Author Interview: JP Reedman

 

 

 

JMR-Welcome to the Books Delight, J.P. Tell our readers where you live, what you do for fun and what does the perfect day look like?

JPR-Hi, thanks for having me. I live in Amesbury, Wiltshire, which is near Stonehenge although I was born in Victoria, Canada. I love to go visiting ancient sites, castles, cathedrals and churches. A perfect day would be finding a secluded little known medieval church, walking in and finding it was decorated in 13ths c wall-paintings, then later going for a meal at a nice pub! Soon, hopefully, I will be able to do so once more!

JMR-What’s your favorite historical time period? Why?

JRP-My background is British prehistory; I know the Neolithic and Bronze Ages very well…but my first, oldest love is the Middle Ages, from the 12^th c to the 15^th c—in particular the reigns of Henry II and his son, and the later Wars of the Roses period.

JMR-Who is your favorite historical figure? Why? If you could ask them one question, what would it be?

JPR-I have been intrigued by Richard III since the 1980’s, even more so after his remains were found in Leicester. I attended the Reinterment for the entire week. If I could ask him one questions, it wouldn’t be about the Princes. I think the mystery of their disappearance rather clouds anything else about his reign. I’d rather ask him what his plans were as king had he lived longer.

JMR- How did you come to be a writer of historical fiction?

JPR-I always was drawn to historical things even as a very young child. Old graveyards, creepy old houses, castles in picture books. I absolutely loved Ancient Egypt when I was four, and I wrote and illustrated a story about Cleopatra when I was only five! After that, I wrote a mix of things, first ghosts and horror and then fantasy. I had many fantasy short stories published in the 1980’s in the small press.

JMR- You are lucky enough to live in England. Have to visited sites related to your characters? Where did you feel the deepest connection with them?

JPR-Yes, I have. I used to work at Stonehenge which was the setting for my first published novel, The Stonehenge Saga. My partner Dan works at Old Sarum, which is a castle where Eleanor of Aquitaine was imprisoned by her husband, Henry II. It was also the home of Ela of Salisbury and her husband, William Longsword, who was King John’s half-brother.  I have visited many evocative sites but one I found very atmospheric was Fotheringhay, the birthplace of of Richard III and execution site. of Mary Queen of Scots. The castle is just a mount now, but there is old stonework inserted in later buildings, and a stunning church with a lantern-like spire, which was intended as a mausoleum for the House of York. Richard’s parents are buried there and his older brother Edmund, who was killed in battle at only seventeen.

JMR- JP, tell us about your new book, LONGSWORD'S LADY: COUNTESS ELA OF SALISBURY. It’s part of a series, correct?  

JPR-Longsword’s Lady is Book 7 in my Medieval Babes series about lesser known medieval queens and noblewomen. Set in the 12^th/13^th c, it is about Ela of Salisbury, a remarkable medieval lady who was born in Amesbury where I live. She was Countess in her own right (her husband was Earl only through her), she founded Salisbury Cathedral with him, she bought her castle from the King, she became the Sheriff of Wiltshire (one of only two, maybe three medieval female sheriffs) and, as a widow, she founded two monasteries and became a powerful Abbess. She founded beautiful Lacock Abbey which still partly stands, and has been used in many tv series and movies, including Harry Potter!

JMR-What projects do you have in the pipeline?

JPR-My next Medieval Babes book, no. 8, should be out in around a month. It is set in the Norman period and is about an infamous, wicked lady—Mabel de Belleme, whose husband was a good friend of William the Conqueror.

Later in the year, I will be writing the second half of my I, Richard Plantagenet prequels about Richard III’s childhood, starting a novel on his father, the Duke of York, and returning to my roots with an epic fantasy. I am hoping to get two of them out in 2021 and the third next year.

JMR- Tell our readers how to find you on social media and the web.

 Twitter   Facebook: (Richard III/Wars of the Roses)  Facebook: Medieval Babes series

 JMR- What question were you hoping I’d ask but didn’t?

JPR-What is your town like? It’s an overgrown village really; the church was once an abbey, and in the fields beyond it once stood a priory. Its site is now lost, and somewhere out there lie the remains of a Queen, her granddaughter, and a tragic princess…

JMR- Thank you JP for stopping by. Readers, I know you're going to want to check out JP's books so I've added a link to amazon. Check it out.