ALISON STUART NEWS...
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This is a shout out for the release of the 'boxed set' (the digital box!) of the three Guardians of the Crown books: BY THE SWORD, THE KING'S MAN and EXILE'S RETURN.
The three books span the 'Interregnum' (the years 1650-1660) and concern the fates of three young men, bound by a friendship born on the battlefield of Worcester (3 September 1651). They will pay a heavy price for their loyalty to the King, Jonathan Thornton (BY THE SWORD) will be a hunted man in his own country, Kit Lovell (THE KING’S MAN) will sacrifice his honour to save someone he loves and his brother Daniel (EXILE’S RETURN) will endure years of imprisonment, torture and slavery. Their only hope is the restoration of a monarchy. And of course… the women who love them… Kate (BY THE SWORD), torn by her loyalties to the parliamentary cause and the man she loves, Thamsine (THE KING’S MAN) abandoned, penniless and friendless on the streets of London and Agnes (EXILE’S RETURN) whose love for her sister’s children will drive her to risk everything to save them. To read more about the 3 books... click HERE​​ GIVEAWAY
If you would like to explore this fascinating period in history, I am offering a copy of my time travel romance SECRETS IN TIME to any readers who wish to sign up to my newsletter. The offer remains open until 30 June. Just click the button below!
Finally... I have posted this before... but it really goes to the heart of my stories and may go some of the way to explaining why I love these books so much...
Walking Worcester with my imaginary friends...
The 3rd September marked the 364th anniversary of the Battle of Worcester, the defining event of the Guardians of the Crown series which begins with the battle itself (BY THE SWORD).
My family has had a long, long association with Worcester, most notably boasting a High Sheriff of Worcester (my great grandfather) and a well respected MP and County Councillor (my grandfather) and my father served under the colours of the now defunct Worcestershire Regiment.
In May this year I returned (or, in a sense, went home) - on a canal boat (a whole other story!). My last visit to Worcester had been some twenty plus years ago when I was researching a little story I was writing about the Battle of Worcester. That little story became BY THE SWORD... which flowed on to THE KING'S MAN and on to Book 3, EXILES' RETURN (which comes out next February). I wanted to write about a group of friends/comrades and what this seminal battle of the English Civil War meant to them and their families.
We moored our canal boat below the Sidbury Lock within spitting distance of The Commandery and the site of what was once the Sidbury Gate through the walls of the old city (now long since gone). Having an afternoon free, I abandoned my travelling companions and stepped down on to the tow path of the canal (which had not been there in 1651). They were waiting for me - Jonathan Thornton, Giles Longley, Kit Lovell and his brother Daniel, the Guardians of Crown, my companions from the past and they would be my guides for the afternoon.
We began with The Commandery (that was its name long before the events of 1651). In its past it had been a merchant's house, a hospital and in 1651 became the Headquarters for Charles II.
(Jonathan) attended the meetings at the Commandery and concluded the house had been wrongly named. He saw precious little evidence of command taking place within its walls...In the endless councils that took place in the hall the young King found himself assailed from all sides by conflicting advice. (BY THE SWORD)
From The Commandery we set off up the hill to Fort Royal where a royalist battery had been established to defend the approach to Worcester along the Sidbury road. I won't go into the details of the battle itself (I've written about it elsewhere...click HERE). Suffice to say that while the royalists held Fort Royal, Cromwell had taken Red Hill and Perry Hill. The king himself led an attack on Red Hill but was driven back to the city. Fort Royal fell, the royalist defenders slaughtered to a man and the guns turned on the city itself.
My American readers may be interested to know that it was on this hill that an oak tree was planted in commemoration of a visit by Thomas Jefferson who is quoted as reminding all Englishmen that it was at Worcester that the concept of Liberty was fought for... you can read his quote on the plaque below...
My companions led me back down the hill toward Sidbury Gate...
The Parliament guns had been brought to bear on the gate, turning the retreat into
wholesale slaughter. Amidst the screaming of man and beast, the carnage of blood and guts and with shot pounding into the walls and the city, the King managed to get back through the gate. Jonathan followed through the confusion, scrambling over an overturned oxen cart to reach his King. (BY THE SWORD)
 No trace of the gate or walls remain today (destroyed for the building of the canal in the 1760s), just one small plaque on a wall marks its existence. We turned into the city and down one of the last remaining authentic city streets - Friar Street (curse those 70s redevelopments!). Still lined with half timbered houses, it is only here one can still get a feeling for 17th century Worcester.
Wilmot pulled at Jonathan’s arm and they both ran up Friar Street, toward the King’s lodging. Jonathan took only one look back to see Giles, fighting like a virago, a small defence against the mass of red-coated soldiers who now flooded into the city from all gates except one: St Martin’s Gate stood close by the King’s lodging and remained as yet unbreached. (BY THE SWORD)
It was here in Friar Street that Jonathan, Giles, Kit and Daniel lodged in a house that may have looked a little like Greyfriars (now a National Trust property). Here they played cards on the night before the battle.
