Author interview – History… the interesting bits!

Wordly Women: MJ Porter

22/11/202507/11/2025Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

It’s Wordly Women time again!

And today I am joined by an author who I could chat with all day, and never run out of things to talk about, M.J. Porter. MJ writes both fiction and non-fiction and can write a jolly good battle. Last year, MJ joined Derek Birks and I on A Slice of Medieval to chat about Athelstan and the Battle of Brunanburh. And what a fascinating discussion it was.

So, I was really excited to invite MJ Porter to take part in my Wordly Women series.

Sharon: Hi MJ! Firstly, can I ask what got you into writing?

MJ: My big dream was to write historical fantasy based on the Viking Age in Iceland. I know it’s both random and very specific. I only turned to historical fiction when I discovered a character during the research for my Master’s, I realised deserved to have his story told. Ealdorman Leofwine of the Hwicce, alive at the end of the tenth century ( a part of the Saxon Mercian kingdom), and his family were, in my view, far more influential and important than the Godwine family, who everyone knows about. I decided to write the story of the last 100 years of Saxon England through their eyes in the Earls of Mercia series. Not a small endeavour, and one which I’m continuing to pursue (I’ve made it to about AD1050 so everything is about to get quite serious), but since then (back in 2013), I’ve moved backwards through the Saxon era, picking for my subjects and stories those lesser-known characters (men or women) and events to share with my readers. I’m a little bit obsessed with the Saxon kingdom of Mercia.

Sharon: You write both fiction and non-fiction – is one harder than the other?

MJ: I’ve written one non-fiction title, The Royal Women of the Tenth Century, and the rest are fiction. What I would say is that non-fiction uses a very different part of my brain from writing fiction. With non-fiction, I struggled to stop each day. I could work on the title for upwards of 12 hours a day without feeling any fatigue. When writing fiction (and I mean writing, not editing), there’s a greater strain as I create as I go. So, my brain gets tired more quickly with fiction writing than non-fiction writing. I imagine that, as I know what’s going to happen with non-fiction, I don’t have that constant pressure when I’m writing. I’m a pantser, so my stories unfold as I write them.

Sharon: Tell us about your books.

MJ: I write mostly in the Saxon era, c.540 to 1066. (I do still dabble in fantasy using a pen-name, and I also write quirky 20th-century mysteries). My stories often revolve around either the kingdom of Mercia or the emerging kingdom of England from the tenth century onwards.

I’m attracted to characters and events people don’t know about, or for which evidence is now painting a different picture. However, my stories can range from a blood-and-guts battle fest (with lots of very strong language) to stories about politics. My most recent completed trilogy has been an attempt to recreate events in the true ‘Dark Ages’ in about AD540. It was fascinating but really hard. It was a passion project. I’ve been fascinated by the era for a very long time. My next trilogy will be about the Mercian Civil War of 757, with the future King Offa as the main character. And in the background, I’m continuing my two series set in the ninth century in Mercia, the one following a young Icel as he struggles to become a warrior, not a healer, and the later one, about Mercia’s ‘last king’ King Coelwulf II. The scope for the imagination is immense, and sometimes even I don’t know what form the next story is going to take.

Sharon: What attracts you to the period?

MJ: So, I’m lazy and also, I like to reassess current interpretations, so there are far fewer ‘named’ individuals for me to worry about getting correct in the era, and the scope for reassessing events is immense. We don’t know far more than we know for this period of early English (and wider British) history.

Sharon: Who is your favourite medieval person and why?

MJ: I don’t think I have a favourite. There are too many to pick and choose only one. I do have a very soft spot for William the Marshall, although he’s not in my preferred era.

Sharon: Who is your least favourite medieval person and why?

MJ: Again, I don’t think I have one, but one of my characters, King Coelwulf II of Mercia, really doesn’t like his contemporary, King Alfred of Wessex, and I think he’s probably correct to be suspicious. As historians have commented (to paraphrase), we only know King Alfred was ‘great’ because he made sure to tell us he was (through his Life, written by Asser). That smacks of self-aggrandisement in my books.

Sharon: How do you approach researching your topic?

MJ: My process has changed significantly over the years. I began my first historical fiction story by seeing what the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles had to say about events, as well as the surviving charter evidence, but now I tend to start with more general information and then dive deeper. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in all its many forms, is a great place to hunt out stories, but I now consult many more sources, including archaeological finds and the more ‘lived’ experiences. I’ve been studying Saxon England on and off for thirty years, and I suspect I’ve forgotten more than I remember, but I have a general feeling, and I weave the narrative through it, being mindful of what comes before, and what comes after (and also, what I might have written before – which has sometimes caused me more heartache than the alleged historical ‘facts’). I do like to add Easter Eggs through my later stories.

