November 2010 On Sale: November 1, 2010 Featuring: Emma 656 pages ISBN: 1402240686 EAN: 9781402240683 Paperback $16.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick Sometimes, a desperate kingdom is in need of one great woman. Married to a king incompetent both on the throne and in bed, Emma does not love her husband. But she does love England. Even as her husband fails, Emma vows to protect her people-no matter what. For five decades, through love and loss, prosperity and exile, Emma fights for England, becoming the only woman to have been anointed, crowned, and reigning queen to two different kings, the mother of two more, and the great aunt of William the Conqueror. Excerpt November 1035> The Queen, Emma, knew from the grey pallor on Earl Godwine’s face, and by the way he stood, one step within the threshold, that something was wrong. Horribly wrong. “My Lord, you are wet through?” she said, a question in her voice, although the statement was obvious. A second question, of why he had come to Winchester, so unexpected in such torrential rain, hovered unspoken. Rising from her chair, set for comfort beside the hearth…

I’ve always loved history; there’s something very romantic in thinking about the past. Perhaps it’s because my mom would drag us to antique shops when we were children and I’d tiptoe around piles of ancient objects, feeling as if I was peeking into someone’s private life. Being that we lived in the Midwestern U.S., these antique shops would be full of Victorian Era leftovers, about the earliest date we have. It’s not only in antique shops where you can find Victorian fingerprints. Just about every Midwestern city has ornate Victorian homes in their downtown area. So you can definitely say I’ve been surrounded by the 1800s for most of my life. When I decided to become a writer, there were many time periods I could have picked. I loved the Medieval era for their Knights in Shining Armor. And of course there is the Colonial era here in America with its stark attractiveness; an era I feel is rather under-developed in the romance world. There is also the lovely delicateness of the Regency time period, one of the most popular of the romance genres. But for me, it has always been about the Victorian era. Some find the décor gaudy,…