Author’s Inspiration ~ Trisha Hughes #HistoricalFiction #amreading @TrishaHughes

Please give a warm welcome to historical fiction author, Trisha Hughes.

Author’s Inspiration

While I am not an historian, what I do have is a passion for British history that began many years ago while I was pregnant with my first child. I spent endless days in the library consuming everything I could and writing it all in a notebook.  Over the years, through moving house, raising children and everyday life, the notebook disappeared but my interest in British Monarchy hasn't. Five years ago, the interest turned into passion and here I am with the first two books of my trilogy on British Monarchy sitting on the shelves.

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I remember the day it all began. I was talking to my grandson about his interests. I even did what every grandparent does ... I asked what he wanted to be when he grew up and I asked what subjects he was taking at school.  And it turned out that history was one of them. Brightened that we had something to talk about to take his mind off his Facebook page, I said to him 'So you know all about Henry VIII.'

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It was a statement, not a question, and I fully expected him to say 'of course'. Everyone knows who Henry VIII is. Right? Instead, I was greeted with a blank look. I asked, 'You DO know who Henry VIII was, right?' Apparently not.

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Well, he knows now. We sat and I talked for more than an hour on the subject and I told him the whole sordid story of Henry and his wives, the beheadings, the urgent need for a male heir and the transformation from charismatic eighteen-year-old to obese tyrant. I told him the story in a way he would understand and I tried to bring Henry back to life, not just as an eccentric character from a history book, but as a real life person.  And he was entralled. He laughed when he was supposed to laugh and he was shocked when he was supposed to be shocked. His reaction made me stop and think. Why don’t children know more about the past?

Have you ever wondered why it is that when we hear an almost forgotten song, we can remember every single word? Thirty years on, the song is as fresh in our minds as when we first heard it and whether we can hold a tune or not, we sing along with it and we remember the words exactly. So the six million dollar question is, if we can remember songs so well, why don’t we do the same with history?

When I was at school, learning about the Magna Carta, the Battle of Hastings, Agincourt, Bosworth, Bannockburn, along with the names of unknown Kings fighting unknown battles in unknown places was the most boring lessons I could imagine. In the back of my mind was the question, ‘Why do I have to learn about history when I’ll never use it again when I grow up?’

Being considerate of teachers and the curriculum they’re given, we know they have guidelines. And we know they have time constraints. But now that we’re older and wiser, we understand that our children can learn a lot by looking closer at the past. Our perception changes, as does our interests. All of a sudden, these characters aren’t eccentric anymore and we realise they were real people with real personalities. They fought battles, they won the love of their women, they made mistakes and they were vulneralbe to diseases. Just like us. All of a sudden it becomes exciting. It’s like being a time-detective, hunting through the records and the archaeological artifacts, looking for clues that might help build up a picture of what happened long ago.

Then, almost like a revelation, we realise that learning history has many important benefits as well. By understanding our past, and where we came from, we hope to better understand where we are now and even decide about what might happen in the future. The way things are now is a consequence of the things that happened in the past. The way things will be tomorrow will be a consequence of the way things are now. Considering the greed that caused The War of the Roses, the family misunderstandings that caused the First World War and the need for power that caused the Second World War, who would want to repeat those mistakes? So, keeping that in mind, shouldn’t we be teaching the importance of this to our children? If we don’t teach our children to connect with history, then the consequences for our society could be disastrous. The more we know about the past the better prepared we are for the future.

All of this was running madly around in my brain. And that’s when I decided to write about the history of British Monarchs. I wanted the story to be factual and interesting without being academic. I wanted it to grab the reader’s imagination and I wanted it be fun.

'VIKINGS TO VIRGIN' - The Hazards of being King'  is the first in my trilogy released in 2017. Following that book is the second in the series, 'VIRGIN TO VICTORIA -The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen' due for release on 28^th April this year. The last one 'VICTORIA TO VIKINGS - The Circle of Blood' is in the final stages and will be released early next year.  

