The Falcon's Rise: A novel of Anne Boleyn: 1

The day before her execution Anne Boleyns mind wanders back to the journey that changed her life...Born into the Boleyn family in rural Norfolk obscurity looms but when Annes father Thomas moves the family to Hever Castle in Kent to further his own interests the familys fortunes take a turn for the better. Thomas secures a place for Annes sister Mary at the prestigious court of Margaret of Austria but fate has other plans and Anne ends up taking her place.At thirteen Anne yearns for adventure. However unused to curbing her outspoken tongue and youthful curiosity she discovers that life at Margarets court is not quite how shed imagined. Experiencing love loss jealousy and fear she soon realises that her future happiness lies in her own hands - and that she must shape her own destiny...The Falcons Rise is the first part of a two-part series beginning the journey with the young Anne Boleyn growing into the woman who captured the heart of a king.Author InterviewHow did you first become interested in Anne Boleyn? I was always passionate about the history of England and I first became interested in Anne Boleyn by reading the Tudor books my mother brought home from the library. They were always about the six wives of King Henry V111 but it was Anne Boleyn that captured my imagination the most when I read The Kings Secret Matter by Jean Plaidy. I was probably about thirteen at the time. At the same impressionable age I watched Anne of a Thousand Days at the cinema and that was it. I was hooked for life. Of course in those days it was Geneviève Bujold rather than Natalie Dormer in The Tudors playing Anne.Did you uncover any interesting Tudor facts in your research? Not facts as such but it was interesting finding out about people I knew nothing about such as Margaret of Austria and the EmperorIs there another character in your historical novel that you particularly found interesting? It has to be Margaret of Austria. I knew nothing of her before I started my research but she comes across as a delightful woman who despite her sorrows was charming and amusing. I often read her poetry and truly like her. Im also interested in Charles Brandon admiring his ability to survive his secret marriage to the kings sister and escape the Tower of London!What period of Anne Boleyns life does this fictional history story cover? My book starts in 1497 and ends in 1514. However I have set Annes birth in May 1500. What is interesting is that she was born during the reign of the old King Henry V11 - founder of the Tudor dynasty - and nine years before his son Henry ascended the throne. It was another era with different fashions to how we imagine the later Tudor ones. I think the life-size models of Anne and her nurse in the gallery at Hever Castle illustrate this well. They are still in the medieval style.Is there a more in-depth interview with you and your research? Yes its on TheAnneBoleynFiles website: Researching Anne Boleyn for Falcons Rise by Natalia RichardsLooking at portraits of Anne Boleyn as a young woman it is sad to think about the tragic end she came to. But it is not the end of her life that fascinates me it is the beginning and the many questions it raises. What made her the woman she later became? Why did she attract King Henry V111 in the first place and why write about Anne when she has been written about so extensively? Her young life has not been written about in great detail as we know very little. Or do we? When we place her in the events of her time there is indeed much to write about. I have invented as little as possible.