Generated by All in One SEO v4.9.3, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Reading & Writing All about reading good books & writing good books. ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [Medieval Luxury](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2025/10/01/medieval-luxury/) - If you have been watching the 'King and Conqueror' tv series about King Harold and William of Normandy, you may assume that life in those days was a matter of mud and guts, of dark interiors, elementary furnishing and minimal, dingy decoration. That was probably the case for the peasantry, not so for the nobility. - [The Price of Loyalty - review](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2025/09/06/the-price-of-loyalty-review/) - The Price of Loyalty is very well-researched work of historical fiction. The author, Malve von Hassell, is fully in control of her medieval epoch; what people wore and ate (numerous contemporary recipes), and their general life-style are so well-depicted the story becomes immersive. I journeyed with her characters to and from the Levant, and suffered - [A New Year & New Books](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2025/01/31/a-new-year-new-books/) - Winter in southern Andalucía can get chilly, but this year, finally, we are having a normal winter with rain, which after so many years of drought is something to celebrate. After the long Spanish Christmas, I'm back at my desk, working on the third book in my new historical fantasy series for Penmore Press, Doomsong. - [Finding Roma Nova with Alison Morton](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2024/03/14/off-the-beaten-track-to-find-roma-nova-with-alison-morton/) - The setting for Roma Nova by Alison Morton Imagining Roma Nova – Or is it real? Ever since I read Violet Needham’s Stormy Petrel series as a child I’ve been caught by the idea of imaginary countries in Central Europe. Needham’s books for children invoke a romantic ‘otherwhere’, making it familiar, with a subtle, understated - [Review of 'Exsilium' by Alison Morton](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2024/03/03/review-of-exsilium-by-alison-morton/) - Exile - the only way to surive There is an excellent new addition to Alison Morton's fascinating series Roma Nova, which tells the story of three very different people forced into exile by events in 4th Century Rome. As I was reading, I became aware through small details that Alison Morton probably knows everything there - [PENDRAGON'S BANNER](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2024/02/19/pendragons-banner/) - Three of my very favourite historical novels – The Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy – were written by the talented Helen Hollick. In this post, Helen tells us how she became an author, and why she started writing about a legendary king many say never existed. JGH WHY KING ARTHUR FOR HISTORICAL FICTION? HE’S ONLY A - [London Underground Crime Fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2024/02/15/london-underground-crime-fiction/) - 'If you have ever stood on the edge of a London Underground platform with your feet obediently behind the yellow line waiting for the arrival of the next train and feeling the pressure of the crowd building behind you as the train roars into the station and you briefly think … what if. This is - [Review of 'What Happened at the Abbey' by Isobel Blackthorn](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2024/02/01/review-of-what-happened-at-the-abbey-by-isobel-blackthorn/) - Isobel Blackthorn’s new Gothic thriller is an intriguing page-turner. Written from the point of view of two victims, an abused young wife, and a botany student with mental health issues, the reader is taken into a dour Scots home in the Western Highlands at the end of the 19th century. Blackthorn’s description of the - [Historical Stories of Exile](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2024/01/17/historical-stories-of-exile/) - An Author in Exile As many of my readers know, after travelling widely we finally settled down in southern Spain. Without knowing it beforehand, we moved into a locally renowned area for breeders of Pura Raza Español horses (known in UK and USA as Andalusians, I think). It was an ideal spot for me, but - [Inspired by Location](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2023/08/24/inspired-by-location/) - Beyond the Fields We Know 'Whatever I write, I start with the setting . . . ' How and why a writer can be inspired by a landscape or location by Marian L Thorpe, author of the Empire's Legacy Trilogy. One of my favourite walks is along part of a long-distance path that follows the - [What makes a very good book?](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2023/06/22/what-makes-a-very-good-book/) - 5 star reviews are all very well but what makes a good book a very good book? I have read, studied, taught and written about a wide range of fiction in my life. There is, however, only one criterion that makes a good book a very good book in my opinion – that it - [Writing 'Secret Meetings'](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2023/02/26/writing-secret-meetings/) - The new Bob Robbins Home Front Mystery A new Bob Robbins Home Front Mystery was released this month. If there is such a thing as a ‘historical country house murder mystery thriller’, Secret Meetings falls into that genre. This story, like the others in the series, is based on real events during the - [Location, Location, Location - a library](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2023/02/24/location-location-location-a-library/) - A guest post by author Helen Hollick on using familiar and unfamiar settings in fiction Setting in A Mistake of Murder The third Jan Christopher Cosy Mystery by Helen Hollick They say ‘write what you know about’, which is all well and good, but as a writer of historical fiction and nautical adventure, I - [Fact in historical fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2022/10/31/fact-in-historical-fiction/) - Blending Facts Into Fiction by Helen Hollick My Sea Witch Voyages are nautical adventure yarns set in the Golden Age of piracy, the early 1700s. As with many a typical sailor’s yarn, part of the tales are solid sailing facts, others can be distinctly fanciful. That blend of fiction – even fantasy – is made - [Through my picture window](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2021/05/19/through-my-picture-window/) - Recently, I was asked how living in Spain has influenced my writing. Thinking about it, I realised it isn’t only being in Spain that has affected my fiction, it’s all the other places I’ve lived, studied and worked in as well. Setting aside my time at an American university in what now feels - [For debut historical crime writers](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2021/01/30/for-debut-historical-crime-writers/) - Secondary and Minor Characters in Historical Crime Fictional Secondary and minor characters help to establish the main character’s personality and develop the storyline in any fiction genre. In historical crime fiction they are also a useful means of conveying information about the epoch and location. This means no matter how lowly your minor characters need to - [Writing 'Private Lives'](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2020/05/28/writing-private-lives/) - As my readers know, I write fiction set in the 17th Century and World War Two. I enjoy the hard work that goes into writing about both epochs, but my new story set in 1942 has been something of a challenge. Finding the right tone, the right wording for sinister content with a touch of - [Review of 'No Man's Land', Book 1 in The Reschen Valley Series by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2020/04/18/review-of-no-mans-land-book-1-in-the-reschen-valley-series-by-chrystyna-lucyk-berger/) - She wants her home. He wants control. The Fascist regime wants both. Life in the mountains of the Austrian Tyrol in the 1920s is hard and uncertain. The climate and poor soil conspire against the farmers on the mountains, while politicians in their city offices conspire to take their very land from them. This is - [A Place in Past - the Reschen Valley](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2020/04/18/a-place-in-past-the-reschen-valley/) - Many years ago, while we were living in Italy, I visited the Alto Adige, or the Südtirol as it is known in German. We returned on various occasions, winter and summer, and I fell in love with the scenery: the only word for it is ‘dramatic’. But so is the history half-hidden among the ancient - [A Place in History - Israel](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2019/06/12/a-place-in-history-israel/) - Israel in the 1940s - The Laundry Room by Lynda Lippman-Lockhart What is there about traveling to foreign ports that is so evocative, compelling, and necessary? I have always been a proponent of getting away, giving into a change of attitude and altitude, and most of all—educating myself and my family. - [A Place in History - Fiesole, Italy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2019/06/02/a-place-in-history-fiesole-italy/) - Fiesole as Setting for The Contessa’s Easel by Mary Donnarumma Sharnick The late novelist Henry James once wrote, “It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.” How insightful his words have been and are for writers who bring their imagined characters to life in geographical settings replete with recorded histories, both - [A Place in History - Scotland](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2019/05/23/a-place-in-history-scotland/) - A Sense of Place Scottish author Marie Macpherson explains how her native county of East Lothian provided the foundations for a trilogy. Hailes Castle The mist-covered mountains of the Scottish Highlands may have cast a spell over many romantic novelists, but my heart lies in the Central Lowlands where most of - [Review: The Girl Puzzle by Kate Braithwaite](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2019/05/21/review-the-girl-puzzle-by-kate-braithwaite/) - The cover and title of this novel are worth thinking about before one opens the book itself. The author is telling us that at one level it is historical fiction, a tale told about a past epoch and how people lived then; at another, it is a story of someone’s life but not a biography. - [Book Review: 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' by Robert Dodds](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2019/04/26/book-review-the-garden-of-earthly-delights-by-robert-dodds/) - Historical fiction / Historical biography In the year 1490, Brother Jacomo of Seville is sent to Brabant as a Papal Inquisitor. He loses no time in condemning a man to be burned alive in the main square of Den Bosch. It is a public warning: be sure your sins will find you out. But who - [Writing fiction using historical fact](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2019/04/12/writing-fiction-using-historical-fact/) - Secret Agents, Tulips, and the English Crown Jewels The real history behind The Chosen Man Trilogy Some authors are irritated by the question ‘where do you get your ideas from?’ but I see it as perfectly valid. Knowing the genesis of a good story can deepen its enjoyment or appreciation. In my case, however, it’s - [The Chosen Man Trilogy completed!](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2019/03/22/the-chosen-man-trilogy-completed/) - Mission accomplished! The trilogy I promised Penmore Press is now complete. It’s exciting, and I will admit to a considerable sense of satisfaction, but there’s also to a sense of loss: I shall miss my voyages with Ludo. I shall also miss doing the research behind each story; it was both enjoyable and enlightening. Each - [Ancient Iberia](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2019/02/07/ancient-iberia/) - As part of my 'places in the past' series, guest author Glenn Bauer has written a fascinating post on why he writes about ancient Iberia. Iberia, cradle of heroes A couple of weeks ago, Jane kindly invited me to explain why I was motivated to write about Iberia. There was the obvious explanation of Iberia - [A Tribute to Daphne du Maurier](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2018/11/23/a-tribute-to-daphne-du-maurier/) - It is 80 years now since Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca was first released. Back in 1938, du Maurier’s publishers were nervous about the novel’s future, but the story has become a classic: a world-wide favourite, a play, a television series, even an iconic black and white movie. For a while, back in the 90s, - [Horses in Historical Fiction 2: Making journeys in the past](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2018/11/05/horses-in-historical-fiction-2-making-journeys-in-the-past/) - Making long journeys on horseback A number of people have asked me now about how far a horse can go in a day. The simple answer is: ‘that depends’. It depends on