The World of the Tudor Vampire Chronicles
The Tudor Vampire Chronicles
 Book 1, KISS OF THE ROSE Now Available in Print & Ebook Read More » |
 Book 2, BLOOD OF THE ROSE Now Available in Print & Ebook Read More » |
 Book 3, BLOOD OF THE ROSE Now Available in Print & Ebook Read More » |
The Kiss of the Rose is death to kin
And three will stand alone.
The bonds of blood will reunite
And enemies become one.
The Legend of the Tudor Vampire Rose
People still argue today over whether the blood-red bloom known as the Tudor Vampire Rose is the result of Vampire or Druidic magic.
Arch enemies for centuries, Druids and Vampires have fought since the first vampires were created. Druid lore says this occurred when rogue Druids drank blood sacrifices meant for their gods. The result of these first Vampires’ power-hungry sacrilege…
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The Legend of the Tudor Vampire Rose
People still argue today over whether the blood-red bloom known as the Tudor Vampire Rose is the result of Vampire or Druidic magic.
Arch enemies for centuries, Druids and Vampires have fought since the first vampires were created. Druid lore says this occurred when rogue Druids drank blood sacrifices meant for their gods. The result of these first Vampires’ power-hungry sacrilege: the loss of each Vampire’s soul and a fragile immortality. Fragile in that their existence could be stolen from them just as they’d stolen blood from the gods.
So, though a Vampire might live for centuries, if and when a stake found its heart or a sword separated it from its head, POOF, it would be as if it had never lived. Only ashes would remain.
Some say there was a great battle fought between Vampires and Druids at the time of King Henry VIII. It’s believed the surviving Vampires buried the ashes of their brethren who fell to Druid sword and stake. The Tudor Vampire Rose is said to have sprung from the ground, fully-grown and blooming, the next day.
Others contend the rosebush, with its dark-as-blood red blossoms, sprang instead from ashes the Druids buried. These were the ashes left on the funeral pyre they’d built for their fellows who’d fallen in battle to Vampire fangs.
But, of course, there’s a third group. This one agrees the very first Tudor Vampire Rosebush bloomed during the reign of Henry VIII. But they insist it appeared on the very spot where a beautiful Druid Vampire slayer celebrated Beltane (and lost her virginity) in the arms of a Druid-hunting son of a family that had long protected the Vampires. And this particular bush magnificent, but forever thorny, sprang fully grown at dawn as a symbol of their impossible love for one another, a love which legend had foretold centuries before either was born.
Real characters in KISS OF THE ROSE
 Oil painting of King Henry VII by Michel Sittow. — click on the image for an enlarged view King Henry VII (Henry Tudor) founder of the Tudor dynasty. Michel Sittow (ca. 1469(1469)-1525) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
 Portrait of King Henry VIII (1491-1547) by a follower of Hans Holbein the Younger — click on the image for an enlarged view King Henry VIII A great site with lots of information about the Tudors and the people who surrounded them. By Follower of Hans Holbein the Younger (philipmould.com) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
 Portrait of Katherine of Aragon (artist unknown) — click on the image for an enlarged view Queen #1 A biography and portraits of King Henry VIII’s first queen. By anonymous, English School. (HistoricalPortraits.com) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
Real characters in BLOOD OF THE ROSE
Portrait of Anne Boleyn. Derived from Hans Holbein the Younger — click on the image for an enlarged view
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (1507 – 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and mother of the future Elizabeth I of England.
Derived from Hans Holbein the Younger (Tudorplace.com) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Portrait of George Boleyn — click on the image for an enlarged view
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford (1504 -1536) was the brother of Henry VIII of England’s second wife Anne Boleyn, and the husband of Jane Parker. A prominent figure in the politics of the early 1530s, he was convicted of incest with his sister, the Queen, during the period of her trial for high treason. They were both executed as a result.
By James Tudor (My own portfolio) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Lady Jane Rochford
Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (by courtesy) (1505 – 1542) was an English noblewoman who lived in the reign of Henry VIII. She was a sister-in-law of Henry’s second wife Anne Boleyn and lady-in-waiting to his fifth wife Catherine Howard, with whom she was executed.
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, KG, PC (1485 – 1540), known as 1st Baron Cromwell of Wimbledon between 1536 and 1540, was an English statesman who served as chief minister of King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540.
Cromwell’s rise to power made him many enemies, especially among the conservative faction at court, and he fell from Henry’s favour after arranging the King’s disastrous marriage to a German princess, Anne of Cleves. He was subjected to an Act of Attainder and executed for treason and heresy on Tower Hill on 28 July 1540. The king later expressed regret at having lost his great minister.
Henry Norris
Sir Henry Norris (1482 – 1536) was a groom of the stool in the privy chamber of King Henry VIII. While a close servant of the King he also supported the faction in court led by Queen Anne Boleyn, and when Anne fell out of favour he was among those accused of adultery with her. He was found guilty of treason and executed. Most historical authorities argue that the accusations were untrue and part of a plot to get rid of Anne.
