The first two books in my Royal Romances series now have book trailers!
In Royal Passion, Sara’s prize of a luxury break in Greece draws her into the arms of Leo, King of Kharova. Their holiday romance is the indulgent release they both need, but it leads to disaster. Royal Passion is available instantly from Amazon here. For all other platforms, the links are here.
Escape with Leo and Sara to a luxurious Greek Island where anything is possible. Especially love…
Royal Risk, the second in my Royal Romances series, is the enemies-to-lovers sequel to Royal Passion. The king’s brilliant personal assistant Krisia is sent to sort out the chaotic life of Prince Athan. She doesn’t want the job, and he doesn’t need her…until a national emergency means Krisia must learn Athan’s deepest, darkest secret.
Royal Risk is available instantly from Amazon here. For all other platforms, the links are here.
Working together brings Athan and Krisia to boiling point, until a national emergency turns these enemies into lovers…
The film clips are by Justlight and Victoria Rudenko, both via Dreamstime.
This year sees the 40th anniversary of the BBC TV version of John Masefield’s popular Christmas story, The Box of Delights. Masefield’s book was written in 1935 as a sequel to his earlier The Midnight Folk. In its time, critics said The Midnight Folk could stand alongside great children’s books such as The Water Babies and Alice in Wonderland, but it never caught the public imagination. In contrast, The Box of Delights has been adapted numerous times for both radio and the stage. For one thing, my mother could remember listening to it on Children’s Hour with her brother and sisters.
Tewkesbury Abbey, twinned with Tatchester Cathedral! Pic by Robert Arden, via Pixabay
The theme music used for that radio dramatisation was The First Nowell variation from Victor Hely-Hutchinson’s Choral Symphony, which was also used for the 1984 TV adaption. You can enjoy the whole of that piece here, ornamented by AntPDC’s beautiful film.
The cutting edge effects used in the 1984 version of The Box of Delights cost a million pounds – an amazing expenditure for children’s TV at the time – will seem strange to children brought up with YouTube and Netflix effects. Maria Jones, a character in The Box of Delights, thought Christmas ought to be brought up to date, ‘…with gangsters, and aeroplanes and a lot of automatic pistols.‘ Now we’ve all grown up, we can enjoy seasonal reads with all those things, plus romance!
…To Modern
Here’s my roundup of seasonal reads. All these books have been written by members of Courtyard Writing Matters, the writing group chaired by author Joanna Maitland – and me.
To find out more about each book, click on its title within the text.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if dating today was about romance, rather than selfies and social media? Inspired by Jane Austen, Bridgerton, and a thousand and one perfect romance stories, contemporary matchmaker Emma Love makes it her mission to find love for everyone in Ally Sinclair’s The Christmas Season – but while she’s busy making matches for her clients, will Emma’s own perfect partner slip away?
Joanna Maitland’s To A Blissful Christmas Reunion is a lovely seasonal story about rekindling lost love. Choosing a Christmas tree brings Gabe and Lucy together when the gulf between them seemed unbridgeable.You can read my review of it here.
In Evonne Wareham’s Romantic Suspense What Happens at Christmas, someone wants ultra sexy Andrew Vitruvius dead. He is rescued by Lori and her four-year-old niece, and goes into hiding in the Brecon Beacons. This thrilling novella has an unexpected twist at the end, and is a real page-turner.
Jill Barry’s Under the Mistletoe is a box set containing The Christmas Getaway and Crazy Days of Christmas. In The Christmas Getaway, Lulu’s charming boyfriend Ravi suggests a relaxing getaway during the festive season. Their not-so-traditional Christmas turns out to be anything but relaxing. Despite everything, can Lulu rekindle her love for Christmas? In The Crazy Days of Christmas, Lucy clashes with James, the replacement chef at her bistro. He has some wild ideas, but there’s more to him than Lucy realises. Could it be that love is on the menu this holiday season, or will it all be a recipe for disaster?
