Tracy L Ranson

Sorry all that this is late! Friday got away from me as well as Monday so I’m actually going to do two posts tomorrow and one tonight. Hope you all enjoy it!

Anne had made many enemies
at court, beginning with the snubbing of certain royal personages, especially
Henry’s sister Mary, Duchess of Suffolk. Her religious reforms angered many,
give quite enough fuel to add the fire of treason. Anne was eventually accused
of adultery, treason as well as incest with her brother, George (reputed to be
Elizabeth’s biological father). Did it happen? It could have but we’ll never
know. Personally, I think Henry was Elizabeth’s father because she did look like
him and had his fiery red hair.

Just three short
years after her rise to power, Anne was slowly being shoved aside for another.
Her lady in waiting, Jane Seymour. Henry’s attention fell to the younger woman,
creating a catalyst against her and calling for action by the King. 
Cromwell, no fan of Anne’s, moved in action against her, persuading
the King to sign a document calling for an investigation of her on charges of
treason. 

The picture at left is a wax figure at Madame Tussaud’s in London. This actually
gives Anne a more realistic look at what she could have possibly looked like.
Could she have conspired with others to eventually kill the king and take the
throne for herself? It’s possible but I don’t think Anne was quite that devious.
She knew how far she could go with things. Unfortunately, her scheming ways
became her downfall. Henry at this point had become more or less bored with Anne
and her ways so he delightfully fell in love with Jane Seymour, her lady in
waiting. Where Anne was scheming and outrageous, Jane was demure and
accommodating, a woman the king could trust to a certain extent. The all
consuming passion he had harbored for Anne had grown to cold embers. She had
failed to produce the one thing she’d promised him: a son.

In April of 1536, Mark Smeaton, Anne’s friend and
musician for years, was arrested and probably tortured by Anne’s enemies into
making ‘revelations’ about Anne and other men. Sir Henry Norris, another
purported lover went to the Tower along with Anne’s brother, George, Lord
Rochford

Anne herself was not arrested until May 2 of that
year on charges of treason and adultery. Her jailers came to the palace at
Greenwich and informed her that she was being taken to the Tower on charges of
incest, adultery and plotting to murder the king. Ironically, she was taken to
the Tower by barge, the same way she had been when she was crown. As if to add
insult to injury, she was housed in exactly the same rooms she had stayed in the
night before her coronation.

More arrests followed Anne’s.  Sir Francis
Weston and William Brereton were arrested as well, charged with treason as well
as an adulterous relationship with the Queen. Another friend. Sir Thomas Wyatt
was also arrested but was later released when it was discovered that he was
innocent of all charges. Weston and Brereton stood trial with Norris  all
of whom were found guilty of treason (coincidentally, the accused were not
allowed to defend themselves in these matters).  They were given a traitors
death: Hanging at Tyburn before being cut down while alive and drawn and
quartered (that is perhaps the most gruesome of all deaths–if you saw
BRAVEHEART, that’s what they did to William Wallace at the end. I don’t know how
they could have been so cruel).

On May 15th, Anne and her brother stood trial.
Anne was most composed, denying all the charges against her. According to the
constable’s  account, almost 2000 people attended her trial. Though the
evidence against them both were scant, both were found guilty. To stay true to
the law, they were subject to burning at the stake (fate for incest) or a simple
beheading. The manner of their deaths would depend on the King’s mood. Henry, in
one last loving gesture to Anne, gave the command that she be beheaded. The
others, Norris, Smeaton, Weston, Brereton and Boleyn all had their sentences
commuted to simple beheadings.

George was the first to go on May 17 with the
others following shortly. Anne knew her time would come soon and became
hysterical. Most executioners of the day needed two blows from the axe to behead
someone (Mary Queen of Scots for example: it took two strokes of the axe to get
her head off–even them the executioner had to cut the last bit of gristle
keeping her head onto her body). Henry, in one last act of love, sent for a
swordsman from Calais. Anne was relieved and made the famous remark about her
‘little neck’. 

