Now that I am an author, this topic has become a lot nearer and dearer to my heart. I decided to share a little on my recent research about why a READER’s perspective on my work makes me a better writer. It's illuminating!

Before becoming an author myself, I confess that I did write book reviews, but not always. Not every time. Now, however, I tend to write reviews for almost every book I read—including research materials, unless the said book was a personal gift from another author, simply for me to savor personally.

We all want good books to further our enjoyment and interest levels. So why are reviews important? 

WHY DO AUTHORS NEED REVIEWS?

Honestly, there are plenty of online articles about why reviews are integral for all authors, but after perusing some of them—many of which list five or more points—I’ve kicked that number back to just three. Three incredibly IMPORTANT reasons why we authors need need to hear from readers.

1. Your review helps me become a better writer.                Is this purely selfish on my part? I don’t think so. I want my work to stand firmly in the glut of literature available out there. And believe me, there are a MILLION and more books for people to choose from. If I begin receiving less favorable reviews because people didn’t find characterizations appealing, for example, then that’s something I will work hard to address in future books. But if I don’t know that’s what someone dislikes, then how can I possibly strengthen my weakness and improve my craft? Constructive criticism is something a serious author LOVES!
2. I find out what you like about my novels.                                                                                     Hey, we authors do love hearing positive remarks. If you enjoyed the world we crafted and the people in it—TELL us! If there was a particular character's trait you loved, an author wants to KNOW! And if a book transports you and gives you joy, taking you outside of daily cares and troubles, then THAT is where we need your compliment, since that’s exactly what our goal as an author is. We aim to keep pleasing you.
3. Reviews increase sales/affect Amazon ratings.                                                                             This is TRUTH! A month ago, I received a 1-star review. It lowered my overall percentage by one point. That might not sound like much, but it has taken me two more 5-star reviews to achieve the same status I was sitting at prior to the 1-star. People do read reviews and therefore determine what book they wish to purchase. And there’s also the Amazon rating gauge which is genre/sub-genre specific. If reviews lead to my book sitting at #20 in the ratings, it has a much higher prospect of being seen and selected for purchase by a reader. However, if reviews (or lack thereof) result in it being #658 in ranking, it won’t be seen, nor will it sell. 

             
​            ACTUAL AMAZON REVIEW 

​1 out of 5 stars—Buyer Beware--
"This item was listed as a “free book” but it turns out to be actually about the length of 1 chapter. Buyer beware. It was fun for what it was but I was extremely disappointed that it wasn’t the “book” that it’s advertised as. To be fair, the final bit of info. about it, if you read down, does say it’s only 27 pages. A huge disappointment since it seemed like it was going to be a fun red. So, 1 out of 5 stars. I would have liked it to be a full novel."

How can a reader best help a favorite author?
 
 
So, here's another recent problem for authors…

Both Amazon AND their book-club site Goodreads have started allowing readers to leave ratings INSTEAD of actual reviews. You still have the option of doing either, but human nature dictates that it’s easier to simply insert a number than to type out one or two sentences.
 
This is why my “121 reviews” on Amazon, really are NOT 121 reviews. There are many ratings in that number, instead of written reviews, discussing my work.
 
As an author, I know that there are always people out there who will review my work with one or two stars. No book is for everybody. I get that--really, I do! And most authors get that. But to me, it’s incomprehensible why someone would be so heartless as to leave a one or two star RATING without any explanation whatsoever!!! I mean, it effects sales and standings. This has happened to me and all of my author colleagues, and it should be a crime.
 
The solution? Be kind to authors. If you just don't want to write a review, then consider leaving a 4 or 5 star rating if you liked the book. However, for anything lower than that, please do NOT just leave a rating. Write a thoughtful review. Be HONEST. Tell the author WHY his/her story didn't earn your 4-5 stars. Also be conscious that reviews needn't be overly long. If you’ve never written one in your life and don’t have the slightest notion where to begin, follow NIKE’s directive: JUST DO IT! Jump in with both feet. One or two sentences certainly makes my day. It makes ANY author’s day. 
 
Those of you who subscribe to Goodreads and BookBub-type sites—consider going the extra mile, leaving your review as a review TRAIL so that it’s available for people to view on multiple sites.
 
But the bottom line is: feedback is IMPORTANT.
 
Remember this. 

Please.
 
And thank you SO MUCH for supporting your favorite authors in this way.​

​


One of the greatest joys I've discovered as an author is meeting other authors and reading their work. I've found it to be humbling, inspiring, and enriching. I'm able to learn about other places and times--besides just the period I'm writing in. 

As 2021 neared, I decided that one of my resolutions was to begin sharing reviews of books that I found to be of 5-star calibre. And hopefully this will give you--my readers-- an opportunity to select new reads from some of these titles.

To kick off this new resolution of mine, I want to introduce you to an author I met online. Though we've never met face-to-face, Catherine Meyrick happens to be one of my beta-readers. She is truly a word-smith in every sense of the term, and has a wealth of a vocabulary. A particular strength of hers is a deep feel for the Elizabethan Age. In late summer, I had the chance to read her book, The Bridled Tongue. It turned out to be one of my favorite reads in 2020. So... here's the review I awarded Catherine on Goodreads and I encourage you to pick up her book. She's extremely adept at forming character, and her main character Alyce is well-drawn and a true woman of her time.

                                                       The Bridled Tongue

Meyrick illustrates a powerful understanding of human nature in this arresting tale of a 16th century woman who is strong-willed but conscientious. Alyce knows her faults and limitations, but when she accepts marriage to a man of means, she's suddenly surrounded by bitter jealousy that winds up placing her very existence in peril. It's ALL about human nature: covetousness, selfishness, bitterness... all of the things that can turn family and friends into enemies.

I was impressed with Meyrick's deep knowledge of Elizabethan life and times. It wasn't forced onto the page, but artfully scripted into prose that was intimate and informative, both in world-building and plot. How she drives tension by letting the reader "suppose" and slowly come to grips with risks and behavior each character displays was stirring. I found myself cheering Alyce on, believing in her, and frantic with despair over the acts of her family members.

This is a powerful book, full of deep joy amid an often tragic and inhumane period, ever displaying the enormous strides women have made since 16th century England kept them as bound as babes in swaddling.

Happy 2021!!! Happy January and welcome to a new chapter, a clean slate. Whatever resolutions you've made, I hope they stick and that my readers are all healthy and fresh from a real Season of joy.

This week on Brook's Scroll, we're visiting the ancient world--my happy place! Dr. Christopher Stanley has been writing a saga taking place in the Roman period, but more specifically, in Asia Minor. The Greco-Roman world was full of myth, and we're all familiar with the well-known names in Greco-Roman mythology--such as Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite... But today, we get to learn about one mythological figure who is a little less known these days. I'll let Christopher tell you more about WHO Asklepios was to the Greeks and Romans.


