Diana talks to... Sebnem E. Sanders

Hi Sebnem, thank you for agreeing to talk. Have you a question you would like to ask yourself? If so, ask your own question and answer it! 

Why do I write in English although my mother tongue is Turkish? Because my education in English has allowed me to express my freest thoughts in this language, without having to worry about race, nationality or religion. In my opinion, three aspects that separate humanity. I'm a universal person who believes in humanity first. English is spoken by 360 million people in the world, so it has as a wide audience.

What is the genre you are best known for?

Fiction with a touch of fantasy.

If your latest book was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

My debut book, Ripples on the Pond,  is a collection of short and flash fiction stories. There are many characters, so it's difficult to say who I'd imagine to play the lead role in each tale. I'll give a few examples, hoping I'm not taking up too much space. There are two stories with the character Leila: Fear of Falling and Home. To me she is Meryl Streep, as I imagined her to be in my manuscript The Child of Heaven where she is the leading character. Then there is Isabelle in The Appointment. I think Sharon Stone would fit perfectly into the role. In Amber Street, there is a character called Harry. Young, innocent, and vulnerable. Ryan Gosling would be an ideal choice. I imagine Daniel Day Lewis in the role of the blind columnist in The Leader on the Corner, Jeremy Irons playing the writer in The Muse, and Anne Hathaway, as his muse.  Marvin in Angel's Cove has young Robert Redford's features and sun-streaked hair, and Paul Newman's blue eyes.

What made you choose this genre? The muse?

I don't choose genres, I'm multi-genre, I think. The stories to be told choose me. As well as writing longer work, I've been writing flash fiction for the last four years. Some of my stories have been published in online literary magazines in UK, the US, and Canada. This gave me the courage to publish an anthology containing 70 stories, out of a collection that had close to 130.

How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

They whisper to me their stories, and I try to keep up with the voices in my head. Sometimes a place tells a story, so the characters evolve with their tales that fit the setting. Two such stories are Selma of Soghut and Laurel Island.

Favourite picture or work of art?

Many. Anything by Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Edward Hopper, Modigliani, Nuri İyem and Avni Arbaş ...

If, as a one off, (and you could guarantee publication!)  you could write anything you wanted, is there another genre you would love to work with and do you already have a budding plot line in mind?

Fantasy Fiction, set in parallel universes. I'm working on it. I believe in multi-verses.

Was becoming a writer a conscious decision or something that you drifted into (or even something so compelling that it could not be denied?) How old were you when you first started to write seriously.

Writing has always been an enjoyable pastime since I was very young. I liked creating stories. I got around to writing longer work after I was 50.

Marmite? Love it or hate it?

At the beginning, I hated it because it was so different, foreign. Then I got addicted to it.

Do you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...??

Coffee in the morning to wake up, a drink in the evening to relax. I listen to music and dream. Music inspires me. I also love art. Paintings tell me stories, so do films. And nature, the night sky, the sea, the beach, the mountains, quaint towns, ancient settlements. Books inspire me. I think one must keep reading and observe life to write. Art inspires art.

I promise I won’t tell them the answer to this, but when you are writing, who is more important, your family or your characters?

My characters and the story that needs to be told.

Other than writing full time, what would be your dream job?

Singing. I love it, and dancing.

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Coffee and red wine, but I also love champagne.

How much of your work is planned before you start? Do you have a full draft or let it find its way?

I have an outline, but it's not strict. I must know the end, otherwise I cannot start. However, the plot usually finds its own way,  according to the actions or moods of the characters. 

If you had free choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts would you choose?

I'm not fond of Times Roman. I like Calibri or Arial better.

Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?

Anything related to Atlantis. Did they exist? Were they aliens? What happened to them?

Have any of your characters ever shocked you and gone off on their own adventure leaving you scratching your head??? If so how did you cope with that!?

