Hoydens News - December 2013

It is good to stop and draw breath for a minute and reflect on the busy year the Hoydens have enjoyed.

But firstly we are thrilled to welcome three new members as regular posters to the Hoydens. All these ladies have been guest posters over the past year so they will be familiar to you all. So in no particular order allow us to introduce:

CHRISTY ROBINSON

Christy K Robinson is published in the historical fiction, nonfiction, and inspiration genres, and has edited and contributed to a variety of other books and magazines during her career as a writer and editor. Mary Dyer Illuminated and Mary Dyer: For Such a Time as This are her first novels. To follow her research in 17^th-century England and New England, or to contact her, visit http://ChristyKRobinson.com  

ANDREA ZUVICH

Andrea Zuvich, aka The Seventeenth Century Lady, lives in a small town in England. She is a full-time historian, author of historical fiction set in the 17th Century, and often gives lectures about the Late Stuart period, in which she specialises. Originally from Philadelphia, Zuvich grew up in Florida with a keen interest in Early Modern European history. She was one of the original developers of and guides on the Garden History Tours at Kensington Palace. Find out more about Andrea at The Seventeenth Century Lady Website

and
JO ANN BUTLER

Jo Ann Butler, author of The Reputed Wife and Rebel Puritan, was born during the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany, when Teutonic myth destines her to become a werewolf. In the meantime, she has been a colonial archeologist, genealogist, home health therapist, executive dogsbody, and a computer jockey in San Diego’s aerospace industry. Now Ms. Butler is an essayist and historical novelist. What comes next – besides lycanthropy? 

We are looking forward to their future posts.

And for the battle hardened veterans?

For ANITA DAVISON (writing as ANITA SEYMOUR) The year started off with the release of ROYALIST REBEL, a fictionalised account of the life of the scandalous Elizabeth Murray.  She is currently entertaining murderous thoughts and working on a cosy mystery set in the early years of the twentieth century.

MARY SHARRATT goes from strength to strength with her critically acclaimed recent release ILLUMINATIONS: A NOVEL OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN winning the 2013 Nautilus Gold Award: Better Books for a Better World. 

DEBORAH SWIFT's latest release A DIVIDED INHERITANCE, a story of love and treachery set in early seventeenth century England and Spain, is getting consistent 4 and 5 star reviews. She has just finished a teen (YA) novel set in the English Civil War so all fingers are crossed that her agent finds a home for it.

KIM MURPHY's non fiction book, book I HAD RATHER DIE: RAPE IN THE CIVIL WAR  (that is the American Civil War) will be released on January 1 2014.  

 "A meticulously documented and gut-wrenching account of the gratuitous acts of violence against women's bodies, black and white, slave and free, young and old… A major work of scholarship that was long overdue, and that all historians should be grateful for." --Susan Brownmiller, author of Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape.


ALISON STUART's late 2012 release, the  World War One paranormal romance GATHER THE BONES went on to become an Amazon best seller and to gather award nominations in five major awards during 2013.  In 2013 she released a short time travel romance with an English Civil War setting SECRETS IN TIME (currently on sale at Amazon until 14 December). In January 2014 CLAIMING THE REBEL'S HEART, an English Civil War set historical romance based (very, very loosely) on the siege of Brampton Bryan castle will be released. 

If you are looking for some good holiday reading, there are some wonderful options here...

The Hoydens thank their readers for all the support during 2014 and wishes everyone a happy and safe holiday season.

HOYDENS AT LARGE: A Farewell and our news...

The Hoydens are very sad to say farewell to Sandra Gulland. Sandra has been with us since the Hoydens first burst on to the blogging scene but her writing and her life are moving her in different directions. While she remains a 17th century passionista, the lure of the Napoleonic days has captured her and that is where she needs to devote her time and her energies.  

Thank you, Sandra, for your support and your friendship over the last five years. You have graced us with some wonderful articles and will always be welcome back as a guest author should you have a 17th century "moment"!

In the meantime we are waiting with baited breath for the televisation (is that a word?) of your Josephine B. series. I am currently half way through the second book and just loving it.  Mini review here:  Sandra Gulland has chosen the first person voice of Josephine Bonataparte to tell her own story in a diarised format.  The result is a deeply personal account not only of Josephine's own  life but the tumultuous times in which she lived. I can't put it down!

