Quick Update

I thought I'd give a quick update on what's happening, seeing as I'm waiting on a few guest posts from fellow authors.

First off, my website has been re-designed and I hope you like it. There's a new section under Books with special features for each of my titles, as well as a section called Fun Stuff. I'll be adding more as I get closer to the launch of The Confessions of Catherine de Medici, but if you don't find anything you like to see on my site, please let me know. I'm hoping it's easy to navigate and worth spending a bit of time on.

Second, I'm working on Princess Isabella and in fact just hit 106 pages. Rarely has a first draft poured out of me so fast, and I'm delighted to report that I'm discovering all kinds of interesting information about her that is rarely reported. Isabella was far more dynamic and fascinating than the image of that stern, pious matron that has come down to us through history; and I'm really enjoying walking with her at the moment. Of course, as with all characters I choose, she has a more somber side, but to me, it's this juxtaposition between light and dark that makes her so compelling. She truly was the first queen of the Renaissance, and the systems she fought to set up in Spain, such as a strong centralized monarchy, to which the nobility must bow; a codified system of justice; reorganization of the Church; a civilian police force that could be summoned to serve as a national guard, to cite a few - became the model for the reigns of Western European monarchs to come, including Henry VIII, Francois I, Charles V, and Elizabeth I. Without Isabella's accomplishments, the landscape of European soveriegnity might have looked much different.