklenburg region of Germany. However, in the aftermath of the Second World War many German lives were fractured beyond repair, and Ingrid grew up in a state of fear and disruption. Her childhood was a lonely and frightening time and, as both of her parents had their own worries, Ingrid often faced an uncertain future. When she was eleven Ingrid discovered that she wasn't who she thought she was, and as she entered young adulthood she began a painstaking and difficult search for her true identity, which, over time, was to prove challenging and not without complications.

Reading through Ingrid's account of her life and of her search to find out more about her origins is a sobering experience and I learned much about the history of post-war Germany along with the complicated process of missing identity. The story flows well and Ingrid is a fascinating raconteur; her resolute determination to find out the truth is a credit to both her strength of purpose and utter resilience.

There is so much to share within the story which would be spoiled if I gave anything else away, so I will end with this quote from the book  which states "we are not defined by the facts of our birth but rather by the choices we make throughout life.." Ingrid is an inspirational lady and I am glad to have had the opportunity to read her story.

About the Authors:

INGRID VON OELHAFEN is a former physical therapist living in Osnabruck, Germany. For more than 20 years she has been investigating her own extraordinary story and that of Lebensborn. She is in contact with other Lebensborn survivors and has been invited to give talks in schools about the programme and its effects on those who were part of it. 

TIM TATE is a multi-award-winning documentary filmmaker and author. In 2013 he produced and directed a film about the Lebensborn programme, Channel 5’s Children of the Master Race, which is when he met Ingrid and convinced her to write this book. He is the author of twelve books, including the best-selling Slave Girl (2009)

My thanks to Alison at Elliot & Thompson for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour and for providing a copy of the book to rev

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Review ~ My Sister by Michelle Adams

Headline
20 April 2017

What's it all about...

Two Sisters:

You don't get to choose your family.

She thought she'd never go back home.

But there's something in her sister's voice she just can't refuse.

And hasn't it always been that way?

What her sister asks, she does . . 

What did I think about it...

The unusual relationship which exists between the sisters, Elle and Irini Harringford, is the focus of this clever psychological thriller which takes the concept of hidden family secrets to a sparkling new level and which then turns the whole thing on its head so that you are never quite sure which of the sisters is actually telling the truth.

Creepy and compelling from the start, we are drawn into a very tangled web of deceit which started when Irini was given into the care of her aunt, Jemima when she was just three years old, leaving Elle to remain with their parents, Maurice and Cassandra. In the intervening years, Irini has had nothing to do with her parents, and her sporadic contact with Elle was done in secret, and usually resulted in disastrous consequences for Irini. When Irini, as an adult, finally returns to her childhood home for her mother's funeral, the visit opens up a bucket load of secrets about her past.

The story really is quite compelling and had me turning the pages faster and faster in order to find out more about this toxic family. Elle comes across as a vulnerable monster which is entirely at odds with Irini's more sympathetic nature and yet, both sisters have an air of instability about them which ensures that there is an element of sympathy for both of them.

To say too much would be to reveal what goes on and this is one of those cleverly plotted books which keeps its secrets close and which doesn't reveal too much too soon. Unusually for me, I didn't get the twist until it appeared and that just reiterated what a clever story this is, and one that needs to be read with no spoilers from me.

Best Read with..Salty scrambled eggs and a large cup of restorative breakfast tea.

About the Author

Michelle Adams grew up in the UK but now lives in Cyprus, where she works as a part-time scientist. She read he forst Stepehn King novel at the tender age fo nine and has been addicted to suspense fiction ever since. My Sister is her first novel.

Twitter @MAdamswriter

My thanks to Millie at Headline for providing a copy of this book to review.

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Review ~ The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull

Hodder & Stoughton
4 May 2017

What's it all about..

In Edwardian England, aeroplanes are a new, magical invention, while female pilots are rare indeed.

When shy Della Dobbs meets her mother's aunt, her life changes forever. Great Auntie Betty has come home from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, across whose windswept dunes the Wright Brothers tested their historic flying machines. Della develops a burning ambition to fly and Betty is determined to help her

But the Great War is coming and it threatens to destroy everything - and everyone - Della loves.

Uplifting and page-turning, THE WILD AIR is a story about love, loss and following your dreams against all odds.

What did I think about it ..

In our modern world we rarely notice aeroplanes perhaps, barely, even looking up as they flutter across the sky above our heads. Just occasionally when the noise intrudes do I look up to catch a glimpse of a meandering contrail and wonder where in the world the plane is going to or coming from. To imagine a world where the concept of flight was so unbelievable that to bear witness to the early pioneering days of flight must have been both the strangest and scariest thing imaginable.