They do all the time. Yesterday, I was working on a new chapter and the MC did something unexpected. It seemed out of context. I'm not sure whether to keep it or not. I've been thinking about it. Maybe, maybe not.

How much research do you do and do you ever go on research trips?

I research all the time. I try to write from firsthand experience, but we forget. So I re-visit on Google images/earth and tours, until I get it right. I haven't written about a setting I haven't been to, unless it's a fantasy where I have created a new world. Regarding facts, sometimes one has to read an entire book to get a statement or a sentence right.

Fiction authors have to contend with real characters invading our stories. Are there any ‘real’ characters you have been tempted to prematurely kill off or ignore because you just don’t like them or they spoil the plot?

I don't like dictators, leaders who limit the freedom of thought. So I ignore them. I pretend they don't exist. Ignoring is non-existence. 

Are you prepared to go away from the known facts for the sake of the story and if so how do you get around this?

A story is a story. Fiction is not reality, it's a version/interpretation of  reality. I think it's called poetic licence. So I feel free to manipulate reality. If I were writing non-fiction, I couldn't do that. 

Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?

Naturally they do. Fact is fact, fiction is fiction. But who says fiction is not another version of reality? A reality in other dimensions, multi-verses, endless possibilities, sliding doors, and a quantum probability?

Have you ever totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters?

I like the good guys and disapprove of the bad guys, but I know the bad exist as well as the good. So I accept them as they are because they're part of life. Isabelle in The Appointment is a manipulative character, she'll do anything to get what she wants. The character in Shards of Glass has a doppelganger, an evil twin. Both Ivan, in Virginia Creeper, and Bernard, in A Kind of Love, are weird characters with strange obsessions. They represent the dark side of us. Humans are complex creatures, with their weaknesses and strengths.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

I like to read paperbacks, not Kindle. I think I like contemporary fiction most, but anything written well will hold my attention, as long as it has a gripping plot. A good book is a good book, regardless of the genre.

What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?

This is a difficult question. Soft: herbal teas, coffee, fizzy mineral water  Hard: Wine, champagne or Scotch

Last but not least... favourite author?

Another difficult question. There are many: Iris Murdoch, D.H. Lawrence, Thomas Hardy, F.Scott Fitzgerald, Sylvia Plath, Paul Auster, Yaşar Kemal, Paulo Coelho, Margaret Atwood ...

Thank you Sebnem. Thank you also for telling me the way to pronounce your name: Shebnem ! This has been really interesting and enlightening and I have to tell you how much I LOVE the cover of your book. I could sit and stare at that for hours

© Diana Milne January 2017 © Sebnem E. Sanders January 20th, 2018

Heroines of the Medieval World, by Sharon Bennett Connolly: a blog and review by guest blogger Karrie Stone.

Today I welcome guest blogger Karrie Stone to The Review Blog. At The Review we have all been waiting anxiously for today, 15th September 2017, the day that sees the release of the Review's very own Sharon Bennett Connolly's book Heroines of the Medieval World, a master piece of short biographies of the long overlooked women who altered the course of history.

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There is deep deep truth in the quote within Sharon Bennett Connolly's book where it says:

'Heroines come in many forms and it is no less true for medieval heroines'.

The difference then, as opposed to now, is the strict limitations put upon them by the male of the species, be it King, Father, Brother, Husband or a combination of those; the religious guidelines on how women were perceived and should behave was often laid down by Priests too.

Bearing in mind these were Monks and that their perception of womanhood in its 'purest form ' was somewhat askew when placed next to a living breathing intelligent woman, one cannot as a 21st century woman, begin to conceive or imagine the determination required to be seen and heard as a valuable human being not just a chattel .

It is true too, that when reading history, it is often written by the victor ...'To The Victor The Spoils' springs to mind , but for women it was also not really deemed necessary or that relevant to write about their achievements in detail even if a Queen. Certainly to write about their true personality, needs, mores, fears , etc was not relevant or so it seems to us now.