I have a huge collection of reference books these days, and I know where to find information. Additionally, I’m wise enough to realise that sometimes there will be gaps.

I often find that when characters and events are given flesh, they make more sense than in stark non-fiction titles, and this also adds to my confidence in writing stories that counter the current narratives. Some elements simply don’t ‘make sense’ when you add people to them. And others of them suddenly do. The ‘hook’ for my Dark Age trilogy was that after the ‘end’ of Roman Britain, the ability to forge iron from ironstone was lost (although many items were recycled). Abruptly, I realised that when the lost skills were rediscovered, this would have allowed those with sharper blades to dominate those who lacked the ability. I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s a fascinating hypothesis.

Sharon: Tell us your ‘favourite’ true historical story you have come across in your research.

MJ: I don’t know if I have a favourite, but for my last mystery, I discovered something very tragic, regarding a munitions explosion close to RAF Fauld near Burton upon Trent in November 1944. I grew up not far from there, and I’d never heard of it, so I resolved to include it in The Secret Sauce, and now more and more readers are informing me they didn’t know either. I love being able to share these neglected stories with my readers and giving these forgotten individuals some recognition.

Sharon: Tell us your least ‘favourite’ true historical story you have come across in your research.

MJ: I don’t know if I have a least favourite either, but I was devastated when I had to ‘kill off’ my first historical fiction creation, Ealdorman Leofwine, because he disappeared from the historical record. It was so tough. History can be cruel sometimes.

Sharon: Are there any other eras you would like to write about?

MJ: I’ve also written a few 20th-century mysteries, and I’ve dabbled with the Tudors as part of a fantasy trilogy. I might one day be tempted by a little bit of the Roman era as well, but I’m somewhat terrified by how much is known about military units and the way the Romans fought, as my characters are often as disorganised as I am, and I fear I’d offend readers.

Sharon: What are you working on now?

MJ: I’m currently writing the first book in The House of Mercia, which will focus on the Civil War in Mercia in 757, with the future King Offa as a main character, while King Æthelbald, his predecessor, is also a character. I’m also in the throes of solving my latest 20th-century mystery, called The Barrage Body. I love the variety, and the convenience of being able to drive and use a telephone as opposed to having a horse and relying on messengers and messages.

Sharon: And finally, what is the best thing about being a writer?

MJ: There’s a lot of freedom to being a writer, once you’ve acknowledged it’s also hard work. I have my processes and routine, but provided I stick to that, I can spend much of my time doing the things I love – writing and researching. I’m very lucky to be able to (just about) earn a living from doing that. I also get to spend my time with characters I either love (or hate), and that is also very freeing.

Books by MJ Porter:

The Secret Sauce; Men of Iron; The House of Mercia; The Earls of Mercia; The Royal Women Who Made England

About the Author:

MJ Porter writes: I’m an author of historical fiction (Early English/Saxon, Vikings and the British Isles as a whole before the Norman Conquest, as well as five 20th-century historical mysteries) and fantasy (now published under a different name).

I was born in the old Mercian kingdom at some point since 1066. Raised in the shadow of a strange little building, told from a very young age that it housed the bones of long-dead kings of Mercia and that our garden was littered with old pieces of pottery from a long-ago battle, it’s little wonder that my curiosity in Early England ran riot. I can only blame my parents! I like to write. You’ve been warned!

linktr.ee/MJPorterauthor

My books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

‘Scotland’s Medieval Queens gives a thorough grounding in the history of the women who ruled Scotland at the side of its kings, often in the shadows, but just as interesting in their lives beyond the spotlight. It’s not a subject that has been widely covered, and Sharon is a pioneer in bringing that information into accessible history.’ Elizabeth Chadwick (New York Times bestselling author)

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon, Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Michael Jecks, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.

There are now over 75 episodes to listen to!

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

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Wordly Women: Rosemary Griggs

08/11/202505/11/2025Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

Just over a year ago I spent a fabulous weekend at the Historical Novel Society Conference at Dartington Hall in Devon. Derek and I hosted a panel under our A Slice of Medieval podcast banner, featuring Elizabeth Chadwick, David Gilman and Matthew Harffy. Bernard Cornwell was on before us and Ian Mortimer followed us onto the stage. I got to meet some of my heroes. Ian Mortimer was lovely to chat to. Michael Jecks told some great stories, one featuring a late-night hotel fire alarm. Steven A. McKay and I talked like old friends, even though it was the first time we had actually met. I got to discuss Emma of Normandy with Patricia Bracewell and medieval Yorkshire with Claire Dunn (C.F. Dunn).

