LIVING THE HISTORY: A few sundry bits of news and a UK prize draw

Sunday, November 28, 2010

A few sundry bits of news and a UK prize draw

Hello all,

I am sorry not to have updated my blog in a while, but work has been getting in the way. I have a deadline of 30th December for LADY OF THE ENGLISH and I've been preparing the final draft. I want to get it handed in by mid-December so I can do the Christmas thing with my family so I've had my head down working. The good news is that I am on the final, final draft and it will be off to my publisher within a week to 10 days. I have also been shown a STUNNING cover rough for both this one and for the UK paperback of TO DEFY A KING which takes the hardback cover and give it a new crop suitable to commercial sales. I'll be posting pictures as soon as I get the go ahead from my publisher.
Once I hand in 'LADY', I hope to return to more regular posting.

I was very interested this week to see a piece about a tunnel that has just been discovered at Lincoln Castle. Alison King, my Akashic consultant 'saw' this about 6 months ago when we were conducting some research into the siege of Lincoln Castle in 1141. I said to her at the time that there weren't any tunnels at Lincoln Castle as far as I knew. And now this has turned up. Irrespective, it is a very interesting piece of archaeological discovery. I wonder what else will turn up as they continue. http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/environment/Tunnel-vision-reveals-buildings-castle/article-2935933-detail/article.html

Okay, to celebrate the UK re-issue of The Leopard Unleashed, I am running a giveaway on the blog. Unfortunately this time it is limited to UK readers only, but I will certainly run the next draw internationally.
For those of you in the UK, my publisher Sphere is giving away a first prize of copies of THE WILD HUNT, THE RUNNING VIXEN and THE LEOPARD UNLEASHED and two runner up prizes of just THE LEOPARD UNLEASHED on its own. All you need to do is send an e-mail to me at elizabethchadwick@live.co.uk and I will forward all the names to Hannah at LittleBrown who will select the winners. I will ask the winners for a postal address, no need to send one at this stage - unless you want to. The draw is open as from now and I'll close it on Monday 13th December. You can find an excerpt from 'Leopard' here.
http://elizabethchadwicks.blogspot.com/2010/11/extract-from-leopard-unleashed.html

4 comments:

Beadyjan said...: Oooh how super - I've sent in my details - wonder if being first will be lucky for me?; 9:40 am
Mystica said...: Can I enter if I have a friend in the UK who is willing to send it on to me (in case I win of course!!!)

mystica123athotmaildotcom; 1:00 am
Carla said...: Congratulations on being so near to finishing!; 7:26 pm
Marg said...: Can't wait to see the new covers! Fingers crossed that you get everything done early.; 6:17 am

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

" Wow! I feel like someone used to watching movies in black and white but has just seen the first one in technicolor! " A personal letter from a reader.

"The Winter Crown ...will, I have no doubt, become the definitive fictional account of this remarkable woman.' ..." I’ve read a fair few fictional depictions of Henry II over the years and I must say that his portrait in The Winter Crown has the most authentic feel of them all."
Kate Atherton, author of For Winters Night blog.

"Eeanor’s life story has been told many times over in historical novels but rarely with such insight, emotional intensity and page-turning readability." Pam Norfolk, Lancashire Evening Post.

"In the world of the arts, the Black Legend and the Golden Myth still hold sway, as seen in novels, such as Alison Weir's, which seek to portray both the scandalous, adulterous queen of legend and the powerful female ruler. Historians may shake their heads at the perpetuation of such myths, but many historical novelists such as Sharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick are seeking to apply modern scholarship to their fiction, and consequently avoid the most egregious of the legends that surround Eleanor."

Professor Michael R. Evans in Inventing Eleanor - Bloomsbury Academic.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE SUMMER QUEEN

"What I loved about this novel, and I have felt this way about all of Elizabeth’s novels that I have read, is that she does not pander to stereotypes or write scandal for the sake of it. The historical Eleanor is defamed beyond belief- a whore chasing anything in trousers, a woman who committed incest with her uncle, a woman who was ‘ahead of her time’, and so on. Elizabeth’s Alienor is none of these things. She is treated fairly, as a woman of her own time, written in a believable way. Elizabeth does not go for scandal because she does not need to- the writing in this novel makes that very clear. Her scene setting is lovely, her character development top notch, and the book is a compulsive page turner. I couldn’t put it down." Sarah Bell

."The Summer Queen is a fabulous novel based on the most up-to-date and meticulous research. This is historical fiction at its best and I loved every page of it." Kate Atherton, blogger.

"I have read just about everything I can about Eleanor and enjoyed both biographical and fictional accounts of her life but I must say that your creation of Eleanor is the most compelling." Reader from Australia

"I loved the story; I loved the way the author wrote Alienor as a woman of her times instead of a thoroughly modern independent woman, or a slut in chase of anything in pants. As with all Chadwick novels, there's also the added plus of being sucked into another century with the sights, smells and sounds that wrap up a darn-near perfect reading experience. I couldn't put it down, and very sorry I'm going to have to wait for the next installment. Reader from the USA

"Meticulous research and strong storytelling." Woman & Home
"A rich and compelling read. " Candis Magazine

"I often see the expressions, `fleshing out the history' and `making it real', and they more than apply here...the main aspect that made me keep turning the pages and burning the midnight oil? The things that I didn't know about Alienor.." Reader from Australia

"Chadwick has succeeded where many other novelists have failed by giving us not just the legend but the very human young woman – intelligent, determined, witty and sexy." Pam Norfolk. Lancashire Evening Post.