Interview with Anna Lee Huber

I am excited to welcome today author Anna Lee Huber to The Maiden’s Court!  I had the chance to meet her at HNS this year and am excited about her books – the covers are gorgeous!  I wanted to take this opportunity to help you get to know a little more about her and her books!

How do you balance your time between your writing and work/life/family?  Do you set yourself a schedule for writing or fit it in as available?  What do you do when you are not writing?

Balance is not always easy, and it’s something I definitely need to get better at. I have a regular set of hours I schedule myself to work, and I also set a word count goal for myself for each week. I like giving myself that flexibility. Plus it allows for the inevitable interruptions of life. So if I meet my goal early in the week, then I can choose not to work the other days or work ahead. Of course, there are also weeks where I haven’t met my goal by the last day and I end up chained to my desk. But, once again, this also depends on how close to my deadline I am. I tend to cheat more when the deadline is far off. Just being honest.

When I’m not writing, I love to read. I think most writers do. I’m also a musician and a music fan, so I sing, play the piano, compose and arrange music for my own enjoyment, and attend concerts. I like to travel and see new places, and I have a large family I like to spend time with.

Mortal Arts is the second book in historical mystery series that began with The Anatomist’s Wife.  How do you plan out this series?  Is it something where you have set out a general outline of what will occur over the course of the books, or does each book sort of build the plot as you go?

When I began writing The Anatomist’s Wife, I had no plans beyond that immediate book and the fact that I wanted it to be the beginning of a series. But by the time I finished it I had a general outline of where I wanted the series to go, at least in terms of the character arcs and the relationship between my two main protagonists, Lady Darby & Mr. Gage. Further research into the time period gave me ideas for real historical events I wanted my characters to encounter, so that by the time I finished Mortal Arts , I had a general story arc for the series through Book seven. And I hope to continue writing the series even beyond that. Each book has about a page worth of plot and character points, and when it comes time to write each individual book I flesh them out even more, which, of course, also affects the plots in later books. So it’s an evolving process.

What has been the most exciting thing about the writing/publishing process?  What has been the worst/most difficult?

Simply seeing the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Nothing is more thrilling than knowing I’ve accomplished it, and holding the book in my hands. It’s an absolutely amazing feeling. The most difficult has been learning the marketing and promotion side of the business. M&P has never been my forte, but nowadays it’s necessary to any writer’s success.

Do you have any plans for writing anything outside of the Lady Darby series?

I do. I currently have a Regency-set Gothic suspense novel that is about half finished. It’s the beginning novel in a proposed trilogy, and I hope to have it completed by the end of the year. I also have a Contemporary Mystery series idea I would like to find some time to play around with.

Do you have anything you do to get the creative thoughts flowing?  Any strategies you use when you get stuck writing?

When I’m having trouble getting the creative juices flowing, exercise or just getting outside away from my house and my office for a little while often helps. Water is also magical for me. Taking a shower or a bath, or going swimming often gets my thoughts flowing again. When I’m well and truly stuck, I often find it’s because I’ve made a wrong turn somewhere in my story. So I make myself back up and try different things until I can get going again. Sometimes this means scrapping three or more chapters of a manuscript, but if it better serves the story, it’s absolutely worth it.

What are you working on now?  Anything you can tell us about it?

I’m currently finishing up the third novel in the Lady Darby series, titled A Grave Matter, which will be released in July 2014. It opens on Hogmanay—New Year’s Eve—1830. After the events in Mortal Arts, Kiera, Lady Darby has retreated to her childhood home in the Borders region to attempt to heal. She hopes to be cheered by the merriment of the Hogmanay Ball, but when a young man covered in blood interrupts the festivities, she is suddenly pulled into another deadly mystery. A caretaker at nearby Dryburgh Abbey has been murdered, and an old grave disturbed—the bones of its occupant stolen. And it’s not the first. Some fiend is digging up old bones and holding them for ransom. Now Kiera must join forces with Sebastian Gage yet again to catch the culprit, and untangle the complicated emotions that lie between them before one of them winds up six feet under.

