Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
You’ll have to forgive the lateness of this featured extract – Mum’s been recovering from surgery and we had a bit of a set-back this week as we had to visit the ER. She’s doing much better now – but for more than half the week, I am not sure what kind of energy I was existing on as all the days sort of blurred together for me. I felt over extended both at home and at work and I felt like I was failing at everything all at once. I’m thankful for the day off this Sunday to recover a bit and mostly to rest – whilst I am hoping this new week will prove to be a better one for us overall.
When I first read about this duology – I was most intrigued. As the Tudor era is one that I have had issues with settling into reading. I’ve wanted to read more about the Tudors but for whichever reason, I find it to be a very beguiling era of British History. Whenever I feel I might have found an entrance into the Tudors, I find the era overall to be a bit of a uphill climb to understand and to find purchase within the goings on of the era overall. When I read the premise behind this duology I felt this author might have found way to make the Tudors a bit more approachable and thereby, offer a compelling read for me.
I’ve had some stories which have been set within the 16th Century – a bit betwixt and between the Tudors and the Elizabethan eras, such as The Tudor Vendetta (see also Review) and The Lost Duchess (see also Review) which have been wickedly compelling reads. The story which left me wanting something more than it could give me was The Semper Sonnet (see also Review). I’ve tried to read other stories set in/around the Tudors as well but always find myself pulling out of the stories rather than feeling anchoured inside them, too.
What held my interest for this duology was the fact it focuses on Katherine of Aragon. Mostly as I know very little about her and I love how we are following her story through the people connected to her and in her close company. It is an interesting portal into History and to find those lost moments in time between the living hours they had in their lives and the legacies of them which have been left behind. I oft-times find this is the best way to live in the past – to take up residence in persons connected to those we desire to know more about and to see through their eyes the ways in which History can become a light of truth in the present.
I’m thankful to be on this blog tour – despite the fact, my stop on it was unfortunately delayed until today. I am hopeful this omnibus edition of the duology will one day be released into print edition as so far, I’ve only found it to be a digital release.
Falling Pomegranate Seeds
Subtitle: The Katherine of Aragon Story
by Wendy J. Dunn
In the Falling Pomegranate Seeds Duology, readers are transported to the rich historical tapestry of 15th and 16th-century Europe, where the lives of remarkable women unfold against the backdrop of political upheaval and personal struggles.
In the first book, beginning in 1490 Castile, Doña Beatriz Galindo, a passionate and respected scholar, serves as an advisor to Queen Isabel of Castile. Beatriz yearns for a life beyond the constraints imposed on women, desiring to control her own destiny. As she witnesses the Holy War led by Queen Isabel and her husband, King Ferdinand of Aragon, Beatriz dedicates herself to guiding Queen Isabel's youngest child, Catalina of Aragon, on her own path. Beatriz's role as a tutor and advisor becomes instrumental in shaping Catalina's future as she prepares to become England's queen.
Fast forward to the winter of 1539 in the second book, where María de Salinas, a dear friend and cousin of Catalina (now known as Katherine of Aragon), pens a heartfelt letter to her daughter, the Duchess of Suffolk. Unable to make the journey from her London home due to illness, María shares her life story, intricately woven with her experiences alongside Catalina. Their friendship has endured through exile and tumultuous times. María seeks to shed light for her daughter on the choices she has made in a story exploring themes of friendship, betrayal, hatred, and forgiveness. Through María's narrative, the eternal question Will love ultimately triumph?
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9798230085881
Published by Poesy Quill
on 28th February, 2025
Available Formats: Digital Release of the Omnibus for the Duology
Converse via: #CoffeePotBookClub, #Tudors, #HistoricalFiction
#HistFic, #KatherineOfAragon and/or #WomensFiction
About Wendy J. Dunn
Wendy J. Dunn is an award-winning Australian writer fascinated by Tudor history – so much so she was not surprised to discover a family connection to the Tudors, not long after the publication of her first Anne Boleyn novel, which narrated the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the elder.
Her family tree reveals the intriguing fact that one of her ancestral families – possibly over three generations – had purchased land from both the Boleyn and Wyatt families to build up their own holdings. It seems very likely Wendy’s ancestors knew the Wyatts and Boleyns personally.
The Semper Sonnet
The Tudor Vendetta
Winter, 1558: Elizabeth I has ascended the throne but the first days of her reign are already fraught with turmoil, the kingdom weakened by strife and her ability to rule uncertain.