Fear not, dear followers...the Hoydens will continue with our core group of Anita Davison (Anita Seymour), Dee Swift, Kim Murphy and Mary Sharratt, supplemented with our wonderful guests.  We are finding more and more fellow 17th century passionistas...so if you write books set in this period of history, do please email me at alison@alisonstuart.com and ask for a guest spot on the blog. The more people we can share our interest in this period with - the better!

Back to the Hoydens:

MARY SHARRATT:

Mary on a panel at HNS

THE DARK LADY’S MASQUE, the story of Aemilia Bassano Lanier, the first rofessional woman poet in Renaissance England, and her collaboration—and star-crossed love affair—with William Shakespeare, as his Dark Lady, sold to Nicole Angeloro at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

 Conference news: I (Mary) was on three panels at the recent HNS conference: Depicting Religion in Historical Fiction;  Genre vs Literary Historical Fiction ; and The Witchcraft Window: Scrying the Past with Erika Mailman, Kathleen Kent, and Suzy Witten. 



ANITA DAVISON
Writing as Anita Seymour, ROYALIST REBEL, was released in January this year.  The biographical novel of the tumultuous life of Elizabeth Murray who lived through the reigns of Charles I through to William and Mary. The book is gathering some wonderful reviews. 






DEBORAH (DEE) SWIFT
Like Mary, Dee was recently in Florida where she appeared on the Historical fiction bloggers panel. Blogging is alive and well...

Dee Swift on the panel at HNS

Her two wonderful 17th century books THE GILDED LILY and THE LADY'S SLIPPER are out in the world and gathering wonderful reviews. We are all waiting for her next book A DIVIDED INHERITANCE, set in 1609, it moves from London to Seville in Spain...coming soon




KIM MURPHY

Kim reports:  "I'm working on my copy edits for my nonfiction title I HAD RATHER DIE:  RAPE IN THE CIVIL WAR. Release date looks like it will be Jan. 2014."  Kim's study of the American Civil War will be a major contribution to women's history and the fate of women in war time.

ALISON STUART

Alison's September 2012 release, GATHER THE BONES (set post World War One) has gathered some major award nominations this year:  The Australian Romance Readers Awards, the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence, the GDRW Booksellers Best Awards and the InDtale Magazine RONE Awards. 
In April 2013, SECRETS IN TIME was released, an unabashed time travel romance with a time travelling cavalier hero.  Fun to write and a short read.






Alison Stuart
July 7 2013

HOYDENS NEWS

A very happy Hoydens New Year to all our followers.

2012 has been an exciting year for all of us and to bring everyone up to date...

ANITA DAVISON (writing as ANITA SEYMOUR) has a new biographical novel,  coming out on 31st January.  With her feet firmly planted in the seventeenth century, ROYALIST REBEL tells the real life story of Elizabeth Murray.
It will be available from Amazon UK and US and all good book stores in the UK (and hopefully beyond!).





SANDRA GULLAND shared the outstanding news that the TV film rights for her Josephine Bonaparte Trilogy have been optioned with Michael Hirst as screen writer (who scripted THE TUDORS and ELIZABETH) and Kelsey Grammar as producer.






DEBORAH SWIFT's latest book THE GILDED LILY was released in late 2012.
The Gilded Lily was selected as one of the '13 must reads in 2013' by GoodMorning Texas TV programme.

Dee has been invited to appear on two panels ('Making it to Mainstream' about my unusual route to publication, and 'The Virtual Salon' about how blogging can link writers with readers) at the Historical Novel Society Conference in Florida.  Dee says  "If anyone is going to the conference, particularly if you are a fan of Hoydens and Firebrands or the 17th century, please come and say hello. "Or you could rescue my husband who as yet does not know what he is letting himself in for!"

She has just finished working with the copy-edits for her next book 'A Divided Inheritance' and it's scheduled for publication with Macmillan in October 2013.


ALISON STUART'S latest book, a "Downton Abbeyesque" ghost story, GATHER THE BONES, set post World War I, also came out in late 2012. Her next book, a historical time travel SECRETS IN TIME is out in April. It is her first unashamedly romance book with a cavalier hero (of course).
Late breaking news:  GATHER THE BONES has been nominated as a Finalist in the Australian Romance Readers Awards.