                                                                  Asklepios:
                                     Gracious Savior and Healer
                                                            By Christopher D. Stanley

 
All of the books in my A Slave’s Story historical fiction trilogy--A Rooster for Asklepios, A Bull for Pluto, and A Ram for Mars—combine the name of a Greek or Roman deity with the animal that the god was thought to prefer as a sacrificial offering.  Most of us are familiar through the Bible or other literary works with the use of bulls and rams as sacrifices.  But a rooster?  Such a small, bony creature seems ill-suited to such a lofty role.
 
The association of the rooster with Asklepios is not a random development but a mark of his unique role and character within the Greek and Roman pantheon of gods.  Asklepios was the Greek god of healing, a compassionate savior who cared as much for the poor as for the rich.  Unlike other gods, he could not be bought off with elaborate sacrifices; he healed or not according to his own wishes, and those who tried to bribe him risked rejection from the god.  The rooster, a relatively inexpensive offering, symbolized this divine accessibility.
 
Asklepios was one of the most popular gods of his time, with temples in virtually every town and city where the Greeks had made their mark.  The Romans adopted him into their divine pantheon (under the Latinized name of Aesculapius) in 293 BC when a temple was erected for him in Rome to avert a raging pestilence that no other god had been able to cure.  Archaeological remains and literary references point to the existence of at least 670 temples of Asklepios across the Roman world by the 2nd century AD. 

​Asklepios was one of the few gods toward whom both Greeks and Romans voiced feelings of love and affection.  In part this was due to his reputation as a compassionate healer, but devotion was also elicited by the belief that he had once been a human physician who lost his life while attempting to aid humans, a fact that made him seem more approachable to worshippers.  Songs, prayers, and literary narratives speak of worshippers rejoicing in his presence and lauding him as the gracious savior of humanity, while stories of his healing prowess circulated far and wide. 
 
The mythology surrounding Asklepios is inconsistent, but most versions state that he was the son of the god Apollo and a human mother named Coronis whom Apollo killed in a fit of anger after learning that she had been unfaithful.  Remembering that she was pregnant with his son, the remorseful god rescued the unborn child (the future Asklepios) from her womb and handed him over to the centaur Chiron to be trained in the arts of healing, an area in which Apollo himself was known to be skilled.
 
As an adult, Asklepios developed a reputation as a kind and powerful healer.  He cured many who were on the verge of death, and some stories say that he even restored the dead to life using the blood of one of the Gorgons that the goddess Athena had given him.  Hades, the god of the underworld, complained to his brother Zeus about the many souls that Asklepios was stealing from him, while Zeus himself was worried that Asklepios’s activities were blurring the boundaries between humans and the immortal gods. 
 
To put an end to this threat, Zeus struck Asklepios dead with a thunderbolt.  This act so enraged Apollo that he went on a violent rampage until Zeus agreed to elevate his son to the heavenly realm by turning him into a god, a constellation, or both, depending on the story.  In this divine form he continued to ply his trade as a healer for humanity, assisted by his daughter Hygeia (the Greek word for “health”). 
 
Asklepios’s presence among humans was signified by sculpted images in his temples that showed him as a middle-aged man with a kindly face holding a staff around which a snake curled.  (Snakes are associated with healing in many cultures due to their unusual ability to renew their form by shedding their skin.)  The snake-twined staff that is used today to symbolize medicine has its roots in these images of Asklepios.

​Individuals who wished to be healed by Asklepios had several options.  The simplest was direct personal prayer, which could be efficacious if the god so willed.  But Roman religion was more about rituals than spontaneous devotion, so a Roman (like Lucius in my novels) was more likely to add a small statue of the deity to the other images to whom formal prayers and offerings were presented as part of the daily family worship.  If the god did not respond to these home-based appeals, the head of the family might visit the local temple of Asklepios (as Lucius also does) to present additional gifts to the god and perhaps consult with the priest or a physician about what to do. 
 
One of the more unusual ways of seeking healing from Asklepios—unusual to us, that is, but not to the ancients—was to spend a night in the god’s temple in hopes that Asklepios or Hygeia (or both) would appear to the sick person in a dream and either perform a miraculous cure or prescribe a treatment that would restore the person to health.  This ceremony, called incubation, could be done at the local temple, but those who could afford it preferred to travel to one of the regional healing sanctuaries where the god was thought to appear more often and where additional treatments were available from physicians. 
 
The most important Asklepian healing sanctuaries were located at Epidauros in southeastern Greece, Cos in southwestern Turkey, and Pergamon in northwestern Turkey.  All three sites have been substantially excavated and can be visited by tourists today.  These sanctuaries included not only religious buildings—temples and altars dedicated to Asklepios and other gods associated with healing—but also many of the facilities and activities that we commonly associate with health spas, including hot baths, gymnasiums, massages, exercise training, dietary consultations, and medical checkups.  Apartments were available to house the wealthier guests when they were not in the sleeping chamber (known as the abaton) seeking a dream-cure, while poorer visitors probably slept in the open air or under the column-lined walkways.

Care at these centers was provided by priests, physicians, dream-interpreters, physical trainers, and others who tended both the bodies and the souls of the sick.  Musical performances, plays, and speeches served to reinforce the visitors’ faith in Asklepios as a mighty healer while also helping them to pass their time between treatments.  A vivid portrait of what a visit to one of these centers might have entailed can be found in A Rooster for Asklepios.
 
Assessing the success of these centers is difficult after so many centuries.  Greek and Roman literature contains numerous references to the healing activities of Asklepios, and archeological excavations have uncovered many carved images of body parts (representing experiences of healing), stone tablets (telling stories of healing), and votive columns (erected as expressions of thanksgiving) within the premises of Asklepian temples and healing centers.  Most of the healing stories are too fantastic to be believed, but their presence in the sanctuaries would have helped to stimulate faith in the god’s healing abilities. 
 
Modern scholars have postulated that the bulk of the healing that is accredited to Asklepios was either psychosomatic or produced by the application of valid medical treatments as in modern health spas.  But to the many people who appealed to the god for healing, these stories served as indubitable evidence of Asklepios’s power and willingness to heal.

CHRISTOPHER D. STANLEY is a professor at St. Bonaventure University who studies the social and religious history of the Greco-Roman world, with special attention to early Christianity and Judaism.  He has written or edited six books and dozens of professional articles on the subject and presents papers regularly at conferences around the world.  The trilogy A Slave’s Story, which grew out of his historical research on first-century Asia Minor, is his first work of fiction.  He is currently working on an academic book that explores healing practices in the Greco-Roman world, a subject that plays a vital role in this series. 

