Here we are in October.  Both of my kids have been off to college, and the house feels like it’s only getting quieter.  The days are still hot and long here in California, so my drowning victim pale-assed self has been staying inside, with a lot of books. Not to mention the fires…yes, California is still on fire, and with the mask mandates, I have been staying home.  

It’s almost impossible to be inspired when you’re looking at the same walls. It’s a relief that Fall is on its way; I am ready for the air to chill, the rain to come, the leaves to change, and to schlep my computer and writing supplies to the closest coffee shop to write.  While I love summer, because it’s too hot to do much of anything except reading all day, the cold just makes me want to hole up and create worlds and characters for you to visit. 

I am going to be taking the next four months off. I have spent the last two and a half years researching the Tudors, and now it’s time to bring all the magic and mayhem to life.  I will still be posting on Instagram a couple of times a week, so feel free to catch me over there. 

I will be back, with more content, and more books.

Jane isn’t finished telling you all the court gossip. The Captain isn’t finished posting his recipes, and Hawthorne is still very much haunted.

See you soon,

Alex

Mary Tudor’s Pregnancy: Real or Imagined?

Since I have already been executed once, I’m in no danger spilling the tea on Mary the First.

Now, we all know that she was the first Queen of England that didn’t get there by marriage.  She also had a quite colorful nickname: Bloody Mary.

She got this moniker after she had hundreds and hundreds of Protestants burned at the stake. There is a lot of ‘drama’ to cover over Mary’s lifetime, but we are going to talk about one of the most significant but not widely known predicaments she got herself into. 

A year after Mary became the queen, she was expected to be married and with child. So, she married Philip II of Spain and quickly became pregnant.

Unfortunately, this is where things once again went south for Mary. 

The Infamous Phantom Pregnancy of 1555. 

Now, we know that Mary really wanted to be a mother. She had a special way with children; they loved her and she loved them. At this point, she was already 37 years old. Well past her prime.  

When Mary became pregnant isn’t known, as she wasn’t sure herself, however, she did feel the baby move towards the end of her pregnancy.

Both the English and Spanish courts were thrilled. Preparations were made, the birthing chamber was prepared, letters announcing the birth were written, a cradle was made, and her ladies in waiting busily sewed and embroidered all the clothes and bedding an infant prince would require. 

On April 30th, there were celebrations in the streets; bells were rung and bonfires were lit following the news that Mary had birthed a healthy son. This, however, was not the case. 

Word of the infant royal’s birth had spread throughout Europe, and letters, gifts and gold were being delivered to the queen’s quarters. 

By July, there was no sight of the alleged prince, but Mary still thought she was pregnant. She was always a hysterical child.

Rumors were flying all over England and Spain. Mary was never pregnant; it was feigned to garner support. Mary was pregnant, but the baby was stillborn. Mary’s plan was to have an infant boy brought to her in a warming pan to present as the new prince. It was also speculated that she gave birth to a mole. 

Eventually, all hope for a healthy baby boy died out. Mary became a laughing stock. She was left humiliated, hurt, and immensely sad. The marital  turmoil this faux pregnancy caused between Mary and Phillip was on the lips of everyone at court.

Perhaps the phantom pregnancy was the result of the queen’s overwhelming desire to have a child, but, whatever the case may have been, it only provided great political consequences for her reign.

Personally, as one of her mother’s ladies in waiting, I can assure you that it’s highly unlikely that Mary was ever pregnant. 

Jane, The Lady Rochford

Welcome to my blog.  Let me introduce myself, My name is Alex Andersen and I am a writer. I write Paranormal Historical Romance.  Let me explain what that is because my books don’t exactly fit into anyone genre.  It’s not exactly Gothic because not all of my books take place during the Victorian Era. My books aren’t exactly historical because even though my characters spend a large amount of time in the past, they are connected to the present.  In Ghost of a Chance my character Tyler Logan, finds himself spending his awake hours in 2017, but his sleep hours in 1847 Ireland. There is History but it’s not exactly History.  I am what you can call a genre bender. Because, why not?

