{"id":25637,"date":"2012-06-18T09:54:20","date_gmt":"2012-06-17T23:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/?p=25637"},"modified":"2016-03-01T09:48:30","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T23:48:30","slug":"alison-weir-author-of-a-dangerous-inheritance-the-captive-queen-the-six-wives-of-henry-viii-and-many-more-answers-ten-terrifying-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2012\/06\/18\/alison-weir-author-of-a-dangerous-inheritance-the-captive-queen-the-six-wives-of-henry-viii-and-many-more-answers-ten-terrifying-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Alison Weir, author of A Dangerous Inheritance, The Captive Queen, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and many more, answers Ten Terrifying Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Booktopia Book Guru asks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alison Weir<\/h1>\n

author of <\/strong>A Dangerous Inheritance<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, The Captive Queen<\/a><\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0The Six Wives of Henry VIII<\/a><\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>and<\/strong> <\/strong>The Ring and the Crown<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, and many more,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ten Terrifying Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

——————————<\/p>\n

1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was born and raised in London, U.K., and educated privately, but my interest in history stems from independent study, although it was my\u00a0specialist subject at teacher training college.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

At twelve, a ballet dancer, because I was in love with the romance of it.<\/p>\n

At eighteen, a teacher \u2013 I\u2019ve always loved working with children.<\/p>\n

At thirty, I wanted to be a mother and a published author, in that order.<\/p>\n

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Too many to mention! I was a very opinionated teenager.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>4. What were three works of art \u2013 book or painting or piece of music, etc \u2013 you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are too many examples to mention, but three stand out. The book was Antonia Fraser<\/a>\u2019s Mary, Queen of Scots<\/em><\/a>, which set a new standard in historical biography.<\/p>\n

The painting was the portrait of Anne Boleyn in London\u2019s National Portrait Gallery \u2013 it intrigued me, much as Anne always has.<\/p>\n

The music was the Pavane la Bataille by David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London, which instantly transported me back to the magnificence of sixteenth-century courts. Annihilating!<\/p>\n

5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was already a published historian. I\u2019d written lots of novels when I was young, and wanted to see if I could still write one. I wrote it just as a\u00a0leisure project, but quite liked it, so I showed it to my agent. That\u2019s how I became a published novelist.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>6. Please tell us about your latest novel\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Dangerous Inheritance<\/strong><\/em><\/a> is the stand-alone sequel to Innocent Traitor<\/em><\/a>, that first novel. It tells the story of two beautiful, tragic heroines, linked both by kinship and by supernatural bonds.<\/p>\n

In her short life, Lady Katherine Grey has already suffered more than her fair share of tragedy. Eight years before, her older sister, Lady Jane Grey, was beheaded for unlawfully accepting a crown that was not hers. And Katherine suffered too, as a result of Jane’s fall… Now she has defied her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, by marrying a man who is forbidden her.<\/p>\n

Intertwined with Katherine’s story is that of her distant kinswoman, Kate Plantagenet, the bastard daughter of King Richard III. In 1483, Kate is brought to London for the coronation of her cousin, King Edward V, and her world changes dramatically.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kate loves her father, but all is not well at court, and soon after her arrival, she senses sinister undercurrents and hears terrible rumours that deeply disturb her. Soon, she embarks on what will prove to be a dangerous quest, covertly seeking information that can throw light on what would become one of history’s most enduring mysteries. But time is not on Kate`s side – or Katherine’s either.<\/p>\n

Katherine and Kate find out that incurring the wrath of princes is a dangerous game, and that being near in blood to the throne is a curse rather than a blessing. Both young women will risk much to for love, and to uncover the truth – and both will court a tragic fate.<\/p>\n

Click here to buy\u00a0A Dangerous Inheritance<\/strong><\/em><\/em> from Booktopia,
\nAustralia\u2019s No. 1 Online Book Shop<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A sense that they have read about authentic history in an authentic setting\u2013 and also that they will have enjoyed the experience and gained new perspectives.<\/p>\n

8. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I admire many writers for many different talents.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Norah Lofts<\/a>My favourite novelist is the late, whose work I admire for the integrity of her writing, her characters, her insights, and the sinister undercurrents in her books. I own all 63 of her books, and it\u2019s always a joy to re-read them.<\/p>\n

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To publish all the research I\u2019ve done over the years. I\u2019m near to achieving that goal.<\/p>\n

10.What advice do you give aspiring writers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never give up!<\/p>\n

Alison, thank you for playing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Click here to buy\u00a0A Dangerous Inheritance<\/strong><\/em><\/em> from Booktopia,
\nAustralia\u2019s No. 1 Online Book Shop<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Alison Weir author of A Dangerous Inheritance, The Captive Queen,\u00a0The Six Wives of Henry VIII and The Ring and the Crown, and many more, Ten Terrifying Questions —————————— 1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born and raised in London, U.K., and educated privately, but my interest in history stems from independent study, although it was my\u00a0specialist subject at teacher training college. 2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why? At twelve, a ballet dancer, because I was in love with the romance of it. At eighteen, a teacher \u2013 I\u2019ve always loved working with children. At thirty, I wanted to be a mother and a published author, in that order. 3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now? Too many to mention! I was a very opinionated teenager. 4. What were three works of art \u2013 book or painting or piece of music, etc \u2013 you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[237,465,993,5184,5958],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25637"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25637"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57230,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25637\/revisions\/57230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}