Connect with Christopher:
Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads
 
 


"This well-researched book really brings the Roman world to life!"
-Dr. Alanna Nobbs, Professor of Ancient History, Macquarie University, Australia

This compelling and enjoyable story offers the reader a superb 'insider' view of life in the first-century Greco-Roman world. I enjoyed traipsing around Anatolia with Lucius and Marcus!"
-Dr. Terence Donaldson, Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament, Wycliffe College, Canada

A Rooster for Asklepios 
A Slave's Story Trilogy, Book 1
By Christopher D. Stanley
​
 
Marcus, a slave in the household of Lucius Coelius Felix, enjoys a better life than most slaves (and many free citizens) as the secretary and accountant of a wealthy aristocrat.  His master is rising in the civic life of the Roman colony of Antioch-near-Pisidia (central Turkey), and his responsibilities and income are growing as well. If this continues, he could soon earn enough to buy his freedom, set up a small business, and even marry.  
​
Then misfortune strikes, and his master falls into a deep depression that is exacerbated by a nagging illness that his physician is unable to cure.  The future looks bleak until the physician receives a dream from the healing god Asklepios calling Lucius to travel hundreds of miles across western Asia Minor to his sanctuary at Pergamon for treatment and, he hopes, a cure.
 
Accompanied by Marcus and his new wife Selena, Lucius embarks on a long and eventful journey in which both master and slave encounter people and ideas that challenge long-held beliefs about themselves, their society, and the world around them.  Values are questioned, loyalties tested, and identities transformed in a story that brings to life a corner of the Roman empire that has been neglected by previous storytellers.

Buy Links:
 
Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon CA • Amazon AU

A Bull For Pluto
A Slave's Story Trilogy, Book 2
By Christopher D. Stanley

 
After a lengthy and eventful stay at the sanctuary of Asklepios in Pergamon, the time has come for Lucius and Marcus to return to Antioch.  Selena had been sent home earlier when Lucius learned that she was pregnant, and the impending arrival of the winter snows could soon make it impossible for them to reach their destination before the child is born.
​
To Marcus’s surprise, Lucius announces that he plans to stop for a while in Hierapolis to bask in the healing waters of the city’s renowned hot springs.  Here Marcus meets a young woman named Miriam who challenges him to embrace his long-hidden Jewish ancestry.  Marcus is torn between his budding love for Miriam and the cost of heeding her advice.
​
A tragic decision by Lucius seals their fate, as their full attention must now be devoted to preserving Lucius’s life.  They reach Antioch in time to learn that Lucius’s son Gaius has failed miserably in his management of the household while his father was away.  If Lucius should die, Marcus, Selena, and her unborn child will be at the mercy of this tyrant.  To fend off this danger, Lucius must tell Marcus the full truth about his past, a truth that will ensure Marcus's future at the cost of his master's honor.  Can he bring himself to act before his inevitable end?

Buy Links:
 
Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon CA • Amazon AU

,Marc Antony had his Actium. Sadly, his “beyond Actium” wasn’t anything in which to look forward. In our present situation, some people could easily state that 2020 was an Actium of sorts—people lost,doctors scrambling to save lives, no hope in sight.

I on the other hand, had my Actium back in late spring of this year. It was a time of quarantine for so many, but during that time, I thrived, writing like crazy and preparing my last manuscript in the Antonius Trilogy. So my  Actium wasn't a tragic battle at all, but a written scene about the actual Battle of Actium for my last book in the trilogy, and was one of my only battle scenes that remained more or less unchanged under edit. I spent a lot of time hashing it out and re-reading while penning the details down. I was lucky with my Actium—a LOT luckier than Antony was so long ago, and much more so than some poor folk who had COVID-19 so recently in 2020. 

(at right, a Baroque depiction of the Battle of Actium by Lorenzo Castro)

For me, writing during the pandemic was therapy. I was able to focus on something other than the news and really—why worry? Aside from social-distancing, hand-washing, and wearing masks, there was really nothing I could do except hope and pray. So writing was something purposeful and fulfilling. Now, as we all gleefully boot 2020 into distant memory, this writer has been looking over the past year and planning ahead for new things.

Since the spring of 2019, I have rolled out a full trilogy. It hasn’t been easy at times, but now that it’s finished, I've enjoyed a time of retrospection, satisfaction, and now—a look ahead. I’m delighted to share a little about where I am in this brief hiatus from actual writing and where I’m going next. Ancient Rome has been such a fantastic journey, and for those of you primarily into reading the ancient world, I assure you that I’ll be back.

However, my next project is a real challenge. I’m turning to something near and dear--HOME. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia. It’s a place of vast, rolling, mist-filled hill-scapes and famous landmarks dating from pre-Revolutionary times. Anybody who loves or longs to learn more about American history, falls in love with Virginia. It’s the birthplace and home of many of America’s “founding fathers”, the Old Dominion, and for those of us who see road-signs and license plates on a regular basis, we all know the (ridiculous) slogan: Virginia is for Lovers! 

​(at left, Winter near Fincastle, VA)

Well, my next project will have love at the heart of its story. In fact, instead of a re-telling of a well-known story such as Antony & Cleopatra, it will be an untold tale, full of long-distances, uncertainty, and at the heart of it, American history’s consummate adventure. I’ll be telling the story of youthful Judy Hancock who is spellbound by the man she purposes to marry: Captain William Clark of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

(U.S. currency portrait of explorer, William Clark)

Judy was daughter to George Hancock, a Revolutionary War hero, and lived in the town of Fincastle, VA on what was then, the American Frontier. This story will follow her hopes and the dream she has of becoming the lady at Clark’s side. However, a dangerous, daring exploration endorsed by President Thomas Jefferson himself, will separate them for nearly three years; a period in which she’ll face her own personal challenges as she embraces adulthood.

My earnest hope is that each of you readers will continue with me on this journey of research, plotting, character development, and writing. Drop me a line occasionally, as it’s been such a joy hearing from some of you, learning more about you—my readers—and reminding me that (I’m feeling a cliché straight from Walt Disney here!) it really is “a small world after all.”

While this next work is in progress, I promise to continue providing blogs of interest, more giveaways, reviews, and guest writers that will hopefully fill this time with interesting reading, ideas for new books for your lists, and insights into the world of historical fiction.

So as we embrace this New Year 2021, may it be full of health, hope, and the promise of new things in store. I, for one, am most excited to be “beyond Actium” because there is so much ahead to write about—so much I still want to share as an author. So, I’ll continue to use this catch-phrase in addition to Happy New Year…
​
Read ON, friends! 

My parents always used to say that I was full of surprises. So, SURPRISE!

