Guest Post: “Excerpt from ‘Enheduanna’s Song From The Sands’ by Ellen Rachlin

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I am pleased to welcome Ellen Rachlin to my blog today to share an excerpt of her novel, “Enheduanna’s Song From The Sands.” I would like to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and Ellen Rachlin for allowing me to participate in this blog tour. 

Eight years ago, I was bitten by a desire that I can’t forget. I was seven and with my mother in Azupiranu, the City of Saffron, and Father’s birthplace. We were at the Temple when I had a vision of my paternal grandmother, the former High Priestess, whom I’d never met. Ever since she revealed herself to me, I’ve wanted to be a high priestess too. 

Even my father had no memory of her. Only rarely did my parents speak of her. And I never received a good answer to how a high priestess could give birth to a mortal son. High priestesses are married to gods. They aren’t supposed to have children. 

I assume that’s why she gave father away. She tried to protect him by sending him downriver alone in a sealed basket. Akki, the royal gardener of Kish, found Father at the riverbank and raised him. When Mother brought me to Azupiranu on holiday, I believe she was looking for him. She’d lead me along a sloped embankment to the Euphrates riverbank where Father’s journey to Kish began. 

On that long-ago trip to Azupiranu, when I was steeped in grief, my grandmother appeared to me. It was on the day before Mother’s, and I was to return home to Agade. A cooling breeze from the East set in as we arrived at grandmother’s old Temple. She lived in the giparu where usually only the High Priestess and priestesses can enter. But on this day, Mother and I were permitted inside. She tugged my hand, and I followed her across the sacred courtyard, stepping lightly on my toes with my head tilted upwards, taking in the tops of the carved stone archways. 

The current High Priestess received us in her golden throne room and invited us to spend the night. Mother was allowed to climb to the mountain house, the highest point of the Temple, to spend the night. It’s the room closest to the gods, at the meeting place of Heaven and Earth. Mother left me all alone below in the care of the priestesses. 

As she ascended all three of the mountain house’s sacred platforms, she slipped away from me, becoming smaller and smaller. I stood at the base, and tears escaped my eyes. She told me that she was going to pray to Ninurta, the god of farming and healing. 

For several hours, I barely spoke to the priestesses. They chattered at me as they led me through the temple rooms and grand kitchens. All I could think of was that Mother didn’t allow me to go with her to touch the Heavens. I vowed that one day I would serve as high priestess at a temple with a grand mountain house. Then I would decide who was permitted to enter it. But that same night, the Heavens came to me. I saw a woman who looked as familiar to me as my own face. But she was more beautiful with a narrower nose and fuller bottom lip than mine; her dark almond-shaped eyes were the same. She sat on a small curved throne, enveloped in brilliantly colored woven fabrics. One shawl, the color of the morning sun, covered her head, grazed her shoulders, and flowed down her back. She called me to 

her. I could sense her breath. I moved closer, just close enough to stare at her curiously familiar face. 

Perhaps because she was speaking to a child, her words were slow and cautious. It took some moments for me to take them in, so I don’t recall her first words. But their meaning I understood—it was a warning that women are doomed to be forgotten and that I should take advantage of my blessed birthright, tell my story, and defend the beliefs of our people. I remember her asking me, “Do you understand me?” 

Maybe because I dreamed of being a high priestess as Father intended, serving Inanna, I remember her exact words that followed: “Great men have epics pressed into tablets and live on as the gods do. High priestesses who commit their lives to the gods are forgotten. Gilgamesh and your father remembered—you and I forgotten.” 

When she spoke about the legendary king, Gilgamesh, and Father, and the scores of tablets that tell their stories, her words seemed true. Her voice became louder, more insistent, “Study history. Learn how to write so you can tell your story and achieve immortality like great men and gods.” 

I’ve told no one, not even Mother, about this. At first, I wanted something all my own that night when Mother wouldn’t let me join her. Then, I put the vision aside, but not my desire to become a high priestess and climb the mountain house whenever I wished. 

Until recently, I had almost forgotten about that vision of my grandmother. 

Blurb: 

Discover the untold story of Enheduanna, the world’s first named author, as she navigates power, betrayal, and divine destiny in ancient Mesopotamia. A mesmerizing fusion of history, myth, and female leadership that challenges how we see the past—and ourselves.

A high priestess dethroned. A rebel with a dangerous plan. One empire hanging by a thread.

When Enheduanna is named High Priestess of Ur, her connection to the gods makes her a target. Lugalanne’s coup strips her of robes, power, and home, casting her into the perilous underworld. There, amid forests of shadows and treacherous trials, she discovers that divine favor alone won’t save her—only cunning, courage, and a willingness to embrace the ruthlessness of her enemies can restore her.

Drawing on history and myth, Enheduanna’s Song From the Sands follows the world’s first named author as she fights to reclaim her voice and her destiny. Political intrigue, betrayal, and divine tests collide as Enheduanna must decide whether to forgive, to fight, or to harness the power that could shake the foundations of an empire. For readers who love The Song of Achilles’s intimate heroism, Circe’s mythic depth, or The Daughters of Sparta’s fierce women, this is a mesmerizing dive into ancient Mesopotamia where courage and cunning are the only paths to survival. 

Buy Link: 

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/472x5R  

Author Bio: 

Ellen Rachlin’s poetry has appeared in American Poetry Review, Comstock Review, Granta, Court Green, Literary Imagination, and various anthologies.  She has published two collections of her poems, Until Crazy Catches Me (Antrim House, 2008) and Permeable Divide (Antrim House, 2017), winner of the 2018 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Award.   

