01 May Amy Maroney The Queen’s Scribe #HistoricalFiction #TheQueensScribe #RoyalHistory #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @wilaroney @cathiedunn

FEATURED AUTHOR: AMY MARONEY

It is my pleasure to welcome Amy Maroney again to The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between May 1st — May 12th, 2023. Amy Maroney is the author of the Historical Fiction, The Queen’s Scribe (Sea and Stone Chronicles), released by Artelan Press on April 25th, 2023 (388 pages). 

Below are highlights of The Queen’s Scribe, Amy Maroney’s author bio, and her fascinating post on what inspired her to write about Charlotta of Lusignan, the courageous teenaged monarch in her book

Tour Schedule Page:  https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/03/blog-tour-the-queens-scribe-by-amy-maroney.html

HIGHLIGHTS: THE QUEEN’S SCRIBE

The Queen’s Scribe

Sea and Stone Chronicles

By Amy Maroney

Blurb:

A broken promise. A bitter conflict. And a woman’s elusive chance to love or die.

1458. Young Frenchwoman Estelle de Montavon sails to Cyprus imagining a bright future as tutor to a princess. Instead, she is betrayed by those she loves most—and forced into a dangerous new world of scheming courtiers, vicious power struggles, and the terrifying threat of war.

Determined to flee, Estelle enlists the help of an attractive and mysterious falconer. But on the eve of her escape, fortune’s wheel turns again. She gains entry to Queen Charlotta’s inner circle as a trusted scribe and interpreter, fighting her way to dizzying heights of influence.

Enemies old and new rise from the shadows as Estelle navigates a royal game of cat and mouse between the queen and her powerful half-brother, who wants the throne for himself.

When war comes to the island, Estelle faces a brutal reckoning for her loyalty to the queen. Will the impossible choice looming ahead be her doom—or her salvation?

With this richly-told story of courage, loyalty, and the sustaining power of love, Amy Maroney brings a mesmerizing and forgotten world to vivid life. The Queen’s Scribe is a stand-alone novel in the Sea and Stone Chronicles collection.

 Praise for the Sea and Stone Chronicles:

 “Island of Gold is a nimbly told story with impeccable pacing.”—Historical Novel Society, Editor’s Choice Review

“Sea of Shadows is stunning. A compelling tale of love, honor, and conviction.”—Reader’s Favorite Review

Amy Maroney is the author of the award-winning Miramonde Series, the story of a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern day scholar on her trail.

Buy Links:

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Link      Amazon UK     Amazon US     Amazon CA     Amazon AU

AUTHOR BIO: AMY MARONEY

Amy Maroney studied English Literature at Boston University and worked for many years as a writer and editor of nonfiction. She lives in Oregon, U.S.A. with her family. When she’s not diving down research rabbit holes, she enjoys hiking, dancing, traveling, and reading.

Amy is the author of The Miramonde Series, an Amazon-bestselling historical mystery trilogy about a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern-day scholar on her trail. Amy’s award-winning historical adventure/romance series, Sea and Stone Chronicles, is set in medieval Rhodes and Cyprus.

An enthusiastic advocate for independent publishing, Amy is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and the Historical Novel Society.

Social Media Links:

Website     Twitter     Facebook     LinkedIn     Instagram     Pinterest     Book Bub     Amazon Author Page     Goodreads

CHARLOTTA OF LUSIGNAN, THE COURAGEOUS TEENAGED MONARCH WHO INSPIRED THE QUEEN’S SCRIBE

As a writer who specializes in forgotten women of Europe’s medieval and Renaissance eras, I’m often disappointed by the scant details available about the talented, powerful, interesting females who lived and died alongside men whose lives and deeds were carefully chronicled.

These women inhabit the margins of history, beckoning to me from the shadows, urging me to dig deeper and look for them in unusual places. I’ve done so and been rewarded: women show up in municipal and tax records; in notaries’ record-books; in church documents; in illustrations and textiles and paintings. These tantalizing glimpses of living, breathing women are enough for me to confidently create characters who come to life on the page and worlds that feel real.

Since I’m always on the hunt for nearly invisible women, I tend to get knocked sideways when I discover women who already have a place in the historical record. Queen Charlotta of Cyprus is one such woman.

I stumbled upon this young ruler while doing research on the medieval rule of the Knights Hospitaller in Rhodes, Greece, for my Sea and Stone Chronicles novels. References to the Kingdom of Cyprus kept cropping up, too numerous to ignore. Digging deeper, I learned that a French dynasty—the Lusignans—ruled Cyprus for several centuries during the medieval era.

Theirs was a glittering, powerful court. Pilgrims en route to Jerusalem regularly stopped in Cyprus to visit the gorgeous churches and abbeys built by the Lusignans. Travelers recorded their impressions of the royal falcon collection, of luxury fabrics created on the island, of bejeweled, golden birds crafted by Cypriot artisans.

But by the time the widowed, teenaged Queen Charlotta took the throne in 1458, the Lusignan dynasty was hobbled by debt. Moreover, it teemed with suspicious deaths and outright murders, fueled by a power struggle between the Latin Catholic supporters of King Jean de Lusignan (Charlotta’s father) and the Greeks who rose to prominence thanks to Charlotta’s mother, Queen Eleni Palaiologina.

To complicate matters further, Charlotta’s half-brother Jacco (son of King Jean and a mistress) coveted the throne for himself. It turned out he would stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Charlotta, saddled with a weak-willed, disinterested second husband (Louis of Savoy), faced her brother’s civil war with courage and mettle. After fighting off Jacco’s siege at Kyrenia Fortress, she sailed without her husband around the Mediterranean, beseeching allies for help. Even when all seemed lost and Jacco’s forces occupied most of Cyprus, she refused to give up her quest.

This courageous queen’s story just had to be told. So I resolved to bring her to life with a novel, The Queen’s Scribe.

One detail kept jumping out at me in my research: despite the fact that her father was French, Charlotta could barely speak the language. She’d grown up in her Greek mother’s apartments, for all intents and purposes a Greek girl. Yet French was the language of high administration, the language both her husbands spoke, and the language of diplomacy in Charlotta’s world. This is how I developed the concept of a fictional French heroine serving the queen as a skilled interpreter and scribe.

Landmarks of Cyprus island – old medieval fortress castle in Kyrenia, Turkish part

In The Queen’s Scribe, fictional Estelle de Montavon, a talented scribe and linguist, offers unique value to the Lusignan court of Cyprus. Estelle’s language skills become as valuable as gold when the royal court retreats to Kyrenia Fortress and civil war looms between the queen and Jacco. As Queen Charlotta voyages across the Mediterranean Sea beseeching allies for help, Estelle is at her side, witnessing every triumph and disaster along the way.

This extraordinary queen’s ambition and courage burned bright for a few short years, and she deserves another turn in the spotlight. I hope The Queen’s Scribe plays a role in bringing Charlotta of Lusignan’s extraordinary story back to life.

Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub