Elizabeth Chadwick

[Lilywhite]

Elizabeth Chadwick
Website (www.elizabethchadwick.com)

This month we have Elizabeth Chadwick joining us as featured author. Already well known to some of our members, Elizabeth has written a large number of historical fiction books (see here for details (http://elizabethchadwickevents.blogspot.com)). Her latest A Place Beyond Courage is out in paperback in October.

I'd like to thank Elizabeth for taking the time to answer our questions.

[Lilywhite]

Hello and welcome to you first of all, and whilst I'm here, I'm going to jump in with my first question.....

What is your favourite time period to write about?

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Hello Lilywhite,
I hope I've come to the right place!
Thank you so much for asking me onto your forum for July. I think, having had a glance around, I might even stay on. I love to talk books and I read across all genres, not just historical.

My favourite time period to write about covers the timescale 1066-1250, with a leaning towards the middle of that period. It's where I've done the most research and I feel comfortable in that era. When I go to write in that time period it's just like opening a door to another room in my own house. If I suddenly decided to write a Regency or Tudor novel, it would be more like going out of my house and staying in a hotel. I could do it, but it wouldn't be as natural.
There are some wonderful stories waiting to be told from this time period and I don't think I'm going to run out any time soon. A Place Beyond Courage is the story of John Marshal - 1105-1165. He's a man who is perceived by a modern audience to have been a callous father with nothing but his own gain in mind. 'Root and branch of hell' is what a bishop called him back in his own day. But is it the truth? What were the real circumstances of his life. That was what I set out to discover, and in doing so, my own life has been enriched beyond measure. Also in October The Time of Singing comes out in hard cover. This is again based on fact and is the story of Roger Bigod, builder of Framlingham Castle in Norfolk and his marriage to Ida de Tosney, mistress to King Henry II and mother of Henry's son William Longespee, later Earl of Salisbury.
I have the trailer up at my blog at the moment. http://livingthehistoryelizabethchadwick.blogspot.com/

Before the end of the month I'll organise a prize draw with a forum moderator for a set of the Marshal novels - i.e. A Place Beyond Courage, The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion, and also a copy of the new hardback. They won't get sent out until October though!

Hope to speak to some of you later on.
Back to the coal face of the day job!

Elizabeth :)

[Nici76]

Before the end of the month I'll organise a prize draw with a forum moderator for a set of the Marshal novels - i.e. A Place Beyond Courage, The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion, and also a copy of the new hardback. They won't get sent out until October though!

That is very generous of you, thank you. :)

Historical books are my favourite genre and I am looking forward to finding out more about your books.

[kb.marsh]

Historical books are my favourite genre and I am looking forward to finding out more about your books.

Yeah they are mine too :) I did a history degree so I just love this type of writing.
Hehe this should be a good month!

[Inver]

I'm sorry to admit I haven't read any of your books. How would you entice me to read them?

[Angel]

It's really great that you can be here Elizabeth. As many know here, I love historical fiction. I also have a couple of your books on mount TBR

How did you become interested in writing and which other authors have influenced your love of historical writing?

[elizabeth Chadwick]

I'm sorry to admit I haven't read any of your books. How would you entice me to read them?

Hello Inver!

A difficult question to answer without going into ego-freak sales-woman mode:blush: However I'll have a go.

