Word Wenches

Andrea Penrose on Murder at the Serpentine Bridge

Nicola here, and today I have the huge pleasure of interviewing the Wenches’ own Andrea Penrose about her latest historical mystery. Murder at the Serpentine Bridge is book six in the Wrexford and Sloane series, featuring the irresistible combination of the Earl of Wrexford and Charlotte Sloane aka A J Quill (and now of course Countess of Wrexford.) The book been garnering rave reviews and rightly so – I’ve enjoyed all of the series very much but this one could be my favourite so far! It’s a clever and compulsive mystery, the historical backdrop is fascinating and the cast of characters is as nuanced and interesting as ever - it was great to meet old friends again!

So, without further ado, let’s dive in and find out more!

What particularly draws you to writing mysteries set in the Regency period?
I love the era because it was a fabulously interesting time and place. Radical new ideas were clashing with the conventional thinking of the past. People were questioning the fundamentals of society, and as a result they were fomenting changes in every aspect of life. Romanticism was taking hold, bringing a new wave of individual expression. New technology was disrupting everyday life as the Industrial Revolution began cranking into high gear. In so many ways, it was the birth of the modern world, and for me, its challenges, its characters and its conflicts have such relevance to our own times.

A Winner!

Anne, here, with a quick Sunday post to announce that Annette N. has been chosen to win the Christine Wells giveaway of her new book ONE WOMAN'S WAR: the story of the real Miss Moneypenny. She has been contacted privately.

Congratulations, Annette.

Thank you to Christine for visiting the wenches.

Thanks also to all those wenchly readers who contributed their suggestions of wonderful books in the discussion that followed Christine's interview.

One of the things I love about the wenchly community of readers is that we often have thoughtful and interesting discussions, and this was no exception. (My credit card thanks you also — so many excellent suggestions.)

If you want to find out more about Christine and her books, you can visit her website, follow her on facebook, or on Twitter.

Christine Wells and One Woman's War

Anne here, and today I'm interviewing Christine Wells, whose latest book, One Woman's War: A Novel of the Real Miss Moneypenny, is coming out next week. You can preorder it here.

Christine's books featuring strong, fascinating women have gained some wonderful reviews. “One Woman's War is a thrilling and suspenseful ride, perfect for fans of Kate Quinn, Beatriz Williams and Natasha Lester. Inspired by historic events, this story will have readers on the edge of their seats. Christine Wells’ masterful characterisation and meticulous research have made for one of the best books of the year.” (Kelly Rimmer New York Times Bestselling Author of The German Wife)
Booklist: “An exciting story, well told.”

Anne: Christine, welcome back to the Word Wenches, it's lovely to see you here. (For those who haven't met Christine before, she's been interviewed by Nicola, Andrea, and now me. You can see our earlier interviews with her by clicking on those links.

Christine, after a very successful career writing Regency-era historical romance (as Christina Brooke) you've switched in recent years to writing historical novels, set around WW2. Apart from One Woman's War, there is Sisters of the Resistance: A Novel of Catherine Dior's Paris Spy Network, inspired by the real-life bravery of Catherine Dior, sister of the fashion designer and a heroine of World War II France. The Juliet Code is about a British agent and wireless operator in occupied Paris who was caught by the Germans.

Cruising the Duoro River

By Mary Jo:

I'm well down the road to insanity as I try to finish a book by mid-October, so I'm invoking Wenchly privilege to rerun an older blog with some editing where appropriate.  What I chose is this long ago 2006 blog describing a riverboat cruise along the Douro River into Spain.

I first read about riverboat cruising in a magazine several years ago, and promptly decided I wanted to give it a try.  I’ve done several ocean cruises, especially in the Caribbean, but rivers in Europe sounded different and fascinating.  The boats are much smaller, holding maybe 130 or so people, and the venues are fabulous. 

Much of European civilization developed along rivers, and traveling them would be a wonderful way of seeing Europe without a lot of packing and unpacking.  The boats park in the center of towns and cities, and one can seen a great deal of the countryside in peace and comfort.  The quintessential riverboat cruises follow the great rivers of northern and eastern Europe: the Rhine, the Elbe, the Danube, etc. 

Hail and Farewell to a Queen

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Today we dedicate our blog to a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. Her life and influence over decades and her recent passing have touched all of the Word Wenches — we admired her not only from the perspective of writers whose historical novels have so often included some facet of British royalty—but as women and global citizens who have long respected Her Majesty for many reasons, personal and cultural, some of which we touch on below.

We will never see her like again. As Mary Jo mentions below, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was the world’s queen in the truest sense.

Nicola’s Tribute:

Queen Elizabeth was extraordinary. When she declared “that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service” she meant it and proved this over and over again during her 70 year reign. From celebrating the Silver Jubilee in the 1970s when I was at school to all the lovely community events we shared earlier this year for the Platinum Jubilee, she was present in our lives as a symbol of stability and reassurance in constantly changing times.

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I particularly remember feeling comforted when the Queen spoke during the pandemic and was so moved when I saw her sitting alone during Prince Philip’s funeral. Those of us who had lost family during those years could identify completely with her. Then there were the fun things – her love of animals, especially her dogs, was something I shared and understood. The twinkle in her eye when she displayed her quick sense of humour was warming and reminded me of my own grandmother. And the video with Daniel Craig for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics – none of us could believe that it was the real Queen! Our jaws hit the floor. We were blown away.