Regardless , women were for procreating, furthering the lineage, be it high or low, for making sure that the home was indeed their lords castle even if a farm or hovel and to be run smoothly.

However ,we do it seems, have more written information on the Nobility than we do on women further down the scale in class or status within that time....Or at least that's how it appears until one truly starts to delve as Sharon has.

When Sharon Bennett Connolly first begun her blog 'History - The Interesting Bits' I was immediately hooked by the women she wrote about , true there were the more famous or infamous ones such as the indomitable Eleanor of Aquitaine who introduced so much into the culture and running of not just her homeland but also Britain. She was a force of nature in a man's world .

But Sharon's quest has been to unearth with painstaking research the lesser known women. Lesser known but no less important to history. For history helps shape the world.

Maude de Braose who spoke out against the ubiquitous King John, I was slightly more aware of , but with Maude, Sharon has filled in the blanks effortlessly.

This book's Chapters are beautifully set out to lead us through the variations of the perception of a Medieval Heroine.

We have the Religious, the Scandalous, The Mistress, Disinherited, Pawns, Captive, Warriors, Rulers, Literary and one of my personal favourites, The Survivors.

One such for me is Anne of Stafford, granddaughter of Edward lll and Phillippa of Hainault, daughter to their son, Thomas of Woodstock . She had the most incredible twists and turns in her life which was seemingly a sort of footnote to history. She was married at age eight or nine to Thomas Earl of Stafford who was fifteen years her senior, then, after his death,  married to his younger brother Edmund at age nineteen.

Her father Thomas was arrested personally by the King Richard ll, only to die in captivity not long after. Possibly smothered. Thus began further losses of the family fortune, then the death of her mother Eleanor de Bohun and her unmarried sister Joan. Anne's only surviving sister Isabel took the veil and ultimately therefore Anne became the greatest heiress of the Kingdom at that time.

I could go on but this is Sharon's book and there is no doubt in my mind that once you pick this up you won't be able to stop reading about these women until the last chapter. Truth is definitely stranger and more fascinating than fiction within these lives.

Sharon has a wonderful way of writing, it appears effortless, easy and utterly fascinating.

I've been a staunch fan of history for all my life but Sharon has, in my humble opinion, truly reached the core of what really was the backbone and making , even in the seemingly quiet lives of these many ladies, of Medieval Times.

It is a book well overdue. Her research is thorough and painstaking. She took time to truly explore where these women lived where possible and the photographs are a beautiful adornment to this book.

Thank you Sharon I've learnt a lot about women I knew nothing of, gained so much insight.

So as they say dear reader, it's your turn to pick up this book, settle in and read on.

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If you wish to read the Diana talks interview with Sharon, you can find it here
Diana talks to Sharon Bennett Connolly

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About Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Sharon Bennett Connolly, has been fascinated by history for over 30 years now. She has studied history academically and just for fun – and even worked as a tour guide at historical sites, including Conisbrough Castle.

Born in Yorkshire, she studied at University in Northampton before working in Customer Service roles at Disneyland in Paris and Eurostar in London.

She is now having great fun, passing on her love of the past to her son, hunting dragons through Medieval castles or exploring the hidden alcoves of Tudor Manor Houses. 

For Christmas 2014, her husband gave her a blog as a gift – History ... the Interesting Bits , allowing her to indulge in that love of history. Sharon started researching and writing about the lesser-known stories and people from European history, the stories that have always fascinated. Quite by accident, she started focusing on medieval women. And in 2016 she was given the opportunity to write her first non-fiction book, Heroines of the Medieval World, which was published by Amberley in September 2017. She is currently working on her second non-fiction book, Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest, which will be published by Amberley in late 2018

Regarding the new book,  'Silk and the Sword' ...

Thank you Sharon Bennett Connolly and Karrie Stone 

A blast from the past! Looking back to the first ever *Diana talks...!* Diana talks to Liz Harris.

