Kate Emerson Update!

Kate Emerson author of "The Secret of the Tudor Court Series"; "Pleasure Palace", "Between Two Queens", and December 14th 2010 is the release day of "By Royal Decree". My mouth is watering thinking about the read, I really can not wait to get my hands on this one.

"Emerson returns to the Tudor Court in By Royal Decree, where engaged lady-in-waiting Bess must resist handsome and similarly unavailable Will Parr".

In the mean time Kate had a wonderful announcement about her very unique list of Tudor women on her website:

"A WHO'S WHO OF TUDOR WOMEN is now available as an e-book original exclusively from the new e-book store at a writers work where, together with other multi-published authors, I am now offering, direct from writer to reader, e-book editions of two other e-book originals and of some of my back list novels. Although the WHO'S WHO still exists in html files at my Kate Emerson Historicals website, this text-only e-book offers the convenience of having all 622 entries (the number as of the end of February 2010) and the list of titles used in Tudor times in one, easy-to-search electronic file. A WHO'S WHO OF TUDOR WOMEN completely replaces my very out-of-date and inaccurate WIVES AND DAUGHTERS: THE WOMEN OF SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLAND (1984), which is no longer in print. I hope you'll help spread the word about this better, more accurate version. Thanks".

Thank you Kate for sharing the insight. Your skills in your research are apparent leaving your readers able to reap the benefits of your hard labor of love.

Q & A with Kate Emerson on her New Release: Between Two Queens

The amazing author Kate Emerson has been gracious in granting an Q and A interview with Historically Obsessed. Her new release the second installment of the Secrets of the Tudor Court series, Between Two Queens in now available in stores everywhere. With out delay welcome Kate Emerson...

Q: What was the inspiration behind the title "Between Two Queens"?

A: I never really know where titles come from, although my agent and editor are always quick to tell me if they don't like them. In this story, each time Nan Bassett came to the attention of foreign ambassadors and other gossips at court it was because Henry VIII was between queens and taking a look around for possible candidates. Whether they were candidates to be the next queen or a new mistress is sometimes unclear, but this tendency on the king's part and the fact that Nan was apparently in the running right up until the time King Henry married Kathryn Parr, made the title inevitable.

Q: In your history of protagonist, what is the deciding factor in choosing your main character?

A: I always look for someone who was a little bit different. Both Jane Popyncourt (in THE PLEASURE PALACE) and Nan Bassett (in BETWEEN TWO QUEENS) stood out at court and came to the attention of chroniclers. This was no mean feat, because the men recording history in those days, and the men writing about it for generations to come, tended to ignore women and their role in events. Of course the records aren't always flattering to females who made the cut, but that just makes those ladies more interesting to me. I try to figure out, extrapolating from what is know about them, just why they behaved the way they did and what might have happened to them during the periods in their lives for which there is no historical record.

Q: How difficult was it to portray Anne Bassett as you visualized her?

A: A great deal of Anne Bassett's life was revealed in the family letters confiscated when her stepfather was arrested. That gave me a head start on developing the character, but it also presented a number of challenges, since there were some pretty big gaps during which no one mentioned her at all. One of them was just about nine months long, which was certainly food for thought! I arbitrarily gave "Mistress Anne," as she's usually referred to in the letters, the nickname Nan and that helped make her a more rounded person in my mind. After that it was mostly a case of experimenting with what would work for the story and what wouldn't and trying to figure out how a person with Nan's background would react to certain situations.

Q: What led up to the cultivation of Anne's bratty personality?

A: I never actually thought of her as a brat. Spoiled, certainly, and self-centered, and goal-oriented. Certain scenes, such as the one in which she pitches a fit because the pearls her mother sent her aren't good enough, come right out of history, so the challenge was to try and provide a reason for her to behave that way. In a later scene, hearing about the incident, Ned thinks it out of character for her, and I did, too. But something even Nan isn't yet aware of at that point does provide a reason for her irrational behavior.

