Michelle Styles:Gardening the time of the Ice Saints

Lockdown, stay at home, the time when the world went slow grinds on.

   In places you are starting to see baby steps towards restarting life. There are arguments on both sides and it is only in the next few years that we will even be able to tell which countries made the right decisions and which ones were either too cautious or too gung ho. It is the trouble when you live in interesting times — you can’t flip to the end of the book to see how it turns out.

Yellow magnolia

The one thing I do know is that Spring is coming on a pace in my garden. As the magnolias bloom, the perennials push their way through and the blossom grows fat on the fruit trees, I’m remind that life does go on. Things can be restarted.

Right now we are at a critical juncture for British gardeners - -the so-called Ice Saint days. The three days (11 -13 May) –St Boniface, St Pancras and St Servatius — are occasionally bring cold weather. St Sophia on the 15 May traditionally brings this period to an end. The period 12 -15 May is sometimes called the blackthorn winter time because it happens when the blacktorn is flowering.

Tree peony

Basically, it is when you are likely to get a hard frost and tender plants can be destroyed. It can also wreck havoc with fruit trees and tender vegetables.  But after this time, it is safer to put plants out as summer is coming.  The how long do you wait until you harden off the plants is something which is debated every year in this household.  However, I have developed my mantra  of not until all the ice saints are past. It seems to work.

Apple blossom in front of the hawthorn

All I know is that we are about to go into the full summer glory and the cold of winter, even with the final blast of the ice saints, will pass. And I have to believe the lockdown, COVID 19 and the longer term troubles will pass as well. But then I am a gardener and gardening is an optimistic thing, full of hope and trust. It is also very rewarding. And for anyone who thinks they don’t have green fingers, you don’t want to know the plants I have inadvertently killed. Sometimes, you have to be persistent and to believe.

In other news

Book 2 in the Sons of Sigurd Harper St George’s  Falling For Her Viking Captive  has been published. You can read the start  for free here.

The Viking warrior
In her cellar…
Lady Annis must stop Viking Rurik Sigurdsson from discovering the truth about his family’s death. Her only solution is to imprison him. But as the ruggedly handsome Viking starts to charm his way out of his cell and into her heart, can she be sure he’s not still intent on vengeance—or perhaps an unexpected alliance is the solution?

The preview of Book 3 – my Conveniently Wed to the Viking is now available here.

Strangers on the run
Now they must wed!
Sandulf, youngest of the famed Sigurdsson brothers, is on the trail of the assassin who murdered his family. On his way, he meets Scottish runaway Lady Ceanna, a prickly, wary woman trying to escape a forced marriage. Her beauty and courage make Sandulf realize there may be more at stake than his revenge… As the threat of her family follows them, there’s only one way to keep her safe—marriage!

Jenni Fletcher’s cover for book 4 has been revealed and I am really looking forward to reading it.

In writing news, I am waiting for my editor to get back to me on my latest Viking and I am working on another project in the mean time. One always to believe.

Stay safe. Until next month.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romances for Harlequin Historical in a wide range of time periods from Roman to Victorian but most recently Viking. Her next book Conveniently Wed to the Viking will be published in July 2020. You can read more about Michelle and her books at www.michellestyles.co.uk

Making sense of a pandemic by Michelle Styles

Today is the Ides of March (ie the 15^th of March)  and the traditional date for Caesar’s death.

Because I write historical romance set in ancient times, I have a small interest in the various epidemics which have swept across the world. In long ago times, they were slower moving because of the rate of travel but they were deadly. One of the deadliest was the one in 541 AD which helped to re-configure Western Europe.  Then there was the  14 century plague which really did for feudalism and bath houses in Western Europe. And as a result of quarantining from Cambridge University, Sir Isaac Newton discovered the principles of gravity and calculus.

And we can thank early pioneers in public health like Florence Nightingale (among other things she campaigned for  men as well as prostitutes to be tested for syphilis through collecting basic information and produced graphs)   for deciding we need statistics in order to inform public health decisions. This is a fascinating and timely article from the Smithsonian about her work.  Because of this and many other unsung heroes, the world is perhaps far better prepared that it would have been otherwise. Computer models are crunching the new data and working out ways to protect the general population.

As with any epidemic, there is a lot of misinformation and people who are desperate to try anything or think that various methods work. (Hint: face masks did not stop the plague back in the 14th century)

1.      1.  Get your information from your National Centre for Disease Control  or in the case of the UK where I live from the NHS and Public Health England.  This is the current UK advice which includes if you have a sore throat and/or a 100 F temperature to basically assume it is COVID 19 and self-isolate (put yourself into quarantine for 7 days) The 7 day is because research from Germany has shown that the virus is most infectious  at that time.

