WELCOME TO MY WORLD!
Yes, you are in the right place! The new website and blog of C.C. Humphreys.
Click on any of the links above, or the covers to the right, to go to any of the novels. On their pages you will also find podcasts, galleries of photos… and the odd film!
And now for some fast breaking NEWS:
JACK ABSOLUTE RETURNS TO AMERICA!
Yes, he’s back. What the Good Book Guide in the UK called: ‘The finest series of historical novels since Patrick O’Brian’ is published in the USA on May 7th.
Meet the real Jack Absolute – not the comic captain from Sheridan’s play ‘The Rivals’. Meet the Redcoat. The Mohawk. The Lover. The Spy.
“An absolute delight! Swashbuckling adventure, eighteenth century wit, hugely entertaining plots, and one of the most appealing military gentlemen ever to wear a sword.” – Diana Gabaldon, Author of ‘Outlander’ and the Lord John Grey series.
You can buy at your local bookstore or online at:
A Rather nice early blog review: ‘Imagine if Dan Brown were to write historical fiction starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes. Got that? Now throw in a heavy dose of Shakespeare and theatre humor and you have this novel. From the first page, it is a rush of a read. Jack is a great character – sexy, smarmy, and suave.’ Tara’s Book Blog
Full review: http://tarasbookblog.com/2013/05/16/jack-absolute-by-c-c-humphreys-a-review/
Film Possibilities: I don’t usually allow myself to get too excited about film news. But this, in Hollywood’s Daily Variety, did make me at least crack a grin:
‘Game of Thrones producer joins French Executioner’:
http://variety.com/2013/film/news/mark-huffam-on-board-the-french-executioner-exclusive-1200330853/
HOT OFF THE PRESS! UK launch of the new novel: March 14th
“This is a spectacularly good historical novel. Lewd, debauched and pungent on the one hand, but genuinely romantic, honourable and deeply felt on the other.
- The opening of the first review for my new novel – on Goodreads. From Richard Lee – founder of the Historical Novels Society. Here’s the rest:
“ I think what will stay with me longest is the vivid portrayal of Elizabethan Southwark in ferment, and Shakespeare, and the context of some of his plays. But there’s spying, rebellion, and adventure, and it’s a real page-turner too. I’m ashamed to say this is the first C.C. Humphreys I have read. Now for some more.”
I’m considering: ‘Lewd, debauched and pungent’ for my tombstone!
Here’s another inkling of a review for my new novel: some tweets!
@HumphreysCC I wasn’t sure you could top vlad which I loved. But this book is a cut above.
C.C Humphreys Shakespear’s Rebel @ParmenionBooks @orionbooks @humphreysCC . My Fav book so far this year.
Release dates:
UK: March 14th 2013
Order here:
Canada: June 4th 2013
Preorder here: http://tiny.cc/0qebsw
And in the US!
Here’s the press release from my US publishers for my latest there:
New Novel Details Epic Clash of Civilizations
Author C.C. Humphreys Weaves Dramatic Tale of the Fall of Constantinople
You know how the siege of Constantinople ends. It’s written in the history books.
But what was the human toll? What are the stories of the people involved? How did they experience this epic battle that tore apart cultures, religions, and families?
That is what you will discover in author C.C. Humphreys’s new novel A Place Called Armageddon: Constantinople 1453 (ISBN 9781402272493; SEPTEMBER 2012; $25.99; Fiction; Hardcover).
The year is 1453. The city of Constantinople is at the center of a clash of civilizations. For the Greeks, it’s their home that has withstood attacks for centuries behind mighty walls. For the Turks, it’s the prize they have spent centuries trying to win.
Humphreys features a wide cast of characters from both sides of the rampart in A Place Called Armageddon. At the center are Gregoras and Theon. Twin brothers from Constantinople. One an exiled mercenary who has vowed never to return. The other a rising diplomatic star hiding a secret of betrayal. A woman who has captured one’s heart, but is married to the other as a trophy. Two brothers fighting for glory and redemption.
A Place Called Armageddon also imagines what the battle meant for two real-life historical figures—Emperor Constantine and Mehmet, sultan of the Turks. Both men fighting for their people and for God. Both sides tasting victory and defeat before the final showdown. Among those fighting is engineer John Grant, a Scotsman brought to Constantinople to recover the formula for Greek Fire, and Achmed, a Turkish farmer lured into service by the promise of the spoils of war. Lurking in the shadows is Leilah, a sorceress who plays a dangerous game with both sides.
From sword fights with pirates to explosions in tunnels and towers, secret rendezvous in the enemy camp, and the religious and moral dilemmas of war, Humphreys once again uses his dramatic flair and meticulous research to weave fiction into fact.
Click AMAZON to buy straight away! And click on the book’s cover to the right, or its title above to go the page for synopsis, reviews … and even a short film!
Here’s a great review from Publisher’s Weekly:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4022-7249-3
And in other news…
THE BIG ONE! I AM MOVING PUBLISHERS!
Click HERE to see the announcement in The Bookseller.
Check out the newly added ‘APPEARANCES’ page above and come and meet me in action this June in various US cities.
Hi Chris, I just finished your soon to be published A Place Called Armageddon whic I won on goodreads.com. I put up a favorable review of the book and look to read some of your past work. If you were located in the US I would really want to send my copy to in hopes you would sign or inscribe it for me. I guess there is no book mail rate to Canada? In any event. I really liked the book. Keep up the great writing. Sincerely, Wade Kuhn
Just saw this again, sorry for delayed response. So glad you liked the book.
Hi, just a quick question, will there be any more Jack Absolute novels? I have enjoyed them immensely and am in fact re-reading them. Good luck with your future projects.
Thanks, Wade. I’d be delighted to sign it for you. Any way you can make one of my upcoming US dates? See ‘Appearances’. Anyway, so glad you liked the book.
And, Neil: Strange you ask. My publishers have had me on a different track for years. But I love Jack and have just begun dabbling with a sequel to the original Jack Absolute. Early days and very busy but… watch this space!
Hi Chris, Many thanks for your prompt reply to my enquiry concerning Jack Absolute. I too love the character and was hoping we hadn’t seen the last of him. I have a keen interest in that particular historical period and would love to see Jack continue his adventures in America. I can understand your affection for Jack having played him upon the stage, but you have done a brilliant job of expanding his character beyond ‘The Rivals’ and have really brought flesh to his bones so to speak. I find myself very sympathetic to him as he is so human and therefore full of all that entails. I shall indeed look forward to another Jack Absolute book, and wish you the very best of luck!
So pleased to hear that, Neil. It is like meeting up with an old friend right now.
Hi Chris, yes I imagine it must feel like meeting up with an old friend concerning Jack. If and when you do continue his adventures will he still be involved in the American Revolution? I personally hope so as this is my favourite historical period. It’s refreshing to read a story/character from the British perspective. I too am writing a book from this period, though I am using a real life person-the infamous Banastre Tarleton, who of course appears in the first Jack Absolute novel. I am writing in the first person, as if he is recounting his life, and I have become immersed in his character. I have nearly completed the manuscript, and would like one day to be published but have primarily done it for my own pleasure. Tarleton, as you know was a much maligned figure, but considerable research has shown to me that he was very unfairly labelled a butcher by the rebel propaganda machine. I hope to show another side to him, and give to the reader (if in fact anyone actually gets to read it) that he was quite some character. Anyway, thanks for your time, look forward to the next Jack Absolute, and as I said would love to see him continue his time in America. Kind Regards, Neil.
Hi Chris, in reference to my enquries concerning Jack Absolute, when you do write the sequel to ‘Jack Absolute’ will he soldier on in the American Revolution? Or do you think you will be taking him elsewhere for his adventures? Would love to know.
Still in planning stage. But it would be immediate sequel to original ‘Jack Absolute’ and would follow Jack’s recovery in Canvas Town (New York City) of both sanity and good name. No battles but spies, reunions… and cricket!
