Her Majesty's Will

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About Her Majesty's Will

Product Description Before he was famous, he was a fugitive. Before he wrote of humanity, he lived it. Before he was the Bard of Avon, he was a spy. A very poor spy. England, 1586. Swept up in the skirts of a mysterious stranger, Will Shakespeare becomes entangled in a deadly and hilarious misadventure as he accidentally uncovers an attempt to murder Queen Elizabeth herself. Aided by the mercurial wit of Kit Marlowe, Will enters London for the first time, chased by rebels, spies, his own government, his past, and a bear. Through it all he demonstrates his loyalty and genius, proving himself to be - HER MAJESTY'S WILL. Review "I loved  Her Majesty's Will, a delightful romp through Elizabethan England. When Will Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe stumble onto a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, the fun is non-stop, an irresistible mix of suspense, surprises, and humor I just hope we get to see this zany team again."  - SHARON KAY PENMAN, The Sunne In Splendour and Lionheart        "I LOVE this book! I'm laughing and on the edge of my seat and turning the e-pages so fast, I'm gonna fry my iPad."  - C.W. GORTNER,  The Queen's Vow and The Tudor Secret From the Author HER MAJESTY'S WILL is many things. It's a spy novel. It's a Tudor novel. It's a Shakespeare novel. It's my answer to the film Anonymous. It's inspired by Tom Jones (both the novel and the film). It's an ode to the late Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures series. But most of all, it's an homage to Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. I've always loved the Road Movies, the original buddy comedies. So when I first conceived this rather ridiculous story, it leapt from my brain like Athena from the brow of Zeus, fully formed. Will Shakespeare. Kit Marlowe. The Babington Plot. Absurd! And yet - Marlowe was a spy for Walsingham. Shakespeare did have these 'lost years' between Stratford and his first recorded London appearance. And the cast of London characters is far too good to resist. I love spy novels, with secrets and reveals. But too often the right piece of information comes along at just the right moment. What if it didn't? What if we think we have all the pieces, only to discover we're just really bad at being a spy. I love Tudor novels, with their copious details and period flavor. But too many of them seem to view the world from the court down, not the gutter up. Actors were the ones who bridged that divide, residing in the gutter but playing for monarchs. Warfare, church, and theatre - the three modes of social mobility. What if we never even get more than a glimpse of Elizabeth and her court? And I love Shakespeare, love him too much to leave him in peace. Because while I love him, I do not revere him. His characters are great, but his plots are pretty dumb. He stole everything he ever wrote, and just happened to improve it along the way, thereby helping to create the modern idea of humanity. So for HER MAJESTY'S WILL, I employed a ridiculous stolen plots with copious details amid lots of secrets and reveals. Most of all, it's a buddy comedy. Will and Kit on the Road to London. I hope it's as fun to read as it was to write. Because I was smiling the whole time. About the Author Author and playwright David Blixt's work is consistently described as "intricate," "taut," and "breathtaking." A writer of Historical Fiction, his novels span the early Roman Empire (the COLOSSUS series, his play EVE OF IDES) to early Renaissance Italy (the STAR-CROSS'D series, including THE MASTER OF VERONA, VOICE OF THE FALCONER, and FORTUNE'S FOOL) up through the Elizabethan era (his delightful espionage comedy HER MAJESTY'S WILL, starring Will Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe as inept spies). His novels combine a love of the theatre with a deep respect for the quirks and passions of history. As the Historical Novel Society said, "Be prepared to burn the midnight oil. It's well worth it." Living in Chicago with his wife and two child