She has a historical fiction novel, Enheduanna’s Song From the Sands, based on the life of Enheduanna, the Akkadian high priestess and world’s first-named author, forthcoming from Histria Books, and a collection of poems, At the Big Bang Resort, forthcoming from Red Hen Press. 

She is also the author of two chapbooks, Waiting for Here (Finishing Line Press, 2004), a finalist in the New Women’s Voices series, and Captive to Residue (Flarestack Publishing, 2009).  She received her MFA from Antioch University.  She serves as Treasurer of The Poetry Society of America and is a partner at Blue Leaf Ventures.  

Other writing genres include numerous textbooks and journal articles on the subject of finance and investing with various publishers, including Wiley. 

Author Links: 

Website: https://www.ellenrachlin.com/  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Ellen-Rachlin-author/61583923434907/  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellenrachlin/  

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Ellen-Rachlin/author/B002LFQWRM  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8068457.Ellen_Rachlin  

~~~ 

Praise for Enheduanna’s Song From The Sands (optional): 

“In finely detailed prose, Ellen Rachlin brings Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon, to life, as well as the mythic figures of Inanna and Ereshkigal of the Underworld. Enheduanna’s Song From the Sands is filled with conflict and intensity, each quest, not only a matter of achieving power, but of life and death.” 

~Regina McBride, author of Stranger from Across the Sea 

“Ellen Rachlin’s sumptuously detailed debut novel Enheduanna’s Song From the Sands tells the remarkable true story of the ancient high priestess Enheduanna. Rachlin guides us through the intrigues, secrets, spies and wars of Enheduanna’s times, bringing this gifted woman and the goddess she served to life.  What’s so singular about this heroine?  Daughter of a king, a spiritual leader, and a poet, she signs her hymns with her own name.  In Enheduanna’s Song From the Sands, the first known author in Western recorded history is a gutsy woman!  Thanks to Rachlin’s imagination and rich research, I fell in love with Enheduanna and relished her anguished and opulent story.”  

~ Molly Peacock, Author of The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life’s Work at 72 

“Enheduanna’s hymns to the goddess Inanna are the first known literary works to name an author. Rachlin brings her to life in this novel set in 2300 BCE, a novel of sex, war, love, a baby in a basket, and a woman creating a new order of being. It’s historical fiction writing that reminds the reader of Hilary Mantel; you can’t put it down.  You want to follow the priestess to bed, to rise, to her last fighting breath. Rachlin won’t let you put this book down.” 

~Kate Gale, author of Under a Neon Sun and Swimming the Milky Way 

“I could not put this book down! As a history buff, I always love reading historical fiction, and this book was so amazing. Reading Enheduanna’s struggle and overcoming hardships as a high priestess were so inspiring and intriguing to read about. If you loved books like The Song of Achilles than you would love this book as well.”
– Elda Rastoder Net Galley Reviewer 

“I’m OBSESSED. This is a rich and beautiful story of stepping into power and making hard decisions, told with a wonderful, brilliant voice perfect for its historical setting. The blend of intense drama, action, and conflict/reflection with oneself and the world around was executed so well. I really liked the addition of the footnotes and references because they tied this fantasy story in with real history; that was a smart addition. I fell in love with Enheduanna and the ancient high priestess’ intricate story, and I simply could not put this book down. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves ancient history and feminist retellings of true stories.” 

~ Seeta Net Galley Reviewer 

“A historical fiction about an almost forgotten but formidable high priestess in Ancient Mesopotamia. Enheduanna is the daughter of the king Sargon, and has been destined to become high priestess since receiving visions of a goddess from a young age. After a brutal SA on her journey, her desire for power turns hungry from wanting revenge. She experiences isolation, punishing rebels, and mastering her intimidation. Learning that seeking divine power is not the way, she begins to once more find alignment with values and creation, which led her to become high priestess in the first place. Tracing the course of Enheduanna’s rise to power, many important aspects of Mesopotamia 2300 BCE mythology and Enheduanna’s life are explored. Enheduanna was such a powerful FMC in this book and woman in real life, I’m truly so grateful to have learned about her. Ellen Rachlin’s writing captures the powerful and divine moments of Enheduanna’s life and suspends them before you so you may be there right alongside.” 

~ Morgan ARC reader 

“Enheduanna’s Song from the Sands is a historical fantasy surrounding the life and actions of Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon the Great and High Priestess of Ur, a powerful religious and business leader who lived approximately two thousand years before Virgil. Ellen Rachlin entwines her history with myth in a novel about the world’s first named author, who finds herself the focal point of conflict, transformation, and choices surrounding an extraordinary power rising in ancient Mesopotamia. 

From the start, the first-person story builds an evocative, compelling scenario that draws readers with passion and insight: 

Inanna, supreme in Heaven and Earth, ruler over all gods, I beg of you: restore me to my temple, bring me home! In the ancient city of Ur, I no longer breathe the salty air, lift myself from the sacred bed, or unravel Ningal’s dreams for my followers. The southern stars have slipped away from me; Now I walk the thorny brush of the northern mountainside. As I sing your blessed song, I am dying. 

A host of equally memorable characters enter Enheduanna’s life and chambers, from Darda, the son of Purushanda’s former king, to her mother and father, Sargon and Tashlultum, Uanna and Nidintu, women who are part of a core circle Enheduanna thinks she can trust, and others from different sides of an evolving rebellion. 

Enheduanna tries to fulfill her destiny, but often winds up feeling isolated and uncertain: 

“…in this forest of knowledge, the faces of some of my closest friends are becoming increasingly obscured.” 

As Enheduanna faces riots, rebels, and intrigue, her world comes to life with a host of social, political, and personal issues; all of which she navigates with authority and, sometimes, uncertainty: “I fear we’re losing real ground to our enemy.” 