The morning of May 19, Anne was taken to the
Tower Green and afforded a private execution. She said several prayers and
mounted the stairs. At the block, her ladies removed her headdress and
blindfolded her. Thankfully the sword was hidden in the straw scattered around
the block to collect her blood. Before removing her head, the executioner asked
for forgiveness, which Anne readily gave. He beheaded her in one stroke. That
left one question. What to do with her body? Henry had made no provision for
Anne after her death nor a casket. Her ladies managed to find an arrow chest
that would fit her perfectly, with her head tucked her her arm. She was buried
in an unmarked grave beneath the floor of Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula which
adjoined the Tower Green. Her grave remained unmarked until the reign of Queen
Victoria when renovations were taking place in the chapel. Her remains were
identified and now she has a nice inscription in the floor.

Before Anne was charged with her adultery, Henry
had their marriage dissolved and declared ‘invalid’ therefore bastardizing
Princess Elizabeth. Here’s a good question: How could someone commit adultery
when they weren’t married in the first place? If Anne wasn’t married to Henry,
then why was it such a crime for her to have affairs with other men? Somehow
this got overlooked. I guess in Henry’s zeal to have a son, that was one
obstacle he was happy to forget.

Well, that’s my little review of Henry and Anne.
Coming up next, Cleopatra and Antony. What brought them together? What tore them
apart? We’ll find out tomorrow!

Happy Reading!

Anne
returned to court after serving Queen Claude of France in 1521. At this point in
time, Henry is seeing Mary Boleyn, the fifteen year old sister of Anne. It
really amazes me that a family strives so hard for political power that they
would offer up their own daughters just to gain it. If anyone gets a chance,
please read THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL by Phillipa Gregory. It’s a wonderful book
that gives a lot of great insight in to the tangled web of political gain. Mary
was thought to be the actual Boleyn savior. Her husband of two years was
literally set aside so that she could dally with the Henry. The family hoped
that by Mary having Henry’s children, that would ensure their power literally
forever. Mary did have two children, Catherine and Henry by Henry VIII but that
didn’t cement alliance too long. Henry’s eye began to wander and landed on Anne.

Anne had returned to finalize her marriage to the heir of Ormonde but that
quickly fell through (I’m assuming her family saw little use for Ormonde). Not
long afterwards, Anne began an aborted affair with Henry Percy but with the
interference of Cardinal Wolsey, it was almost over before it began. More than
likely that fostered her hatred for Cardinal Wolsey.

Unlike her sister, Anne was determined to keep Henry’s attention far longer
than Mary could have ever hoped for. She kept him at arms length, giving him
tastes of what he could have (keep in mind Anne spent quite a bit of time in the
French court and learned A LOT of things, especially about sexual pleasure.).
She made him chase her. I guess she was a medieval prick tease!

Henry
fell for her dark eyes and bewitching demeanor. Unfortuantely for Anne, she made
a lot of enemies along the way, especially with Charles Brandon, the Duke of
Suffolk (Charles had been married to Henry’s sister, Mary). She strove to make
all sorts of changes, like introducing French culture into the English court.
Women of the court tended to copy her style, all waiting to see what new
fashions she would be wearing each season. In 1528 Anne showed interest in
religious reforms, more than likely introducing Henry to them. Soon she became
unpopular with the people because during the Christmas celebrations, she was
given precedence over the Duchesses of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Duchess of
Suffolk was Henry’s own sister, Mary, still Princess of the Blood.

Henry began to spend more and more time with Anne, lavishing jewelry, clothes
as buying things to keep her occupied like cards, bows and arrows and the like.
On September 1st, Anne became the Marquess of Pembroke, a title she held on her
own. She even held an honored place in meetings between Henry and the French
King, Francis I in Calais.