Last year I was fortunate enough to attend HNS16 at Oxford. This is the conference for the Historical Novel Society and it was a wonderful experience.

Although she was constantly busy and often going in the opposite direction, I  managed to catch up with author Liz Harris whilst we were stuffing 'goody bags' for the delegates and I asked her a few questions.

I tried to make the questions unusual!

 If your latest book, THE LOST GIRL, was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

The two main characters are Joe Walker, who, when seven years old, found a new-born baby lying beside her dead Chinese mother at the edge of a mining town in SW Wyoming, and Charity, the name given to the Chinese baby, whom Joe persuaded his reluctant family to take in.

As an adult, Joe would be lean and attractive, with warmth in his eyes, and I can easily see Robert Pattinson, made famous in the Twilight series of films, as Joe.

(Note from Diana: Hmmm. Maybe I had better have another look. 

And another!)

Charity must look 100% Chinese, and the Chinese actress, Liu Yifei, would be very good as the adult Charity.  Liu Yifei is not yet particularly well known in the UK, but she would be after she’d played Charity!

Liu Yifei

If, as a one off, (and you could guarantee publication!)  you could write anything you wanted, is there another genre you would love to work with and do you already have a budding plot line in mind?

Of the six novels I’ve had published, four are historical and two contemporary.  I’ve loved writing in both of those genres, but your question has made me wonder if there’s another I’d also like.  I’d only want to write in a genre that I read and enjoy, and as I don’t really like science fiction or fantasy and paranormal, I’d avoid those.

However, I love crime novels and am an avid reader, and I’ve suddenly realised that I’d enjoy writing a crime novel.  This hadn’t occurred to me before, but now you’ve got me thinking.  I don’t have a plotline in mind at the moment, this being a new idea, but I’ve a feeling that I’ll be working on one from now on.  Watch this space!

Do you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...??

I prefer to write in total silence – I never listen to music. My musical preference, classical music, would fill my mind and make me soar on the back of its wonderful emotion, and I fear I’d leave my written words behind.  Generally, it’s better when author and words are united!

Having said that about silence, I can work very well in a café.  This isn’t as contradictory as it sounds: I can block out all sound around me and hear only my characters’ voices, see only their setting, and lose myself in the conflict that faces them, so it’s as if I am alone. 

But sitting by myself in my study, in total silence, is my ideal working condition.

What is the worse book you have ever read? What made it unreadable for you?

May I slightly qualify the question and replace ‘worst book’ with ‘the book you’ve least enjoyed’?  Worst is subjective, and I’m aware that someone, particularly if the novel was published in the days before self-publishing, must have thought the novel worth publishing for it to have appeared in print.  This doesn’t mean that it’s to my taste, though.

I’ve picked a novel that I tried to read long before I started writing myself, but found totally unreadable - Finnegans Wake, by James Joyce.

This took a mind-boggling 17 years to write, finally being published in 1939, and was James Joyce's final work. It’s written in an experimental, idiosyncratic language, with large passages of stream of consciousness, which was, to me, incomprehensible.

I think reading a novel should be an enjoyable experience, one in which the reader can easily lose him/herself in the world created by the novelist, not something which demonstrates the author’s erudition, but of which the meaning is a struggle to grasp.

Other than writing full time, what would be your dream job?

To be an actress.  My mother was an actress, and from her I’ve inherited a love of the theatre and cinema. Before I had a family, I did a lot of amateur dramatics, which I enjoyed enormously.  Whenever I’m writing a book, I see the scene I’m depicting, and when I plan a chapter, I always think, as you’ll just have noticed, in scenes.

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

It depends upon the time of day.  After breakfast, it’s time for a mug of tea, and also late in the afternoon. In between that, I have coffee just about every hour on the hour.  That’s not as unhealthy as it sounds as I drink it quite weak!

For lunch, I’d probably choose white wine, but I’d always have red in the evening.

If you had free choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts would you choose?

