Anne here, and this month we have a bumper crop of recommended reads for you, from YA to timeslip, to Christmas treats, romance, literary fiction, crime and more.
We'll start with Christina: This month I’ve read and enjoyed a couple of books recommended by fellow Wenches. First and foremost, The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan which was exactly as wonderful as I had hoped. The fact that it is set in snowy Lapland in the north of Sweden was just the icing on the cake! I now long to go there to take sleigh rides through the forests and see the aurora borealis in all its glory.
Then there was Boyfriend by Sarina Bowen, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was very happy to find that it was the first in a series penned by different authors, all connected through the fictional US college Moo U in Vermont. The second book in the series, Blindsided by Victoria Denault, was just brilliant! As well as keeping up with hockey practice and his studies, hockey star Tate Adler is trying to save his family’s farm by doing an illicit side job. Their neighbours the Todds have their own problems. They are sworn enemies so when fellow student Maggie Todd finds out what Tate is doing, she doesn’t hesitate to blackmail him. But whenever they meet, sparks fly and their chemistry is off the charts. Can they risk a relationship or will the feud remain forever? This love story was just explosive and I loved every minute of it. I’m now reading my way through the rest of the series.
A friend also recommended a brilliant YA series by L.J. Shen, starting with Pretty Reckless. It’s raw and angsty with a lot of misunderstandings, but I’m thoroughly enjoying these stories too. Penn Scully is from the wrong end of town with a drug addict mother and a deadbeat step-father, while Daria Followhill is a rich and spoiled princess. He believes she took away the only thing he ever loved and is out for revenge. When Penn’s mother dies, Daria’s parents decide to take him in as a foster son and he can set his plans in motion. As for Daria, she’s tired of always coming second in her mother’s eyes and wants to lash out at everyone and everything. But things don’t go to plan for either of them …
Next comes Pat, who says: If you’re in a literary mood, Anne Tyler is always a good bet.
In REDHEAD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, Micah Mortimer, is a 40-something computer tech. He’s the youngest of a large, messy family, and in consequence, he’s a tad obsessive about keeping his personal life contained, so contained that he has a bad habit of shutting doors on the world. The story follows Micah through a series of events that opens his eyes to what he’s been missing all his life. There’s no violence, no sex, just a lovely journey of discovery told by a fabulously talented writer. It’s wonderful to settle in for the evening in safe hands—I didn’t skim a single page!
Continue reading "WWR—What We've Read in November" »
by Mary Jo
Today's topic was inspired by a back room chat among the Wenches in which we extolled the delights of autumn: crisp air, vibrant colors, the recharging of energy after summer languor. Several Wenches said they'd like it to be autumn all year round.
But do we really want that? So I asked: What are your favorite seasons? Are there any you'd like to see all year round?
Nicola here. Since the time I first picked up a book I’ve been fascinated by islands, both in real life and as the setting for stories. Whether it's Five on a Treasure Island or The Island of Adventure by Enid Blyton, or Robinson Crusoe or Lord of the Flies (well not so much that one, perhaps) there is something magical about an island.
Islands offer the idea of escape and retreat and also the opportunity to start afresh. They are places set apart where you can take time and space to think. They appear solitary and pure in some ways, an earthly paradise. But they can also be too isolated, even savage, which is perhaps they make such great settings for crime novels. An island, if you can’t get off it easily, is the perfect “locked room” mystery as Agatha Christie proved and countless other crime and thriller authors have used the setting.
Nicola here. A couple of weeks ago I took part in the UK’s Heritage Open Days Festival, the biggest celebration of history and heritage in the country. The theme of this year’s festival was Edible England and our display, put on by the Friends of Lydiard Park in Swindon, centred on a most fascinating historical document, a “recipe” book that was created by Lady Johanna St John in the 17th century. Lady Johanna, as well as having many menus for sumptuous banquets, also used vegetable, flower, and herbal cures for everything from piles to nosebleeds. These are also included in her books and referred to as “recipes” so there is everything from a mutton stew to a cure for cramp! Some of the recipes are also for cosmetic treatments, such as to make your hands soft. We tried that one and the mixture worked beautifully as a hand cream; the only problem was that the cream – and us – smelled very strongly of vinegar! In fact a number of ingredients in some of the recipes would raise eyebrows now, including the use of cow dung!
As part of the festival, we invited Lucy Whitfield, women’s history specialist, to choose and recreate some of the recipes for visitors in the walled garden at Lydiard Park. The garden, which was created in the Georgian period and restored in 2007, is divided into six sections with wide pathways, a well and a sundial. The narrow beds contain trimmed shrubs and perennial plants, alternating with individual flowers and bulbs. Along the walls and in the centre of flowerbeds are trained apple, pear, greengage, peach, plum, cherry, apricot and fig trees. A part of the garden is dedicated to growing the types of herbs and other plants that Lady Johanna would have used in her recipes so it was the perfect setting to showcase some of the ingredients from the book. (I took lots of pictures which I was hoping to use to illustrate this bog, but when I tried to post them up, they all came up upside down so I've had to improvise!)
Nicola here. Last night we had dinner with my mother-in-law and when I admired the beautiful, hand-embroidered table mats, she told me that she had made them in 1961 as part of her trousseau. That made me think; I hadn’t heard that word in such a long time and I have always loved the sound of it. And I also wondered whether people still had a trousseau or if it was another thing that has gone out of fashion.
The definition of “trousseau” is the clothes, linen, and other belongings collected by a bride for her marriage but originally the trousseau was the box itself. It’s also known as a hope chest or dowry chest, glory box or “bottom drawer.” It’s this last term that I remember from when I was growing up. My grandmother used to refer to putting things in your bottom drawer for when you got married, but by the time I married in the later 1980s things had changed!