the age and skill of the rider, the age, type and fitness of the horse, and the terrain they have to cover. Healthy, - [Horses in historical fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2018/10/08/horses-in-historical-fiction/) - Writing about shying, bolting, and unfortunate equine accidents As prey animals, instinct tells equines to run at a whiff of danger. They shy at what we may consider to be imaginary objects, this is because their eyes can detect movements to the side of them, which we do not see, and their ears can pick - [Golconda diamonds - long ago, far away](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2018/09/17/golconda-diamonds-long-ago-far-away/) - Writing about real diamonds in historical fiction Once upon a time, I had gap year job in a jewellery and antique shop. I was taken to their workshop to see how jewels were cut and set, and gradually learned what sort of antiques sold to what sort of customer. It was a pleasant job, but - [Snakes and Ladders](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2018/06/10/snakes-and-ladders/) - Themes in fiction can be subtle or more evident, sometimes, I find, they creep in while the book is a work-in-progress. This happened with the 'snakes and ladders' motif in the third story in The Chosen Man Trilogy. I came across the origins of the game while researching the background to By Force of Circumstance - [al-Andalus: Joan Fallon's 'Shining City' trilogy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2018/04/11/al-andalus-joan-fallons-shining-city-trilogy/) - For my series on the places that inspire authors, Joan Fallon tells us about Medinat al-Zahra, and why a ruin not far from the ancient city of Córdoba in southern Spain provided the foundations for a trilogy. The al-Andalus trilogy and the story behind it by Joan Fallon The al-Andalus trilogy is set in Córdoba and - [A Tribute to Dorothy Dunnett](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2018/01/31/a-tribute-to-dorothy-dunnett/) - ‘The historical novelists’ historical novelist’ . . . A Tribute to Dorothy Dunnett (1923–2001) There are two sets of Dorothy Dunnett's two historical novel series on my bookshelves, plus two copies of King Hereafter: a few are hardbacks the rest are now dry, cracked-spine paperbacks, whose pages are so yellow and print so small that I - [Writing secondary characters](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2018/01/30/writing-secondary-characters/) - Riddle: How does an author use historical fact to create and describe secondary or minor characters in historical fictional? Secondary characters are often used to develop the main character(s) and/or move the plot. Whether or not the protagonist was a real person these characters are frequently fictional constructs, and, like minor characters, in the story - [For sale - the Crown Jewels](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2017/10/30/for-sale-the-crown-jewels/) - King Charles 1st and his French Queen, Henrietta Maria by Anthony Van Dyck Henrietta Maria and the English Crown Jewels Who owns the British Crown Jewels? If asked, what would you say: the monarchy; the reigning monarch of the time; the State or the people of Great Britain? The question itself represents just about - [Review of Charlatan by Kate Braithwaite](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2017/07/27/review-of-charlatan-by-kate-braithwaite/) - In a hovel in the centre of Paris, the fortune-teller La Voisin holds a black mass, summoning the devil to help an unnamed client keep the love of the King of France, Louis XIV. Three years later, Athénaïs, Madame de Montespan, the King’s glamorous mistress, is nearly forty. She has borne Louis seven children but - [A Tudor Trilogy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2017/05/16/a-tudor-trilogy/) - Interview with Tony Riches, author of 'HENRY' Book Three of The Tudor Trilogy My guest today is Tudor specialist Tony Riches, author of the best-selling Tudor Trilogy. Tony, where did the idea for writing the Tudor trilogy come from? I began looking into the life of Owen Tudor, the Welsh servant - [“You write what you read . . .”](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2017/05/09/you-write-what-you-read/) - I recently heard a comment that an author writes what he or she reads. This is possibly true, but herein lies something of a dilemma for modern fiction authors, because these days, to be successful – it is said – one is supposed to choose a genre and stick to it. To become a ‘popular - [A Place in History](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2017/02/22/a-place-in-history/) - There is a cave in Iceland that I will always remember. It is a place I have never been, but Karen Maitland took me there in Falcons of Fire and Ice and I have never been able to forget it. There is a valley full of butterflies and venomous little snakes on the Isle of - [The Last Royal Rebel](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/09/10/the-last-royal-rebel/) - by Anna Keay (Bloomsbury, 2016) During the horrific, botched execution of James, Duke of Monmouth, in 1685, the crowd remained silent and ‘many cried’, until, incensed by the ‘barbarous usage’ of the duke, they surged forward and would have torn the executioner to pieces had soldiers not prevented it. Yet the label on Monmouth’s portrait - [An interview with Ludo da Portovenere in 1640.](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/09/25/an-interview-with-ludo-da-portovenere-in-1640/) - Historical background to Ludo da Portovenere’s business matters: In this first third of the seventeenth century (now coming into 1640), Europe and Great Britain are experiencing significant changes in international politics and domestic life in general. Spain and the Holy Roman Empire are still fighting to keep the Netherlands; the Portuguese are conspiring to regain - [Leah Devlin's "Where I write about . . ." or "Where the bodies and pirate treasure are buried"](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/10/23/leah-devlins-where-i-write-about-or-where-the-bodies-and-pirate-treasure-are-buried/) - In the opening scene of Vital Spark, Alex Allaway is driving along a coastal road, through a valley of summer corn on Maryland’s eastern shore. She’s thrilled to be returning home. She’s landed a job as a fisheries ecologist at a small marine station in her hometown of River Glen. River Glen is the epicenter - [Memoirs from the Tower of London](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2017/01/11/memoirs-from-the-tower-of-london/) - This