KIM MURPHY has finished writing her non fiction book on rape in the American Civil War. A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH will be released either this fall or January 2014. She is currently working on the sequel to THE DREAMING: WALKS THROUGH MIST. The title for the sequel is THE DREAMING: WIND TALKER, which will include more conflict between the colonials and the Powhatan chiefdom in the seventeenth century.







MARY SHARRATT also had a late 2012 release with ILLUMINATIONS: A NOVEL OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN which has been selected as a Best Book of 2012 by Kirkus, WGBH Greater Boston Public Television, The Examiner, The Reading Frenzy, and She Knows.




We may often write about different periods of history but our hearts belong to the seventeenth century. 

Here's to another successful year for the Hoydens.

Hoydens News and Updates

It's proving to be a big year for the girls at Hoydens and Firebrands and we are very excited to share our news with our readers.

Mary Sharratt reports

My news is that I'll be speaking at Capturing Witches, an interdisciplinary academic conference commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Pendle Witch Trials, at Lancaster University, August 17-19. There will be distinguished speakers from all over the world addressing topics as diverse as historical witchcraft, gothic fiction, Neopagan practice, and the horrifying persecution of so called "child witches" in modern day Nigeria.

My forthcoming book ILLUMINATIONS: A NOVEL OF HILDEGARD VON BINGENwill be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on October 9 and will explore the life of the 12th century visionary abbess, composer, polymath, and powerfrau. 
On October 7, Saint Hildegard will be elevated to Doctor of the Church. Currently there are only thirty-three Doctors of the Church and only three are women. This is a solemn title given to theologians who have made a significant impact. 
My book tour will also be launched on October 9 at Common Good Books in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

From Sandra Gulland:

My own news is in the "soon to come" category!


I am releasing e-book editions of all my novels in all territories outside North America (where they are already published). This will be under my own imprint—Sandra Gulland Ink—so I'm quite excited about it. For information see http://www.sandragulland.com/books/sandra-gulland-ink/


Also, my next novel, a second one set in the Court of Louis XIV, the Sun King, is in final draft, and will be published in May of next year.


And, I've contracted with Penguin to write two Young Adult novels, at least one of which will be the story of Hortense, Josephine Bonaparte's daughter. 

Our newest Hoyden Dee Swift writes:

My next book The Gilded Lily, set in Restoration London in the little ice age finally has its covers.Two very different views of the same book, but both reflect it very well I think. It tells the story of two sisters - one pretty and one plain, on the run and looking to re-invent themselves and find their fortune in fashionable society. How will they fare? And when one begins to rise and the other to fall, and their relationship crumbles,will they help each other when danger strikes?

It's publication date is 13th September (UK) and 26th November (US)

Meanwhile, I've  Just finished my third novel, working title "A Divided Inheritance", which is set in England and Spain and will be published by Macmillan in 2013.

Alison Stuart reports:

My next book, GATHER THE BONES comes out in September 2012 from Lyrical Press.  Sadly, it is not a seventeenth century story. I am traversing Downton Abbey territory (if you can imagine Downton Abbey with ghosts).

Set in 1923 against a background of the Great War, grieving war widow, Helen Morrow and her husband’s cousin, the wounded and reclusive Paul are haunted not only by the horrors of the Great War but ghosts from another time and another conflict. A coded diary provides the clues to the mysterious disappearance of Paul’s great grandmother in 1812. As the desperate voice of the young woman reaches out to them from the pages, Paul and Helen are bound together in their search for answers, not only to the old mystery but also the circumstances surrounding the death of Helen’s husband at Passchandaele in  1917. As the two stories become entwined, Paul and Helen will not find peace until the mysteries are solved.

And in late breaking news:  Alison has sold a "time slip" novella (with its feet in the seventeenth century) to Lyrical Press.

From ANITA DAVISON:

Coming in early 2013 from Pen and Sword Press, ROYALIST REBEL, a Novel Based on the early life of Elizabeth Murray, Lady Tollemache, Countess Dysart, Duchess of Lauderdale.

Last but by no means least KIM MURPHY:

Kim reports that she has been working hard on her non fiction foray into the American Civil War.  In the meantime her book  THE DREAMING: WALKS THROUGH MIST received an Honorary Mention in ForeWord magazine's Book of the Year Awards. Congratulations, Kim!


That's it from the Hoydens for now...watch out for all these exciting new releases in the next 6 months!