WELCOME TO RACHEL’S FICTION WRITING AND REVIEWS BLOG
This is where Rachel keeps you up to date with her novels and stories and also shares reviews, highlights and extracts from other authors.
LADY OF LINCOLN Cover Reveal!
I’m overjoyed to share the cover of my debut historical novel, LADY OF LINCOLN — a story inspired by one of England’s most extraordinary medieval women, Nicola de la Haye, and longlisted for the Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction.
A Woman Who Defied Kings
LADY OF LINCOLN opens in the twelfth century, amid brewing rebellion. This is the untold story of the eventful early life of a noblewoman and castellan who would become known as “the woman who saved England.”
Medieval England.
A Civil war.
A teenage heiress.
A disastrous marriage.
What happens when a girl expected to yield… chooses to lead?
LADY OF LINCOLN and the Cutting Room Floor…
I’m incredibly lucky that Sharon Bennett Connolly of ‘HISTORY… THE INTERESTING BITS’ has very kindly agreed to provide the forward for my upcoming, Chaucer Award long-listed, novel, LADY OF LINCOLN. As the non-fiction biographer of Nicola (Nicholaa) de la Haye, there couldn’t be a better (or nicer) person to introduce the book.
But that meant there was no reason to keep the original preface I had prepared.
Instead of losing it to the cutting room floor, I thought instead I would publish it here as a taster and introduction to who Nicola was. Please see below:
LADY OF LINCOLN longlisted for the Chaucer Award!
LADY OF LINCOLN has been longlisted for the 2025 Chaucer Award for early historical fiction!
This award ‘recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Early Historical (Pre- 1750) Fiction’, celebrating stories that transport readers deep into the past, and I’m thrilled that the amazing Nicola de la Haye’s story is being recognised amongst other great novels.
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A Michaelmas Announcement: Lady of Lincoln
I am delighted to announce the title of my debut novel:
Lady of Lincoln: A Novel of Nicola de la Haye, a Woman Born to Lead in a Man’s World, a Medieval Heroine History Tried to Forget
This is Book One of my Nicola de la Haye Trilogy, based on the extraordinary life of the castellan of Lincoln—a woman who defied kings, commanded armies, and became one of the most remarkable heroines of medieval England.
The full back-cover blurb will be revealed later, but here’s a teaser glimpse:
Lady of Lincoln tells the true story of Nicola de la Haye, the young noblewoman who inherited Lincoln Castle, braved rebellion and betrayal, and fought to lead in a world that told her she could not.
On this Michaelmas, as the medieval year turned toward winter, I’m excited to turn a new page in sharing Nicola’s story with you.
Stay tuned for the cover reveal, official blurb, and more glimpses into the history behind the novel.