Dear Reader,
I hope you will enjoy the story of a young medieval woman called Beth and of the man she meets in a crowded square, who turns out to be a master blacksmith by the name of Tom Reed. I wanted this story to be both hot and sweet, with strong characters you will grow to like. I have a thing for names and I thought long and hard what names to choose for a romance which did not feature lords and ladies but characters that would have been called “commoners” in the twelfth century when the story takes place. It seemed to me simple, strong names would work better for the story I wanted you to read, which has a lot of heart in it. Elisabeth is a very old name and it has become associated with England due to the powerful queens who have borne it. I chose Beth rather than Lisbeth or Bess or Lizzie for my character because I liked the clipped, short sound of it. And what short, simple name to go with Beth other than Tom? Tom’s medieval “surname” would be Smith, since he comes from a family of smiths, but I couldn’t resist and gave him a nickname. And “Reed” is a nickname which works fine for me because it can refer not only to the colour “red” but also to “fire” and to someone with a hot temper and a job that involves working with fire. By the way, Beth’s hair is red and she has a fiery temper, but she definitely meets her match in Tom Reed who works in a hot forge all day and has a pair of smouldering coal-black eyes.
FIVE FUN FACTS ABOUT THE HEROINE OF THE STORY
1. Beth loves talking and joking and scolding others all the time.
2. She knows a lot of about blacksmithing
3. She makes delicious frumenty (Check out the recipe for medieval frumenty – I did make frumenty more than once while I was writing this book!).
4. She is great with numbers and she can do difficult multiplications in her head.
5. She has a mischievous streak and likes to misbehave from time to time…
The Blacksmith’s Woman is now available from several vendors, including Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble.