The “cassone” of medieval Europe were large, decorated chests like the one in teh picture that were extremely valuable in themselves and were a part of the dowry of a bride from a rich and/or aristocratic family. Elizabetta Gonzaga of Mantua and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, were betrothed in 1486 and married in 1488. In an inventory of Elisabetta’s trousseau corredo, compiled around 25th February 1488 was recorded: ‘Venti forzieri, dieci lavorati d’oro, dieci depinti a la divisa’ (twenty chests, ten gilded, ten painted with heraldic arms/devices" which included the flames of love. This was a trousseau on a very grand scale both in terms of the boxes and their contents!
Anne here, with our regular "Ask a Wench" feature. And today we're responding to this question: Have you watched any good TV shows or movies lately?
Christina said: I haven’t been watching much TV at all as I’ve become obsessed with reading every night during lockdown, but there have been a few shows that I've enjoyed. For some reason I hardly ever read crime novels, but I love watching it on TV and so called “Scandi Noir” really does it for me. It’s dark and gritty and well worth watching. One of my favourites is the Swedish series Beck about an aging Stockholm detective and his team. The crimes may be gruesome on occasion, but there is always humour in these stories as well since the main character Martin has a crazy neighbour called Valdemar who is hilarious. Martin himself is a very sympathetic character and the whole series has a realistic feel to it that I like immensely.
Another one I’ve really enjoyed is the Icelandic programme Trapped. The first series was set in a small town in northern Iceland during a very cold winter when everyone was snowed in and couldn’t get out because all the roads were closed. That made for a very claustrophobic atmosphere with a killer on the loose and it was incredibly exciting and gripping. The second series was almost as good and I’m hoping there will be more soon.
I’ve only been to the cinema once in the last two years but I am eagerly awaiting the new sci-fi movie Dune, based on the novels by Frank Herbert. The trailer looks very promising! I first read these books back in high school when I took a course called Futuristic Lit (so much more fun than the classics!) and I was hooked. I really hope this new version does them justice as the first time this was adapted for the cinema the result was very disappointing. Here's a trailer.
Pat said: The Guy and I watch a show every other night when we can. We’ll try new shows that sound interesting or pick up ones others have recommended, but the ones we settle in to watch long term are limited and usually humorous. Right now I’m utterly incensed that Amazon Prime has discontinued New Tricks, my very favorite sit-back-and-enjoy series. It’s about a group of former British police detectives who are brought back to work unsolved cases. The characterization is hilarious as they play off each other—one by-the-book curmudgeon, a neurodivergent genius on meds, a playboy who’s been married more times than I can count, and the younger female officer who has to keep them reined in. It’s on Britbox now but I haven’t resigned myself to buying a new service for just one show.
Nicola here. Back in the mid-18th century there was only one fashionable place to be if you wanted a “villa” on the River Thames (a villa in these terms being something roughly the size of a large country house to the rest of us.) That place was Twickenham, a village half-way between the two royal palaces of Richmond and Hampton Court and with the improvements in both roads and carriages, a mere two hours’ drive from Central London. It was here in 1747 that Horace Walpole, the son of England’s first Prime Minister, bought a house that he referred to as a “plaything” and a “bauble” that was to be his summer residence, Strawberry Hill House. Even the name suggests hot summer days and fruit growing wild on the hillsides!
These days Twickenham is a busy suburb and it takes less than an hour to drive between the town and the centre of London. Gone are many of the imposing villas beside the Thames, although a few are still around, and the old houses are often surrounded by the new. Horace Walpole’s little Gothic Castle is still there, though, even if we didn’t see any wild strawberries growing on the hill during our visit.
Collected by Mary Jo
Christina Courtenay Contributes:
Following a Wench recommendation, I have spent this month immersed in the world of the Brooklyn Bruisers, a series by Sarina Bowen. Starting with Rookie Move, it follows the members of a new ice hockey team based in Brooklyn, each of whom falls in love in spectacular fashion. As a huge fan of ice hockey, I’ve really enjoyed this series and am now working my way through various spin-offs as well. I’ll probably also read all the other books by this author as soon as I can.
Rookie Move features Leo, a player who has spent the last six years trying to succeed in the NHL and also get over the girl who broke his heart in high school. Unfortunately for him, when he’s taken on by the Bruisers he finds that the team’s publicist is his former girlfriend Georgia, and the coach is her father, who hates him with a vengeance. As for Georgia, she had suffered her own trauma and the last thing she wants is to work with Leo. Keeping their relationship strictly professional is never going to be easy …
Pat here! From our monthly reader questionnaire we pull an easy one because it’s August and we’re all drooping from heat (except me, because we’ve been shrouded by marine layer for four months and counting, and Anne, because she’s upside-down): Kareni asks Are You a Re-Reader? (I owe Kareni a free book for her question, thank you!)
Personally, I’ve never been much of a re-reader. For a while, I re-read Pride and Prejudice regularly. It was my one comfort read, but I read it first when I was nine, so I’m thinking that needed re-reading as I grew older. Every once in a while, when I hate every book I open, I might go to my Regency shelf and pull out a favorite author. But even those old traditional Regencies are losing their comfort these days. And when the world gets really crazy, I dip into my huge Terry Pratchett collection because his satire returns humor to my perspective.
Mostly, I eye my huge stacks of To-Be-Reads and think there isn’t enough time in the world to read all the books I want to read, so why go backward? But as Anne says below, I do occasionally dip into old favorites to see how their authors pulled off particularly memorable scenes and relish the beauty of them.
Nicola here with a classic post from a few years ago that I originally posted on the UK Historical Romance Authors Blog. It got such an interesting response then that I thought I would update it and share it here because I was keen to hear what the Wenches and Wench readers thought of it.
