The Accidental Heretic - Reviewed by The Historical Novel Society

I didn’t fancy my chances of landing a review when I wrote off to The Historical Novel Society. What with so many traditionally published historical books being released every month. But… nothing ventured… their website encourages applications so sometime around last October, I did the best pitch I could manage (which is way harder than writing the novel in the first place), attached some sample chapters and off it went. I then did my best to forget about it. Around Christmas I got a lovely note telling me it was being considered, and I’d have been happy if it stopped there. Even ‘considered’ is a win. It was March by the time I heard I’d been accepted, then a whole new kind of panic set in. Having hoped for a review… what if it was brutal? We writers want honesty, right? Ok, well maybe we need it more than we want it, and maybe we need encouragement too because writing is a lonely business and you never know how you’re doing, and never will without reviews, and quite frankly finding someone willing to even read my work is a win, liking it is a bonus. What had I done - asking professionals to review my work? I knew the review was coming out on the 1st of May. I didn’t dare look until it had already been out two weeks.

I needn’t have worried. Keira Morgan reviewed The Accidental Heretic on behalf of the society, and her words had me smiling all week. I’m still smiling, motivated, encouraged… everything all at once. THANKYOU KEIRA for your kind words. Here is a link to the review