Historical Fiction Book Fair - Welcome to Mr Crespi's bookshop

Welcome Book Browsers at the Historical Novelists Book Fair. 

Oh, good afternoon mistress, it's you. How delightful to see you again. Which book will you choose I wonder? You can see I have quite a few on my lovely shelves, but might I suggest these? You can see I have marked one of them at the top right with a slip of paper so I can find it easily. The other lies open at the bottom of the shelf, for as you can see I have just finished copying it especially for you. That was quite a labour of love I can tell you. 

 Painting by Giuseppe Crespi, 1665 -1737

What? You prefer a new-fangled typed version? Well I'm only too happy to oblige, but for that you will have to contact my apprentice Joseph Amazon. He is only a click away in the dusty warehouse. Last time I saw him he was trying to sort out a mountain of unsold books. I hope he manages to sell a few sometime, otherwise I fear the moths will eat the bindings and spidery cobwebs will glue them forever to the shelves. 

If you are still a little uncertain about your choice, can I suggest you use the magic lantern device below  which might tempt you with its live action tale of two sisters on the run in the gilded mansions and poor hovels of old London. This book has been a very popular choice amonst young ladies visiting my shop, second only to 'The Gentlewoman's Guide to Snaring a Man.' In fact many have said that they found it so thrilling they had to be revived with a nip of smelling salts by their worried husbands. 

A spellbinding historical novel of beauty and greed and surprising redemption.

England, 1660. Ella Appleby believes she is destined for better things than slaving as a housemaid and dodging the blows of her drunken father. When her employer dies suddenly, she seizes her chance--taking his valuables and fleeing the countryside with her sister for the golden prospects of London. But London may not be the promised land she expects. Work is hard to find, until Ella takes up with a dashing and dubious gentleman with ties to the London underworld. Meanwhile, her old employer's twin brother is in hot pursuit of the sisters.

Set in a London of atmospheric coffee houses, gilded mansions, and shady pawnshops hidden from rich men's view, Deborah Swift's The Gilded Lily is a dazzling novel of historical adventure.

You like it? That's splendid. By strange coincidence the book is on special offer at the moment, so hurry on over to the warehouse where Master Amazon will be pleased to deliver a copy of The Gilded Lily direct to your address. Now that's what I call service.

Many thanks for stopping by my humble bookstore and I hope to have the pleasure of serving you again in the near future. What's that? Oh yes, I'll send The Gentlewoman's Guide to Snaring a Man along with it. A plain brown wrapper? Certainly madam.

The other participating emporia are listed here

10 Questions with Ella Appleby of The Gilded Lily

For a bit of fun, Ella Appleby a character from my novel The Gilded Lily reveals all! 

Godfried Shalcken - Lady examining herself in a mirror

Favourite Colour: Gold, or scarlet, or a combination of both, preferably red silkwith real gold braiding.

Favourite Animal: A throughbred horse, preferably pulling the brand new shiny carriage in which she is riding.

Favourite Number: 1661 – the year in which she hopes her life will be transformed for the better and she will finally cease to be a servant.

Favourite Non-alcoholic Drink: A hot posset of eggs and ale – yes she knows that is alcoholic, but in the climate of the Little Ice Age, she needs something warming.

Facebook or Twitter?: Ella is a bit lazy, so Twitter would be her thing, but she might use facebook to spy on social contacts who are further up the social ladder.

Her Passion: To leave her life of drudgery, to be treated as she feels she deserves – as a fine lady. Her dream is to wear soft kidskin slippers instead of heavy wooden clogs.

Giving or getting presents: Definitely getting.

Favorite Day: The day she is first offered a position in The Gilded Lily, a beauty parlour where women can buy salves, potions and unguents to improve their appearance.

Favorite Flowers: Lilies of course. But also partial to a red rose from the hand of an admirer.

Favourite Book: Ella can't read but she likes listening to tales told out loud, the more outrageous the better. And she likes to tell a few tales herself, particularly if it gets her out of trouble.

This game was passed to me by Jo-Ann Butler, and I am passing it on to Grace Elliott.

What's blogging ever done for me?

I have just been over to Hoydens and Firebrands blog to put up a post about Rakes and Rogues of the Restoration. Hoydens and Firebrands is the place where I can reach other fans of the seventeenth century, a period in which I have written three novels. The blog has a small but enthusiastic following.

Blogging takes up quite a lot of my writing time, so why do it?

Firstly, it is interesting and a writing challenge to compile a short informative piece that does not take long to read, but gives a good introduction to the subject. Usually I have already done the research for the post whilst researching my novels, but a blog post is different. I try to make these short posts visual and include links and references where possible for those who want to follow up the subject in more detail. Blogposts have actually been invaluable to print off and use as brief notes on my subject matter when I talk to Library groups or Book Clubs about my books and my research.

Secondly, I get to interact with people I have never met, but who share my passion for historical fiction. Through blogging I have had one or two great invitations. My blog posts through Debra Brown at English Historical Fiction Authors Blog will appear later this year in a new anthology, Castles Customs and Kings

This means my posts will be more widely read and appreciated.

Thirdly,through blogging I was invited to appear on two panels at The Historical Novel Conference 2013 in Florida. Of course I could have said no, that's too far to travel, but instead we have incorporated it into our family holiday, and I am now looking forward to meeting US fans of historical fiction and US writers who I only know from their icons online.

Here is a video showing the conference in London this year, and I'm sure Florida will be just as great. 

Fourthly, It is my pleasure to promote other authors of historical Fiction via my other blog,
Royalty Free Fiction, where I can find other great new reads and help promote the genre in general. This blog focusses on books which do not have the draw of royalty (ie Kings and Queens) to help them gain a readership. Through doing this I have been made aware of many fantastic books I might otherwise have missed.

This is not to mention the great book bloggers who hosted me on my virtual tours with The Gilded Lily and took the time to review it. I appreciated them all, not to mention Amy Bruno from Passages in the Past who set up the tours.

So what's blogging done for me?
Quite a lot actually!