I am intrigued, especially concerning the cricket!!! Will he be meeting the subject of my interest, a certain Banastre Tarleton once again? As you probably know Tarleton was a renowned cricket player, a notable bowler by all accounts, so would love to see them encountering each other once again. Tarleton was stationed in New York around this time, and like Jack he also served in the honourable 16th Light Dragoons before becoming the field commander of the infamous British Legion. I know they fought their duel in the original ‘Jack Absolute’, but actually, I think they would have got along quite well. Far be it for me to make such a suggestion, for you are after all the creator of Jack Absolute beyond the original Sheridan character, but to my way of thinking Jack has such ‘legs’, and could have such adventures during and beyond the revolution. Like your good self I have such an affection for Jack, and frankly another book still wouldn’t be enough! I look forward greatly to his continuing saga, for he truly feels like an old friend. Bravo Jack Absolute!
I picked up a copy of Jack Absolute and ended up reading on a trip, right after attending the re-enactment of the Battle of Oriskany. I could easily see Jack there, and it made the story that much more exciting. I believe I was also at the re-enactment of Saratoga when you were doing your research. I could knit-pick a few of the musket firing descriptions but that had little impact on the whole story. I was surprised at the very tragic ending. If Jack goes back to the Indians, there is more tragedy waiting as the Colonials fought west to ‘cleanse’ the country for expansion. The New Hampshire Regiment I re-enact with was a major part of that, and we believe that had a enormous impact on General Sullivan. But I’d love a sequel that takes Jack anywhere in the new world.
So pleased you liked it. Did they renact Oriskany at the real location? So cool. I am toying with the sequel to ‘Jack Absolute’ so watch this space. Yes, I buggered up the musket loading! Will be addressed for the reissue in the US, circa 2014.
Hi Cris
I was introduced to your book Vlad-The Last Confessions, by members of the Conn Iggulden Forum, I found it an amazing read, when I saw the Place called Armaggedon and it was the seige of Constantinople which has a particular intrest for me I immediatly downloaded it to my Kindle, I will give your Jack Absolute series a try. Thank you for the great reads, and I hope many more to come.
I am half way through ‘The Blooding of Jack Absolute’ and enjoying the novel, such that I would like to read the other two? Novels, in their correct sequence, so in which order should I read them – Jack Absolute and then Absolute Honour?
Also in the above response you talk of ‘toying with the sequel to ‘Jack Absolute’ would that not have been Absolute Honour?
Dear Kentish Man,
It’s a little complicated – I wrote Jack Absolute first for various reasons. It is set in 1777. I then went to The Blooding, the prequel -1759. Absolute Honour is set immediately afterwards and thus is the sequel to the prequel. So I’d read AH next then Jack.
I am hoping to write the sequel to JA soon.
Clear as mud?
All the best
Chris
HI Chris,
Just finished the Jack Absolute trilogy.. love this Character and you simply HAVE to complete his story. I’m sure a lot of his fans want more.
I have read ALL your other novels , keep up the excellent prose.
All the very best
Sonny
Thanks, Sonny. Jack is very dear to my heart and you are part of a small but dedicated movement who want to see him back. Now I just need to persuade my publishers…
Dear Chris
After reading the above with delight about another Jack Absolute novel I wondered if you would ever cosndier having Jack meet Molly Brant. At the time she was argubly one of the most famous Indian leaders organising Indian resistance who was loathed by the the Rebels/Congress . Yet now she seems rather forgotten.
Also could the battle of Wyoming Valley ever be in the works for Jack. It was called a massacre by the Patritots but as survivors testify no civillians were harmed only soldiers. It would seem a fair fight for Jack to be in.
Also if you have not read it I can reccomend Liberty’s Exiles by Maya Jasanoff on the Loyalists as worth a read.
Yours sincerely
Geraint
P.S This is for Neil above but he might like to try this excellent website on Tarleton http://home.golden.net/~marg/bansite/_entry.html
The guy was arrogant and cocky and he liked a fight but he was not a nazi as portrayed in the Patriot. While his impersonation of George Washingtons cousin to Patriot militia leader was nothing short of brilliant.