Anne dandled Henry a bit longer before she gave into him. In 1532, Anne
consummated her relationship with Henry and was pregnant with Elizabeth I by
December.  Keep in mind, back in those days, if a woman was pregnant, she
wasn’t allowed to engage in any sexual activity. It was thought to be bad for
the baby (we know better now!). Lusty Henry wasn’t put off for long. He found
amusement elsewhere, at least until Anne would deliver what he thought to be a
son.  Anne was confined in August of 1533 and Elizabeth was born on Sept
7th, 1533. At this point, Anne knew that to keep Henry and possibly her life,
she had to produce a son. By January of 1534, she was pregnant again but lost
the baby.  In 1535, she was pregnant again but had a miscarriage in
January. According to reports, it was the much hoped for boy. Anne was quite
upset, blaming the miscarriage on hearing Henry was hurt in a jousting
accident.  At this point, Anne was growing desperate. She had to produce a
son and quickly for Henry’s eye had fallen on Jane Seymour, her lady in waiting.
Now here’s where the rumors fly. I’ve read several accounts that Anne became
pregnant one last time but she had to find another ’sire’ because Henry was
growing steadily impotent. Some say she turned to her brother George in order to
get that desperate child.   When it came time for the baby to be born,
everyone knew that the devil had come to the castle. The baby was hideously
deformed and died shortly after birth. The child was buried in a secret location
never to be found. I don’t know if this is true or not but it makes fascinating
reading (this also fuels speculation that Anne had an ongoing sexual
relationship with George and that allowed Henry to accuse her of an incestuous
relationship and aid her going to the block).

As you can see, we’re speeding toward Anne’s downfall and Henry’s eventual
marriage to Jane.

See you on Friday!

As most of you know, I’m an avid lover of history so this is a natural thing for me. One of my favorite time periods is the Tudor period and I’ve often wondered where the woman who changed the course of British history came from. In my research, I found that Anne was born near Blickling (which is Norfolk) but her birth year isn’t actually pinned down. I found this rather odd but unlike today, there weren’t any birth certificates or any type of census taken. More than likely, her birth would have been recorded in a family bible or written down in a journal that was lost to all time. Some put her birth as early as 1500 or as late as 1509 (that’s according to writer Antoina Fraser’s research).

From what I’ve found out, the history changing Anne came from a humble family (they certainly wouldn’t stay that way for long) and was educated as befitting a lady of the court. During my research, I did come to the conclusion that Anne’s family had designs on her and her sister Mary even as small children. The Boleyn family desired power above all else, even if it cost them several children in the process. Anne and Mary would be the sacrificial lambs to Henry, so to speak. My question is: Why would you subject your children to such things? One thing that I have to remember that during that time period, children weren’t looked upon as great gifts from God but more like commodities. Who can I marry my daughter to in order to get this? Most of the time, the marriage contracts were signed a few days after a child’s birth. That actually makes me cringe a bit. Could you imagine being engaged almost from the moment you were born? You’d have no idea of who that person really was until you saw them on your wedding day or a short time before if you were lucky.

Anne spent a good chunk of her childhood attending Archduchess
Margaret. At about 13, she was sent as a ‘fille d’honneur’ to Queen Mary of
France (Henry’s sister). It was there that she learned to speak French fluently
and began to favor French fashion, poetry, food and music. Louis XII died and
left Mary La Reine Blanche, or the White Queen. After Mary’s confinement (to
make sure that she was pregnant with the next heir to the throne), she returned
to England with Anne’s sister, Mary Boleyn, in tow.  Anne stayed behind to
attend the new Queen Claude.

More legends surround Anne. Did she have a lot of moles or an
sixth finger? Did she design her gown sleeves to hide the extra finger? More
than likely.  Anne and Henry were tied together through various bloodlines.
During this time, an extra finger was considered a witches mark. We know now
that it wasn’t. Just a simple product of breeding too closely. In aristocracy,
families didn’t venture far to find mates for their children. Look at Queen
Elizabeth and Prince Phillip of today. They share the same great grandmother:
Queen Victoria. Sometimes it would be as close as uncles to nieces, aunts to
nephews and the such. Genetics is much more understood today than it was then.

As far as the moles, more than likely they were just beauty
marks.  As you can see from these portraits, there were no moles. If she
did have them, they would have been painted out, though. Monarchs had no
flaws.  During this period, women were thought of as blonde haired, waif
like creatures with ethereal beauty. Anne was the exact opposite. With olive
skin and black hair, she possessed eyes so dark, they were black. Men were
captivated by those eyes and she used them to her full advantage.  We’ll
touch on that more in the next segment.

On Wednesday, I’ll start with Anne’s return to England and how
she captured a King and changed the course of history.

Happy Reading!

Tristan and Isolde were legendary lovers a long time before the medieval period came about. According to legend, Isolde was married to Tristan’s uncle, King Mark. She was beautiful and young, married to a much older man. She fell in love with Tristan at her father’s court and he was to escort her to Mark’s court for marriage. During the journey there, they became lovers. At Mark’s court, Isolde married Mark but kept Tristan on the side.  Sort of keeping it all in the family, isn’t it?

