Christy English

To Be Queen Winner

Monday, December 12th, 2011 | Eleanor of Aquitaine, Give Away, To Be Queen | No Comments

I am happy to announce that the winner of To Be Queen on our English Epochs 101 Give Away is

http://englishepochs.blogspot.com/2011/12/eleanor-of-aquitane-queen-of-english.html

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Pricilla

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Thank you so much to all who participated. More give aways will be coming up…

Tags: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Give Away Winner, TO BE QUEEN

Richard the Lionhearted and His Holy Grail

Friday, December 9th, 2011 | Richard the Lionhearted | No Comments

Today I am fortunate to be featured on English Historical Fiction Authors for a post about one of my favorite Plantagenets, Richard the Lionhearted.  Lionheart and the Third Crusade…come and check it out…

http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2011/12/richard-lionhearted-and-his-holy-grail.html

Tags: Angevins, Holy Grail, Richard the Lionhearted, Robin Hood, The Plantagenets, Third Crusade

Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of the English

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 | Eleanor of Aquitaine, Give Away, Henry II, Richard the Lionhearted | 2 Comments

My obsession with Eleanor of Aquitaine knows no bounds, and this week is no exception to that. I want to thank Debra Brown of English Historical Fiction Authors and English Epochs 101 for hosting me this week on her blog. Once more, I delve into Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life, this time celebrating her triumphant crowning as England’s queen in 1154. I do love those moments when Eleanor wins…

http://englishepochs.blogspot.com/2011/12/eleanor-of-aquitane-queen-of-english.html

We are offering a give away of TO BE QUEEN at the end of this post…one more way in which I am celebrating Eleanor…

Old Books in Front Street

Monday, December 5th, 2011 | Independent Bookstores, Random Thoughts | No Comments

http://oldbooksonfrontst.com/node/695

Old Books on Front Street is one of Wilmington, NC’s  independent booksellers. It has been around for thirty years,  and yesterday we celebrated its birthday with cake and a fabulous band. Folks drifted in with their children and their dogs to browse the books and to take in the warm charm of the haven that Gwenyfar and the Rohler family have created for books, poets, novelists and readers. With the dawn of the digital age, it is lovely to see a thriving home for books and those who love them.

Happy Birthday Old Books on Front Street…Here’s to another thirty years.

Tags: Indie Booksellers, Old Books on Front Street

Giving A Gift

Friday, December 2nd, 2011 | Gratitude, The Writing Life | 2 Comments

Photo Credit

http://day1of1.wordpress.com/2011/07/09/the-gift/

As I wrap presents for my loved ones for Christmas, I find myself musing on the beauty of gift giving. There is a wonderful feeling of joy that comes from preparing a gift for a friend, choosing it, wrapping it, and then the pleasure of watching them open it in front of you.

Writing a novel, revising it in the last pass, is a bit like that. Though I don’t know many of my readers, I work hard to hone my craft and my plot for them, I make sure my characters’ voices are clear and lucid, I make the book the best I can.

Finishing a novel is something like preparing a gift for a friend you will never meet. Writing a book is putting together ship in a bottle, and sending it out onto the waves, hoping that the bottle won’t break, that the waves will be kind, that your ship will wash up whole on another shore.

I am grateful for being able build that ship. The act of creation is a gift, too, and I am happy to receive it.

Tags: Character Development, Giving, Novel Writing, Writers, Writing