Still in the negotiating stage for Jack – but I think Tarleton will figure again and may even make him a good guy this time!
Hi Chris, nice to hear that Tarleton may be making an appearance in the next Jack Absolute novel, and also that you may even make him something of a ‘good guy’. So much dirge has been written about him, and the painstaking research I have done has shown that although very far from being an angel he was certainly no devil. I’m curious, what is your opinion on Tarleton? Kind Regards,
Neil Pearce.
I am keen on the idea of a meeting between Jack and Ban that involves spying and not a woman. Oh, for the time to begin that novel now!
Dear Chris, wishing you a very happy Christmas and new year, and thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. All the best. Neil.
Dear Chris,
I just finished Vlad and I’m an instant fan of your writing. I love historical fiction and I’m currently working on a few things, none of which are in that genre but i would love to get into it. i was wondering if you could offer any advice to a young aspiring author that wants to become an “expert” on a particular time or place in history? Do you do online research, read, visit actual ancient sites? What is your favorite method for researching a topic?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much and hope to hear from you soon!
Adam S.
Dear Adam,
Sorry its taken a bit of time to get back to you. Crazy busy!
My big advice is: persevere! Sometimes we let our demons dissuade us. Don’t strive for ‘good’ in the first draft. Let your characters develop and tell you their story. (Never show anyone your first draft)
I do a mix of research – online less, a lot of books – and if I can go I do. It will change a book, being there.
All the best
Chris
Dear Chris,
Just finished re-reading Absolute Honour. Thank you for the hours of enjoyment.
During the reading of the Jack Absolute series I note that you hint to adventures in India and a plantation. As well as a possible love child with the widow Simkins. It would be nice to have novels filling in these stories. Any chance of this happening?
Regards
Lube
Thanks for the appreciation, Lube.
I am always plotting the return of Jack – even though my publishers hijacked me into medieval world! In fact I have the sequel to the first ‘Jack Absolute’ already started, and a time slot to write it later in the year. And – spoiler alert – it will feature the Widow Simkin.
Meantime, ‘Shakespeare’s Rebel’, out in March in the UK, may satisfy some cravings. ’nuff said!
Hope you can have patience with me, all the best,
Chris
Just finished Armegeddon on my Nook….most enjoyable. Thank you.
Vlad is next and then Rebel. Life is good when you have a book you want to read.
Thanks so much. Hope you enjoy the others as much.
I just getting started into Jack Absolute. It looks like This may be one book I may read when I’m on vacation. ENJOYABLE!
Don’t think I’ve ever been addressed as ‘home slice’ before! Which ones have you read?
Hope you enjoyed it as much on a beach/slope!
Yo home slice!! I LOVE YOUR BOOKS!!! ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!
i have just read your book a Place called Armageddon and i loved it the way you are able to intertwine the charectures lives with history without changing any of the facts is a merical and i have never seen literature such as yours. i have always loved dickensian literature without becomeing some mellowdramatic book and its becoming harder and harder to find it in today’s novels but you were able to pull it off. i will definetly be heading to the book store to purchase the rest soon.
Thanks so much, Austin. Thrilled to hear it.
I am a Canadian historical fiction author, and I just discovered A Place called Armageddon at my local library. I want to say that I enjoyed your writing very much, and will start searching out the rest of your books. I am excited to find a new (to me) author that I really enjoy.
Glad you enjoyed it, Bruce. Welcome aboard the Hist Fic bandwagon!
Just bought your newest novel and excited to read it (it is possible my wife will grab it before I finish my current novel).
Still hope your publisher will allow you to complete Jack Absolute. Yorktown needs to be visited to complete the series.
Glenn
In Williamsburg, Virginia
Me too! I have a plot laid out. Not sure if I’ll get as far as Yorktown though. And I love Goldsboro!
