I just came across this video book review of my Conquest trilogy by the Mental Traveler. Thank you! The Conquest trilogy centres on the turbulent life of the 12th century Welsh noblewoman, Nest ferch Rhys, who was the daughter of the last independent Welsh king during the Norman invasions. She was the mistress of the…
Tag: middle ages
Planning a Novel 3: Sleuths Galore
I’ve been looking at other novelists’ sleuths – medieval or otherwise – as part of my current work on a series of medieval murder mysteries. The novel I am writing features a Catalan female troubadour and is set in 11thcentury Toulouse. Other sleuths I’ve been studying include Ellis Peter’s Cadfael, Donna Leon’s Brunetti, Lee Child’s…
Fictional Worlds
This is week 6 of the Blog Tour for my latest medieval novel, The Anarchy. MJ Porter asked me about the historical sources I drew on for my research. My guest post is here. I discuss how I use objects in museums, such as the medieval wedding ring pictured above. Its inscription reads, ‘I will…
Nun on the run
It’s week 3 of the blog tour for my latest medieval novel, The Anarchy. You can read an interview with me here. and read an extract here – a scene in which the heroine, Nest, asks King Henry for help protecting a nun who is on the run from Fontevraud Abbey. The schedule for more…
Add women to history and stir
Interview on my historical fiction with Impress Books editor, Ellie Daniels.
Into the Map
For the last few days I have been putting together maps to help readers envisage the action of my latest novel set in the 12th century, The Drowned Court. The characters travel from Dublin, to Wales, to England, and into northern France. Poring over old maps and, as far as possible, walking the terrain myself…
Castle Escapes
My blogpost on Gerald FitzWalter, a Norman frontiersman in south Wales in late 11th and early 12th centuries, has just been published on the English Historical Fiction Authors blog. One of Gerald’s many colourful exploits included an escape down a latrine chute during a Welsh attack in 1109 on his castle of Cenarth Bychan. The…
You never know how the past will turn out*
It’s interesting to think about how contemporary details find their way into historical fiction. I’m not talking about errors and anachronisms, but how writers use what they see and hear around them and turn it into something else in their fiction. The locusts kept in a classroom by the creepy tutor in my new novel,…
The medieval Welsh Helen of Troy?
My new novel Conquest: Daughter of the Last King is published by Impress Books next week and is the first in a trilogy about Nest ferch Rhys – the daughter of the last independent Welsh king at the end of the 11th century. Nest is a controversial historical figure. She makes significant appearances in medieval…
New historical novel – proofs arrived
Proofs for my new historical novel, Conquest: Daughter of the Last King, arrived today. Very exciting. The book is the first in a trilogy, telling the story of the 12th century Welsh princess, Nest ferch Rhys, and the struggles between the Welsh and the Normans. Image: Nest ferch Rhys and King Henry I from an illuminated…
Tracey Warr Writing 