Hands up those of you who’ve heard of the Battle of Cartagena de las Indias. Hmm, very few, apparently. Now, I had heard of this battle before, because as a child I grew up in Colombia, and on several occasions I had the pleasure of visiting Cartagena de las Indias. And once there, it was […]
The consequences of Jenkin’s ear – the story of a naval battle Read More »
Today was supposed to be a writing day. I have two chapters left in my WIP, and one of them is going to be very, very hard to write—gruesome, is probably the right word—so I’ve been procrastinating. Until today. I had cleared my calendar, done some pep-talking along the lines of “Enough, already! Get it
Don’t mess with my baby! My October newsletter about Mama Bears and motherhood Read More »
Some weeks ago, I finally—FINALLY!—made it to Cádiz. This is considered to be one of the oldest city in Europe, and for those who know their history, it is probably best known for being the port Christopher Columbus set off from for his second and fourth journey. And it is as a port that Cádiz
Exploring a European cradle – say hello to ancient Cádiz Read More »
I am betting I am not the only one who writes to-do lists. But there are to-do lists and to-do lists: there’s the simple little notation “buy wine, throw out garbage, DO NOT FORGET GARAGE KEY” and then there’s the far more detailed version that started out as one long neat list but which has
September – a post about to-do’s, vacation and Hannibal Read More »
I discovered historical fiction already as a small child – thank you Henry Treece. But I fell in love with the genre when I discovered Georgette Heyer. Since then, Regency Romance has a special place in my heart – men in buckskin breeches and polished Hessians are hard to resist – so when I was
Lord Frederick’s Return – shining some light on Ms Kullman and her book Read More »
In Sweden, July is the traditional summer holiday month. We used to have something called the “Industrial Holiday period” which began around the 6th of July and ended about four weeks later. Not so any longer, although most heavy industries tend to close down for 2 weeks or so in July for maintenance and the
My August Newsletter – of changing light and darker nights Read More »
Today, I am happy to host Judith Arnopp’s latest release, Marguerite: Hell Hath No Fury! For those of you familiar with Judith, you may know she has penned an excellent trilogy featuring another Margaret–Margaret Beaufort–and that protagonist has something very important in common with today’s leading lady, namely they were both Lancastrian noblewomen. Marguerite was
Marguerite – Meet Judith Arnopp’s latest protagonist, a cornered lady who fought back. Read More »
My mother was a big fan of poetry, and she would often read poetry out loud to us, in Swedish or English or Spanish. (A galopar, she would read, a galopar hasta enterrarlos en el mar, and all those rolling Spanish r’s would send shivers down my back. She was rather fond of Rafael Alberti’s
There came a letter – a reflection on home, memories and golden moments Read More »
Today, I am delighted to welcome Helen Hollick back on my blog, this time as part of her blog tour for her latest release, A Mischief of Murder, organised by The Coffee Pot Book Club. A Mischief of Murder is a cosy mystery – you know, one of those books that go really well with
A Mischief of Murder – tooting the horn for Ms Hollick’s latest release Read More »
I grew up with a mother who loved to swim. As a young girl she’d swum competitively, and like most good Swedish swimmers, she had a collection of swim badges. Some of those badges merely required swimming a specific distance—200 metres or 1 000 metres or 3 000 metres. Others were more of a combo:
Like riding a bike – a reflection on swimming and age Read More »