A random, sort of spooky photo…
A few months ago, I entered a Tudor Ghost Story Contest hosted by authors Natalie Grueninger, who runs the wonderful website, On The Tudor Trail, the Talking Tudors podcast and is the author of a number of Tudor history books, and Wendy J Dunn, author of a number of books of Tudor fiction.
Last week the results were announced, and I’m excited to share that I placed joint second! On Christmas Eve, the winner and the second and third place getters’ stories were published on On The Tudor Trail. You can read the post announcing the winners by the judge of the competition here, where you will also find links to the first, second and third place stories. The direct link to my own story, The Thorns of A Tudor Rose, can be found here.
The Thorns of a Tudor Rose is a story of Anne Boleyn being visited by the ghost of Katherine of Aragon during the days leading up to her downfall…only she doesn’t yet know it. If you do have a read of it, please let me know what you think!
UPDATE: The first, second and third placed stories have also been included in a sample copy of Tudor Life Magazine, the monthly magazine of The Tudor Society!
Congrats! Off to read your story!
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Just got back from reading your story, Sammi! It was wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Kudos again on your success.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read it, Dale. I really appreciate it 🙂
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It was worth it!
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Brilliant. Wonderful. I’m so pleased for you. What a great Christmas present. And a great idea for a plot. I shall zoom over there (later). But you deserve it; you know your craft. Let’s hope this is just the first in many successes in the coming year(s). 🙂
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Thank you so much, Crispina 🙂
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Congrats! 🎉
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Thank you, Paula 🙂
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Congratulations! Now to find and read your story!
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Thank you, Tom 🙂
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Yay! Excellent news!
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Thank you, H.R.R 🙂
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Namaste Sammi 🙂
Happy New Year!
Congratulations on your success: having just read your story the reward is certainly justified. Greatly enjoyed, I was pulled quickly into her apprehensive and anxious world with its sense of dark foreboding. Carried along by your lyrical prose…so much so that I found myself considering its merits if rewritten as a poem – or presented as an illuminated manuscript…I was disappointed it came to an end, but yet, delighted to have enjoyed the tale you told. Its historical accuracy is a credit to your research. One wonders if Sir Harry Hotspur was equally haunted either before or after presiding over her fate?
An excellent read Sammi – your writing gets better and better, which bodes well for further success in the New Year! I also wonder if historical drama – fashioned by your darkly wand – offers further scope for expanding your repertoire? History is littered with ghosts and ghouls and brim-full of dark secrets awaiting darker tales.
Namaste 🙂
DN
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Thanks so much for taking the time to read it, Dewin. I appreciate it, and the kind the words. I do enjoy writing historical fiction – and I love the research. A collection of Tudor ghost stories would be fun to write! 🙂
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No problem Sammi, thank you for drawing our attention to your success – a pleasure to read 🙂
‘A collection of Tudor ghost stories would be fun to write!’ – then strike whilst the writing-iron is hot and press-on!
Namaste 🙂
DN
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An expert handling of the historical and fictional blend. I mirror DN in wondering if you don’t have future works of this genre calling to you.. Bravo!
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read it, Violet. I really appreciate it 🙂
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Hi Sammi
I started to read your story yesterday but was interrupted. And so I have returned to it today. I believe of all the potential material for stories the Tudors offer, you found something not just different, but unique to your style and area of writing. Imaginative, yet with a strict adherence to known historical fact. It’s kind of creepy cos we all know what’s to happen to Anne. Sad, too, for that reason.
I enjoyed the read. And you definitely did deserve the win. Well done. 🙂
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Thanks so much for having a read of it, Crispina. I appreciate it, and your kind words 🙂 It was a dark and interesting exchange to write. Getting the historical detail right was the hardest part, knowing that the judge writes Tudor fiction centred on Katherine of Aragon and the other host of the contest has a deep interest in Anne Boleyn…
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While I’m not quite as obsessed with the Tudor as I am with earlier periods, I did a thorough research of it as background to the Jerningham research four or fice years back. It’s a period, and a dynasty, overflowing with political and personal reversals. Ample fodder for the writer.
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Like you, I tend to lean towards the earlier periods too. I’ve read around the Tudors, but not written much set in that time. The hardest thing was the language. At one point in the story Anne calls Katherine the Dour Princess – I remember having to look up the history of the word, just to see if it was possible for Anne to make such a joke!
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I did notice you’d caught the language well, the turn of phrase, without being overdone. One thinks of Shakespeare and how odd that sounds to the modern ear. 🙂
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That’s amazing. Well done you!
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Congratulations Sammi! A great achievement. I thought your approach was very insightful and I’m sure Anne did think of Katherine towards the end – how many of Henry’s subsequent wives thought of their predecessors as their own downfall approached? You obviously know your subject well, know Anne’s character, her self confidence streaked with insecurity, her desire to keep Henry happy, yet her seeming inability to keep her temper, to keep quiet when it would have been wise to do so. Well imagined and executed and a pleasure to read. Well done!
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