month’s guest post on the writer's craft is by Elizabeth St.John. Elizabeth was brought up in England and lives in California. She has tracked down family papers and residences from Nottingham Castle, Lydiard Park, to Castle Fonmon and The Tower of London to inspire her writing. Although her ancestors sold a few mansions and - [Writing about 17th Century Spain](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/12/01/writing-about-17th-century-spain/) - This month’s guest post on the writer's craft is by Donald Michael Platt, a prolific author in diverse fields but perhaps better known now for his recent books on the Spanish hidalgo, Vicente de Rocamora. Donald has lived in California, Brazil, and now in Florida, so I asked him how and why he came to write - [The Act of Writing Historical Fiction.](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/08/04/the-act-of-writing-historical-fiction/) - Fiction writers are essentially liars. Historical fiction writers are thieves as well. Readers of fiction enter a deal whereby they knowingly suspend disbelief, and believe what they are told. Readers of historical fiction do not have to suspend disbelief, but they knowingly accept stolen goods – unless the tale has been legitimately inherited as in - [Confessions of a reluctant show-off](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/08/04/confessions-of-a-reluctant-show-off/) - In response to an article on how the real slog and sadness in an author’s life can begin on publication, I’d like to raise the issue of so-called ‘celebrity status’, and the silent worlds most comfortably-dressed, disconnected, happily-individual writers inhabit. In what now seems like a previous existence, I studied dance and drama. It was drummed - [The Great Game.](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/08/04/the-great-game/) - Roller-skating in the Hindu Kush. (Background research for The Empress Emerald) ‘Horrible looking hills loomed nearer and nearer and then you saw some sort of crack going up through the hills – and this was the Khyber Pass; great slabs of rock towering up on either side of you.’ (Ed Brown, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1930s) - [Secondary characters in historical fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/08/05/secondary-characters-in-historical-fictional/) - Secondary characters are used to develop the main character(s) and/or further the plot in any fiction genre, but in historical fiction the author also has to ensure what they say and do is appropriate to the epoch of the novel. Whether or not the protagonist was a real person, secondary characters are frequently fictional constructs - [My ‘PORRIDGE & CREAM’](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/08/06/my-porridge-cream/) - Sandra Danby asked various people about their ‘comfort reads’ – which books do they always go back to? Here is my response. My ‘Porridge & Cream’ novels are in the House of Níccolò series by the late Scots author Dorothy Dunnett. I became hooked on her sixteenth century Game of Kings series featuring the exquisite - [Suspect Women](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/08/06/suspect-women/) - If my great-grandmother had lived in the 17th Century there’s a good chance she would have been named a ‘wise woman’. Great-grandmother Margaret was ‘fey’: she knew things. Take for instance the time she and her husband, who was a forester, took a few precious days holiday in a remote area of the Mountains of - [Uninvited Characters.](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/08/08/uninvited-characters/) - . . . members of a reading club had been asking me about my characters. Where, they wanted to know, did my characters come from? Well, the truth is I see things: that is I see people doing things. The other truth is I didn’t know this wasn’t normal: I grew up knowing my great-grandmother - [Plague and Tulips: gambling in a time of pestilence.](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/08/08/plague-and-tulips-gambling-in-a-time-of-pestilence/) - The first recorded economic bubble, ‘tulipomania’, occurred in the Dutch United Provinces between 1635 and 1637. The 1630s were a period of intense political and religious intrigue, when Pope Urban VIII appeared to be supporting Spain’s attempt to reclaim her lost territories in the Netherlands, but was actually conspiring to limit the size and power of - [Writing historical fiction - when & why.](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/2016/08/03/writing-historical-fiction-when-why/) - Which epoch and why? #1 JGH: ‘I write stories set in the seventeenth century and the early twentieth century.’ Question: ‘Why those epochs?’ Good question. Let’s look at some clichés first: Roman sword’n’sandal stories are bloody and exciting; the War of the Roses is full of intrigue; Tudor novels are sexy; Regency novels are titillating; ## Pages - [Welcome to my blog.](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/) - You will find: posts on the writer’s craft some strange and surprising facts revealed during research guest posts from a wide variety of authors about their books, where the stories are set, and why. a few short stories (for free) All posts have been written or selected to be thought-provoking and meaningful. Comments on posts are - [Newsletter](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/newsletter-3/) - [J.G. Harlond Privacy Policy.](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/j-g-harlond-privacy-policy/) - On 25th May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation comes into force. In "Reading & Writing" and J.G. Harlond Web Page, ("J.G. Harlond websites ") I consider the privacy of the visitors to be extremely important. This Privacy Policy document describes in detail the types of personal information collected and recorded by J.G. Harlond websites and how they are used. - [Newsletter](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/newsletter-2/) - [Newsletter](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/newsletter/) ## Categories - [Uncategorized](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/category/uncategorized/) - [The Writer's Craft](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/category/writing/the-writers-craft/) - [Book Reviews](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/category/readings/books-review/) - [Readings](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/category/readings/) - [Writing](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/category/writing/) - [Guest