***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: brazen

If you've been following the blog for very long, you know that I am a huge fan of Katherine Longshore's Tudor-inspired series of companion novels. Her characters and stories are everything I could ask for in a historical fiction novel: witty, daring, and terribly unruly. And the romance in each book is charming and completely swoonworthy!

Several of the stops on this tour have Katherine focusing on her historical hotties, but today she's stopping by to answer some of my questions. Check out her responses about romance, the Tudor period, and see what's next for the author, then scroll down to enter to win your very own copy of Courted, the paperback compilation of Gilt and Tarnish, the two books that precede Brazen, her newest novel and the last in this series.

Midsummer Romance Blog Tour

featuring Katherine Longshore

As an author of romance yourself, what do you look for/prefer to read in a romance novel?

That’s such a difficult question to answer! Maybe this is because I don’t look for anything in particular. I generally pick up books about characters and situations I find intriguing. It might be a futuristic societal divide, as in Veronica Rossi’s Under the Never Sky trilogy. Or assassin nuns in Robin LaFevers’ historical series that began with Grave Mercy. And I love romances that also include strong friendships (like the two I’ve just mentioned). In our lives, our friendships are equally (and sometimes more) important than our romantic relationships, so I like my fiction to reflect that.

I completely agree...I actually really like relationships in books where the couple starts as friends first. But when you do want a feel-good romance, who is your go-to romance author?

I will read anything by Huntley Fitzpatrick—her romantic plots are strong and believable, but so are all the other relationships involved. And she writes people who are fully-formed and crafted in such a way that even the secondary and tertiary characters stand out. And of course, I love Stephanie Perkins—I can’t wait to read Isla and the Happily Ever After.

I think the whole world is waiting for Isla! Those are two of my favorite YA romance authors, too. :)

What drew you to write about the Tudor period?

When I decided I wanted to write a novel, my husband brought up the old adage, write what you know. I didn’t really want to write anything autobiographical—one of the reasons I enjoyed acting, and one of the reasons I love writing is that I get to try out all these other lives besides my own. But I had been reading about Henry and his wives off and on for years, so I thought that might be a good place to start. My interest in the Tudors followed on from an obsession with Richard III after seeing Ian McKellen’s portrayal in the 1995 film. With both kings (Richard and Henry) I wanted to find out if either one was really as bad as they have been portrayed in fiction and popular history.

I have to admit, I knew very little of this period before reading this series. Which of your books is your favorite, the one you enjoyed writing the most?

I don’t know if I can answer that! It’s a little like being asked which of my children is my favorite. J I can say that writing Gilt was great fun because I didn’t know what I was doing or if it would ever sell, so I could write anything I wanted and didn’t have expectations (or bad reviews) hanging in my mind. I adored writing Anne in Tarnish because her voice was so strong and the dialogue came so easily—it was almost like taking dictation. Manor of Secrets was a delicious challenge—third person, two points of view all written from an outline when I usually fly by the seat my pants. But Brazen is probably the book of which I am the most proud. It was by far the most difficult book to write and certainly the one I cried the most over. But I think the hard work paid off.

I would say that Brazen is my favorite, too, because I just adored Mary and Fitz and their predicament. But you've reminded me that I still have one of your books to read!

What's been your favorite scene to write?

I love dancing and kissing scenes. There is so much tragedy in the Tudor court—imprisonments and bad marriages and untimely deaths—so I love to give my characters a chance to have a little fun. One in particular is a scene in Brazen where Mary and Fitz are alone, outside and looking at the stars. Mary makes a confession and gets an unexpected response.

*winks* I know which scene you're referring to. :)

How much research goes into writing your historical fiction novels, and do you take a lot of liberties with your characters' stories?

I try very hard not to take any liberties with the actual history—the contemporary accounts that tell us who was where and when. If Fitz wasn’t at court during a particular time period, I couldn’t write a scene with him in it. Period. But the meaty, juicy stories of people’s lives are often the ones that go unwritten—thoughts and feelings and desires. And even when a certain action got recorded (Henry FitzRoy was given Baynard’s Castle after Anne Boleyn’s death) we still don’t know what motivations lay behind it or how all the participants reacted internally. That’s where the fun part of historical fiction comes in.