In The Wild Air we are taken back in time to the Edwardian days of early aviation and to the prejudice which existed for those fearless women who dared to be different and who wanted more than anything on earth to extend their knowledge of this wonderful invention. For teenager, Della Dobbs, her dream started when she, together with her great aunt Betty, learned to fly home made box kites along the beach at Cleethorpes. This overwhelming passion for flight started Della’s obsession with the newly developed aeroplanes and her first flight in a Farman Biplane with the legendary female aviatrix Hélène Dutrieu is described in such breath-taking detail that I felt like I too was experiencing the wonder of flight for the very first time. To picture the earth falling away filled Della with heightened emotions, fear most certainly, but there was also an astonishing exhilaration and a fascination for flight which made Della feel more comfortable in the air than she ever did on land.

Beautifully written from start to finish, The Wild Air gives us a story which is rich in character and alive with all the passionate fervour that is so reminiscent of this author’s fine writing. From the exhilaration of Della’s first flight, through to her, at times, rather frustrating days as a trainee aviatrix when she confronted male prejudice head-on, and then beyond to the dark days of terror during the First World War, the story truly comes alive. Strong on historical detail and passionate in its pursuit of mixing fiction with factual detail, I learned more about the pioneering bravery of the early days of aviation than I ever thought possible. I never knew that there were so many courageous aviatrixes who pioneered and fought so hard to be recognised. I also developed a strong emotional bond with Della in whose footsteps I so eagerly followed as the story progressed.

This is now the third book that I have read by this talented author and each time she has surprised me by giving me the gift of a story about a subject I never knew I wanted to read. And by the time the story ended I felt like I had learned so much, not just about the early days of aviation but also about strength and courage , truth and promise, love and loss, and most of all about the bravery of the human spirit and the endless possibility of living out your dreams.

Best Read With...Succulent pork pies, spicy haslet sandwiches and crisp green apples

About the Author

Rebecca Mascull is the author of THE VISITORS and SONG OF THE SEA MAID. She works in education and lives by the sea in the east of England.

Visit her Website 
Find on Facebook
Follow on Twitter @rebeccamascull

#TheWildAir

Huge thanks to the author for sharing her book with me.

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Blog Tour ~ The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host the final stop on the 

Stars are Fire Blog Tour

Little, Brown Book Group
2 May 2017

What's it all about...

1947. Fires are racing along the coast of Maine after a summer-long drought, ravaging thousands of acres, causing unprecedented confusion and fear.

Five months pregnant, Grace Holland is left alone to protect her two toddlers when her difficult and unpredictable husband Gene joins the volunteers fighting to bring the fire under control. Along with her best friend, Rosie, and Rosie's two young children, the women watch in horror as their houses go up in flames, then walk into the ocean as a last resort. They spend the night frantically trying to save their children. When dawn comes, they have miraculously survived, but their lives are forever changed: homeless, penniless, and left to face an uncertain future.

As Grace awaits news of her husband's fate, she is thrust into a new world in which she must make a life on her own, beginning with absolutely nothing; she must find work, a home, a way to provide for her children. In the midst of devastating loss, Grace discovers glorious new freedoms - joys and triumphs she could never have expected her narrow life with Gene could contain - and her spirit soars. And then the unthinkable happens, and Grace's bravery is tested as never before.

What did I think about it ...

Set in Maine USA, The Stars are Fire focuses on the effects of the devastating wildfire which raged through this area in the autumn of 1947. Homes and lives were ruined forever and whilst this catastrophic event brought more than its share of tragedy into the life of Grace Holland, it also brought an opportunity to explore a life she could never have imagined. I was entranced by Grace’s story. I wanted life to be everything she ever wanted because she deserved so much happiness and just when contentment seemed to be within her grasp something comes along to shatter her expectations.

Beautifully written from start to finish this story has all the trademarks of this author writing at her absolute best. The narrative never falters; there are no superfluous words, no unnecessary waffle, just wonderful story telling from beginning to end. The succinctness of the writing only serves to showcase the absolute strength of an author who can say so much in just a few words.

There is something both profoundly sad and hugely uplifting about The Stars are Fire which, whilst a strange dichotomy, serves to accentuate the overall strength of the story telling. The author does a fine job of allowing the main characters to evolve with such precision that you can't help but become emotionally attached to them, and even though one character, in particular, is not at all likeable, such is the power of writing that you can’t help but be moved, emotionally, by his plight. She infuses the narrative with such a sense of empathy and understanding that by the end of the novel I felt like I was saying goodbye to close friends.

