So, I’m writing a series centred on an Australian rugby team – the Sydney Smoke. Not being the most sport-obsessed person in the world, this is a challenge for me. Clearly I was going to have to do some research. So I did what all good (aka procrastinating) writers do and hit the inter-webs to look for images of hot rugby dudes doing their thing. I know, right? Sometimes being a writer is just the pits! YouTube and Pinterest were their usual font of information. I fell down lots of rabbit holes. In fact I’m amazed I actually got any words written at all. And if anyone ever looks at my computer history? If my husband ever looks at my computer history…. Let’s just say I’d have some explaining to do 🙂 But the thing I looked at the most was hot rugby dudes dancing aka doing the haka. Now, for those of you who don’t know, the haka is a ceremonial dance performed by all Polynesian cultures but perhaps made most famous by the All Blacks – New Zealand’s rugby team. And I gotta tell you – there is nothing fiercer than an advancing pack of All Blacks in…

The Lust in the Tudor Court series is described as “Hilary Mantel meets Sylvia Day: a deliciously erotic trilogy, set against the sumptuous backdrop of the scandal-ridden Tudor Court. ” But our question for Elizabeth Moss is: If you could meet any of your characters in this series, which character(s) would you choose and why? There are some wonderful characters that appear throughout the Lust in the Tudor Court series, which is a trilogy of three linked stories, though all are intended to be read as standalones. But the man I would choose to meet above all other characters is the hero of ROSE BRIDE, possibly because he’s the closest to my own ideal man. Virgil Elton, as the name suggests, is a well-educated man, a classicist, and a skilful physician to King Henry VIII himself. As an occasional poet myself, I can see myself sitting down with him to discuss Roman poets or his godfather, Sir John Skelton, the first-ever English Poet Laureate – all the while trying not to be seduced by that hypnotic gaze and his strong, dark looks! It is due to his godfather’s influence, of course, that Virgil holds such a prestigious position at court,…

Thank you so very much for hosting me today. It’s always a pleasure to have a chance to chat with bloggers and their readers. PORTRAIT OF A CONSPIRACY: Da Vinci’s Disciples has its historical basis rooted firmly in truth…one of the greatest conspiracies of the 15th century, a conspiracy that reached all the way to the Vatican. An assassination plot history now calls the Pazzi Conspiracy. With such a firm historical foundation, it allowed me to immerse myself fully in the city of Florence, as it was in 1478. And thanks to the many resources, both paper and virtual, the details of the setting found their way onto my page. It even allowed me to create a map, something I’ve always wanted to do. Today, I’d like to share some of those remarkable architectural delights with you. We must start where the story starts, where the assassination takes place: in Brunelleschi’s Duomo. In truth the Gothic style basilica, part of the complex of Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Saint Mary of the Flowers Cathedral), was originally designed by Arnolfo di Cambio. Built on the ruins of the 7th century Santa Raparata Church, construction on the new structure began in…