Historical Fiction, Research, & Rogue Updates
Adventures in the UK
Visiting Newark-on-Trent was a highlight of my Sept./Oct. 2022 travel to the UK. Writer/historian friend Sharon Bennett Connolly*, who has done a significant bit of research related to King John, met me in Newark for a day of exploration.
See those windows above the arched gatehouse? They open into the room where King John died in October 1216.
John is alive and well in Rogue, though it is near the end of his reign. He's the off-screen villain (most of the time), but a real threat to Allan, Robin and the gang. Will the war against his rebellious barons bring the king to Nottingham?
Newark Castle dates back to the Norman Conquest, and the original timber structure was replaced by stone in the 1130s. During the First Baron's War - the time of Rogue - it was held by those loyal to King John. Sadly, the once grand medieval castle is mostly ruins. It is being refurbished, but a fence surrounds it, leaving what remains of the interiors inaccessible now.
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*Sharon's work includes the nonfiction Ladies of Magna Carta, and the forthcoming King John's Right Hand Lady: the story of Nicholaa de la Haye. She recently published a short story featuring King John in the anthology Alternate Endings.