Character List - PAYING IN BLOOD

 H=Historical, F=Fictional

From Nieuwpoort:
Crackleton*
	Anna	F		Daughter of John & Catherine
	Catherine	F		Strip-Farmer, Wife of John
	John	F		Strip-Farmer, Soldier, later English Separatist
	John Junior	F		Son of John & Catherine
Lupton
	John	F		Military Surgeon
Vere
	Sir Horace	H	(1565-1635)	Military Commander
	Sir Francis	H	(1560-1609)	Military Commander
(*inspired by family of Mayflower Pilgrim John Crackstone)
In Boston & Lincoln:
Bancroft
	Richard	H	(1544-1610)	Bishop of London, later Archbishop of Canterbury
Chaderton
	William	H	(1540-1608)	Bishop of Lincoln
Grantham
	Sir Thomas	H	(1573-1630)	Lincoln Sheriff & Member of Parliament
Felde
	Sir Julian	F		Muster Lieutenant’s Deputy
Mobley
	Constance	F		Daughter of Matthew & Eunice
	Eunice	F		Wife of Matthew
	Luke	F		Son of Matthew & Eunice
	Matthew	F		Physician, later English Separatist
Peters
	Agnes	F		Cleaner, later English Separatist
	Susannah	F		Cleaner
	Toby			Son of Susannah
Pusey
	John	F
Sculthorpe
	Bartholomew	F		Bishop of Lincoln’s Secretary, later High Commission Secretary
Sibsey
	Edmund	F		Landlord of the Red Lion Inn
Smyth
	John	H	(1554-1612)	Lincoln City Preacher , later English Separatist & Baptist Pastor
	Mary	H		Wife of John, later English Separatist & Baptist
Sudwell
	Jane	F		Glover, Anabaptist
	Piers	F		Son of Jane
Essex Rebellion:
Beauchamp
	Crespin	F		Servant, later Gentleman-of-the-Bedchamber
Cecil
	Sir Robert	H	(1563-1612)	English Statesman, later 1st Earl of Salisubry
Devereux
	Robert	H	(1565-1601)	2nd Earl of Essex, Military commander, Favourite of Elizabeth I
Helwys
	Joan	H		Wife of Thomas, later English Separatist & Baptist
	Thomas	H	(1575-1616)	Lawyer, later English Separatist & Baptist Leader
Tudor
	Elizabeth	H	(1533-1603)	Queen Elizabeth I of England, Daughter of Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn
In Gainsborough and Scrooby:
Barton
	Nicholas	F		Servant, English Separatist
Bradford
	William	H	(1590-1657)	Ward of William & Mary Brewster, English Separatist, later Mayflower Pilgrim & Governor of Plymouth Colony
Brewster
	Fear	H		Daughter of William & Mary
	Jonathan	H		Son of William & Mary
	Mary	H	(1569-1627)	Wife of William, English Separatist, later Mayflower Pilgrim
	Patience	H		Daughter of William and Mary
	William	H	(1567-1644)	Postmaster, English Separatist Elder, later Mayflower Pilgrim Elder
Deryngton
	Margaret	F		Servant, English Separatist
Hickman
	Rose	H		Mother of William
	William	H	(1549-1625)	Owner of Gainsborough Old Hall
Robinson
	Bridget	H	(1575-1643)	Wife of John, English Separatist
	John	H	(1576-1625)	English Separatist Pastor, later Mayflower Pilgrim Pastor
In London:
Redfern
	Leonard	F		Spy-master
Stewart
	James	H	(1566-1625)	King James VII of Scotland, King James I of England
Whitgift
	John	H	(1530-1604)	Archbishop of Canterbury

Happy Birthday Baxby!

 

PAYING IN BLOOD is one year old today.

BIG thanks to everyone who has read the book and supported me through this incredible year.

It's wonderful whenever someone contacts me to say they enjoyed the story, or wants to know more about early seventeenth century.

