Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

The winner of the 400th post Giveway is... Deb Maher! Congratulations Deb, I will be emailing you shortly for your address. Again, thank you to everyone who entered to win this fabulous book!

Hard to believe but this marks my 400th post and to celebrate I'm giving away a copy of the delicious new spy mystery PARIS TO DIE FOR, featuring the one and only Jacqueline Bouvier as the sleuth! Truthfully when I saw this book in my local Barnes and Noble (on Jackie's birthday no less) I thought "Jackie Kennedy as a sleuth, get out of here."  But there was something about the Audrey Hepburnesque cover that drew me in, and I bought it.  I'm very glad that I did because this was a a rollicking good novel, with fun cameos by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Francois Truffaut, Ian Fleming, and Audrey Hepburn herself! This isn't James Bond or even John Le Carre, this is light espionage novel with loads of thrills that will keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat.  Yes, the book bogs down a little as one of the characters spends way too much time revealing his backstory, but the chemistry between Jacques and Jackie (too cute) is palpable. The authors have cl...

‘She is certainly one of the proudest and cruel women on the face of the earth, and her whole history is a record of bloodshed and deeds of horror.’ – Ida Pfeiffer (explorer) Once upon a time in the Indian Ocean, there was a magical land called Madagascar located off the south east coast of Africa. This lush, ravishingly beautiful tropical island, ‘a paradise on earth’ which is now known mainly for its vanilla beans and cuddly cartoon animals, was teeming with vast tracks of rain forest and rich arable land. But there was a serpent in this Garden of Eden, and her name was Ranavalona. In her 33 year reign, she proved to be just as ruthless and cruel as any male tyrant that had sat on a throne. She established a reign of terror in the name of preserving its traditions and independence which resulted in the death of more than a 1/3 of her subjects. After years of internal warfare, many of the warring tribes were finally united under the leadership of the wise King Andrianampoinimer...

When my agent called to tell me that we had sold Scandalous Women to Perigee, I couldn’t have been more ecstatic. This was a dream come true for me after almost a decade of writing, but now came the hard part, what women would make it into the book? The book needed to be a mix of women that people were familiar with, but also women who for whatever reason were not as well known. My initial list consisted of forty women. Unfortunately due to that pesky word count, some of them had to end up on the cutting room floor. Here are five of the women who unfortunately got away. Isabella, Queen Consort to Edward II (1295-1358): called the She-Wolf of France by her enemies, this strong-willed Queen refused to play second fiddle to her husband Edward II’s male lovers who were showered not only with gifts and but with power. Aided by her lover, Roger de Mortimer, she stole the throne from her husband for her son, and possibly ordered the murder of her husband as well. Belle Starr (1848-188...

I was delighted to spend this past Saturday on the South Fork of Long Island at the Authors Night benefit for the East Hampton Library. As a native New Yorker, it was fun for me to get a chance to not only sign books but also help support a good cause, libraries,  and I got to do it my own home state.  It was just a short jitney ride (okay it was a 3 hour jitney ride) out to beautiful East Hampton for the event. I brought my good friend Mala out with me to help record the event.  It was her first tip out to the Hamptons so it was nice to be able to share this event with her. And what an event it was! Talk about star-studded! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw some of the authors who would also be signing that night.  Robert Caro, who has written well-regarded biographies of Lyndon Johnson, Barbara Goldsmith who was signing copies of her biography of Marie Curie, Annette Blaugrund who has written a biography of Harriet Hubbard Ayer (one of the first women to fo...

I'm so pleased by how many people stopped by and left comments on Juliet Grey's excellent post.  I wish I could give you all copies of this wonderful book, but unfortunately I can't!  Using random.org, I can announce that the winner of BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE is.... Laura Kay Congratulations Laura!  I will be emailing you shortly to get your address. Thank you to everyone who entered! I hope you will keep coming back to Scandalous Women, as I bring you more scintillating stories about some of history's most fascinating women.

Title: Lady of the English Author: Elizabeth Chadwick Pub. Date: September 2011 Publisher: Sourcebooks, Incorporated Format: Paperback , 544pp Synopsis:     Royal wives and royal widows, Queen Adeliza and her stepdaughter, Empress Matilda, are the only two women to be titled "Lady of the English," a title that does not come cheap. Adeliza, widowed queen and peacemaker, is married to a warrior who supports Stephen, grandson of the Conqueror. Matilda, daughter of the last king and a fierce fighter, is determined to win her inheritance against all odds and despite all men, including Stephen. Both are women who, in their different ways, will stand and fight for what they know is right. But for Matilda, pride comes before a fall. And for Adeliza, even the deepest love is no proof against fate. About the author: Elizabeth Chadwick is the author of 17 historical novels, including The Greatest Knight, The Scarlet Lion, A Place Beyond Courage, For the King's Favor, Shado...

Scandalous Women is very pleased to welcome historical fiction author Juliet Grey to the blog.  Juliet is the author of the new trilogy about Marie Antoinette, the first book BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE is released today.  Regular readers of my blog know that I am a huge fan of Marie Antoinette, in fact I'm a tad obsessed and have been ever since I learned that she and I shared a birthday. So I was very excited to hear that there was going to be new trilogy that examined her life from her childhood to her death. Isn't the cover gorgeous? Above the strains of the violins and the tinkling of crystal and porcelain, a silvery laugh pierced the air, drawing all attention toward the head of the table. The woman seated at the king’s right had grabbed a morsel off the royal plate with a heavily jeweled hand and popped it into her own mouth. She wore no powder in her flaxen hair, a shade or two more yellow than my own. Her complexion was the color of fresh dairy cream—the better to sho...

Title:  Tobacco Wars Author:  Paul Seesequasis Paperback: 113 pages Publisher: Quattro Books (October 2010) Language: English Synopsis:   Tobacco Wars is a novella about the meeting of two worlds. Set in the early 17th century, it follows the mythical and rollicking adventures of Pocahontas and playwright Ben Jonson - from the inns, alleyways and royal courts of London to pirates, perilous crossings and hostile warriors in the new world. And as worlds are turned upside down and irrevocably altered - a new commodity - tobacco, intoxicates the old world at the same time as an 'Indian princess' undertakes her own age of exploration. About the Author Paul Seesequasis is a writer and journalist. He was the founding editor of the award-winning Aboriginal Voices magazine, recipient of a MacLean-Hunter journalist award, a broadcaster and writer. His short stories and feature writings have been published in Canada and abroad. Tobacco Wars is his first novella. My ...

Scandalous Women is honored to have a guest post by noted historical fiction auhor Colin Falconer today on the blog talking about one of my favorite subjects Cleopatra. Colin Falconer has been published widely in the UK, US and Europe and his books have been translated into seventeen languages.   His novel about Cleopatra WHEN WE WERE GODS, is now re-released on Kindle US, Kindle UK and for all other formats on Smashwords for $2.99 . " ... this fresh take on one of history's leading ladies is smoothly written, slickly couching ancient history in the contemporary rhetoric of female empowerment ..." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY See more at http://www.colinfalconer.net/  You can also read more at his blog: http://www.colinfalconer.net/the-man-with-the-past.html or follow him on Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/colin_falconer Without further ado, I give you Colin Falconer! If it wasn’t all true, it would be hard to believe: thirty years before Jesus, an eighteen year old princes...

I am a huge fan of the Pre-Raphaelite painters. I even bought the BBC miniseries Desperate Romantics (which isn't very good although Tom Hollander is wonderful as John Ruskin). So I was squealing like a fan girl when I discovered there were two new non-fiction books about the 19th century love triangle between Effie Gray, John Ruskin and the painter John Everett Millais. I've written about the scandal before here . There is also a new move that is coming out in 2012 starring Emma Thompson. Our first book is Effie - A Victorian Scandal by Merryn Williams. I recently read a wonderful article by the author Merryn Williams in the summer 2011 issue of Herstoria Magazine. The book unfortunately hasn't been published in the States but it is available through Book Depository and Amazon.co.uk . Victorian scandals don't come much more intimate and revealing than a wife seeking an annulment from her famous husband because their marriage has not been consummated. When Effie...