Category: News Page 30 of 32

Another Cup of Coffee Clothing Range!!

On March 18, 2014

To celebrate my romantic novel Another Cup of Coffee, I’m pleased to announce the launch of a brand new t-shirt and hoodie range in its honour!!

A huge thanks to Kev Mitnik for designing these wonderful tops for me!! They come in a variety of cuts, sizes and colours, and are available for both men and women.

You can purchase all these products from RedBubble via this link- http://www.redbubble.com/people/mitnik/works/11686283-another-cup-of-coffee?p=t-shirt&ref=work_carousel_work_portfolio_1

Happy shopping!!

Jenny x

Accidentally plotting a murder…

By Jenny Kane

On March 17, 2014

In Blog, News

The last thing I expected I’d be doing during the drafting of my latest romantic novel, Romancing Robin Hood was plotting my first murder- and yet, that is exactly what I’ve been doing over the past few days.

Perhaps, with a legendary outlaw in the title, it isn’t so surprising that I have found myself sorting out the finer points of a murder mystery- and yet I didn’t see this coming.

Whenever I begin a new novel, I have plenty of ideas, sketch out a plotline, and cobble together a synopsis, but at the same time I very much like my characters to take hold of the story themselves. I enjoy travelling with them, and being as surprised (hopefully) as my readers will be when they read my finished work.

Although Romancing Robin Hood is a contemporary romance, it also contains a secondary story about a fourteenth century criminal gang- the Folvilles. This family, based in Ashby-Folville in Leicestershire, were a group who I researched in-depth when I was a student many moons ago. Of the lower nobility, they took crime (both violent and otherwise), as a way of life.

My latest novels Fourteenth century protagonist Mathilda, is getting to know the Folville family rather better than she would have liked… (you’ll see!!) As well as living with them, she suddenly finds herself under a very frightening type of suspicion…

I must confess, I’m rather enjoying weaving this sub plot around the main romance of the modern part of Romancing Robin Hood.

I had no idea killing someone off could be so much fun!! It’s like doing a jigsaw from in the inside out, while having no idea where the corners are…I’m loving it- but whether you’ll work out who did it before Mathilda does…

I’m hoping not…but we will see…

Happy reading,

Jenny x

Who’s Gonna Tell The Kids?

By Jenny Kane

On March 12, 2014

In Blog, News

Who’s gonna tell the kids?

By Richard Wagner, M.Div., Ph.D.

“People’s deepest fears about death and dying often spring straight from a traumatic childhood incident or misshapen belief about the end of life that was passed on to them when they were kids.”

I often talk about how postponing any thoughtful consideration of our death till it’s too late, can have disastrous consequences for us in terms of preparing for the inevitable. I addressed how our death-denying culture provides precious few opportunities for us to deal healthily with our mortality before it comes crashing in on us.

Why is dealing with death so hard for us? Early childhood messages about death sure don’t help. Think phantoms, skeletons, things that go bump in the night, and specter of hell and damnation. From a young age, most of us have had it drilled into our heads that we shouldn’t ask questions or even talk about death because it’s either inappropriate, it’ll bring bad luck, or worse, hasten death.

How many times, as a child, did a relative, family friend, or even a beloved family pet simply disappear, never to be heard from or spoken of again? Or perhaps you were told that the absent loved one is now in heaven or asleep with the angels, the “D” word being avoided like Aunt Agnes’s infamous tuna surprise? Or maybe, when you were a kid, you were told that someone you knew had died, but that you wouldn’t be able to go to the funeral because that was no place for kids. And how much of the confusion, bewilderment, and unresolved grief from your childhood are you still carrying around with you today? Is it any wonder that, when faced with the prospect of our own death, we often feel like we’ve been ordered to belt out our swan song without ever having an opportunity to learn the tune.

In the first chapter of my book, The Amateur’s Guide To Death And Dying, I ask my readers to confront head-on the un-golden silence that surrounds the end of life. I invite them to consider the early messages they got about death and dying. I ask; how old were you when you first heard about or witnessed these things? What were the messages you picked up about death and dying from the movies or television? People often report that their deepest fears about death spring straight from a traumatic childhood incident or misshapen belief about the end of life that was passed on to them when they were kids. And, not surprisingly, most people report that they continue to carry these fears with them as adults.