Q: Can you give any details on the next book "By Royal Decree"?
A: I'm currently writing this one, which features Elizabeth Brooke, Lord Cobham's daughter, who appears briefly near the end of BETWEEN TWO QUEENS. She made her mark on history in a couple of ways, one political (she's the one who apparently suggested Lord Guildford Dudley as a husband for Lady Jane Grey) and one very personal. She fell in love with Queen Kathryn Parr's brother, William, but he already had a wife. He'd divorced her because she'd taken a lover but, under Henry VIII's church, it was no longer possible for the Pope to annul a marriage and allow the parties to wed someone else. For a decade, Bess Brooke and Will Parr were at the mercy of whoever was in power as to whether they were married or not. One royal decree (from Edward VI) permitted them to wed. Another (from Queen Mary) invalidated the marriage. Then Bess found herself entangled in plots to make sure that Elizabeth Tudor, the one person who might declare her married again, would still be around to succeed Queen Mary. All in all, lots of intrigue, danger, and romance. What more could I ask for? I hope to have the rough draft done later this month. The polished manuscript is due on my editor's desk on March 15, and the book will be published just about a year from now.

Thank you Kate for paying a visit to Historically Obsessed. I look forward to the completion of "by Royal Decree" and can not wait to devour it just like the previous two.

Author Spotlight: Kate Emerson Author of The Secrets of the Tudor Court Series

Kate Emerson, is a wonderful author who excels in the scandals of the Tudor court. She never is a let down with her characters and I seriously consider her one of my favorite authors. Here is a little bit more about Kate and some really interesting links to follow up on for further reading.

"Kate Emerson is the pseudonym of a well-known writer of historical mysteries and nonfiction. She is not trying to confuse readers, only distinguish between two very different types of writing. Kate Emerson's historical novels are set in the Tudor era (England 1485-1603) and feature real but little known historical figures as the protagonists. Kate Emerson lives and writes in rural Western Maine, where she shares her home with her husband and three cats."

"Well, okay. Kate is really Kathy Lynn Emerson, author of the Face Down Mysteries featuring Susanna Appleton, 16th century gentlewoman, herbalist, and sleuth, the award-winning How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries, and a wide assortment of other books. Speaking now as both Kate and Kathy, here's what I look like in 16th century dress, accompanied by a more or less recent picture of the uncostumed me."

I love the costume Kathy you rock it girl! You look pretty dang good in it too. I am going to have to check out "How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries" it sounds like something I would very much enjoy.

Kathy's Links:
To go to the webpages of Kathy Lynn Emerson,
Kate's historical mystery writing side, click here:
To go to the index for a Who's Who of Tudor Women, click here:
www.KathyLynnEmerson.com
www.KaitlynDunnett.com
www.KateEmersonHistoricals.com

Historically Obsessed Links:
Review of Pleasure Palace
Q & A Pleasure Palace
Review of Between Two Queens
Art of Between Two Queens

In Bookstores Now: Between Two Queens by Kate Emerson

I really loved this one it was a true pleasure to review. I am also going to buy a finished copy of this novel for my collection to go with "Pleasure Palace". I hope the cover is embossed like Pleasure Palace is, it just gives it such a nice feel in your hands. A nice added touch.

THE SECRETS OF THE TUDOR COURT SERIES IS
"RICH AND LUSHLY DETAILED, TEEMING WITH PASSION
AND INTRIGUE," SAID ROMANTIC TIMES. NOW TALENTED
KATE EMERSON CONTINUES A SAGA AS DRAMATIC
AND SEDUCTIVE AS THE COURT ITSELF.

"Pretty, flirtatious, and ambitious. Nan Bassett hopes that an appointment at the court of King Henry VIII will bring her a grand marriage. But soon after she becomes a maid of honor to Queen Jane, the queen dies in childbirth. As the court plunges into mourning, Nan sets her sights on the greatest match in the land...for the king has noticed her. After all, it wouldn't be the first time King Henry has chosen to wed a maid of honor. And in newly Protestant England, where plots to restore the old religion abound, Nan may be the only one who can reassure a suspicious king of her family's loyalty. But the favor of a king can be dangerous and chancy, not just for Nan, but for her family as well...and passionate Nan is guarding a secret, one that could put her future -- and her life -- in grave jeopardy should anyone discover the truth.
Based on the life of the real Anne Bassett and her family, and drawing extensively from letters and diaries of the time, Between Two Queens is an enthralling picture of the dangers and delights of England's most passionate era."