Posts](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/category/writing/guest-posts/) - [Background reading & fascinating facts](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/category/background-reading-fascinating-facts/) - [Writing about horses](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/category/writing/writing-about-horses/) - [Places in the past](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/category/writing/places-in-the-past/) ## Tags - [historical crime](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/historical-crime/) - [crime fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/crime-fiction/) - [historical fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/historical-fiction/) - [Spain](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/spain/) - [Indian Raj](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/indian-raj/) - [Cornwall](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/cornwall/) - [Cotehele](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/cotehele/) - [India](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/india/) - [professional author](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/professional-author/) - [tulipmania](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/tulipmania/) - [seventeenth century](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/seventeen-century/) - [Britain](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/britain/) - [Holland](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/holland/) - [Amsterdam](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/amsterdam/) - [Rome](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/rome/) - [Vatican](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/vatican/) - [Habsburg Empire](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/habsburg-empire/) - [plague](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/plague/) - [pestilence](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/pestilence/) - [gambling](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/gambling/) - [Flanders](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/flanders/) - [Thirty Years War](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/thirty-years-war/) - [Protestants](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/protestants/) - [Catholics](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/catholics/) - [United Provinces](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/united-provinces/) - [Calvinists](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/calvinists/) - [espionage](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/espionage/) - [family traits](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/family-traits/) - [Cotehele Cornwall](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/cotehele-cornwall/) - [fictional characters](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/fictional-characters/) - [genetic inheritance](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/genetic-inheritance/) - [Shakespeare](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/shakespeare/) - [witches](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/witches/) - [witchcraft](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/witchcraft/) - [the occult](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/the-occult/) - [homeless women](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/homeless-women/) - [childless women](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/childless-women/) - [James 1st](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/james-1st/) - [Macbeth](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/macbeth/) - [Dorothy Dunnett](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/dorothy-dunnett/) - [best sellers](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/best-sellers/) - [House of Niccolo](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/house-of-niccolo/) - [secondary characters](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/secondary-characters/) - [the writer's craft](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/the-writers-craft/) - [fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/fiction/) - [writing fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/writing-fiction/) - [complex characters](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/complex-characters/) - [flat characters](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/flat-characters/) - [protagonists](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/protagonists/) - [main characters](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/main-characters/) - [the Great Game](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/the-great-game/) - [Russia](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/russia/) - [the British Raj](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/the-british-raj/) - [Khyber Pass](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/khyber-pass/) - [Hindu Kush](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/hindu-kush/) - [the Jewel in the Crown](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/the-jewel-in-the-crown/) - [authors](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/authors/) - [celebrity status](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/celebrity-status/) - [self-promotion](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/self-promotion/) - [convincing an audience](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/convincing-an-audience/) - [writing skills](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/writing-skills/) - [Duke of Monmouth](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/duke-of-monmouth/) - [Charles II](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/charles-ii/) - [James II](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/james-ii/) - [House of Stuart](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/house-of-stuart/) - [Battle of Sedgemoor](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/battle-of-sedgemoor/) - [Netherlands](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/netherlands/) - [Goa](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/goa/) - [silk merchant](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/silk-merchant/) - [spice merchant](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/spice-merchant/) - [Vatican