Suffused with rage, she then documents the history of her world in vivid detail that readers will find engrossing and realistic. 

Librarians and readers seeking a story of ancient history come to life will find Enheduanna’s Song from the Sands rich with detail, personalized by the protagonist’s reflections as she steps into her power and makes difficult choices. 

Filled with dramatic action and confrontations with self as well as the outside world, Enheduanna’s Song from the Sands will appeal both to leisure readers and scholarly students of ancient times. The former will appreciate the high drama and personal touches; the latter the footnotes and references which cement events and fantasy in a layer of real history. 

An important footnote by the author clarifies why this novel should be in any serious collection of women’s history, as well as in fantasy and historical fiction holdings: 

I stumbled across Enheduanna while researching Sargon the Great. No one I knew, including poets, had ever heard of her or her hymns. When I began to uncover what was more broadly known about Enheduanna, it astounded me that the first-named author in history was not only a virtual unknown, but a woman who lived in a male-dominated culture.” 

~ Diane Donovan, Midwest Review, on recommended reading list

Guest Post: “Extract from ‘The Queen’s Sister’ by Carol McGrath”

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I am pleased to welcome Carol McGrath back to my blog today to share an extract from her latest novel, “The Queen’s Sister.” I would like to thank the Coffee Pot Book Club and Carol McGrath for allowing me to participate in this blog tour.

Extract from Chapter One 

We ride into the courtyard, myself, my lady, Madeleine, two female servants, and my six guardsmen. Stable boys come racing over the slippery cobbles to help with our horses. I had ridden most of the way north, sheltering from bitterly cold, harsh winds wrapped within my canvas cape and fur-lined gown, my underdress the warmest wool kirtle I could find in my travelling box.  My lady-in-waiting, at nineteen, only a few years older than I, sat for most of the journey in a wagon, with two servants and my travelling chests. 

A tall woman, wearing a sensible, plain gown and a coif covering a glimpse of grey hair on her brow, hurries from the porch to greet us. She is followed by a bustling, rotund man of a similar age, his kindly crinkly face creasing into smiles. My lady attendant drops a curtsey to her, and the middle-aged woman does the same to me. There is a rattling, noisy activity behind me as my luggage is unloaded from the wagon and my guard dismounts, their horses neighing and stamping the ground, puffs of steam billowing from nostrils. 

I assume the woman is the housekeeper. A ring of keys hangs from her belt. Seeing my glance at these, she speaks. ‘I am Mistress Eugenia Buxton, your housekeeper, and my husband is Master William Buxton, steward of Kexby.’ 

Master William steps forward and bows. Rising, he glances up and sniffs the bitter air. ‘My lady, welcome. Come away inside out of the bite.’ 

‘Hurry, Lady Elizabeth,’ his wife says. ‘Your messenger came in good time. There’s been a hot supper ready since he told us of your imminent arrival, and a warm chamber too. The manor has not had a mistress for many years, and the Cardinal, though much-loved here in the countryside, only visited Kexby on an odd occasion.’ She crossed herself, presumably because Cardinal Wolsey had died disgraced, on his way to London from York many years before. Hurrying me towards the door, she adds, ‘But rest assured, we have done our best to look after it all.’ 

‘I thank you.’ I turn to her husband. ‘Do you have accommodation for my household guard, Master Buxton?’ 

‘The manor has a substantial guard house beside the stables. It’s warm and comfortable. We can send meals over to them unless you prefer otherwise.’ 

‘They will eat in the hall with the rest of the household,’ I say at once. Master Buxton calls instructions to the boys minding the horses, and we all process through the enormous porch into the hall. The first thing I notice is the crackling, spluttering fire blazing in the hearth. A cloth-covered table is placed at the upper end. Another solid oak table is placed lengthwise. On either side, benches are squeezed against it.  I observe that a door along the wall opposite the fireplace must open into a screen passageway.   

Mistress Eugenia ushers myself and Madeleine to the top table, which is set with silver and generously laden with food – crisped small fishes, winter salads, pies, cheeses, meat,s and mountains of bread rolls on platters. As I take my seat, as if from nowhere, the manor’s population appear in the hall to take up places along the board. They appear awed by my presence and are quiet as they squeeze along benches to make room for the six soldiers who will remain with me for my stay in Kexby. Master William Buxton, I see, is already conversing with my sergeant and draws him to sit at the high table with us. A white-robed priest, who I am told is Father Adolphus, blesses the supper. Warmed wine smelling of spices is poured for those of us seated along the top board. Napkins are placed over our shoulders by servants, and we break bread. Determined not to appear greedy, I manage to avoid falling upon the food before me, though I am hungry as a half-starved beggar. I force myself to eat daintily as I politely converse with the housekeeper. 

‘I expect you observed a quiet Christmastide, my lady,’ Mistress Eugenia says. 

Blurb:  

A mother, a wife, a woman of substance… 

At nineteen, Elizabeth Seymour is already a mother, has been recently widowed, and has seen her Queen, Anne Boleyn, lose her life. Against the wishes of her father, she heads North, away from Wulf Hall and the court in London, to Yorkshire, determined to establish a new beginning as a landowner and businesswoman. As her family in Wiltshire curry favour with King Henry, aided by Thomas Cromwell, Elizabeth makes Kexby Manor her home, finding loyalty among her people there.

Soon, news comes to Elizabeth of the King’s desires for her sister, Jane, and while her brother, Edward, encourages her own betrothal to Gregory Cromwell, son of Thomas. It is a happy second marriage for Elizabeth, but it brings unwanted involvement in the dark plots and secrecy of the court, while in the wider country, changes in religious practice threaten to alter the traditions and values of all she has known…

THE QUEEN’S SISTER vividly imagines the story of the woman possibly portrayed in Hans Holbein’s beautiful painting ‘Portrait of a Lady,’ and is a colourful, meticulously researched novel of Tudor life behind the scenes.

What readers say about Carol McGrath’s novels:

