Royal Romances - the fascination of history with Kate Walker

In the UK today has been the 60^th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation.  On June 2^nd 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in Westminster Abbey and  began the longest  reign of any monarch of these country ever.

At the beginning of the year, on February  4^th,  the whole country – and it seemed much of the world, was fascinated by the discovery of a skeleton in a Leicester car park,  and then the announcement that this was in fact the body of Richard III, missing since the end of the Battle of Bosworth when he was killed in  1485, the last English king to die in battle.

And now  everyone is waiting and watching as the Duchess of Cambridge  enters the later stages of her pregnancy, with the birth of this, the newest heir to the throne – third in line after its father  Prince William and grandfather Prince Charles – due in July.

So it seems, that no matter what the story is, the news of the royals, their lives, their families – even their deaths, is endlessly fascinating and  absorbing.  It’s material for books – both historical fact or fiction,  for newspaper, TV reports . . .   And even fictional monarchs now seem to arouse interest in readers and authors alike.  So it seems that this could be a really good time to bring out my very first ever Royal Romance title. 

I didn’t plan it that way . When I wrote A Throne For The Taking, I was just reacting to an idea that fascinated me and a story I wanted to tell. But perhaps I was picking up on the atmosphere of the time, the interest in all things royal that  has been going on for all time, but has grown to a particular frenzy in the last few years.

Over this weekend, I’ve had a friend visiting for a couple of day. She’s come over from America to visit and the Babe Magnet and I have enjoyed taking her to  places we thought she’d like to see. We spent one lovely day in York. The sun was shining, the  city looked as beautiful as ever, and we had a wonderful time wandering about, visiting so many historical sites – Clifford’s Tower, The Shambles, York Minster.  And we talked about historical novels we had read and enjoyed.   One of the books we talked about was The White Queen by Philippa Gregory.  This has just been made into a big drma series on British Television.

So it seems the stories of the royals and their lives are still intriguing people and getting  them interested.  But is this because they were royals – or just because their lives and experiences make a really good story. Back in the days of Richard III those stories involved wars and battles, the risks of death  or execution, but the people involved also had emotional lives, love stories that had tragic endings or  the happy ever after ending that we love ion a romance novel.  Those people were royals, they were kings and queen, princes and princesses – but they were human being most of all. And it is their human stories, their emotional journeys the we really love to read about. And that’s what I want to write about.

So I created my ‘Black Sheep Prince’ because I wanted to tell his story. His story as a man as well as a king to be. That’s what fascinates me – and the emotional battles can be every bit as exciting and nerve-wrenching as those fought on any battlefield. I think those emotional journeys are stories for a ll time -  no matter who my hero and heroine are – royal or not.

What about you? Have you been fascinated by any particular figure in history?  Or is there any historical novel – romance or otherwise – that  you’ve loved reading? I love the stories of Dorothy Dunnett,  the historical romances of Nicola Cornick – and I’m about to launch  into the White Queen to see what I think. What about you?

 Kate’s royal hero is Alexei Sarova, that black sheep prince who has to face up to a new and unexpected destiny with his heroine Honoria Escalona (Ria) as the woman he wants as his queen.

A kingdom's safety...
Betrayed by those she loves, Honoria Escalona must now face the only man capable of bringing stability to the Mediterranean kingdom of Mecjoria. A cold, hard man who once called her his friend... Alexei Sarova-the true King of Mecjoria.
In exchange for her happiness

Butt Alexei's tortuous past has changed him into someone she hardly knows. He blames Ria's family
A Throne For the Taking will be published in the Royal and Ruthless miniseries in both Harlequin Presents and Mills & Boon Modern in June.

Other up to date news and details of all Kate’s books can be found on her web site and in her blog.

 

May delights with Kate Walker

I don’t know about you, but for me May has always been one of my favourite months. It’s the time

when at long last winter really does seem to have been left behind. The  cold, dark days – and here in the UK, the rain and the snow that could still linger even in April, have gone, the sun has started to shine and the leaves are turning green on the trees.  In our garden the  magnolia has beautiful blossoms on the branches, the primroses and pansies   are making a glorious display of colour in the flower beds, and the birds are singing in the trees. They still  come down to the bird table to grab some of the suet balls and seeds that I leave out which shows that they have families to feed as the eggs hatch in their nests.

For me, one of the real signs of spring arriving is the appearance of the family of hedgehogs – nicknamed ‘The Hecks’ by Anne McAllister – who live at the bottom of  my garden. The cute little creatures hibernate in compost heaps, under fallen leaves or – in our garden – in  the specially  provided little wooden houses we have put in the shady, hidden part of the garden. In spring they come out when the weather is warming up and got snuffling about the place looking for food.  They’ll eat up the old cat meat that  Flora and Charlie don’t eat – or, if we’re lucky, clear the flower beds of snails and slugs. The cats sometimes play  with them, risking getting their noses  pricked on the spikes that cover the hedgehogs’ backs. The Hecks don’t appear until it’s warm enough  - so to

see them appear in the evenings (they’re nocturnal creatures) is to know that summer’s on its way.

There’s a long weekend  this week – the May Day  Bank Holiday gives everyone and extra day off to enjoy the sunshine, and just relax. And if you don’t mind fighting your way through the heavy traffic then there is the opportunity to go away for a few days – perhaps head for the coast or the countryside. Personally I prefer just to stay at home and I’ve had a wonderful couple of days spending time with my family,  sharing special meals and reading a lot – while my husband and son watch a football match and cheer on their team.

May is also  an important month for birthdays.  My  special friend  and wonderful romance writer Michelle Reid has just had her birthday , my own birthday is coming up next week, and my eldest sister has her special day towards the end of the month.  So there’s plenty to celebrate and to help make May even nicer then.

So for me it’s a special delight to know that I also have one more thing to celebrate this particular May.  My newest title – A Throne For The Taking  - will be published this month . It’s officially a July title – but the  actual publishing  date is May 21^st so it fits perfectly into my favourite month.  After a complicated and difficult year, I’m thrilled to have a new book out on the shelves  and selling on line. And I’m even more delighted to  have seen that A Throne For The Taking is already up there in the bestseller list   for both ebooks and print copies over on eHarlequin  where it’s already available to order.  This is my first ever Royal Romance so I hope you enjoy it when you read it.

So what about you? Is May a month you love or do you have other months of the year that you think are really special? And do you have anything really nice to celebrate this month? I think everyone will be really glad to hear about good news – so do share your celebrations if you have them.

Kate’s royal hero is Alexei Sarova, the black sheep prince who has to face up to a new and unexpected destiny with his heroine Honoria Escalona (Ria), the woman he wants as his queen.

A kingdom's safety...
Betrayed by those she loves, Honoria Escalona must now face the only man capable of bringing stability to the Mediterranean kingdom of Mecjoria. A cold, hard man who once called her his friend... Alexei Sarova-the true

King of Mecjoria.

In exchange for her happiness

But Alexei's tortuous past has changed him into someone she hardly knows. He blames Ria's family for his bitterness, and his help-when he offers it-comes with a price: he'll take his rightful place as King with Ria as his wife, until she produces a true-blood heir...
A Throne For the Taking will be published in the Royal and Ruthless miniseries in both Harlequin Presents and Mills & Boon Modern in June.

Other up to date news and details of all Kate’s books can be found on her web site and in her blog.