Hell Hath No Fury: The Story of Marguerite of Anjou by Judith Arnopp

I’ve been exploring a remarkable group of historical voices lately – ahead of a new anthology – and discovered what lies beneath quiet surfaces. Power rarely arrives gently. More often it is forced into unwilling hands demanding a price long before it grants authority. But, when survival demands transformation, when does need become something else entirely?

18/04/202617/04/2026

Ascent: A story of danger, adversity, and love by Cathie Dunn

Empires are rarely born in triumph. More often empires rise from ruin — the smoke, broken walls, the lives abruptly unmade and forced into new shapes. But history and human nature also suggest otherwise. I’ve been exploring a remarkable group of historical voices lately and discovered what lies beneath quiet surfaces. When the world is remade around us, do we shape it in return… or are we shaped beyond recognition?

16/04/202617/04/2026

Even truth becomes blind when it refuses to look – When Secrets Bloom

Some stories are not built all at once. They gather in fragments. A line that refuses to loosen its grip. An image formed at the edge of thought. A truth that waits until it’s the right time to be released.

In When Secrets Bloom these fragments came first. This series of book quotes gathers those glimpses.

14/04/202614/04/2026

Their Castilian Orphan by Anna Belfrage: Keeping Secrets

Power rarely announces itself with noise. More often poser moves in silence: through lineage, allegiance, and the dangerous secrets of what must remain hidden. But history and human nature also suggest otherwise. I’ve been exploring a remarkable group of historical voices lately and discovered what lies beneath quiet surfaces. Is it blood that defines us… or the secrets kept to protect it?

12/04/202612/04/2026

Are Not Two Sparrows… on Easter Day

a sparrow taking a bath in dirt, garden birds

Today we celebrate the Orthodox Easter. I was reminded of these simple words: “Are not two sparrow sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father.“(the Gospel of Matthew 10:29) – the sparrow does nor fall into emptiness, but within a world still held by God.