In Henry VII’s glittering court, Lambert Simnel’s quiet past is shattered by a deadly mystery that threatens the fragile peace of the Tudor dynasty. When a former pretender receives honors at the Twelfth Night revelries, Princess Margaret Tudor watches the cracks in the Tudor dynasty deepen. Amid the art of falconry, seasonal traditions, and the early life of Henry VIII, this tale ends with a devastating royal loss that reshapes England.
My Kick-Ass Back Cover Description:
In the glittering court of Henry VII, danger still hides in the shadows of past rebellions.
Once a boy who challenged a king, Lambert Simnel, the last living pretender to the English throne, has spent years buried in obscurity—pardoned by Henry VII and kept close as the queen’s falconer. But when a silver crown turns up in his slice of Twelfth Night cake, he’s thrust unwillingly into the spotlight once more as the court’s mock-monarch, the “King of the Revels.”
Among the revelers is Princess Margaret Tudor, sister to the future Henry VIII, a spirited young royal who sees more in Lambert than his quiet loyalty. She draws him into a scheme to uncover the true character of a man who has caught the eye of her friend, Nan Browne, a recent heiress tied to a mysterious and possibly treasonous legacy. But when a midnight encounter leaves Lambert drenched in blood, he must confront a terrifying reality: the web of intrigue reaches far deeper than he imagined. Forced to ally with Sir Thomas Lovell, the king’s ruthless enforcer, Lambert races to solve a growing mystery that could threaten the peace Henry VII has fought to secure.
Amid courtly games, deadly secrets, and the elegant presence of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Katharine of Aragon, Lambert uncovers a hidden connection between a rare white falcon, a nest of conspirators, and a tragedy that could alter the fate of the Tudor dynasty. Perfect for fans of Tudor-era historical fiction, royal intrigue, and slow-burn suspense, this gripping tale dives into the shadows left by war, the delicate power plays of Henry VII’s court, and the haunting legacy of ambition and betrayal.
Buy now on Amazon or Digital.
The Story Behind the Story
Once in a while, a spark of genius strikes a writer and grows into a character unlike any other. For me, that happened with Lambert Simnel. Aside from Lovell, he’s the character on whom I have received the most positive feedback, so much so that I wrote him into the next book in the series, The Last-Fire Eater, because my readers begged me for more.
Lambert Simnel was a fallen Pretender. As a child, a nobleman plucked him from a gutter and called him one of the Lost Princes. Sir Thomas Lovell and Henry decimated his uprising, but upon seeing the terrified young boy, Henry took mercy on him, pardoned him after a stint in the Tower, and allowed him to serve in the royal household as the falconer. In my story, Lambert is a sweet and innocent young man, aware Lovell’s eye is never far from him, but conscious of being good at his job.
He gets sucked up into a rivalry between noblemen, and becomes the unexpected friend of Princess Margaret. It’s her turn to shine, as she navigates the court in the wake of her brother’s death and thinks about her future married to King James of Scotland. We catch glimpses of Prince Harry, the earnest young boy and hints of the man he will become, one who could never be wrong.
I had to write a compelling Lambert tale, because the rest of this book wanted to eviscerate me on an emotional level. It’s that time in history when I had to bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth, the love of Henry VII’s life. If you have ever experienced grief, you know how it guts you inside and leaves you a walking shell of your former self. That is what it did to Henry, who was never the same after her death. I dreaded writing every page, cried long and hard, and did my best to capture a man’s devastation in the wake of incredible loss. Henry was an unusual king, in that he never took a mistress, unlike all of his contemporaries. Though he could be hard and mercurial, he respected and loved his wife enough to keep their marriage bed intact. I admire him for that, so I wrote the best version of Henry and Elizabeth possible to honor their love story.
It may be their ending, but it is only the beginning for Lambert, as he goes on in the next book to find a fiery woman of his own to love in his own gentle way…