So here goes. Do you dunk? I’m using the word “dunk” in the British sense of the word which means “to dip a biscuit or some other food, usually baked goods, into a drink, especially tea, coffee, or milk." Dunking releases more flavour from confections by dissolving the sugars, while also softening their texture. With the UK/US differences in language I had no idea about the basketball definition of dunking until I looked it up!
It turns out that dunking is an ancient tradition but it’s also a divisive one. Apparently in a recent survey done by the Great British Bake-Off TV Programme, 52% of people said they wouldn’t dream of dunking a biscuit – they never had and they never would!
Nicola here talking about the summer holidays and the history of being beside the seaside. It’s the time of year in England when the schools are on holiday and as most people still aren’t able to travel abroad because of pandemic regulations, lots and lots of people are taking their holidays at home, particularly at the coast. The English weather being what it is, this is a risky occupation but a downpour of rain isn’t enough to put the hardy holidaymaker off! I can remember childhood holidays when the beach was so wet with rain coming down as well as the tide coming in that my sandcastles set like cement!
When I was a child (and I know that line makes me sound ancient) we took all our holidays at home, sometimes at the coast and sometimes in the countryside. Coming from Yorkshire, our favoured seaside resort was Scarborough on the east coast but we also visited family in Morecambe. In the 1920s and 30s my grandparents had been amongst the working-class crowds from Bradford who had taken their fortnight’s holiday at Morecambe. Here are my family enjoying an outing to the seaside in 1938!
Today it's my very great pleasure to welcome author Clare Marchant to the Word Wenches. Clare is a history addict and author of the USA Today bestseller The Secrets of Saffron Hall, a dual time historical mystery set in the present and the Tudor era. Clare joins us to talk about her new book, The Queen's Spy, history, research, writing and so much more!
Clare, welcome to the Word Wenches! Please tell us more about The Queen’s Spy – where did the genesis of the idea come from?
When I write a book I always do quite a detailed plan before I get started, I don’t like any surprises! But when I was writing The Secrets of Saffron Hall, one day Tom appeared in the still room with no prior warning and I instantly fell in love with him, this silent, solemn child. So when I started researching and planning The Queen’s Spy I knew that I wanted Tom to be the historical protagonist, to explore how his disability could then become his strength.
What drew you to write about the relationship between Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth 1st?
I find Elizabeth and Mary fascinating. Cousins who never met and yet both with, to their eyes, a valid claim to the throne of England. If Henry VIII hadn’t split from the Catholic faith then the whole relationship between the two queens would have been quite different. But because he did so, the Catholic divisions of the nobility wouldn’t recognise either his marriage to Anne Boleyn nor Elizabeth as a legitimate heir. In their eyes Queen Mary was the successor to the English throne. With this warring backdrop there could only ever be one winner; so Mary was imprisoned for nineteen years, ultimately losing her head.
The hero of the historical thread of The Queen's Spy is Tom who is a deaf mute. It's a very interesting insight; how did you research this in a Tudor setting?
Well of course Tom just appeared as a deaf mute, he was always just a shadow hiding in the corners and it was lovely to be able to continue his story and see him grow into a strong independent man who could use his disability as a talent. I was lucky that whilst researching I discovered a piece of a primary research describing the wedding of a deaf-mute man which was just wonderful and I was able to use the actions described for Tom when he married. This then gave me an insight into how he would have used hand signs and signals in the rest of his life. Also, as I knew that they used wax tablets in Tudor times this was very useful for Tom to communicate! I can’t deny though that when I first started writing The Queen’s Spy I did question my decision on more than one occasion because it meant having to find ways of describing how Tom experienced things by just using the senses he had which made life difficult for me as a writer!
There is a fascinating understanding and knowledge of herbs in your books. Is this one of your own interests?
When I started planning Saffron Hall it was an article about the growing of saffron which first caught my interest and I realised it would be perfect for my story, and this then led on to other herbs and medicinal plants in the sixteenth century. And although I hadn’t known much about it at the time, I then became more fascinated and began to actively seek out monastic gardens where I could find the different herbs and how they were grown. I was delighted to discover that Hugh Morgan, the apothecary to Elizabeth 1st had introduced vanilla (pictured!) to the Tudor court and who better to have brought it to the palace originally than Tom Lutton?!
Tell us how you research your books.
When I first set about writing a new book, I only ever have a couple of tiny threads of ideas, and I start to weave these together so
they begin to form something akin to a plot. From this I usually have a long list of questions that need answering and I dive into the research books for about two months following rabbit holes as they lead me far away from the original subject! But whilst I am doing that, I slowly begin to piece together little snippets, events and people that form the backbone of the book, and then I can weave my own protagonist into the story. When I was researching The Queen’s Spy, as well as finding the lovely wedding report, I also discovered that during the Babington Plot there was a man in a blue coat who delivered a letter to Babington and is believed to have been one of Walsingham’s men – which is why I gave Tom a blue coat! And the part where Babington hid in Robert Pooley’s house and wasn’t discovered by the guards did indeed happen. For me, using all these real events help to bring the story alive.
Castle Acre priory, in the photo, is one of my favourite places to visit, (the castle at one end of the village and a wonderful monastic ruin at the other!) where they have a lot of information about the monks herbal medications and the ruins of an infirmary, and also a picture of the vanilla flower which has to be germinated by hand in this country because the bees that can germinate them are only found in certain hot parts of the world (hence why Tom couldn't ever manage to produce the pods himself - I really do find out all sorts of weird things whilst researching!).
What is it about writing dual timeline that appeals, and how do I weave the two together to make such a satisfying whole?