I receive very little promo and publicity from my publishers and I have to rely on word of mouth recommendation, but since I am now considered to be a 'best-selling' author, I guess that's a good accolade for the material I write.
I research very thoroughly. I won't say I always get it right, no author of historical fiction ever can, but I do my best, and this means that I don't just read reference books for my research. It's inter-disciplinary. Yes I read books - primary sources and academic secondary sources. I also use the Internet for books and articles and for networking with experts. In addition to that I re-enact with an early medieval society - Regia Anglorum. They are hot on authenticity and being a member means that I get to explore my chosen research subject in 3D. I know what it feels like to walk in medieval clothes. I know how to spin with a drop spindle, or to cook using Norman cooking pots and cauldrons. I have worn a mail shirt and donned a bucket helm. I talk to the guys involved about what it's like to fight in a mail shirt or get on a horse wearing one. All of this underpins what goes into the novel. I also use psychic research as one of the strands, which involves 'time-travelling' to speak with some of my subjects.
All of the above disciplines are geared towards me making it feel as real as possible for a reader. I am always aware that I am writing for a modern audience, but I also feel a need to have integrity with the past. I hope that anyone who reads one of my novels will actually feel as if they are there in the moment - that they have been transported back to the life and times of Henry II for e.g. It's about us as we were then. Yes, society's rules were different, but we are still the same animal. There are some fantastic stories lurking in our history, many of them forgotten or as yet untold and just crying out to be brought to life.
My novel The Scarlet Lion has been nominated by the founder of the Historical Novel Society as one of the landmark historical novels of the last decade. A Place Beyond Courage recently won the Best Historical Novel category (as opposed to best historical romance,it's not a romance as such although there is romance in it) by Romance Reviewers today. I've been 4 times nominated for the RNA Major award in the UK - an award chosen by readers, and I won a Betty Trask Award for my first published novel The Wild Hunt, which is being re-issued this December. So I guess those are reasonable credentials for recommendation.
As always though, it boils down to personal taste as well:)

[Nici76]

Wow Elizabeth it sounds all so interesting! Absolutely fascinating.

[slywaka1]

In addition to that I re-enact with an early medieval society - Regia Anglorum. They are hot on authenticity and being a member means that I get to explore my chosen research subject in 3D. I know what it feels like to walk in medieval clothes. I know how to spin with a drop spindle, or to cook using Norman cooking pots and cauldrons. I have worn a mail shirt and donned a bucket helm. I talk to the guys involved about what it's like to fight in a mail shirt or get on a horse wearing one. All of this underpins what goes into the novel.


That sounds amazing!!

Anna

[elizabeth Chadwick]

It's really great that you can be here Elizabeth. As many know here, I love historical fiction. I also have a couple of your books on mount TBR

How did you become interested in writing and which other authors have influenced your love of historical writing?

Hello Angel,
Pleased to meet you!:)
I first began writing at the age of 15, but I was born to write I think. From earliest memory I know I told myself stories with beginnings, middles and ends. I have a particular memory of telling myself a story when I was 3 years old and sitting up in bed one light summer evening, making up a tale about the fairies on my cotton handkerchief instead of going to sleep!
I didn't actually write anything down until my teens when I fell madly in love with Thibaud, le Chevalier Blanc in a children's TV series. You can read about Thibaud and his effect on me here on my blog. http://tinyurl.com/42a8ox
To write my own story about the crusades I had to start researching the Middle Ages and the more I researched the more fascinated I became. Once having written my first novel, originally inspired by Thibaud, I was hooked. To be actually able to re-read one what one had created rather than have it disappear forever as the spoken word was a definite bonus and my career decision was made. Obviously it took a lot longer to realise that goal, but I knew it was what I wanted to do for a living if I could get my foot in the door.
Authors who have influenced my love of historical fiction include:
Dorothy Dunnett - in a league of her own
Roberta Gellis - showed me that it was possible to write intelligent historical with a romantic element
Grace Ingram - Red Adam's Lady is a classic
Graham Shelby - The Knights of Dark Renown and The Kings of Vain Intent
Mary Stewart's Arthurian novels, especially The Crystal Cave and The Hollow Hills - poetry in novel form
Cecilia Holland - Hammer for Princes, Until The Sun Falls, Great Maria - showed me that heroes came in many shapes and sizes and that the most memorable love scenes are not always the most perfect ones.
Valerie Anand - King of the Wood
Sharon Penman - Here Be Dragons
Ellis Peters - The Cadfael books, particularly the early ones. Don't tell anyone but I had a huge crush on Hugh Berenger!

[Louiseog]

Ellis Peters - The Cadfael books, particularly the early ones. Don't tell anyone but I had a huge crush on Hugh Berenger!
He's mine!!!!!!!! ;)

I've read, and loved the Greatest Knight and Daughters of the Grail. Think I preferred the former as it seemed to based in fact and somehow I learned a lot in the nicest possible way!

Are you a full time writer?

[elizabeth Chadwick]

He's mine!!!!!!!! ;)

I've read, and loved the Greatest Knight and Daughters of the Grail. Think I preferred the former as it seemed to based in fact and somehow I learned a lot in the nicest possible way!

Are you a full time writer?

Hello Louiseog! Okay, you can have Hugh Berenger. John Marshal is my special guy with William a close second!
Yes, Daughters of the Grail I was commissioned to write by a TV producer and it is slightly different to my usual. He had a basic treatment he wanted fleshing out and turning into a full blown novel that he was hoping to make a three part series from. It never happened, but the novel was born. The Greatest Knight solidified my foray into biographical fiction. I guess I am on the periphery of the Philippa Gregory market. I write a similar genre, but I'm happy to write about men as well as women and obviously I write an earlier period. There is a follow up to The Greatest Knight - The Scarlet Lion which tells the second part of William Marshal's life and has more input from his wife. A Place Beyond Courage is the story of William's father, John. (what a guy!)
Yes, I am a full time author and have been so since 1990, although I didn't properly start earning a living from writing for several years and it's only in the last three or four that I've gone bestseller. As Joanna Trollope once said, it's taken a decade (longer in my case) to become an overnight success!

[teddy collector]

Wow Elizabeth...you really have researched your stuff...I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading your material, I'm not a great history fan but to be honest I'd read anything (except voilent murders). Which of your books would you recommend for someone like me who hasn't yet dabbled?:ob_cool:

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Urgh, I've been updating my blog and now my formatting's gone weird - can't put the quote at the top. Never mind. I reckon it'll all snap back into place once I've shut down the PC overnight. It's hard to know what to recommend off the cuff. I think I would say start out with Shadows and Strongholds. It's based on the story of what happened to some of the inhabitants of Ludlow Castle and the Welsh Marches in the mid 12th Century and it has been generally well received. I know historical fiction isn't for everyone, but one of my passions is bringing history right into the here and now while never losing sight of the fact that I am showing the reader a different world.

Wow Elizabeth...you really have researched your stuff...I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading your material, I'm not a great history fan but to be honest I'd read anything (except voilent murders). Which of your books would you recommend for someone like me who hasn't yet dabbled?:ob_cool:

[Lilywhite]

Glad to see you're settling in :D

Have you always wanted to be and author and if you weren't an author, what would you be doing?

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Glad to see you're settling in :D

Have you always wanted to be and author and if you weren't an author, what would you be doing?

I worked in shops to earn a crust before I became an author and I have a higher qualification in retail management, but it was always only just a job to make ends meet. In an ideal world and if I weren't an author I would either still work in publishing as a commissioning editor, or I would be an archaeologist or historian. I did consider taking a history degree after A levels, but for various reasons it remained a pipe dream and I went to work at Debenhams instead - in the lingerie department....not much difference! :lol:

[Nici76]

Hello again Elizabeth. I just wanted to say that I am reading Daughters of the Grail, which is the first one of your books that I have read and I am absolutely loving it! I am finding that I want to be reading it every second of the day.

I will be looking out for the rest of your books now, so thank you, you have become one of my favourite authors. :)

[madcow]

Hello and welcome Elizabeth, I've just picked up The Conquest to read next, looking foward to it.

[Inver]

How long does it usually take you to write a book? Do you write using a pc or longhand?

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Hello again Elizabeth. I just wanted to say that I am reading Daughters of the Grail, which is the first one of your books that I have read and I am absolutely loving it! I am finding that I want to be reading it every second of the day.

I will be looking out for the rest of your books now, so thank you, you have become one of my favourite authors. :)

Thanks Nici!:smile2:
I was commissioned to write Daughters of the Grail by a TV producer (many moons ago). It never got made into a film or 3 part series, which is what he was hoping to do, but a novel did come from it - well before the Da Vinci Code and Kate Mosse's Labyrinth! It originally came out in the UK as Children of Destiny. The USA title was Daughters of the Grail and this is the one my publishers used for the re-issue, which I've re-edited. I usually write 'straight' historical, but this one has a very slightly fantasy element.

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Hello and welcome Elizabeth, I've just picked up The Conquest to read next, looking foward to it.

Many thanks madcow. Hope you enjoy it.:)

[elizabeth Chadwick]

How long does it usually take you to write a book? Do you write using a pc or longhand?

Hi Inver,
Generally just over a year. My contracts are currently at 15 months which gives me a little bit of breathing space too. I've been immersing myself in the Middle Ages since my teens, so although I have to do quite a lot of research, I do have a bit of a headstart. If I suddenly decided to write a Regency novel I'd probably need about 10 years to get up to scratch! I think the more you know about a period the more you can bring it to life. That doesn't mean dumping the historical info into the novel like a text book, but it means that the characters will think and feel like people of their time.
I write onto the PC these days. Time was when I wrote longhand - as a young mother I was forever jotting things down in a notebook in between changing nappies and dealing with small children. I prefer a desk top to a laptop though - more room and my elbows are less scrunched up!
One of the other things I do, which isn't medieval, but does help inspire me, is use music as a key to developing scenes. I've just put a new 'soundtrack' up at one of my blogs. Here: http://elizabethchadwicksoundtracks.blogspot.com/

[Enthusiast]

Hey Elizabeth, I'm new on the Forum's here and came to check out this thread. Unfortunately I can't say I've ever read any of your books.. But after reading this thread I've very interested in doing so.

Quick question for you. Have you always been interested in historical fiction, or did you ever consider writing any different genre's of writing? :)

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Hey Elizabeth, I'm new on the Forum's here and came to check out this thread. Unfortunately I can't say I've ever read any of your books.. But after reading this thread I've very interested in doing so.

Quick question for you. Have you always been interested in historical fiction, or did you ever consider writing any different genre's of writing? :)

Hi Enthusiast!
I notice the cover of Twilight on your Avatar - brilliant book. I seriously fell for Edward Cullen when I read it. I'm hoping to read The Host soon.

To your question. My interest in historical fiction was a gradual development over my teens and early twenties. The person originally responsible, as mentioned in an earlier post, was the character Thibaud from the children's TV programme Desert Crusader.
http://livingthehistoryelizabethchadwick.blogspot.com/2008/04/tall-dark-and-handsome.html
Once I embarked on the research, I was hooked and it went from there.
If I wrote another genre, it would probably be fantasy or something along the Stephenie Meyer lines - although I have no intentions of changing at the moment. I do occasionally write short stories for magazines in a contemporary style and have had them published in such as Woman's Weekly, The Lady and The Sunday Express - but they are not a favourite part of my job. If I changed historical era I'd probably go earlier to Anglo Saxon or Arthurian. Definitely NOT Tudor. I think that particular era has just about reached saturation point.

[Enthusiast]

Yes, Stephenie Mayer is a great writer, I'm currently waiting for the 4th book in the Twilight saga to come out - Breaking Dawn. Thanks for the answer to your question.. I look foreward to taking a look at your books. :)

[kb.marsh]

I am yet to read one of your books, but I got Shields of Pride out the library - that is the next book I'm going to read. I was just wondering, are your characters real historic people, completely made up or based on people in history?

[Enthusiast]

I'm going to get one of your book soon as Elizabeth now. :)

[elizabeth Chadwick]

I am yet to read one of your books, but I got Shields of Pride out the library - that is the next book I'm going to read. I was just wondering, are your characters real historic people, completely made up or based on people in history?

Ah, this is a difficult one - and it will depend which version of Shields of Pride you have as to what you get!