Book Review: SECRETS OF THE TUDOR COURT BETWEEN TWO QUEENS by Kate Emerson

Kate Emerson's "Between Two Queens" is due to hit book stores January 1st 2010. Many of you are probably wondering how I managed to get my hands on this tasty treat. I was lucky enough to be one of the few book reviewers who got an advanced readers copy. I did my first author interview with the lovely Kate Emerson on "Pleasure Palace" not too long ago. Which just made me love her even more. Kate was gracious enough to bring me into her circle on the release of "Between Two Queens". Thank you Kate for everything it has been a pleasure!

"Pleasure Palace" was the first installment of this delightful series Secrets of The Tudor Court. When I first picked it up I was just starting to become obsessed with historical fiction. Of all the places to find books Target was never top on my list. Many of you might not know this but Target actually has a historical fiction section, which no other book store I have ever been in has. That is how I discovered Kate Emerson and it helped that I am a sucker for a beautiful cover. At that time there was no blog in my life and I later found out it was to be a series. It was fate that I was drawn to Kate's novels.

"Between To Queen" had me pondering from the beginning, what two queens, and what is between them? My first thought was Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. That bitter rivalry has been a focal point of many historical fiction novels. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the first queen was Jane Seymour and later her predecessors, Anna of Cleves, and both Catherine's. Living up to my high expectations that I developed from "Pleasure Palace", Kate once again pick a view point that I had never even considered. The lady in waiting Anne Bassett aka Nan.

Zealously ambitious Nan Bassett was the daughter of Sir Thomas Bassett and Honor Grenville. When Sir John passed away Honor later remarried Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle and deputy of Calais. Honor herself was a renowned beauty in her prime, considering she was one of Anne Boleyn's beautiful ladies. It was only natural that Nan would be like her mother and become a beautiful lady herself. Pretty enough to draw King Henry VIII attention.

"She Thought of Love as a Game, but Catching the eye of King Henry VIII could be Deadly Serious"

In the beginning she is embarks by ship with her sister Catherine aka Cat from Calais to hopefully become a lady in waiting to the pregnant Queen Jane. On the ship her stepfather sent his man to watch over the girls and make sure they made a safe arrival, Ned. Upon the sisters safe arrival to court they were to be examined by the queen Jane, sadly the queen would only pick one girl to become part of the ladies in waiting. Nan and her sister waited on bended knee for the queens approval but it was a long time coming until Nan though she saw a man lurking behind the queen's screen, watching. It was a game to the royals to see who would crack first and Nan was not going to give in she wanted it so bad she could taste it. When Henry vamped out from behind the queen Nan was memorized to the point that she could not pry her eyes from the king, which he enjoyed.

Queen Jane defiantly did not like it but she had no choice in the matter Henry had already made up his mind on the prettier sister Nan. Selecting the prettier of the sister would cause a rift between them for some time. To be mean Cat squashed Nan's idea's of the glitz and glamor of court when the realization that Queen Jane was about to go into seclusion to give birth to the future heir to the throne. Nan was not happy about it and as the time passed on Jane took her frustrations out on Nan. The only reason being that the king chose her because she was a pretty girl.

After finally seeing the light of day away from the dark dungeon they called a birthing chamber, something caught Nan's attention. it could be none other than the handsome man that had brought her there, Ned. There was something about him, maybe it was the pheromone's she first smelt on him back on the ship. Nan was developing feelings for him but he was a man of no means and that was not what she signed up for. She had plainly stated her intentions of going to court to Ned on the ride over. Her goal was to snag herself a rich and titled husband. Ned was a constant support to Nan even though she continued to deny her feelings for him. He would have died if it meant to save her.

After Queen Jane's sudden passing her household was disbanded and with no queen to serve Nan was sent packing to her cousins house. While at her cousins house Nan's feelings for Ned grew stronger than what she liked. She became secretive and guarded with her feelings until she could no longer deny them. Would she be able to love Ned unconditionally or would her ambition ruin her own feelings? Divided by her long time ambitions and love for Ned she knew she had to stay on her path to find the target she was looking to hit. There are always repercussions to choices and did she make the right choices? Her heart told her she did but really was it what was best for her? Was she on target or did the target change to the biggest one of them all?