‘Another beautifully crafted, well-researched work of historical fiction from Carol McGrath.’

‘Brimming with intrigue, tension and adventure, The Lost Queen is a powerful Medieval tale full of atmosphere, danger and emotion, and transports the reader to another world.’ 

Buy Links: 

Universal Ebook Link: https://books2read.com/u/bzExAq  

Universal Paperback Link: https://geni.us/queenssister  

Author Bio:  

Following a first degree in English and History at QUB, Carol McGrath completed an MA in Creative Writing from The Seamus Heaney Centre, Queens University Belfast, followed by an MPhil in English from the University of London. She is published by Headline.  

The Handfasted Wife, first in a trilogy about the royal women of 1066, was shortlisted for the RoNAs in 2014. The Swan-Daughter and The Betrothed Sister complete this highly acclaimed trilogy. Mistress Cromwell, a best-selling historical novel about Elizabeth Cromwell, wife of Henry VIII’s statesman, Thomas Cromwell, was republished by Headline in 2020. The Silken Rose, first in a Medieval She-Wolf Queens Trilogy, featuring Ailenor of Provence, saw publication in April 2020. This was followed by The Damask Rose. The Stone Rose was published in April 2022. The Stolen Crown 2023 and July 2024, The Lost Queen about Berengaria of Navarre and The Third Crusade. The Queen’s Sister, sequel to Mistress Cromwell, sees publication in June 2026. 

Carol writes historical non-fiction as well as fiction. Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England was published in February 2022 by Pen & Sword. She speaks at Conferences and gives interviews. 

Find Carol on her website: www.carolcmcgrath.co.uk. 

Subscribe to her newsletter via her website (use the drop-down on her website Home Page). 

Author Links: 

Website: www.carolcmcgrath.co.uk  

Twitter / X: https://x.com/carolmcgrath  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarolMcGrathAuthor1  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carol.mcgrath.58/  

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/swanneck.bsky.social  

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carol-mcgrath  

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Carol-McGrath/author/B00D0K5YI0  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6942793.Carol_McGrath

Book Review: “The Queen’s Sister” by Carol McGrath

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The Seymour family was a gentry family that rose to prominence and nobility through their illustrious marriages. When we think about the Seymours and their marriages, the one marriage that shaped the future of the family is the marriage of Jane Seymour and King Henry VIII. But our story focuses on another Seymour daughter during the time of the Tudors. She was Jane’s sister who married three times and had numerous children. Her second marriage was to Gregory Cromwell, the son of Thomas Cromwell pushes Elizabeth Seymour straight into the middle of the Tudor court. Elizabeth soon learns that dark plots and conspiracies are afoot in the midst of religious change. Can Elizabeth and her family survive, or will the Tudor court be their downfall? Carol McGrath explores Elizabeth’s life in the Tudor court and in her family homes in her latest novel, “The Queen’s Sister.”

I would like to thank Carol McGrath and Headline Accent for sending me a copy of this novel. I have enjoyed the previous novels that I have read by Carol McGrath, so when I saw that she was exploring the world of the Tudors yet again, I was excited. I have heard of Elizabeth Seymour, but I did not know much about her story, so when Carol McGrath reached out and asked if I would be interested in reading and reviewing this novel, I was thrilled. 

We begin Elizabeth’s story in 1537, when she is about to marry her second husband, Gregory Cromwell. Her sister Jane has recently married King Henry VIII after the death of Anne Bullen, and now Jane is pregnant with hopefully Henry’s heir. Elizabeth remembers her first marriage to Sir Anthony Ughtred. She had two children with Anthony, a son named Henry and a daughter named Margery, but Anthony never met his daughter as he died while Elizabeth was pregnant. Elizabeth moves to Kexby Manor and learns to be Lady Ughtred as well as a widowed mother. 

Time passes, and her family decides that Elizabeth should remarry, and the man they have chosen for her is the son of Thomas Cromwell, Gregory Cromwell. Elizabeth and Gregory built a happy life full of love and many children, but life has a way of throwing curveballs. In this case, it was religious conspiracies, a former love, spies, the Pilgrimage of Grace, and the fall of Thomas Cromwell. Elizabeth has to navigate it all while looking after her family and her beloved Kexby Manor. 

Our protagonist, Elizabeth, is a hard-working noblewoman who might have been the inspiration for Hans Holbein’s “Portrait of a Lady,” whose story deserves to be told, and McGrath was the perfect author to tell her tale. It gives more depth to the Tudor era, especially during the reigns of Jane Seymour and Anna of Cleves. If you are a fan of reading novels about lesser-known members of the Tudor court, I highly suggest you read “The Queen’s Sister” by Carol McGrath.

Guest Post: “Spotlight for ‘Daughter of Mercia’ by Julia Ibbotson- Book Birthday”

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I am pleased to welcome Julia Ibbotson back to my blog to celebrate the book birthday of her novel, “Daughter of Mercia.” I would like to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and Julia Ibbotson for allowing me to participate in this blog tour.

Blurb: 

Echoes of the past resonate across the centuries as Dr Anna Petersen, a medievalist and runologist, is struggling with past trauma and allowing herself to trust again. When archaeologist (and Anna’s old adversary) Professor Matt Beacham unearths a 6th-century seax with a mysterious runic inscription, and reluctantly approaches Anna for help, a chain of events brings the past firmly back into her present. And why does the burial site also contain two sets of bones, one 6th century and the other modern?  

As the past and present intermingle alarmingly, Anna and Matt need to work together to solve the mystery of the seax runes and the seemingly impossible burial, and to discover the truth about the past. Tensions rise, and sparks fly between Anna and Matt. But how is 6th-century Lady Mildryth of Mercia connected to Anna? Can they both be the Daughter of Mercia? 

For fans of Barbara Erskine, Elena Collins, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, and Christina Courtenay. 

Buy Link:  

Universal Buy Link: https://myBook.to/DOMercia 

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited. 

Author Bio: 

