Interview and Giveaway: Christy English

Today I have author Christy English over for an interview.

Welcome!

1. Tell me about yourself.

I am woman who has spent her entire life dreaming. I used to do a lot of theatre, and acting is dreaming on your feet with a script in hand. Creating a character and finding out how she thinks and what she wants and where her heart’s desire is…that is so much fun. And now I do that in my novels, except that I get to see into the minds and hearts of a lot of different characters and spend time with them. You have to love your book family, because you write multiple drafts and then you revise even more as you take notes from editors, copy editors, and proof readers. Love the world that your book creates because you’ll be living there awhile.

When I’m not writing, I like to drink hot tea with milk and sugar. I like to take walks in the beautiful green mountain country I call home. I love to have dinner with my friends and sit and cuddle with my honey. My life is simple, but beautifully simple. I am well aware that I am blessed, and I am grateful.

2. Tell me about this new book?

In HOW TO TRAIN YOUR HIGHLANDER, Mary Elizabeth, the sword-wielding, knife throwing hoyden of books one and two, finally meets her match in Harry Percy, Duke of Northumberland. Mary Elizabeth does not put her sword down when she falls in love, and she keeps wearing all of her knives, but Harry is the kind of man who is not put off by a strong woman. He falls in love with her fire and her pure heart, and she falls in love with him. True love doesn’t run perfectly smooth, because she has a lot of issues she has to work out before she can marry him, both with herself and her family, but the love between Mary Elizabeth and Harry is real from page one. Of course, the thing that helps Harry the most in his courtship is that Mary has no idea he’s a duke.

3. How about some inside info on Mary?

Mary Elizabeth likes to hunt and fish and walk for miles on her father’s lands, alone or with her da. She would be perfectly content to live out her life in the glen she was born in, and never leave it. But in HIGHLANDER, she begins to see that as much as she loves her home, there is something more to life than mere contentment, which is a kind of sleep. She meets Harry and wakes up in a hurry, and begins to discover the joy that comes with love. Mary Elizabeth is a joy-filled woman, so she takes to love like a salmon to its home river.

4. What makes our hero tick?

Harry has been alone all his life. He was estranged from his father and he was never truly one of the fellows at Eton or at Cambridge, because to be a duke is to be a sort of prince, and that sets a man apart. He has one friend, Clive, but other than Clive and his mother, no one truly knows Harry and he has learned to live with that. Until he meets Mary Elizabeth, and the walled cage he was living in cracks open, and the sunlight comes in.

Thank you!

GIVEAWAY
1 copy of How to train your highlander

1. US only
2. Ends DEc 17
3. Comment and you are in

Title: How to Train Your Highlander

Series: Broadswords and Ballrooms, #3

Author: Christy English

Pub Date: December 6, 2016

ISBN: 9781492612933

She’s the Hellion of Hyde Park…

A foolproof plan to avoid marriage:

1. Always carry at least three blades.

2. Ride circles around any man.

3. Never get caught in a handsome duke’s arms.

Wild Highlander Mary Elizabeth Waters is living on borrowed time. She’s managed to dodge the marriage banns up to now, but even Englishmen can only be put off for so long…and there’s one in particular who has her in his sights.

Harold Percy, Duke of Northumberland, is enchanted by the beautiful hellion who outrides every man on his estate and dances Scottish reels while the ton looks on in horror. The more he sees Mary, the more he knows he has to have her, tradition and good sense be damned. But what’s a powerful man to do when the Highland spitfire of his dreams has no desire to be tamed...

Ever since Christy English picked up a fake sword in stage combat class at the age of fourteen, she has lived vicariously through the sword-wielding women of her imagination. A banker by day and a writer by night, she loves to eat chocolate, drink too many soft drinks, and walk the mountain trails of her home in North Carolina.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Books-A-Million

Barnes & Noble

Chapters

iBooks

Indiebound

Carole's Sunday Review: To Be Queen - Christy English

Author: Christy English

Title: To Be Queen - A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine (Eleanor of Aquitaine #2)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 380

First Published: March 2011

Where I Got It: My shelf (Amazon)

After her father's sudden death, fifteen-year-old Eleanor is quickly crowned Duchess of Aquitaine and betrothed to King Louis VII. When her new husband cannot pronounce her given name, Alienor becomes Eleanor, Queen of France. 