It was a fabulous weekend! And amidst it all I had a chat with Rosemary Griggs. It was cut short because Rosemary knows the area well and was on her way to give a tour of the gardens. So, I was over the moon when Rosemary agreed to participate in my Wordly Women series, so we could have a proper natter!

And Rosemary is another champion of highlighting those women who should be better known to history!

Sharon: Hi Rosemary, welcome to the blog. First and foremost, what got you into writing?

Rosemary: I’ve always wanted to write; ever since a truly inspirational teacher at primary school encouraged me and also sparked my lifelong interest in history. Over the years, I’ve done a lot of writing of one sort or another. I even once won a prize in a travel writing competition. However, during my Civil Service career, I had to write speeches for government ministers and create carefully crafted policy advice; all rather dry! It’s wonderfully freeing that I can now tell the stories of some truly amazing women who lived in sixteenth century Devon.

Sharon: Tell us about your books

Rosemary: Having spent years delving into Devon’s past, I’ve become particularly fascinated by the Champernowne family. They rose to prominence in the sixteenth century as part of a closely connected network of powerful figures whose influence extended far beyond the county. Within their circle were the likes of Raleigh, Drake, Hawkins, and Grenville—names that still resonate today. Yet, the women are so often forgotten. In my “Daughters of Devon” novels, I bring into the spotlight women often overshadowed by their famous menfolk.

My first novel, A Woman of Noble Wit, is the story of Katherine Champernowne, Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother.

Next to catch my eye was a young French Huguenot woman, daughter of the man who killed King Henri II of France in a jousting accident. Although born in France, Lady Gabrielle Roberda Montgomery married into the Champernowne family and spent most of her adult life at Dartington Hall in Devon. I became so fascinated by the challenges she faced as an incomer to Elizabethan England that her story has spilled into two volumes, The Dartington Bride and recently published Mistress of Dartington Hall.

A lot of other Daughters of Devon are waiting to have their stories told.

Sharon: What attracts you to the Tudor period?

Rosemary: My fascination with the Tudor era began with the larger-than-life characters of the royal court. I’m as enthralled by the tales of Henry VIII and his queens as anyone. However, during that tumultuous period, immense social, political, and religious changes affected everyone, regardless of their wealth. The late fifteenth century saw the printing press’s arrival, which opened up learning and information to a wider audience, including many women. It was an ‘information revolution’, not unlike the transformative changes I’ve witnessed in my own life, especially since the internet was born. It’s working out how ordinary people, especially women, managed in such a rapidly changing world that keeps me rooted in those turbulent Tudor years.

Sharon: Who is your favourite Tudor and why?

Rosemary: Elizabeth I is the one who most fascinates me. Her 45-year reign brought stability after years of turmoil. People remember her as an intelligent, politically astute and powerful ruler. She had a formidable education, becoming fluent in multiple languages. Like many people, I admire Elizabeth for her wit and for her determination. I had always seen the defeat of the Spanish Armada as her greatest victory. However, as I was researching for my latest book, I discovered another side to her character. The queen’s reluctance to pay the soldiers and sailors needed to repel the Spanish invasion, or to provide enough arms and munitions was extremely frustrating for her commanders. Without that change in the wind, the outcome could have been very different.

My current research has also brought home to me how perilous Elizabeth’s life was in the years before she came to the throne. Having survived against the odds; she defied expectations by never marrying. Elizabeth was incredibly clever as she played off her various suitors to maintain or forge political alliances. She gave up a lot to rule alone. I would dearly love to be able to ask her what really happened with Thomas Seymour and whether she ever regretted not marrying Dudley.

Sharon: Who is your least favourite Tudor and why?

Rosemary: It would be easy to plump for Henry VIII as the ruthless tyrant he became in his later years. But I have a soft spot for the charismatic, intelligent young man who became king in1509. Instead, I’d go for his father, Henry VII, who has always seemed to me to be a rather cold, calculating type. Perhaps he had to be to return from exile to wrest the throne from Richard III on the battlefield. Yet I can’t forgive him for executing poor Edward of Warwick, or for his treatment of Catherine of Aragon after Prince Arthur died. Somehow, I cannot warm to Henry VII.