2.    2.   The best way to behave is to think you have been exposed, are not displaying symptoms but don’t want to put other people at risk – so practice good hygiene. Do not think that these precautions are for other people. It is the people who cheated the system who have managed to spread the virus (no doubt they considered they had good reasons like not wanting to miss a trip of a lifetime).

3.     3.   Boost your chances of only having mild symptoms/no symptoms by ensuring your immune system is the strongest possible. So that means the usual – healthy eating, pro and pre-biotics, not smoking and drinking alcohol in moderation as well as taking regular exercise. All the things in other words doctors and other health professional have advised to keep well over recent years.

4.       4. This is not a movie. It will not be over in a few days but will take 3 -6 months to clear. Everyone needs to play their part. If the Public Health bodies are successful, we will all be wondering what the fuss was about come the summer time. Something that I'm praying for.

In other news:

The Sons of Sigurd series has its first book by Michelle Willingham out and is a cracking read if people need something to do while they are self isolating. From tomorrow (16 March 2020) a free online read by Michelle Willingham which supports this series will be on Harlequin.com

As you can see from the photo, I have had a glimpse of my cover.

I have just sent the full of my last which is a sequel to A Deal with Her Rebel Viking off to my editor.

Stay safe and keep healthy – until next month

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods including Viking, Her book (Book 3 of the Sons of Sigurd) will be published in July 2020 You can learn more about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk

Michelle Styles: New Year, Great New Viking Series --The Sons of Sigurd

2020 heralds the start of a Harlequin Historical series – The Sons of Sigurd. This is the first time there has been a Viking continuity. Five authors – Michelle Willingham, Harper St George, Jenni Fletcher, Terri Brisbin and yours truly have penned exciting stories revolving around five brothers and their quest to avenge their father’s murder. The first one Stolen by the Viking debuts in March (this means it goes on sale at Harlequin.com on 1 February. Harper St George’s  Falling for Her Viking Captive comes next and then mine Conveniently Wed to the Viking in July.

The series came about as a result of Jenni Fletcher visiting me when her family were on holiday in Northumberland in 2017. Over tea, cakes and much gossip, she mused that it would be great fun to do a Viking continuity. I promised to see what I could do. I am not sure she expected me to do anything.

When the annual AMBA lunch and toast to the authors rolled around, with knocking knees and a faint tremor in my voice I spoke first to my editor and then to the Historical team. Luckily they were all enthusiastic. In fact we were pushing on an open door. After getting the editors’ backing, Jenni and I were able to get the others involved. Then the hard work began — creating a series which could be sustained over five books and also showcased the individual authors’ talents.

Working in collaboration was something new for me. There is always give and take and the insight into other people’s working habits has been interesting. It is the first time I have dealt with dropbox, or a spreadsheet, for example. And the sheer pleasure of being able to spark ideas off each other was just wonderful. One of the bonuses has been being able to read each other’s work at an early stage and see the ideas start coming to life.

We are very proud of the series. The books can be read individually or as an overarching story. Personally we think, once you have read one, you will want to read them all.

To give you a flavor what is in store: this is the blurb for Michelle Willingham’s Stolen by the Viking

Bought for his vengeance

But claimed for his bed!

Battle-scarred Viking Alarr is a broken warrior who expects to die carrying out his oath of blood vengeance. He saves maiden Breanne î Callahan from slavery only with the intention of getting close enough to kill her foster father. Until their spark of passion ignites a desire to keep her close…and presents Alarr with a gut-wrenching choice—his revenge or his heart?

You can read the start of the story on overdrive.com for free. And then hopefully you can see why we are all so excited by the prospect.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods for Harlequin Historical. Her most recent book A Deal with Her Rebel Viking was published in December 2019. Her next book Conveniently Wed to the Viking will be published in July 2020. You can learn more about Michelle and her books at www.michellestyles.co.uk

Are We There Yet?

Surely, I can't be the only one feeling this way, right? The rush up to the holiday season, then as each one passes the let-down? With Christmas and New Year's being midweek, it's a strange, confusing, time-out-of-time when you really don't know which day of the week it is or what you should be doing! 

Well, 2019 is moving on tonight  and I say good riddance to bad rubbish! Yeah, sadly, it's been another one of those years for me. Yet, even with all the negativity and struggle in my life, there have been wonderful times and people. Thank goodness, right? 

For me, my grandbabies have been an ongoing source of joy and wonder. Watching them grow bigger and smarter and funnier each day. Watching as they take on challenges (pre-school, swimming lessons, gymnastics and more) and relish in succeeding. And the joy they experience from every simple little thing that happens. Our whole family trip to Disney World was filled with that wonder and joy!  