So my research has to be both broad (including the general atmosphere of the court at the time, what people ate and how they dressed, political intrigue at home and abroad, etc.) and meticulously detailed (timelines that include the daily actions of all the characters, the exact wording of conversations if they were recorded, even the Christmas gifts—who gave what to whom). The liberties I take are only what I deem necessary for the good of the story, and can usually be justified as being possible. In Brazen, the lists that Mary and her friends write in her little blank book are not in the actual document (the Devonshire Manuscript) in the British library, but they seem to be the sort of thing that they might have written.

Can we expect more historical fiction from you soon, or can you tell us what you're working on next?

I always have a couple of historical ideas percolating in the back of my head! I think I’m ready to move onto other eras—I’m fascinated by the English Civil Wars, World War I, the social upheaval of the 1960s. At the moment, I’m working on a contemporary YA novel, but I will also be contributing to the Pistols & Petticoats historical fiction anthology edited by Jessica Spotswood that is scheduled to be published in 2016.

That all sounds fabulous, Katherine! I'll definitely be checking out that anthology.

A big thank you to Katherine Longshore and Penguin Young Readers Group for putting this tour together!

About the Author:

Katherine Longshore is the author of Gilt, Tarnish, and Brazen. She lives in California with her husband, two children and a sun-worshipping dog.

Find Katherine:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

About BRAZEN:

Mary Howard has always lived in the shadow of her powerful family. But when she’s married off to Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, she rockets into the Tudor court’s inner circle. Mary and “Fitz” join a tight clique of rebels who test the boundaries of court’s strict rules with their games, dares, and flirtations. The more Mary gets to know Fitz, the harder she falls for him, but is forbidden from seeing him alone. The rules of court were made to be pushed…but pushing them too far means certain death. Is true love worth dying for?

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About COURTED:

Obsession, seduction, betrayal, desire.

Love always comes with a hidden agenda...

Available together for the first time in one volume, the first two of Katherine Longshore's Tudor England novels. Gilt, a story of friendship and betrayal in the court of Henry VIII, and Tarnish, the story of a young Anne Boleyn. Plus a sneak peek excerpt of Brazen!

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rules:

This giveaway is US only. The publisher will be providing the prize for this giveaway.
One entry per household.
Entries will be verified. Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
Winner will be notified via email. Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. Please check your SPAM folder!!!
We are not responsible for lost packages.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to follow along with the rest of the blog tour for more interviews with Katherine Longshore and to read about her favorite historical hotties!

Midsummer Romance Blog Tour Schedule:

Tuesday, July 8 – Good Books & Good Wine

Thursday, July 10 –Perpetual Page Turner

Tuesday, July 15 –Alice Marvels

Thursday, July 17 – Confessions of a Book Addict

Tuesday, July 22 – Novel Sounds

Thursday, July 24 – Starry-Eyed Revue -- that's us!

Tuesday, July 29 – The Midnight Garden

Thursday, July 31 – Novel Thoughts

Thanks for stopping by! Happy reading!

Labels: author interviews, blog tour, brazen, courted, giveaways, historical fiction, katherine longshore, penguin

Title: Brazen
Author: Katherine Longshore
Series: Untitled, book #3
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Publication Date: June 12, 2014
Source: received from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Mary Howard has always lived in the shadow of her powerful family. But when she’s married off to Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, she rockets into the Tudor court’s inner circle. Mary and “Fitz” join a tight clique of rebels who test the boundaries of court’s strict rules with their games, dares, and flirtations. The more Mary gets to know Fitz, the harder she falls for him, but is forbidden from seeing him alone. The rules of court were made to be pushed…but pushing them too far means certain death. Is true love worth dying for?

I don't know as much about the Tudor dynasty as I probably should, given that it's one of my favorite historical periods to read about, but Katherine Longshore excels at bringing that period to life in a way that is romantic -- poetic, even -- and not at all overbearing. It doesn't feel like a history lesson, but I learned a few things all the same, and I appreciate the author's note at the end detailing what liberties she took with the story and how they compare to what is known of that time period.