Sharon: How do you approach researching your topic?

Rosemary: I always start with original source documents relating to my character. Then I widen the net to consider what surviving documents reveal about those around them. I’m never happier than when I’m poring over a difficult text in the archives.

I’ve chosen a hard path, as I’m researching women whose imprint on the record is light. I can usually discover much more about the men in their lives, but eventually I’m armed with some key events taken from the record. These form the milestones on my subjects ’journeys through life, and I respect them absolutely. However, the beauty of writing fiction is that I can fill the gaps with creative imagination to weave a plausible narrative around those key events. To do that, I study every detail of Tudor life. I read widely about national events; I sift through accounts of local happenings. I question everything. I also visit the places they knew; I dress as they did. I all brings me closer to their world.

Sharon: Tell us your ‘favourite ’Devon story you have come across in your research.

Rosemary: My favourite Devon story doesn’t concern one of the ‘elite ’women I write about. Rather, it is an incident that brings one of the ordinary women of history briefly to our attention. In the mid-1530s, when Thomas Cromwell’s commissioners instructed a man to tear down St Nicholas Priory’s Church in Exeter, Elizabeth Glanfield gathered her friends and neighbours. They would allow no one to desecrate their beloved priory church without a fight. Grabbing brooms, shovels and staves, the pack of women descended on the worker who was dismantling the rood screen. The terrified man climbed high, but the women pursued him until he fell, breaking his arm. Eventually, the mayor of Exeter restored order. When the great and good sat in judgement on Elizabeth and her friends, they expressed the view that men disguised as women perpetrated the attack. Mere women, they suggested, could not be capable of such an act. Fortunately, Elizabeth and her friends escaped serious punishment. However, they did not save their church. Eventually, workers returned to demolish the church. They used some of the stone to repair the Exe bridge into the city. Parts of the priory buildings survived to be converted into an Elizabethan townhouse. Elizabeth Glanfield and the rioting women of Exeter are a rare example of local people resisting the dissolution of the monasteries. There is a longer version of this story on my website.

Sharon: Tell us your least ‘favourite’ Devon story you have come across in your research.

Rosemary: My least favourite is also about another ordinary woman and her appalling fate, although it has also been a tremendous source of inspiration for me. During the reign of Edward VI, Agnes Prest, a poor, uneducated Cornish woman, had heard the scriptures in a language she could understand. Queen Mary insisted she return to the old ways of worship under the Church of Rome. Agnes could not accept what she was being told to believe. The worst part of her story is that her own family, including her husband, ‘shopped ’Agnes to the church authorities. The Bishop of Exeter and all the high-ups of the church summoned Agnes and questioned her. She refused to yield. Eventually, they took Agnes to the prison cells beneath Exeter’s Rougemont Caste. In the second edition of his ‘Book of Martyrs’, Foxe mentions that a gentlewoman, Katherine Raleigh, visited Agnes. In August 1557, that poor Cornish woman walked the short distance from her prison cell to the area of Exeter we now call Southernhay, where she was burned at the stake. She was Exeter’s only Protestant martyr during the reign of Queen Mary.

Sharon: Are there any other eras you would like to write about?

Rosemary: I’ve often thought I could find some strong Devon women who played their part during the English Civil War. However, while recovering from Covid recently, I watched a lot of TV adaptations of Jane Austen novels. I’m now quite drawn to that time too.

Sharon: What are you working on now?

Rosemary: I’m very excited about my current project, my first work of nonfiction. A woman connected to the Champernownes has elbowed her way to the front of the queue of women whose stories I want to tell. Fans of Tudor history know her as Kat Ashley, Queen Elizabeth’s childhood governess. When I began mapping out a fictional account of her life, I found the character emerging from my detailed research was a little different from the woman familiar to us. Going back to the original sources made me question the accepted narrative. I had also discovered some interesting details historians seem to have overlooked. So, I am thrilled that Pen and Sword Books are giving me the opportunity to set out all of my research into this fascinating woman who had so much influence on Elizabeth I. Here is the fantastic jacket design. We are targeting publication summer of 2026.

Sharon: I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy – and don’t Pen & Sword do the most gorgeous covers?

Sharon: And finally, what is the best thing about being a writer?

Rosemary: Opening that box, holding your book for the first time is very special. But above all, it is when people tell me my story transported them back in time and they’ve enjoyed reading it, or even that it’s made them think. That’s what makes it all worthwhile.