I am delighted to see that the author has returned to her beloved Maine for the setting of The Stars are Fire an area which featured so prominently in her earlier books.  I am especially fond of The Pilot’s Wife and Fortunes Rock. There is no doubt that fans of Anita Shreve's excellent writing will love this book, and for those readers who haven’t read any of her work, well, picking up a copy of The Stars are Fire is a good place to start.

Best Read With...the tang of grapefruit and the smell of coffee, gently infusing

About the Author

Anita Shreve is the acclaimed author of seventeen novels, including Rescue, A Change in Altitude, Testimony, and The Pilot's Wife, which was a selection of Oprah's Book Club. She lives in Massachusetts.

Visit the author on her website  

Twitter
#StarsAreFire

My thanks to Amelia at Little, Brown for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour and for providing a copy of the book to review.

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Review ~ The Shadow Queen by Anne O'Brien

HQ
4 May 2017

What's it all about ..

A tale of treachery, power-hungry families and legal subterfuges.

Woven through it is a remarkable story of a beautiful girl, desirable as a bride, growing to be a woman of foresight and power.

A story of love and loyalty and of the cost of personal ambition. The story of the woman who would ultimately wield power as the King Mother to 10 year old King Richard II.


What did I think about it ..

If Joan of Kent had been alive today she would most certainly have been one of those people who the press would have had enormous amount of fun pursuing. Secretly married at twelve, bigamously married at fifteen and then, righteously remarried at twenty-one to the man she first married at twelve, only to be widowed, and then remarried to the heir to the English throne. Well, they do say that truth is stranger than fiction…

In The Shadow Queen, Anne O’Brien has once again given us a story of a little known member of the English royal family. Born on the periphery of the royal household, and a princess in her own right, Joan of Kent was never going to approach life by taking the easy option. Her abiding love for Thomas Holland, a minor knight, was to set to last despite her mother’s best efforts to ignore it and even, Joan’s bigamous marriage to William Montagu, a match that would, in effect, unite two prosperous branches of the English aristocracy, was doomed from the start.

Beautifully written and impeccably researched by a historical fiction writer who is absolutely at the top of her game, The Shadow Queen allows the little known story of Joan of Kent, to come alive in a truly exciting way. Filled with intrigue and dark with secrets, the story is both romantic and adventurous and this novel shows just how much scheming and plotting went on at the very heart of the medieval English court.

Joan is shown to be very much a woman who knows her own mind, she is both forthright and outspoken in an age when women who so often influenced by men who sought to control them. She is a feisty heroine, sharp, shrewd and a clever manipulator both in terms of her personal life and also in the way that she seemed determined to control rather than be controlled. Her later marriage to Edward, Prince of Wales, who we know from history as the Black Prince, is shown in a rather special way, and I particularly enjoyed seeing how their relationship, in the shadow of the crown, played out.

I devoured the book in quick time as, even when I had put the book down to grab a cup of tea, I was always eager to return to the fourteenth century and to the world of knights and jousts, war and intrigue, love and lust. Back to the story of a warm hearted heroine so beautifully brought to life by this clever author.

So intrigued was I by Joan’s story that I was encouraged to find out more about her first husband, Thomas Holland, and to my delight I discovered that Thomas, a minor knight was born in Up Holland, Lancashire, which is an area I know well as it is just a few miles from where I live. 

I love it when history comes alive on the page and in the hands of this talented author I  know that I am always guaranteed a good story, well told.

Best Read with..a glass of spiced wine and small bowl of sweet comfits...

About the Author

Anne O'Brien was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After gaining a BA Honours degree in history at Manchester University and a Master's in Education at Hull. she lived in the East Riding for many years where she taught history.

Leaving teaching-but not her love of history-Anne turned to writing and her passion for giving voice to the oft forgotten women of the medieval era was born. Today Anne lives in an eighteenth century cottage in Herefordshore, an area steeped in history and full of inspiration for her work.

You can discover more about Anne on her website on Facebook and Twitter @anne_obrien #TheShadowQueen

Read a tantalising extract from The Shadow Queen  by clicking here...

My thanks to Bethan at edpr  and to HQ books for sending a copy of The Shadow Queen to read in advance of its publication on the 4th May 2017

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Blog Tour ~ The Shadow Queen by Anne O'Brien

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host today's stop on the Blog Tour 

for

The Shadow Queen by Anne O'Brien

The Shadow Queen by Anne O’Brien is published on 4th May by HQ (£12.99 hardback)

A tale of treachery, power-hungry families and legal subterfuges.

Woven through it is a remarkable story of a beautiful girl, desirable as a bride, growing to be a woman of foresight and power.

A story of love and loyalty and of the cost of personal ambition. The story of the woman who would ultimately wield power as the King Mother to 10 year old King Richard II.

I am delighted top be able to share this tantalising extract from The Shadow Queen...

I took a breath.

William scowled.

I swallowed and spoke out.

'There is an impediment to this marriage.'

How strong and clear my voice sounded as I launched the statement into the confines of the room, like a fire arrow winging its destructive path over a besieged castle wall to bury itself in a thatched roof of the stabling, with instant conflagration. A statement that would change everything. That would bring ire and retribution down on my head.

I saw Will flush to the roots of his tawny hair. Well, he could not complain. I had done what I said I would do.

'An impediment?' For the first time throughout all that discussion, my uncle Wake's regard fell fully on me, and without approbation. His voice acquired a rough edge. 'What ill-judged nonsense is this? Of course there is no impediment. Have we not studied the lines of descent of our two families with care? There is no connection between us. There is no complication of consanguinity.' He glanced across at Countess Catherine, an assured smile replacing the severe lines. 'As the Countess knows, there is no obstacle to this marriage.'

'What are you thinking, Joan? This is no time for misplaced levity.' My mother tried to sound amused, and failed.

'It is a highly desirable,' Sir Thomas continued, riding roughshod over any objections that anyone might raise. He thought that I had raised my voice because I did not like Will. Did not like him well enough to wed him. How little he knew of me, to think that I would be guided by so trivial a matter of who I liked or did not like. He did not know me at all.

Taking a cup of wine and emptying it in one gulp, my uncle was saying: 'What could be more comfortable for you than our disposition of your future.' He repeated the decisions, as if I had not heard them for myself. 'You have known each other since childhood. You will both continue to live in the royal household until you are of an age to set up your own establishment. You will receive money necessary to do so. What is there not to like? I'm sure the King will settle a castle on you for your household. There can be no impediment.'

Countess Catherine looked across at her son. 'Have you argued? Is that the problem? Arguments are soon mended.' And then regarding me as she was want to do in the past when I was an errant child who had defied her. 'I am sure that you have a kind nature, Joan. There will be no rift with my son.'

Yes, indeed, as if I were a child who affections could be commanded.

I was no child.

'No, Sir Thomas, my lady, madam my mother.' I curtsied once more. 'I like William well enough. And I think he likes me. There has been no disagreement.'

I had to do it. If I didn't, Will most assuredly would. He was already moving his feet as if finding secure ground to launch his accusation.

I spoke calmly, with faux assurance.

'I cannot marry William. I am already married. I already have a husband.'

If I had ever dreamed of making an impact on a busy room, this was it. Silence fell. The only sound the priest, who, still writing, promptly dropped his pen with a soft flutter to land on the birds and flowers that adorned the painted tiles. I watched the expressions form and change. My mother astounded, then full of recrimination. My uncle expressing disbelief, quickly subsumed into fury. Lady Elizabeth and her daughter in law both simply perplexed. The priest also full of anxious puzzlement. The servants with their silver flagons and ears pricked for any tasty morsel had been struck into immobility. And Will - William! - full of unholy joy at the debacle I had just created.

'You should know,' I added, 'that I have been married for more than six months. Since April of this year.'

'You do not know what you say.'

My mother took one long step to seize my wrist in her hand. It was not a gentle grasp.

'But I do know, madam. And I have witnesses to my marriage.'

'And who is this husband, of whom we know nothing?' My uncle Wake, his brow thunderous.

I must of course tell them.

'My husband is Thomas Holland. Sir Thomas Holland. A knight in the royal household. You all know him well.'

And in that moment a species of black anger shook me. For my husband of six months had wilfully abandoned me to face this situation alone.

About the Author

Anne O'Brien was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After gaining a BA Honours degree in history at Manchester University and a Master's in Education at Hull. she lived in the East Riding for many years where she taught history.

Leaving teaching-but not her love of history-Anne turned to writing and her passion for giving voice to the oft forgotten women of the medieval era was born. Today Anne lives in an eighteenth century cottage in Herefordshore, an area steeped in history and full of inspiration for her work.

You can discover more about Anne on her website on Facebook and Twitter @anne_obrien #TheShadowQueen

My thanks to Bethan at edpr for the invitation to be part of this blog tour and also for the kind permission to share this extract.

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