Back in February, I had the opportunity to model for a womens' clothing company and what fun!

I spent the day having hair and makeup done and then modeling clothes along with 4 other 'real women' customers. It was amazing to work with the professionals -- photographers, videographers, clothing specialists, dressers, stage crew and executives -- and fun! They treated me like a queen all day and it was a wonderful new experience I never thought possible.

In late August/early September, I got the chance to spend a week on Lake Michigan with my Irish travel group of friends - aka the Plucking Monkeys. We spent the days and nights talking A LOT, writing, shopping, sunning, watching the storms cross the lake from Wisconsin and bring the lightning with them. Got to see the Milky Way and some meteors in the dark of night and we drank a bit of Irish Coole Swan. It was a rejuvenating week of friendship, kinship and fun. And it led me to.....


After two+ years of deep grief and depression, my writing is back! I was asked to join in two different collaborations and am actually writing stories again. I feared I would never find the words and it terrified me. But the week on the lake, stress-free and with wonderful friends who laugh at anything and everything, opened the door that had been shut!

So, as the year ends, I'm still dealing with sadness and family crisis, but am hopeful that things will get better in the New Year. I'm deep into my Viking story - the closer of a 5-book series from Harlequin Historicals called The Sons of Sigurd. Mine will come out in November 2020. I've got more books to write for Harlequin and a couple of smaller collaborative projects with other authors in the offing. But, the words are back and bubbling up from within.



So, are you looking forward to 2020? Leaving bad things behind as 2019 exits and hoping for good in the new year? I wish you all the best -- I hope that 2020 will be happy and healthy and kind and filled with all the joys you need and want -- and books, lots and lots of books!

Happy New Year! 

(and PS - in 2020, Valentine's Day, 4th of July, Christmas and New Year's are all on weekends!! )

Dealing with Story Ideas by Michelle Styles

Sometimes story ideas come quietly on cat’s paws. You don’t know they are there until they start to flow from your fingertips. You can’t really say when or why they arrived, you simply know you need to write the story. Other ideas roar into your mind and refuse to let go, drowning out all other ideas until they vanish as quickly as they came, leaving you to sort through the wreckage.

My latest book from Harlequin Historical A DEAL WITH HER REBEL VIKING was one of the latter. I saw a tweet about an Oxfordshire Easter tradition about women capturing men and then men capturing women and thought  there must have a romance in it somewhere. Although I have written a number of Viking set romances, I had never set one in the Midlands, in the old kingdom of Mercia. In many ways, Mercia is overlooked as it became part of Wessex after Aethelflaed, the Lady of the Mercians and daughter of King Alfred died. She is probably the person most responsible for stopping the Vikings and for helping to ensure England evolved as a concept. She is also one of my great heroines. However, my story takes place slightly earlier than her reign, during that period when the Great Army was first on British shores.

  The idea seemed deceptively simple when I first started writing it but as ever with these things, the initial idea proved slightly elusive (among other thing I forgot the romance) and I had to work hard to make the story work for my characters (cue large scale revisions). However after working  very hard and completely re-jigging the ending, my editor loved it (cue celebrations on my part). I was also very pleased with the cover as they used the model Carson who had inspired the hero as the cover model.

As I wrote it, I also realised that there was more than one story here and so I have ended up writing a trilogy. The slight hiccup with this was that I had already committed to writing a book in the Sons of Sigurd series which Harlequin Historical is publishing in 2020. The four other authors are Michelle Willingham, Harper St George, Jenni Fletcher and Terri Brisbin. My book is the third one and is entitled CONVENIENTLY WED TO THE VIKING (publishing July 2020).  Michelle Willingham’s Stolen by the Viking will be published in March 2020. It has one of the new look Harlequin Historical covers. And having read an early draft, it is every bit as lush as the cover looks. Writing in a collaborative series was a totally new experience for me and it took me a little longer than I had planned.

 So after a long hiatus,  I have just returned to Midland set trilogy and am writing the second one. It is wonderful to revisit the world that I created last year.  This time, rather than setting it in the Forest of Arden, I have moved the action northwards to Sherwood Forest. It is easy to forget that these forests existed long before the tales of Shakespeare or indeed Robin Hood and I wanted to do something to address that.

Right now, I am hoping that people enjoy my new book. You can read the start of it here for free.

Michelle Styles writes warm ,witty and intimate historical romances for Harlequin Historical in a wide range of time periods, including Roman, Regency, Victorian but most recently Viking. Her latest A DEAL WITH HER REBEL VIKING will be published on 18 November 2019. Her next book CONVENIENTLY WED TO THE VIKING will be published in July 2020. You can learn more about Michelle and her books at www.michellestyles.co.uk