I believe that’s criminal. I also believe that there is a better way to handle this delicate matter with young people than avoiding it, sidestepping it, or perpetuating a misconception. I believe we can break the vicious cycle of our culture’s death phobia by refusing to contaminate another generation with it. It would take a concerted effort, of course, and it would mean that we would have to resolve ourselves of our own fears first, but I believe it’s doable.

A good place to begin this effort is with the stories we read to and tell our children. Stories, both written and recited, become the basis of our children’s understanding of the world. Stories contribute to their language development as well as their critical thinking, and coping skills. Death and grief are particularly thorny subjects to communicate to children, not because our children are incapable of grasping the message, but because we, the adult storytellers, are often unprepared for, or uncomfortable with, the topics ourselves.

To address this problem, I developed a workshop titled: Exploring Death and Grief Through the Medium of the Children’s Story. In this workshop I help adults choose age specific messaging and images for their storytelling. I help them mold the basic concepts about death and bereavement into the arc of their story. And finally, I offer the workshop attendees tips on writing and illustrating their own story with the kids in their life.

By way of example, I share with my audience my latest children’s story, Longfellow And The Deep Hidden Woods. (http://www.hushpuppybooks.com/our-books/longfellow-and-the-deep-hidden-woods/) This is the story of Longfellow, the bravest and noblest wiener dog in the world. As my story begins, Longfellow is a puppy learning how to be a good friend to his human companions; old Henry and Henry’s nurse Miss O’weeza Tuffy. By the end of the story, Longfellow has grown old himself, but he is still ready for one final adventure. What happens in between throws a tender light on the difficult truths of loss and longing as well as on our greatest hopes. Curiously enough, all the adults who have read my story say they think it’s actually a book for adults. Maybe so! I can be really subversive like that.

Writing and illustrating a children’s story with your kids and grandkids can be an amazing bonding experience for both the adult and the child, but this is especially true when the topics are death and bereavement. It’s a project that will open the door to a life-long appreciation for and the affirmation of life, especially it’s final season. The discussion that will be part of your story-writing project will also help you reshape the coming generation’s perceptions about the end of life. It may also help you rethink the early message you received about death and dying when you were a kid.

My workshop ends with one proviso. I caution the adults in my workshop not to wait until there’s a pressing need for the story writing or telling. I encourage them to start now, before grandpa or the beloved family pet is dead. I suggest that they get a jump on this project right away. Because, if they do, it won’t appear to their kids like they are trying to play catch up when death comes calling. I mean think about it; we don’t hold off teaching young people arithmetic till they get their first job making change at the grocery or the fast food counter, right?

Try to imagine how writing a story about death and grief with your kids or grandkids will change the trajectory of their life in terms of their understanding of this fundamental fact of life. Imagine if someone asks your kids or grand kids, twenty or forty years from now, what their earliest memories about death and dying are. Surely they will think back fondly on the time they spent with you as you helped them understand the marvelous cycle of life.

Will this one exercise inoculate your kids or grand kids from all the culturally induced fears, apprehensions and superstitions that abound in our death-phobic society? Probably not! But as the old adage goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

****

Many many thanks to you Richard for visiting today.

I have had the privilege of reading Longfellow already- it’s a great book, with some simply gorgeous illustrations.

If you’d like to buy Longefellow and the Deep Hidden Woods, it is available from many retailers including…

Amazon UK- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Longfellow-Hidden-Woods-Richard-Wagner-ebook/dp/B00HAPZR92/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393953970&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=longfellow+and+the+deep+dark+woods

Amazon.com- http://www.amazon.com/Longfellow-Hidden-Woods-Richard-Wagner-ebook/dp/B00HAPZR92/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393954050&sr=1-1&keywords=longfellow+and+the+deep+hidden+woods

***

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny x

Robin Hood: A Very Mini Medieval and Tudor Ballad History

By Jenny Kane

On February 21, 2014

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, crime, Fiction, Historical fiction, News

I admit it- I had a lot of fun writing my latest novel, Romancing Robin Hood. It gave me the chance to take a self indulgent trip down memory lane, and dig out all my PhD notes on the ballad history behind the Robin Hood legend. Although my novel is a modern contemporary romance, it also contains a second story- a medieval mystery which has more than a hint of the Robin Hood’s about it.

