Book Title: The Queen’s Sister
uthor Name: Carol McGrath
Publication Date: 4th June 2026
Publisher: Headline Accent
Pages: 300
Genre: Historical Fiction

A mother, a wife, a woman of substance…

At nineteen, Elizabeth Seymour is already a mother, has been recently widowed, and seen her Queen, Anne Boleyn, lose her life. Against the wishes of her father, she heads North, away from Wulf Hall and the court in London to Yorkshire, determined to establish a new beginning as a landowner and business woman. As her family in Wiltshire curry favour with King Henry, aided by Thomas Cromwell, Elizabeth makes Kexby Manor her home, finding loyalty among her people there.

Soon, news comes to Elizabeth of the King’s desires for her sister, Jane and while her brother, Edward, encourages her own betrothal to Gregory Cromwell, son of Thomas. It is a happy second marriage for Elizabeth, but it brings unwanted involvement in the dark plots and secrecy of the court, while in the wider country, changes in religious practice threaten to alter the traditions and values of all she has known…

THE QUEEN’S SISTER vividly imagines the story of the woman possibly portrayed in Hans Holbein’s beautiful painting ‘Portrait of a Lady,’ and is a colourful, meticulously researched novel of Tudor life behind the scenes.

What readers say about Carol McGrath’s novels:

‘Another beautifully crafted, well-researched work of historical fiction from Carol McGrath’

‘Brimming with intrigue, tension and adventure, The Lost Queen is a powerful Medieval tale full of atmosphere, danger and emotion and transports the reader to another world’

Buy Links:

Universal Ebook Link: https://books2read.com/u/bzExAq
Universal Paperback Link: https://geni.us/queenssister

Excerpt:

Prologue

I am Elizabeth Seymour, sister to the Queen. My second marriage to Gregory Cromwell is barely a month old, yet to my surprise, my portrait has already been commissioned by my father-in-law. As Lord Privy Seal, Thomas Cromwell has both affluence and influence; it is the celebrated Master Hans Holbein who is to paint me. He enjoys King Henry’s patronage and has recently completed a likeness of my sister.

‘Master Holbein,’ I say, after he arrives at Mort Lake, and I am looking at a selection of drawings he has displayed on a table in the great parlour.

‘I do believe you truly capture the humanity of your subject.’ I look up at his eager round face and thoughtful brown eyes. ‘This is all I ask for, since I wish to appear human and not merely portrayed as a stiff poppet in her best gown.’

One by one, I lift sketches he had drawn of my sister Queen Jane before painting her. These are fine drawings and capture her serenity. I consider them for some minutes. ‘They look like Jane but there is something intangible and sad too. She looks as if she will never reveal her true feelings.’

‘Her mystery,’ the painter says. ‘Everyone has secrets, and their public face can guard that which is unknown. I hope my work permits a glimpse of the sitter’s soul.’

I hold the sketches at arm’s length to study them closely again and tilt my head enquiringly. ‘My sister, does she have secrets, for I think her guileless?’

I smile, but my gaze is steady. Holbein returns my smile. ‘My lady, your sister is the perfect Queen. Besides she is with child and very happy,’ he says. ‘Her secret is her awareness of her responsibility as Queen, and she was hopeful for the future when I painted her. Women are by nature lovely and mysterious creatures. The Queen was confident that she would conceive the King’s child. And now, the good Lord has granted her wish.’

I nod, my face composed and serious. ‘Yes, Master Holbein, and I am to be aunt to a future prince or princess of England. That is a responsibility too. So, Master painter, I give you carte blanche. You have my trust.’  I replace the drawings of Jane on top of the polished walnut table.

‘These drawings have truth. I see a sister who is dignified, human, guarded and calm.’

Yet also, I cannot forget the shy, timid young woman Jane was before she won the King’s heart.

‘Queen Jane remains reserved rather than diffident and I see that you are too, my lady. You seem serious minded and educated, noble and patient, practical, yet creative and you are already a mother. You are a clever handsome woman and, in your portrait, I hope to capture the keen intelligence behind your bright eyes.’

