Award-winning historical novelist writes a saga about the Yorks, Lancasters & Nevilles, whose family feud inspired "Game of Thrones." When Robert Baratheon died suddenly after a boar hunt, he left two young sons and an alarming wife. When Edward IV, King of England, died suddenly after a fishing trip in April 1483, he left two young sons, and a dangerous wife, causing a war to break out with the Yorks (Starks) battling the Lancasters (Lannisters.) Thwarted Queen is told mainly in the voice of Lady Cecylee Neville (1415-1495), the Thwarted Queen, but other voices are important to this tale, not least those of the Londoners, who forged their own political destiny by engaging in public debate with the powerful aristocrats of the time - Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (the King’s uncle), Richard, Duke of York (the King’s cousin) and Richard, Earl of Warwick, (known as Warwick the Kingmaker ) - and set the stage for American Democracy. I hope you enjoy this fictionalized biography of Lady Cecylee Neville (1415-1495), mother of Edward IV of England (1441-1483) and Richard III of England (1452-1485), grandmother-in-law of Henry VII of England (1457-1509, great-grandmother of Henry VIII of England (1491-1547) and great-great grandmother of Elizabeth I (1533-1603). "Thwarted Queen" divides naturally into four books. Book One: "Rose of Raby" is about Cecylee's girlhood. Book Two: "One Seed Sown" is about her love-affair with Blaybourne. Book Three: "Thwarted Queen" is about Richard of York's political career from 1445 to his death in 1460, and covers the opening of the Wars of the Roses. Book Four: Two Murders Reaped is about Cecylee's actions in old age, and how she may have had a hand in the murder of two of her grandsons, the princes in the Tower. It was an honor as well as great fun to have Cecylee materialize from the fifteenth century and talk to me about her life.  I hope you enjoyed reading this novel as much as I enjoyed writing it. Her father wanted her betrothal to Richard of York so badly, he locked her up. Cecylee is nine years old Cecylee herself doesn't want this betrothal. She wants an education and a life of quiet contemplation. She is seriously tempted to bury herself in a convent for the duration of her life, so that she can acquire some intellectual goals: learning languages, memorizing the properties of herbs and becoming more proficient at the healing arts and the making of medicines. She wants to explore Philosophy and ponder the forces behind women's low station in the world,. Lastly, she would like to improve her handwriting. But Richard is cousin to the King, making Cecylee a valuable pawn in the Game of Thrones. So when she questions her father's right to betroth her to this 13-year-old boy who doesn't really interest her, he gives her a beating. Cecylee never comes to love Richard, so when she meets dashing archer Blaybourne, she falls passionately in love. Her one night of passion has consequences that reverberate down the years. This fictionalized biography spins a saga of power, fear, madness and greed. When you play the Game of Thrones, you either win, or you die. Cynthia Sally Haggard was born and reared in Surrey, England. About 30 years ago she surfaced in the United States, inhabiting the Mid-Atlantic region as she wound her way through four careers: violinist, cognitive scientist, medical writer, and novelist. Cynthia graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University, Cambridge MA, in June 2015. Her second novel,  Farewell My Life,  is a dark mystery, which spins an operatic tale of dangerous love and loss revolving around 17-year-old Grace, whose fabulous talent for the violin promises a shimmering career. When she's not annoying everyone by insisting her fictional characters are more real than they are, Cynthia likes to go for long walks, knit something glamorous, cook in her wonderful kitchen, and play the piano. You can visit her at spunstories.com.