Real characters in MARK OF THE ROSE
 Portrait of Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley (by Nicholas Denizot) — click on the image for an enlarged view Lord Thomas Seymour Read more about Lord Seymour » By Nicholas Denizot [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
 Portrait of Jane Seymour (by Hans Holbein the Younger) — click on the image for an enlarged view Queen #3 Jane Seymour (1508–1537) was Henry VIII of England’s third wife. Henry married her in 1536, shortly after the execution of Anne Boleyn, and she died the following year, twelve days after giving birth to Henry’s son and heir, the future Edward VI. By Hans Holbein the Younger (1498–1543) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
Main Characters
Main Characters in KISS OF THE ROSE and BLOOD OF THE ROSE
1 KISS OF THE ROSE
2 BLOOD OF THE ROSE
1Sir John Llewellyn — companion to Henry Tudor, (later King Henry VII). John helps Henry make a pact with the Druids to win the crown of England from King Richard III. Llewellyn family is sworn to protect the new Tudor dynasty from the Vampire threat.
1, 2Rosalind Llewellyn — ohn’s granddaughter. A rare female Druid who bears the mark of Awen, which entitles her to train to become a Vampire slayer.
1, 2Rhys Williams — also from an ancient Druid family. Vampire slayer and Rosalind’s fighting companion.
1, 2Sir Christopher Ellis — Descendant of Druid-killing Romans bound by vows to exterminate the Druids and protect the Druid’s natural foes—the Vampires.
1Elias Warner — (Vampire) Court liaison used by the Vampire Council to negotiate the tangled politics between the Ellis and Llewellyn families.
2Sir Marcus Flavian
2Jasper Llewellyn
2Olivia Del Alonso
Main Characters in MARK OF THE ROSE
Verity Llewellyn, Rosalind’s cousin who is entrusted with the safety of the new pregnant queen Jane after her brother Jasper is taken ill.
Rhys Williams — sent to take care of Verity when she is left alone at court with a suspiciously sick queen.
Rosalind and Christopher Ellis — stuck at home, expecting their second child.
Elias Warner. Also at court and determined not to let a new powerful Vampire take over his premier position on the Vampire Council.
Olivia Del Alonso, Vampire and half-sister to Christopher. Hopelessly in love with Rhys.
Janus, a powerful Vampire who can debilitate his victims and destroy them from within.
Research: Reading Material
KISS OF THE ROSE
“A Brief History of the Druids” by Peter Berresford Ellis
Running Press (April 10, 2002)
ISBN-10: 0786709871 ♦ ISBN-13: 978-0786709878
Amazon | UK-Version (Constable & Robinson LTD)“Tudor Costume and Fashion” by Herbert Norris
Dover Publications (July 10, 1997)
ISBN-10: 0486298450 ♦ ISBN-13: 978-0486298450
Amazon
“The Six Wives of Henry VIII” by Alison Weir
Grove Press; 1st Grove Press Paperback edition (January 10, 1991)
ISBN-10: 0802136834 ♦ ISBN-13: 978-0802136831
Amazon“Saints and Stones” by Damien Walford Davies
Gomer Press (July 30, 2002)
ISBN-10: 1843231247 ♦ ISBN-13: 978-1843231240
AmazonBLOOD OF THE ROSE
The Lady in the Tower by Alison Weir
Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (December 21, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0345453220 ♦ ISBN-13: 978-0345453228
AmazonLove Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn by J.O. Phillips and Florence Swann
Merchant Books (July 6, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1603863575 ♦ ISBN-13: 978-1603863575
AmazonThe wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser
Vintage (November 30, 1993)
ISBN-10: 0140132937 ♦ ISBN-13: 978-0140132939
Amazon
Places mentioned in KISS OF THE ROSE
Parc y Meirw megalithic alignment. (click on the image for an enlarged view)
Parc-y-Meirw
In his book “Saints and Stones” (ISBN 1-84323-124-7) Damien Walford Davies suggests that the name Parc-y-Meirw (meaning ‘field of the dead’) may date back to the battle of Mynydd Carn which is believed to have taken place nearby in 1081:
During the course of the fighting, three Welsh princes — Trahaearn ap Caradog, Caradog ap Gruffudd and Meilyr ap Rhiwallon — were killed by the forces of Rhys ap Tewdwr of Deheubarth and Gruffudd ap Cynan, assisted by the Irish.
(Photo Copyright © ceridwen)
Holy well, Llanllawer, Pembs. (click on the image for an enlarged view)
This ‘holy’ well lies a stone’s throw from the abandoned church of Llanllawer and is likely to have preceded the Christian era. Typically it would have been used, with votive offerings, to seek both health and harm.
(Photo Copyright © ceridwen)
A View of Richmond Palace published in 1765 (click on the image for an enlarged view)
Richmond Palace
This site has a nice gallery of images of the remains of the Tudor palace where KISS OF THE ROSE is based.
Places mentioned in BLOOD OF THE ROSE
Hampton Court (click on the image for an enlarged view)
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in East Molesey, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located 11.7 miles (18.8 km) south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames. It was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII, circa 1514; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to the King, who enlarged it.
Westminster Abbey (click on the image for an enlarged view)
Photo by Andreas Tille (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, England (UK), located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster.
Photo by Ellocharlie at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons
Places mentioned in MARK OF THE ROSE
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Hampton Court (click on the image for an enlarged view) Hampton Court (see description above) |
A View of Richmond Palace published in 1765 (click on the image for an enlarged view) Richmond Palace (see description above) |
 Avebury Rings, Wiltshire England (click on the image for an enlarged view) Avebury Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. By Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons |
Rhys’s love song to Verity “A Nosegay Always Sweet” was provided by William Hunnis.