Interview with Sharon Bennett Connolly

Welcome to our mini blog tour. Samantha Wilcoxson, Sharon Bennett Connolly and I are celebrating the release of our latest books with Pen and Sword, which are respectively James Alexander Hamilton: Son of the American Revolution,  Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From Saint Margaret to Margaret of Denmark, and Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King: Harold Godwinson, England’s golden Warrior

Today I am hosting Sharon Bennett Connolly with an interview about her writing processes and why she chose to write about the queens of Medieval Scotland.

Take the floor Sharon!

1. How did your book come about?

Usually my future book ideas come out of the book I am currently writing, but Scotland’s Medieval Queens was different. It was my son’s idea. He was studying Shakespeare’s Macbeth in his English Literature class and came out of school one day and said to me, ‘mum, you really need to do something about Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare has made her into a villain and no one is standing up for her. He doesn’t even call her by her name! So, you need to tell the real story’

And he got me thinking… Always useful to have a fellow historian in the family.

Then, I watched Outlaw King on Netflix, the story of Robert the Bruce. It was very well received and a good film to watch but glossed over the rather considerable role of the women of the story. Watching it made me realise that the stories of these women needed to be told.

I love Scottish history and had already written about some of Scotland’s queens, including St Margaret and Elizabeth de Burgh, in Heroines of the Medieval World and on my blog, History…the Interesting Bits. So, I thought, what about a book on Scotland’s Medieval Queens? The main part of the book starts with Margaret of Wessex – Saint Margaret – the wife of Malcolm III Canmore. But the prologue is the story of Gruoch, Lady Macbeth. I personally cannot wait to read about her in particular!

2. What is the book about and what makes it different from others?

Scotland’s Medieval Queens tells the story of Scotland through the individual stories of the women who wore the crown, who were wives to the king, mothers to the future king and influential women in their own right. They often get overlooked or ignored in the history books, but each woman played a significant role in Scottish history. And it is unique> I could not find another book that looked into the queens of medieval Scotland – which was another incentive to write it. And about time we learned more about them!

Malcolm III and Margaret of Wessex

3. What was your greatest challenge in writing non-fiction?

Finding the women in the original sources. Most of my research is through chronicles, letters and charters and the role of a queen is often ignored, or glossed over. So, you have to do a little detective work, find out where the queen was when the king was in a certain place, find out where she was issuing charters and to whom she was extending patronage. It was easier with some queens, namely those involved in keeping the peace between England and Scotland, who used their familial relationship with the English king in order to keep communications open, even in times of war.

4. And what was the easiest part?

Research. I love research and going down different avenues of enquiry to piece together events and the personalities of the people involved. Oh, and I just love when I get conflicting sources and have to work out what was really happening. I tend to do that on the page, offering the different versions to the reader and then making a ‘best guess’ as to what I think actually happened.

5. Did you come across any particularly intriguing or gruesome stories?

Oh yes, this is Scottish history after all. There was the chap who fell off his horse while crossing a river, got his foot stuck in the stirrup and was dragged along with his head in the water. Somehow, his sword had managed to fall out of its scabbard and stabbed him in the stomach too. Whenever you are having a bad day, it cannot be as bad as poor Enguerrand de Coucy. Ugh! Sounds terrible poor bloke.

And then there was the queen – Margaret of England - who played a prank on her squire which went so tragically wrong. She pushed him into a river, not knowing he couldn’t swim. A page jumped in to save the squire but they both drowned. And had to live with it for the rest of her life!

There were so many incredible stories….

6. How do you approach your writing day?

I try to be disciplined but it never really works.

I tend to start work about 9/9.3am, stop to make a coffee and stretch my legs about 10.30 and then work through to 12.30. If I am finding it a struggle to write, I will often do something else for half an hour, such as mooch around Facebook or do some admin – there is always a blog article to write or share, or a podcast to prepare for. If I do that, rather than force myself to write, I am always more productive. The afternoon is pretty much the same and I usually finish up around 4.30pm. I work Monday to Friday. I try not to write in the evening and weekends, unless I am chasing a deadline.

7. What is your favourite thing about being a writer?

Oh, that’s easy! It is holding the finished book in my hands, knowing that it was all my own work. I still haven’t got over that feeling of wonder that ‘I wrote this?!?!?’

8. What would be the best bit of advice you could give someone who is starting their first writing project?

The advice I give myself whenever I start a new project and that is ‘just write’. Get words on the page, in whatever order you can – you can rearrange them in editing. The more you write, the more the words flow and the easier it gets to write. Oh, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are some amazing authors on social media who are more than willing to give help and encouragement. Reach out – it is a lot harder to do it alone. This is so true, I couldn't have got through writing mine without nagging you day in day out !

9. What are you working on now?

I am just finishing book no. 9, The Medieval Princess: From the Conquest to the Wars of the Roses. I am 85,000 words in and it will hopefully be finished in the next couple of weeks. It charts the fates of every English princess between the Norman Conquest and the advent of the Tudor dynasty.

Margaret of Denmarik

About Scotland’s Medieval Queens:

Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

About the Author:

Sharon Bennett Connolly is the best-selling author of several non-fiction history books. Her latest, Scotland’s Medieval Queens; From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark, will be released in January 2025. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Sharon has studied history academically and just for fun – and has even worked as a tour guide at Conisbrough Castle. She also writes the popular history blog, www.historytheinterestingbits.com and co-hosts the podcast A Slice of Medieval, alongside historical novelist Derek Birks. Sharon regularly gives talks on women's history, for historical groups, festivals and in schools; her book Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest is a recommended text for teaching the Norman Conquest in the National Curriculum. She is a feature writer for All About History and Living Medieval magazines and her TV work includes Australian Television's 'Who Do You Think You Are?’

 Sharon’s Social media: 

Website: historytheinterestingbits.com,

Podcast: A Slice of Medieval, Facebook: History the Interesting Bits,

X/Twitter: @thehistorybits,

Threads/Instagram: sharonbennettconnolly. Bluesky: @thehistorybits.bsky.social