When I first started out, I wrote towards the romantic end of historical fiction, but not historical romance as such. Shields of Pride belongs to that era and the characters are imaginary but set against a background of events that actually happened - the Battle of Fornham for e.g. or the sacking of Nottingham. But Linnet and Jocelyn are imaginary. I have recently re-edited the novel with a new eye and tightened up its knicker elastic so to speak in the light of better skills and better historical knowledge. If your library book has a woman in an orange dress on the cover it's the new version. If it has a man and a woman with a shield in the foreground it's the warts and all older version.
Since the early days I have moved on into the world of fictional biography.
Think Philippa Gergory. Think Sharon Kay Penman. However my stories involve a lot more male viewpoint than Gregory and are set in an earlier period. A Place Beyond Courage, The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion are all about the great Marshal family in the 12th and 13thc and based on detailed research. The forthcoming new hardcover, The Time of Singing is about a mistress of Henry II and a dispossed earl - again researched in depth. My earliest biographical fiction novel was Lords of the White Castle, about the legendary outlaw Fulke FitzWarrin of Whittington. Its prequel Shadows and Strongholds was my first bestseller, although The Greatest Knight is about to overtake it sales wise.
So, bottom line. My earlier novels are of a more romantic and imaginary bent. My later ones as straight historicals in the classical mould.
Hope this helps!!:)

[Enthusiast]

Another quick question. How would you suggest that new young others try and get there ideas down onto paper, and fit them together? :)

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Another quick question. How would you suggest that new young others try and get there ideas down onto paper, and fit them together? :)

It all depends on the individual and I don't have that much advice to give because I write by instinct. I was born telling stories. As far as I'm concerned it's just something I can do without having to think about it. I would say imagine the scenes playing out like a movie in your head and write down what you see. Play 'What if?' with the characters and try out different scenarios in the head movie. It's basically what I did throughout my teens and childhood before I wrote anything down. I played my stories out in my imagination, often changing the scenario, introducing a new character, working out different beginnings, middles and ends. An author should write because it's fun and they should also read, read, read across all genres because so much of structure and technique is picked up along the way from osmosis.

[kb.marsh]

I have recently re-edited the novel with a new eye and tightened up its knicker elastic so to speak in the light of better skills and better historical knowledge. If your library book has a woman in an orange dress on the cover it's the new version. If it has a man and a woman with a shield in the foreground it's the warts and all older version.


I have the new version, I am about to start reading it, I can't wait!

Another couple of questions:

1) I want to get into historical writing, but non-fiction (I don't have the imagination/capabilities to write fiction) - how would you suggest I go about writing/getting published?

2) We are all encouraged to use the library - personally I love libraries - but how does people borrowing books affect your income?

[elizabeth Chadwick]

I have the new version, I am about to start reading it, I can't wait!

Another couple of questions:

1) I want to get into historical writing, but non-fiction (I don't have the imagination/capabilities to write fiction) - how would you suggest I go about writing/getting published?

2) We are all encouraged to use the library - personally I love libraries - but how does people borrowing books affect your income?

I'm going to be totally useless on question one because I don't have a clue how you go about getting reference works published, nor how you go about writing them. I would think re getting published that there are some similarities in that finding an agent to represent you will be difficult but useful and that networking by going where agents or publishers are likely to turn up is a good idea once you're ready with your work because then you can pitch your book to them. It might be worth deciding what you are going to write about and then going to conferences or joining organisations were that sort of subject is discussed. Again, it might give you a lead into other things. I would also say in general terms that once you are ready to write, you should write something every day and keep a momentum going. Even if it's a hobby. After all, one page a day = 365 by the end of a year!

The library question. In the UK authors receive a payment - starting at 99p and capped at £6,600 for the bestselling ones - from libraries for the use of their book. It's called Public Lending Right or PLR. Borrowings are recorded on computer and once a year the author gets money in their bank acccount - if they are lucky. So at least authors do get something from libraries and it's a good thing!:D
A big debate in writing communities at the moment though, is the sale of second hand books, particularly in charity shops. The author gets nothing from these. This is totally fair in principle because the author has usually received a payment from the first ever sale of the book - around 50p. However if that book then gets passed around several times, that's several readers who are never going to buy the book new and thus a loss on royalties. Some authors think that it should be done more in the way of the music industry where a fee is paid each time a tune is played. Second hand booksellers don't affect the big authors quite so much in that their sales are massive to start with, but for a struggling mid-list author it can mean the difference between a job and no job because publishers always have a keen eye to first time sales figures. Charity shops now have their own branches of book shops and when they stand in the high street, competing with an independent book shops, they put more pressure on the already stressed Indies. They don't have to pay staff for a start. Sure it's for a good cause, but in some ways it is damaging to other people's livelihoods.
Many second hand book buyers don't buy new because it's a lot cheaper to get the goods second hand or from one of those bookshops like The Works (where the author will receive around 3p a copy), and within the range of what they can afford, especially if they have a serious habit.:) Sometimes the book are out of print and that's the only way to obtain them. There are arguments on both sides of the fence. Some authors say it's better to be read than not at all. As said above, it's the mid-list authors who are probably the worst affected in terms of career. If you can't get onto the next rung of the ladder and need every new sale you can get, then second hand sales can leave you vulnerable to losing your job. They might garner you new readers too, who will buy new next time - if there's a next time... Libraries at least do give you a fee each time the book is read - although again it won't do anything for your sales at Neilsen Book Scan! Food for thought and no simple answers.

[scottishbookworm]

Welcome to the book club elizabeth!

from

alison
:readingtwo:

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Thanks Alison,
I see you hale from Glasgow. I used to live near there many moons ago - in Newton Mearns!

[scottishbookworm]

Thanks Alison,
I see you hale from Glasgow. I used to live near there many moons ago - in Newton Mearns!I do yes hale here in wet glasgow the moment!

nice to meet you Elizabeth! I read Ian rankin books I must say and also collect autographs and meet famous people.

[elizabeth Chadwick]

I do yes hale here in wet glasgow the moment!

nice to meet you Elizabeth! I read Ian rankin books I must say and also collect autographs and meet famous people.

What's your most memorable encounter from the above?
My most surreal moment was when I was first published. I had recently been filling shelves at a supermarket to make ends meet, and then suddenly found myself at Whitehall receiving a literary award from Prince Charles.... !! (didn't get his autograph though!:lol:)

[scottishbookworm]

What's your most memorable encounter from the above?
My most surreal moment was when I was first published. I had recently been filling shelves at a supermarket to make ends meet, and then suddenly found myself at Whitehall receiving a literary award from Prince Charles.... !! (didn't get his autograph though!:lol:)I would have to say Derren brown as he was lovely to talk to! and I've met him before!

he remembered me and the last time we met!

[Inver]

Do you have a designated place that you sit and write at and do you work 9-5 as it were, or do you have to wait for inspiration?

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Do you have a designated place that you sit and write at and do you work 9-5 as it were, or do you have to wait for inspiration?

Hi Inver,
Yes, I have a study that's our converted 4th bedroom and slightly out of the way, so I get peace to write. I write at least 1,000 words a day, 7 days a week, but it's not 9-5. I can't work solidly, but function in swift creative bursts interspersed with procrastination on e-mail etc. I tell myself it's filling up the creative sump!:) I've been out most of the day, showing an American friend around the area, so I'm working late now to catch up. I work better towards the end of the day and I'm a night owl, so sometimes I'll work until 2 in the morning - but I may not have done that much earlier on. I would say I probably work at least 50 hours a week. Some of it is the actual novel writing, but some is blogging and other bits and pieces to do with the job that aren't actually the main occupation so to speak!
Back to the coalface - today is likely to roll over into tomorrow being as I was skiving earlier...:roll:

[Icecream]

Hi Elizabeth. Do you have special places you go to that inspire you?

