Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

After having the pleasure of meeting Helen Hollick last month during our trip to England, I am so pleased to welcome her to the castle today to answer a few questions regarding her newest US release - The Forever Queen. 

How did you come to be a writer and get published?


I have always wanted to write; if I wasn’t writing as a young teenager I was reading. It was escapism, I suppose. I didn’t have many friends and was dreadfully shy, so inventing my own friends seemed an obvious thing to do.

I became published through a stroke of good luck and because an author – Sharon Penman - encouraged me. I met her when she was touring in England. I had written to her thanking her for writing Here Be Dragons, and explained that I wanted to be a writer, but was not good enough. She answered “If you can make a four page letter as interesting as yours, I can’t wait to read the book.” She introduced me to her agent – who introduced me to William Heinemann (Random House UK.)

That was not far off twenty years ago!

Emma of Normandy was wife to two kings and mother to two others yet there doesn’t seem to be a lot written about her (unlike Eleanor of Aquitaine) Why do you think that is?

Because she was a Queen of Saxon England.

The majority of Saxon (English) history was swept under the carpet after the Norman Conquest in 1066 – the early Saxon period was known as the Dark Ages, and later Saxon England presumed to be barbarian and uncivilized. History often distorts the truth, especially when usurping conquerors take over!

One of the reasons I wanted to write this novel was an attempt to redress the balance of pre conquest history a little. I hope I have succeeded!

What was it that made you want to tell her story?

In addition to the above reason, I first researched about Queen Emma for I Am the Chosen King ( coming to US stores in March 2011, first published in the UK in 2004 as Harold the King) and I became intrigued by her strength of character; so much so that I felt I had to write her own novel – which chronologically comes before Harold Godwinson’s story.

Add to that Emma deserves to be remembered – she is the only woman to be Queen to two different Kings of England.

And for a personal reason; my paternal grandmother was called Emma. I never paid much attention to her as a child and teenager for she was very deaf, and I am ashamed to say I never had much patience for her. What a waste! She too was a remarkable woman. She led people to safety from burning building during the Blitz of London during World War II and the scene in The Forever Queen where Emma climbs the cliffs after being trapped on the beach really happened. My Grandmother did it when my father was a babe in arms. In a little way this novel is a tribute to her courage and bravery, and to make amends for my teenage indifference.

What types of historical information were you able to utilize in your research?

There is quite a bit about later Saxon England – especially the sixty or so years leading up to the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066. Background information – what the people wore, what they ate, how they built their houses, grew crops, farmed etc I find fascinating, and it is all those things that bring a novel alive. For Queen Emma herself there are several very good books by various professors of history. Pauline Stafford’s Queen Emma and Queen Edith is probably the best. For Emma we also have her own biography, the Encomium Emmae written about her life while she was exiled in Flanders after the death of her second husband, Cnut (circa 1040)

Did you discover anything that surprised you and/or that you found particularly interesting?

Yes, the Encomium – while a little dry in places it is fascinating because it mentions Emma’s early life as Queen of England, and her two sons, Edward and Alfred, but it makes absolutely no mention of her first husband, King Æthelred! That is some literary achievement!

Historical fiction has grown in popularity over the last few years. Why do you think readers have become more interested in the past?

Partly, I think because historical fiction has moved away from the romantic “rose coloured glasses” view of the past. Historical fiction has become more real and more detailed because we now have more facts available to us through the various channels of the Internet, TV and books. And partly because, I think, we are realizing that there are many more colourful, entertaining, and interesting characters – real people – who lived, loved, hated and died. Ordinary people who we can relate to. After all, they were our ancestors. Every one of us had someone in the past who was alive at the time when Emma was Queen, when Stephen and Matilda were fighting over the throne of England – when the Great Plagues swept through Europe. Not all our ancestors, of course, were in England – but they were alive! If they weren’t, we would not be here today reading this blog!

Your books have been available for several years in the UK but have only recently become widely available in the US. How has that experience been?

My Arthurian Trilogy, The Pendragon’s Banner Series (The Kingmaking, Pendragon’s Banner and Shadow of the King) was also published in the US quite a few years ago, but the books did very badly, partly because they had dreadful covers, poor to non-existent marketing and were badly produced. (One of the books was even printed from an uncorrected proof copy. I gave up counting after 360 errors).

Sourcebooks Inc., however, has been like a breath of fresh air. I am so thrilled that at last my books are getting the attention my characters deserve. The team I work with at Sourcebooks are fabulous – Shana and Danielle especially. I’m sure they sometimes groan when they see yet another of my e-mails popping up with the subject line “Just to ask….”

Dominque Raccah, the CEO and inspiration behind Sourcebooks is a fabulous lady. She treats her authors like special best friends, which is wonderful. I am loving being part of the Sourcebooks “family”.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Most of it is spent on Facebook and Twitter, but I love lazing in bed of a Sunday morning catching up with one of the UK’s longest running radio dramas – the Archers. I have been a fan for years. My daughter also has horses so I am often up at the stable yard watching her ride or compete at horse shows. She has recently taken up riding side saddle – I am so proud of her!

Can you tell us what you are working on next?

I am finishing the fourth in my pirate-based historical adventure series – The Sea Witch Voyages. These are a little bit of fun, not meant to be taken as seriously as my historical fiction books – Sharpe meets Indiana Jones at Sea. When I have completed Ripples in the Sand I intend to start researching and writing a follow-on to I Am The Chosen King (Uk title Harold the King).   It is to be about Hereward and rebellion against William. At the moment its working title is The Lost Kingdom, but that might have to change.


My thanks again to Helen for taking time out of her busy schedule to join us today.   Please make sure you check below for a chance to win a copy of this fabulous book!



THE FOREVER QUEEN BY HELEN HOLLICK – IN STORES NOVEMBER 2010

What kind of woman becomes the wife of two kings, and the mother of two more?

Saxon England, 1002. Not only is Æthelred a failure as King, but his young bride, Emma of Normandy, soon discovers he is even worse as a husband. When the Danish Vikings, led by Swein Forkbeard and his son, Cnut, cause a maelstrom of chaos, Emma, as Queen, must take control if the Kingdom—and her crown—are to be salvaged. Smarter than history remembers, and stronger than the foreign invaders who threaten England’s shores, Emma risks everything on a gamble that could either fulfill her ambitions and dreams or destroy her completely.

Emma, the Queen of Saxon England, comes to life through the exquisite writing of Helen Hollick, who shows in this epic tale how one of the most compelling and vivid heroines in English history stood tall through a turbulent fifty-year reign of proud determination, tragic despair, and triumph over treachery.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helen Hollick lives in northeast London with her husband, daughter and a variety of pets, which include several horses, cats and two dogs. She has two major interests: Roman / Saxon Britain and the Golden Age of Piracy--the early eighteenth century. Sourcebooks Landmark will release the next chapter on Helen’s 1066 saga, I Am the Chose King, in Spring 2011. For more information, please visit http://www.helenhollick.net/.


Giveaway Details:
If you would like to be entered in a drawing for a chance to win one of two copies of The Forever Queen, please complete the form below by November 18, 2010.  You must be a resident of the US or Canada in order to enter.  Good luck!