This week, I'm doing something quite different--reviewing a favorite author of mine, and believe me, it's a glowing critique for those of us who love history. Next week, I'll be sharing a little more regarding 2021 and what all of you readers can expect from Brook Allen. Though 2020 has been a difficult year in so many ways, sometimes it's the tough times that bring to mind how very thankful I am. To have a home paid off, to have been able to travel in previous years, to have had time this year--AMPLE time--to finish my trilogy, for continued health, and to have a job that supports my family... I could go on and on. 

So be sure to stay tuned next week for more on what 2021 will bring to my blog and what my newest project is, as well!

This week, I finished a novel by Margaret George: Elizabeth I. It's one of the few books I had not read by Margaret, and my cousin was kind enough to give me a copy two years ago. Here is my review and I hope those of you interested in British history will consider giving Margaret's book a read. She is always so complete in her research, and most impressive when it comes to giving characters flesh and emotion. 

      Elizabeth I: The Novel by Margaret George
                    Reviewed by Brook Allen

Margaret George's Elizabeth I traces the fabled Queen's twilight years. But what a sunset! From the end of her relationship with Dudley through the troublesome Irish Rebellion, Spanish Armadas, and a stormy attempt to bring the Earl of Essex to heel, George had plenty of drama to work with and did so with obvious relish.
 
This was a memorable and well-developed novel. For me--a late middle-aged woman myself--the point of views stole the show. George didn't begin her book at Elizabeth's birth or in her childhood or even teen years. Instead, she began with a bang! The reader is presented with a late middle-aged Queen, dealing with a huge dual crisis: the end of the Reformation and Spain's constant attempts to invade England.
 
Elizabeth is indeed her father's daughter. Strong-willed, demanding, stern, and daunting to those who stand in her way or lose favor. However, she is also extremely self-aware and able to differentiate between politics and humanity. Unlike some monarchs, she has developed a wise, listening ear, and her reign has been rewarded by some top-notch ministers serving her privy chamber. And what a fantastic job George does in depicting the inner-workings of the Elizabethan court, frosting this cake with some Shakespeare, too!

As the plot develops, enter Lettice (above right), mother to Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex--a spoiled, immature fool of a man that Elizabeth, none-the-less, fancies (above left). But Lettice is a hot mess herself! She is riding through her third marriage, has frequent lovers, and especially enjoys younger men. But she's a mother, and as the story unfolds, hers was a character arc that drew me even closer to her than Elizabeth.
 
Though this story is familiar, George presents a new and unique fabric woven between these two women that was rewarding and intriguing. This is a long book, but one to savor. If you want an entertaining history lesson dealing with the late Tudor period, colorful historical characters, and court intrigue, it's a fabulous read and I highly recommend it.

       Some Old Masters Were Actually Women
 
Earlier this year, when I learned that a 17th-century painting of David and Goliath attributed to a male artist was determined to be the work of Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi, I felt triumphant. The discovery of Artemisia’s signature on David’s sword—hidden for centuries under dirt, varnish, and layers of overpainting—sent a powerful signal to the art world. This was just the latest in series of such discoveries over recent decades, all pointing to a truth long-ignored by the art establishment. The fact is, some of the greatest old masters were women.
 
During the early modern era in Europe, women wielded brushes with as much talent as their male counterparts, but their work was generally undervalued, attributed to their male relatives, or kept anonymous. Perhaps that’s why Artemisia and others like her—the 16th-century still-life artist Clara Peeters, for instance—worked their signatures and even their own images into cleverly hidden places on their paintings. Despite the bias against them, they were still determined to somehow be remembered for what they had accomplished.                                              (at right, Artimisia Gentileschi)
 
The existence of female old masters has been slowly gaining attention over the past several decades, and Artemisia Gentileschi is probably the best known and most highly valued member of that small but growing club. As scholarship about female old masters increases and public interest in these women grows, so does the value of their paintings. Artemisia is the shining star in this trend, with her works now commanding millions. A blockbuster exhibition featuring Gentileschi hangs at the National Gallery in London until January 2021.

False attribution to male artists was just one of the obstacles encountered by women artists throughout history. For example, Leonardo da Vinci was celebrated for his anatomically precise work. He was famous for his detailed observations of naked bodies. His female contemporaries, on the other hand, were barred from observing nude models. Is it any surprise, then, that women artists of the past were criticized for their inferior figurative work? This lack of opportunity did not stop them from making art, though. Many of them focused on—and excelled at—the still life. 

(at left, Clara Peeters)

One of the other challenges facing women artists of the past is that they've been stuffed into basements and attics, relegated to the dusty archives of Europe's great museums. Even if museums own work by women, they rarely exhibit it. That's why the Prado's show featuring Clara Peeters in 2016 was so groundbreaking. The Prado had never showcased a female artist before, despite its 200-year-old history. It was only after a curator's wife asked him if there were any paintings in the place by female artists that Flemish artist Peeters’ work was retrieved from the basement. The Peeters exhibit was so successful that in 2019 the Prado hosted another show featuring two female old masters: Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana.
                                         (Below, Sofonisba Anguissola)

                                                                                 


Nearly a decade ago, in a dimly-lit hallway at Oxford’s Magdalen College, I stumbled across a sixteenth-century portrait of a woman attributed to female artist Caterina Van Hemessen. I was stunned. After visiting many museums full of Renaissance-era portraits and learning about art history as a college student, I had somehow never heard of female old masters. But now, before my own eyes, was evidence that there were women painters in those days. I soon learned that because women’s work wasn’t valued, their paintings were often attributed to men or kept anonymous. I became obsessed with the lost stories of these women—and I wrote a historical mystery series on the topic.

(at left, Caterina Van Hemessen)

My Miramonde series tells the story of a Renaissance-era woman artist and a modern-day scholar who are linked by a 500-year-old mystery. In Book 1, The Girl from Oto, the heroine of the series is born into a ruthless and violent noble family; her mother names her Miramonde, ‘one who sees the world.’ Raised in a convent, Mira becomes an extraordinary artist—never dreaming she will one day fulfill the promise of her name.
 
Mira’s modern-day counterpart, Zari Durrell, is a young American scholar doing research in Europe who discovers traces of a mysterious woman artist in several sixteenth-century paintings. Soon she’s following a path through history to Mira herself. But the art world ignores her findings, dazzled by a rival academic’s claim that the portraits were in fact made by a famous male artist.
 
When I began the research for this series nearly a decade ago, there was still little public recognition of female old masters. It has been hugely gratifying to watch the stars of women like Artemisia rise to stratospheric heights. As more people read about female old masters and view their work in public museums, interest in their paintings will grow and the value of their work will continue to soar. Perhaps their work will never attain the lofty price tags of Leonardo da Vinci and other men. What’s important is that art historians and conservators will continue to peer beneath layers of history and paint, uncovering clues left behind by these talented women.
 