Anna Lee Huber is the award-winning author of the Lady Darby historical mystery series. Her debut, The Anatomist’s Wife, has won and been nominated for numerous awards, including two 2013 RITA® Awards and a 2013 Daphne du Maurier Award. Her second novel, Mortal Arts, released September 3^rd. She was born and raised in a small town in Ohio, and graduated from Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN with a degree in music and a minor in psychology. She currently lives in Indiana, and enjoys reading, singing, traveling and spending time with her family.

Visit Anna at her website, Facebook, blog, Goodreads, or on Twitter..

About Mortal Arts:

Scotland, 1830. Lady Kiera Darby is no stranger to intrigue-in fact, it seems to follow wherever she goes. After her foray into murder investigation, Kiera must journey to Edinburgh with her family so that her pregnant sister can be close to proper medical care. But the city is full of many things Kiera isn't quite ready to face: the society ladies keen on judging her, her fellow investigator-and romantic entanglement-Sebastian Gage, and ultimately, another deadly mystery.

Kiera's old friend Michael Dalmay is about to be married, but the arrival of his older brother-and Kiera's childhood art tutor-William, has thrown everything into chaos. For ten years Will has been missing, committed to an insane asylum by his own father. Kiera is sympathetic to her mentor's plight, especially when rumors swirl about a local girl gone missing. Now Kiera must once again employ her knowledge of the macabre and join forces with Gage in order to prove the innocence of a beloved family friend-and save the marriage of another...

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

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Virtual Tour of the James K. Polk Ancestral Home

In the continuing series, we are going to look at the home of the President and First Lady, James and Sarah Polk. If case you don’t know, James K. Polk was the 11^th president of the United States. He served one term as President from 1845-1849, and then passed away, likely from cholera, a few short months later.

The Polks spent a short period of time together at their newly finished home, Polk Place. Sarah lived there after James’ death, through the Civil War, however this house was demolished in 1900. Polk Place is now only a memory, or in pictures.

Polk Place, Circa 1880’s
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The only home that actually belonged to Polk that is still standing is the Ancestral Home, built by James’ father around 1816. This home is built in the Federal style and is located in Columbia, Tennessee. Polk did not live in this home as a child, but did live there following his graduation from college and before he married Sarah – Sarah never lived in this house.

The James K. Polk Ancestral Home
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

This house is now a part of the National Historic Landmarks and is run by the Tennessee Historical Commission. You can visit the home to tour it pretty much throughout the year. They display an array of Polk historic items and occasionally host period demonstrations, such as cooking in their rebuilt kitchens. A 30 minute guided tour is provided of the main house and you can then explore the rest of the property at your own pace which includes the kitchen outbuilding and garden. The garden is a formal boxwood garden, and make sure while you are there that you don’t miss the one piece of Polk Place that is there. Preserved from Polk Place is a cast iron fountain and it has been relocated to the Ancestral Home.

Fountain from Polk Place
Photo Credit: POTUS Historical Sites Blog

The house next door is also included and is known as the Sisters’ House because two of the President’s sisters lived there at various times. This also houses the visitor center, orientation film, and the shop. There is also Presidential Hall which houses special presidency exhibits. You can read more about the Ancestral Home if you are interested. You can find out more about the exhibits and special lectures held here by following their Facebook page.

There is a video tour available courtesy of C-SPAN with the director of the Polk Home, John Holtzapple, as your tour guide. I would assume this is close to the 30-minute guided tour you would get when visiting.

You can find out more about the admission fees and parking and more description of the exhibits at the Polk Home and Museum website. If you happen to be from the area, they host a Polk Academy History Summer Camp for 4^th-6^th graders which allow them to experience life on the frontier – which sounds pretty cool.

Have any of you visited the Polk Ancestral Home before? If I ever visit Tennessee I plan on stopping there.

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

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Book Review: Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle & Giveaway

Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle
Hardcover, 432 pages
Simon & Schuster
August 6, 2013
★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received in “Swag Bag” from HNS 2013 – also partaking in HFVBT book tour

“The court of Henry VIII is rife with intrigue, rivalries and romance - and none are better placed to understand this than the women at its heart.