🪚💕🗡🐻🗲

How Cancer Affected My Writing

 

Last year, I was invited to speak at a Cheltenham Literature Festival Local Voices event, during which I mentioned a way cancer had affected my writing. Afterwards, people wanted to know more about the subject, without realising the full significance at the time. In the talk, I had mentioned my original cancer diagnosis and treatment in 2021, but not the secondary tumours discovered the week before. The most immediate effect was the pain in my spine!

I started writing whilst working as a consultant, during contract breaks and in hotels whilst working away from home. Spotting parallels between the political and societal upheaval caused by the introduction of the printing press and the internet now, I set my first crime/thriller in early 1600s England, covering the difficult succession from Queen Elizabeth to King James.

The mystery-solving, ambitious young Baxby had begun to take shape, along with the main plot and twists. Interestingly in the light of my future ill-health, Baxby attempted battlefield surgery to save his friend Crackleton’s life in the opening chapters, then trained as a physician.

Unsurprisingly, my initial breast cancer diagnosis was a seismic shock, as was being told I would need chemotherapy, especially as I was dealing with a lot at the time - my Father’s terminal cancer and family issues in addition to Covid lockdowns. I had always been resilient, but this combination stretched me more than before. For the first time in my life, I turned to counselling, for which I remain grateful.

Unable to keep working at the same level as before, I found more time to type, and my writing gained a more powerful emotional layer that was not there before. Although I had always tried to include all the senses, now characters, relationships and events gained more depth.

This was confirmed when a former Head of English at a Sussex school asked me if I had actually been in a storm, after reading that scene in Paying in Blood. Fortunately, I had not, but during 2021, I experienced intense waves of hope and despair, relief and fear, including facing my own death, and been alongside others who had too.

Before cancer, I identified strongly with Baxby’s defiance in the face of set-backs, and his loyalty to his friend Crackleton after vowing to help him discover why his wife died in suspicious circumstances. As a result of what I had been through, I understood my other characters better too. Even the most persistent villains developed redeeming qualities.

Most strikingly, I came to know Crackleton at a deeper level after suffering an anaphylactic allergic reaction to my last chemo infusion, whereby four amazing nurses swooped in to save my life. There was nothing I could do in that moment, but depend on them. Whereas before I had predominately seen the pivotal surgery scene from Baxby’s perspective, now I understood the intense bond of gratitude Crackleton felt towards someone who saved his life.

Finally, cause and effect worked in the opposite direction too. The historical characters in Paying in Blood, some of whom later sailed on the Mayflower and formed the first English Baptist group, showed amazing courage and resilience in the face of surveillance, persecution and danger. 

Alongside, countless other ordinary people endured poverty, sickness, powerlessness and war, unable to assume they would stay alive from one year to the next. In addition to providing an excellent setting for a crime thriller, they have inspired me to persist through my own challenges. 

In the second book in the Alexander Baxby series, due to be published in Spring 2025, the physician will solve the mystery of Englishmen drowning in Amsterdam, whilst encountering more political intrigue and espionage.

Karen Haden’s historical crime novel Paying in Blood was published by Sharpe Books in 2024 www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CW6LKGK7

This article was published in Feb edition of CWA Readers News https://mailchi.mp/thecwa/the-cra-newsletter-17364161

PAYING IN BLOOD New Year Giveaway

The PAYING IN BLOOD paperback giveaway starts on Fri 3 Jan

Just use the contact form on the web version of this blog to submit your entry before the end of Sun 5 Jan.

Winners will be contacted and free signed paperbacks sent to the first two names drawn from the hat on Mon 6 Jan.

GOOD LUCK!

PAYING IN BLOOD by Karen Haden

"a historical novel which grabs you from the start"

"I can thoroughly recommend this, even if like me, you're not a big reader or history buff"

"I loved this book and couldn't put it down, especially towards the end"

PAYING IN BLOOD is also on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Monthly Deals at 99p www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CW6LKGK7

PAYING IN BLOOD Special Promotion - 99p

PAYING IN BLOOD by Karen Haden

Kindle Monthly Deal 

Buy for 99p at  

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CW6LKGK7

"a historical novel which grabs you from the start"

Also on Kindle Unlimited and paperback