I really enjoy both writing and reading dual timeline. I love that the two stories begin with nothing in common but slowly they begin to reveal that even living five hundred years apart they are connected. I do this through both an object that is discovered and also a theme which connects the two timelines. Despite the years that separate the two protagonists, human relationships and emotions are still the same and I enjoy bringing this out in both story lines.
Tell us about your path to publication.
I joined the Romantic Novelist Association in 2016 under the amazing and supportive New Writers Scheme. I then proceeded to absorb all the incredible wisdom and help from the other members until in 2019 I had a 1-2-1 at the RNA conference with an agent who subsequently signed me. Whilst that was all happening, I had submitted The Secrets of Saffron Hall to Avon and four weeks after hitting ‘send’ on the email, I received an offer of a contract! So, I ended up with an agent and a publishing contract in the space of a couple of weeks, and eighteen months later I still have to pinch myself sometimes!
What is your writing process and what does a writing day looks like to you?
I’m very regimented when it comes to writing, it’s my job and I treat it that way. I sit down at my desk between eight and nine o’clock and (if I’m in the writing stage) write 1000 words, have a short break and then write another 1000 words. That usually takes me to about lunchtime, and after lunch there are always bits and bobs to do for social media and often some pieces of research to be done. I don’t like to stop mid flow to look details up, so I make a note and do the research later and add it in.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
The best advice I was ever given is the simple one of sitting down and writing, even if just a little every day. And to keep going even through the bits when you feel like giving up or you’ve had an idea for a new book which suddenly seems all shiny and exciting. By doing this you will eventually have a first draft and then you can start editing, knocking into shape. But you can’t edit a blank page so you need to keep getting those words down first!
Please tell us a little bit about your next book.
I’m now knee deep in writing the new book – what can I tell you about it? We’re back at the Elizabethan court, it’s another dual timeline this time set in both England and Holland. There’s sailing on the high seas, death, danger, and ultimately facing up to fears and truths.
We're looking forward to it very much! Thank you, Clare, for joining us on the Word Wenches today.
Buy links for The Queen's Spy are here:
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3imzoaD
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3xRyGIU
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3ijDNLG
Waterstones: https://bit.ly/36H2uvY
You can find Clare on social media here:
Facebook: ClareMarchantAuthor
Twitter: ClareMarchant1
Instagram: ClareMarchant1
If you have any questions for Clare about her books, history or writing, jump in and ask!
Clare is giving away a copy of The Queen's Spy to one lucky commenter between now and midnight on Tuesday. Her question for you is, "If you had to choose to support either Mary Queen of Scots or Elizabeth I in the struggle for the throne, which team would you be on? Or would you be the mediator, trying to bring peace to the divided kingdoms?"
Nicola here, introducing the July Ask A Wench. This month we’re talking about a book that is special to each of us, whether it’s something that was recommended to us, or a book that was given to us a child, or something we came across on our own that sparked a new reading interest. The results are fascinating and varied, funny and poignant, and we hope you will enjoy them and contribute a special book of your own to the discussion! As you might imagine, choosing just one book was a real challenge to such a bunch of avid readers and the horrified response was "One book only?" We hope you don't find the task as hard as we did but we think you just might...
Mary Jo writes:
Georgette Heyer, the gateway drug
When Regency addicts gather, the topic of "My First Heyer!" often comes up. I found my first Heyer when I was in college and browsing for cheap books in the bargain basement of the Economy Bookstore in downtown Syracuse, NY. I didn't know it was illegal to sell stripped books, but as a poor student, five cent books were appealing and they had a lot by this Heyer person.
After much perusing, I walked out with Sylvester, or The Wicked Uncle, which looked like an interesting parody of the Gothic romances.
And that day, I changed my future, because that led me to fall in love with Regency romances. Heyer's voice and wit and characterizations and plotting appealed to me in a way that the historical romances of the day didn't. I read and reread my favorites, and in the process developed something of a Regency voice myself.
Which is why years later, when I got my first computer and learned how to use the word processing program and decided to find if I could write the stories that were always jumbling in my head, I started writing the book that became The Diabolical Baron.
By sheer chance, I'd found the genre niche where I fit during a time when the romance genre was expanding and editors were looking for new voices. And in the process, I found a career as a writer that had once been only the vaguest of dreams.
I've written a whole lot of books since then, including fantasy, Georgian, Victorian, contemporaries, fantasy, and Regency fantasy YA. But by and large, I've stayed true to Regencies because it's such a great period to work in.
And it all started with a five cent stripped novel by Georgette Heyer…
Andrea:
I was a senior in high school, and I don’t remember how the topic came up, but my Mother and I began discussing books. Now, my mother was an avid reader, but her tastes ran to The New Yorker and non-fiction books. She didn’t read a lot of novels. However, she had once told me that she polished her English when she first came to this country (she was from Switzerland and came to NYC to attend Pratt Institute, an art college) by going to the public library and asking the librarian to give her some of the classic works in English literature. So, when I started talking about books we were reading in English class and what I was really enjoying, she asked in an offhand sort of way what I thought of Pride and Prejudice.
I paused for a moment and said, “Umm, I’ve never read that." Her eyebrows shot up in shock. “You’ve never read Austen?” (I was ashamed to say I hadn’t.) “You must!” she intoned, in a tone that was more of an order than a suggestion. “Get it tomorrow at the library. I think you’ll like it.”
Well, I did . . . and I did (like it, that is—or rather, loved it.) Of course I immediately ran out and read all the others, and fell in love with the Regency romance. it took me a little longer to discover Heyer, and then the Signet Regencies, so it was P&P that ultimately changed my life. That I was drawn into writing by the classc Regency romance tropes is all because of Austen. And as footnote, our local library has a well-known summer sale of used books (it’s huge, and people come from all around New England to browse through the huge tents set up on the lawns) and next time it came around, my Mother bought me a lovely multi- volume set from the 1920s of Austen’s novels. I still have it, and it's one of my special book treasures.
