(Note: this post contains spoilers of The Gisborne Saga.)
Most of my reviews are excellent, between 4.5 and 5 stars, but recently a reviewer remarked of Gisborne: Book of Kings that the ending was twee. She still gave me a high star ranking for which I am very grateful, but I’m guessing she didn’t like the way in which the story was resolved…
Gisborne: Book of Kings is planned for release a year from the release of its predecessor, Book of Knights, by which time it would be fantastic to be able to say that each of the first two books of The Gisborne Saga had ranked in the Top 100 on Amazon.co.uk for 12 unbroken months!
Comments from readers have often indicated how frustrated they feel with Ysabel’s behaviour and that surely a medieval woman have never have behaved in such a way…
I’ve been invited by Tinney S Heath, author the wonderfully crafted A Thing Done, (winner of the 2013 Sharp Writ Award) to take part in a Main Character Blog Tour.
My main character was launched onto the world two books ago but is currently make her presence felt as I finish the last novel in a trilogy. Read on…
To everyone who has enjoyed The Gisborne Saga to date:
Have a wonderful Easter Holiday!
(original image of Guy of Gisborne,BBC/Tiger Aspect Productions)
I was asked by historical fiction writer Ann Swinfen to be part of a Writing Process Blog Tour this week. Ann is a superbly elegant writer of literary and historical fiction. Formally a mainstream writer, she has now taken her backlist to the writing public independently and added to it with Flood, a stunning book on the politics of humanity in the 17th century Fens and with The Testament of Mariam which is a sensitively handled novel, poignant and crafted, about Jesus’s sister. You can read about Ann’s writing process here. http://www.annswinfen.com/column
I’m in a bit of a dilemma about the cover of the next book. The title as everyone knows, is Gisborne: Book of Kings.
This doesn’t necessarily refer to monarchs though. The trilogy’s titles have tended to be built around the awful manipulation of people’s hearts and souls in the Middle Ages and so we began with Pawns, moved across the board with Knights and will have the denoument with Kings.
It’s tough being cast as a baddy. It’s what happened to Guy of Gisborne when Robin Hood rose to his (questionable) prominence.
Seriously, how can someone who robbed and killed people because they happened to be wealthy be considered a hero? By the fact that he gave the cash to the poor?
So often people ask why I’ve written a saga about Guy of Gisborne and not Robin Hood, Arthur, Abelard, Tristan or any of the many others from legend and history. So perhaps I need to place it more fully in black and white.
I have a wonderful group of Facebook friends – interesting, interested, kind, generous, and always fun. But two most recently have stood out.
Brian and Yveline Cobb live in France.
We met on Facebook, as one does these days, and over time, he has seen me struggling with Occitán, French etc, and has always offered a little advice. During the writing of Gisborne: Book of Knights, I asked if anyone knew of a twelfth century Templar Commanderie in Aquitaine. No response online, so I went back to my research books and found mention of one in Toulon in Provence. I googled it and found that it is now a private residence and what’s more, that it is for sale. I then asked if anyone knew of it. Whilst Brian didn’t know of the Commanderie exactly, he responded that he knew the area and would be heading that way…