And I have to say that Brazen is now my favorite of her novels. I read an excerpt, and even from that brief bit of the story, I knew that I would end up preferring this novel over the rest in the series, though I also have to attest that it made me want to pick up the others again for a re-read. There was just something about this main character that I felt the others had been lacking. Maybe it's the fact that she bucked society's norms in a time when women had few rights and were little more than pawns. Maybe it's because she fought for love when she was told she could not have it. But I honesty just think I liked Mary's fire, her spirit and willingness to be good and honorable, even if those around her were not.

I really love how the focus of these books is always on one of the lady's maids to King Henry VIII's flavor of the moment. His breaking ties with Rome irrevocably changed the course of history, but the same could be said of the women's lives he touched as a result of that split. Gilt followed young Catherine Howard's rise to the queenship and her demise. (She was wife #5.) Tarnish followed a beguiling Anne Boleyn's rise to power. (For this book, the author took us back to Henry's second wife.) Brazen picks up at the end of young Anne's reign and her fall from grace, but it also depicted a friendship between Anne and her cousin and lady's maid Mary Howard and the heroine of our story.

When we first meet Mary, she is fourteen and about to marry Henry FitzRoy, King Henry VIII's illegitimate son, also only fourteen. And then the two are kept apart and not allowed to consummate the marriage for fear that it would bring illness to young FitzRoy if he was not mature enough when the deed was done. This meant that poor Mary's situation was always in flux, never knowing whether the King had other plans for his only son and planned to annul the marriage in favor of better partnerships.

That part is all true. Where Longshore deviates from the script is the actual relationship that develops between Mary and Fitz. Obviously, Mary had little power to control her future, but she did endeavor to love the man she was essentially forced to marry. With the help of her brother -- Fitz's best friend and boyhood companion -- and Mary's own friends Madge and Margaret, Mary and Fitz were able to spend a little time together and get to know one another, forming a bond despite the King's wishes. I loved how their awkward first encounters paved the way for some unbelievably swoony moments later on in the book.

And though I did know how their story would end, I was glad for those moments of happiness for them, especially considering how meddlesome both of their families were. As I said before, women were just used as pawns to strengthen alliances and in other business dealings, but the same can be said of illegitimate sons. Mary never had a hope of pleasing her mother, but her marriage to Fitz was everything her father could have dreamed of considering his aspirations to make Mary a queen. Or it could have been, had Mary done as he'd asked and gone against the King's wishes. But none of that compares to the demands the King made on young FitzRoy. Fitz wanted a father, but the King never deigned to be such to his only son. All the boy wanted to do was escape all of the court intrigue and be allowed to love his wife, but Henry VIII never saw fit to grant him that wish. Without the love of their parents that they so desired, Mary and Fitz took comfort in each other.

That's when things got interesting and quite delicious...until they took a turn toward heart-breaking. History -- or should I say the King -- wasn't particularly kind to any of Henry VIII's wives, nor to any of their lady's maids, and Mary is no exception. Nor were her friends. But Mary was quite a strong girl, and through it all -- family squabbles, Kingly dictates, and royal beheadings -- she held by her convictions and remained the good-hearted girl she'd always strived to be. The story Katherine Longshore presented here may be mostly fictitious, but I choose to believe that some good came from Henry's blasphemy, even if history is a cruel mistress. And because of that, Brazen will remain my favorite novel in this series...well, at least until the next book she writes.

GIF it to me straight:

Yep. Pretty much. But also...

About the Author:

I've always been a writer. I've been writing stories since I learned how to hold a pencil, asking my dad how to spell words while I worked under the bar stools at our kitchen counter.

In the course of my life, I've worked as a dishwasher, lingerie seller, coffee barista, cake decorator, ship's steward, video rental clerk, freelance journalist, travel agent, waitress, contracts manager, bookseller and Montessori preschool teacher.

But in writing for teens, I've finally found my calling.

And through writing, I am able to encompass all my loves. Becoming a character made of words. Exploring new worlds. And living history.

Find Katherine:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads