My Blog - Anna Belfrage

Let us shine the light on Penda of Mercia – or more correctly, on author MJ Porter.

By Anna Belfrage / March 29, 2023 March 26, 2023 / 1 Comment / authors, Medieval times / 7th century Britain, Blogtour, British history, Coffee Pot Book Club, historical fiction, Mercia, MJ Porter, Northumberland, Pagan King

Today, I am hosting a stop on MJ Porter’s Coffee Pot Book Club tour featuring her book, Pagan King. We’re thrown back into the seventh century, a time when mighty (and Christain-ish) Northumberland is challenged by pagan Mercia and its capable ruler, Penda. Last time they clashed, Penda won. Will history repeat itself? Well, let …

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The miser’s money put to good use – a walk through history inspired by Southwark Cathedral

By Anna Belfrage / March 19, 2023 March 19, 2023 / Leave a Comment / History, Medieval times, Writing / John Gower, John Rogers, London history, Persecution of Protestants and Catholics, Priory of St Mary Overie, Southwark, Southwark Cathedrak, the legend of Mary Overie

Once upon a time, there was an avaricious gent named John. Our John was in the logistics business, more specifically, he transported people back and forth across the Thames. Okay, so this is a looong time ago, and while the intrepid and savvy Romans managed to span the river with the first ever London bridge, …

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Deadly mistakes – welcoming Helen Hollick and her latest release A Mistake of Murder

By Anna Belfrage / March 3, 2023 February 25, 2023 / 5 Comments / authors, new release / A Mistake o Murder, Blogtour, Cosy mystery, Helen Hollick, Murder Mystery series, review

Followers of this blog will notice that Helen Hollick is a relatively frequent guest. No wonder, as not only is Helen an author I admire (I am a bit obsessed with her 18th century pirate, Jesamiah Acorne) she is also a friend – one of those real friends who will, at times, be brutally honest …

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An eye-opening inspiration to dig deeper

By Anna Belfrage / February 28, 2023 February 28, 2023 / 4 Comments / Historical People / 18th c Swedish royals, Adolf Ludvig Gustav Fredrik Albert Badin, art, black 17th c artist, black history, Diego Velázquez, eye-opening art, from slave to trusted secretary, Juan de Pareja, Kammermohr

The other day, I went to see an Exhibition at Fotografiska Museet in Stockholm. In a burst of patriotism, may I recommend that should you ever visit our fair capital you make this museum a stop on your tour – if nothing else for the spectacular views from the café/restaurant. This museum offers a varied …

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Ms Ironbeard, King Hans and the failure of a royal marriage

By Anna Belfrage / February 5, 2023 February 5, 2023 / Leave a Comment / Historical People, Medieval times, Women in history / 16th century, besieged queen, Danish history, Edle Ironbeard, Hans II of Denmark, Kalmar Union, Kristina of Saxony, Sten Sture, Swedish freedom fighters, Swedish history

Sometimes, I start out by researching one person and end up fascinated by another. In this particular case, I wanted to know more about Hans II, King of Denmark and Norway (“And Sweden!” he adds, but as he was only king here for like three years, I see that as more of a parenthesis) This …

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Caledon awakens – a blog tour post

By Anna Belfrage / January 26, 2023 January 26, 2023 / 4 Comments / authors, historical fiction, Writing / 18th century, blog tour, Caledon, historical fantasy, historical fiction, Jacobites, Scottish history, The Coffee Pot Book Club, Virginia Crow

Today I welcome Virginia Crow and her book, Caledon to my blog as part of her ongoing tour, arranged by The Coffee Pot Book Club. Caledon makes me think of an airline I travelled a lot with when I was a child, British Caledonian, but airplanes do not figure in Ms Crow’s book. Nope. Not …

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Bitten by the time travel bug – a reflection on why I write what I write

By Anna Belfrage / January 22, 2023 January 23, 2023 / 1 Comment / authors, historical fiction, Writing / breaking radio silence, editing, fascination with time travel, new ideas, The Graham Saga, time travel, Writing

I must begin by apologising for the very loooooong radio silence. I do have a valid excuse in that I had surgery in December and then things didn’t at all go as planned. Where I had assumed I’d be up and about after a couple of weeks, turns out I had seriously understimated how long …

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Welcoming a Viking and rugby aficionado! Meet Donovan Cook, author of Son of Anger

By Anna Belfrage / December 14, 2022 December 10, 2022 / 1 Comment / authors, historical fiction / blog tour, Coffee Pot Book Club, Donovan Cook, historical fiction, Son of Anger, vikings, Vikings in fiction

Today, I am pleased to welcome Donovan Cook to my blog as part of hos Coffee Pot Book Club tour. Donovan is a South African with a passion for rugby and Vikings. A rather good combo, IMO, as I believe my Viking forebears woud have thrived on the rugby field. Still, one can’t help but …

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Pssst! Listen up – a post about audio books

By Anna Belfrage / December 11, 2022 December 11, 2022 / 4 Comments / books, historical fiction, romance / cooperation to produce an audio book, Greg Patmore, His Castilian Hawk, historical romance, medieval historical fiction, New release in audio, The Castilian Saga

I have recently released one of my books as an audio book under my own imprint. I already have sixteen audio books under my belt – but they’re distributed by Blackstone publishing. In retrospect, I should maybe have held on to my audio rights to maximise my royalties, but I find it so HARD (and …

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The Fortune Keeper – intrigue in Renaissance Italy!

By Anna Belfrage / December 8, 2022 January 25, 2023 / 2 Comments / historical fiction, new release / blog tour, Coffe Pot Book Club, Deborah Swift, Giulia Tofana, historical fiction, poison, Renaissance fiction

Today, I am hosting a stop on Deborah Swift’s Coffee Pot Book Club tour, featuring her book The Fortune Keeper. This isn’t the first time Deborah visits. No wonder, as she and I share a passion for the 17th century, plus she is an intriguing lady, who has various other interests. Me, I am mostly …

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Let us shine the light on Penda of Mercia – or more correctly, on author MJ Porter.

The miser’s money put to good use – a walk through history inspired by Southwark Cathedral

Deadly mistakes – welcoming Helen Hollick and her latest release A Mistake of Murder

An eye-opening inspiration to dig deeper

Ms Ironbeard, King Hans and the failure of a royal marriage

Caledon awakens – a blog tour post

Bitten by the time travel bug – a reflection on why I write what I write

Welcoming a Viking and rugby aficionado! Meet Donovan Cook, author of Son of Anger

Pssst! Listen up – a post about audio books

The Fortune Keeper – intrigue in Renaissance Italy!

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