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Stephanie Churchill

author of historical-feeling fantasy

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  • Archive

    “Interview my Character” Blog Hop: Marie-Thérèse Vernhes – archive

    July 6, 2021 / No Comments

    Originally posted June 29, 2019 Have a seat, Marie-Thérèse, and thank you for agreeing to this interview. I know you have a busy schedule, and I am humbled that you have taken the time to talk. For the rest of you joining us, I am talking today to Marie-Thérèse Vernhes, a famous opera singer from early 20th century France. There is a new book out now about her life called Overture (L’Alouette trilogy Book 1).  Can you tell us a little bit about your author and why she chose to write your story? Thank you for inviting me today, Stephanie. I do indeed have a busy schedule, and in fact, you have…

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    Loving the Enemy: The Seeds of Revolution

    June 14, 2021

    Low Fantasy: A Genre That Goes Beyond Magic and Dragons

    February 9, 2023

    Book Review: A Time for Swords, by Matthew Harffy

    October 8, 2020
  • Archive,  Writing Inspiration

    Book Inspiration: Raglan Castle

    June 17, 2021 / No Comments

    Originally posted April 17, 2019 A velvety wash of twilight purple cloaked the skies from one horizon to the other as our train of horses and palanquins traversed the sloping causeway into Croilton Castle, the ancestral home of the barons of Cilgaron. Royal pennants snapped in the rising winds carrying the tang of the oncoming rains, the musky yet fresh scent of moist air enveloping us as we reached the great gate. I thanked the gods that we arrived to the safety of this bastion just ahead of the downpour. – The King’s Furies, chapter 37 There is no secret that my books feel more historical than fantasy despite the fantasy label.…

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    Fall 2020 Update – What in the World is Going On?

    October 30, 2020

    Book Review: In the Shadows of Castles, by G.K. Holloway

    February 8, 2023

    Book Review: Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest

    June 8, 2021
  • Archive,  Guest Blog

    Loving the Enemy: The Seeds of Revolution

    June 14, 2021 / No Comments

    Guest post by Dominic Fielder – originally published March 7, 2019 Jekyll and Hyde has been on the GCSE syllabus now for a few years. As much as I enjoy teaching about it, I find myself painfully aware of the brilliance of Robert Louis Stevenson’s prose and his rich vocabulary. Just occasionally I will try and slip ‘slatternly’ and ‘catholicity’ into everyday conversation but you must choose your moments! As the story reaches the final chapter, we at last read Jekyll’s account and begin to feel some sympathy for the man, a luxury never extended to Edward Hyde. Which made me think about the diet of war films and westerns…

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    What is fantasy and where do my books fit in?

    October 20, 2021

    Book Inspiration: Raglan Castle

    June 17, 2021

    “Trad publishing is about sales. If we’re lucky, those books are also good.”

    February 12, 2022
  • Guest Blog,  Archive

    The Year the Swans Came

    June 11, 2021 / No Comments

    Originally posted March 5, 2019 Growing up amongst the ruins of war, four siblings use bridges and cobblestone walkways as a backdrop for their games. Pieter Bader, the eldest, wants to follow in the footsteps of his family, designers of mirrors for royalty since the 17th century, while Maidy, the youngest, dreams of becoming a writer. Her best friend Ruth, who lives next door, dreams of marrying Pieter, only for him to vanish from their lives late one night. Is his disappearance linked to the arrival of the swans, feared as cursed and birds of ill-fortune? What will happen when they return six years later, on the morning of Maidy’s sixteenth…

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    Book Inspiration: Raglan Castle

    June 17, 2021

    Enheduanna as Priestess

    February 23, 2022

    ARCHIVE: Author Barbara Spencer – Why I Wrote Broken

    October 1, 2020
  • Archive,  Book Review

    Book Review: Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest

    June 8, 2021 / No Comments

    Originally posted January 11, 2019 The momentous events of 1066, the story of invasion, battle and conquest, are well known. But what of the women? Harold II of England had been with Edith Swanneck for twenty years but in 1066, in order to strengthen his hold on the throne, he married Ealdgyth, sister of two earls. William of Normandy’s Duchess, Matilda of Flanders, had supposedly only agreed to marry the Duke after he’d pulled her pigtails and thrown her in the mud. Harald Hardrada had two wives – apparently at the same time. So, who were these women? What was their real story? And what happened to them after 1066?…