Christina:
I get very fed up/bored/annoyed with people who denigrate romantic fiction, as if it’s some kind of lesser type of reading material, so I retaliate by being biased against so called literary fiction. That means I don’t normally buy Booker Prize winners or anything recommended by the posh literary reviewers in papers like the Sunday Times. However, a friend once gave me Possession by A S Byatt (which had just won the Booker Prize) and told me I had to read it. I said thank you, of course, without actually having any intention to do so, but eventually I figured I’d better in case my friend asked me what I thought of it. And OMG, I was completely blown away! Yes, it was very literary, with incredible prose and long Victorian style poems, but the actual story (or stories plural as it’s a dual timeline novel) were fantastic. I was totally spellbound and later watched the film of the same name as well, which I thought was a wonderful adaptation of the book. So I guess this taught me to be less judgemental in my choice of reading material and that you never know where your next great read is going to come from. I would recommend Possession to anyone who wants a truly epic love story. Here is a photo of my copy - I bought myself the first edition as a treat.
Anne:
This is such a hard question — I have so many special books that I simply can't make up my mind. But if I narrowed it down to childhood beloved books, I'd have to say The House at Pooh Corner and Winnie the Pooh, by AA Milne, which I knew chunks of by heart, well before I could even read. My parents and older siblings used to read the stories aloud, and it taught me that books could make me laugh. Those books are full of wonderful humor and gentle wisdom. I've never grown out of reading them — they speak to adults as well as children.
Many years later, when I was teaching adults how to read, I remembered the lesson of those AA Milne books — that reading could be fun. So much of the curriculum was about serious practical reading and writing, and it never occurred to my adult students that books and reading could be anything other than work. So I did my best to find things to make them laugh, or take their breath away, so that reading was not just something hard and boring they had to do, but was something that could also be a pleasure. Thank you AA Milne, and Pooh and Piglet and Eeyore and Wol and all the rest of the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood. And thank you to my family who read those stories aloud, over and over.
Pat here:
Since I’m normally surrounded by less experienced readers, I spend more time recommending books than having people mentioning them to me. Although, I once had an elderly neighbor recommend the Pollyanna books. She brought me a stack of them when I was twelve. By that time, I was reading the likes of ATLAS SHRUGGED, and Pollyanna was more than a wee bit twee for cynical me. But I was desperate for reading material back then and would read cereal boxes if handed one.
My one great story recommendation—which was great at the time and wouldn’t be so great now—was way back in the late 70s. I was a young mother, a fan of literary and historical fiction, with a limited book budget. The library generally provided what I needed, but I liked having a paperback when we traveled. So as I stared at the array of colorful covers at our local Kmart, a little blue-haired old lady pointed at one historical, but slightly spicy cover, and whispered, “Get this one. It’s really good.” So I bought it. That book was the FLAME AND THE FLOWER.
I had never read anything other than classic literary romance before, so I was captivated—and a bit wide-eyed at the graphic scenes. I went on from there to grab every historical romance I could find, learned which ones I liked, and when I couldn’t find them—started writing them for myself. There was no turning back after that. So there was one recommendation that made a difference!
(and the image is of that original copy that set my career in motion!)
Susan writes:
I'll pick just one among the many books that I have found unforgettable, books that have had a profound impact on me as a person and as a writer -- I could go way back to Pippi Longstocking (hey, I was six, that book turned my life around!) or Jane Eyre (in high school, I read it over and over, literally would close it and start it again). Those and more are on a special keeper shelf that I'll tote around with me until I'm, well, not around anymore. Today I'll choose a more recent read from that shelf: Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers was a profound reading experience for me. It is the story of four women among the 900 Jews on Masada just before the Romans arrived to place them under siege. The power of the story, the characters, the writing, spoke deeply to me--I've rarely been so completely immersed in a novel. The story is vibrant, gritty, whole cloth, the characters walking that landscape so strong and real that the book displaced the world around me. Part of its impact for me is that it not only pulled me in, but demanded something of me, the little reader in her safe little world -- I came to love these characters, cared about them, felt dread and hope for them. Hoffman weaves such a tight net of reality with language, image, and historical authenticity that I was in awe--and more than that, I realized the story was asking courage of me. The Dovekeepers is a powerful reading experience and I found it unforgettable. I will one day draw up my courage again and give it another read. It will be worth it.
Nicola: I've mentioned before that my grandmother had a big collection of romance books hidden away at the back of the wardrobe in her spare room which I discovered at about the age of eleven. One of the books on the shelf was Madam, Will You Talk, by Mary Stewart. I'd already discovered the Regency genre via Nanna's collection of Georgette Heyer books and now it was the turn of Romantic suspense. As you might imagine, this opened up a whole new world for me. Glamorous and exciting stories with danger and adventure, set in places like the South of France, Corfu and Greece that were impossibly exotic to me! It was amazing! I was transported all over the world through my reading, and the books were so romantic too!
I was lucky enough to find almost all Mary Stewart's books in my local library and grabbed them one after another, detouring from romantic suspense into the Arthurian world of The Crystal Cave and its sequels, which also enchanted me. Eventually I tracked down every one of Mary Stewart's books and created my own collection, but one evaded me - the novella The Wind off the Small Isles which had been published in the UK only in 1968 and never re-published. I looked for that book in every secondhand shop I came across which in the days before the internet and online shopping was a life's work! Eventually I tracked it down to the famous Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland, and couldn't believe it! I snapped it up and here it is. Inside it's inscribed "To Pat, with love and best wishes, Feb 1969, from Eve and James." I hope Pat enjoyed as much as I still do!