Alex is a party girl with a penchant for free flowing Prosecco. Her devilishly handsome scientist boyfriend, Charlie, loves jazz and dinner for two. Just before sharing their first Christmas together, Alex goes out of town and does something she will later regret. Is Charlie the forgiving kind, or will Alex be Single by Christmas? A feel good, Christmas novel with very few mince pies, not much snow and absolutely no mistletoe – just a couple of best friends, a sociopathic nemesis and a lot of drinking.
A Florentine Christmas: Three families. One city of art. A holiday that will change everything.
The cobblestone streets of Florence set the scene for a reunion years in the making. Three couples embark on an Italian adventure. But Florence has more in store for them than Botticellis and bistros, and one couple’s world is rocked when their daughter drops a bombshell.
In A Lion is not Just For Christmas by Henriette Gyland, circus performer Justine works with big cats and is asked to spend a few weeks settling a retired lion into his new environment. Tom Yates is groundsman at the stately home in Norfolk where the lion has been relocated. He resents her presence , but revises his opinion when he sees the bond between her and the big cat. She and Tom grow close, although the lady of the house, Priscilla is not so easily won over. She sees Justine as a threat to her plans for the manor. When unsettling events occur, Justine begins to wonder if there is more to Priscilla’s animosity than meets the eye. Can Justine keep herself and everyone else safe until it’s time for her to leave and start a new life elsewhere?
And Last, But By No Means Least…
Cath Barton is reading a micro story on North Manchester FM on Saturday 14th December as part of the station’s annual 3 Minute Santa stories.
Take a bow, all you talented members of the Courtyard Writing Matters group!
Today’s the day I reveal the cover of my next release!
My enemies-to-lovers romance Royal Hostageis available for pre order right now before its release on September 5th.
Here’s the cover reveal of the third in my Royal Romances series, Royal Hostage. Isn’t it amazing? Huge thanks to Joanna Maitland, my illustrator and advisor.
Here’s the story…
Mihail strides out of Maia’s past to take her hostage. Who will end up in more danger—her, or him?
Princess Maia is engaged to a horrible fiancé who was chosen for her by her family. All she really wants is her independence. When she falls into the hands of rebel leader Mihail, Maia experiences real life for the first time.
Mihail is Public Enemy Number One, and heir to a fierce tradition. He weaves ransoming Maia, his dangerous reputation, and his huge guilty secret into a master plan to overthrow the royal family of Kharova.
He can’t lose.
Until he discovers his beautiful hostage is the house guest from hell…
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are a great source of pub quiz questions. How many can you name? They are: the Colossus of Rhodes; the Great Pyramid of Giza; the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; the Statue of Zeus at Olympia; the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus; the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; and Lighthouse of Alexandria.
Before watching Bettany Hughes’s TV series The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World I could only remember two. They were the hanging gardens and the library, but then I love both gardening, and books.
Our local independent bookshop, Rossiter, arranged for Bettany Hughes to appear in Monmouth and talk about her latest book, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. DD got tickets for us. She did well to buy them early. The event was a sell out.
Bettany Hughes is an English historian and broadcaster, specialising in classical history. The author of five books about ancient history, she is a founding patron of the UK based charity Classics For All. This promotes Classics in state (that is, non-fee-paying) schools, and areas of the country such as inner cities where the Classics aren’t well known . What use are dead languages and ancient history in the twenty-first century? Bettany has the perfect answer.
Veni, Vedi, Captus Sum
That’s the nearest my feeble Latin can get to I came, I saw, I was arrested. In her early twenties, Bettany travelled to Romania to study ancient feminine figurines such as these:
While she was there, the Romanian Revolution broke out. She rushed back to England and safety, but then had second thoughts. There’s only one sure way to know exactly what is going on in a foreign country. That’s to be on the spot, so she went straight back to Romania. The authorities took a dim view about the swift return of an attractive young woman who spoke no Romanian. They arrested her, and things might have turned nasty. Luckily, the modern Romanian language developed from Latin. Bettany managed to use her knowledge of Latin to create a kind of Pidgin Romanian. She talked her way out of trouble. It goes to show that even today, Classics can get you out of a tight spot…
…Or Help You When You Are In One…
Bettany’s tutor at university, Robin Lane Fox, told his students they should go to the places where history happened. They shouldn’t become armchair historians. She took that to heart. Despite having a life-long horror of small spaces, Bettany often explores them for the sake of her TV programmes.