The final book in my Miramonde series begins with a quote from Artemisia herself that speaks for other women artists whose voices languish in the shadows of history. Speaking to a potential patron, she says: “I will show your illustrious Lordship what a woman can do.” It has taken four hundred years, but Artemisia’s time in the spotlight has arrived. It’s thrilling to know Zari Durrell’s real-life counterparts will continue to venture into history’s shadows and reveal more women like Artemisia to the world. I can’t wait for the next discovery of a long-hidden signature buried under centuries of dirt and false assumptions. And I wish I could travel back in time to tell these women that one day, their work will be recognized and celebrated.

                            Meet the Author


​Amy Maroney lives in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. with her family. She spent many years as a writer and editor of nonfiction before turning her hand to historical fiction. When she’s not diving down research rabbit holes, she enjoys hiking, drawing, dancing, traveling, and reading. She’s the author of the Miramonde series: The Girl from Oto, Mira’s Way, and A Place in the World. Currently, she’s working on a new series set in and around medieval Rhodes, Greece. 

                                                        Read Amy's Books

Find The Girl from Oto, the story of a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern-day scholar on her trail, on Amazon and other online stores here. To receive a free prequel novella to the Miramonde series, join Amy Maroney’s readers’ group at www.amymaroney.com. Follow her on BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/profile/amy-maroney, or find her on Twitter @wilaroney, Instagram @amymaroneywrites, and Facebook.

As always, welcome to Brook's Scroll! This week's time-warp is sending us back to the Peloponnesian War between Greece and Sparta. This is the final installment in Thomas Berry's Gifts of the Gods trilogy, so it's an excellent opportunity to begin a new series, if you're an ardent reader of the ancient world. And I'll add that Fire and Ash was also the recent gold medalist in the Coffee Pot Book Club's Ancient Historical Fiction category. Congratulations, Thomas! So get ready as he shares with us how this title relates to his book. 

                                                 Fire and Ash: What's in a Title?

I like to think of the title of my books as a window to the pages within, a small but significant glimpse of what’s to come.  Fire and Ash is the third and final installment in my Ancient Greek series Gifts of the Gods.  It details the long and bitter conflict of the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens in the 5th century BC, as told through the eyes of five ordinary men and women of the era.  The last book of the trilogy brings the war to a dramatic conclusion but not before we lay witness to some extraordinary naval battles, political maneuvering, betrayals, love, and heartbreak. 
 
I chose the title Gifts of the Gods for my trilogy because I wanted to show the unique connection between the spiritual world of the Ancient Greeks and their everyday lives.  The Greeks would offer a sacrifice to the various gods in return for a blessing or a good harvest.  If a loved one was sick, it was not unusual for wealthy men to make the long arduous journey to visit the Oracle at Delphi and make a serious donation to their treasury.  For the poor, they gave as well, even when they couldn’t afford it.  Now it’s time for the gods to give back to the mortal race! As the Peloponnesian War began to unfold, Athens and Sparta needed several things themselves and only the gods could provide these gifts. 

The first book in my trilogy was Iron and Bronze, which set the stage for this war between neighbors and showcased the initial decade which followed.  Soldiers on both sides needed iron to make weapons and bronze to protect them.  Forges rang loudly as new glistening swords, spears, and pikes were added to the armory.  The chestplate, helm, and greaves of the men wielding these weapons were plated in bronze, a relatively lightweight yet strong metal made from tin and copper.  It covered their round shield as well and could deflect most of the iron thrown against it.   Many believed their gods to be fickle characters who could use their powers to either support or destroy the humans waging war around them.  With these gifts, mankind could prolong their war immeasurably…and the gods watched in glee at the carnage they wrought.

​Silver and Gold became the sequel and turned attention to the far-off colonies in Sicily.  The peace that had been declared at the end of the first decade was a fragile one at best and both sides were itching to renew hostilities. But soon there was something else to excite the minds and hearts of the Athenians…the promise of silver and gold across the sea, just ripe for the taking.  Wealthy and powerful men dreamt of conquest and glory abroad and unleashed a massive armada against the island.  The favor of the gods was so intrinsic to their culture that a sudden desecration of the religious statues almost brought the entire enterprise crashing down around them.  But the gifts of the gods still lay across the Aegean and Athens was determined to take it! The only thing standing in their way was a handful of Spartan officers hell-bent on stopping them.  What started out with a promise of silver and gold turned into a bitter struggle for survival.  

When my last book was in development, I decided on the title Fire and Ash.  This story would conclude a war that had lasted almost 30 years and determine one true victor to rule over the Aegean for decades to come. The novel shifts the action to the shores of mighty Persia where betrayal and deception run together hand in hand.  Fire and Ash represents what all that remains after decades of warfare and the harsh reality the gods bring to the defeated city.
​
The cover of this book shows a Spartan warrior brandishing a long sword and a flaming torch. The sword represents power but without light it is useless.  The fire itself serves two purposes.  It carries illumination and clarity into the new world.  Once the war is over, only one victor will remain.  They will decide who lives and who dies.  They will determine the rich trades routes throughout the entire Aegean Sea and rule over a vast landscape for the next several decades.  It is a prize worth almost 30 year of warfare.   The defeated, however, will feel the fiery brand of the vanquished.  It will know only death, starvation, and humiliation.  The war may be over, but their ordeal is just beginning.  Which way the torch falls may determine who can deliver the fatal swing of the sword first. 
 
I find titles of books fascinating and I hope this post shows you some of the thought that can go on behind the scenes!  If you are a writer yourself, or just someone who loves to curl up with a good book, I hope you’ll appreciate these sentiments.   The next time you browse Amazon or your local bookstore for your next exciting novel, stop and think about what the titles represent to you.  I’m sure you’ll find a good one!


                                                        Gifts of the Gods: Fire and Ash                                                     

Five men and women in Ancient Greece are set on a dangerous journey of self-discovery during the bitter conflict of the Peloponnesian War.
 
While mighty Athens struggles to rebuild after a devastating campaign abroad, the feared warriors of Sparta prepare to deliver the final blow in a decades long war. No one is safe anymore as the conflict shifts across the Aegean to the shores of wealthy Persia. Old colonies, once loyal to Athens, are eager to rebel and the Great King is willing to pay anything to regain his control over them. These coastal plains set the stage for massive battles and heartbreaking defeats. This time there will be only one true victor.
 
The news coming out of Sicily ripples across the cities of Ancient Greece like a thunderbolt and it is left to the poor and desperate to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. One young mother is suddenly faced with a horrible tragedy and struggles against all odds to make a new life for her family. An eager boy looking for adventure enlists in the new Athenian ranks but finds life on campaign a lot more than he bargained for. A Spartan officer in the twilight of his years struggles to adapt to a young man's army and an exiled Athenian strives to earn his way back into the graces of his beloved city. The harem girls in a Persian court meet a handsome foreigner and one risks everything for a chance at love.
 