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Hi Icecream!
I have to say that I don't have special places that inspire me to write. I have special places I love to visit, such as Wiltshire and Shropshire and Wales, but as far as writing is concerned, I can write anywhere. The special place is inside my head and it goes wherever I go. When I was first going out with my now husband, we were teenagers and he played darts for an inner city pub. I used to go along to the matches and sit there in the midst of the smoky fug, writing in my notebook. What I do need is my own space in my head to think my own thoughts. When I had a young family and my head was filled with toddler-scribble it was pretty difficult, but these days it's not so bad!

[Icecream]

Yes that is my problem at the moment. I have just started thinking of some really good ideas and written some out as part of a text, but then I've been distracted by the children's and OHs needs and been forced just to note my other ideas until I can take time to think about them (although I have lots of other things to do too:roll:).:)

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Just hang in there Icecream and do what you can. I started writing my first published novel The Wild Hunt when my youngest was 18 months old and I got there - it was accepted by a publisher when he was 3. I used to work at the kitchen table and in the play room and snatch moments when he was at nursery school or when they were both in bed. It was difficult though...

[Lilywhite]

Who has been your favourite character to research/write so far and why?

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Who has been your favourite character to research/write so far and why?

The Marshals as a family have been fascinating, Lilywhite and at one time I would have said William Marshal, no contest, but since discovering his father John, I have been particularly interested. John Marshal has gone down in history as the callous father who went back on his word and when his son's life was threatened with forfeiture because of it, said 'Do as you will. I have the anvils and hammer to get better sons than him.' He's also seen as a man on the make and a bit of an adrenalin nutter. But, when you begin looking at the evidence, a very different man emerges and it was particularly stimulating to write against the grain of popular 21stC thought and actually go with the medieval mindset and really think about the clues that we've been left. Added to my conventional research, I use psychic research too and 'knowing' John Marshal from that side of matters too, I really wanted to set the record straight. I do enjoy meeting and discovering the wide range of characters from the medieval past though. Roger Bigod who is the star of The Time of Singing, due out in October, has been a real sweetie and although very much a man, he is made in a different mould to John Marshal. It's been interesting to see the differences between the two men and yet both are great in their own way.
I have enjoyed researching royal mistress Ida de Tosney too, who has shown me that not all royal mistresses were willing temptresses. A lot of coercion went on and there were as many victims as vamps.
Hmmm... I guess I just love meeting people from the past in my research full stop.
There is a wonderful folk band called Show of Hands. They have a song called 'Roots' which says 'Without Our Stories or our songs, how will we know where we come from?' I kind of feel that's what I'm trying to give the readers too - the stories that have been forgotten.

[elizabeth Chadwick]

Just to say I've put up a new post on my blog about what it takes to produce a novel.
Url here if anyone is interested. http://livingthehistoryelizabethchadwick.blogspot.com/

[madcow]

Still reading The Conquest I was hoping to finish it last week but being ill I didn't feel like reading. Over half way through and thoroughly enjoying it :)

[Lilywhite]

Well as it's the close of the month now I'd like to thank Elizabeth for answering our questions. It's been very interesting and I hope we've convinced a few of you out there to try something new!

Many thanks Elizabeth and I do hope you stick around on the forum. It's been great having you here.

[supergran71]

Still reading The Conquest I was hoping to finish it last week but being ill I didn't feel like reading. Over half way through and thoroughly enjoying it :)
Sorry you are ill Madcow. Is it your legs that you were talking about the other dayy? Hope it gets better soon.:friends0:

[madcow]

Sorry you are ill Madcow. Is it your legs that you were talking about the other dayy? Hope it gets better soon.:friends0:

Yes supergran, the bite got infected and laid me low all last weekend, still on antibiotics but at least it's on the mend. Thanks for the hug :)

[supergran71]

MC did you enjoy The Conquest? I just got it from the RNLI today. I have never read Elizabeth Chadwick before.

[madcow]

Yes SG this was the first one of hers I have read and could picture the scenes as I was reading. Would make a great film I think. Hope you enjoy it too :)