The Forbidden Queen

by Anne O'Brien

  Where do you go for inspiration?

  In general, my garden. Weeding a flower bed or picking raspberries frees the mind to allow ideas to flow. But ideas come in the most unlikely places. I once plotted the whole of an historical whodunnit on a motorway in a traffic jam. If I need a specific atmosphere I might visit a place associated with the character. When researching Anne Neville I visited Tewkesbury Abbey and the adjacent battle field—Tewkesbury is quite close to where I live. I know Middleham Castle well from my days of living in Yorkshire. Eleanor of Aquitaine presented me with some difficulties, but a visit to Goodrich Castle gave me the atmosphere of a small border fortress in the early twelfth century. I have also visited the magnificent Angevin tombs at Fontrevault, as well as the castle at Chinon and the remarkable ruins of Old Sarum, both fortresses where Henry kept Eleanor imprisoned.

  For atmosphere for both Alice Perrers and Katherine de Valois, it has given me an excellent excuse to revisit some of the royal palaces in London. It is a great pity that many of the manors and palaces—such as Havering-atte-Bower—associated with Alice and Edward no longer exist.

  Leeds Castle is a true gem, and very redolent with Katherine’s love affair with Owen Tudor.

  Now I have the lovely anticipation of visiting the palaces of John of Gaunt next year, particularly Kenilworth. What a terrible shame that the great palace of The Savoy on the banks of the Thames was destroyed in 1381 in the Peasants’ Revolt.

  Music helps for atmosphere and inspiration too. I have just discovered the Mediaeval Baebes. Their take on medieval music is stunning.

  This year I have discovered another source of inspiration after visiting a re-enactment of the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross. The re-enactment community was something completely new for me. I don’t think I had realised their commitment to all things authentic. I loved it.

  What one piece of advice would you give to a writer wanting to start a career?

  To sit down and write. It is so easy, as I know, to make excuses of lack of time, lack of ideas, lack of somewhere to sit and write. I made these excuses for years. Whether it’s longhand or by PC, it will not happen unless you accept that it’s a time-consuming, often inconvenient and lonely exercise. On the other side of the coin, it can become an all-embracing way of life, bringing amazing enjoyment and fulfilment.

  But you have to make a start—and persist by working out a routine and sticking to it, even if it’s a somewhat haphazard routine.

  Which book do you wish you had written?

  I think it has to be Dorothy Dunnett’s The Game of Kings—see my top ten books—and the other five to complete the Lymond series. I was seriously hooked when I read the first of them. I don’t think I will ever find a better advocate of historical fiction. In 2012 I felt it a great honour to be invited to speak at the Dorothy Dunnett Literary Lunch in Manchester in July.

  How did you feel when your first book was signed?

  Astonished, I think. The timescale from starting writing, through agents and publishers, and the inevitable rejections, is so vast and success seems to be an impossibility. It is difficult to remain confident and patient. The acceptance of my first book was wonderful—and definitely worthy of a bottle of champagne with my husband. It is still a great delight to see my books on the shelves…

  How do you begin writing characters based on real historical figures and do they ever surprise you as you write?

  Reading to begin with—any biography of the historical character. Once I have a plan of their life—main dates and events—with overlapping plans to indicate where they interact with the other characters in the story, then I make a list of the scenes which will obviously bring some element of tension or excitement or emotion into the story. This is most important, I find. I also make a list of areas which can be omitted or given a mere passing reference, with the pace of the story in mind or its relevance to the overall novel. Sometimes events just don’t fit and it’s as important to recognise these as it is the explosively important ones. Although sometimes it surprises me—that scenes I’ve jettisoned demand to be included when I begin writing.

  Characters certainly surprise me. Sometimes they resist the direction I wish them to take. Sometimes they carry conversations into directions I had no idea of. Characters develop as I write, so I have to take this into consideration and allow them to be headstrong if that is what they wish. I know I must not force a character into an action that is not in keeping with the character I have given them. If a particular action is vital to the story, then it may be that I have to tweak the character.