As painful as it was to read about Nan and how she was shuffled from house to house, queen to queen, the professional life of a courtier was not an easy one. Nan from the beginning was not a strong ethical woman. Her ambition over rid her ethics which opened the door to other possibilities for her like mistress to the king or maybe just a mistress. In the Tudor court there are secrets and even Nan had something to hide. Her goals for finding herself a rich husband all came crashing down on her abruptly when her family was thrown into to tower for conspiring against the king. She became the traitors daughter. Her target had changed to finding a way to save her family and most importantly someone she secretly cared for. Would all be lost family, friends and even her prospects? Could she soothe her ambition or would it get the better of her and eat her alive?

5/5 Muses, loved every word of it. The fresh prospective of Nan Bassett was really interesting. To see what it was like as a lady in waiting during Henry's rein was a really worth while read, it gave much needed insight. Plus who could pass up a juicy novel with infidelities, lies, and plotting. This a new favorite of mine now especially with Kate's fresh approach on Catherine Howard. A highly recommended read. I can not wait for the next one "By Royal Decree" which is about Bess Brooke.

Sunday's Art: Anne Bassett, Between Two Queens By Kate Emerson

After reading Between Two Queen's I once again was inspired by Nan (Anne Bassett) to bring her to life in my own way. I know she has a more modern look but when I do these they never come out quite as I expect them to. I is a big one again and I am having issues scanning them into my computer. With that being said they come out a bit distorted. Why I am not sure but either way I still love them. I did her my typical way water color pencil and crayon. Then filled in the details in color pencil. I hope you all enjoy her!

Q&A Interview with Kate Emerson

My first author Q and A interview and it is Kate Emerson! Her novel "Secrets of the Tudor Court: Pleasure Palace" is a favorite of mine. She was gracious enough to guide me through my first interview. Thank You Kate and I am so looking forward to "Between Two Queens". Here we go!

Q: Jane Popyncourt is not a typical or well know name in historical fiction, what inspired you to write a novel about her?

A: It was because she ISNT well known. I’ve always been more interested in the people on the fringes of the royal courts, and in those who never even went to court, than in the historical figures everyone has heard of. Jane in particular caught my attention because historians couldn’t seem to make up their minds about her. They didn’t even agree on whether she came to England from France or from Flanders, which is why I invented a parent from each of those places for her. Then, as I did more research, I discovered that some of the “facts” about Jane were just plain wrong. For one thing, the duc de Longueville didn’t set her up in the Louvre (implying close to the royal court) after she arrived in France in 1516. The Louvre was in ruins at that time and wasn’t used for much of anything. And, more importantly, Longueville died only a few months after Jane left England.

Q: In your research for "Secrets of the Tudor Court: Pleasure Palace" how difficult was it to find references to such a mysterious lady? How long was your research process?

A: This is a tough question to answer because I’ve been doing research on sixteenth century women for a very long time—over thirty years. My first published book, way back in 1984, was WIVES AND DAUGHTERS: THE WOMEN OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY ENGLAND. It’s horribly out of date now, since there is a great deal more information available these days than there was when I was writing it back in the early 1980s, but I made notes on my copy over the years and when I launched by KateEmersonHistoricals.com website, I started putting updated entries online. This is still a work in progress, but it gives me a wealth of information to draw on for my novels. Essentially, I read every book on the sixteenth century I can get my hands on, especially biographies, and pick up bits of information about little-known women (a footnote here and a sentence there) along the way. One of my major sources for information on Jane was a biography, MARY TUDOR, THE WHITE QUEEN, by Walter C. Richardson.

Q: For historical accuracy since there is not readily too much information available on her what historical liberties did you take to complete Jane?

