Peeking Between the Pages

...escape into the pages of a good book

Guest Post with Christy English, author of To Be Queen & Giveaway

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I am pleased to welcome Christy English, author of To Be Queen: A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor Aquitaine, to Peeking Between the Pages today. I first met Christy last year when her novel The Queen’s Pawn came out and she is one of the most friendly people I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Her new novel, To Be Queen, was released in April of this year and it’s another one that sounds great! Today she joins us with a guest post entitled Writing in a Lovely Place…

There is nothing more relaxing than to sit on a borrowed porch and take in the greenery of the yard below. While I was writing TO BE QUEEN: A NOVEL OF THE EARLY LIFE OF ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE, I had the good fortune to work in just such a place, a beautiful oasis of sunlight, soft breezes, with azaleas blooming nearby and dogwood blossoms beginning to fall, coating the grass in a blanket of white.


Access to a borrowed porch surrounded by such beauty opens up vistas in my mind. On that porch I wrote the scenes in which Eleanor sees the city of Constantinople for the first time.

“The towers [of Constantinople] shone like jewels in the late-morning sun. The great dome of Hagia Sophia beckoned to me, cupped like a woman’s hand over a flame. It’s elegant, graceful lines spoke of a distant past….”


The beauty of that city overwhelmed Eleanor’s thoughts of politics and her plans for the future. Her soul held its breath for a moment, just as mine does when I sit on a borrowed porch, look up from my computer, and take in the beauty all around me.

In the end, it does not matter where I write. My mind open its doors to take me to other worlds, so that I can build a bridge between the past and the present with my words, so that my readers can journey there as well. But writing in a beautiful place feeds the soul, and food for my soul is food for my work. My work is building worlds, and building bridges to those worlds, so that you can come there with me.

Darlene, thank you so much for hosting me today. TO BE QUEEN: A NOVEL OF THE EARLY LIFE OF ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE is in bookstores now.
__________

Christy, thank you so much for stopping by Peeking Between the Pages. It’s always such a pleasure to have you here. Thank you for this lovely guest post and photos as well. That would indeed be a beautiful place to write or, in my case, to read a book!
__________

About the Book (from Amazon.com)

With captivating and lyrical prose, the author of The Queen’s Pawn delves into the early life of the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine…

Duchess at fifteen, Eleanor of Aquitaine marries the King of France. But will she find that she must pay too high a price to be queen?

Although Louis VII is enamored of his bride, the newly crowned king is easily manipulated by forces in the Church. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Eleanor fights for her freedom and for the love of her life. In the arms of Henry of Normandy, Eleanor may finally find the passion she longs for, and the means to fulfill her legacy as Queen.

Read The Prologue for To Be Queen

Buy To Be Queen on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

About the Author (from Christy’s blog)


I am a writer of historical fiction centering on Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alais of France, and the Plantagenets of the 12th Century.

Praise for my first novel THE QUEEN’S PAWN.

“An astonishing debut! Christy English spins an unforgettable tale of dangerous splendor, evoking the stone and tapestry of the Plantagenet era, and the fierce rivalry of two equally fascinating and determined women, whose ambitions threaten to overturn their world.”

C.W. Gortner, author of THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI

My second novel is about Eleanor of Aquitaine’s marriage to Louis VII of France, TO BE QUEEN: A NOVEL OF THE EARLY LIFE OF ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE.

Find Christy on her Blog
Find Christy on Facebook
Find Christy on Twitter

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

I have one copy of To Be Queen by Christy English to share with my readers. To enter…

  • For 1 entry leave me a comment with an email address to contact you (no email, no entry).
  • For 2 entries, follow my blog. If you already do, thanks, and please let me know in your comment so I can pass on the extra entry to you as well.
  • For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway to spread the word!

This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents only (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on Saturday, June 18/11. Good luck to you all!

© 2010, Darlene of Peeking Between the Pages. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Peeking Between the Pages or Darlene’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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Comments

  1. Wonderful picture. I do wonder what she really thought, but if I was her I would have thought about the city like that too

  2. Beautiful photos — I am dying to read this book. I am very interested in Eleanor and that time period. Amazing that she went on Crusade.

  5. Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to win this.

    I follow on GFC

    Bethie
    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

  6. What a great guest post, Dar! I really need to read this book, and would love the chance to win a copy, so please do enter me in your wonderful giveaway!

    zibilee(at)figearo(dot)net

    I follow through google reader as well!

  9. This novel would be fascinating. thanks for this post and giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

  10. What a wonderful book which I would enjoy. This post was interesting. rojosho(at)hotmail(dot)com

  11. Beautiful pictures of Constantinople, no wonder she loved the city. I am very interested in Eleanor of Aquitaine’s early live. Please enter me in this contest.

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

  12. I follow your blog on Googgle Friends Connect, Twitter and Facebook.

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

  17. I've been really wanting to read this one!

    quixoticdreamer(at)hotmail(dot)com

  22. Great post! And nice photos. I'm a fan of Christy English since reading The Queens Pawn.

  24. I can't wait to read this book! It sounds just wonderful. I can imagine how beautiful surroundings while writing would seep into the story and make the literary juices really flow. I know reading in a beautiful setting is always better than reading in my cramped office :).
    candc320@gmail.com

  29. Thank you for the giveaway. I'm a GFC follower @headlessfowl.

    headlessfowl at gmail dot com

  30. I have had this on my must read list. I am a sucker for historical novels.
    I'm also a GFC follower.
    Lizallrich2 at gmail dot com

  32. I don't know as much as I'd like about Eleanor of Aquitaine. I'm looking forward to the reading it.
    mamabunny13 at gmail dot com

  36. This book is on my wish list. I fell in love with Eleanor of Acquitaine after I read Jean Plaidy's Courts of Love and I would love to learn more about Eleanor's early years.

    I am a GFC follower.

    ashley.l.mikowski@gmail.com

  37. Ooo, I'd love to go to Istanbul or at least settle for reading about it.

    I'm a follower and I tweeted @vegasbookgirl

    Thanks!

    Amanda
    libraryofmyown at gmail dot com

  42. I would love to read this book…hope i win.
    Thanks for these great contests.
    RJB
    loki304(at)tds(dot)net

  43. I would love to be able to read this lovely sounding book.

    hootowl1978 at gmail dot com

  46. She seems like she was a fascinating woman. I'd love to read more about her. Thanks for the giveaway.

    GFC follower

    Jules
    onebookshy at yahoo dot com

  50. I'm in the middle of reading a fictional novel in which Eleanor of Aquitaine is a minor character. Would love to read more about her.

  52. Please enter me in the giveaway! Eleanor is such a fascinating woman.

    I'm a follower and I tweeted the giveaway (bharbin11).

    bharbin07[at]gmail[dot]com

    Thanks!
    Beth

  53. I wish I could go back in time (just to visit) and experience what life was like back then.

    I'm a GFC follower. cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com