Many legends abound about Tristan and Isolde, most of them written in poems and stories handed down from generationt to generation. Some even believe that the Arthurian legend is based on this story. It would make sense, though because Arthur, Guenivere and Lancelot were all involved with Lancelot’s undying loyalty to Arthur. Tristan was the same way with Mark. Why shouldn’t he be? Mark is after all his uncle.

Also, you can see some similarities between  Tristan and Isolde’s story and Romeo and Juliet’s story.  Both were tragic, the heros and heroines dying in each others arms at the end. Poor Tristan. After he married another Isolde (called Isolde of the White Hands–Tristan’s Isolde was known as Isolde the Fair), he pined for his Isolde the Fair, going into battle to try and erase her from his mind. He was mortally wounded. When Isolde the Fair heard of his injury, she knew she could save him. She traveled to his location but it was too late. Tristan was already dead. Just as in Romeo and Juliet, Isolde died there with him, knowing she would never love another man. They were buried in Cornwall and overnight two intertwining trees sprung up from their graves. Outraged, Mark had the trees cut down only to find the next day they were there again. He had them cut over several days only to find them back again. Talk about your love never ending.

 Tristan and Isolde are a testament to unending love. I can commiserate with Isolde because if I lost my husband, I don’t know what I’d do. I’m very much in love with him and he serves as the inspiration for all my heros of my books.  I would be very lost without him. 

I hope you enjoyed this little tidbit about Tristan and Isolde. I’ll be back on Friday with some more info about Tristan and Isolde. Up next week, I’ll be focusing on Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. There’s a lot of interesting stuff coming up next week!

 Happy Reading!

I’ve got some great news to share! I’ve just been offered a contract for PIRATES OF THE MIST, previously published by the new defunct Triskelion Publishing. The release date is Sept of 2008 for the ebook and Feb of 2009 for the print version. I’m so excited because was supposed to go to print at Triskelion but it never happened. That’s okay because it’s going to be expanded with some scenes adding along with a possible new twist (I’m still working on that)

 Also, new with the blog, I’m going to be highlighting historical themes each month. This month it’s historical lovers. I’ve picked Tristan and Isolde, Antony and Cleopatra, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Napoleon and Josephine. I’ll start this new blog this week on Weds. I’ll probably start this week with Tristan and Isolde then work my way down. Hope you all enjoy the new blog and if there’s anything anyone wants to see in the blog, let me know! Also, once a month, I”m going to be inviting a guest blogger for the day so I’m working on getting author lined up. The author some of your old favorites and some new ones that are destined for your keeper shelf!

I’ll be back in Weds with some more great information!

Happy Reading!

Okay, Okay, I know it’s been a while (yeah since Xmas) but I’m back this time and hopefully for good. Right now I’m on pins and needles becasue my husband and I put in a bid on a house near where we’re currently living.  We fell in love with this house and its gorgeous! We put in a bid on Saturday and from what my real estate agent told me, there’ve been two other offers. I’ve had to up my bid about $3000 and I’m praying that I get it.

This is my first home and I’m really excited about it. The inside is gorgeous and holds a lot of promise and possibilities. It is a foreclosed property and needs a little work but not something that we can’t handle. I wish I knew what the others were bidding!  Buying a house is not an easy thing, especially when dealing with a foreclosed property.  I’ve sort of stumbled through this process but thanks to my saavy real estate agent and mortgage broker, it’s been fairly easy navigation.  I never realized how many ins and outs there was to buying a home. Hopefully, next time, it will be a lot easier.

On the writing front, I’m very close to finishing MIDNIGHT SINS and have sent partials to some very well known agents that have asked for it. I’m hoping to land an agent soon.  Also, I’ll be attending the Lori Foster’s Readers/Writers Get Together in Cincinnati, Ohio. If anyone is close, it is worth attending.

I’ll try not to stay away so long. Weds, I should have some news for everyone, good or bad. Let’s hope that my car that’s in the shop doesn’t break me.