So now it's over to you - please share with us the one special book that means a lot to you and tell us how it came into your life!
Christina here and today I’m delighted to be interviewing Wench Nicola Cornick about her new book The Last Daughter, which is published in paperback, ebook and audio here in the UK in three days’ time, on 8th July. In the US, it will release in paperback on 16th November as The Last Daughter of York, and both have amazing covers, although I will admit to favouring the UK one as it has such wonderful jewel colours.
Nicola, it’s lovely that it’s my turn to welcome you as a guest to chat about this story, which is one of my absolute favourite books this year. I was lucky enough to read an ARC and I loved it – the mixture of history, mystery and timeslip is just superb and I simply couldn’t put it down!
Please can you tell us briefly what The Last Daughter is about?
The Last Daughter is a dual time novel set in the present and the Wars of the Roses. The historical strand looks at the mystery of the disappearance of the princes in the tower in 1483 through the eyes of Anne Lovell, wife of Richard III’s best friend Francis. This is linked to the modern day story where Serena Warren is trying to discover what happened to her twin sister Caitlin, who disappeared at Minster Lovell ten years before.
I loved that The Last Daughter is based on the many stories about the Princes in the Tower, the two young sons of King Edward IV, who disappeared after their uncle Richard of Gloucester took the throne for himself and became King Richard III. There have always been a lot of rumours and speculation about their fate, but the truth is that no one knows what actually happened. When did you first become aware of this story and what fascinated you about it?
Pat here: I think this is our favorite post every month. The wenches all madly grab up each other's recommendations, then eagerly await what our readers are loving. Good thing for credit cards!
This month I'm recommending INTERVIEW WITH A DEAD EDITOR (Book#1 in the Lucky Lexie mysteries.) I’ve always enjoyed Shanna Swendson’s books, and I was delighted to realize she was writing mysteries now.
Lexie had just been laid off from her reporter’s job when she surprisingly gets a call for an interview for an assistant editorship in the most perfect small town in Texas one could ever find. Sure, half the town is descended from a freak show that got side-railed there a century ago. And unfortunately, the editor who was supposed to interview her is dead upon arrival. But the food is great. The ghosts—well, the original newspaper owner from the 1930s smokes too much. When a snowstorm and a mysterious car ailment prevent Lexie from turning around and leaving, she gets caught up in solving the former editor’s murder, of course. Shanna is a great writer with a sense of humor, and even though I figured out the killer early on, it’s a fun tale, and I’ll be back for more.
Anne here, and this month the Ask-a-Wench question is one often asked. It started off as "After so many books, does the writing get easier?" To which every single wench emphatically answered "No." Not much of a blog there.
So we changed it to: "After so many books, does the writing get easier or harder? What is the hardest part of creating a story?" which gave us a little more to talk about.
Pat says: Without even knowing how the other wenches respond to the first part of this question, I can almost hear them all shouting: “Heck, no!” in probably ruder terms. With each book, we learn a little more and have to think a little harder. And then, if we wish to stay creative and original as the number of published books piles up, we have to stretch our imaginations further and further to give readers new stories.
For me, the hardest part is, and always has been, writing a plot. Characters are easy. They populate my head. They kick around, chattering, demanding this scene or that—scenes that do not necessarily work with my perceived plot or any plot at all. Occasionally, this works and new ideas take off, but only in straight romance. If I mean to include a mystery. . . My characters aren’t heavily into logical clues and need to be taken by the hand—or the throat—and forced into line. And then it’s up to me to keep timelines and clues and characters straight so the plot follows without readers stopping and saying “Hey, what? Didn’t they just do that in the last chapter?” With my memory, that’s a real challenge!
Nicola here. Last week I was lucky enough to be on holiday in the Scottish Highlands, staying in a historic cottage above the town of Braemar. There aren’t many things that I have in common with the Queen, but for a few days we were within 20 miles of each other as Braemar is just down the road from Balmoral Castle! Our cottage however, whilst very comfortable indeed, was a lot smaller than the royal residence although just as interesting historically. Braemar too is an absolutely fascinating little town with a hugely interesting history and I had the treat of taking both an exclusive tour of the town and of the castle with two different but equally knowledgeable guides, and I thought I would share some historical snippets here.
Nicola here. I’m away from my desk on a research trip at the moment so I’ve pulled up and re-written an old Wench classic post from more than ten years ago which I really enjoyed writing at the time and which feels appropriate all over again at the moment as we approach Royal Oak Day on May 29th.
Here in the Northern hemisphere the flowers and the trees are starting to look very lush as spring is slipping into summer. In the past couple of years I think I’ve been more aware than previously of the environment around me because of the restrictions on movement we’ve all been through as a result of the pandemic. I’ve always loved nature and the countryside but I’ve definitely looked at it more closely and taken more solace from it in the past months than ever before and one thing I do love is trees. I love their strength and their beauty and the way they can look so dead during the winter (unless they are evergreen!) and then leap into life all over again. I’ve also loved discovering trees we don’t have in England whenever I’ve travelled to other parts of the world. The Quiver Tree in Namibia was a particular favourite. A look at the list of “national trees” shows a huge and wonderful variety across the world.
Anniversary Garden Party & Giveaway, Part 2
Collected by Mary Jo
Welcome to the second part of the Word Wench anniversary garden party, and this time, we're giving out books! The Wenches will give books to seven winners chosen at random from among the commenters by Tuesday night. So tell us your thoughts! (Commenters from both days of the anniversary posts are eligible.)
As on Friday, each Wench will summon one of our fictional couples from Pat Rice's magical library. Because libraries are all magical, here we can meet people from all places and times. The invitation will invite our people to a party in Anne Gracie's Bellaire Gardens, which is a wonderful garden square that is completely surrounded by grand residences. The garden is essentially the back yard of the houses, so residents can stroll and meet and mingle.
Come meet the other guests!
You're invited to the Word Wenches' Anniversary Garden Party! (Part 1)
Collected by Mary Jo
The Word Wenches blog is 15 years old! This is ancient beyond words in internet terms, yet we're still here because we love talking about our books and our travels and delicious odd bits of history. Most of all, we like the chance to interact with our readers.
Our characters have so much to say that this blog will be divided in two with Part 2 posted on Monday the 24th.
The invitations are going out now. Will you join us?
Nicola here. I was very interested in Wench Andrea’s blog a week or so ago about Dukes, and the reality of dukes and dukedoms as opposed to what we see on film and read about in books. This prompted me to think about duchesses, particularly as a new podcast called “Duchess” started recently. It’s a show that explores the inspiring women who are running the stately home of Britain. In it, Emma Manners, the Duchess of Rutland, travels the country and talks to a variety of women about their lives caring for historic houses. It’s quite an eye-opening listen (if that isn’t an odd metaphor!) Despite the very modern approach of some of the chatelaines, there were times when I felt I could have been listening to someone talking in the 19th century, particularly when the made reference to “taking care of the staff.” It’s all part and parcel of running a modern estate.
One of the messages that came over clearly from all the participants of the show was that life changes forever when you marry and take on the care of one of Britain’s most historic buildings. Of course you get to live in the most amazing setting and enjoy all the treasures of a grand pile, but you are sharing your home with visitors and need some privacy some of the time.
Nicola here. After long winter months of bad weather and lock down, the idea of going to the beach for some fresh sea air to blow away the cobwebs was irresistible and so last week we took a trip to Norfolk (UK) and to a little seaside village called Sea Palling on the East coast.
Maybe it’s because I’ve always lived a long way away from the sea that I often have a longing to see the ocean. A lot of us love it, I know; there’s something so soothing about the surge and fall of the waves and so refreshing about the sea breeze and the big open skies. It feels as though it’s doing you good.
Nicola here and today I’m talking about curtains. I think the topic popped into my mind when I was lying awake early this morning reflecting on the fact that now it’s lighter in the mornings, I’m going to need to get some thicker curtains to ensure I get my required eight hours sleep! Either that or I could resort to what our ancestors did and have a curtained bed instead of curtains at the window (or both.) It fascinates me to think that we are still using a way of keeping light out and warmth in that was invented hundreds of years ago.
Windows have perhaps entered our consciousness more because of lockdown. We’ve been spending more time looking out of them at the world outside than we might normally do. Often this view is framed by a blind or a curtain or a shutter, some sort of covering that offers privacy and keeps light and draughts out.
By Mary Jo
Today's Ask A Wench was inspired by a question from regular reader Pamela DG, who wanted to know why authors use pseudonyms. I said the answer was complicated and worthy of a blog. For asking the question, Pamela will get a book from me.
Writing with a pseudonym, a name not one's own, can occur for any number or reasons. The Wenches explain why:
From Nicola
I’ve never written under a pseudonym. This was not a conscious decision. I was literally so naïve when I was first published that it did not cross my mind to consider it. This seems remarkable to me now but I had had no experience of the publishing world other than a godmother who wrote religious books under her own name. I quickly came to regret my naivety. For a number of years I wrote historical romance for Mills & Boon alongside working as an academic registrar in a university. One day a mischievous colleague read out a passage from one of my books in a meeting, which was quite embarrassing. I wasn’t ashamed of the books or that I had written them but I didn’t want my writing and my other work life to cross over.
Once I started to write full time it didn’t matter at all and it’s never really given me any problems since. There has only been one odd occasion when a publisher kept referring to Nicola Cornick as my pseudonym and refused to accept that it wasn’t! That said, if I was starting over again knowing what I do now, I’d probably use a pseudonym. I don’t dislike my name but it does give you the opportunity to call yourself something you’ve always wanted to be! One of the reasons I like my Czech editions is that I love being called Cornickova!
Nicola here! Today is St Patrick’s Day, the feast day of the patron saint of Ireland, and if you’ve read Wench Susan’s post earlier in the week you will already be in the mood to celebrate with a pint of Guinness and some delicious soda bread!
Whilst the harp is the official symbol of Ireland, found everywhere from Guinness glasses to official coinage, the shamrock is another symbol that is as widely recognised and popular. It is said that this little sprig of green was important to the druids and that St Patrick used it to explain the concept of the trinity in his teaching, as it has three leaves.
The original shamrock has been identified as being either the lesser or the white clover, although down the centuries there has been a lot of discussion amongst botanists as to what genus of plant it actually was. Normally it has just the three leaves; if you find one with four then that is especially lucky! References to it in medieval literature refer to beautiful fields of it in flower – there is a story that St Brigid decided to stay in County Kildare when she saw a meadow clothed in glorious shamrock/clover flowers.
Continue reading "Celebrating The Shamrock on St Patrick's Day!" »
Anne here with the other Word Wenches, farewelling Joanna Bourne, who has been such a beloved member of our community for more than ten years.
I first "met" Jo through her writing. It was 2008. I was in New York for a conference, and meeting with my editor. I was in her office, about to leave, when I said, "Is there anyone you think I should be reading? She pulled The Spymaster's Lady from her shelf and handed it to me. It hadn't yet been published — Jo and I shared the same editor. I read The Spymaster's Lady on the plane on the way home and wow! It blew me away.
I met her in person in 2009, the night she won her first RITA for the Spymaster's Lady. It was a thrilling night all around. Wench Jo Beverley presented her with it — seems Joanna was almost fated to become a Word Wench.