I automatically use Times New Roman, size 12, for books, messages and everything else.  I got into the habit of writing in this font and size when I found that it was the preference of most publishers.  It now feels strange to use any other font and size.

You’ll see, however, that I’m not such a die-hard conservative that I can’t cope with a different font - I resisted the instinctive urge to change the font in which your questions were printed, and I stayed with your choice! 

(Note from Diana: Thank you!!)

Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?

I’m lucky in that a large number of the Wyoming newspapers from the 1800s are online, and I’ve been able to read them.  There’s nothing I’ve felt that I needed to read, but been unable to access.  When I struggled to find the minutiae of the life of a second generation homesteader in the 1870s and 1880s, I solved the problem by going to Wyoming myself and interviewing the people who could help me.

Historical fiction authors have to contend with real characters invading our stories. Are there any ‘real’ characters you have been tempted to prematurely kill off or ignore because you just don’t like them or they spoil the plot?

I write novels set in a historical period, with an authentic historical and geographical background, but my characters are fictional.  I have never yet included a ‘real’ character, and I think I’m unlikely to do so (I’d never say never!). 

Generally, I prefer to read books where all the characters are fictional, but I must confess to loving the novels of Georgette Heyer, which occasionally feature real characters, although they’re not usually central to the story line.

If I did include ‘real’ characters, I’d remain true to the known facts of their lives.  If those facts were inconvenient, I’d work around them, but I wouldn’t alter them.  I can’t see them spoiling the plot because I’d have plotted so as to incorporate what is known about their lives, and I’d have used those facts to enhance the story.

Are you prepared to go away from the known facts for the sake of the story and if so how do you get around this?

No, I can’t see myself doing this.  When writing something historical, I think we should get the history right.  I prefer to make the story fit the facts, rather than jiggle with facts in order to make them fit a preconceived story.  As I research the history for my novel, I develop the story line(s) – these grow out of what I find.  For example, when researching the background to The Lost Girl, the moment I read about the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, I knew I had a story line.

Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?

I can’t say I’ve ever noticed this, probably because my characters are fictional creations. The only blurring is between what is real and what is unreal: my characters, as I grow to know them, become real people to me.

When I went to Wyoming to research A Bargain Struck, the first of my three novels set in Wyoming Territory in the 1880s, I followed the 100 mile route from Rawlins to Baggs that my character, Ellen, took in a stagecoach.  I stepped out of my air-conditioned car at the very spot where Ellen stepped out of the stagecoach.  I’m breathing the air Ellen breathed, I thought, and I’m standing on the actual ground where she stood.  And I burst into tears.  Re-living Ellen’s route, albeit in a slightly more comfortable manner, was highly emotional because Ellen was so real to me.

Have you ever totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters?

I’m always interested in them, and care about them, and enjoy reading what they do, whether it’s something good or bad, but I can’t say that I’ve ever hated them or fallen in love with them. Because I give the ‘hero’ characteristics I admire, if I met him in real life, maybe. As for the ‘bad guy’, I try to make him at least two-dimensional so, although I dislike what he does, I understand and pity him, rather than hate him.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

I read every kind of book, except for science fiction (although I have read and enjoyed John Wyndham) and fantasy (although I loved Dracula, by Bram Stoker).  I have just finished the Booker Prize Winner, The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai, and loved that, and before that I read and really enjoyed a crime novel by Jane Casey.  I’m an eclectic reader, in other words, and always have been, but my all-time favourite author will always be Jane Austen.

What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book, THE LOST GIRL?

Nothing alcoholic!  When I happened upon the history behind The Lost Girl, I was appalled by the treatment of the Chinese by the Americans, although I understood how it came about.  By knowing what happened in the past, we are, hopefully, less likely to repeat those same mistakes in the present.  Alcohol (very pleasantly) dulls the senses, and I want the reader to be alert at all times as to how the tensions of the period, similar to those today, impacted on the lives of Joe, his family and Charity.

Last but not least... favourite historical author?

As a teenager, I read every single novel by W. Harrison Ainsworth, to whose works my mother introduced me.  I loved them all. My interest in history began with him.

To come to a more recent favourite historical author, on the top of the pile of books I want to read is At the Edge of the Orchard, by Tracy Chevalier.  I absolutely loved The Last Runaway and I can’t wait to read this, her latest novel.

Thank you very much for interviewing me, Diana.  These were interesting questions, and I’ve enjoyed answering them.  I’m now going away to think about a plot for a crime novel!

Liz's wonderful study. Who would not dream of working here?

 Thank you very much, Liz, for the care and thought you put into the answers and the time spent away from the conference. I really appreciate it as will our readers.

The Lost Girl is available from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Girl-Choc-Heart-West-ebook/dp/B014JMM4YO

About Liz:
After graduating in Law in the UK, Liz moved to California where she led a very varied life - from cocktail waitressing on Sunset Strip to CEO of a large Japanese trading company. Upon returning to England, she completed a degree in English and then taught for a number of years before developing her writing career.

She is published by Choc Lit. Her debut novel, THE ROAD BACK, was voted Book of the Year 2012 by US Coffee Time & Romance, and in the same year, EVIE UNDERCOVER was published, first on kindle, and recently in paperback.

A BARGAIN STRUCK, published in September 2013, was shortlisted for the RoNA for Best Romantic Historical, and later in the year, THE ART OF DECEPTION, a contemporary novel set in Italy, was published digitally.

A WESTERN HEART, a novella set in Wyoming 1880, was published digitally in spring 2014. THE LOST GIRL, her most recent full-length novel, was brought out in 2015.

Liz has a story in each of Choc Lit's anthologies: ANGEL CAKE in Choc Lit Love Match, and CUPCAKE in Kisses & Cupcakes. Each anthology is a collection of short stories by Choc Lit authors, with a recipe accompanying each story.

© Diana Milne July 2016

© Liz Harris September 2016

Rob Reviews - The Scathing (King's Bane Book 3) by CR May

Today Rob reviews The Scathing (Kings Bane Book 3) by C R May, a brilliant story set during the genesis of England. The author is kindly offering a paperback copy for the giveaway. To enter and be in with a chance of winning this excellent book simply comment below or leave a comment on our facebook page. A name will be drawn from the horned helmet of destiny on the 15th August, may your wyrd guide you true!

“That’s all that we can ask of the gods, lord. To give us an ending worthy of a man when the old girls hover over our life thread with their shears.”

Norns - weavers of men's fates - deviantArt (lucreciamortishia)

If you’ve read the previous two books in this excellent King’s Bane series, you’ll now know that Eofer Wonreding has been instrumental in convincing King Eomer Engeltheowing that the future of the English lies not in old Engeln but in the new lands of Anglia in the old Roman province of Britannia. This is where we catch up with the King’s Bane. He and his hearth troop are part of the king’s consolidation of the English settlement, now that  old Engeln has been abandoned in favour of this new land of opportunity. The King’s son, Icel, has a plan to expand into what will become the English Midlands as shown in the rather wonderful map, which, as ever in the King's Bane series, is quite a work of art in itself.

Scathing map by Simon Walpole - reproduced by kind permission of the author.

This is a frontier world, contested between the Welsh kingdoms of Powys, under their king Cynlas Goch, in the west, the kingdom of the peaks to the north ruled by Sawyl Penuchel, and the Anglo-Welsh Lindisware to the north west. Powys is eager to expand its power and territory at the expense of English settlers and the Kingdom of the Peaks. The long established Lindisware should be a natural ally to the English, but harbours doubts over the ability of the English to weather the approaching storm from Powys and fears retaliation, should they openly declare for Anglia.

To the south are Saxons, newly arrived Germanic immigrants like the English. Although they have a shared culture and tongue they have always been rivals and the Saxons are keen to keep on good terms with Powys, offering their services as Mercenaries as the Germanic newcomers have done since Roman times.