Claustrophobia is a fear many of us can relate to, but Bettany manages to overcome it. Greek myths help her, especially the story of Perseus. He was the half-man, half god who killed the snake headed monster Medusa. Perseus used Medusa’s severed head to turn the evil giant Titan to stone. Then like all true heroes Perseus got the girl, Andromeda, by killing the sea monster Cetus.
Perseus had to confront not just monsters, but the fear of fear itself. Bettany finds it useful to remember that everyone feels afraid sometimes. That’s not a cure, but it helps to keep her calm.
Inspiration
In 1972 the Treasures of Tutankhamun visited the British Museum London. It still ranks as the most popular exhibition in the museum’s history. Bettany saw it, and developed a life-long passion for ancient Egypt. At the time, she recorded in her school project, Bettany’s Busy Book, that “sum (sic) mosquitoes…” that were “…a bit germy bit Tutankhamun, and he died”.
When Bettany was older, one of her teachers showed her class a picture of a mysterious Minoan snake goddess. This puzzle inspired Bettany to study history at university.
Minoan Snake Goddesses Via Wikipedia, ΘεέςτωνΌφεων_6391
After graduating from St Hilda’s College, Oxford, she got a shock when applying to the BBC in the 1990s. A producer told her that nobody was interested in history anymore, nobody watched history programs on TV, and nobody wanted to be lectured at by a woman. Bettany saw that as a challenge, and has spent the past three decades proving him wrong.
The Seven Wonders of The Ancient World
Antonis Chaliakopoulous (MSc Museum Studies, BA History & Archaeology), has written a great piece for The Collector about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Wonders are all situated around the Mediterranean and Near East. Bettany Hughes started visiting Türkiye and Greece in her teens. Then family life intervened, and she didn’t reach Egypt until she was in her thirties. The pyramids still overawe her, although she has visited them many times. At 4,600 years old they are the oldest buildings ever made by human hands, and the heaviest. The precision of their construction is awesome.
Why Seven?
The number seven has long been seen as a lucky number in many countries. “Seven Top Tips” is a popular blog offering even today. People in ancient times loved a list as much as we do. Lists bring order to chaos, and structure to our lives. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are actually part of a much bigger list of ancient lists. These include the Seven Best Mountains, the Seven Most Beautiful Springs, and the Seven Finest Generals.
The Power of Wonder
Bettany says The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World should remind us of the power of wonder. If we wonder, then we connect. If we connect, then we understand. If we understand we care–even if we’re separated from these ancient civilisations by millennia. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are positive examples of human endeavour in its broadest sense, even though some were built by slave labour. They are proof that collaboration can achieve so much more than the work of an individual, no matter how talented they might be. We all need wonder in our lives, especially these days when the internet has the power to drown out optimism and achievement by amplifying everything that is bad in the world.
If you get the chance, go and see Bettany Hughes speak. She’s great fun, and wears her immense knowledge lightly. In real life, she is every bit as lively and engaging as she appears on TV. I loved her gold sneakers. Professor Mary Beard also has a pair. They must be the perfect combination of comfort and fashion!
Spring is really on the move here in Gloucestershire. Today is traditionally the day birds are choosing their mates, but we’ve already got a robin nesting in one of the boxes in our garden.
No Valentine? No Problem!
I’m joining in a promotion with other romance authors to offer free books over the next month, starting today. Why not investigate these scoundrelsand billionaires? You might discover a new book boyfriend, or a new favourite author!