What you will find in my books are these three things, Time Travel but without ships or any of the science fiction stuff we all love.  There will be romance but sometimes things don’t head in the direction that we think they are going  to go. Even I was surprised at where my next book “Whisperings at Forestwood” is headed. Paranormal is a large part of my stories. You probably (never say never) will find vampires, werewolves, or shape-shifters in my books, but you will find, ghosts, witches, Ouija boards, haunted hospitals, houses and castles. You will see what happens when past and present collide, when hearts beat as one, and when the impossible becomes almost normal.

So let’s talk about June. I will be crazy busy in June and this is what you can expect from me.

An account of BookCon in NYC, I will be there next weekend and you can follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/AuthorAlexA1 and on my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authoralexandersen/

This month I will be doing book reviews, giveaways and all kinds of fun stuff so follow me here and to get any information first, sign up for my newsletter here or here. http://eepurl.com/djNktn

Mid Month I will be off on vacation to Canada and hopefully will be inspired to write a story set there. You can follow that trip on both my instagram and twitter accounts.

And always, I love hearing from you, please drop me an email at AuthorAlexAndersen@Gmail.com

And as always,

Happy Haunting

Alex

I just finished reading this book and I have to say, I found it to be a delightful little read.  The character’s Lincoln, Beth, and Jennifer were very funny and believable as characters.  I loved reading their emails, getting to know them by what they said and how they said it. Reading their ups and downs just as Lincoln who’s job it was to read them did.  This is one of those books that you read in one sitting or at the very most over a weekend.  I would say, get it if you want to read a fun, feel-good book with a predictable but satisfying ending.

I give this book 4 stars due to the fact that I sped right through it.

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It’s company policy.) But they can’t quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O’Neill can’t believe this is his job now- reading other people’s e-mail. When he applied to be “internet security officer,” he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth’s and Jennifer’s messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can’t help being entertained-and captivated by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he’s falling for Beth, it’s way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?

To find out, click on the link below so you can find out. As always with Amazon links, if you click on it and buy it, I do get a small stipend at no cost to you.

Cheers,

Laurie

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Halloween is just around the corner, and keeping with that spirit let’s talk about Horror.

When we think of Horror novels we think of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and even Stephanie Perkins of Anna and the French Kiss fame is getting into the genre.  But what is horror exactly? Is it ghost stories? Monsters? Demons?  Yes, it is all of them. And so much more. It’s the story about the police officer who is also a serial killer (We are looking at you, Dean Koontz), it’s the crazy guy that keeps his mother’s body in the attic, its anything that scares us really.

Horror is the mood in which this genre seeks to unleash in us. From the first page to the last, from the subtle nuances to the blood splattered descriptions these books keep us on edge. They play on our fears, from the smallest (bugs) to the largest (zombie apocalypses, whatever it is that you fear, horror authors know how to make you fear them more.

Below you will find a list and the links to get the books that scared me the most. As always with Amazon links, if you click on it and buy it, I do get a small stipend at no cost to you.

Here’s my list:

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This book messed me up for days.

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I always check my headlights and watch my speed after reading this book.

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Yeah, King, thanks for the lifelong fear of clowns. I freaking appreciate it. Asshole.

I hope one of these books gives you the heebie-jeebies too.

Cheers

Laurie

I received “The Twilight Pariah” by Jeffrey Ford in my #PageHabit quarterly book subscription box and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I give it five stars not because it was the most amazing book I have ever read but because I read it in one sitting. I had to know how it ended.

Here is the synopsis from the back of the book.

“All Maggie, Russell, and Henry wanted out of their last college vacation were to get drunk and play archaeologist in an old house in the woods outside of town. When they excavate the mansion’s outhouse they find way more than they bargained for: a sealed bottle filled with a red liquid, along with the bizarre skeleton of a horned child

Disturbing the skeleton throws each of their lives into a living hell. They feel followed wherever they go, their homes are ransacked by unknown intruders, and people they care about are brutally, horribly dismembered. The three friends awakened something, a creature that will stop at nothing to retrieve its child.”

