History Author Spotlight - Virginia Crow

 

Today's History Author Spotlight guest is Virginia Crow.

Tell us about yourself

I’ve been writing stories for as long as I have been able to hold a pen. I used to say I’d been writing since I could spell but, if truth be told, I’m still not great at spelling – thank goodness for Scrivener and editors! Although I’ve been writing for years, it was only in 2017 that I had my first book, Day’s Dying Glory, published, and it was in a completely new genre for me. Until writing that book, I’d always written High Fantasy. Now, for a host of reasons, I’d turned towards Historical Fiction. Amongst these reasons was my rediscovery of Romantic poetry, and the poem Lachin y Gair by Byron was pivotal to that first book.

But I’ve always loved history. I grew up in Stenness, the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, and the site of far more recent history too, including Summerdale, a battle ended by the tragic case of mistaken identity when a mother killed her son. In recent years, I obtained a Masters in History of the Highlands and Islands, and I run a little history blog on my publisher's website under the hashtag #HistFicThursdays, sharing my own thoughts and experiences as well as that of my fellow Historical Fiction writers.

Writing, however, does not pay the bills, so I also have a job as a private music tutor – the two combine to make the dream job!

Tell us about your books

  I have two ongoing Historical Fiction series. The first, which includes the published books Beneath Black Clouds and White and Day’s Dying Glory, is a family saga. So far, I have five books (three yet to be published) in the story and they span the years 1792-1864. My other series is a Historical Fantasy series, Caledon, which is about events in the Northern Highlands post-Culloden.

In addition to these, last year I had a stand-alone book published, The Year We Lived, which features the mother of all twists! It’s set in 1074 and (as the title suggests) spans an adventure over 12 months, by the end of which you realise… uh-uh, no spoilers here!
My next book, Haunting Whispers of Highland Waters, (coming out in April 2022), while not been exactly Historical Fiction, tells the story of two people discovering the historical nature of the Scottish Highlands. This has been commissioned by the Spirit:360 initiative, which is part of the Spirit of the Highlands project (www.spiritofthehighlands.com).

A sketch of a scene from the author's current WIP

Do you have any current projects?

At the moment I’m working on a series of books I put together for the Sapere Books competition. I don’t know what the outcome of that competition is yet, but I intend to take my characters on their full journey. It begins in 1493 Florence, and tells the story of a young man who is Savonarola’s very unlikely New Cyrus. I am one of those writers who delves very deeply into research, and my discoveries about the hugely divisive friar gave rise to the realisation that many people who are hasty to condemn his views and behaviour do so based on a tiny proportion of his activity, mainly the now notorious Bonfire of the Vanities. He is often portrayed as being slightly rabid, but he did at least as much good as bad. I love writing the human side of stories and so this book, Poisoned Pilgrimage, explores the friendship between Girolamo Savonarola and Giovanni “Pico” della Mirandola, who had an unusual admiration for one another, perhaps appreciating the other’s faults more than their strengths.
Whatever the competition results, I hope I can find a publisher for the book(s), but for now I’m just enjoying the writing process!

Where can we buy your books? 

Well, everything is online at the moment, isn’t it? My books are available through my publisher’s website (www.crowvus.com), Amazon, Waterstones, and any independent bookshop who was happy to stock them! Just ask your book vendor for a copy, and they should be able to get it! I have my author email printed at the front of all my books, too, just in case someone wants to get in touch and tell me how much they enjoyed my books(!). I know from my own experience that it’s great to be able to contact authors directly.

Where you can find Virginia Crow

 Thank you for taking the time to read through this! I hope you’ve found it interesting and please do swing by and say hello on my:

website (www.stompermcewan.com),
 Twitter (@DaysDyingGlory),
 Facebook (/DaysDyingGlory),
and my Instagram – which I’m trying to get used to! – (stompermcewan)!

Follow the Link - Share the Adventure: www.stompermcewan.com

Virginia's beautiful spaniel, Orlando, who rules her life!