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”
Tag Archives: tudors
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?”
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”
Chester, England: Strategic Stronghold and Market Crossroads
Discover Chester, it’s rich history and the books which this ancient city features in
Witches, stereotypes, power and politics
How did this, an instantly recognisable, image of what a witch looks like come about?
Magic and spirituality were, for the majority of cultures, an accepted part of life.
Why I’m still learning life lessons from learning History
I’ve always loved History, except I didn’t really know it until I was halfway through my life. If you’d have asked me shortly after leaving school about the dates of Kings and Queens, or why certain wars happened, I probably would have shrugged and said “I had a GCSE in History, but I’ve forgotten itContinue reading “Why I’m still learning life lessons from learning History”
Escape Into A Tale with Jan Foster - Author 