I’m flattered by Master Holbein’s recognition of me as an intelligent woman and I warm to him. ‘Come next week, Master Painter, and you can begin your sketches,’ I say. ‘But mind, my sister will go into seclusion by the calends of September so I cannot sit for you after that.’

‘We can at least make a beginning, my lady,’ he says, bows and gathers up his drawings.

About the Author:

Following a first degree in English and History at QUB, Carol McGrath completed an MA in Creative Writing from The Seamus Heaney Centre, Queens University Belfast, followed by an MPhil in English from University of London. She is published by Headline.

The Handfasted Wife, first in a trilogy about the royal women of 1066 was shortlisted for the RoNAs in 2014. The Swan-Daughter and The Betrothed Sister complete this highly acclaimed trilogy. Mistress Cromwell, a best-selling historical novel about Elizabeth Cromwell, wife of Henry VIII’s statesman, Thomas Cromwell, was republished by Headline in 2020. The Silken Rose, first in a Medieval She-Wolf Queens Trilogy, featuring Ailenor of Provence, saw publication in April 2020. This was followed by The Damask Rose. The Stone Rose was published April 2022. The Stolen Crown 2023 and July 2024 The Lost Queen about Berengaria of Navarre and The Third Crusade. The Queen’s Sister, sequel to Mistress Cromwell sees publication in June 2026.

Carol writes historical non-fiction as well as fiction. Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England was published in February 2022 by Pen & Sword. She speaks at Conferences and gives interviews.

Find Carol on her website: www.carolcmcgrath.co.uk.

Subscribe to her newsletter via her website (use the drop down on her web-site Home Page).

Author Links:

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Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Carol-McGrath/author/B00D0K5YI0
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6942793.Carol_McGrath

Some Starry Night
Written by Irene Latham
Publication Date: April 14, 2026
Publisher: Historium Press

Under the pale glow of a Parisian spring in 1886, two restless souls move toward the same horizon-unaware that their meeting will ignite a love as luminous and fleeting as the stars themselves.

Vincent van Gogh arrives in Paris with little more than paint-stained hands and an aching determination to create something worthy of the world. Living in the cramped apartment of his brother Theo, he struggles against poverty, doubt, and the relentless pull of his own restless mind.

Across the ocean in Amherst, Emily Dickinson receives news that changes everything. Faced with the nearness of death, the reclusive poet does the unthinkable: she leaves the quiet safety of the Homestead and sails for Paris, determined to taste life before it slips beyond her reach.

When Emily agrees to sit for Vincent’s portrait, their worlds collide in a blaze of color, poetry, and dangerous intimacy. Through letters, poems, and whispered confessions, the two artists discover in one another a fierce, unguarded understanding-one that will shape their art, their faith, and the fragile hours they have left.

But love between stars is never simple. As time grows short and darkness gathers, Vincent and Emily must decide whether beauty is meant to last…or simply to burn bright enough to change the night forever.

Some Starry Night is a sweeping, lyrical imagining of the hidden story behind Vincent van Gogh’s most iconic painting-an unforgettable tale of love, creativity, and the courage to live fiercely, even in the shadow of the end.

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link:  https://books2read.com/u/bMLBev

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/some-starry-night-irene-latham/b91a9af2bd9a9e10?ean=9781964700847&next=t   

Excerpt:

[letter from Vincent]

May 5, 1887

My dear Emily,

Forget Agostina. And forgive my careless words. In my

rush to share all I can with you, I sometimes do not

think about what effect my words will have when they

come so cold and dry on paper, and not from my

mouth.

If we were together, you would know it is not just a

portion of my heart that you occupy. My whole paint-

splattered soul is yours.

I’ve been in such a frenzy, trying to make the time

pass to the moment when we shall meet again, that I

fear I have run out of flowers. All the Paris greenhouse

keepers know me by name. Asters, dahlias, daisies,

geraniums, hollyhocks, lilacs, phlox, salvia . . . It’s a

shame I’m not a better gardener, and I only keep the

cuttings long enough to set them dancing on the canvas

in fields of blue.