As the conflict between Athens and Sparta builds to a final showdown, five men and women struggle to come to terms with their changing world. What will they find in the ashes when peace finally comes?

Thomas Berry received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from St. Bonaventure University.  He takes pleasure in extensively researching both historical fiction and non-fiction stories.  In his spare time, he enjoys long distance running and has completed several marathons.  He currently lives with his wife and children in New Jersey.  You can learn more about Thomas and his historical novels at his website, www.thomas-berry.com.

Buy Thomas's book: Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon CA • Amazon AU • BookLocker

Connect with Thomas: Twitter • Instagram • Goodreads

I hope this post finds everyone of my readers feeling merry and bright! This week, we're taking a time warp back into the 11th century. But first, just a reminder to remind your friends and family to consider giving the gift of READING this Christmas! There are so many fantastic books out there, and I encourage you to READ ON!

Author Paula Lofting is taking us back in time this week to world of the Norman invasion of England. You best buckle on your sword, strap on some armor, because this could be quite a journey! I know you'll enjoy Paula's informative and intriguing background to her newest book--The Wolf Banner!
​

   Life in the Eleventh Century
                by Paula Lofting


​The people of the middle eleventh century would not have referred to themselves as Anglo-Saxon which was a Victorian ideology. By now, the former kingdoms that made up the Heptarchy had become England so were known as the Englisc. No doubt the ‘English’ themselves probably broke that down into where they came from, starting with their home village or town. Wulfhere, my main character, was Wulfhere, Thegn of Horstede, and he thought of himself as a Sussex man, or a man of the Súþ Seaxa, the South Saxons. A man from Gloucester, might have thought of himself as a Gloucester man, but also as a man of the Hwicce tribe and a Mercian. The world was much smaller then. 

The Confessor’s rule was a relatively peaceful period of twenty-four years, although throughout the fifties there were some problems with the Welsh, ruled by Gruffudd ap Llewelyn, who was allied with a troublesome English earl, Alfgar of Mercia. England was a prosperous country, and many others had their eyes on her lush green meadows and rich fertile lands.
​
So what exactly was life like for these Northumbrians, Mercians, Saxons and Anglians? Lets have an overview look.

Royalty
People were divided up into classes. At the top were the royal family, the kings and æðelings whose ancestry was common to previous kings. An atheling meant you were throneworthy. Any man of royal blood could be an atheling, but it did not mean you would succeed to throne, even if you were the king’s heir. Ultimately the witan, the king’s counsellors, decided who was best suited to rule.

Earls and Sheriffs
Under the Royal House were the earls who were the ruling nobility. These men were the king’s representatives in the shires that made up an earldom and under them, the shires each had a sheriff to keep order.  Earls were very important men in the Eleventh century and joined the athelings, bishops and archbishops in making up the witan.
(At left: King Edgar the Peaceful--New Minster Charter, 966)

​Thegns 
This class of lesser nobles were far more numerous, and in Mercia and Wessex there were around two thousand landowners of the thegnly class. Most thegns were king’s thegns and had to own at least five hides of land. Some were earl’s thegns, and some thegns were wealthy enough to have their own thegns. Thegns were of the warrior class, and were what made up the fyrd but they also had other duties to perform on a rota basis, such as accompanying the king wherever he went, serving at court, mending fences, fortresses and bridges.
There was also some social mobility where a lesser ðegn could gain promotion to a king's ðegn, and a king’s thegn could also gain promotion to an earl.

Ceorls
There were more than one class of ceorls and they were the mainstay of the English rural scene. They were often thought to be free men, however there were varying degrees of freedom. Ceorls were what was known as folcfry (folk-free) as amongst their peers. Anyone could attend the monthly moot and speak their mind there and they were considered fyrdworthy also. But they didn’t have the same freedoms that thegns and earls had. Most worked the land for a lord and in return they were given land of their own to work on days that they didn’t have to work for their lord. They might also have been part-time craftsmen to augment their earnings, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, metal workers, leather workers.

Slaves
The lowest of the social class. There were two ways of becoming a slave, one through destitution and the other through the well organised flourishing slave trade which still existed in the eleventh century. Slaves had basically no rights, but there are rules for what they had to be provided with, such as food and fuel and a small amount of land to plough and harvest. They were allowed to own property and could earn money in their spare time and thus buy their freedom.

             Warriors and the Fyrd

Despite the turbulence of the century, warfare was not necessarily ingrained in everyday life. Most Anglo-Saxon men of fighting age might only have seen major combat once in twenty years and surviving this you would have to be very lucky, for chances of dying in combat were high, either in the battle itself or of wounds inflicted. The idea that the fyrd was made up of peasants who turned up with pitchforks and scythes is a myth. Peasants would not be fielded by the army as they were needed to see in the harvest each year and work the land.

The backbone of the military were the thegns, who owed their lord, their king and whoever they were commended to military service each year for two months, and during this time there may not have been any conflict to worry about so most likely they saw to the training of the younger thegns, their sons etc.  They were well equipped and organised and ready to answer the call to muster at any time of crisis. The army was organised generally on a one man per five hides. It’s likely that the five hide man was a thegn, but it is not unreasonable that this might have been a ceorl whose village was in the five hide catchment area.

(At right, Huscarles and thegns at the battle of Hastings re-enactment 2016 – permission by Matt Bunker.)


Huscarles were bodyguards of kings and earls and were probably chosen from amongst the thegnly class, landless sons etc. They were the warrior elite, highly trained and skilled in warfare most of the year round and also ready to fight at any notice. The idea of a household guard was a longstanding custom among the Anglo-Saxons but the term ‘huscarle’ comes from the Danish which was established when the Cnut was king of England. You can see the huscarles brandishing their great war axes on the Bayeux Tapestry. Many of Harold Godwinson’s huscarles died with him, protecting him as they fought for their lives at Hastings. Such was the ethos amongst the huscarles that even the Normans were prompted to say what a waste it was that such men chose to fight to the death.

Women were not known to have fought alongside their men and although recently much has been made regarding the finds of so-called women warriors, there is no evidence that they ever fought in major battles or were accepted to train alongside men in ‘warrior’ schools. Women and men had very defining roles in the eleventh century and it would have been frowned upon for women to step outside this role. The only woman who has been known to have done this was Æthelflaed and this was due to her position as lady of Mercia. She had to rule for her dying husband and is not likely to have taken part in battle but had a more commanding role than facing men in battle. But this doesn’t mean that there may not have been anomalies, just that we do not know of any in this period.