Julia Ibbotson is fascinated by the medieval world and the concept of time. She is the author of historical mysteries with a frisson of romance. Her books are evocative of time and place, well-researched and uplifting page-turners. Her current series focuses on early medieval time-slip/dual-time mysteries. 

Julia read English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language/literature/history, and has a PhD in socio-linguistics. After a turbulent time in Ghana, West Africa, she became a school teacher, then a university academic and researcher. Her break as an author came soon after she joined the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme in 2015, with a three-book deal from Lume Books for a trilogy (Drumbeats) set in Ghana in the 1960s. 

She has published five other books, including A Shape on the Air, an Anglo-Saxon timeslip mystery, and its two sequels, The Dragon Tree and The Rune Stone. Her latest novel is the first of a new series of Anglo-Saxon dual-time mysteries, Daughter of Mercia, where echoes of the past resonate across the centuries. 

Her books will appeal to fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, and Christina Courtenay. Her readers say: ‘Julia’s books captured my imagination’, ‘beautiful storytelling’, ‘evocative and well-paced storylines’, ‘brilliant and fascinating’, and ‘I just couldn’t put it down’. 

Author Links: 

Website: https://juliaibbotsonauthor.com 

Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/@juliaibbotson 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JuliaIbbotsonauthor 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julia.ibbotson 

Bluesky:  https://bsky.app/profile/juliaibbotson.bsky.social 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/juliai1 

Amazon Author Page: https://Author.to/JuliaIbbotsonauthor Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/juliaibbotson

Guest Post: “Spotlight for ‘The Agincourt King audiobook’ by Mercedes Rochelle

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I am pleased to welcome Mercedes Rochelle to my blog today to share a spotlight for her novel, “The Agincourt King,” the audiobook edition. I would like to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and Mercedes Rochelle for allowing me to participate in this blog tour.

Blurb:  

From the day he was crowned, Henry V was determined to prove the legitimacy of his house.  

His father’s usurpation weighed heavily on his mind. Only a grand gesture would capture the respect of his own countrymen and the rest of Europe. He would follow in his great-grandfather Edward III’s footsteps and recover lost territory in France. Better yet, why not go for the crown? 

Poor, deranged Charles VI couldn’t manage his own barons. The civil war between the Burgundians and Armagnacs was more of a threat to his country than the English, even after Henry laid siege to Harfleur. 

But once Harfleur had fallen, the French came to their senses and determined to block his path to Calais and destroy him. By the time the English reached Agincourt, they were starving, exhausted, and easy pickings. Or so the French thought. 

Little did they reckon on Henry’s leadership and the stout-hearted English archers who proved, once again, that numbers didn’t matter when God was on their side. 

Buy Links: 

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mq70Ze  

Audiobook Buy Links: 

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/0Cg66ye2wFqfteVEYMZXUE  

Chirp: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/the-agincourt-king-by-mercedes-rochelle 

This series is available to read on #KindleUnlimited. 

Author Bio: 

Mercedes Rochelle is an ardent lover of medieval history and has channeled this interest into fiction writing. 

Her first four books cover eleventh-century Britain and events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. The next series is called The Plantagenet Legacy about the struggles and abdication of Richard II, leading to the troubled reigns of the Lancastrian Kings. She also writes a blog: HistoricalBritainBlog.com to explore the history behind the story.  

Born in St. Louis, MO, she received a BA in Literature at the Univ. of Missouri, St.Louis in 1979, then moved to New York in 1982 while in her mid-20s to “see the world”. The search hasn’t ended! 

Today, she lives in Sergeantsville, NJ, with her husband in a log home they had built themselves. 

Author Links: 

Website: https://mercedesrochelle.com/  

Twitter / X:  https://x.com/authorrochelle  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mercedesrochelle.net  

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/authorrochelle.bsky.social  

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/mercedes-rochelle  

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mercedes-Rochelle/author/B001KMG5P6  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1696491.Mercedes_Rochelle  

Book Review: “Embroidering Her Truth: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Language of Power” by Clare Hunter

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The field of history is ever-expanding as we find new artifacts and documents that change our understanding of the past. Some of the more precious artifacts are textiles, from clothing to embroidery and even wall hangings and bedding. They can tell us a lot about their owner if you understand the symbolism. While some symbolism can be rather simple, other textile symbolism could help display the voice of a woman who was silenced, like the women of the 16th century. One woman who used textiles to display her power and her own voice was Mary Queen of Scots. Clare Hunter explores Mary’s life through the textiles connected with her life in her book, “Embroidering Her Truth: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Language of Power.”

I have seen this book mentioned on a few pages and podcasts, and it sounded alluring to me. I have tried my hand at embroidery, so I appreciate the craft itself. I have wondered about textiles and how they could be interpreted, which is why this appealed to me so much. I couldn’t wait to own it and read it.

So how do you tell the story of Mary Queen of Scots through the textiles connected to her life? Well, for Hunter, she decided to weave her own interactions with these textiles into Mary’s life in chronological order while analyzing the textile artifacts. Each chapter focuses on a different stage of Mary’s life, as well as the textiles that fit that period. Some of the examples of the artifacts that are mentioned in this book include the gowns she wore when she was about to marry the Dauphin, the fashion dolls to help bring French fashion to Scotland, Catholic banners, and memorabilia to spread the faith. We also get to see the embroideries that she planned meticulously while in custody with Bess of Hardwick, to spread their own truths and their political power while being silenced. Finally, Hunter explores the dress that Mary wore during her execution and what happened to her clothing after her death.