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    ARCHIVE: My First Blog Post from 2015

    October 1, 2020

    The Year the Swans Came

    June 11, 2021

    Book Review: In the Shadows of Castles, by G.K. Holloway

    February 8, 2023
  • Archive,  Uncategorized

    How Writers Are Like Pablo Picasso

    June 3, 2021 / No Comments

    Originally posted December 21, 2018 It’s not an unusual thing to want to become an immediate master at whatever we set our hand to. I think it’s just human nature. We shy away from the work and discipline necessary to develop the skills needed to become really great at something. When I was in college, I took up ballet. Yep, first time. I was 18, and no, I wasn’t any good. But the class gave me a half a credit, and there was no homework, so why not? When I was 28, I picked up a violin for the first time. No teacher, no lessons. Just me, a book, and…

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    Book Review: Luminous – The Story of a Radium Girl

    June 2, 2020

    ARCHIVE: On Inspiration and How Kassia Came to Be

    January 24, 2020

    Book Review: Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest

    June 8, 2021
  • Archive

    A Behind the Scenes Look at the Making of The Mallory Saga, by Paul Bennett

    October 1, 2020 / No Comments

    My interest in history began in the early 1960’s and can be partially attributed to movies such as, Spartacus, The 300 Spartans, Ben Hur, and the like.  A purloined, rolled up, weekly food store newspaper advertisement made an excellent gladius; the handle held together with only the finest rubber bands; my best friend and I exchanged blows as Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis battling it out for Olivier’s pleasure.  In quieter moments, at the Monteith Branch of the Detroit Public Library system, I read about Heinrich Schliemann and his discoveries at Mycenae, and at Troy.  I was hooked on history from then on. All through my educational phases, up through 3…

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    Sumer – For Further Reading

    January 5, 2023

    Book Review: Traitor’s Knot

    January 24, 2020

    In the Land of Fire and Ashes: Progress Report

    December 4, 2021
  • Archive

    ARCHIVE: My First Blog Post from 2015

    October 1, 2020 / No Comments

    My first blog post!  How odd it feels to blog — to write my thoughts, opinions and share from my vast store of wisdom for the world at large to read.  But you wrote a book, you say.  Why is blogging different?  Well, it just is (*she says with a shaking, scolding finger point*).  For some reason writing a 100,000+ word novel is far less daunting to me than writing a blog.  I have a lot of theories as to why, but I won’t go into that in this post.  Since I’m a blogger now, I hold absolute, cosmic-like power here in this space and can get into that subject…

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    Exploring Genre: Fantasy Fiction

    January 30, 2023

    Here’s why you need to read more…

    January 16, 2023

    Thoughts on Writing The King’s Daughter

    January 23, 2020
  • Archive

    ARCHIVE: Plans Change – The King’s Furies

    October 1, 2020 / No Comments

    “It is a woman’s privilege to change her mind.” – Thomas Draxe, 1616 I have a confession to make.  I have a hard time making up my mind sometimes.  There are just so many possibilities that the way ahead can feel like a giant room containing lots and lots of doors.  Any of those doors could open into the next best thing.  But the big question is which door to open? As I was writing The Scribe’s Daughter, my next book was already taking shape in my head.  Kassia’s sister Irisa had a very important story to tell.  It was a no-brainer to write her story next.  Each of the…

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    Dame Ellen Langwith in Fact and Fiction

    May 1, 2022

    Book Inspiration: Raglan Castle

    June 17, 2021

    Sumer – For Further Reading

    January 5, 2023

Recent Posts

  • Discovery Writing vs Outlining: Is One Better?
  • Speculative Fiction: An Exploration of a Literary Genre
  • Low Fantasy: A Genre That Goes Beyond Magic and Dragons
  • Book Review: In the Shadows of Castles, by G.K. Holloway
  • Exploring Genre: Fantasy Fiction

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