The earliest balladeers sang tales of Robin Hood long before they were written down, and audiences through history have all had different ideas of what Robin Hood was like in word, action, and appearance. Every writer, film maker, and poet ever since the first tales were spoken, has adapted the outlaw figure to fit their own imagination.

The Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode

The earliest mention found (to date), of the name Robin Hood appears in the poem The Vision of Piers Plowman, which was written by William Langland in c.1377.

A long ballad, Piers Plowman was a protest against the harsh conditions endured by the poor in the Fourteen Century. Not only did it mention Robin Hood, but makes reference to he outlaw gang, the Folvilles, who research suggests were an influence on those whose exploits wrote the Robin Hood ballads.

“And some ryde and to recovere that unrightfully was wonne:

He wised hem wynne it ayein wightnesses of handes,

And fecchen it from false men with Folvyles lawes.”

The Folville family were incredibly dangerous, influential, and had great impact on the Midlands of the UK in the Fourteenth Century. I’ll be introducing this family of brothers to you properly very soon; for they are something of an obsession for historian Dr Grace Harper- the lead character in Romancing Robin Hood.

Robin Hood and the Monk

In 1450 the earliest single short ballad, Robin Hood and the Monk, was committed to paper, but it wasn’t until 1510 that the original story (Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode), was recorded in its entirety.

With the arrival of the printing press in Tudor and Elizabethan times, all of the most popular stories we recognise today were recorded for prosperity. Some of these stories had medieval roots, but many were were brand new pieces. The Tudor audience was as keen for fresh tales containing their favourite heroes as we are today. These ‘new’ tales included Robin Hood and Gisborne (c.1500) and Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar (c.1550) – who became known as Friar Tuck.

The Tudors loved the stories of Robin Hood. He was more popular then than he is now. Tudor documents are littered with mentions of Robin Hood’s all over Britain. For example-

– in 1497 Roger Marshall called himself Robin Hood, and lead a riot of 200 men in Staffordshire.

– in 1509, ten Robin Hood plays were banned in Exeter by the city council, as they had become a public nuisance.

Robin Hood’s most famous Tudor fan was Henry VIII himself. In fact, apart from hunting, eating, and getting married, Henry’s favourite hobby was acting. Sometimes he dressed up as Robin Hood. The king would wear a mask, and his audience had to pretend they didn’t know it was him, and had to look surprised when he revealed his true identity at the end of the play.

In 1510 Henry VIII and eleven of his nobles dressed as Robin Hood and broke into the Queen’s private rooms, apparently giving her the fright of her life! (Up to that point anyway!)

Thank you for letting me share a little of my Robin Hood passion with you today- be warned, there will be more on the subject very soon….

Romancing Robin Hood is available now on Nook, Kobo, Kindle and in paperback from all good retailers, including-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Romancing-Robin-Hood-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B00M4838S2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407428558&sr=8-1&keywords=romancing+robin+hood

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

A Romantic Read For Valentines Day

By Jenny Kane

On February 14, 2014

In Blog, News

Happy Valentines Day!!

I thought, as a Valentines Treat, I’d share a romantic extract from Another Cup of Coffee with you today!

****

…Amy was nervous, more nervous than when she’d caught up with Rob on her arrival in London.

Paul was late. She examined the inside of the intricate medieval stone work opposite her. The doorway to St Martins-in-the-Fields wasn’t easy to spot, Amy had walked past it by mistake before she’d come in, and she’d been here before. Maybe the British Museum would have been a better place to meet, or the Victoria and Albert? Amy glanced at the entrance for the tenth time in as many minutes. Paul might not even recognise her; after all, it had been a long time since they’d seen each other.