I will say that this is one of the most original nonfiction books that I have read in a long time. It presented Mary’s life through a different lens and showed that she did have power even as a prisoner. It gave me a better appreciation for Mary’s life and the amount of effort it took to craft such intricate pieces of textiles. I hope Hunter writes more about the history of textiles beyond the 16th century because I think her writing style and knowledge of the subject can help grow interest in this area of historical studies. If you want a book that explores the life of Mary Queen of Scots from a different angle, I highly recommend you read “Embroidering Her Truth: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Language of Power” by Clare Hunter. 

Book Review: “Anne Boleyn’s First Love: The Life of Henry Percy” by Jan-Marie Knights

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Every Tudor nerd knows the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. A relationship that started with lust/love turned tragic with the execution of Anne. However, Henry VIII was not the only man who was vying for Anne’s affection. The first man who ever asked for Anne’s hand in marriage was Henry Percy, the man who would become the 6th Earl of Northumberland. The relationship obviously did not happen, and for many, Henry Percy became an obscure figure in Tudor history. Who was Henry Percy, and what happened to him after Wolsey broke up the relationship between Henry and Anne? Jan-Marie Knights explores his life in the first full-length biography of Henry Percy in her latest book, “Anne Boleyn’s First Love: The Life of Henry Percy.”

I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. I am always interested in reading about lesser-known figures during the time of the Tudors, so when I saw this title, I was intrigued. I knew a little bit about Henry Percy, so I was hoping to learn more about his life.

To understand Henry Percy’s place in Tudor society, we have to go back to the origins of the family, which traces back all the way to William the Conqueror. Knights follow the branches of the Percy tree, with the many Henrys, to the Henry Percy who this biography is about, including the infamous Henry “Hotspur” Percy. Our Henry was the son of Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, and his wife, Catherine Spencer. We get to see Henry become a page for Cardinal Wolsey and become a knight in his own right.

Henry wanted to marry and start a family with Anne Boleyn, and it seems like, at the time, she was interested in him as well. However, it was not meant to be, as King Henry VIII also had his eyes on Anne. Obviously, the King would marry Anne, and Henry would marry Mary Talbot. Both relationships did not have a happy ending. Besides his troubled marriage with Mary, we get to see how Henry dealt with conflicts near the border with Scotland and the Pilgrimage of Grace, which hit a bit closer to home. Henry died without any heirs, so Knights shows what happened to the earldom of Northumberland.

I was a bit underwhelmed with this biography. I wanted more information about Henry Percy, but I felt like his story was buried with information about his family, his father, and the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s romance. I think Knights did a decent job with the research aspect of this book. If you want a good introductory biography to the Percy family and Henry Percy’s role in the Tudor court, you might want to try “Anne Boleyn’s First Love: The Life of Henry Percy” by Jan-Marie Knights.

Book Review: “Self-Help from the Middle Ages: What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us About Living” by Peter Jones

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When we go into a bookstore, we will notice there are tons of self-help books from all walks of life. Self-help books tend to have more of a modern take when it comes to solutions, but what if we looked to the past for advice? It is an interesting approach to this genre of books, but what if we took it a step further and looked at how medieval people viewed their own minds through the Seven Deadly Sins? Peter Jones dives into his own life experiences and the archives to explore how the sins can help us find wisdom and understanding, which is explained in detail in his book, “Self-Help from the Middle Ages: What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us About Living.”

I would like to thank Doubleday Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I have enjoyed medieval self-help books that I have read in the past, so I wanted to see how Jones would add to this genre. I think by centering this book on the seven deadly sins, it adds depth and interest to this topic, so I was excited to see how they could be applied to one’s life. 

Peter Jones was a professor of medieval history at a university in Siberia when he fell into a dark place. He turns to the Middle Ages for help, which was an era known for self-help guides written by scholars, priests, and mystics. It is through their writings that he realized how the seven deadly sins could be used as a tool to learn about self-knowledge and forgiving oneself. 

It almost seems counterintuitive to rely on sins for advice on how to better our lives, but in a way, it makes sense. There have been many different iterations of the seven deadly sins, but the ones that we are paying attention to are: pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust. Each chapter focuses on a different sin, from the most hazardous sin to the least deadly sin. Jones explores his own experiences with the sins before diving into the archives to look at how historical figures from the Middle Ages dealt with the sins. That could range from their own life experiences to art and literature. Some of these stories were familiar to me, but the majority of this book included new information for me, which was rather exciting.

This was one of those books that took me a while to get used to what Jones was doing, but once I did, I learned a lot about the Middle Ages and the sins. It was a different approach, but I appreciate that he wrote about how the sins helped those in the Middle Ages and Jones himself. I think if you want a unique look at the Middle Ages and self-help, you will enjoy “Self-Help from the Middle Ages: What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us About Living” by Peter Jones.

Book Review: “The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily” by Nancy Goldstone