conspiracy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/vatican-conspiracy/) - [Conde-Duque Olivares](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/conde-duque-olivares/) - [pirates](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/pirates/) - [17th century](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/17th-century/) - [pirate treasure](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/pirate-treasure/) - [Cheseapeake Bay](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/cheseapeake-bay/) - [Woods Hole mystery](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/woods-hole-mystery/) - [Maryland](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/maryland/) - [Giles Blood-hand](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/giles-blood-hand/) - [Scottish pirates](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/scottish-pirates/) - [buried treasure](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/buried-treasure/) - [Orihuela](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/orihuela/) - [Valencia](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/valencia/) - [Señor de Rafal](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/senor-de-rafal/) - [Rocamora](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/rocamora/) - [Marranos](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/marranos/) - [Spanish history](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/spanish-history/) - [Donald Michael Platt](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/donald-michael-platt/) - [geneaology](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/geneaology/) - [locations](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/locations/) - [Iceland](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/iceland/) - [Hadrian's wall](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/hadrians-wall/) - [Viking women](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/viking-women/) - [Hardwicke Hall](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/hardwicke-hall/) - [Stoney Lake](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/stoney-lake/) - [Borneo](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/borneo/) - [Harrogate](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/harrogate/) - [Orford Castle](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/orford-castle/) - [fantasy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/fantasy/) - [genres](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/genres/) - [Norse mythology](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/norse-mythology/) - [Volsung Saga](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/volsung-saga/) - [coming-of-age](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/coming-of-age/) - [magic swords](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/magic-swords/) - [dragonslayer](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/dragonslayer/) - [Odin](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/odin/) - [Tudor dynasty](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/tudor-dynasty/) - [Welsh history](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/welsh-history/) - [Owen Tudor](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/owen-tudor/) - [Jasper Tudor](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/jasper-tudor/) - [Kings of England](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/kings-of-england/) - [Pembroke Castle](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/pembroke-castle/) - [Forteresse de Largoët](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/forteresse-de-largoet/) - [France](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/france/) - [French history](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/french-history/) - [Versailles](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/versailles/) - [Madame de Montespan](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/madame-de-montespan/) - [witchcarft](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/witchcarft/) - [black mass](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/black-mass/) - [Discovering Diamonds reviews](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/discovering-diamonds-reviews/) - [English Civil War](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/english-civil-war/) - [Crown Jewels](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/crown-jewels/) - [The Three Brethren](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/the-three-brethren/) - [Sancy Diamond](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/sancy-diamond/) - [Henrietta Maria](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/henrietta-maria/) - [King Charles 1st](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/king-charles-1st/) - [Royalists](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/royalists/) - [Roundheads](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/roundheads/) - [Cromwell](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/cromwell/) - [The Hague](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/the-hague/) - [religion](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/religion/) - [Protestants & Catholics](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/protestants-catholics/) - [Elizabeth 1st](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/elizabeth-1st/) - [tulip mania](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/tulip-mania/) - [tulip fever](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/tulip-fever/) - [taverns](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/taverns/) - [charismatic characters](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/charismatic-characters/) - [King Hereafter](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/king-hereafter/) - [Lymond](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/lymond/) - [15th century](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/15th-century/) - [16th century](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/16th-century/) - [Orkney](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/orkney/) - [Cordoba](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/cordoba/) - [al-Andalus](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/al-andalus/) - [Moors](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/moors/) - [Madinat al-Zahra](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/madinat-al-zahra/) - [10th century](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/10th-century/) - [places that inspire](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/places-that-inspire/) - [Cordovan Umayyads](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/cordovan-umayyads/) - [snakes and ladders](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/snakes-and-ladders/) - [board games](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/board-games/) - [The Chosen Man Trilogy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/the-chosen-man-trilogy/) - [Penmore Press](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/penmore-press/) - [Oman](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/oman/) - [writing themes](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/writing-themes/) - [diamonds](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/diamonds/) - [Golconda](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/golconda/) - [Tavernier](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/tavernier/) - [horses](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/horses/) - [equine accidents](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/equine-accidents/) - [writing about horses](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/writing-about-horses/) - [bolting horses](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/bolting-horses/) - [shying](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/shying/) - [horse sense](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/horse-sense/) - [writing historical fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/writing-historical-fiction/) - [horses in historical fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/horses-in-historical-fiction/) - [travel in the past](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/travel-in-the-past/) - [Daphne du Maurier](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/daphne-du-maurier/) - [romantic fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/romantic-fiction/) - [romantic novelist](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/romantic-novelist/) - [Rebecca](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/rebecca/) - [My Cousin Rachel](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/my-cousin-rachel/) - [Menabilly](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/menabilly/) - [family saga](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/family-saga/) - [Jamaica Inn](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/jamaica-inn/) - [The Glass-blowers](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/the-glass-blowers/) - [Iberia](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/iberia/) - [lynx](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/lynx/) - [Punic Wars](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/punic-wars/) - [Hannibal Barca](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/hannibal-barca/) - [Pyrenees](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/pyrenees/) - [spices](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/spices/) - [galleons](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/galleons/) - [age of sail](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/age-of-sail/) - [pearls](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/pearls/) - [Golconda diamonds](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/golconda-diamonds/) - [English Crown Jewels](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/english-crown-jewels/) - [spice trade](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/spice-trade/) - [Charles Stuart](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/charles-stuart/) - [Porto Venere](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/porto-venere/) - [uncut gems](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/uncut-gems/) - [Tamar River](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/tamar-river/) - [Doria](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/doria/) - [Portugal](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/portugal/) - [El Escorial](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/el-escorial/) - [Heironymus Bosch](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/heironymus-bosch/) - [Inquisition](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/inquisition/) - [Den Bosch](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/den-bosch/) - [The Garden of Earthly Delights](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/the-garden-of-earthly-delights/) - [15th Century Art](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/15th-century-art/) - [press](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/press/) - [mental hospitals](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/mental-hospitals/) - [mental health](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/mental-health/) - [New York history](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/new-york-history/) - [Scotland](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/scotland/) - [John Knox](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/john-knox/) - [Mary Queen of the Scots](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/mary-queen-of-the-scots/) - [Mary Stewart](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/mary-stewart/) - [Hailes Castle](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/hailes-castle/) - [Haddington](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/haddington/) - [Scottish Lowlands](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/scottish-lowlands/) - [Reformation](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/reformation/) - [Church of Scotland](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/church-of-scotland/) - [Lothians](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/lothians/) - [Fiesole](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/fiesole/) - [Tuscany](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/tuscany/) - [Italy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/italy/) - [Florence](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/florence/) - [Orla's Canvas](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/orlas-canvas/) - [World War II](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/world-war-ii/) - [Italian history](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/italian-history/) - [Tel Aviv](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/tel-aviv/) - [Ayalon