Her drink was already half gone. Amy checked her phone again. No messages. Giving up, she dug into her bag, bringing out the ever present novel.

Paul had spotted Amy as soon as he’d manoeuvred his six-foot-two frame through the low stone doorway. He’d been confident she would be in the café’s furthest corner, and sure enough, there she was. Amy had always adopted a position where she could hide. As he watched her, Paul wondered if it was even something she was conscious of.

There was a coffee cup by Amy already, and the book her nose was stuck into was a paperback of the more ponderous variety of classic. Most of the girls he met these days wouldn’t even have considered picking it up.

She was definitely a bit slimmer than he remembered, and her hair was sleeker, tethered back into two shoulder-length bunches that made her look younger than she was. Amy hadn’t managed to get them level, and one bunch was noticeably higher than the other. Paul found he was dying to straighten them out for her.

Her clothes were the same as in the old days, though; knowing Amy, Paul thought with a grin, they might well be exactly the same. Jeans and a stripy blue jumper, probably with a T-shirt beneath, very probably a black one. The only really noticeable difference between now and then was that she was wearing knee-length boots with a wedge heel rather than trainers.

Rob was right. Essentially, Amy Crane hadn’t changed a bit.

Suddenly aware that she was being observed, Amy looked up from her book.

‘Hello!’

Her face broke into a welcoming beam. ‘I thought you might have got lost.’ She stood up and found herself smothered in a massive bear hug. Paul smelt nice; all warm and clean without the overpowering scent of the male perfumes Amy so despised.

‘Tube delays. I couldn’t get a signal down there to let you know.’ Paul felt awkward, not quite sure what to say next, having held her slightly longer than perhaps was normal for a couple of friends. He’d engineered this opportunity to get her alone, and now he was here, he was tongue-tied.

Amy unwittingly came to his rescue. ‘You getting a coffee then?’

‘Yes, sure. You want a top-up? Black I assume?’

‘Yes please.’

‘Any cake?’

‘No thanks.’

Amy watched Paul flirt with the Polish girl behind the counter as he placed his request. He was taller than she remembered. His black hair was still cropped very short, but it wasn’t as severe as the shaved style he’d favoured as a student. His jeans were blue rather than black, and his shirt, although crumpled, was smarter than the off-white T-shirts she’d always associated with him. Smarter. He was definitely smarter. A huge brown overcoat, which probably weighed a ton, covered the back view of him almost completely, the heels of his Doc Martens only just visible below the hem.

How come she hadn’t noticed how attractive he was back then? Amy felt taken aback at the alien notion, and abruptly pushed the idea away. Yet that hug …

Amy reined in and dismissed her wild flight of fancy as Paul returned with their refreshments. After they’d covered a wide range of comfortable reminiscences and laughed heartily at their past selves, Amy brought the conversation back up-to-date.

‘So, is anyone special waiting for you back on site?’

Paul pushed his cup aside. ‘No. No one’s twiddling their trowel and pining for my return.’

‘That’s not like you.’

Paul regarded Amy as if she was nuts. ‘I’m not stuck in a timewarp, Amy. I’m thirty-four. That pretty much makes me the father figure. I’m the oldest guy on site by at least five years. It’s the twenty-something’s that have the trowel-twiddlers waiting for them these days.’

‘But surely …’ Amy was genuinely shocked. She was so sure that things would have been just as she’d left them. ‘You must meet heaps of nice people.’

‘Sure I do. I have many friends, both male and female, right across the world.’

Amy wasn’t quite sure why she pushed further, ‘But no one special?’

‘Not since uni.’ Paul sighed, not sure if he was ready to go where this conversation might take them.

‘Uni?’ Amy couldn’t believe it. This was Paul. The guy every girl had wanted to date back then. Well, every girl bar her. Yet none of the string of young women he’d dated had ever lasted more than a fortnight, and for the life of her, Amy couldn’t remember if Paul had especially liked any of them. ‘Who was that then? You never said at the time.’

Paul hesitated, before taking the easy way out, ‘You never met her. Let’s go and explore. Gallery, museum, or a walk in the park?’

Amy was disappointed by his answer, but accepted it for now. She looked at her watch; it had already gone one. ‘How about we nip into the National Portrait Gallery, have a quick mooch around and then grab a bit of lunch.’

‘Good idea, is there a good café in there?’

‘Two; but the Portrait Restaurant is fantastic, you get views right across London. I went in with my friend Kit before Christmas.’ Amy paused. ‘It’s a bit expensive though. We could go into the Lounge area, that’s better price-wise, although maybe we shouldn’t …’ Uncertainty took hold, as Amy’s words trailed off.

Paul intercepted her rambling, ‘Amy, this is my treat.’

‘But archaeologists earn crap money.’ Amy blushed as she blurted out the sentence.

‘Oh thanks!’ Paul laughed at her, ‘Although, I can’t argue. However, I have news on that front. Come on, I have heaps to tell you yet. Show me these amazing views of yours, and tell me about your new friends.’

They were in luck. After a companionable hour soaking in the diverse art work, they found a two-seater table available at the very edge of the lounge bar. After purchasing a glass of white wine each, they sat in silence for a moment, staring at the world through the window. It was all there. London. Everything the tourist could hope to see in one complete eyeful. St Paul’s, the Eye, Big Ben. Everything.

‘It quite takes the breath away Amy. All that history.’

Without turning from the view, Amy ran through their personal history as she replied. ‘I knew you’d appreciate it.’

The waiter came over and took their order for two bowls of wild mushroom soup and homemade bread, before leaving them to soak up the panorama. Amy was the first to break the silence, ‘You were going to tell me something?’

‘Ah, right,’ he put down his own glass and sat back in his seat, ‘I will, but first I want to know if you saw sense and took the management post you were offered?’

‘I did,’ Amy took a draft of alcohol, ‘thanks to you.’

‘Me?’

‘You helped me clarify a few things. I was so sure I had been set up, I felt feeling manipulated, but you made me see it wasn’t really like that.’

‘Of course it wasn’t.’

‘My friends were just trying to do their best for me.’

Paul was pleased, ‘Good. I’m glad. Now I can press ahead with my plans.’

Amy was intrigued, and more than a little impatient, ‘Tell me then!’

‘As I said, I’m no spring chicken on the excavation circuit. If I’m not actually running the dig, then I’m at least responsible for a good part of it.’

‘That’s great. Your CV must be excellent. You always were the only one who could tell an ordinary stone from a Neolithic axe-head.’

Paul smiled in acknowledgement, ‘I’ve seen the world Amy. I’ve found and seen all sorts of marvellous things. Written thousands of reports, drawn a million diagrams, been cited in heaps of books, but I’ve had enough.’

Amy was startled. ‘But Paul, it’s your life!’

‘Yes, it is. But I’m fast heading towards my forties, Amy. I have, as I’ve said, friends everywhere, but no one waits for me when I do get home. Only my parents miss me if a dig is extended at the last minute. It’s just not enough anymore.’

Like me, Amy thought. There’s no one at home, not for me anyway. ‘So, what will you do?’

Paul returned his gaze to the view; the people below looked tiny as they scuttled about, oblivious to the fact that they were being observed. ‘Is it nice living in London?’

‘Bit expensive I guess, and a touch overwhelming sometimes, but I like it.’ Amy began to nibble at the soft granary bread which a waiter had placed in the centre of their table.

‘Rob loves it, and I guess Jack does. I suppose the night life suits him.’ Paul verbally pounced as Amy reddened at the mention of Jack’s name, ‘What is it? What’s he done to you now?’

‘Nothing.’ Amy put up a hand, ‘Really, nothing. I’ll tell you all about it later. Go on with what you were telling me about London. Are you coming here to work? Are you?’ Amy felt as if she was on tenterhooks as she waited for his answer.

She seemed so eager; Paul felt more hopeful than he had dared allow himself to before. ‘I have the chance to. I wanted to know what you thought.’

‘And what Rob thinks, of course,’ Amy added.

‘Oh yes, and Rob.’ …

***

If you fancy finding what finds out next, or how much had to happened before Amy and Paul caught up with each other after years of being apart, you can buy Another Cup of Coffee as an e-book or a paperback from…

Amazon UK- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Cup-Coffee-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783751126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377605533&sr=8-1&keywords=another+cup+of+coffee

Amazon US – http://www.amazon.com/Another-Cup-Coffee-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783751126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377605667&sr=8-1&keywords=another+cup+of+coffee+jenny+kane

I hope you’re being treated well on this day of romance and snuggles.

Happy Valentines Day,

Jenny xx

Valentines Day- It’s All Chaucer’s Fault

By Jenny Kane

On February 12, 2014

In Blog, News

If it hadn’t been for Geoffrey Chaucer, then it is unlikely that we would connect the celebration of St Valentines Day with romance and love.

In 1382 Chaucer wrote the Parlement of Foules to honour the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia, when they were both only 15 years old. The poem contained the lines…

For this was on seynt Volantynys day, Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

[“For this was on St. Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”]

Prior to the publication of Chaucer’s poem, Saint Valentine’s Day had been a religious celebration of a martyr (either Valentine of Rome or Valentine of Terni), and held no romantic links at all. However, writing at a time when romance and courtly love was at its most fashionable, Chaucer’s work quickly caught the public imagination.

Despite February being an unusual month for Chaucer to have written about birds mating, he wasn’t the only medieval author to have positioned such Spring-like antics so early in the year. Three other medieval authors centered their love poems on the allegory of birds mating in connection with St. Valentine’s Day around the same time; Otton de Grandson from Savoy, a knight called Pardo from Valencia, and the English poet John Gower.

Although it is unclear which of these other early Valentine poems came first, they were all widely read, and the connection between St Valentine’s Day on 14^th February, and the joys of chivalrous romance strengthened and grew so much, that soon, the martyred saint himself was all but forgotten.

By the Eighteen century in England, the 14^th February had firmly evolved into an occasion when partners express their love for each other by presenting flowers, chocolates, and other gifts.

In the Nineteenth century, the sending of Valentines cards was so popular that they were becoming a mass produced item; especially in America and Europe, where the tradition continues to expand to this day.

How you’ve enjoyed this very potted history!!

Happy Valentine’s Week,

Jenny xxx

Comfort Reads – What’s Your Book Chocolate?

By Jenny Kane

On February 10, 2014

In Blog, News

I’ve always been a big reader, and it is rare for me to have fewer than four books cued up on my bedside table ready for me to get stuck into.

My literary tastes are wide and diverse- I adore Terry Pratchett. I love Scarlett Thomas, Katie Fforde, Judy Astley and Lisa Jewell. I can’t miss a Colin Dexter or an Elizabeth George, and Arianna Franklin’s work fascinates me- and all for very different reasons.

Sometimes though, rather than tackling a brand new read, you just need some book chocolate. A story, which perhaps you’ve read twenty times before, but which is guaranteed to make you feel better. A book to curl up with on a cold winter day, after a bad day, or when you just need to read something that you don’t have to think about, because you already know everything is going to be okay!

My number one- “Oh hell it’s been a crap day I need to feel better book”- is The Rose Revived by Katie Fforde. My copy is in a pretty poor state of repair, and several of the pages are stuck back in with sellotape! I know exactly what is going to happen- and I love that fact. I love that I can read the pages with the feeling that I’m indulging in a coffee and an extra bar of chocolate with friends.

When I was a child my book equivalent of a comfy pair of slippers was Winnie-The-Pooh, and as a teenager it was The Hooded Man (Robin of Sherwood) by Anthony Horowitz (a fact that won’t surprise you in light of my current WIP- Romancing Robin Hood!!)

When I decided to take the leap from writing erotica to contemporary romance, my main aim was to produce a book that would make people feel better. To write a story that would sit on a bookshelf, ready to be pulled out in a ‘I need cheering up’ emergency- but without being twee!

