HF Virtual Book Tours Interview and Giveaway: Anne Clinard Barnhill

I am very excited to welcome Anne Clinard Barnhill, author of "Queen Elizabeth's Daughter" here to A Bookish Affair today.

1. How did you come up with the idea of writing about Mary Shelton, a ward of Queen Elizabeth?

Years ago, my grandmother told me we were related to Queen Anne Boleyn and she gave me a book all about the Shelton family and showed me how we were connected to them.  I was fascinated.  I started gathering all the info I could about them and discovered that both Mary and Margaret Shelton (cousins, not sisters, though Margaret did have a sister named Mary) had little nuggets of stories in their histories.  I started imagining more and ended up writing two novels, one about Margaret, the other about Mary!

2. Why do you think we are still so fascinated by Queen Elizabeth I?

Elizabeth was a larger-than-life character—she was brilliant, politically savvy, kind yet she could be cruel—just a complex, compelling woman who gave England years of peace.  She made conditions right for the flowering of the English Renaissance. She had to do it in a man’s world—I think most women can relate to that, even today.

3. What was the most interesting/ strangest thing that you found in your research for this book?

I sometimes write first and then do the research to see how close I am to the facts.  I wrote Mary as an orphan because it suited my story.  Then, I discovered she was, indeed, an orphan.  This has happened to me a lot.  I don’t know what it means but somehow, I seem to know things that I really couldn’t know.  Hmmm, makes me less skeptical about reincarnation!

4. You've written a few books now. Has your writing process changed at all? Has it gotten easier or harder?

I don’t think writing every gets easier—I wish it did.  It’s like a verbal jigsaw puzzle—you have to figure out how the parts best fit together and then write it.  For me, it’s always a challenge, which is part of what I love about writing.

5. If you could bring three fictional characters or historical figures to a deserted island, who would you bring and why?

I’d bring Shakespeare so he could tell me stories and then act them out!  I’d bring Elizabeth for conversation and debate.  And I’d bring Errol Flynn for, well, just to look at!

Giveaway:

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Follow the Rest of the Tour:

Monday, March 10
Review at Words and Peace
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Wednesday, March 12
Review at A Chick Who Reads
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Thursday, March 13
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Friday, March 14
Review at The Lit Bitch
Monday, March 17
Feature & Giveaway at Passages to the Past
Tuesday, March 18
Spotlight & Interview at Flashlight Commentary
Wednesday, March 19
Review at One Book at a Time
Thursday, March 20
Review at Book-alicious Mama
Friday, March 21
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Monday, March 24
Review at She is Too Fond of Books
Tuesday, March 25
Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book
Wednesday, March 26
Interview at Oh, For the Hook of a Book
Thursday, March 27
Review at Book of Secrets
Friday, March 28
Review at Scandalous Women
Monday, March 31
Review at HF Book Muse – News
Review & Giveaway at WTF Are You Reading?
Tuesday, April 1
Interview at HF Book Muse – News
Thursday, April 3
Review at Books in the Burbs
Friday, April 4
Review at The True Book Addict
Review at Griperang’s Bookmarks
Monday, April 7
Review at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Tuesday, April 8
Review at A Bookish Affair
Wednesday, April 9
Interview & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair
Thursday, April 10
Review at The Most Happy Reader
Friday, April 11
Review at Silver’s Reviews
Review at The Musings of ALMYBNENR