Welcome to Conversations with Authors, where I – Alison Thompson, AKA The Proof Fairy – meet amazing authors and find out what inspires them to write and what advice they would offer other aspiring authors.
My guest today is Christine Hancock, a historical novelist and author of The Byrhtnoth Chronicles, a series of books set in tenth century England. Christine wrote her first book, Bright Sword, by accident – listen to the episode to find out how, and why she’s now on book number five!
We talk about the pros and cons of self-publishing, how real historical figures can become realistic book characters, and why it’s important that writers also read!
More About Christine Hancock
Christine Hancock was born in Essex and moved to Rugby, Warwickshire when she married. She was a long term family historian and leader of the local history group.
Christine had never thought of becoming an author; she just wanted to write about some of her ancestors. In 2013 she joined a writing class. The class turned out to be about writing fiction. Before she knew it, she was writing a novel.
Byrhtnoth was a real warrior who died in the 991 Battle of Maldon, made famous by the Anglo-Saxon poem of that name. Growing up in Essex, Christine visited Maldon often, and attended the 1000 year anniversary of the battle in 1991.
She wanted to find out what made Byrhtnoth such a famous warrior. She finished the book but discovered it had become a series.
Christine published four books in The Byrhtnoth Chronicles – Bright Sword, Bright Axe, Bright Blade and Bright Helm – and a spinoff novel, Death at the Mint: A Wulfstan Mystery.