So you can imagine how delighted I was when I braved a look at Another Cup of Coffee on Amazon the other day to find this comment nestled inside a 5 star review- “…its like a hug in a book…” (The full review is available here- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Cup-Of-Coffee-contemporary-ebook/dp/B00EVYZC7M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1390980980&sr=1-1&keywords=another+cup+of+coffee )

Whether any copy of Another Cup of Coffee will ever get into such a loved mess as my volume of The Rose Revived remains to be seen- but I hope so!!

Do you have a favourite book to cheer you up, or relax you after a tough day? I’d love to hear about it.

Happy Reading

Jenny xx

Blurb Reveal- Romancing Robin Hood

By Jenny Kane

On February 5, 2014

In Blog, News

I’m delighted to be able to announce that the writing of my next Jenny Kane, Romancing Robin Hood, novel is well under way!

This time I’m taking a step away from the Pickwicks’ Coffee Shop setting in Richmond, that has been the home to my last two works (Another Cup of Coffee and Another Cup of Christmas), and am moving northwards to the Midlands of England- specifically Leicester, Nottingham, and Sherwood forest…

Blurb

What happens when your love is stuck in the past…

Dr Grace Harper has loved the stories of Robin Hood ever since she first saw them on TV as a girl. Now, with her fortieth birthday just around the corner, she’s a successful academic in Medieval History, with a tenured position at a top university.

But Grace is in a bit of a rut. She’s supposed to be writing a textbook on a real-life medieval gang of high-class criminals – the Folvilles – but she keeps being drawn into the world of the novel she’s secretly writing – a novel which entwines the Folvilles with her long-time love of Robin Hood – and a feisty young girl named Mathilda, who is the key to a medieval mystery…

Meanwhile, Grace’s best friend Daisy – who’s as keen on animals as Grace is on the Merry Men – is unexpectedly getting married, and a reluctant Grace is press-ganged into being her bridesmaid. As Grace sees Daisy’s new-found happiness, she starts to re-evaluate her own life. Is her devotion to a man who may or may not have lived hundreds of years ago really a substitute for a real-life hero of her own? It doesn’t get any easier when she meets Dr Robert Franks – a rival academic who Grace is determined to dislike but finds herself being increasingly drawn to…

****

Robin Hood Statue – Nottingham

Part contemporary romance, and part historical mystery adventure, Romancing Robin Hood should (I hope!!), raise a smile, warm the heart, and keep you on the edge of your seat all at the same time!!!

More news soon!

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

Towering Moment

By Jenny Kane

On January 28, 2014

In Blog, News

A weekend off work is a rare thing in the Kane household. If I’m not working then my husband is, and the children are forever drowning in homework. So it was a treat to head off bright and early on Saturday morning to London to visit a National landmark I have so far neglected in my quest to visit every castle in the UK.

The Tower of London was built on the instructions of William the Conqueror shortly after his capture of the English throne in 1066.
I thought I knew what to expect when we got there. The White Tower full of armour, ravens and the famous macabre torture devices. What I didn’t expect was the sheer size of the palace and its grounds, slap bang in the middle of the capital city.

The vast amount of armour on display in the White Tower is mind blowing
To see the actual armour worn by King Henry VIII was incredible enough- but never will I forget my daughter turning to me and asking, at the top of her voice, ‘Why did he have penis armour?’ And nor will the bloke who was standing behind us, who choked on the bottle of water he was drinking at the time!

Just standing on the notorious scaffold green, it is so easy to imagine the fear of those waiting to meet their fate at the hand of a sword wielding executioner. The very walls of the Bloody Tower hum with the feel of hopelessness and a stubborn desperation of belief. The figures of Anne Boleyn, Jane Boleyn, and the heart breakingly manipulated Lady Jane Grey, will forever be remembered for going to their deaths there.

It’s no secret that I am passionate about history, and discovering how the actions of our ancestors got us to where we are today- which brings me to why I’m sharing my weekend away with you on my blog. In the Bloody Tower, where many a prisoner was held while their lives were literally held in the balance, the walls are etched with scratch after scratch of graffiti.

