My new novel is on its way!
The next big event on the calendar is the publication of my second historical novel, The Good Shepherd and the Last Perfect.
28th July is publication day. I am delaying a book launch until November, as the summer holidays mean many people are away. Watch this space for further details. The publishers (The Book Guild) are doing a great publicity campaign which takes the pressure off me. I did a lot of my own publicity for Britannia Street and The Chatelaine of Montaillou, although guided and helped by Debs Grace.
This book is a fictionalised account of a true story based on events that took place in and around the French Pyrenees and Northern Spain in the 14th Century. I again used the fascinating records of the Inquisition (the same ones I used for The Chatelaine) that were archived in the Vatican for nearly 700 years.
Pierre Maury (Pedro) is the titular shepherd, and his deposition is the longest of all the many records in the Jacques Fournier Register. (Jacques Fournier was the Bishop/Inquisitor.) At the heart of the narrative is the friendship between Pedro and Guillaume Belibaste (Guy) the last Perfect of the title. This book has everything, love, lust, religious fervour and prejudice, the power dynamics of the established Church and the Cathar faith. There is friendship, betrayal and the personal struggles and huge sacrifices made by Pedro and Guy. They were ordinary men and women who lived through extraordinary circumstances.
One of my readers commented that she was sad when it ended as she had become so fond of Pedro and Guy. She wanted the book to continue. I hope you will enjoy it as much as she did.