The thing I liked about this book is that it was both creepy and funny at the same time. I mean seriously who makes an appointment with an expert on cryptozoology and the only payment they are required to bring is a single doobie? I was laughing out loud at some points in this story and looking over my shoulder at others. It was a creep fest much like the horror movies in the ’80’s where you couldn’t help but like the bad guy. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a fast fun read with just the right amount of creep factor. Can you imagine being on an archeological dig and find buried under decades of beer cans the skeleton of a baby with horns and a tail?  I would run. These guys, they didn’t run. They brought it home.  Definitely one to read this Halloween Season

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If you enjoy my blog, then please use my embedded link when purchasing your copy of this book.  There is no additional cost added to your purchase; however, Amazon provides me with a little incentive for referring you.  This helps me continue to bring you great content and pay for the upkeep of my blog.

Cheers,

Laurie

“This Savage Song” by Victoria Schwab has been on my TBR list for a long time and I finally got a chance to read it, and I loved it.

The blurb on the back of the books says:

“Kate Harker wants to be as ruthless as her father, to prove she’s worthy to stand beside him and lead their city. August Flynn wants to be human. But he isn’t. He’s a monster, on that can steal souls with a song. His own father’s secret weapon. Their city is divided. Their city is crumbling. Kate and August are the only two who see both sides, the only two who could do something. But how do you decide whether to be a hero or a villain when it’s hard to tell which is which?”

This book was a fun read for me. Unlike most YA novels the focus was more on discovery and friendship than romance. Prejudices are put aside, as Kate and August team up to find out the truth of what is going on in their city and who is responsible. Harsh realities are discovered as Kate remembers her past and looks towards the future. August makes some wonderful discoveries about himself but they are over shadowed by the terrible truth he finds out about one of his family members.

If you want a great read, I suggest getting this book.  I give it FIVE STARS.

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If you enjoy my blog, then please use my embedded link when purchasing your copy of this book.  There is no additional cost added to your purchase; however, Amazon provides me with a little incentive for referring you.  This helps me continue to bring you great content and pay for the upkeep of my blog.

Cheers,

Laurie

Let’s talk banned books.  Why are books banned? For a number of reasons. The content, the language, the themes and even because the author has done something horrible. Let’s talk about the ten books that are being challenged this week.

There are three children’s books on this list. Shall we take a look?

The first on our list is: Little Bill Series written by Bill Cosby and illustrated by Varnette P. Honeywood

This book series is being challenged because of the criminal allegations against the author. As we have all read, Bill Cosby is being investigated and prosecuted for sex crimes.  Horrible.

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Our second Children’s book is: I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings and Illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas.

This picture book memoir is being challenged and removed from libraries because it portrays a transgender child, questionable language, sex education and offensive viewpoints. God, forbid there should be a book that a part of our population can relate to.  Damn you book writers for being inclusive (<—-extreme sarcasm on my part here.)

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Last on our list of Challenged Children’s Books for Banned Book Week is George by Alex Gino.

This book not only won a Stonewall Award but it also won the Lambda Literary Award. This book was banned from libraries because it includes a transgender child because they felt that the sexuality was not appropriate for elementary school children. You know because there are no transgender children in elementary school, they just magically become teenagers ten minutes after they are born. <—note sarcasm.

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We have five Young Adult (YA) books on our list, let’s start with.  Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Why it’s being challenged:  For offensive language.  Yes, this novel that is one of seven of the NYTimes notable children’s books and a Printz Honor recipient is being challenged for cuss words.  If you ask me, that is stupid.

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Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska won the 2006 Printz Award but was still challenged and restricted for a sexually explicit scene.  Because this particular scene may entice teenagers to experiment with sex.  What did teenagers do before John Green wrote this book? OMG, they experimented with sex.

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And the stupidity continues:

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan is included on the long list for the National Book Award, but that doesn’t stop it from being challenged because of the cover photo of two boys kissing. I wonder where they came up with that idea? It is considered to include sexually explicit and LGBT sexual content.

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Our family friend’s daughter Raina Telgemeier wrote and illustrated a graphic novel called Drama.

