Heads up! I will be LIVE at the Writer’s Chatroom this Sunday, Feb. 21 from 7pm to 9pm EST. I’ll be talking about pseudonyms (I have lots), genre writing, good books, bad books, more books, and anything else you guys can think to ask. Hope to see you there!
Did somebody really try to kill George II when he was still Prince of Wales?
George II gets overlooked a lot as a do-nothing king, but when he was a prince, he and Princess Caroline were both very popular. With most people. Most of the time. There was this once though…
HISTORICAL SPOILER ALERT!!!!
“Towards the end of September 1716 he made a progress from Hampton Court to Portsmouth, distributing largess copiously all the way, held a review of the troops and inspected the ships at Portsmouth, and was everywhere received with the utmost enthusiasm. He increased his popularity by his energy in superintending the suppression of a fire at Spring Gardens on 3 December, to which he walked from St. James’s Palace in the early morning. He displayed great coolness a few days later at Drury Lane Theatre, when an assassin attempted to enter his box with a loaded pistol, and was only secured after taking the life of the guard in attendance.”
— Dr. Marjorie Bloy, “A Web of English History” quoting James McMullen Rugg, 1889 —
We are delighted to announce we have an exclusive preview of the cover for Assassin’s Masque, being the latest volume in the wholly true and entirely remarkable adventures of Margaret Preston Fitzroy, maid of honor, card-sharp, house-breaker, forger, thief of private correspondence, sometime conspiariator and confidential agent in the Court of His Majesty George I of England!
IN STORES AND ONLINE JANUARY 2016
Yes, “Careless” Mary Bellenden’s is real too. As annoying as it is to have a Molly and a Mary to keep straight, there wasn’t a lot I could do about it. Mary apparently regularly stole the show with her appearance, and her behavior. She certainly had the eye of the gentlemen poets of the day
THE HON. MARY BELLENDEN
Now to my heart the glance of Howard flies ;
Now Harvey, fair of face, I mark full well.
With thee, youth’s youngest daughter, Sweet Lepell,
I see two lovely sisters hand in hand,
The fair-haired Martha, and Teresa brown Madge Bellenden, the tallest of the land ;
And smiling Mary, soft and fair as down.
Epistle to- Mr. Pope by Gay.
Who was real resident in the Palace of Spies? Sophy Howe was. I wasn’t able to find art on her, but here’s what historian Lucy Worsely, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces has to say about Sophy in her book Courtiers (a book I highly recommend if you want to know more about what was really going on at Court).
Ever wonder which of the characters in Palace of Spies was a real person? Quite a lot of them were. Starting with Peggy’s BFF at court: Molly Lepell.
WARNING! There’s actually a spoiler in this…
Molly was Maid of Honour to Caroline. She was nicknamed ‘the Schatz’, German for ‘treasure’.
She was renowned for her beauty, her elegant figure, her big grey ‘soft and sprightly’ eyes and her lustrous skin. Sprightly and fun-loving as well as being well educated and intelligent, Molly learnedto carefully disguised her learnedness at court.
She secretly married Lord Hervey in 1720. Married maids were forced to relinquish their positions, something Molly could not afford to do. After marriage, and perhaps as a result of her husband’s infidelities, Molly missed the chase and scandal of being pursued by men.
‘Bright Venus yet never sat bedded,
So perfect a beau and a belle,
As when Hervey the handsome was wedded,
to the beautiful Molly Lepell,
– Chesterfield and Pulteney
For more on the historical Molly Lepell, check out this great site.
I’m starting over, again.
This is nothing new. The life of the writer is about starting over. Fiinsh one project, close it out, hopefully send it out, and start the next. If you are not living this cycle, as a writer, you are doing something wrong.
That doesn’t mean it gets easier.
This time I’m starting over on the last book of a series — Palace of Spies, Book 3. So far, I’ve got a lot of characters, a time line, a deradline and no plot. At all. None. Zip.
I’m not panicking, just a little frustrated. I know that whatever plot I may have thought I had, as I write, it will change, kind of a lot. Okay, you can take the kind of out of that sentence. It will change a lot. But I do need to have at least some kind of line of sight so I can start stringing words together.
But rest assured, Dear Reader, Peggy and Friends will be back. I’ve left the door open, and the coffee is waiting. I’m quite sure there is nothing to be alarmed about. After all, what could possibly have happened to them?
Oh, wait…this is Peggy we’re talking about, right?
Time to get started over…
Teenreads.com and the Children’s Book Council are accepting nominations for the Teen Choice Book of the Year award. Thanks to all my great readers and bloggers, Palace of Spies has earned a slot on the ballot.
If you’re a teen who has enjoyed the Wholly True and Remarkable Adventures of Margaret Fitzroy, and would like to help spread the word, you can VOTE FOR PALACE OF SPIES FOR BOOK OF THE YEAR.
It has been a terrific launch week for Palace of Spies. I cannot send out enough thanks to the folks who have taken the time to read the book and give it so many thoughtful, and enthusiastic review. Here’s just one of the latest up at I am Indeed.
Palace of Spies has picked up some terrific new reviews for its Happy Book Day:
Dandelion Dreams says: “Sarah Zettel is an amazing storyteller. Her writing is so eloquent, the words flowing easily across the pages making for a quick yet intriguing read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Peggy and her adventures at court. Peggy’s voice is easy to love and every moment she was being her witty, clever self I found myself liking her more and more. She’s incredibly smart, and rarely ever misses a beat when talking among the royals. The mysteries surrounding Francesca kept me turning the pages and Peggy’s determination to discover just what happened to the girl who was clearly much more than the outward exterior she portrayed for those of her who new her best at court was fascinating.”
Eileen Dandashi says: “Sarah Zettel wrote a believable mystery and was highly entertaining. The ratcheting up of intrigue kept me on the edge of my chair! And there were several points it got a chuckle out of me, too. As a reader, I was swept up into the story on the first page.”
And then there’s a bit of an interview with Book Whales.