The Queen was special. She had the strongest sense of duty I have ever seen anyone display and she served the country for decades with dignity, resilience, wisdom and probably more courage than we will ever know.

Ask A Wench About Chocolate!

Nicola here, with this month's Ask A Wench. It’s US National Choose your Chocolate Day (but that doesn’t mean that the rest of us can’t join in, right?) So here on the Wenches, we decided to chat about our relationship with chocolate. Is it a love story or a break up story? How long have we known chocolate for and how has our relationship with chocolate developed? 

Christina: I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know what chocolate was – it’s my main vice, the one thing I don’t think I could give up! As a child, I remember eating something called ‘Guldnougat’, which was basically a chocolate bar that was a mixture of milk chocolate and hazelnut paste (this is usually called Gianduja in the UK). It was incredibly messy to eat as it tended to melt when clutched in a small warm hand, but I adored it. Swedish chocolate on the whole is delicious, especially anything made by the most famous brand Marabou. Personally, I prefer the types without anything added other than nuts, but they have just about every flavour under the sun.

Pass the Gingernuts

Polly put the kettle on . . . as the old nursery rhyme goes.

Anne here, and today I'm talking about biscuits — not those baked items called scones in the UK and biscuits in the USA. I'm talking about those sweet treats that are called cookies in the USA and biscuits in the UK, Australia and other places. Just to make it more confusing, we also have cookies, but they are more the softer, slightly mounded treat that is half way between a crispy biscuit and a cake. Biscuits tend to be crisper and flatter — though they can also be softish. And just to add to the confusion, cookies to me are like rock cakes (see pic below). But let's not argue pointlessly about definitions — when I'm talking about biscuits, if you're American, just think cookies.

Over the years I've had a number of emails from readers asking about the gingernuts I often have my heroes crunch into. Are they the same as American ginger snaps? And do they have nuts? Never having tasted a US ginger snap, I can't answer the first question, though I think they're probably very similar. The answer to the second is, no, there are no nuts in a gingernut. And why is it called a gingernut? No idea. The web has various theories.

There was some interest from readers when I blogged about gingernuts recently on my personal blog, so I thought it might be fun to blog here about some of the other biscuits and treats my characters eat, usually with a cup of tea or coffee. The gingernuts my heroes often crunch into are crisp, sweetish, ginger biscuits, sometimes flavored also with cinnamon, cloves and other spices, and usually made with golden syrup. They can be baked crisp or soft.

Triggering An Idea for a Mystery!

Andrea here, musing today about the little ah-ha moments that trigger the ideas for my books. "Trigger" is the key word here, for my upcoming release, MURDER AT THE SERPENTINE BRIDGE, (which hits the shelves on September 27th) revolves around the missing prototype and technical drawings for a revolutionary new pistol that would give the country who possesses it an overwhelming military advantage. Now, I'm often asked where I get the inspirations for my mysteries. The answer is—from real-life history!

I'm a total history nerd and love exploring esoteric museums, exhibits, libraries, etc for those sudden inspirations which ignite a plot concept. The seed of of my new book was planted several years ago when I saw an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum on the leading gunmakers of Regency London. Joseph Manton, Robert Wogdon—and Durs Egg (you have to love that name!) were the leaders and made a number of striking innovations in designing their firearms.

Islands in the North

Christina here and I have once again been travelling in search of inspiration for my stories – this time to the Orkney Islands! These are situated in the far north of the UK, in between the Scottish mainland and Shetland, and the journey involved a 12-hour road trip by car with another hour and a half by ferry. It was worth every second!

As always, I was on the trail of the Vikings and they settled in the Orkney Islands during the 8^th and 9^th centuries (possibly before that). If you sail in a straight westerly direction from the southern part of Norway you end up either in Orkney or Shetland, and it was an easy journey in a Viking longship, only a couple of days’ sailing. Therefore, it made sense that it was one of the first places the Vikings went to when they set off on their adventures.

Stolen Magic!

by Mary Jo

Stolen Magic,Book 2 of my long out of print Guardian paranormal historical trilogy, will be released tomorrow (September 8th) in ebook and print.  (The audio is already available.) As with all my stories with fantasy elements, I use the name M. J. Putney to differentiate them from straight historical romances.

The Characters and Story:

Duncan Macrae, the hero of book 1, A Kiss of Fate, is dark and Scottish and literally a force of nature, a weather mage who could call the winds and change the course of battles.  His lady, Gwynne Owens, is English and a Guardian who thinks she has little magic. Until passion unlocks her powers, which are great enough make her Duncan's match, and his nemesis.

Simon, Lord Falconer, the hero of Stolen Magic, is English, blond, and very different from his close friend, Duncan Macrae. As the chief enforcer of the Guardians, he is known for his immense power combined with rigorous control and integrity.  This makes Simon respected, feared, and sometimes hated.   He believes he is doomed to be forever alone until a mission to punish the rogue Guardian Lord Drayton goes horribly wrong and he is transformed into a unicorn.

Simon escapes with the aid of Meg, another of Drayton's victims.  She's a mysterious sprite with wild magic unlike anything Simon has ever seen before, and she can temporarily restore him to his human form.  They pledge to do whatever is necessary to bring down Drayton. The need for each other’s magic binds them together–and releases the more ancient magic of passion. But even the combined powers of Simon and Meg may not be enough to stave off catastrophe for all Britain. Only a desperate act of love may win back the future–or destroy all they hold dear.