Ch-ch-ch-changes

As noted on Monday, Pauline Montagna was one of the three writers whom I tagged in the writing process blog hop. Alas, she has had to pull out—due to circumstances beyond her control, as they say. The same circumstances have forced her to postpone indefinitely her guest post on “The Art of the Sword.” Nasan is terribly disappointed, but I’m sure she will adjust—with time. We wish Pauline all the best.

My third “tag” is now Marie Macpherson. Marie gained a Ph.D. in Russian Literature and took up creative writing after retiring from an academic career. Now the rich history of her native Scotland provides the inspiration for her fiction. Set during the political and religious turmoil of the early Reformation, her first novel,  The First Blast of the Trumpet, published by Knox Robinson Publishing, is a highly entertaining account of the life of the Scottish reformer, John Knox. (I can vouch for this, as I read the book last year and am eagerly waiting the second installment.)

Marie’s prizes and awards include the Martha Hamilton Prize for Creative Writing from Edinburgh University and the “Writer of the Year 2011” title, awarded by Tyne and Esk Writers.

You can find out more about her book at The First Blast of the Trumpet. And listen to me interview her on New Books in Historical Fiction. Take it away, Marie!

In addition, I thought it might be fun to update you on my two challenges for the current year. In History Challenge 2014: A Sail to the Past, I have achieved the rank of historian by reading seven books. (Duh! I am a historian!) I still have at least five to go for this year, but I am currently wending my way through Mark Brazil’s The Whooper Swan (wonderful book—I am so grateful he wrote it), as I gather details for Legends 3: The Swan Princess, so I will get back to those soon.

My Reduce the TBR Challenge is currently stalled at 11 of 24 books, but I expect to start working on those again in May and even to raise the endpoint to 36 books. Stay tuned!


This is also, officially, my 100th blog post. Never thought I could do it, but here it is!