5-5-5 Day 2: Sandra Byrd

Please help me today welcome Sandra Byrd! She wrote one of my favorite historical series, titled the Ladies in Waiting series. Three books, one each for Anne Boleyn, Kateryn Parr, and Elizabeth I -- each told from the view point of a servant or lady in waiting. I'm thrilled that Sandra is back today!

Welcome to the 5-5-5 event, Sandra! I’m so honored to be hosting you today. Now, five questions! First of all, could you tell us a little about your most recent book, Roses Have Thorns?

Here's my publisher's well-crafted blurb!

From the acclaimed author of To Die For comes a stirring novel told that sheds new light on Elizabeth I and her court. Sandra Byrd has attracted countless fans for evoking the complexity, grandeur, and brutality of the Tudor period. In her latest tour de force, she poses the question: What happens when serving a queen may cost you your marriage--or your life?

In 1565, seventeen-year-old Elin von Snakenborg leaves Sweden on a treacherous journey to England. Her fiance has fallen in love with her sister and her dowry money has been gambled away, but ahead of her lies an adventure that will take her to the dizzying heights of Tudor power. 

Transformed through marriage into Helena, the Marchioness of Northampton, she becomes the highest-ranking woman in Elizabeth's circle. But in a court that is surrounded by Catholic enemies who plot the queen's downfall, Helena is forced to choose between her unyielding monarch and the husband she's not sure she can trust--a choice that will provoke catastrophic consequences.

Vividly conjuring the years leading up to the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots, Roses Have Thorns is a brilliant exploration of treason, both to the realm and to the heart.

What’s something you love about Roses Have Thorns?

I love the Tudors. They are the ultimate family saga - and it's all, or nearly all, true. You have love, hate, life, death, fortunes made and lost, forbidden love, faith worth fighting for, and great gowns. What more can a reader desire? Telling the story told from Helena, Marchioness of Northampton's point of view was a thrill for me. She's a real person, but very little has been written about her in Tudor fiction.

They are super interesting, gotta agree! If Roses was made into a movie…do you have actors/actresses in mind to play the main characters? If not, can you describe a bit of what you’d be looking for?

Oh, I absolutely DO have some people in mind - and I did as I wrote, too. Please visit my pinterest board to see the pictures that I thought best conveyed them, but here are a few names to get your started!

Elin/Helena: Alicia Vikander (pictured in black & white)

William Parr: John Forsythe

Thomas Gorges: David Garrett

Elizabeth: Cate Blanchett, of course (the other picture!)

Robert Dudley: Joseph Fiennes

Sofia: Emily Blunt

Princess Cecelia: Brittany Daniel

Wow, all great choices! You’ve written multiple books. Out of all the covers, which is your favorite? Hard question, I know.

Oh goodness, I really don't have a favorite. One thing I love about the covers on the Ladies in Waiting series is that great care was taken to portray the kinds of relationships that the women had. In To Die For, they hold one another like best friends. In Secret Keeper, the pose is very motherly/daughterly. And, of course, on the cover of Roses, it's clear that Elizabeth is in charge, but accessible to her closest friends.

That's a good point...I hadn't thought about it before, but you're right about those portrayals! Finally, what can we expect from you book-wise in the future?

I'm right in the midst of writing the first book of my next series, also British historical, but not Tudor era. I felt like I had explored the three Tudor queens I wanted to look at, and really, who could follow Queen Elizabeth I? This new series is great fun, though: still English, still historical, but with a little more romance this time. The first book will be out early next summer.

Please visit me!

http://www.sandrabyrd.com for everything I've written, a huge contest, and a cool Tudor Hall!

http://pinterest.com/sandrabyrdbooks/roses-have-thorns-a-novel-of-elizabeth-i/ for lots of cool things about Roses Have Thorns, including pictures of the actors I'd pick to portray my characters!

https://www.facebook.com/sandrabyrdwrites to keep in touch via Facebook - please send a friend request!

Thank you SO much for taking the time to do this, Sandra. Having you as a part of 5-5-5 just made it better! :) Readers, below you'll find my links to other things on this blog related to Sandra and her books. And below that? A lovely giveaway!

•  To Die For (Ladies in Waiting book 1)
• Secret Keeper (Ladies in Waiting book 2)
• Roses Have Thorns (Ladies in Waiting book 3)
• Cover Focus: To Die For, Secret Keeper
• Older interview with Sandra 
• Let Them Eat Cake (French Twist book 1)

Now, of course you're eager to know what you can win! Since I've given away a copy of Roses Have Thorns at a previous time, the prize Sandra graciously offered this time is a (super-cute) Buckingham Palace Book Tote! If you don't have a book tote either (1) you never go anywhere, (2) you hate books, or (3) you're TOTALLY missing out. Books should go everywhere with you. Especially Sandra's. :) So, enter below to win this adorable tote! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway