THE SPIDER’S WEB: An Interview with Ambassador Simon Renard

Simon Renard

We talk with the Holy Roman Emperor’s most enigmatic envoy about diplomacy, loyalty, and the art of influence RENAISSANCE WEEKLY: Ambassador Renard, you’ve been at the heart of English politics during some very turbulent times. How do you navigate such dangerous waters? SIMON RENARD: [settling back in his chair with a thin smile] One learns … Read more

We sit down with Kat Arden

Kat Arden

RISING STAR: An Interview with the Enigmatic Katherine Arden Renaissance Weekly: We sit down with the mysterious young woman who’s been spotted in the entourage of the renowned Dr. John Dee RW: Katherine, you’ve been making quite a name for yourself in scholarly circles. How did you come to work with the famous Dr. John Dee?  Kat … Read more

BookCompanion iPhone & iPad App

BookCompanion iPhone App

FREE and available now! The BookCompanion app is available now in Apple App Stores around the world. It offers Predestination book series content and Tudor England history support. Free at the Apple AppStore Compatibility The same app works on iPhones and on iPads, but your device OS does need to be fairly up to date; … Read more

The History of England (The Podcast)

The History of England

Back in 2018-2019 I was commuting to work by car, about 1 hour each direction. This was in the Calgary area of Alberta, Canada. Most of the roads I travelled were long, straight, and 2-lanes in each direction, with minimal other traffic 😀  I had time to listen … and to think. What I listened to, … Read more

A sequel is coming

One question I often get is, ‘When will John Dee, Jack, and Kat return?’ Another is, ‘What happened to Kat at the end of Predestination?’ Never fear, the answer is near! John, Jack, and Kat will return in the sequel which I am currently writing (spring 2024) with a hoped for publication date of summer 2024. … Read more

Proclamation is published

Proclamation

Proclamation Poetry will be the death of me, is finally published. Initially available as paperback at Amazon, and eBook on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. This sequel picks up where Predestination ended, in the summer of 1553.  King Edward VI has passed away and England faces the prospect of abiding by Edward’s ‘Devise for the Succession’ and … Read more

Resurrection is Live!

Resurrection

Resurrection: The Heresy of a Jesuit,  is the prequel to my Predestination series. It was published yesterday and will be available on all the normal sites (Amazon, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, etc) within a day or two of this post. Resurrection is centred on the young John Dee’s visit to Paris (France) in … Read more

Resurrection: Glorious cover art

Resurrection

I am pleased to provide an early ‘reveal’ of the cover for Resurrection: The Heresy of a Jesuit. All parts of a novel require slavish attention to detail, and that is especially true of the cover art. It is, after all, the ‘face’ of the manuscript, and needs to both be recognisable and to evoke … Read more

Acknowledgements

On November 30th I published my eBook Predestination: The Bloodstone of Boiorix, on Amazon/Kindle. Now seems like a really good moment to give a shout-out to my pre-readers and editor, without whom Predestination would not be nearly as polished. Of course, any remaining errors are mine alone, but I guarantee there would have been many more … Read more

References Used

One of the advantages of writing historical fiction is that you have a worthy excuse for buying great reference books. Some of the works that I found most useful and dipped into (or even lived in) are listed here: Title Author ISBN Edward VI, The Lost king of England Chris Skidmore. 0-312-35142-9 The Arch-Conjuror of … Read more