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A young queen stands on trial for the death of her husband. Some believed that she had something to do with his murder. They see her as a villainous woman who wants power, but in the time that she is living in, a woman must fight for any ounce of power she can get. This might sound familiar to those who study 16th-century European history, but our story goes back a few centuries to the 14th century. The story of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily, is often overlooked among the stories of powerful queens, especially those who came after her. However, Joanna’s story is worth telling, which is why Nancy Goldstone has decided to tell her tale in her biography, “The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily.”

I have heard of Joanna I of Naples from other history books, but her story was briefly mentioned. I didn’t really get a sense of who she was. That was until I found this book in a used bookstore and read the description on the back, which mentioned the murder case against her. It was very intriguing, and I wanted to know how she got to that point and how she became a legendary female ruler. 

Joanna was the eldest daughter of Charles, Duke of Calabria, and Marie of Valois, Duchess of Calabria. When both of her parents died, Joanna and her sister Maria were raised by their grandparents, Robert the Wise King of Naples, and his second wife, Sancia of Majorca. Since Joanna’s father died young, he never became King of Naples, so the title passed on to Joanna. With the title came the responsibility to marry well and produce an heir. Neither of these conditions came easily for poor Joanna. 

Her first husband was her cousin, Andrew, Duke of Calabria, the son of King Charles I of Hungary. They did not exactly see eye to eye when it came to who was in control of Naples, but the marriage did not last long as Andrew was assassinated, and the country of Hungary blamed Joanna for his death. Joanna decided to argue her case in court, and the pope found in her favor. Joanna’s second husband was Louis of Tartano, but again, it was a marriage at odds as Louis took all the real power away from Joanna. Husband number 3, James IV of Majorca, was the worst husband of all, as he was mentally unstable and abusive towards Joanna. Finally, Joanna married Otto of Brunswick, who was accepting of Joanna’s position as queen. 

While we tend to focus on Joanna’s marital exploits, she was also a queen of not only Naples, but also Jerusalem and Sicily. Joanna was connected to some of the greatest minds of the era, including Petrarch and Boccaccio, and would go on to build churches and hospitals. She was an ally to the papacy until the Great Schism, which would result in Europe being divided and the murder of Joanna. 

This was an extremely well-written and researched biography. Goldstone was able to show Joanna in a more sympathetic light and really made me feel sorry for a woman who lived centuries ago. It shows how dangerous it was for a woman in power during the Middle Ages and how one woman tried hard to fight for herself and her country. If you want a fantastic biography of one of the most dynamic and legendary medieval queens of all time, I highly recommend you read “The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily” by Nancy Goldstone.

Guest Post: “Born into a Man’s World: How War, Marriage and Inheritance Shaped the Woman Who Would Stand Between England and Conquest” by Rachel Elwiss Joyce

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Today, I am pleased to welcome Rachel Elwiss Joyce to my blog to share a guest post about the heroine of her novel, Lady of Lincoln, Nicola de la Haye. I would like to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and Rachel Elwiss Joyce for allowing me to participate in this blog tour. 

In October 1216, as England staggered through civil war and a French invasion, a dying King John made one of the last appointments of his life. 

He named a woman sheriff of Lincolnshire. 

That may not sound dramatic to modern ears. But in thirteenth-century England, a sheriff wasn’t a local official in any minor sense. Sheriffs collected royal revenues, administered justice, and represented the king’s authority in the shire. It was a powerful, public, unmistakably male role. 

Nicola de la Haye was the first woman appointed sheriff of an English county in her own right. 

She was also hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle, and when widowed, she was by extraordinary exception allowed to keep that role for herself.  

And in 1217, when English rebels and French forces besieged Lincoln, she held the castle until royalist relief arrived. Her defence helped secure the throne of the young Henry III and turn back the French invasion entirely. 

Historian Sharon Bennett Connolly calls her “the woman who saved England.” 

So why haven’t most people heard of her? 

Born to inherit. Not expected to rule. 

Nicola’s father was the constable of Lincoln Castle. His father had been before him. Without a son, that title and the barony of Brattleby would pass to Nicola. 

Being a medieval heiress sounds glamorous, but the reality was more complicated. 

An inheritance wasn’t just wealth. It was power, duty, military obligation, and political loyalty all rolled into one. It meant men, rents, courts, and the security of the Crown. And for a woman, all of that came with a catch. 

She needed a husband. 

A husband was expected to manage her estates, command her garrison, and deal with the world on her behalf. A good one could protect everything she’d inherited. A bad one could destroy it through debt, bad decisions, or outright disloyalty. 

Nicola was caught in a bind from the very beginning. She was born to inherit Lincoln Castle, but told her whole life that she needed a man to carry it. Her name mattered, her lands mattered, and her marriage mattered. 

Her own voice was unlikely to have mattered much at all. 

That tension is at the heart of Lady of Lincoln. 

A kingdom under strain 

Nicola’s early life unfolded during one of the most turbulent periods of Henry II’s reign.   

Henry’s empire stretched from the Scottish borders to the Pyrenees. It was vast, powerful, and under constant pressure. In 1170, his quarrel with Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, ended with Becket’s murder on the floor of his own cathedral. The shock rippled across Christendom. 

Barely three years later, Henry’s own teenage sons rose against him. The Young King Henry led the rebellion, along with his brothers, and their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and many powerful barons across England and France. 

For Nicola, this was not distant politics, but danger literally knocking at her castle door.  

She had probably married her first husband, William FitzErneis, around the time of her father’s death in 1169. Marriage, for a young heiress, was meant to be protection. But by 1173, FitzErneis had joined the rebellion against the king. 

