Jenny Kane: Coffee, cupcakes, chocolate and contemporary fiction / Jennifer Ash: Medieval crime with hints of Ellis Peters and Robin Hood

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Reminiscing with Romancing Robin Hood

I admit it- I had an ulterior motive when I wrote my latest novel, Romancing Robin Hood – not only did it give me an excuse to reminisce about my university days- for the novel is set in an around my old stomping ground of Leicester University- but it also gave me an excuse to use the PhD research I did into the legends of Robin Hood while I was there!

This month you can treat yourself to the e-version of Romancing Robin Hood for only 77p or $1.21!!!

Romancing Robin Hood

Last weekend I was lucky enough to find myself in Leicester once again, for a university reunion with a few of my dearest friends. Not only did I enjoy a laugh- a far few glasses of wine- with my friends, I also took myself on a mini tour of the main landmarks within the novel!

This is the Attenborough tour, where as an archaeology and history student I worked very hard- and as a medieval Lecturer, Grace, in Romancing Robin Hood, sits and writing her novel, daydreaming about Robin Hood- and another Robert- when she should be writing a textbook…

Leic- libraryThis in Leicester University’s Library- where I both worked after my student days were over, and where grace spends many an hour reading and researching…

The Victorian new Walk- a beautiful walkway from Leicester University into the city centre…

The New Walk Museum, where I have spent many a happy hour just looking, and where Grace is sent on a blind date by her friend Aggie…

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Thanks for allowing me a little indulgence into my past…I hope you enjoy my part modern, part historical novel. xx

Buy links

E-books

Paperback

UK link- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Romancing-Robin-Hood-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783754257/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1410953128&sr=8-1

Amazon US- http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Robin-Hood-love-story-ebook/dp/B00M4838S2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409936409&sr=8-1&keywords=romancing+robin+hood

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Happy reading

Jenny xx

 

 

Romancing Robin Hood- OUT NOW in Paperback!

Following hot on the heels of its eBook release, I’m proud to be able to announce that my new novel, Romancing Robin Hood is now available in paperback on Amazon, and all good online paperback retailer!!

RRH paperback

Romancing Robin Hood – Blurb

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…

Buy Links

Amazon UK  Paperback

Amazon UK Ebook

Amazon.com Paperback

Amazon.com Ebook

 

Happy reading,

Jenny xxx

 

 

Exciting Times…

Hello lovely readers- my apologies for leaving it so long since I’ve written a blog, but my goodness I’ve been busy busy busy…

Here’s a potted summery of everything that’s going on!

To my great delight, from 18th September my very first contemporary romance, Another Cup of Coffee, will be available, not just via the Internet, but in bookshops!!! So if you fancy a read, and you can’t see it on your local bookshop shelf, don’t be afraid to ask your nearest bookseller- they’ll be able to get a copy in for you!!

E-book Cover

I can’t even begin to describe how excite I am about this! It’s a dream come true, and I can’t wait to spot my first copy of Another Cup of Coffee on a bookshop shelf!! If any of you happen to be in the Devon area, then on 29th September, I’ll be holding a book launch- details here.

As well as getting ready for this re-launch, I have been busily writing a brand new follow up novella to last years seasonal story, Another Cup of Christmas!! I am thrilled at how popular this series is proving to be!! The new novella (so far untitled) will be out in November in good time for Christmas.

christmas mock-up

If that wasn’t enough to keep me out of mischief, my next new full length novel, Romancing Robin Hood, is out in e-format on 5th September!! I’ve been busy making sure it’s all ready to hit the e-shelves. It is already available to pre-order, so if you want to make sure you get your copy the second it hits the Kindle/iTunes world, then you can order your copy from Amazon now!!

Romancing Robin Hood

Oh- and I’ve been working hard sorting out my very first children’s picture book as well (more on that soon!!)

Happy reading everyone.

Jenny xx

 

 

 

 

Pre-Release News: Romancing Robin Hood

The e-format version of my latest novel, Romancing Robin Hood, is out on 5th Sept, and is available for pre-order NOW!!

romancing robin hood

Out as an e-book in September (paperback in October), Romancing Robin Hood is part contemporary romance, and part medieval mystery-

Pre-order your ebook from Amazon UK and Amazon.com 

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…

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Happy reading,

Jenny

xx

A Funny Sort of Heaven

old books

Some people feel at their most relaxed playing sport, others sit watching their favourite television programme; some read, or knit, or sew, or hang-glide, or do whatever it is that floats their boat (including boating), to help them feel, well, like themselves!

I do all these things (apart from the sport, hang-gliding, boating….) OK, I hardly do any of it. I read a lot, watch a bit of TV sometimes, and I can knit when I need to, but what I really like to do, to feel totally at peace and 100% me, is to hide in a room- preferably one that smells ever so slightly musty- that is filled from top to bottom with old books and maps. Not just a library- but an archive.

