Dear Readers, welcome!

I've just been over to the UK to do some research for my current novel which is set in the Elizabethan era.
   
Just going to locations, whether it was Amboise and Angers for THE MAIDEN AND THE UNICORN or Yorkshire for THE KNIGHT AND THE ROSE, has always been tremendously inspiring. The weather, the lie of the land, the view that the characters may have seen from the window, whether the countryside is bland or dramatic, all these qualities help.

    What I find very sad in visiting some places in England is that many of the great castles and palaces have vanished entirely, or else are ruins, and all due to Oliver Cromwell and his gunpowder. Corfe castle in Dorset must have been magnificent. Or there's Lady Jane Grey's palace at Bradgate Park outside Leicester. How splendid that must have been. And where in the village of Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire, was Queen Elizabeth Woodville's childhood home, a fine house that later was used by Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn? Do the foundations lie beneath the ploughed field opposite the church?  Yet there is good news too. The ruins of Astley, the castle where Elizabeth Woodville lived when she was the Widow Grey, are now being restored.

     Some decades ago my father took me to see the manor house of the Poyntz family in Iron Acton, Somerset. The property was being let as a farm and the manor house was in a state of dangerous dilapidation. A huge pile of masonry choked the floor of the great hall on the upper floor and weeds were growing everywhere. I was only a teenager but it was a revelation that this is what happens to historic buildings if they are not cared for. Since then the Poyntz manor house has been restored and it must have taken a huge amount of money and diligence.

   So now when I visit a Tudor manor house or a medieval castle, I am heartily grateful to the people who do the find raising and lobbying, the government bodies and organizations which provide grants, and the sheer physical work that goes into restoration and maintenance of these heritage buildings. For those of us who love history, to stand on a castle's battlements or in the great hall of an ancient palace is a privilege beyond price.

BOOK SIGNING
Come and meet me at the Australian Romance Readers Convention at Crown Plaza Hotel, Coogee, Sydney on Friday 13 August 2010 in association with the Romance Writers of Australia Conference on 13,14 and 14 August.    

TALK FOR THE PLANTAGENETS
I'm going to be giving a talk on 'Medieval London' to the Plantagenet Society in Sydney in September. So if you're in Sydney around that time, do come along. You can find further information at the Plantagenet Society of Australia website.

CRITIQUE GROUP

1. Our group is now 50% published with JAYE FORD signing a contract with Random for her debut novel BEYOND FEAR, due out in mid-2011.
2. Congratulations to our former member ANNA CAMPBELL on winning the most popular romance of 2009 at the Australian Romance Readers Association Awards and being voted the most popular Australian romance writer. We still miss you, Anna, but guess flying interstate for our meetings just isn't an option.
   
   

Tostaditos and Happy reading!

Isolde Martyn