Which raises a question that history has never answered. 

Her husband rebelled, so why does Lincoln Castle never appear as a rebel stronghold? 

By then, Nicola was the hereditary constable. Did she defy him? Did her loyalty to her father’s legacy outweigh her duty to her marriage? Did she find herself trapped between the man she had married and the castle she was born to protect? 

We will probably never know. 

But for a novelist, that silence is irresistible. 

When private life becomes political 

One thing I try to do in my writing is show that history wasn’t happening somewhere in the background. For people like Nicola, it determined who you married, what you owned, and whether you were safe. 

Almost every great crisis of her age hit her directly. Church against Crown, rebellion in the royal family, and an empire splitting at the seams. 

And because she was an heiress, her marriage was never simply private. Who she married affected Lincoln Castle, and Lincoln Castle affected the security of the kingdom. 

Nicola was also born into the generation that grew up in the shadow of the Anarchy – the brutal civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, with Lincoln at its very centre. The older people around her would have remembered what it looked like when loyalty broke down, and castles became prizes in someone else’s war. 

That memory shaped everything. It shaped her father and her father’s fears. And in Lady of Lincoln, it shapes the novel’s opening: his terror that without the right man beside her, Nicola cannot hold what she was born to protect. 

The making of Nicola de la Haye 

The Nicola history remembers is formidable: she holds castles, becomes sheriff, endures sieges, and helps save kings. She becomes one of the few women of her age to exercise power so openly that chroniclers, who rarely bothered with women, had no choice but to acknowledge her. 

But I didn’t want to start with the legend. 

I wanted to ask how she became that woman. 

What would it have done to you, being told from childhood that you’re responsible for everything but incapable of handling it yourself? Being valued for your land, not for who you are? And then having the husband who was supposed to protect your inheritance become one of the biggest threats to it? 

The Great Rebellion of 1173–4 may have been Nicola’s first real turning point: the moment when marriage, inheritance, and loyalty collided, and everything she stood to lose became terrifyingly real. That collision, and what she might have done about it, is at the heart of Lady of Lincoln. 

She was born an heiress in a man’s world. 

She was repeatedly tested in one of the most turbulent times of the Middle Ages.  

And those challenges would turn her into the woman who would eventually stand between England and conquest. 

Lady of Lincoln is the first novel in the Nicola de la Haye trilogy, in which a young Nicola learns to fight to keep and protect what is hers. 

Blurb: 

A true story. A forgotten heroine. In a time when women were told to stay silent, could she become the saviour her people need? 

 

12th-century England. Nicola de la Haye wants to do her duty. But though she’s taught that a female cannot lead alone, the young noblewoman bristles at the marriage her father has arranged to secure her inheritance. And when an unexpected death leaves her unguided, the impetuous girl shuns the king’s blessing and weds a handsome-but-landless knight. 

 

Harshly fined by Henry II for her unsanctioned union, Nicola struggles to salvage her estates while dealing with devastating betrayals from her husband… and his choice to join rebels in a brewing civil war. Yet after averting a tragedy and gaining the castle garrison’s respect, she still must face the might of powerful men determined to crush her under their will. 

 

Can she survive love, threats, and violent ambition to prove she’s worthy of authority? 

 

In this carefully researched and vividly human series debut, Rachel Elwiss Joyce showcases the complex themes of honour, responsibility, and freedom in the story of a remarkable heroine who men tried to erase from history. And as readers dive into a world defined by violence and turmoil, they’ll be stunned by this courageous young woman’s journey toward greatness. 

 

Lady of Lincoln is the gritty first book in the Nicola de la Haye Series historical fiction saga. If you like richly textured female heroes, courtly drama, and fast-paced intrigue, then you’ll adore Rachel Elwiss Joyce’s gripping true-life tale. 

Buy Link: 

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4980nW  

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Author Bio: 

 

After a rewarding career in the sciences, Rachel returned to her first love—history and the art of storytelling. Fascinated by the women history has neglected or tried to forget, she creates meticulously researched, emotionally resonant fiction that brings her characters’ stories vividly to life. 

 

Her fascination with the past began early. At six years old, she was already inventing tales about medieval women in castles, inspired by her treasured Ladybird books and other picture-rich stories that transported her to another time. By the time she discovered Katherine by Anya Seton as a teenager, she knew the joy and escape that only great historical fiction can bring. 

 

Rachel’s two grown-up children still tease her (fondly) about childhoods spent being “dragged” around castles, archaeological sites, and historical re-enactments. For Rachel, history and imagination have always gone hand in hand. 

 

There was, however, a long gap between the stories of her childhood and her decision to write her own novel. The spark came when she discovered the remarkable true story of Nicola de la Haye—the first female sheriff of England, who defended Lincoln Castle against a French invasion and became known as “the woman who saved England.” Rachel knew she had found her heroine and a story she was destined to tell. 

 

Rachel lives in the UK, where she continues to explore the lives of women who shaped history but were left out of its pages. 

Author Links: 

 

Website: https://www.rachelelwissjoyce.com/  

Twitter / X: https://x.com/RachelElwJoyce  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelElwissJoyce  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/racheljoycehello/  

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rachelelwjoyce.bsky.social  

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rachel-elwiss-joyce  

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Rachel-Elwiss-Joyce/author/B0G25Q32PV  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/61878154.Rachel_Elwiss_Joyce