Some of these messages are pleas to God for help, others are words of bravado and defiance, while some simply engraved their names and or the dates of their incarceration. One of these names belonged to a man called Thomas Folvill. (The photograph shows a reproduction of the original marks that are too faint to photograph properly)

So what you say?

Well, the Folville family had a long history of violence and criminal behaviour- so long in fact that it can be traced right back to the time of the Robin Hood ballads…

Was this Thomas Folvill part of the same side of the family as the notorious Fourteenth Century? I intend to find out…

And why do you need to know about the Folville family at all?

Well- when my next novel comes out, you’ll find out!

Happy reading,

Jenny x

Author Patrick Whitehurst Gets His Mystery On

By Jenny Kane

On January 22, 2014

In Blog, News

Hi, everyone! Thank you to Jenny Kane for having me on her site to talk about the mystery genre and writing – two subjects dear to my heart.

I think most of us have a special place for mysteries, whether that’s watching “Sherlock” or reading “Gone Girl,” which we’re all hoping will be a kick-ass movie this year.

I got into mysteries in the 1970s as a kid, with “Columbo” and “The Rockford Files,” then “Simon and Simon” and “Magnum P.I.” in the 80s. From there I veered into print mysteries, where I fell in love with Sherlock Holmes and Poirot, then Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe. Pulp novels quickly became a fascination with me, from Tarzan to The Shadow, and later with modern pulps like The Executioner, The Destroyer and the Nick Carter: Killmaster series.

These days I read nearly everything I can get my hands on, including favorites like Stieg Larsson and James Ellroy, and many, many others. And, while I get turned on by all of them, I’ve found many recent works lack a certain element of fun and, on top of that, a thrilling sense of adventure. I decided to change that when I sat down to write the Barker Mysteries.

Barker is sort of a blend of characters: Holmes meets Tarzan in a way – but he is a man with no memory of his past. He lives with a pack of dogs under Old Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, California, and ends up in various situations, from kidnappings to murder plots and everything in between. More than anything, I wanted “Monterey Noir” and “Monterey Pulp” to bring readers into a world of adventure and intrigue, with a little romantic flair thrown in, and not leave them too “heavy” when it’s over.

I also chose to make my lead character a homeless man in the hopes that I could present that segment of our population in a way that might surprise readers. I created a strong, handsome detective who lives on the fringes of society. He’s a homeless man, but not someone to pity.

Both Noir and Pulp hit Amazon and other digital novel sites in 2013. Currently, “Monterey Confidential,” the third entry in the series, sits on my desktop as a work in progress. Unlike the first two, which contain a number of short mysteries that connect to the larger story, Confidential will be a single, longer story that brings Barker face to face with a man from his cloudy past. He’ll also leave his comfort zone of California, for the hot desert of Arizona.

And that’s the great thing about mysteries, whether fun or heavy, the genre is wide open – and as popular as ever – something I should probably thank Benedict Cumberbatch for providing!

****

About Patrick Whitehurst

Patrick Whitehurst is an award-winning journalist, artist and author of the Barker Mysteries, first released in 2013 by Deerstalker Editions – a small press publisher based out of San Francisco.

Besides Monterey Noir and Monterey Pulp, he’s written two regional non-fiction books for Arcadia Publishing in their Images of America series. His books, “Williams” and “Grand Canyon’s Tusayan Village,” focus on the rich history found in the two Grand Canyon gateway communities. His fiction has appeared in various anthologies and newspapers around the country.

Over the years, Whitehurst has served as president for the Northern Arizona Authors Association and worked as a book reviewer for Kirkus Discoveries.

Visit Patrick online at www.patrickwhitehurst.blogspot.com for his thoughts on writing, writers, excerpts, and more.

*****

Many thanks for coming to visit today Patrick!! I love that you love Columbo (one of my earliest TV memories) and Sherlock!! Gotta love a bit of Benedict!!

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

Category: News Page 30 of 32

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