If you know anything at all about British monarchs, you'll know that among the good and well-meaning monarchs, some of them were ruthless, not to mention greedy, murderous, adulterers, swindlers, cowards and totally corrupt.  Their story is better than a thriller about a serial killer on the loose because this story is absolutely true. Don't imagine a fairy story with handsome kings in wondrous castles whisking off princesses on their white horses to the sound of trumpets and the cheers of their people. Imagine powerful individuals who were brutal and would stop at nothing to get what they wanted and who were more than happy to get rid of the odd family member or two who were standing in the way of their progress to the throne.

My goal is to bring all the kings and queens back to life again with all of the heroism, betrayals and lust that was just part of the times they lived in.  Some reigned for years, some reigned for weeks. Some should never have reigned at all.  But they all had one thing in common.  In those days, these kings and queens were the most powerful men and women in the country and their power was absolute.

In the immortal words of Rudyard Kipling,

 ‘If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.’

 And that’s what I’ve tried to do. I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.

Trisha Hughes

I was born in a little outback town called Blackall in Central Queensland, Australia. From there my parents moved to the Brisbane suburb of Fortitude Valley where I grew up to be a tiny, self-reliant little girl.

My first book, ‘Daughters of Nazareth’ is my story, written eighteen years ago, fuelled on by the discovery of a family I never knew I had.  It’s full of family secrets, tremendous heartache but proves the human spirit’s amazing ability to triumph over adversity. Nineteen years ago, after just one phone call, my life changed abruptly. With that change came a passion for writing and I have been writing ever since.

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I love writing crime novels but my passion is with the history of the British Monarchy. The first in my ‘V2V’ trilogy is ‘Vikings to Virgin – The Hazards of being King’ published in 2017. The second in the series is due for release on 28^th April this year and is called ‘Virgin to Victoria – The Queen is Dead. Long live the Queen.’ The final book, ‘Victoria to Vikings – The Circle of Blood’ will be released early 2019.

Trisha loves to hear from readers. You can find her... Website  Twitter Facebook

Vikings to Virgin

The Hazards of being King

In Vikings to Virgin - The Hazards of Being King Trisha Hughes provides the reader with a pacey introduction to the many pitfalls faced by the ambitious as they climbed the dangerous ladders of royalty. It is easy to think that monarchs are all powerful, but throughout the Dark and Middle Ages it was surprisingly easy to unseat one and assume the crown yourself. But if it was easy to gain ... it was just as easy to lose.
From the dawn of the Vikings through to Elizabeth I, Trisha Hughes follows the violent struggles for power and the many brutal methods employed to wrest it and keep hold of it. Murder, deceit, treachery, lust and betrayal were just a few of the methods used to try and win the crown. Vikings to Virgin - The Hazards of Being King spans fifteen hundred years and is a highly accessible and enjoyable ride through the dark side of early British monarchy.

Amazon US  Amazon UK

Virgin to Victoria

The Queen is Dead. Long live the Queen

After the death of Elizabeth I’s sister, ‘Bloody Mary’, England had high hopes for their new queen when she came to the throne. 25-year-old Elizabeth I attended her first council exuding an air of quiet confidence, even though she was inheriting a bankrupt nation torn apart by religious discord. It was chaotic.

Despite her amazing legacy and despite what her father, Henry VIII, had desired above all else, Elizabeth failed England in one vital point. She never married and did not leave an heir to the Tudor dynasty. By making that one fateful decision, she left the path open for the Stuarts in Scotland to take over and life would never be the same.

‘Virgin to Victoria’ travels in time through Elizabeth I’s amazing life, through the confusion of the Stuart dynasty, through the devastation of a Civil War led by Oliver Cromwell, through horrific battles for the throne and through the turbulent and discordant Hanover dynasty with its intricate family squabbles.

Queen Victoria did not ask to be Queen. It was thrust upon her by the accident of birth and then by a succession of accidents that removed all others who stood between her and the throne. She assumed it reluctantly and, at first, incompetently. Parliament was sure the 18-year-old could be relied upon to leave the job of running the country to the professionals.

Couldn’t she?

Coming soon!

Books can be purchased through Amazon, Book Depository, and most on-line outlets and personally signed copies through my website: www.vikingstovirgin.com