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Category Archives: Books

My Favorite Reads in 2023

Ben Fox at Shepherd.com polled hundreds of authors to discover their 3 favorite reads of 2023. My 3 favorites are pictured above, and you can read why I loved them at this link: https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/patricia-bracewell Take a look, too, at the … Read More

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The Steel Beneath the Silk

The third novel in my EMMA OF NORMANDY TRILOGY will be published on 2 March 2021. THE STEEL BENEATH THE SILK continues the story of 11th century queen of England Emma of Normandy during the final, desperate years of her … Read More

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Emma, England’s Forgotten Queen

Emma, a gem more splendid through the splendors of her merits… So begins the epigram written late in the 11th century by Godfrey, prior of Winchester, in honor of Emma, Queen of England. Queen Emma died on 6 March, 1052, … Read More

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Favorite Childhood Reads

January is when many bloggers write about their favorite books of the previous year. I’m going to be a little perverse and look back a little farther than that – all the way to… Grammar School When I was a … Read More

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The Last Kingdom, Episode Five: Uhtred vs Ubba

Alternate Title: UHTRED vs UBBA, ODDA 1, ODDA2, ALFRED, LEOFRIC, MILDRITH, OSWALD…oh heck. UHTRED vs EVERYBODY Episode 5 begins with shipwreck and concludes with a very different kind of wreck. In between, our hero Uhtred covers a lot of ground … Read More

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Shining Light On Our Ladies: A Tale of Two Queens

Welcome to a weekly, October-long celebration of heroines in historical fiction. This month I am joining nine other historical novelists to highlight the women who are the central figures in our books, and I’m eager to begin! I would hazard … Read More

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Guest Interview with Historical Mystery Novelist Candace Robb

Historical novelist and mystery writer Candace Robb is in the spotlight today as she celebrates the re-issue of her Owen Archer mysteries in brand new editions from Diversion Books, on sale today as e-books and next month as trade paperbacks. … Read More

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HNS Conference 2015

The 2015 Historical Novel Society Conference took place in Denver this past weekend, and I want to record a few memories before I surge back into the 11th century. Writers’ conferences are all about connecting and engaging with other writers, … Read More

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Authors on the Move 2015

Last Saturday night I had the very great pleasure of attending, for the second time, the Sacramento Public Library Foundation fundraiser event, AUTHORS ON THE MOVE. Our keynote speaker was Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket and he was joined by … Read More

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Celebrating Book Clubs

If you belong to a Book Club, raise your hand. See? I knew it. Lots of you. I have this theory that Book Clubs deserve a good deal of credit for keeping the publishing industry (and their authors) going.

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