Christy English

From Darkness into Light

Friday, August 13th, 2010 | Eleanor of Aquitaine, Princess Alais, The Writing Life | No Comments

When darkness rises, from our very bodies in the case of illness or from the burdens of life, as it must for all of us, what is it that keeps us going? For Alais, it was a faith in God and in her duty, her absolute certainty that whatever she did, she always acted to serve her father and the throne of France. For Eleanor, it was faith in herself, a complete and total certainty that whatever happened in her life, whatever or whoever she lost, she would always find within herself the strength to go on.

This act of courage, facing the darkness and walking on in spite of it, is something all of us do at least a few times in our lives. To face the darkness and to step forward into it, with the certainty that beyond it lies something else, if not freedom from darkness,  hope that light will shine on us once more. That is heroism. To step forward into the dark, not knowing what will come next, only knowing that you have to keep walking.

The Secret Eleanor: A Quote

Thursday, August 12th, 2010 | Cecelia Holland, Eleanor of Aquitaine | No Comments

Still reading The Secret Eleanor by Cecelia Holland. I would have completely devoured it already if I wasn’t taken over by my own work. But during times of quiet, I have turned to Ms. Holland’s book. Though her versions of these characters are so different from my, I love them.

Ms. Holland’s Eleanor has a great line, one I wanted to share. When addressing a weeping lady in waiting, her Eleanor says:

"Keep your pride, girl. Or get some…"

I could almost hear her voice in my ear. Thank you, Ms. Holland, for bringing these people to life.

The Secret Eleanor in my Hands! At Last!

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 | Cecelia Holland, Eleanor of Aquitaine | No Comments

I am so happy…my copy of Cecelia Holland’s, The Secret Eleanor, has finally arrived and is in my hot little hands. Though I am distracted from its wonder by the fact that I am deep in the cave with my own work, I have still managed to read 50 pages of it…and I am loving it. I am basking in Ms. Holland’s take on Eleanor and Petra, on Henry and his father Geoffrey. She has given these characters so much life and power. I adore this novel…I will report back with more accolades once I have finished it. Meanwhile, if you don’t have it yet, get to your local store and grab it. You will be happy you did…

Facing the Blank Screen

Monday, August 9th, 2010 | Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Writing Life | No Comments

Every writer has to do it. Whether published or not, whether on the tenth book or the first, we all have to sit in front of the blank screen for the first time and write the first page. This is always daunting for me, even though I love it. Even though I know that there is more about Eleanor to be written than I will ever be able to write, even though I love and trust her as a character more than I ever would have thought possible, and even though she teaches me something new about her life with every draft I put on paper, that first moment is still daunting. The blank page stares at me with its white, blind eye, and I wonder, what will this book be like?

And then I start typing.

Because the only way to answer that question, the only way to find the path to the answer, is to begin.

Yahoo Romantic Historical Fiction Lovers Give Away

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 | Give Away, The Queen's Pawn | No Comments

Today is the day to announce the lucky winners of an autographed copy of The Queen’s Pawn…

I picked these names not out of a hat, but out of a lovely ceramic bowl…a little more charming, and since it is summer, I am fresh out of hats.

The winners are:

Amy Bridges

and

Melisende

Thank you all so much for participating…there will be more give aways of The Queen’s Pawn this fall, both on this site and others. I will keep you up to date on those…