The Church and Religion

By this time, very few people living in England would have been pagans. The Church was so embedded in everyday life that to hold beliefs other than Christianity would have been very difficult and it’s unlikely that the ordinary peasant living in their little village would have had access to other religions. There was of course folklore which carried over from pre-Christian times, but this was not paganism. There is a popular belief that paganism still existed among English society but if it were, it would not have been tolerated by the church which governed daily life implicitly. 

Priests were trained in cathedral schools like collegiates and sent out into the countryside and into towns to look after the pastoral welfare of their flocks. Some priests were employed by the nobles to educate their children or look after the spiritual needs of their patrons. Leofgar, the bishop of Hereford, killed in battle against the Welsh, was once Harold Godwinson’s mass priest.

Then there were monasteries where boys and noble girls went to be educated or join the religious life. Monasteries took children from the age of seven to do their training.

At the head of the church and the monasteries were the bishops, abbots and abbesses.


(At left: Bishop Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury)

Women in a Man’s Society
 
We don’t know much about what life might have been like for peasant women, but like noble women, they had rights. There were laws that protected women of any status from being raped and if they were, they would be compensated, apart from the slave woman whose compensation would have gone to the owner. There was also a law that allowed women to refuse marriage arrangements that were not pleasing to them. Women could divorce their husband if they so wished but there were specifics about what they were entitled to and what they would get if they took the children with them. 

Women were allowed to inherit land and property for their own use, and when married were allowed to keep them. The groom on the morning after the wedding would give their wife a morgengifu to show their appreciation that they were pleased with them! This could be land for their own personal use which they could do with as they wish and leave to anyone they wished in their will.

Women could also inherit their husband’s wealth and afforded the status of ‘thegn’ in place of their dead husband. Edith Swanneck, Earl Harold’s handfasted wife, was a wealthy heiress in and had men commended to her through her own estates.

Women didn’t have to marry if they did not wish and could choose the ecclesiastic life if they preferred and many women did, becoming abbesses in charge of running nunneries.

(Member of Regia Anglorum portraying a middle status lady – photo care of Christopher Doyle.)
 

Life in an Anglo-Saxon Hall 

As said previously, the thegns were more numerous than the nobles and some lived quite opulently. There were no restrictions on how much land and property you could own but they had to have at least five hides of land. The longhall was the central feature of any thegn’s estate, mostly built from timber and daubed with plaster. The English were building in stone, but this was not widespread. However, we know that large churches were created using masonry.

Longhalls usually had to house as many people as lived in the village and in Horstede, there were roughly around two hundred people, extended families of the sixteen villeins and cottars who lived there. They would need to be able to enter the gates to their lord’s estate which they lived around in their own smaller houses, should there be any danger. Lord Wulfhere would have been expected to give shelter to his tenants in times of trouble in return for their services on his land.

Inside the longhall it would have been quite smoky. Windows would have been a rarity as they needed to keep as much warmth inside as possible. The apertures to let out the smoke were not thought to have been at the top of the roof, this would have been very leaky if they were, but at the sides of the house above high window in the gables. 

There was a dais on either side of the hall on which one side the thegn would sit with his household and on the other side important guests sat across the large hearth where the food was also cooked. There was also room for more people to sit either at benches or trestles with boards across them and the lowest of them would have sat on the floor.

There was plenty of outdoor stuff to be doing during the summer months and they loved to feast (there were many feastdays in the English calendar) swim, and play wrestling games, and hunt. But at night, Anglo-Saxons loved to sit around the hearth and tell bawdy riddles, and sagas such as the one about Beowulf. They also loved to sing and entertain with the harp, dice, and play boardgames such as hnaftafl, brought over by the Vikings. Its not difficult to imagine long winters indoors, with the carcasses of animals hanging in the rafters, being smoked by the hearth, as they made good use of their indoor distractions.

Life might have been hard by today’s standards, but the old English knew how to party, much like today!

(Above: Wychurst, a thegnly residence in the heart of Kent, home to members of Regia Anglorum)

***If you’d like to know more about life in Old England or would like to become a member of Regia Anglorum, go to www.regia.org/join***

                                            Paula Lofting, Author
 
Paula Lofting is the author of 2 volumes in the Sons of the Wolf series of which she is working on her third instalment. She has been a prolific reader all her life, inspired by authors like Rosemary Sutcliffe, Mary Stewart, and Sharon Penman. She is a psychiatric nurse by day and writes in her spare time whenever she can. Mother of three grown up children and 2 grandchildren, she lives in Sussex and is also a re-enactor of the late Dark Age period. 
 
As a reenactor of the period I can actually say that I have fought and died at the Battle of Hastings at least three times.

The Wolf Banner: WAR AND BLOODFEUD

"Best battle description ever!"

1056...England lurches towards war as the rebellious Lord Alfgar plots against the indolent King Edward. Sussex thegn, Wulfhere, must defy both his lord, Harold Godwinson, and his bitter enemy, Helghi, to protect his beloved daughter.

As the shadow of war stretches across the land, a more personal battle rages at home, and when it follows him into battle, he knows he must keep his wits about him more than ever, and COURAGE AND FEAR MUST BECOME HIS ARMOUR…

Connect with Paula Lofting: Website • Blog •  Twitter • Instagram
BUY PAULA'S BOOK: Amazon UK • Amazon US

Welcome to Brook's Scroll and welcome DECEMBER!

It's hard to believe it's actually here! Before introducing my very special guest and friend this week, I wanted to update everyone on a little change to my sales. All of my books are now listed on Kindle Unlimited, so if you subscribe to that, my books are now FREE for you! Remember that books are super Christmas gifts for readers, so consider giving the gift of escaping into a novel for the Holidays.

This week, I'm so thrilled to introduce my guest-blogger. Sarah Penner and I met rather unexpectedly at the 2017 Historical Novel Society Conference in Portland, Oregon. We were both working on projects and Sarah's debut novel is scheduled to launch in March. I had the pleasure of being an advance reader for it, and I cannot say enough good things about this suspenseful, exciting, and intriguing read!

So, allow me to welcome Sarah Penner to the Scroll and she'll tell you more about mudlarking and her road to publishing The Lost Apothecary.
​

                                                            An Accidental Mudlark

In the summer of 2019, I found myself along the banks of the River Thames in London, wearing old tennis shoes and blue latex gloves. In my backpack was a small card—my temporary permit from the Port of London Authority, granting me access to go mudlarking on the river’s foreshore. 

​​In case you’ve not heard the term “mudlarking,” it means hunting the riverbed for interesting or valuable artifacts. (To “lark” means to enjoy oneself by behaving in a playful or mischievous way.) Mudlarking has been around for hundreds of years, and in the Victorian era, children would scrounge about in the mud looking for items to sell. Today, mudlarking isn’t meant to support the livelihood of a family, but instead represents a pastime for locals and tourists alike.