Angles - Angus McBride

Recent studies and genetic mapping seems to indicate that there was far more of a racial fusion between the Germanic incomers and the native British than the previously supposed ethnic cleansing. Indeed this is borne out in many English place names that carry show both Brythonic and Germanic roots. The Scathing mirrors this; this isn’t a case of Welsh versus English, the reality is far more fluid and complex than that. This is a world where a warlord (whether he be Briton or Angle) can carve out a kingdom and perhaps found a dynasty.
As a stand alone book this novel offers superb characterisation and in its creation of the dark age world. As book three of the series, it builds upon all that has gone before, as we see the birth of Mercia, what will become the English heartland. Eofer, his hearth troop, and his British allies under Ioan the rustler, will be instrumental in bringing this new kingdom into the world. Robbed of their snacca (ships) by geography, Eofer and his duguth take to horseback to mount weakening raids and reconnoitre deep into disputed territory, while Icel gathers his forces for the decisive clash of arms that must surely fall between him and Cynlas. In the midst of his campaign Eofer receives word from his brother-in-law, Heardred, king of the Geats, requesting help. Adventure overseas beckons but first he must serve his lord, Icel.
As ever the author gently introduces Anglo-Saxon terms into the story, words whose meaning quickly becomes known to the reader. The result is that the reader becomes utterly immersed in this honourable, yet savage, world, where fickle gods are all too real and omens can’t be easily ignored. Now that we are in Britain of course, Mr May introduces a Welsh Brythonic element into the mix.

The result is an absolute treat and a joy to read. We meet the historical figure of Gildas along the way, the British priest famous for his accounts of the time and his dislike of the invader. It just might be that we discover the reason for his animosity within these pages! The wind-ups and drunken banter between warriors is very amusing, proving as ever that people don’t really change. I don’t think I’ll think of beer as just beer ever again, after enjoying Mr May's prose!

The ale was weaving its spell. Soon the father of the gods would enter their minds and the giddinesss would be upon them. Rank and seniority would be forgotten, and Eofer would discover the true feelings of his men.

To my mind The Scathing must surely cement Mr May’s reputation as one of the premier authors of this fascinating period of history. His skill in bringing this time period to life is second to none, being easily on a par, if not arguably superior, to some of his better known contemporaries. Within these pages  you sense the exhilaration and fear of the shield wall, see the world through the claustrophobic eyeholes of the warrior’s grimhelm, smell the metallic tang of spilled blood and taste the thirst quenching ale enjoyed by the victors. In actual fact I would go further; such is the author's skill that when you read this, you begin to think of the world like one of his protagonists; was there meaning in that crow's call? Was there meaning in that distant rumble of thunder?

Sutton Hoo helmet

All too soon Snarly Yowl - Blaecce Shucca - heralds change and brings the tale to its end as threads are cut by the Norns, the old girls overlooking men’s fates. Be warned, unlike some authors, Mr May is fearless and unpredictable in this regard. Yet threads remain in the warp and weft of this series with which to weave another tale; this reader waits expectantly. Brilliant work Mr May!

Black Shuck - Arkanimalcentre

C.R. May was born in Bow, East London before his family moved to South Ockendon, Essex. After hearing that Ockendon translated as Wocca's Hill in Saxon, a lifelong passion in history was kindled, which has taken him from Berlin to the site of the battle of Little Big Horn (via Erik the Red's Icelandic hall!). The influx of Germanic adventurers was recorded in the place names around him and, inspired one day, he decided to weave his own stories into this history. You can read and discover more information at his blog and the author may be found at Facebook. 


Rob Bayliss is a reviewer at The Review and is currently writing his own fantasy series. Information on his writing projects can be found at Flint & Steel, Fire & Shadow.

