August already, this year is flying by. I have been quite busy with a few projects and thought you might like to hear about them.
I mentioned previously that I was working on a prequel to The Pomegranate Tree – and I still am – but even though this will be more of a novella than a full length book, it is taking much longer than I anticipated.
This is more to do with trying to get my head around both the machinations of the Armenian campaign – which Maxentius was part of prior to his transfer to Masada – and the deteriorating situation in Jerusalem, where Hannah was living.
On top of this, the sections relating to Maxentius are quite technical – what with battles, shifting frontiers and political alliances. Yes, I realise that it’s fiction, but I wanted to try and demonstrate a sense of what this chapter of his life was like. I must admit, though, it has been good fun being able to include things that occurred in both Hannah’s and Maxentius’ past, which are alluded to in the other books.
I also decided, after releasing Embers of Destiny, that it might be an idea to add a compilation to the mix. So The ‘Hannah’s Heirloom Trilogy’ is now available through Amazon as an e-book only (being much too big as a paperback, although I may try and work out how to release a box set at some stage).
In between researching Armenia and Jerusalem, circa AD58-66, I have written a Regency Romance (otherwise known as a ‘bodice ripper’… although to be fair, bodices mostly stay intact in mine …). It is a style of novel that I have only only recently started reading but one, which I have discovered, I can easily lose myself in. The basic scenario, like most romances, includes a hero, a heroine, an underlying plot – and of course – the romance. When I hit writer’s block during ‘Echoes,’ I began one, thinking it to be a useful distraction until I could refocus on ancient stuff. The characters wormed their way under my skin, however, and I found that I needed to see their story through to its conclusion and thus, I ended up with a proper novel.
As an aside – part way through writing Hannah’s story, I contemplated the notion of writing the odd story, set at random points throughout history each mentioning the clasp. No connecting of souls, no time shift, simply a way to follow it’s journey from my Hannah of the ancient world, to her descendent in the modern day. As they would be stand alone novels, there was no reason for them to be written in any particular order, so I decided to include the clasp into my Regency story, for although barely mentioned, now I have my first link in the chain.
As with the compilation, the Regency romance will only be released as an e-book initially, to see whether there’s enough interest to warrant a paperback version. Until I started on this story, the history surrounding the Georgian or Regency era was something about which I knew very little, so researching it has been fascinating. The Napoleonic Wars, along with the social and political changes that were occurring in England during the first quarter of the nineteenth century, offer great backdrops for a plot line, as are the shenanigans of the nobility. It’s in editing at the moment and – as seems to be a habit of mine – I loved it so much that there is a second novel in the works, involving the same characters.
So, I think that’s brought you up to date! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Have a great day.
Rosie.