When I decided where to set Discovering Destiny, as with all the books in the Naturae Series, I wanted to place the story at a moment when European, and especially British, history was undergoing momentous change. The sixteenth century provides no shortage of dramatic possibilities: Tudor England; the Reformation and religious conflict; rival queens. AddContinue reading ““Repugnant to Nature”: Three Tudor Queens and their battle to remain in power”
Author Archives: Jan Foster
Scottish Gaelic Influence in Historical Fantasy – What is a Banrigh?
The Scottish Gaelic Origins Behind the Queen of the Witches “The only cure for Vinexplicity was the blood of a Banrigh—the Queen of the Witches.”– Discovering Destiny Fantasy readers often ask whether titles like Banrigh are simply invented because they sound magical. In the case of the Naturae Series, and specifically the latest release ‘DiscoveringContinue reading “Scottish Gaelic Influence in Historical Fantasy – What is a Banrigh?”
Discovering Destiny
Chapter 1 – Wings of Expectation 1567 June 12th, Summer Solstice, Island of Naturae Hope cut into the sky too fast. She knew it the moment she jumped – the updraft caught her wings awkwardly, lifting her higher than the formation allowed, scattering the careful symmetry of the soldier fae below her. Someone shouted. SomeoneContinue reading “Discovering Destiny”
As Above, So Below
Welcome to Elizabethan Hardingstone – a small village in Northamptonshire, where magical mishaps and unlikely heroines are about to explode. Below is Chapter 1 of of my cosy historical fantasy, As Above, So Below, for you to enjoy. 30th July 1566 Though the linens should be white, the nightgown Becca swirled with her paddle hadContinue reading “As Above, So Below”
Lammas in Elizabethan England: Harvest, Magic, and Memory
Every August, as summer began to tip toward autumn, Elizabethans marked a feast that was older than Christianity itself: Lammas, or in Old English “hlāf-mæsse” meaning “Loaf-Mass.” By the 1560s, England was a Protestant nation under Elizabeth I, yet villagers still carried echoes of pagan and Celtic ritual into their daily lives. Lammas was oneContinue reading “Lammas in Elizabethan England: Harvest, Magic, and Memory”
Co-authoring for stories to share, and Kickstarting
Experiences of co-authoring and Kickstarting a historical fiction duology
The Secret War Beneath Paris: WWII and the Shadowed Legacy of the Catacombs
Discover the hidden role of the Paris Catacombs during World War II—Nazi bunkers, French Resistance hideouts, and the enduring mystery. Includes fiction references and modern research challenges.
Chester, England: Strategic Stronghold and Market Crossroads
Discover Chester, it’s rich history and the books which this ancient city features in
Beyond the Seams: The Unseen Strength of Women in the French Resistance
In the shadow of World War II, as Nazi occupation gripped Paris, acts of defiance emerged not just from the expected places of male bravery, but often from the most unexpected corners of society: its women. While writing the Rebels and Resistance duology, I have been constantly struck by how overlooked the role women playedContinue reading “Beyond the Seams: The Unseen Strength of Women in the French Resistance”
Boy, Resisting
Chapter 1 – The Voice My name is Frederick and I have a secret. Want to know what it is? Of course you do IF YOU’RE SNOOPING AND READING THIS! My Mama gave me this book for my birthday. “So you can keep a record,” she said. “It’s important to remember who you are, andContinue reading “Boy, Resisting”
