The Tudor Fair Blog
Slice of Life in Spain: We have a Huerta
New development on life in Spain. This summer we will be working in our huerta (vegetable garden). Everyone in Spain seems to either have a garden or belong to a community garden. Our rental house has lots of land with olive trees, and there’s room for a big garden, and…
Summing up Shakespeare in Three Simple Thoughts
My most recent Renaissance English History Podcast was a short intro into the life of Shakespeare, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of his death. I had been extremely negligent in not talking about Shakespeare before. It’s simply because my interests – which have driven the sporadic nature of my podcast…
Nerja Caves Should be on any Andalusian Itinerary
Today we drove two hours to Nerja, a sleepy town about 40 minutes north of Malaga. Under ordinary circumstances, I wouldn’t think about going there. They have a pretty cool bridge, but it doesn’t have much on the bridge in Ronda, close to where I live, so it wouldn’t appeal…
How to Tell Your Story and Give Life to your Novel
I haven’t written much lately because Sideways and Backwards, my novel, went live on April 15, and I was furiously working up to that. Followed by a much-needed refresher break afterwards. While this wasn’t the first book I self published, it was the first one I did under my name, and the…
Introduction to Shakespeare’s Life
(Remember, if you like this show, there are two main ways you can support it. First (and free!) you can leave a review on iTunes. It really helps new people discover the show. Second, you can support the show financially by becoming a patron on Patreon for as little as…
Five Things About Jasper Tudor You Really Will Want to Know (if you don’t already)
In my latest episode of the Renaissance English History Podcast I talked to Melita Thomas of Tudor Times about Jasper Tudor, uncle to Henry VII and perhaps the true Kingmaker of the 15th century. I hadn’t know much about Jasper, other than what I’ve read in historical fiction (there is a lovely…
How to Give Away an Audiobook as a Preorder Freebie
The story of my novel release continues. This week I officially launched my Preorder Push. If you don’t know yet, preorders are useful because they all count towards your first week of sales at once, which can help push you into the charts. Obviously this isn’t a long term marketing strategy –…
An American in Andalusia: A Legal Residency Saga
As most of you know, I currently live in Andalusia, in southern Spain. What I’ve never really written that much about was the paperwork hoops we had to jump through in order to become legal residents. If you are an American and you want to move to Spain, you will…
How the Protestant Reformation Made Elizabethan Theater
Last week I got podcasty with Elizabethan Theater, which is appropriate considering Shakespeare’s birthday is coming up. I’ll be doing several episodes on the theater – this was a general introduction to this great Elizabethan institution, and then my next episodes will be more focused on Shakespeare, Marlowe, Burbage, and…
Haec Dies! Music for rebirth and renewal.
Every once in a while there’s a piece of music that paints such a beautiful picture of happiness, rebirth, renewal, and the essence of Easter, that you just have to get up and dance a jig. That’s what Byrd’s Haec Dies does for me. Latin for This is the Day…
Tudor Book Bundle Giveaway
To celebrate my partnership with Tudor Times, I’m running a book bundle giveaway! This time it’s historical fiction! Check it out and enter here, and good luck! https://www.englandcast.com/giveaways/tudor-fiction-book-bundle/
How to Self-Publish a Book in a Week
Yep, in case anyone is wondering, I do indeed have a lot of creative projects on the go right now. It’s been a study in project management keeping them all going, to be honest, and I’m truly glad that some of them are wrapping up soon. It will free up…