I interviewed her here, and the following month Joanna joined us as a word wench. This was her first post. And since then she's become a valued member of the word wench family. You can catch up with her previous posts here — there's a wealth of Jo-reading. And now, over to the other wenches . . .
From Pat: Jo, I totally wish you well in your retirement but secretly hope the imps of creativity crawl out of their holes and start chewing on your fingers. Your brilliant, funny, creative mind needs a good outlet, and I need my Job fix of humor on a regular basis. I’ll miss you so much!
For those of you who have only read Jo’s books, dig around on the Wench blog and look for her epistles. Humor lurks under every word and insight. Behind the scenes, when the wenches are talking, she’s even funnier and pithier. And if you haven’t read Jo’s books, do so now! As you can see by her pictures, she looks like a mischievous imp, not an evil mind who grips you by the throat and won’t let go!
Nicola here. I imagine that a lot of people are, like me, missing their visits to historical houses and heritage sites, and can’t wait for a time when we can all go out and enjoy them again. Country house visiting has, of course, been a hobby for tourists for hundreds of years. One of the best descriptions of it in fiction comes from Pride and Prejudice, when Lizzie Bennett, in company with her aunt and uncle, visits Pemberley on their trip to Derbyshire. They are shown round by the housekeeper, giving Lizzie the chance to reflect on the house she could have been mistress of if only she hadn’t turned down Mr Darcy. The fact that Lizzie thinks that Mr Darcy is from home only to discover he’s just arrived, adds a wonderful, romantic twist to the story.
It’s fun to think that in normal times we can gawp at grand houses in the manner of our ancestors although these days a lot of places provide more entertainment for the visitor than you might have got in the eighteenth century with shops, tea rooms, exhibitions, talks and lots of activities for children. Heritage sites compete for our business in contrast to the past when it was considered an honour to be allowed to visit the home of the Duke of Wherever.
Nicola here. Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, a date that is a particular favourite of mine for two reasons, firstly because my husband and I had our first date over a pile of homemade pancakes on a Shrove Tuesday long ago and secondly because, well, I just love pancakes. Here is a picture of yesterday's feast!
In the Christian tradition the 40 days of Lent, which begin today, are a time of prayers and fasting, abstaining from a whole range of foods, including meat, eggs, fish, fats and milk. Shrove Tuesday itself was the day you were summoned to church to be “shriven” and confess your sins before Lent. The shriving bell would be rung to call people to confession.
Shrove Tuesday therefore was the very last day you can indulge in treats for 40 days. After that, all edible temptation has to be removed. So the making of pancakes was a great way to use up eggs, butter and other stocks of food that would be out of bounds for the following 40 days.
Nicola here. Today I'm talking about some of the things people in the 18th and 19th centuries did when they stayed in the the country (the respectable activities, I mean, rather than the complicated business of creeping in and out of bedrooms in the dead of night. I'm talking here about the leisured classes, of course, the ones who didn't distinguish between a week day and the weekend. This may be a Wench re-post; because of stuff I have going on at the moment I've had to dust down and add to a piece I'd written a while ago, but even if it is I hope you enjoy it!
One of the questions I’m often asked when I am showing visitors around Ashdown House on guided tours is what did visitors to country houses do all day? Life in London or Bath was exciting, with plays, concerts, opera, shopping and many more entertainments. In contrast the country lifestyle was sometimes mocked as slow and boring, especially on a rainy day. “Morning walks, prayers three times a day and bohea tea” was how the poet Alexander Pope described it.
It was a pleasantly relaxing, of course, at least for the visitors, unlike the servants who attended to their every need. They were free to pursue whatever activity and interests they wished and, mostly, had the money to indulge those interests.
Nicola here, rambling (literally) today on what to wear for a dog walk in the rain and adding in some historical sidenotes. Each day I go out with Angus, our pet Labrador, or April, our guide dog trainee in the inclement winter weather, generally getting soaking wet in the process. This has prompted me refine my outdoor wear to suit the different elements of winter – frost, snow and wind as well as rain – and make sure that I have the right clothes for the right activity, because you know the saying: “There’s no wrong sort of weather, only the wrong sort of clothes.”
On April’s training walks it’s relatively easy as we are walking on paths and pavements and it isn’t too muddy underfoot. Sometimes we’re even under cover! A pair of warm trousers, sturdy shoes and a rainproof jacket is usually sufficient. However, on a walk like that there is the question of whether or not to carry an umbrella. April is partial to a nice stick and she needs to learn to ignore umbrellas, parasols, and walking sticks when she is working, whether I’m carrying them or we meet someone with one.
Nicola here, introducing this month’s Ask A Wench topic, which was sent in by Valerie Moore, who wins a book from me as a thank you. Valerie asks:
“How do the seasons affect your style of writing, if at all?”
It’s an excellent question and gave us all much to ponder on. Do the seasons affect our actual writing style or is it more that the seasons affect our moods and this affects our writing? Certainly in my case, I find it extremely difficult to write about a season that is very different from the one that I’m in. At the moment I’m writing a book set in July whilst I’m in an English winter. I’m trying my best to remember the heat of the sun and the scent of roses whilst stepping out into the stinging rain and the cold wind. Winter can sometimes bring my mood down as well; that definitely affects my writing if not my style, and makes it more difficult. So here are the Wenches’ thoughts on this ever-fascinating topic, some lovely “hygge” ideas and some wonderful photography of the seasons from around the world.
Continue reading "Ask A Wench - The Influence of the Seasons" »
Word Wenches is a blog featuring seven authors, plotting in the present, writing about the past. . . and improvising the rest. Authors include Mary Jo Putney, Patricia Rice, Anne Gracie, Susan King aka Susan Fraser King, Nicola Cornick, Andrea Penrose, & Christina Courtenay.
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