Everyone, Just wanted to let you know about some exciting changes that are happening! As you may know I spent some time after […]
I am rolling out a new version of THWARTED QUEEN…
Cynthia
Cynthia Sally Haggard was born and reared in Surrey, England. About 30 years ago she surfaced in the United States, settling in the Mid-Atlantic region as she wound her way through four careers: violinist, cognitive scientist, medical writer, and novelist.
In June, 2015, Cynthia graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University, Cambridge MA.
Her first novel, "Thwarted Queen," a frustrating tale (hence the title) of a woman who was nearly crowned Queen of England, was shortlisted for many awards, including the 2012 Eric Hoffer New Horizon Award for debut authors. To date, sales have surpassed 38,000 copies.
Her second novel, "Farewell My Life," a Cinderella-ish tale with not-so-charming princes who inhabit the edgy setting of 1920s and 1930s Berlin during the rise of the Nazis, won a Pinnacle Award for Historical Fiction (2019) and was a Distinguished Favorite for the 2019 New York City Big Book Awards.
Jodi Picoult’s PERFECT MATCH narrated by Carol Monda, Susan Bennett and Michele O. Medlin
By this, her ninth novel, it is clear that Jodi Picoult is fascinated by the law and lawyers. Her courtroom scenes take up more and more of her novels, and in this […]
Jodi Picoult’s SALEM FALLS narrated by Julia Gibson
This is Jodi Picoult’s eighth novel, so she has her formula down pat: select an issue, build interest by immersing the reader in time and place, grab the reader’s emotions by having […]
PLAIN TRUTH by Jodi Picoult, narrated by Christina Moore and Suzanne Toren
Before I begin reviewing this seventh novel by Jodi Picoult, I would like to say how much I enjoyed the narration of this book. Christina Moore and Suzanne Toren were pitch perfect […]
Reading Sundays: THE WAYWARD DAUGHTER (Part 3), a short story by Cynthia Sally Haggard
I hung my head, and in that moment I knew I’d lost them. Well-bred ladies never shouted, whatever the provocation. What was wrong with me? I knew better than to show a […]
KATHERINE HOWARD, HENRY VIII’s SLANDERED QUEEN by Conor Byrne
KATHERINE HOWARD, HENRY VIII’s SLANDERED QUEEN is not an historical novel. It is a work of history that studies the sexual politics of the Henrician court in the 1530s (the era of […]
YOUNG & DAMNED & FAIR by Gareth Russell, narrated by Jenny Funnell
I read this volume about Queen Catherine Howard, after reading Alison Weir’s THE SCANDALOUS QUEEN. I was so baffled by Catherine’s poor choices, especially given that she was married to a paranoid […]
KATHERYN HOWARD THE SCANDALOUS QUEEN by Alison Weir, narrated by Rosalyn Landor
Before I begin this review about Alison Weir’s latest historical novel about the six wives of Henry VIII, I would like to commend Recorded Books for doing a fantastic job of cutting […]
Reading Sundays: THE WAYWARD DAUGHTER (Part 2) a short story by Cynthia Sally Haggard
When Papa quit farming and became a manure salesman, my family thrived. It was the secret to our wealth. We were finally able to leave New Hampshire and make a better life […]
Diane Zahler’s THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS
THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS is a re-telling of THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES. Set in a place which sounds vaguely German in a time that sounds vaguely like the Middle Ages, we meet Zita, […]
THE MIDNIGHT DANCERS by Regina Doman
THE MIDNIGHT DANCERS is a retelling of THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES set in contemporary times. Paul is a soldier who saves an older man’s life in a situation that sounds just like […]
CLAIMED BY THE ENEMY by Shauna Roberts
Author Shauna Roberts knows how to tell a story. Within pages we meet the two protagonists (Princess Nindalla and farm-boy Ur-Sag-Enki) and know that these two strangers will become important to one […]
Reading Sundays: THE WAYWARD DAUGHTER (Part 1) a short story by Cynthia Sally Haggard
West Kensington, London October 1913 I don’t know what to do. People are talking about me, saying I was married before I married Spencer. They say that I left my family, my […]
Alan Bradley’s THE GOLDEN TRESSES OF THE DEAD (FLAVIA #10.)Narrated by Jayne Entwistle
As in the last book, THE GRAVE’S A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, Flavia is growing up. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) this means that she is not quite the smarty-pants of yore, learning to […]
Alan Bradley’s THE GRAVE’S A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE (FLAVIA DE LUCE #9), narrated by Jayne Entwistle
As so many readers do, I love Flavia, so was very happy to get hold of this volume. I heard it on audiobook, so my experiences may have been a little different […]
A perfect example of how to hook the reader (U IS FOR UNDERTOW)
I don’t know when I first started reading the Kinsey Millhone series, but I was hooked by A IS FOR ALIBI, and have enjoyed the subsequent series enormously. It takes a lot […]
Reading Sundays: THE NON-AFFAIR (Part 10) a short story by Cynthia Sally Haggard
“Caroline.” Father stood in the doorway of his study holding The Baltimore Sun, as I arrived home. “I was right all along, not letting you stay at university. It is no place […]
KEEPING FAITH by Jodi Picoult, narrated by Eliza Foss and Julia Gibson, produced by Recorded Books
Before I review Jodi Picoult’s sixth novel, I want to register a COMPLAINT with RECORDED BOOKS. It simply ISN’T right to cut the tape in such a way that there is NO […]
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