Diana talks to ... Angela Rigley

Angela Rigley 

I play Scrabble online with Angela sometimes so it was lovely to catch up with her for a chat. Now, when I say I 'play Scrabble', what I actually mean is I almost always am thoroughly trounced whilst playing Scrabble with the best player I have ever had the pleasure of playing!!)

Hi Angela, I am sure that you are tired of being asked the usual questions that would be interviewers ask authors, so hopefully this interview is an interview with a difference and I have come up with some unusual questions!
If your latest book Choices for Jamie was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

That’s a hard one, because in my latest book Choices for Jamie he is only 21 and Aidan Turner would be too old.
If, as a one off, (and you could guarantee publication!) you could write anything you wanted, is there another genre you would love to work with and do you already have a budding plot line in mind?

I want to try timeslip for my next project – something like Kath McGurl’s Emerald Comb.

Do you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...??

I only write in silence, first thing in the morning, still in my nightie and dressing gown, with a cuppa at hand, to give my brain a break and pause when I have to think what’s coming next, or how to say something differently.

What is the worse book you have ever read? What made it unreadable for you?

 The Summer of the Bear by Bella Pollen, a Richard and Judy Club choice. I didn’t finish it. Each chapter was only 2 or 3 pages so it was choppy and disjointed. Point of view was all over the place and even in the same paragraphs we had different views. The eight-year old boy used long words that an eight-year old would not know; someone appeared who seemed, to me, anyway, to be her husband, but he couldn’t have been because her husband was dead; and there were several other things that riled me that I can’t remember. It was about 4 years ago.

Other than writing full time, what would be your dream job?
I wish I had gone into nursing, but left it too late, but a gardener or a shepherd.
Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Tea always, as I don’t like alcohol.

If you had free choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts would you choose?

Garamond or Ariel. I’m judging a children’s writing competition at the moment and one of them has made her entry so fancy, it’s hard to read.
Historical fiction authors have to contend with real characters invading our stories. Are there any ‘real’ characters you have been tempted to prematurely kill off or ignore because you just don’t like them or they spoil the plot?

No. In Florence and the Highwayman, Florence meets William Wordsworth’s son, also William, but he’s still alive and kicking at the end of the story.

Are you prepared to go away from the known facts for the sake of the story and if so how do you get around this ?
Not really. My stories don’t involve a lot of known facts, and I prefer to keep the ones I use accurate. Again, in Florence and the Highwayman, I had to do research on William Wordsworth and had to change the story because originally, William Jnr was travelling with his son, but I found out that his son died as an infant, so I changed it to his niece.

Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?

Occasionally, because fiction seems like fact, while you are reading it.
Have you ever totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters?

Not ‘in love’, but I love Jamie as a son.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

Historical romance mainly
 What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?

It would be tea.

Last but not least... favourite historical author?

Kath McGurl at the moment, but I like Jane Austen, Jean M Auel, Phillipa Gregory.

Thank you Angela... see you later over the online Scrabble :)

Angela's books are available here

Biography: Hi, I, Angela Rigley, live in Derbyshire, England with my husband, Don, but was born in Sussex. I have five children and eight grandchildren. Educated at Alton Convent boarding school in Hampshire I have had various occupations, including owning a health food shop for 3 years, and working for the Civil Service. All my Jamie books are published by Bluewood Publishing. as is the latest book 'Lea Croft', a murder/mystery, also set in Victorian times. I self-published an anthology: 'My Book of Silly Poems and Things' and 'My Silly Poems for Kids' and also 'Nancie', a YA book about a girl who goes into service and hears noises in the attic. 'Florence and the Highwayman' is a romance and I have now branched out into children's books, 'Cal the Caveboy' and 'Baarlie the Naughty Lamb'. I love birdwatching and lambs; genealogy, having traced some of my family tree back to 1520; playing Scrabble; flower arranging; and singing in my church choir. Go to Nunkynoo to see some of my pictures.                            

Angela Rigley 18 August 2016 © Diana Milne July 2016 ©