Katherine Parr, widowed for the second time aged thirty-one, is obliged to return to court but, suspicious of the ageing king and those who surround him, she does so with reluctance. Nevertheless, when she finds herself caught up in a passionate affair with the dashing and seductive Thomas Seymour, she believes she might finally be able to marry for love. But her presence at court has attracted the attentions of another . . .

Captivated by her honesty and intelligence, Henry Tudor has his own plans for Katherine and no one is in the position to refuse a proposal from the king. So with her charismatic lover dispatched to the continent, Katherine must accept the hand of the ailing egotistical monarch and become Henry's sixth wife - and yet she has still not quite given up on love.”

I was interested in this book when I first heard about it because I haven’t really read anything focused explicitly on Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth queen, and I had been hearing great buzz about the book. However, I was slightly gun shy when I read the following words from the book jacket “this book is the answer to the question about what Hilary Mantel fans should read while waiting for the final part of her trilogy”. If you have been a follower of mine for a while you will know that I don’t have a lot of love for Mantel’s books, so you can imagine why I might be a little nervous picking this one up. I have to say that this book blows Mantel’s out of the water for me.

Fremantle’s writing style is similar to Mantel’s, however it is not as difficult to plod through the prose. Fremantle’s text continuously flows and at no time did I have the issues with the tense that I found uncomfortable to read that I did with Mantel’s works. There is something happening around every corner, the characters are easy to like (or dislike depending on who they happen to be), and you get inside the heads of the characters. I flew through the pages of this book and loved getting to know the characters that played a part in the later reign of Henry VIII.

I would certainly recommend this book to any Tudor fans who are in the market for a little bit of a different royal novel. And if you are not a fan of Mantel, don’t let the comparisons scare you away – totally worth it.

Queen’s Gambit is Fremantle’s first novel, however there are 2 subsequent books in the works, Sisters of Treason is expected in 2014. You can visit Fremantle’s website or blog for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Burton Book Review
• Novelicious

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

You can also check out this fabulous book trailer for a taste of the story:

You can follow along with the rest of the blog tour by visiting the HFVBT website or on Twitter with the following hashtag: #QueensGambitTour.

I also have the privilege of offering 2 copies of Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle to entrants from the USA.  All you have to do to enter is submit your entries through Rafflecopter below.  The last day to enter is September 22nd. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

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Mailbox Monday #151

Hope you are all having a nice Labor Day here in the States.  The weather this holiday weekend has been less than great (thunder and rain ALL WEEKEND!). 

I received one book this past week, which is a good thing since I am on a reading catch-up spree right now. 

I received In Falling Snow by Mary-Rose MacColl (from publisher for review).  What called out to me about this book was that it is World War I, which I think I enjoy as a time period more than World War II.  Here is the blurb in case you haven’t heard of this one yet:

A vivid and compelling story of love, war and secrets, set against the backdrop of WWI France. 'In the beginning, it was the summers I remembered - long warm days under the palest blue skies, the cornflowers and forget-me-nots lining the road through the Lys forest, the buzz of insects going about their work, Violet telling me lies.' Iris is getting old. A widow, her days are spent living quietly and worrying about her granddaughter, Grace, a headstrong young doctor. It's a small sort of life. But one day an invitation comes for Iris through the post to a reunion in France, where she served in a hospital during WWI. Determined to go, Iris is overcome by the memories of the past, when as a shy, naive young woman she followed her fifteen-year-old brother, Tom, to France in 1914 intending to bring him home. On her way to find Tom, Iris comes across the charismatic Miss Ivens, who is setting up a field hospital in the old abbey of Royaumont, north of Paris. Putting her fears aside, Iris decides to stay at Royaumont, and it is there that she truly comes of age, finding her capability and her strength, discovering her passion for medicine, making friends with the vivacious Violet and falling in love. But war is a brutal thing, and when the ultimate tragedy happens, there is a terrible price that Iris has to pay, a price that will echo down the generations. A moving and uplifting novel about the small, unsung acts of heroism of which love makes us capable.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Mailbox Monday is on a monthly blog tour and for the month of September it is being hosted by Notorious Spinks Talks.

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

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