Although Louis is enamored of his bride, the newly crowned king is easily manipulated by the church and a God that Eleanor doesn't believe in. Now, if she can find the strength to fight for what she wants, Eleanor may finally find the passion she has longed for, and the means to fulfill her legacy as Queen. 

I simply adore Queen Alienor/Eleanor. She is one my favorite historical figures. Poor girl is born in the wrong era. Luckily, her father believed she should learn to read, write, ride horses, hunt, and even have a hand in politics. He knew she would need it when he died since he left her as his heir to Aquitaine. He also planned on her becoming Queen of France as well.

I am glad we got to see her father more. Normally books end up killing him at the beginning, but not here. It was nice to see Alienor as a child and seeing her grow up into the legend she would become. I also loved that the author made her seem human with human weakness. Many authors idolize her and make her superwoman. She was a wonderful woman, but had many weaknesses like the rest of us and she accepted her weaknesses and I loved it. Main weakness...greed. She wanted so much, which I don't blame her. Aim high, but alas, there are SO many signs to run away screaming from Louis. GAH! He's a nice guy, sure, but he is a puppet of the church. It was not worth it and it took years of marriage for her to realize this and move on with her life.

There was a chunk in the middle that bored me too tears. Nothing was happening and it just went on and on for about 30 pages. UGHHHH. Finally something happened and the flow went back to normal. Gah. But that was a long 30 pages. It was defiantly the calm before the storm, but alas, boring.

I did like how she ended it. It was a nice hopeful ending even though we all know how the marriage to Henry goes...not good. But yes, hopeful and makes me want to read more. It's been a while since I've read a book on Alienor, so I want to continue and finish her story. She is an interesting woman especially for the time period.

In the end, this was certainly a good take on the famous Alienor's life. There was a dry spot in the middle, but it ending after about 30 pages, so I am content. I was worried for a while, but I knew that it couldn't last forever. I loved the fact that we got to see Alienor as a child and learn more about her father. I still want to read a book about her father and mother and their early life. I must search for that! Let me know if that exists. ;) The ending was also good and I want more. I totally recommend this to those that like history. In the end, I shall stamp this with 4 stars.

Interview and Giveaway: Christy English and How To tame a willful wife

Today I have Christy English over at my blog for an interview, and there is also a giveaway of her new book :)

Welcome!

1. Could you tell me a bit about yourself?

Thank you so much for hosting me, Blodeuedd. I’ve been a romantic all my life, so branching out from writing historical fiction (THE QUEEN’S PAWN & TO BE QUEEN)  into Regency romance was a lot of fun. As much as I enjoyed exploring the lives of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Princess Alais of France in my earlier novels, I had a ball diving into pure romance with Anthony and Caroline

2. You have a new book out, HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE. What is it about?

HOW TO TAME A WILLFIL WIFE is the story of two strong-willed people who, over the course of the novel, learn to live together as equals. Anthony Carrington, an earl and a cavalry officer fresh from the wars with Napoleon, comes home to marry his commanding officer’s daughter, sight unseen. He and Caroline meet, not in a drawing room, but in her bedroom for the first time, and sparks fly. And so does her throwing knife…in the beginning it’s safe to say that Caroline is not happy to see him. But she marries him to save her father from debt, and once she agrees, she never looks back.

It doesn’t hurt that Anthony is pretty easy on the eyes, but she discovers that he is not very easy to live with…

3.  This is a re-telling of Taming of the Shrew, was it fun or hard to make it your own?

It was easy to make it my own, because there were so many things I wanted to do differently. As much as I enjoy Katherine and Petrucchio’s banter and wit in The Taming of the Shrew, in the end, he starves her into submission and withholds sleep until she agrees to anything he says. This is all done in a comedic way, of course, and modern productions gloss over this, but I have never been able to overlook it. 

In my book, as unreasonable as Anthony seems to the modern eye, he never starves or beats his wife. And Caroline gives back as good as she gets. They fall into a pattern of fighting for dominance, which always winds up with them back in bed. But when they wake in the morning, their problems are still there. Good sex does not solve anything. It’s only when they begin to talk to each other, and to listen, that they begin to find a way to live together.

4.  Now who would play Anthony and Caroline if a movie was made? 

I think Gerard Butler would make the perfect Anthony, though I am sure his agent would not agree. LOL Caroline is harder to pin down…she is a strange mixture of strength, beauty, and craziness…maybe Sophia Myles…I always love her in anything she does.

5.  Are you working on something right now?

I am happily in the midst of revising the second book in this Regency series, LOVE ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Lots of fairies and magic in the play… the magic of true love takes over for Raymond Olivier, Anthony’s best friend, and his lost love, Arabella. Nothing I love more than seeing a hard-drinking, womanizing rake reformed. 

6.  What is the best thing about being a writer?

Listening to my characters when they show up, and giving their story a voice. I am convinced that our characters choose us, not the other way around. When they do, we have to be ready, pen in hand…or in my case, laptop. LOL

Giveaway

1 copy of How to tame  a willful wife

1. Open to US and Canada

2. Ends Dec 6

3. Just enter :)

Review: How to tame a willful wife - Christy English

1. Forbid her from riding astride

2. Hide her dueling sword

3. Burn all her breeches and buy her silk drawers

4. Frisk her for hidden daggers

5. Don't get distracted while frisking her for hidden daggers...

Anthony Carrington, Earl of Ravensbrook, expects a biddable bride. A man of fiery passion tempered by the rigors of war into steely self-control, he demands obedience from his troops and his future wife. Regardless of how fetching she looks in breeches.

Promised to the Earl of Plump Pockets by her impoverished father, Caroline Montague is no simpering miss. She rides a war stallion named Hercules, fights with a blade, and can best most men with both bow and rifle. She finds Anthony autocratic, domineering, and...ridiculously gorgeous.

It's a duel of wit and wills in this charming retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. But the question is...who's taming whom?

My thoughts:

There is a difference between a book not working and a book not working, or is there? Well here the book was well written, it could have been really good, but I hated the characters and that ruined it all for me.

First we have Lord Ass Hero. Sure he fits his time and is perfect for that with his constant "Obey me! You are my wife." But I do not read romance for heroes that are correct for their time. I read it for romance and he did nothing romantic. He saw her and lusted for her. They were to be married 2 days later. He wants to tame her and then when he has her he wants her to be a bit willful. He knows he owns her, that she is his property, he is jealous and a dick.

Our Willful Heroine is willful at first, but then enters the magic penis and that is long gone. Yes she hates him (but he sure is pretty!), and then he touches her and she forgets all about that and becomes a Sex Goddess. And every time they argue it ends with sex, he kisses her fiercely and she melts. She stops being willful and becomes a simpering mess. She also has a few TSTL moments.

Oh and I hate this trope: There is a secret, it could be freaking vital for the other person to know it. But the person knowing the secret does not tell it, here it is Ass Hero. He just tells her that she should obeyed him and do as he tells her.

Conclusion:

So sadly this book did not work for me, and it was a shame cos it was good. I just could not stand the characters.

Series: Shakespeare in Love #1
Genre: Historical romance
Pages: 352
Published: Nov 6th 2012 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source. Review

Guestpost and giveaway: Christy English with The Queen's Pawn

Today I have a guest post by Christy English, and at the bottom of this post you will find a giveaway of The Queen's Pawn. And it's open to all. So join in.

Welcome to Mur-y-Castell!

Royal Scandals at the Court of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine

Guest Blog by Christy English, author of THE QUEEN’S PAWN
and TO BE QUEEN: A NOVEL OF THE EARLY LIFE OF ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE

In my first novel, THE QUEEN’S PAWN, I touch on one of the royal scandals of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine’s court, specifically, King Henry’s relationship with the young French Princess Alais. Alais came to England, betrothed to Prince Richard the Lionhearted, only to become the mistress of his father, the king. THE QUEEN’S PAWN explores the political intrigues and personal pain surrounding this liaison. Needless to say, Henry’s dalliance with the princess was frowned on by his courtiers, his sons, the King of France, and of course, Queen Eleanor.

But the scandals of the royal court of Henry II began even before Henry was king in England. In the year 1151, Eleanor was still Queen of France; she had been married for fourteen years to King Louis VII. Eleanor’s first marriage never produced a son and heir either for the duchy of the Aquitaine or for the kingdom of France. While King Louis seemed content that this was the will of God, Eleanor was not, and she worked for years to arrange an annulment that would set her free from the prison of her first marriage.

And now, we begin to see where the scandal come in: a little less than a year before Eleanor’s annulment was granted, eighteen year old Henry, Duke of Normandy, came to Paris to be confirmed as Duke by his overlord, King Louis of France. Eleanor and Henry met in a moment of instant mutual passion that I wrote about in my upcoming novel, TO BE QUEEN. After Eleanor was freed from her marriage to the King of France in the spring of 1152, in July of that year, Henry and Eleanor met at her palace in Poitiers, and married secretly.

Why marry in secret, you ask? The marriage that allied the great duchies of Normandy and Aquitaine should have been a wedding to rival that of Prince William and Kate. With one major difference: Eleanor and Henry married without their overlord’s permission. Their feudal lord was none other than her ex-husband, King Louis of France.

Once word of their secret marriage reached Louis, he was furious. Jealous and betrayed, Louis rode to war against the erstwhile couple. Henry of Normandy, as great a politician as he was a warrior, managed to make peace with Eleanor’s first husband, though the relationship between Henry and Louis was strained for years to come.

Henry went on to reclaim the throne of England, his rightful inheritance that had been taken by the usurper, Stephen of Blois. Upon Stephen’s death, Henry was crowned King of the English, and Eleanor was crowned Queen. For the first fourteen of their marriage, Eleanor and Henry were happy. Producing a child every year or two, they were allies and partners, working together to maintain the empire that they had created. Stretching from England, Ireland and Wales down to Normandy, Brittany, Anjou and the Aquitaine, no such empire had been seen since the time of Charlemagne. But with two people as strong willed as Henry and Eleanor, the marriage did not stay serene.

The scandal that drove a major wedge between Henry and Eleanor went by the name Rosemund Clifford. A young girl, a mere knight’s daughter, Rosemund has been described as the opposite of Eleanor. Quiet, demure, with soft blonde hair and clear blue eyes, Rosemund was a girl untouched by politics, who owned nothing save the clothes on her back. Henry was charmed by this girl, and set her up in a house of her own near his hunting lodge at Woodstock. But while this house was being built, Henry had the audacity to place his mistress in the royal castle at Oxford. Eleanor, eight months pregnant with their last child, Prince John, journeyed over the Channel in winter to see this Rosemund for herself. When she found the girl tucked away in her own keep, just as the gossips had said, a rift was torn in Eleanor and Henry’s marriage that was never truly made whole again.

Seven years later, Eleanor united with her sons in a rebellion against King Henry, the greatest scandal of Henry’s reign. Henry defeated his sons on the field of battle and forgave each of the boys, but placed Eleanor under house arrest. She stayed locked away until Henry died in the summer of 1189.

Royal scandals in the court of Henry II always had political ramifications, but often rose from personal conflicts. When ruling monarchs square off against each other, the personal becomes political, and once happy partnerships turn into a morass of betrayal.  

Thank you Christy for this great guest post.

And now to the contest

THE CONTEST PART IS CLOSED

Giveaway:

*1 copy of The Queen's Pawn

*Ends November 26th

*Open WORLDWIDE

*Please leave your email if it's not in your profile, or email it to me, Blodeuedd.

*Comment on the post, ask a question or just say you are entering :)

*And I usually do not do this, but if you twitter about this contest, post it on your blog, or something else to spread the word you will get 1 extra point for each thing you do. Just leave links for the things you do. You can come back later to post them.

The Queen's Pawn - Out NOW

Princess Alais of France travels to England to marry Richard the Lionhearted, the son of King Henry II, armed only with her dowry, the valuable Vexin. When Alais arrives in the land of her father’s enemies, she is welcomed by the beautiful and powerful queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor, the richest and most influential woman in Europe, sees a kindred soul in the young French princess. Intrigued by the girl’s strength and fire, Eleanor adopts Alais as her protégée, teaching the girl what it takes to be a woman of power in a world of men. But Eleanor and Alais’ love for each other is threatened when the capricious and imperious King Henry meets the lovely young princess. Fascination with the king draws Alais deep into political intrigue, and she soon discovers what Eleanor is prepared to do to retain her position as queen. Alais, the one-time pawn, takes ruthless action of her own, as the two women become rivals both for the king’s love and the throne of England itself.

Who is Christy English?

I am a writer of historical fiction centering on Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alais of France, and the Plantagenets of the 12th Century. Look for my novel THE QUEEN’S PAWN from the New American Library, an imprint of Penguin.

My second novel, about Eleanor of Aquitaine’s marriage to Louis VII of France, TO BE QUEEN, will be published by the New American Library in April 2011.

When I am not writing about Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alais of France, and the Plantagenets of the 12th Century, I am at the theatre, visting the Metropolitan Museum of Art or roller skating in Riverside Park in New York City. Join me on my continuing adventures at ChristyEnglish.com.

Review:The Queen's Pawn - Christy English

Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 373
Published: 2010

Princess Alais of France travels to England to marry Richard the Lionhearted, the son of King Henry II, armed only with her dowry, the valuable Vexin. When Alais arrives in the land of her father’s enemies, she is welcomed by the beautiful and powerful queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor, the richest and most influential woman in Europe, sees a kindred soul in the young French princess. Intrigued by the girl’s strength and fire, Eleanor adopts Alais as her protégée, teaching the girl what it takes to be a woman of power in a world of men. But Eleanor and Alais’ love for each other is threatened when the capricious and imperious King Henry meets the lovely young princess. Fascination with the king draws Alais deep into political intrigue, and she soon discovers what Eleanor is prepared to do to retain her position as queen. Alais, the one-time pawn, takes ruthless action of her own, as the two women become rivals both for the king’s love and the throne of England itself.

Plot:

The blurb does say it. Princess Alais is sent to marry prince Richard, but instead when she grows up she becomes King Henry's mistress.

My thoughts:

My second book about a mistress of King Henry, in a month, well he did get around.

This book was made into Eleanor parts and Alais parts. So it changed POV every chapter and that worked. It was interesting to see what these two women felt and needed. I must say I got truly fascinated by Eleanor, she was so strong, and she did what she wanted.

Alais then, well I liked her when she was young and naive, then when the book came to a turning point I felt she was a bitch. That might seem harsh, but she played games she was too young to play. She bedded the king for revenge and wanted to take the crown and become queen. She was saddened by Richard's infidelity but never considered that the king surely never would have stayed only by her side. But the bitchiness was needed, there had to be some drama, and she had to learn a lesson. I even felt a bit sorry of fair Rosamund, his other mistress that he had kept for years. In the end it just made me like Eleanor more because she played the game so well. And I wondered how she could be so forgiving of Alais who she had loved like a daughter.

This book is not entirely historically correct, she does play with years and what happened. She changed some things and it fitted. It made the story interesting and asked that little what if. It did also make me think, if it is true, how could we know for certain, anyway, how could he? She was a princess, what a scandal.

This book gives it a more happy ending. It does not say anything but it does hint, I like it in a way. It makes you think that all worked out while in reality they did not stand by her.

The whole book is written with such ease, which of course then makes it easy to read. The words just flow by.

Recommendation and final thoughts:

I will give it a 3,75 just because of that easy way it was written. I would recommend it to historical fans, and to others. It was a nice book to read, and it did make me wonder, was he handsome? Lol.

Reason for reading:

I didn't know anything about Alais, so I wanted to know more.

Cover: Love it.

Come back on Monday when I have Christy over and she talks about royal scandals.

I got the book from the author