Once upon a time there was a young king who fell in love with a pretty little lady named Ebba. The king was over the moon, little Ebba was dazzled, and the Queen Mother was having none of it. Her precious son, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, needed a dynastic marriage, not some sort of tender […]
Mr Fancy-pants and the silver throne – the life of a Swedish nobleman Read More »
So here I was, believing our historical Swedish princesses had, for the most part, acted with utmost propriety. In fact, other than the (in)famous Cecilia Vasa (and I must admit to being very fond of this hell-raising, opinionated 16th century woman, as demonstrated by this post) I lived with the impression that the rest were
Like mother, like daughter – sinful ladies in the 17th century Read More »
Whenever dear hubby wants to go off on some sort of excursion, he always dangles the carrot of history before my nose. Being a predictable sort, I always bite. (This, of course, leads me to consider just how much he has manipulated me throughout the years. Quite a lot, I suspect…) Anyway, this time round
After far too many posts outside of my favourite era, I feel an urge to return ”home”. The 17th century beckons, and I long for men in breeches and coats, lace collars and cuffs, for women with covering skirts, with their hair tucked out of sight. I long for the swaggering of young musketeers, for
Niece, cousin and wife rolled into one – meet Mariana Read More »
Have I told you I am struggling to cut back on chocolate? No, I don’t think I have, have I? Whatever the case, in my present chocolate-craving state, the cover of the Silverwood Selection Box is enough to have me salivating – and that’s before I open it to peek inside… The Silverwood Selection Box
I haven’t bragged about it here, but the first book in The Graham Saga, A Rip in the Veil, was recently selected Book of the Month by The Review. I am more than honoured – and proud enough to require someone to prick me before I float off… Anyway, as part of this honour, I
Lose some, win some – or the vagaries of time travel Read More »
When I was a child, tulips were mostly yellow flowers my mother bought around Easter. Sometimes, they were red, and now and then my mother would receive a bouquet of pink tulips with mimosa (good combo, that), but mostly they were yellow. I never buy yellow tulips. I go wild and crazy with pink and
Some weeks ago, I wrote a post about Gustav II Adolf, our Swedish hero king. Today I thought we’d spend some time with his mother, a most capable lady – so capable she was as a matter of course included in the council when important matters were to be discussed. Whatever other faults her husband,
On November 1, the seventh book in The Graham Saga was published. Seven books.. Each book is around 120 000 words, and I’d calculate I have re-written more or less every word at least thrice as I’ve edited and hones, added and detracted. So seven books is the equivalent of 2 500 000 words –
They found him in the aftermath of the Battle of Lützen, 382 years ago today. His looted body was naked except for the three knee length linen shirts he had worn as protection against the cold. What little hair he had left was stuck to his skull, covered in blood and gore. There, in the