Tracy

This is my Christmas blog today. I know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. In between being very sick with the flu and other commitments, I haven’t been able to blog as often as I would like to. After the holidays, I’ll be back to a regular blogging schedule. Until then, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas is almost here and I can’t believe it! ACCCCCCK! Guess who’s going to be doing some last minute shopping? Actually, most of mine is done (DH and I just got community gifts for each other that we can both use and that are tax write-offs). I only have about four more people to buy for left, two of which are children which I could give the kids an empty box and they’d be happy.

Sometimes, I miss those days when I could take an empty box and turn it into a castle or fort and play all day with it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I’m an adult but for just a few hours, I’d love to go back to that and turn the reigns of worry over to someone else, even for that short period of time….LOL….good thing I became a writer.

I love this time year because it makes us stop and think not only about our Savior but about how much that we mean to each other. I lost my great uncle on Friday night and it got me to thinking how short and precarious life can be. I just saw him on Nov 24th at our family’s Christmas party and he seemed in good spirits. Now he’s gone, the last member of my grandmother’s siblings. It’s hard to believe.  He’d been sick for the last few years and almost died several times. He always came back. This time, he didn’t. I’m hoping that my grandmother is pleased to see him when he gets to Heaven.

If you get a chance, tell those you love how much you care.  Because you really don’t know when the next time you’ll see them. On a much lighter note, I’m working on MIDNIGHT SINS and it’s coming along nicely. I got a great gift from my inlaws already. It’s a huge (and heavy) four drawer filing cabinet that’s awesome. Where my mother in law works, they were selling their old office furniture so she managed to get it for me. When I move, I’m going to repaint it red (my favorite color) and that should hide all the blemishes. I’ve finally got my office to where it’s clean and manageable! I don’t know how much stuff I threw out but it was quite a bit! It was mostly stuff that’s followed me through 3 moves and I finally said ENOUGH! I don’t like being a pack rat at all. Can’t keep everything forever!

Well, that’s my rant for Monday. Be back on Weds sometime. My uncle’s funeral is that day so I’m not sure what time I’ll post but it will be sometime that day.

Happy Reading!

Hi! I’m back with another small rant. Has anyone ever noticed how things can totally out of control? Well, I came up with this bright idea over the weekend and I’m sort of wishing I hadn’t thought of it now.  My office is what I’d like to call controlled chaos. In layman’s terms, it’s a real mess but I know where everything is. Now DH has been trying to get me organized for what seems  like an eternity and now he’s getting his wish (for anyone who knows me, organization scares the daylights out of me). I’ve been fighting to organize everything and I honestly didn’t realize what a pack rat I really am. I’m finding stuff that I haven’t seen in years (nor would I want to) and things I have no idea of how I got them.  What’s even scarier is that I’ve still got an entire closet to go! I love sewing as everyone knows so I’ve got scads of material in bins that are just sort of stacked in corners. My entire goal is to clean out that closet to that I can neatly stack my material and other craft project stuff in there. We’ll see how that goes.

 I really honest need to get this done if I want a career in writing. I need to have things where they need to be and I should be able to access everything pretty easily. I learned that from an online class I took with Suzanne McGinn.  Organization is the key to success no matter how much I try to fight it. My husband sort of compares me to Pigpen from the Peanuts gang. I don’t smell in the slightest but there’s always a trail of disarray behind me.  ;-).  I guess that’s what makes me lovable *shrug*

Until next time, happy reading. If I find something interesting in my closet, everyone will be the first to know!

As you can see by my header, DANGEROUS TEMPATION, has been contracted by Vintange Romance Publishing! I just signed the contract the other day but I don’t have a release date yet. I’m still waiting to hear back from the publisher  As soon as I know, you’ll know!

 In celebration of that fact, I’ve decided to dedicate this month’s prize to jewelry! I’m giving away a gorgeous necklace that is champagne colored and beautiful. The book is about a reformed jewel thief who isn’t as reformed as she thinks.  Ashton Morgan’s past isn’t as hidden as she thought. Her history is hot on her heels as well as hunky Alexander Throckmorten, Viscount Bayleigh, Scotland Yard’s most skilled detective.

 The book will only be put out in print format and possibly e-book later for all of the ebook lovers out there. It will be in stores everywhere so keep a close eye out for it!

Tracy