I’d like to share a trick I use when painting trees or

flowers. I try to find the soul in them. Do you know

what I mean? Sometimes, a stand of willows might re-

semble a procession of weary, old men. Or I might find

a child’s face in a zinnia. It’s a special way of looking.

A poet’s way of looking.

Just a bit longer, mon petit oiseau. Every time I

read your words in your distinctive pen, it’s almost as

if the hand of God is upon my chest. The demons I

carry stop their chortling. You have that power, Emily.

Love,

Your Vincent

About the Author:

Irene Latham writes poems and stories from the Purple Horse Poetry Studio & Music Room in Blount County, Alabama. She is the author or co-author of many books for young people, including African Town, winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Outstanding Historical Fiction.

This is her first novel for adults. Learn more at irenelatham.com.

Author Links:

Website:                     https://www.irenelatham.com/
HP Author Page:         https://www.historiumpress.com/irene-latham
Substack / Blog:         https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/
Pinterest:                    https://www.pinterest.com/irenelatham/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B002CQPNLQ/
Goodreads:                 https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1083084.Irene_Latham
Youtube:                     https://www.youtube.com/c/IreneLatham

What Remains is Hope

 

Publication Date:  October 2nd, 2025

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Pages: 360

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Beginning in 1930s Germany and based on their real lives, four cousins as close as siblings—Bettina, Trudi, Gustav, and Gertrud—share the experiences of the young, including first loves, marriages, and children.

 

Bettina, the oldest, struggles to help her parents with their failing business. Trudi dresses in the latest fashions and tries to make everything look beautiful. Gustav is an artist at heart and hopes to one day open a tailoring shop. Gertrud, the youngest, is forced by her parents to keep secrets, but that doesn’t stop her from chasing boys. However, over their seemingly ordinary lives hangs one critical truth—they’re Jewish—putting them increasingly at risk.

 

When World War II breaks out, the four are still in Germany or German-occupied lands, unable or unwilling to leave. How will these cousins avoid the horrors of the Nazi regime, a regime that wants them dead? Will they be able to avoid the deportations and concentration camps that have claimed their fellow Jews? Danger is their constant companion, and it will take hope and more to survive.

 

 

Praise for What Remains is Hope:

 

“Readers will find this follow up to Suchman’s prior novel, Stumbling Stones, both a heartbreaking reminder of the Holocaust’s atrocities and a compelling tribute to a family’s refusal to surrender to despair…Richly compelling Holocaust account, centered on the power of hope.“

~ Booklife by Publishers Weekly

 

“Author Bonnie Suchman has a way of making every moment count with her characters in a narrative that feels powerfully real as she spins deeply personal stories against a sweeping and tragic backdrop of history. ..What Remains is Hope is historical fiction at its best, and I’d highly recommend it to fans of gripping fiction that’s emotionally resonant and grounded in truth.“

~ K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite

 

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

The Meaning of the Title “What Remains is Hope”

The novel tells the story of four Jewish cousins and their attempts to stay alive in Germany and German-occupied territories during World War II.

The idea of hope is mentioned several times in early portions of the book. Then, in 1937, as two cousins are helping a third cousin in her move from Frankfurt to Munich, the three begin to discuss this move to a city known for its history of anti-Semitism. One of the cousins, Gustav, draws a picture of a butterfly and tells the story of Pandora’s box, about how Pandora had received the box and was told never to open it. But curious, she opened it and all of the world’s ills flew out of the box and attacked Pandora, causing her to take on the world’s ills. She quickly closed the lid, but she soon heard a banging in the box. When she opened the lid, a butterfly flew out of the box, touched her arm, and she was healed of the world’s ills. Gustav told his cousin who would be leaving for Munich that what remained in the box was hope and that she should take that hope in the form of the butterfly with her. That cousin took the drawing with her to Munich.

Throughout the book, the characters continue to discuss hope and the importance of hope. The reader knows from the beginning of the story that one of the four cousins did not survive the war. During the war, many Jews committed suicide, losing hope and falling into despair. More than six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis; no amount of hope could save them. But those Jews who survived, like the three cousins in What Remains is Hope, could not have survived without hope.

Bonnie Suchman

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