Reviews on Amazon, Death of the Leopard

Speaking of reviews, I'd like to ask a huge favor and ask anyone who has read Murder at the Leopard and Malice Stalks the Leopard, to post a review on either Amazon, Book Bub, Library Thing, or whatever else you peruse for books.   It would be most helpful to us!  Book #3, Death of the Leopard, is racing to its climax right now and we plan to have it out in October - so plan for Christmas presents!

Trade reviews, peer reviews, Amazon reviews

As all our friends know, Rhonda and I just returned from the Historical Novel Society conference in Denver.  We plunked down some bucks and asked our IT guy, Jim, to upload Murder at the Leopard to Chanticleer Reviews.


Chanticleer does trade reviews as opposed to peer reviews and Amazon reviews.  My understanding is that this reaches an audience that is more prone to buy books - movie people, librarians, publishers, booksellers, and the like.


Have any writers out there had a trade review of their book and if so, what were the results??

Listen to radio interview

This Sunday, July 12, I will be interviewed by Roscoe Ill on our local public radio station, KRZA, 88.7 on the FM dial. It's scheduled for 5 pm Mountain time and should last 45 minutes or more. KRZA has a live streaming link on its website.  I will be talking about the Vespers Series, the history behind it, our motivations for writing, the plot, the characters, etc.  I may even read an exciting scene or two from Book 3.

Speaking of Book 3, we are hoping to have the next volume out before Christmas. Mary and I are writing away, especially noting all the wonderful feedback we received at the HNS conference. It seems there were more medieval period books and authors represented at the conference this year, so check out their website and newsletter.

midwifery in medieval times

Another exciting contact we made at the HNS conference was with Lisa J. Yarde, a historian and novelist who writes about the period of the Moors in Spain. Lisa, Kim Rendfeld, Judith Starkson, and Sam Thomas explained midwife practices from the ancient Hittites to the 15th century. Check out Lisa's blog at http://thebrooklynscribbler.blogspot.com/

Did you know that midwives were rarely accused of witchcraft? Their importance and status in the community discouraged such allegations. Instead, a midwife was brought in to check the female body for the witch's mark, an unusual discoloration, skin tag, or other anomaly that indicated the place where the witch's familiar drank blood from her body.  Now which of us doesn't have a spot that could be labeled a witch's mark?

Lisa Yarde - medieval author

Like I said, I've just returned from the Historical Novel Society conference in Denver and I bought a book from a woman who also writes about the 13th century!   Do you think we have anything in common?


I bought her book, Sultana, set in Granada in 13th century Moorish Spain.    As you know, the Vespers series is set during the War of the Vespers, when Aragon battles Charles of Anjou for control of Sicily.  The whole Iberian peninsula is fascinating, especially in that time period.


So go to Lisa's site - it's at:  www.lisajyarde.com and check out all her books, and, well, check out her!  She was terrific to talk to and who can go wrong writing about the 13th century?  Right?

Holidays - modern and medieval

I don't know about you, but I'm gearing up for cooking out with my friends over the 4th of July weekend.  There's nothing so satisfying as a well-grilled burger with chips and good coleslaw and fabulous baked beans.  Not to mention all the tasty desserts people manage to come up with (I'm an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie girl myself).


So it always makes me think - what did medieval people do?  For sure not grilling burgers, especially in Sicily, although the classic movie shot of Henry VIII (was it Charles Laughton?) who was gnawing on a huge animal bone and throwing it over his shoulder ...


But Ysabella and Family weren't doing that, I don't think, although they may have been roasting bits of fried meat as snackies, they certainly had veggies galore and salad stuff (do you think they made honey mustard dressing?  probably not ...) and had lots of desserts made - at least in Sicily - from almonds, pistachios, sugar (yes, they grew sugar there) some of them called Chancellor's Buttocks and Virgin's Breasts.  I leave it to your research ingenuity to find those ...

Sailfish steaks in the market

Vegetable market in Sicily

Peasant dance in medieval times, with aprons