June 2011 On Sale: May 24, 2011 Featuring: Henri; Catherine de Medici; Coligny 432 pages ISBN: 034550187X EAN: 9780345501875 Paperback $15.00  Add to Wish List Historical Buy at Amazon.com Best Historical Summer Reads The Confessions Of Catherine De Medici by C.W. Gortner The ambitious, gripping tale of one of history’s most notorious and misunderstood queens . . . The truth is, none of us are innocent. We all have sins to confess. So reveals Catherine de Medici in this brilliantly imagined novel about one of history’s most powerful and controversial women. To some she was the ruthless queen who led France into an era of savage violence. To others she was the passionate savior of the French monarchy. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner brings Catherine to life in her own voice, allowing us to enter into the intimate world of a woman whose determination to protect her family’s throne and realm plunged her into a lethal struggle for power. The last legitimate descendant of the illustrious Medici line, Catherine suffers the expulsion of her family from her native Florence and narrowly escapes death at the hands of an enraged mob. While still a teenager, she is betrothed to Henri, son…

I was talking to my critique partner the other day, discussing my characters (I was having a crisis or more to the point, my character was), and when I paused, she said, “You know they aren’t real, right?” “Who aren’t?” I asked. “Your characters.” I hyperventilated. Was she kidding? No, she wasn’t. I live a very strange life. I interact with people who really don’t exist, not in our tangible world, but I have to believe they exist in order to create a believable story. Yeah, wrap your brain around that one. So yes, I know they don’t exist in flesh and blood, but they do exist, are real in my head. They have to be. Their worries and loves and troubles and triumphs have to matter to me. I have to want the best and the worst for them otherwise they’ll exist in a boring, staid story that I, let alone anyone else, won’t want to experience. That is the entertainer in me talking. It’s this little voice in the back of my brain that giggles when I come up with a sick idea that will cause my characters no end of torture. It sighs with pleasure every time…