I used Hatchards for years and all of a sudden, Goldsboro ( 4 or 5 years ago) appeared with a far better website and many more signed editions.
By the way, I was raised in North Carolina and Tarleton was a cursed name in the state and our history books in the late “50s” painted a quite ugly picture of the man.
The battle I copied below was my greatest recollection on NC revolutionary success:
Moore’s Creek Bridge, Battle of
by Daniel W. Barefoot, 2006
See also: Highland Regiment, North Carolina.
Moores Creek National BattlefieldMoores Creek National Battlefield. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.Fought in present southwestern Pender County on 27 Feb. 1776, the engagement at Moore’s Creek Bridge was the first battle of the American Revolution to take place in North Carolina. In early January 1776 exiled Governor Josiah Martin received notification from London that his plan to restore royal authority in North Carolina had been approved. Two commands of British regulars, one composed of seven regiments under Lord Charles Cornwallis and the other made up of 2,000 troops led by Sir Henry Clinton, would sail from Ireland and New England, respectively, and converge on the Lower Cape Fear River near Brunswick Town. There they would be joined by an army of Loyalists who would assist in putting down the rebellion.
On 10 Jan. 1776 Martin issued a call for loyal subjects to serve as troops and a proclamation ordering the Royal Standard to be raised in North Carolina. By mid-February approximately 1,600 Highland Scots and other Loyalists had assembled at Cross Creek (now Fayetteville). Commanding the troops was Brig. Gen. Donald MacDonald, a veteran of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
As the Loyalist forces finalized preparations for their march toward Wilmington, Col. James Moore, commander of the Patriot army in southeastern North Carolina, masterminded a strategy to foil MacDonald’s rendezvous with the British regulars. When MacDonald began his advance on 21 February, Moore was able to block the initial route taken by the Highlanders. MacDonald altered his movement by crossing the Cape Fear River en route to Corbett’s Ferry on the Black River. There he anticipated slipping past the militiamen of Col. Richard Caswell; his army would then proceed over the bridge at Moore’s Creek and hasten on to Wilmington.
When Moore learned that MacDonald had won the race to Corbett’s Ferry, he ordered Caswell’s force to Moore’s Creek, where they were joined by additional Patriot troops under Col. Alexander Lillington. Caswell and Lillington found that the narrow bridge, located on a sand bar, offered an excellent defensive position. Situated at the highest elevation in the area, the bridge crossed the dark, swampy creek at a place where the waterway was 50 feet wide and 3 feet deep. Also known at the time as Widow Moore’s Creek because it flowed past land owned by widow Elizabeth Moore, the creek flowed into the Black River about ten miles above the river’s confluence with the Cape Fear.
On the night of 26 February, Caswell manned the west bank of the creek with 800 soldiers while Lillington stationed 150 men near a slightly elevated knoll on the east bank. Moore positioned his 1,000 troops between Moore’s Creek and Wilmington. While the Patriot forces assumed their defensive positions, MacDonald convened a council of war with his officers at his camp about six miles from Caswell on the same side of the creek. The decision was made to attack, but MacDonald fell ill, and command of the Highlanders devolved to Lt. Col. Donald McLeod.
At 1:00 a.m. on 27 February McLeod put his 1,500-man army on the march through the swamps in bone-chilling temperatures. After struggling through the wilderness for hours, the Highlanders caught sight of Caswell’s camp, which had been abandoned during the night. To deceive the enemy, Caswell had left his campfires burning while he moved his force to the east bank. Following the night crossing, the Patriots had removed the planks from the bridge, greased the girders, and positioned artillery to cover the road and bridge.
At Caswell’s abandoned camp, McLeod’s troops regrouped and waited for daybreak to pursue the rebel army, which they thought was in retreat. But to the contrary, nearly 1,000 Whig soldiers were waiting across the bridge. The stillness of the swamp was broken at sunrise when 500 Highlanders, broadswords in hand, stormed toward the bridge. Bagpipes played in the background as the attackers shouted, “King George and broadswords!” Only a few Highlanders managed to make their way over the slippery remnants of the bridge, and they fell rapidly from the heavy fire coming from the Patriot breastworks. Within three minutes, the battle was over. About 70 Highlanders were killed or wounded. Among the dead was McLeod, a bridegroom of only a few weeks. The officer’s body was riddled with 9 bullets and 24 swan shot. About 850 soldiers were taken prisoner, including General MacDonald, who was captured in his tent. The booty claimed by the victorious Patriots was substantial: 150 swords, 1,500 rifles, and £15,000. In the battle, the Whigs lost only one man, John Grady, who died four days later.
Called the “Lexington and Concord of the South,” the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge was significant for several reasons: it marked the permanent end of royal authority in North Carolina, it prompted the Provincial Congress meeting at Halifax on 12 Apr. 1776 to instruct North Carolina’s delegation to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to vote for independence, and it prevented the British from seizing control of the South at the onset of the war. The site of the battle, including the reconstructed bridge, has been preserved within Moore’s Creek National Military Park. The 86-acre complex, operated by the federal government since 1926, is located one mile southwest of Currie.
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Hi Chris!
I have a question regarding the opening lines of the Fetch (…and then what will we do? What terrible things will we do?). I’d like to use those lines at the beginning of something I am currently writing as it’s quite fitting, but want to make sure I credit it correctly. I’m about 99% sure the words are yours, but on the off chance they are from some archaic tome or what have you, I didn’t want to make a mistake.
Thanks! (and thank you for writing such wonderful books!)
Marissa
Interesting! What project are you using it for?
Yes indeed, my lines. The first things I ever wrote on the novel actually, before I knew anything about it. Just had these feelings, sat down and wrote them. I told my eventual editor and she said, ‘that’s how we start the book.’
Let me know how your using, credit away, and have fun.
Hello! I appreciate the quick response. I’m glad they’re your lines! They will indeed be credited then as such. I’m using them as an epigraph for my own novel I’ve recently completed, though I’m still in the stage of first-draft editing. It’s interesting that you wrote those lines as a beginning before you ever wrote the Fetch–the prologue in my story happened very much the same way!
Thanks again! I really appreciate it.
Marissa
Shakespeare’s Rebel was fantastic. For an American raised person, the history was rich and the attempted coup was gloriously told. Wonderful novel!!
Thanks much. So glad you enjoyed it.
I like the way you take your characters from history and build upon them. I have yet to read one of your books but hope to soon.
Let me know when you do!
Absolute satisfaction guaranteed!
I stumbled on your blog on http://cchumphreys.com/ and I’m very happy I did. I feel as though you’re reading my mind right now.
You appear to to know so much concerning this,
like you wrote the book on it or something like that. While I think some extra media like some pics or a couple of videos, this will be a
fantastic resource. I will certainly come back.
Is A Place Called Armageddon a formal alternate reality? I was jarred by the multiple references to the followers of Islam as the sons of Isaac. I had to stop reading the narrative and refer to the historical and author’s notes, but found nothing that explained the discrepancy.
No indeed. It was simply one way Turkish Muslims referred to themselves in some of the sources I used. Since I am a novelist rather than a historian I don’t provide footnotes. Hope you still enjoy the work!
I’d love to see the source. Abraham’s first son was Ishmael, born of the bond-woman Hagar. His second son was Isaac, born of Sarah, and it was through Isaac that God blessed him. While there is a physical lineage factor, with the Arabs descending from Abraham by Ishmael, and the Jews descending from Abraham by Isaac, the more significant matter is who are the ‘children of the promise.’ If the Turkish Muslims claim to be children of the promise, it would add a wonderful new dimension for me personally.
With respect to my enjoyment of the work: I love the form, it’s well written, the characters are real. However, I had to stop reading it because of the unexplained dissonance of the ‘sons of Isaac’ reference. I’d love to go back and read the rest of the work, and if I can gain an enormous cultural insight by discovering the basis of the Turkish Muslims’ claim to be sons of Isaac, it will open up new fields of research for me.