I first learned about mudlarking years ago, while reading London in Fragments: A Mudlark’s Treasures by Ted Sandling. In the book, Sandling shares striking images of interesting things he’s found near the River Thames: flint from a 4000 BC fishing spear, a Roman hypocaust tile dated AD 100, and my personal favorite… a mid-seventeenth century delftware apothecary jar. 

​Indeed, it was this image that inspired my debut novel, The Lost Apothecary. My novel is about an apothecary in eighteenth-century London who sells well-disguised poisons to women seeking vengeance on the men who have wronged them. Two centuries later, my present-day character goes mudlarking along the River Thames and discovers a strange apothecary vial. Soon, she suspects she’s found the culprit in the never-solved apothecary murders that haunted London long ago.
​
By the time I went on my own mudlarking adventure, I was agented and well into revisions on The Lost Apothecary. Still, going down to the riverbed provided visceral sensory detail which I then incorporated into my manuscript, and the experience allowed me to more fully appreciate the delight in discovering old artifacts. Over the course of several days, I went down to the river three separate times, finding an assortment of pottery, clay pipes, metal pins, even animal bones. As I lifted each object from its spot in the silt or sand, I couldn’t help but think of the person who might have last touched it. In The Lost Apothecary, my present-day character, Caroline, muses on this: “I felt a strange connection with the person who last held the vial in his or her hands—an inherent kinship with the person whose fingerprints last impressed on the glass as mine did now.”

​Before going mudlarking, I did my homework. I studied closely the tide tables because a rising tide poses a hazardous situation for an inexperienced mudlark (God forbid, one finds themselves in rising water without a set of stairs to exit quickly.) Ironically, it is this same tide that turns over the riverbed twice a day, which means each visit to the river is unique and has the potential to reveal something new.

Before my visit, I also chose a couple of locations that were recommended for beginners, spots that were easy to access, and within sight of passerby in the event of a slip or injury. I donned the appropriate gear and, just before heading down to the river, I steeled myself with a dark ale at a nearby pub.

The adventure was an absolute joy, and I highly recommend for anyone who loves history or archaeology—or simply has an adventurous spirit! The River Thames is a museum in its own right, but the artifacts aren’t behind glass and viewable by the masses… instead, they’re hidden in shallow water or between rocks, and it is very possible that the things you discover haven’t been seen or touched in hundreds of years.

I didn’t, unfortunately, find an apothecary vial while on my own mudlarking adventure, but this is where fiction comes into play. No matter my personal experience, I clung to the vision of an eighteenth-century apothecary who dispensed disguised poisons, and this vision remained central to my story.
​
The word apothecary is evocative, drawing forth visions of a candlelit storefront with sash windows, its walls lined with mortar bowls and pestles, and countless glass bottles. There is something beguiling, even enchanting, about what might lie within those bottles: potions that bewitch us, cure us, kill us. When describing the apothecary’s hidden shop in my book, I did my best to capture this allure. Indeed, many contemporary retail shops are doing the same, and it seems most cities now have some sort of “apothecary” shop selling cosmetics or natural remedies.

​Researching the many poisons and herbal remedies for The Lost Apothecary was a time-consuming, albeit entertaining, task. I spent time in the British Library reviewing old manuscripts, medical ephemera, and druggist diaries. I reviewed digitized pharmacopeias and studied extensively some well-known poisoning cases in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. I was surprised by the number of plants and herbs that are highly toxic, and I was fascinated while reading about the clever, if ineffective, remedies used by the predecessors of modern-day pharmacists. 

​








​Bio:
Sarah Penner is the debut author of The Lost Apothecary, forthcoming March 2021 in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and to be translated in fifteen territories worldwide. Sarah lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her husband. To preorder The Lost Apothecary, visit TheLostApothecary.com. 
Contact:
Instagram: @Sarah_Penner_Author
FB: @SarahPennerAuthor
Twitter: @SL_Penner

It's my sincere hope that all of my American readers have a delightful Thanksgiving, with or without family members, due to COVID-19. In the U.S., "after Thanksgiving" becomes the unofficial/official beginning of the Christmas Season. May it be warm and bright, unlike the rest of 2020!

This week, I have a lovely guest author, sharing her work on early Denmark. Let's welcome M.J. Porter to discuss a royal lady of the Danes--Estrid!


                                               Lady Estrid: A Compelling Character

Lady Estrid, or Edith or even Margaret, daughter of King Swein Forkbeard of Denmark (and briefly England) is one of those beguiling characters who lived through momentous change during her lifetime.
 
I’ve long been drawn to her, and used her as a ‘bit’ part character in my The Earls of Mercia series, but I wanted to dedicate both more time to Lady Estrid, and also to Denmark. Even when I’ve written about Cnut, who was king of England and Denmark, much of the action has taken place in England. There’s simply not enough ‘space’ to fit everything in.
 
Lady Estrid, like similar royal women (Queen Eadgifu of England, and Lady Elfrida in the tenth-century), had the advantage of living a much longer life than many of her male family members. She’s the ‘glue’ that holds together the narrative of what was happening in Denmark at this time. And because of her vast family, it also allows me to weave the story of not just Denmark, but Norway, Sweden and also England and Normandy, into the narrative. She was the daughter of a king, the sister of three kings, the aunt of four kings, the mother of one king, and in time, the grandmother of three further kings. 
​

written about Queen Eadgifu, Lady Elfrida, and King Edward the Elder’s daughters (in tenth century England), I wanted a new ‘woman’ to bring to life. I could have chosen Queen Emma, or even Queen Edith of England, but their stories are more well-known. I’ve long been fascinated by the Scandinavian countries during the Viking Age, and Lady Estrid was just too good a character to leave in her ‘bit’ part without adding anything further.
 
For all Lady Estrid’s claims as mother, aunt, sister and daughter, there’s very little that can be said about her, not even the order of her three marriages, if they occurred, can be confirmed. It’s only possible to say that her marriage to Jarl Úlfr took place because of the survival of her children. It’s the lack of ‘hard facts’ about her, and the potential to weave a story that includes so many of the other well-known women, and men of the period, that made Lady Estrid so irresistible. When stories focus on Earl Godwine, or King Cnut, or even on King Harald Haradrada, it’s possible to lose sight of the bigger picture, and Lady Estrid certainly provides the potential to show the overarching events that occurred from AD1013-1050.



                                                                Author Bio

M J Porter is an author of fantasy (Viking age/dragon-themed) and historical fiction (Early English, Vikings and the British Isles as a whole before the Norman Conquest), born in the old Mercian kingdom at some point since AD1066. 
 
I write A LOT. You’ve been warned!

                                                       Connect with M.J. Porter

                                                       Website • Twitter • Instagram

                                                          Buy the Book​
                                                 Amazon UK • Amazon US