Author explores the sorrow Katherine of Aragon would have felt as she left Spain for England

Popular Tudor queen, Anne Boleyn, led historian and author Wendy J. Dunn to write Katherine of Aragon's story. Anne was the subject of Wendy's first Tudor novel, "Dear Heart, How Like You This?" and though it went on to win the 2003 Glyph Fiction Award, Wendy admits that she felt conflicted, torn between her love for the stories of the two controversial queens, Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon. In her new novel, "Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Duty of Daughters," Wendy has resolved this conflict, casting her expert eye onto Katherine.

When asked what she discovered while researching Katherine, Wendy said: "I didn't realise how much sorrow she had in her life before leaving for England, or that her father was one of the inspirations for Machiavelli's Prince." Wendy also mentioned that while researching Katherine, or Catalina, she became fascinated by the dramatic backdrop of Spain's holy war under the reign of her mother, Queen Isabel of Castile.

In "Falling Pomegranate Seeds," Wendy paints a Medieval Spain which is as vivid as the Tudor England which many historical fiction aficionados and experts have explored in recent years. Yet, the heart of Wendy's novel is found with its women characters and the relationships between them. Wendy weaves mothers and daughters, tutors and scholars, allies and friends, together so vividly in her novel, that it comes as no surprise when you find out she is speaking from experience; Wendy herself is a mother, a Doctor of Philosophy, and a historian. The love that motivated Wendy to tell this previously-untold story is evident in her writing and Wendy sticks strongly to her belief that "telling these kinds of female stories puts a bridge of empathy for us to cross so we can move forward." She goes on to state that: "I believe in the power of books to change lives."

"Falling Pomegranate Seeds," published by www.MadeGlobal.com, will be launched by the author at the Glenferrie Hotel, Hawthorn, Melbourne on 20/08/2016 at 2:00pm.

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