Institute](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/ayalon-institute/) - [Israeli Independence](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/israeli-independence/) - [British Mandate](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/british-mandate/) - [Israel](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/israel/) - [Lynda Lippman-Lockhart](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/lynda-lippman-lockhart/) - [Reschen Valley](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/reschen-valley/) - [Alto Adige](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/alto-adige/) - [Sudtyrol](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/sudtyrol/) - [WW1](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/ww1/) - [WW2](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/ww2/) - [Austrian history](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/austrian-history/) - [Great War](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/great-war/) - [Reschen Reservoir](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/reschen-reservoir/) - [cozy crime](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/cozy-crime/) - [Home Front](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/home-front/) - [Devon](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/devon/) - [debut authors](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/debut-authors/) - [#amwriting](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/amwriting/) - [writing crime fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/writing-crime-fiction/) - [creating fictional characters](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/creating-fictional-characters/) - [Portovenere](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/portovenere/) - [Malaga](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/malaga/) - [Nautical stories](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/nautical-stories/) - [18th Century](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/18th-century/) - [English naval history](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/english-naval-history/) - [Chingford](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/chingford/) - [library](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/library/) - [murder mystery](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/murder-mystery/) - [1970s](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/1970s/) - [London](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/london/) - [#historicalfiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/historicalfiction/) - [Second World War](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/second-world-war/) - [World War 2](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/world-war-2/) - [Tolkein](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/tolkein/) - [Vikings](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/vikings/) - [Good books](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/good-books/) - [Great reading](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/great-reading/) - [classic fantasy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/classic-fantasy/) - [epic fantasy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/epic-fantasy/) - [fictional worlds](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/fictional-worlds/) - [historical fantasy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/historical-fantasy/) - [Roman Britain](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/roman-britain/) - [Anglesey](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/anglesey/) - [exile](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/exile/) - [refugees](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/refugees/) - [#WWII](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/wwii/) - [#SecondWorldWar](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/secondworldwar/) - [Gothic thriller](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/gothic-thriller/) - [Western Highlands](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/western-highlands/) - [Book reviews](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/book-reviews/) - [women's fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/womens-fiction/) - [London Underground Stations](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/london-underground-stations/) - [Police procedural](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/police-procedural/) - [Tube stations](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/tube-stations/) - [London Transport Police](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/london-transport-police/) - [King Arthur](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/king-arthur/) - [Arthur Pendragon](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/arthur-pendragon/) - [5th century Britain](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/5th-century-britain/) - [multi-genre authors](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/multi-genre-authors/) - [Ancient Rome](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/ancient-rome/) - [Roma Nova](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/roma-nova/) - [Slovenia](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/slovenia/) - [alternative historical fiction](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/alternative-historical-fiction/) - [Roman Empire](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/roman-empire/) - [Middle Sea](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/middle-sea/) - [Mediterranean](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/mediterranean/) - [9th century](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/9th-century/) - [Game of Thrones](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/game-of-thrones/) - [medieval France](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/medieval-france/) - [William the Conqueror](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/william-the-conqueror/) - [Anglo-Norman period](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/anglo-norman-period/) - [#King&Conqueror](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/kingconqueror/) - [medieval history](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/medieval-history/) - [Normandy](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/normandy/) - [Normans](https://wp-harlond.jgharlond.com/tag/normans/)