Another evening at the Commandery had ended in bickering and Jonathan trudged wearily back up Friar Street to his billet ... In the downstairs parlour of the large, half-timbered house, Giles played cards with Kit Lovell, who had recently rejoined them. They were both fiendish card players, with a tendency to cheat, and Jonathan declined their invitation to join them. (BY THE SWORD)
Further up Friar Street we came to the building now known as The Charles II house (and rather ignomiously - a pie shop) which
 had been the King's Lodgings and from which he escaped.
They found the King within his lodgings, watching uncomprehendingly as Buckingham burned papers on a hastily lit fire.
‘We must go, Your Majesty,’ Wilmot said.
The King looked up at his old friend and advisor. ‘Leslie will come,’ he insisted. ‘We will rally again.’
‘No, Your Majesty,’ Buckingham spoke. ‘It’s too late. Leslie has failed us, Hamilton is fallen. We must away while we still have breath in our bodies.’
The noise of the fighting, drawing closer up the street, brought the King to his feet. With the Parliament’s soldiers at the front door of the house, the King and his party left by the back. Taking the nearest horses they fled, at a hard gallop, through St Martin’s Gate, the gate that led the way to the north. (BY THE SWORD)
Here we parted company, my imaginary friends returning to the past, and I trudged back through the streets of Worcester to meet my real friends at the Worcester Porcelain museum (in what had been a thriving factory on my last visit).
I am excited to welcome Renée Dahlia to Ms. Stuart’s table. Renée’s debut novel releases on 25 March with Escape. Set in Amsterdam in the mid-Victorian era, To Charm a Bluestocking evokes a discussion around early female education. I asked Renee about her story... What inspired this novel? My great-grandmother was one of the first graduates of medical school in Holland. I thought about what challenges she would have faced, and how many of those challenges still resonate today. The heroine in To Charm a Bluestocking wants to be a doctor, but medical training in England is not open to female students. She is forced to travel to Europe, where attitudes were less strict. There she meets two friends and they have a series of adventures. In the course of writing our books, there is always a fascinating piece of research that we stumble on. What stands out for you? Amsterdam in the 1880s was a hot bed of social change. The university opened its doors to a wider patronage, and included women in its intake. Not many women were educated beyond primary level, and only those whose parents could afford private tuition were able to attend university. The first female doctor graduated in 1875, and only twenty graduated prior to 1910. In July 1886, the poor neighbourhood of Jordaan saw the Eel Revolt occur. Eel pulling, a form of entertainment that ranks up there with bull fighting, had been forbidden by the authorities. An eel would be tied to a rope, then suspended across a canal. Contestants would boat underneath and try to pull the eel free, often falling into the canal to the amusement of onlookers. Organisers in 1886 went ahead with the contest, and police moved it to disperse the crowd. It soon turned ugly, and after two days of sword fighting between police and eel pullers, 26 people were dead and 136 wounded. Legend says that the eel involved was kept and sold at auction in 1913. Only a year later, the Orange Riots of 1887 occurred when socialist groups faced off with the police. I placed my characters into the Orange Riots. Similarly in England, there was the London Matchgirls Strike of 1888. About TO CHARM A BLUESTOCKING She wants to be one of the world’s first female doctors; romance is not in her plans. 1887: Too tall, too shy and too bookish for England, Lady Josephine moves to Holland to become one of the world’s first female doctors. With only one semester left, she has all but completed her studies when a power-hungry professor, intent on marrying her for her political connections, threatens to prevent her graduation. Together with the other Bluestockings, female comrades-in-study, she comes up with a daring, if somewhat unorthodox plan: acquire a fake fiancé to provide the protection and serenity she needs to pass her final exams. But when her father sends her Lord Nicholas St. George, he is too much of everything: too handsome, too charming, too tall and too broad and too distracting for Josephine’s peace of mind. She needed someone to keep her professor at bay, not keep her from her work with temptations of long walks, laughing, and languorous kisses. Just as it seems that Josephine might be able to have it all: a career as a pioneering female doctor and a true love match, everything falls apart and Josephine will find herself in danger of becoming a casualty in the battle between ambition and love. Read an excerpt...‘Yes, here on the front page. I will read it to you.’ She unfolded the newssheet and began to read. Socialists Riot in the Streets A massive demonstration turned ugly when socialists and Orangists, loyal to King William III, clashed yesterday alongside the Port of Amsterdam. The two groups rioted, ending in a standoff outside the socialist pub, Ship and Anchor, which was raised to the ground by revengeful Orangists. Among the great scenes of chaos, several Orangists were injured by the mob and four socialists were killed as they tried to defend the Ship and Anchor. The publican at the Ship and Anchor was counted among the dead. The King’s military was dispatched to deal with the rioting mob, but it was several hours before the situation was diffused. The Ship and Anchor has been completely destroyed, while many other shop fronts have been smashed and vandalised. *** Photos of the eel riot here: http://dawlishchronicles.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/blood-in-streets-amsterdam-1886.html And here: http://www.24oranges.nl/2016/09/11/the-eel-riots-of-1886-ended-with-26-people-and-1-eel-dead/ ABOUT Renée DahliaRenée Dahlia is an unabashed romance reader who loves feisty women and strong, clever men. Her books reflect this, with a side-note of dark humour. Renée has a science degree in physics. When not distracted by the characters fighting for attention in her brain, she works in the horse racing industry doing data analysis. She writes for two racing publications, churning out feature articles, interviews and advertorials. When she isn’t reading or writing, Renée wrangles a husband, four children, and volunteers on the local cricket club committee. 