  Do you have a favourite character in The Forbidden Queen and what is it you like about that character?

  It has to be Katherine herself. I have to admire her inherent strength of character that allowed her to grow and mature throughout the novel. At the same time, I think I fell a little in love with Owen Tudor. Who wouldn’t…?

  What kind of research goes into your writing process?

  General: I immerse myself in the period so that I know how people lived and to some extent thought. I need a sense of place and time for my characters. I have a good selection of reference books—I live near Hay on Wye, a magnificent place for browsing for books—on food and fashion, architecture and gardens, health, sex and witchcraft, so that I can put my characters into a scene. This research tends to be ongoing throughout the time I am writing the novel.

  Specific: focusing on the lives of the characters at the centre of the novel as I first envisage it. For the most part these are secondary rather than primary sources, although the opinions of contemporaries are invaluable.

  Physical: I visit places associated with the characters, or similar venues to give me an idea of atmosphere. Sometimes I use contemporary music to set a mood. Poetry and literature can help me to visualise the ideas that influenced my characters. When developing my knowledge of Alice Perrers, I resorted to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and the Wife of Bath, who is thought to have been modelled on Alice. She might well have been. I loved her red stockings and large hat and gap-toothed smile—but Alice, unlike the Wife of Bath, did not have five husbands…For Katherine de Valois I read Shakespeare’s Henry V of course:

  Henry: O fair Katherine, if you will love me soundly with your French heart, I will be glad to hear you confess it brokenly with your English tongue. Do you like me, Kate?

  Katherine: Pardonnez-moi. I cannot tell what is ‘like me.’

  Henry: An angel is like you, Kate, and you are like an angel. (Kisses her)

  You have witchcraft in your lips, Kate: there is more eloquence in a sugar touch of them than in the tongues of the French council…

  Truly romantic…

  A WRITER’S LIFE

  Paper and pen or straight on to the computer?

  Straight on to the computer but I also keep a notebook and pen to hand. I write notes on images and scenes, conversations between the characters, anything that comes to mind—they tend to appear at the most inopportune times. Sometimes I rough out whole scenes by hand but only with the bare minimum of detail.

  PC or laptop?

  PC, but I have recently been won over by the value of a laptop when I am travelling by train. I have no excuse for not continuing my plotting.

  Music or silence?

  Silence when I’m first putting scenes and plots together. When I’m reviewing or redrafting or polishing towards the end of a novel I listen to music. Baroque choral works for me when I’m writing.

  Morning or night?

  Definitely morning. I am not a night person.

  Coffee or tea?

  Tea first thing in the morning—then coffee.

  Your guilty reading pleasure?

  A book, a glass of wine and music—often choral but might equally be folk or symphonic—before a wood fire in my cottage.

  The first book you loved?

  The first adult historical novel I remember reading as a young girl was The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes, which focused on th
e children of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. I recall being drawn into the richness of the period, the emotion of the characters and the drama of the lives of the Plantagenets. It has been re-issued and I was pleased to find that the charm still existed. My pleasure in this genre has stayed with me ever since.

  The last book you read?

  I have just finished reading Hilary Mantel’s Bringing Up The Bodies. Marvellous!

  A DAY IN THE LIFE

  I try to write every day, for the sake of continuity, and because I suffer from withdrawal symptoms if I miss more than a few days. What will my characters do without me?

  I am a morning writer. In summer when the days are long I can start work at 6.00am—it is harder in winter when the mornings are dark, but I am usually underway by 8.00am. I work until lunchtime, about one o’clock, with a coffee break. I have an office where I can leave all my books and papers around so that I can find them when I start again. If I tidy up I lose things.

  In the afternoons when the weather is fine I enjoy my garden, a large, rambling area where I and my husband grow vegetables and soft fruit. The seasons are a delight, with herbaceous flower borders, a wild garden, a small orchard and a formal pond. With an interest in herbs and their uses, I have a herb garden constructed on the pattern of a Tudor knot garden and enjoy cooking with the proceeds. It is a perfect time for me to mentally review what I’ve been doing as I keep the flowerbeds in order and wage war on the weeds.