I admit, it’s not the most obvious place to find inner peace, but for me, to be able to immerse myself in a haven of historical documents is escapism of the highest quality.

History books

To be lost in the Calendar of the Patent Rolls from the fourteenth century (which contain land purchases, and criminal records), or to pour over old maps, records of births and deaths, to feel the satisfaction of tracing the life, death, or (more frequently for me), the criminal career of a figure form the past, is both absorbing and fascinating. It’s like being a time-distanced detective in search of an elusive story from a character long departed.  Or perhaps I’m just an eccentric… (No need to answer that!)

Recently, I had the great pleasure of being take to visit the wonderful resource, the Devon and Exeter Institution, by the ultra lovely, Michael Jecks (yes-THE Michael Jecks!!). This beautiful building houses a historical heaven, and I have every intention of getting back there to soak up the ‘dusty book’ atmosphere at the next possible opportunity! Just being there made me want to write a medieval murder mystery on the spot!

The Devon and Exeter Institution

The Devon and Exeter Institution

For me, one of the joys of writing Romancing Robin Hood, has been revisiting many of the historical texts I grew to know and love (and a few I’d happily never see again- the handwriting was so challenging), when I initially researched the real historical criminals of the fourteenth century for my PhD. I have been like a pig in muck, like some jelly in custard, like my daughter with a pile of chips…. you get the idea!

romancing robin hood

Not that you should expect Romancing Robin Hood to be set in the past- well, not completely in the past. But with its leading lady, Dr Grace Harper, a lecturer in medieval studies who has a serious Robin Hood obsession (and who only technically lives in the present day), how could it be anything but a half modern/half fourteenth century tale…

The release date has been set for October- then you’ll see!

Happy reading everyone…

Jenny xx

Location Research Time

I’ve never been a big researcher. Okay, that’s not entirely true- I used to be a researcher- therefore, when it came to writing the novel Romancing Robin Hood (out late summer 2014), I didn’t have to do any research- because I’d done it all before! Presenting Exhibit A- my PhD!!

PhD page

What I should have said was, I’ve never been big on research when I’m writing my novels, novellas, and short stories. When it comes to my erotica work I’ve always had the knack of knowing what I need to write (I can’t decide if this is a good thing or not, as I certainly don’t have any first hand experience of the BDSM I’d renown for- it’s all instinct!!!), but with my romance work it is a little different.

Anyone who follows my blog will know that I am a serial coffee drinker, and that cafe’s and coffee shops are my home from home. This meant that when it came to writing Another Cup of Coffee and Another Cup of Christmas creating and describing the main location was fairly straight forward. Plus, I shamelessly stole from my own life, people I grew up with, and experiences of life that needed very little research at all.

JK facebook banner

Now however, as I’m about to dive into writing my fourth romance, I can no longer cheat on the research front- I’ve run out of personal experiences to totally and exploit, and consequently I find myself with a list of points to check and double check.

This new novel is to be set in Cornwall, the location of nearly every one of my childhood holidays (okay, so I’m using a tiny bit of real life again), but I am beginning to doubt my memory (old age I suspect!!).

Sennen

So here  I’m sat – on my sofa- wading through old photographs, double checking Google to make sure I have got all the villages, towns, pubs and seaside names I remember from my youth in the right geographical places…and then once I’ve sorted out that, I have to check up how to dismantle a cobblers shop…yes, really…

And the name of this new novel I’m researching?

I’m not telling!! Not yet- you’ll just have to wait and see….

wink

Happy reading everyone!!

Jenny xx

A Musical Effect

When I was a teenager I would listen, hour after hour (via the wonder of my Sony Walkman- remember those?), to the music of Clannad. It will be of no surprise to anyone who regularly reads this blog, to learn that I was first introduced to their music when they composed the theme tune and musical soundtrack to the eighties television series Robin of Sherwood.

RH- Michael and Judi

Each tune was haunting, moving, uplifting, and occasionally beautifully sombre. Looking back now, I can see how their dreamy lyrics and tunes impacted on my imagination- you only have to look at my forthcoming novel, Romancing Robin Hood to see that!

Whenever I got stuck during the writing of my part contemporary and part historical romance, I did what Grace, the lead character in Romancing Robin Hood would have done- I listened to Legend– the aforementioned Clannad soundtrack.

By this time- if you hadn’t already realised- you’ll see that I really am as obsessed with that particular TV series as I claim! (Should it worry me that I can still recite the words from several of the episodes word for word?)

Dr Grace Harper is a figure that grew out of that obsession. It was great fun to take my own historical and literary interest and make it, not only Grace’s life’s work, but takeover her whole life. Before Grace realises it, she’s in her early thirties, has built a dream career on her all consuming hobby, and is poised to write two books all about it- but at what cost? No one is waiting for her when she gets home. After all, what man could ever match up to a legendary hero?

romancing robin hood

I am blessed with two children; both enjoy writing stories, and both spend just as much time listening to music as I did as a teenager. Their musical tastes however, are vastly different to my childhood lyrical preferences. As they immerse themselves in gothic rock I wonder how it will shape their imaginations…I predict many a dark fantasy story leaking from their pens in their future.

Happy Reading,

Jenny xx

 

 

Drafted!

If you heard that unexpected shout of joy about an hour ago- that was me!

For today I finished the draft of my latest novel, Romancing Robin Hood. Of course there is still a long way to go before the story is complete.  I have approximately a month of edits ahead of me. (Well, about two weeks really- but it has to be slotted in between my other jobs!)

romancing robin hood

I have had so much fun writing this story- my second full length romance novel. I was going to say my second “contemporary” romance novel- but in this case that would only be partly true, for my latest work is split over two time streams- the 21st and 14th centuries.

Blurb

Dr Grace Harper is a researcher and lecturer in Medieval History- obsessed about the legend of Robin Hood from an early age, she is in the process of writing her magnum opus- a book all about a real medieval criminal gang, who Grace firmly believes gave birth to the Robin Hood legend. She is also writing a novel about the same subject- but so far only her best friend Daisy knows what she’s up to. If her Head of Department finds out Grace isn’t spending her non-teaching time entirely on her text book, he will not be pleased.

Life, students, and Daisy’s unexpected wedding- for which Daisy has ordered Grace to be bridesmaid- keep getting in the way of Grace’s research into the life of her fourteenth century protagonist – Mathilda.

To add to her distractions, Dr Robert Franks, a new lecturer at a rival University has asked Grace to be an examiner for one of his PhD students. Grace reluctantly agrees- but only because he has access to some original documents that she hopes will take her deeper into Mathilda’s world…

Romancing Robin Hood is not a time slip or time travel story, but two stories running parallel to one another- with a hint of a criminal mystery thrown in… Each tale compliments the other, as Grace’s own life influences the way she writes Mathilda’s story.

Slowly Grace begins to wonder if she has been spending too much time hiding in history, and watching her endless supply of Robin Hood films…maybe her friend Daisy is right- could she be missing out on real life?

Perhaps there is someone real out there she can learn to trust- and maybe even fall in love with in the modern world…

RH- Michael and Judi

Right! I’d better get on with starting those edits then!!

Happy reading,

Jenny x

 

 

 

Robin Hood Research Heaven!!

I am so near to the end of drafting my second full length Jenny Kane novel, Romancing Robin Hood, that my fingers simply can’t move across the keyboard fast enough. I can actually taste the words as they hit the screen. Yet, with just two chapters left to draft I’ve pressed the pause button.

Before I go any further and tie up all the plot threads, it’s time for me to go right back to the beginning and make sure I haven’t contradicted myself, or accidently changed a character’s eye colour (I once read a novel where the leading lady had blue eyes at the beginning and green eyes at the end once- not good!).

Although Romancing Robin Hood is 60% modern contemporary romance, the remaining part is a Fourteenth century adventure. This is the first time I have written any historical fiction, albeit as only part of a story- or a story within a story, to be more precise. Although I am always paranoid about making factual errors within my work, this time I feel the need to be especially careful. As a result my dining table currently can’t be seen beneath this lot!!

RH books 2a

I’m in Robin Hood ‘double checking my research’ heaven! Ever since I was a teenager with a serious outlaw obsession, thanks to Anthony Horowitz’s  wonderful Robin of Sherwood, I have been reading books about Robin Hood- an interest which took me through an A’ level history project, a degree, and a Phd in Medieval ballad literature and crime!

For the past twenty years I’ve been looking for an excuse to go back through all of my old books and notes- and at last I have it!!

I just hope you enjoy reading about Dr Grace Harper and her medieval hero mania, as much as I’m enjoying putting it all together.

romancing robin hood

Here’s the blurb for you…

Dr Grace Harper is a researcher and lecturer in Medieval History- obsessed about the legend of Robin Hood from an early age, she is in the process of writing her magnum opus- a book all about a real medieval criminal gang, who Grace firmly believes gave birth to the Robin Hood legend. She is also writing a novel about the same subject- but so far only her best friend Daisy knows what she’s up to. If her Head of Department finds out Grace isn’t spending her non-teaching time entirely on her text book, he will not be pleased.

Life, students, and Daisy’s unexpected wedding- for which Daisy has ordered Grace to be bridesmaid- keep getting in the way of Grace’s research into the life of her fourteenth century protagonist – Mathilda.

To add to her distractions, Dr Robert Franks, a new lecturer at a rival University has asked Grace to be an examiner for one of his PhD students. Grace reluctantly agrees- but only because he has access to some original documents that she hopes will take her deeper into Mathilda’s world…

****

I’d better get back to it, or you’ll never find out what happens next!

Happy reading,

Jenny x

 

 

 

 

Accidentally plotting a murder…

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.

dagger

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…

history-of-ashby-folville

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

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