Drama, won the Stonewall Honor Award for Graphic novels, but this was of no account to parents, librarians and their administrators, because they are trying to get this book banned. Why? Because it includes LGBT characters, its considered sexually explicit and has offensive political views. Seriously? People need to get a grip on reality.

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The last book in the Young Adult genre on our list is This One Summer written by Mariko Tamaki and Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki. Again the LGBT characters were an issue with parents, and librarians in addition to mentions of drug use, profanity and being sexually explicit with mature themes. Apparently, the parents didn’t care that it won both the Printz award and the Caldecott Honor award.

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Even Adult books aren’t safe from being challenged, restricted, removed and banned. Check out the two books below that are deemed inapproprate for adults.

Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread by Chuck Palahniuk

While this book of adult short stories has received positive reviews from Newsweek and the New York Times, it is being challenged for profanity, sexual explicitness and for being disgusting and all around offensiveness. You know because “adult short stories” shouldn’t be read by adults.

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And lastly:  Big Hard Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Illustrated by Chip Zdarsky.

Library staff and administrators have deemed this book sexually explicit. Doesn’t the name of the book kind of imply that? This adult comic book was written by two prolific award-winning authors is being challenged and has been banned.

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I thank God every day that in my country, women, and girls are allowed and expected to learn how to read. We aren’t told what we can read, although people have tried.  Exercise your right, read a banned book, do it for all the people who are not allowed  to read, are told what they can and can’t read and for the writers who write inclusive, dynamic and thought-provoking literature, oh and the smut, we occasionally just need a good 200 pages of steamy smut. hehe

If you enjoy my blog, then please use my embedded link when purchasing your copy of this book.  There is no additional cost added to your purchase; however, Amazon provides me with a little incentive for referring you.  This helps me continue to bring you great content and pay for the upkeep of my blog.

Cheers,

Laurie

1. While I was reading it I did not want to put it down. It flowed really well and kept me interested. Just not enough to obsess over it when I had to put it down.
2. The historical references and the detail written into the book about the Troubles in Ireland, and how Northern Ireland was a war zone, Irish against Irish.

I think if the characters had been more evolved and likable this book would have been fantastic, could not put down, five-star book.  Still even with that. I did enjoy it.  Give it a shot, you might feel differently.

You can get it here.

Cheers,

Laurie

Hello Readers,

We all know about book genres like horror, romance, and mystery but there are 35 different genres and their varieties to discover. Let’s look at one of the most interesting, and miss identified genres of literature. Magical Realism is a genre that is often mistakenly used to describe fantasy novels.

Is it just me or are “magic” and “realism” two things that just don’t seem to go together? Like caramel and salt. But go together they do. Indeed it is a strange combination but that combination is what makes writers of magical realism tick. They know how to take the ordinary, everyday world that we know and add just enough fantasy to make those fantastical elements seem…well, normal.

Open up any Magical Realism novels and you will find descriptions of regular people doing regular mundane things, turn the page and that person washing dishes is struggling to keep their wings out of the way while they reach for a new bottle of dish soap in the pantry.

Magical Realism is defined by contradiction. On one side of the coin, it draws on the Realist tradition of depicting the world as we see it, with its details and its everyday problems. But on the flip side, Magical Realism fills the real world with the fantastic, the extraordinary and the supernatural. This fairly new literary movement likes to show how life, even at its most mundane can still get pretty fantastical.

After all, life is pretty weird sometimes. Sometimes taking notice of that weirdness is more real than pretending it doesn’t exist.

In the 1960’s Magical Realism really exploded, in a sense, it went viral, when a number of Latin American writers began pushing the envelope by challenging what we consider to be real, often with political or artistic aims. In addition, it makes us question what is in fact reality. Maybe ghosts do actually exist? Every culture has some variation on the myth of fairies, what if there is some truth behind it? What if that person who found the cure for some horrible disease, really was destined to do just that?

Magical Realism is one of my favorite genres because there is a part of me that wants to believe that there is magic out there.

I hope this explained a genre that can and has been confusing to many. Please comment below and let me know what your favorite magical realism book is.

Cheers,

Laurie