  Housework is fitted in as and when. My priority is writing and the garden, but I am driven to cleaning when I can write my name in the dust on the furniture. Early evening is a time when I sit with a glass of wine to make contact with my husband. It is a very important hour which we put aside for ourselves when we can talk and listen to music. Sometimes I might read through what I have written in the morning. Then we eat—I am an enthusiastic cook, so it is a pleasure to fit this into my day.

  I have discovered that writing has a habit of taking over my life if I allow it, but I refuse to give up on my yoga…

  TOP TEN BOOKS

  To ring the changes here: I have listed the ten most enjoyable or interesting books that I have read this year

  Stef Penney: The Tenderness of Wolves. At last I have read this bestseller and was immediately drawn into the tension and sense of desolation in the novel of Canada in 1867. Not the usual historical novel but well worth a visit.

  Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall. I loved this Man Booker Prizewinner, delving into the life and character of Thomas Cromwell. To be made into a BBC mini-series—can’t wait.

  Hilary Mantel: Bringing Up The Bodies. I had to read the sequel—and another winner of the Man Booker (how good is that for historical fiction?)—and I think that I enjoyed it even more, even though I admit to Anne Boleyn not being a favourite character of mine. Will this be adapted by the BBC as well? I do hope so.

  Ariana Franklin: The Assassin’s Prayer. This is the final novel in the Mistress of the Art of Death series, due to the untimely death of Diana Norman, writing as Ariana Franklin. I am so sorry. I love the humour, the authentic detail, the fine characterisation and the understated romance between Adelia and Bishop Rowley. I understand an incomplete novel will be finished and published in 2014 by Ms Norman’s daughter. Perhaps this will bring Adelia and Rowley’s affair to a satisfactory close.

  Joanne Harris: Peaches for Monsieur le Curé. Although I did not find this quite as compulsive a read as the previous two, I enjoyed meeting up with old friends from Chocolat and Lollipop Shoes.

  J.K. Rowling: A Casual Vacancy. I read this out of interest for the author’s much-publicised novel for an adult audience—and quite enjoyed the portrait of the strains and stresses in a tight-knit community. The ‘school’ scenes roused some distant memories. In the end I wondered if the author enjoyed writing it as much as she enjoyed Harry Potter. Somehow I do not think that she would…

  Christie Dickason: The Noble Assassin. Here is an historical novelist whose style I really enjoy. I have read all her novels. This one draws us into the uneasy political situation in the reign of James I. Highly recommended.

  Phil Rickman: The Secrets of Pain. The latest in the Merrily Watkins novels, a female priest who tackles the problems and prejudices of the church, society and the supernatural. A must-read for anyone living in the Welsh Marches—and elsewhere, I think. It has a true resonance of living in a rural community: local politics, countryside lore and in this case even the SAS. I have read the whole series and eagerly await the next.

  D.K. Broster: The Flight of the Heron. A little wallowing in the past here when I picked up D.K. Broster’s Jacobite Trilogy in a second-hand bookshop. I recalled reading it many years ago and enjoyed the re-reading for its atmospheric telling of the tale of the ‘45 with all its pain and torments. It is not now in print but is well worth looking out for, with The Gleam in the North and The Dark Mile.

  Phil Rickman: The Heresy of Dr Dee. Newly released and a far cry from Merrily Watkins, this opens up the dark and mysterious world of Tudor politics, investigating the death of Amy

  Robsart, wife of Lord Robert Dudley. It follows on from The Bones of Avalon. A great treat to anyone who has not come across them.

  A DAY IN THE LIFE

  I try to write every day, for the sake of continuity, and because I suffer from withdrawal symptoms if I miss more than a few days. What will my characters do without me?

  I am a morning writer. In summer when the days are long I can start work at 6.00am—it is harder in winter when the mornings are dark, but I am usually underway by 8.00am. I work until lunchtime, about one o’clock, with a coffee break. I have an office where I can leave all my books and papers around so that I can find them when I start again. If I tidy up I lose things.

  In the afternoons when the weather is fine I enjoy my garden, a large, rambling area where I and my husband grow vegetables and soft fruit. The seasons are a delight, with herbaceous flower borders, a wild garden, a small orchard and a formal pond. With an interest in herbs and their uses, I have a herb garden constructed on the pattern of a Tudor knot garden and enjoy cooking with the proceeds. It is a perfect time for me to mentally review what I’ve been doing as I keep the flowerbeds in order and wage war on the weeds.

  Housework is fitted in as and when. My priority is writing and the garden, but I am driven to cleaning when I can write my name in the dust on the furniture. Early evening is a time when I sit with a glass of wine to make contact with my husband. It is a very important hour which we put aside for ourselves when we can talk and listen to music. Sometimes I might read through what I have written in the morning. Then we eat—I am an enthusiastic cook, so it is a pleasure to fit this into my day.

  I have discovered that writing has a habit of taking over my life if I allow it, but I refuse to give up on my yoga…

  TOP TEN BOOKS

  To ring the changes here: I have listed the ten most enjoyable or interesting books that I have read this year

  Stef Penney: The Tenderness of Wolves. At last I have read this bestseller and was immediately drawn into the tension and sense of desolation in the novel of Canada in 1867. Not the usual historical novel but well worth a visit.

  Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall. I loved this Man Booker Prizewinner, delving into the life and character of Thomas Cromwell. To be made into a BBC mini-series—can’t wait.

  Hilary Mantel: Bringing Up The Bodies. I had to read the sequel—and another winner of the Man Booker (how good is that for historical fiction?)—and I think that I enjoyed it even more, even though I admit to Anne Boleyn not being a favourite character of mine. Will this be adapted by the BBC as well? I do hope so.

  Ariana Franklin: The Assassin’s Prayer. This is the final novel in the Mistress of the Art of Death series, due to the untimely death of Diana Norman, writing as Ariana Franklin. I am so sorry. I love the humour, the authentic detail, the fine characterisation and the understated romance between Adelia and Bishop Rowley. I understand an incomplete novel will be
finished and published in 2014 by Ms Norman’s daughter. Perhaps this will bring Adelia and Rowley’s affair to a satisfactory close.

  Joanne Harris: Peaches for Monsieur le Curé. Although I did not find this quite as compulsive a read as the previous two, I enjoyed meeting up with old friends from Chocolat and Lollipop Shoes.

  J.K. Rowling: A Casual Vacancy. I read this out of interest for the author’s much-publicised novel for an adult audience—and quite enjoyed the portrait of the strains and stresses in a tight-knit community. The ‘school’ scenes roused some distant memories. In the end I wondered if the author enjoyed writing it as much as she enjoyed Harry Potter. Somehow I do not think that she would…

  Christie Dickason: The Noble Assassin. Here is an historical novelist whose style I really enjoy. I have read all her novels. This one draws us into the uneasy political situation in the reign of James I. Highly recommended.

  Phil Rickman: The Secrets of Pain. The latest in the Merrily Watkins novels, a female priest who tackles the problems and prejudices of the church, society and the supernatural. A must-read for anyone living in the Welsh Marches—and elsewhere, I think. It has a true resonance of living in a rural community: local politics, countryside lore and in this case even the SAS. I have read the whole series and eagerly await the next.

  D.K. Broster: The Flight of the Heron. A little wallowing in the past here when I picked up D.K. Broster’s Jacobite Trilogy in a second-hand bookshop. I recalled reading it many years ago and enjoyed the re-reading for its atmospheric telling of the tale of the ‘45 with all its pain and torments. It is not now in print but is well worth looking out for, with The Gleam in the North and The Dark Mile.

  Phil Rickman: The Heresy of Dr Dee. Newly released and a far cry from Merrily Watkins, this opens up the dark and mysterious world of Tudor politics, investigating the death of Amy