The Musketeers are back - third series

My UK readers might like to know, if they don't already, that the four gorgeous Musketeers are back on BBC television for a third series.

They have managed to persuade Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) that all that handsome manhood has no place in a monastery and brought him back to his rightful position.

But now we have a married Musketeer - D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino) - and really not sure whether Alexander Dumas had that bit in his stories. I really must get round to reading the book, but at 750 pages I haven't managed it. Should have done it when I was younger.

I am longing to know if Milady (Maimie McCoy) is coming into this series. She was just being cured of her wickedness in the last series and nearly won Athos back. If we have one married Musketeer, why not two?

Can't wait!

PESTILENCE: Now available in boxed set!

PESTILENCE

All three books now available in a three book set in digital format.

Individual books available in paperback as well.

The Pestilence: Book Three Once Loved is now available

PESTILENCE: ONCE LOVED

This is the third book in my trilogy concerning some of the people who lived through the devastation of the Black Death.

In 1348, England saw millions of its citizens of all classes, noblemen and peasants alike, dying a horrible and painful death. At the time, people had no concept of germs or bacteria and they believed it was a sign that God was displeased. They thought it was the end of the world, a sign of the Last Days.

It changed the whole social structure of the country with the nobility unable to maintain their status and wealth with no one left to work the land, with the peasants suddenly left without guidance and realising they were no longer tied to the land. The up and coming merchants and tradesmen found themselves suddenly with less competition and able to charge whatever they liked for their services.

It was the total change of everything people had been taught to know.

My characters in this last book are able to leave their familiar towns and areas and some have no choice. Rebecca and her illegitimate son are driven out of their town, blamed for the disease because of her occupation as a prostitute. What they find as they flee the town in which they had spent their lives is a whole new world and a whole new life.

But they also find Rebecca's past waiting to greet them and she is called upon to make the greatest sacrifice of her life.

The first chapter is listed on the right of this blog, along with the first chapters of all my books. 

NEW SERIES - Books one and two of The Pestilence - A tale of the Black Death

PESTILENCE:

Pestilence: The Second Wife

 

This series tells the tale of the people who suffered through the Black Death, the bubonic plague which swept through England in 1348 killing millions and changing the course of social history forever.

 

THE SECOND WIFE is book one. This concerns Charlotte, the daughter of one of the newly wealthy merchants whose father is thwarted in his attempts to build a house as grand as those of the nobility. But when another of those nobles, Lord Robin Eversley, comes to visit, he sees Charlotte playing with her younger siblings and is enchanted. He thinks she would make an excellent stepmother for his damaged daughter, Genevieve. He has annulled his marriage to Genevieve's mother and is looking for a new wife. The differences between their social classes are not easily overcome, but they are just beginning to adapt when the plague creeps closer.

 

When Robin's elder brother, Eric, returns to reclaim his title and property, Robin leaves to attend to his own, smaller estate before moving his family there. But when he finds his own estate almost devoid of life, he is afraid to go home and take the disease with him, leaving Charlotte to believe he is dead.

 

THE SCENT OF ROSES is Book Two, which will be published soon. This is the tale of Lady Felice Sutton, who agrees to marry Lord Christopher Waterford, despite his evil reputation, to save her father from debtors' prison. She is grateful and determined to make him a good wife, but his volatile temper and his distrust of women make that almost impossible.

 

Felice believes she is beginning to find some goodness in him, but when he finds his peasant mistress dead and is convinced Felice has poisoned her, she discovers just how merciless he can be.

 

SPECIAL POST: SAVE OUR DROP IN CENTRE!!!

Special People enjoying their special place

There is a town in England, in Hertfordshire, called Letchworth Garden City. This town is unique in that it was the very first garden city in the country, and used to be owned exclusively by the Quaker Church.

It is also unique in that it has many purpose-built flats and houses specially for people with learning disabilities. My son, Ian, is one of those people - there he is on the right with the yellow guitar. As you can see, they love this place!



One of the houses where people live in small groups is run by a very special lady called Jackie. She realised that there was a shortage of places for people like Ian to go during the day, so she set out to start a drop-in centre. She found an empty building owned by the council, she was given donations of furniture, televisions, computers, and even a snooker table.

That was in January 2012, but now she and the people who depend on the centre, like my Ian, are in danger of losing their special place. She is desperately trying to raise funds to keep the centre open and she needs our help.

Jackie has worked hard to achieve this special place and now I want to help her to keep it.

She has started a fundraising page which will tell you more about the centre, 

Two Boxed Sets

Historical Romances

This is a limited edition, a boxed set of six of my most popular historical novels.

 

The Adulteress - a story set in the 12th century at the time of the civil war known as the Anarchy.

 

The crusader's Widow - a story set in the 12th century at the time of the Third Crusade.

 

A Man in Mourning - a story set after the Battle of Bosworth, when King Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor.

 

To Catch A Demon - a story set at the end of Cromwell's Protectorate and the return of King Charles II.

 

The Romany Princess - a story set in the East End of London at the beginning of the 20th century.

 

This set will only be available until Christmas. It also contains details of how you can obtain the first book in the series for the next boxed set:

 

HOLY POISON Six books telling about the ordinary people who lived through the reign of Bloody Mary.

 

All the books in this series have received great reviews and can now be bought at a saving of 75% over the price of the individual books.

THE ELIZABETHANS: BOOK 2 - THE VISCOUNT'S DIVORCE out now!

The Viscount's Divorce

This series is set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and concerns a noble family of three brothers and how their lives progress.

In medieval times, a divorce was almost impossible to achieve. There were few grounds, but even should a divorce be granted, it resembled a legal separation in modern times. When a couple were married, by law they were obliged to live together and certainly to have sex with each other. Sex was the legal right of both parties and the church had the power to order a couple to live together if they had parted. King Richard I, well known for having failed to consummate his marriage to Queen Berengaria, was eventually ordered by the church to return to his marriage bed.

A divorce was the legal way of putting an end to such interference so that a couple could live separately if they so wished, but they were not usually free to remarry. An annulment meant that the marriage was never valid in the first place.

That being the case, I have entitled this novel The Viscount's Divorce, because The Viscount's Annulment just doesn't have the same ring to it! I hope you will forgive this creative licence. Book three will be about the youngest brother, Viscount John, and will be coming soon.

 

The first book, The Earl's Jealousy, concerns Michael, the eldest brother and the Earl. This one, is about his brother, James, Viscount West.

 

Viscount James West is a very possessive husband, but his wife, Lady Helen, is not averse to that. She loves him and does not mind in the least that he rarely lets her out of his sight, except for two days each month when she goes to visit her father's estate in the next town. James never accompanies her there, as he despises her father and cannot bear to spend time with him.  This latest visit, just after Christmas, is the same as usual, except that this time she fails to return. Frantic with worry and mounting suspicion, James goes in search of her, only to learn that her father has not seen her since the day of their wedding. His world is about to collapse when he learns who his wife has really been visiting for the past five years.  In his fury, his proud and possessive nature is put to the test and he sets out to see the Archbishop of Canterbury to obtain an annulment. His marriage is over; now he must seek a future for himself and his sons.   Visit my website Join us on Facebook