A:Part of Jane’s appeal as a character (and this goes for Anne Bassett, protagonist of my next novel, too) was that there are so many questions about her. Where did she come from? Why was she, of all the girls Henry VII might have chosen, selected to be a companion to his two daughters? Who were her parents and what happened to them? And then, later in her life, the big question: why was King Louis so set against letting her accompany Henry VIII’s sister Mary to France? The history books say it was because of her affair with Longueville, but the French weren’t prudish about mistresses. Besides, King Louis reportedly said Jane should be burnt. Burning was the punishment for witchcraft (in France; in England witches were hanged) and for petty treason, which was the murder of a husband or, in the case of a servant, a master. I thought Louis’s comment very strange, given the circumstances, so I devoted a great deal of thought to coming up with an explanation that made sense to me. There was also a rumor that Jane was Henry VIII’s mistress, just because he gave her a parting gift of £100. Granted this was a generous present, but she’d been a loyal retainer of the royal family for a very long time and I don’t believe it implies anything in particular about her relationship with Henry. It did provide the inspiration for another scene in the novel, however.

So, what liberties did I take? Quite a few. I didn’t change anything that is known about Jane, but those gaps in our knowledge of her background and activities were fair game. I don’t want to give away too much for those who haven’t read THE PLEASURE PALACE, so suffice it to say I invented a reason for Henry VII to take an interest in Jane as well as two reasons why her mother (who is entirely fictional) brought her to England from France. Jane comes to believe that her mother was murdered. Could she have been? And could the high-profile person Jane finally concludes was responsible really have killed someone for that reason? Such things did happen in the Tudor era and I hope I’ve presented a convincing case with circumstantial evidence. In real life, of course, there was no such murder, but everything else Jane knows about the people she suspects—the actions they took and the choices they made—comes right out of the history books. Jane (and I) have just come up with our own interpretation of the facts. The other big question about Jane is what happened to her after she left England. She wrote letters to the king’s sister and sent gifts to the children Mary Tudor had by Charles Brandon, so we know that she was comfortably well off in France. And on at least one occasion, Mary wrote to Jane to ask her to use her influence at the French court, so she had obviously met a few of the movers and shakers there. But, as I said in answer to your earlier question, it was not as Longueville’s mistress that she remained in France. I admit to wanting Jane’s story to have a happy ending. Since I had to make one up anyway, and we don’t know who Jane’s father was or if she ever married, I felt free to invent what might have happened.

Q: On your upcoming Novel, how excited are you that your second novel "Secrets of the Tudor Court, Between Two Queens" is Due to release January 5Th 2010?

A: I’m eagerly looking forward to it, especially since I’ve just (early September) finished proofreading the “first pass pages”—what were called galleys in the days before computers. BETWEEN TWO QUEENS takes place in 1537-1543, more than twenty years after THE PLEASURE PALACE ends, and there have obviously been some changes at court, but King Henry is still there and still has an eye for the ladies.

Q: Is there a special novel in your heart that changed you life? Also what are you currently reading?

A: I can’t pinpoint any one novel that changed things for me, either one I read or one I wrote, but I grew up reading my father’s favorite authors—Thomas B. Costain, Frank Yerby, and Margaret Campbell Barnes. A little later I discovered Anya Seton’s novels, and then the incomparable Dorothy Dunnett. These days I tend to read mostly genre fiction (and nonfiction, of course) rather than historicals. It’s too easy to pick up other novelists interpretations of history if I read novels et in the same period I write about. So, I read what I don’t write. I’m a big fan of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series and paranormal mysteries by Kim Harrison and Jim Butcher. As I write this, I have bookmarks in two novels. One is Lindsay Davis’s latest Falco mystery, ALEXANDRIA, set in Roman times. The other is an older historical romance from Jo Beverley, SKYLARK, set in the Regency period. I’m reading it for the second time. In fact, over the last couple of months I’ve been rereading all of her “Company of Rogues” series.

Sneak Peek at "Between Two Queens" by Kate Emerson

Releasing on paperback on January 5Th 2010
Kate Emerson was gracious enough to give us all a sneak peek of her upcoming novel book two in the Secrets of the Tudor Court series, "Between Two Queens". Keep in mind this is only the proof not the final version, so it could change.

I also will be interviewing Kate on "Pleasure Palace" and will be posting it soon. Stayed tuned for more on Kate as we get closer to the release date. Thank you Kate for giving us all this juicy tid bit.

"Emerson returns to the Tudor Court in Between Two Queens. Nan Bassett's goal to marry a nobleman is halted when she falls for handsome but poor Ned."