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Alina: the White Lady of Oystermouth - An Interview With Author Ann Marie Thomas
Buy ''Alina: The White Lady of Oystermouth'' here
From the interview:- " The ruins of Swansea Castle are right in the middle of the city, and I was looking up at them one day when I wondered what the castle was like when it was intact and in use. I went home and Googled it, as you do, and got fascinated by Gower medieval history."
"Alina''s ghost has been seen in the castle, and is called the white lady of Oystermouth."
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Ann: This is a local history book about Alina de Breos, heir to the Lordship of Gower in South Wales in the 14 th century. Her father was always desperate for money and tried to sell Gower to three different lords at once! He eventually sold it to King Edward II''s favourite, Hugh le Despenser the Younger. Alina''s husband John de Mowbray took control of Swansea Castle in an attempt to save her inheritance, and Hugh persuaded the king to intervene. The other barons, who were unhappy with the king''s behaviour and Despenser''s power over him, supported Alina and John. It led to civil war and eventually toppled Edward II from the throne. But Alina and John paid a heavy price: John was executed and Alina ended up in the Tower of London! There is a happy ending, and Alina spent the rest of her life at Oystermouth Castle in Gower. She built the chapel on the castle, which can still be seen today. Alina''s ghost has been seen in the castle, and is called the white lady of Oystermouth.
AmeriCymru: What inspired you to tell Alina''s story?
Ann: The ruins of Swansea Castle are right in the middle of the city, and I was looking up at them one day when I wondered what the castle was like when it was intact and in use. I went home and Googled it, as you do, and got fascinated by Gower medieval history. Swansea is famous for its industry in the 18 th and 19 th centuries, but before then I always thought it was a quiet backwater. It turns out that the medieval Lords of Gower were involved in every major event of British history for over 300 years after William the Conqueror. History in school was boring, but this was real people''s lives and it caught my imagination.
When I first wrote the history, I didn''t know what to do with it. Then I had a stroke which left me disabled. Preparing the book for publication and learning how to promote it, gave me a vital interest in the days that followed, and saved me from falling into depression at all the things I could no longer do.
AmeriCymru: How easy ( or difficult ) is it to get a book on medieval Welsh history published today?
Ann: A local publisher sat me down and explained why no publisher would touch it – because it is too small a market to justify the publishing costs. I wanted to tell the story, so I self-published. Because the market is principally locals and tourists, I needed a print book for people to buy on impulse, although there is an ebook as well. My judgement was right, as I have sold very few ebooks.
When I was medically retired by my employer I used money from my pension to pay for the printing, and expected not to recover my costs. To my surprise and delight I sold over 250 copies in the first summer season and not only covered my costs, but made enough profit to finance another print run and put money towards the second book!
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about the illustrations in the book?
Ann: I felt the book needed illustrations but couldn''t afford to pay for them. My husband emailed the art department of the local university, and they ran a competition, with the winner providing the illustrations as part of her course work. She also sold prints at the book launch which raised money towards her studies. Carrie Francis is very talented, and has now graduated and set up as a freelance portrait artist and illustrator.
AmeriCymru: You are working on a second book at the moment. Can you tell us more?
Ann: Delving further into my research I found another story, set a century before Alina . This too turned out to have national significance. William de Breos was one of King John''s closest confidants, and he gave him the Lordship of Gower, and many other lands and titles. At the height of his favour he was one of the richest men in the kingdom. But when William''s wife blurted out John''s greatest secret, John turned on them brutally and hounded them to death. When the barons, already unhappy with John as king, saw how he treated William and his family, it was the final straw that led to Magna Carta. William''s sons and grandson turned to the famous Welsh leader Llewelyn the Great for help to regain their lands. So this story involves important events in Wales as well as Britain. The book is called Broken Reed: The Lords of Gower and King John, and is finished and formatted. I am just waiting for the illustrations, once again done by Carrie Francis, and hope to publish very soon.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Ann: These books bring to light little-known stories from Gower history. They are told in an easy to read, story-telling style, but are academically sound, with bibliography and endnotes, so can be enjoyed by everyone, including older children.
Alina is available as a Kindle ebook from Amazon US
Kindle ebook and in print from Amazon UK (with international delivery)
and all other ebook formats from Smashwords
The book has had 5* reviews at Ask David and Readers Favourite
My blog, which talks about all my writing and things to think about, is found at
Ann Marie Thomas, Author: Thinking Out Loud
Drop by, or follow me on Twitter @AnnMThomas80 and watch for the publication announcement for Broken Reed.