It is always a pleasure to welcome a friend to my blog... and the lovely Amy Rose Bennet is here with her latest release THE MASTER OF STRATHBURN.
If you like your historicals with highlands, gorgeous Scots and sweeping adventure... welcome to Amy's world! 
A sweeping, sexy Highland romance about a wanted Jacobite with a wounded soul, and a spirited Scottish lass on the run.
Robert Grant has returned home to Lochrose Castle in the Highlands to reconcile with his long-estranged father, the Earl of Strathburn. But there is a price on Robert's head, and his avaricious younger half-brother, Simon, doesn't want him reclaiming his birthright. And it's not only Simon and the redcoats that threaten to destroy Robert's plans after a flame-haired complication of the feminine kind enters the scene...
Jessie Munroe is forced to flee Lochrose Castle after the dissolute Simon Grant tries to coerce her into becoming his mistress. After a fateful encounter with a mysterious and handsome hunter, Robert, in a remote Highland glen, she throws her lot in with the stranger - even though she suspects he is a fugitive. She soon realizes that this man is dangerous in an entirely different way to Simon... Despite their searing attraction, Robert and Jessie struggle to trust each other as they both seek a place to call home. The stakes are high and only one thing is certain: Simon Grant is in pursuit of them both... Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks Google Play, Kobo: 
About AMY
Amy Rose Bennett has always wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. An avid reader with a particular love for historical romance, it seemed only natural to write stories in her favorite genre. She has a passion for creating emotion-packed—and sometimes a little racy—stories set in the Georgian and Regency periods. Of course, her strong-willed heroines and rakish heroes always find their happily ever after. Amy is happily married to her own Alpha male hero, has two beautiful daughters, and a rather loopy Rhodesian Ridgeback. She has been a speech pathologist for many years but is currently devoting her time to her one other true calling—writing romance.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyRoseBennett
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/AmyRoseBennett/
Hosted By:
Secret Realm Book Reviews & Services
A sweeping, sexy Highland romance about a wanted Jacobite with a wounded soul, and a spirited Scottish lass on the run.
I love being able to share the excitement of a new release with a friend and Amy Rose Bennet is not only a friend but also a fellow author in the Escape Publishing stable! I adore her sweeping historicals (generally with a Scottish feel to them!). Enjoy THE MASTER OF STRATHBURN!
About THE MASTER OF STRATHBURN
Robert Grant has returned home to Lochrose Castle in the Highlands to reconcile with his long-estranged father, the Earl of Strathburn. But there is a price on Robert’s head, and his avaricious younger half-brother, Simon, doesn’t want him reclaiming his birthright. And it’s not only Simon and the redcoats that threaten to destroy Robert’s plans after a flame-haired complication of the feminine kind enters the scene... Jessie Munroe is forced to flee Lochrose Castle after the dissolute Simon Grant tries to coerce her into becoming his mistress. After a fateful encounter with a mysterious and handsome hunter, Robert, in a remote Highland glen, she throws her lot in with the stranger—even though she suspects he is a fugitive. She soon realizes that this man is dangerous in an entirely different way to Simon... Despite their searing attraction, Robert and Jessie struggle to trust each other as they both seek a place to call home. The stakes are high and only one thing is certain: Simon Grant is in pursuit of them both... Buy Links (hyperlinked) Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Google Play, Kobo: 
About AMY ROSE BENNET:
Amy Rose Bennett has always wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. An avid reader with a particular love for historical romance, it seemed only natural to write stories in her favorite genre. She has a passion for creating emotion-packed—and sometimes a little racy—stories set in the Georgian and Regency periods. Of course, her strong-willed heroines and rakish heroes always find their happily ever after. Amy is happily married to her own Alpha male hero, has two beautiful daughters, and a rather loopy Rhodesian Ridgeback. She has been a speech pathologist for many years but is currently devoting her time to her one other true calling—writing romance.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyRoseBennett
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/AmyRoseBennett/
Hosted By:
Secret Realm Book Reviews & Services
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Alison StuartAlison writes historical romances and short stories set in England and Australia and across different periods of history. Archives
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