Why do I write "real history mysteries"? Due to serious family illnesses I abruptly left a busy career and was stuck at home, second-guessing decisions already made, about illnesses I could not control. Unable to concentrate on even the best historical fiction—my favorite form of escapism--I decided to give my poor brain something to work on in my spare hours, other than worry. At Stanford University I had majored in Renaissance History because I loved it. I resolved to return to it, and write my own historically correct fiction, the only kind that I personally like.
My Nicola Machiavelli mystery series will cover the entire Italian high Renaissance, I decided, eventually giving me opportunities to re-visit Italy and practice my now-rusty Italian, learned at Stanford and its Italy campus in Florence, where I saw and experienced what I was studying.
Writing has helped me weather widowhood. And after thousands of copies sold, my first two books have consistently rated 4 out of 5 stars after more than 170 collective reviews on Amazon. The first, "A Daughter Dies," introduces Nicola Machiavelli as a young girl and lays out the history of the infamous Borgia family, and Leonardo da Vinci's improbable relationship with it. The second, "Da Vinci Detects," has as its historically accurate background the fifteenth century witch hunt for homosexuals that ensnared Leonardo da Vinci and an astounding number of other Florentine men, through means that violate nearly every provision related to criminal process in our modern day American Constitution.
In recognition of this year's 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 theses – the 1517 document that ignited the Protestant Reformation and changed the face of Europe—I have just brought out "Martin Luther, Machiavelli and Murder." The "real history" in this book is the church corruption and scandal that provided the tinder when Martin Luther lit the match. The unorthodox views of Nicola Machiavelli, the fictional bastard daughter of real-life bastard Niccolò "Machiavellian" Machiavelli, propelled some lively dialogue between her and Luther. It gives the reader a bit of the history of religious thought. If that doesn't interest you, though, you probably won't notice it.
You can read the first 20%, follow a first page link to all the great Renaissance art in the book, and order a copy either in e-book form ($2.99) or in paperback ($7.99) here: https://www.amazon.com/Maryann-Philip/e/B009WCCZ6O/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1502994381&sr=1-2-ent
If you like the book, PLEASE post a review, and let others who might be interested know about the book. Here is a brief plot summary:
The corruption and grandeur of Renaissance Rome during young Martin Luther's real-life visit form the backdrop to this tale of murder, war and papal politics. On arrival, Luther is nearly struck by the body of a naked, murdered cardinal thrust from a whorehouse window. Prime suspects behind this and other assassinations include "warrior" Pope Julius II and two future Medici popes, one of whom will become Luther's future nemesis, Pope Leo X. Leonardo da Vinci and the infamous Niccolò Machivelli play roles in a deepening mystery that ranges across war-torn Italy. Forced to work with the licentious artist Raphael and Machiavelli's winsome daughter Nicola to solve the mystery, Martin Luther battles temptation and sin, while witnessing abuses key to shaping Protestant theology and his future destiny.
Luther was a colorful, courageous and fascinating man, despite his intense devotion to faith. I hope you enjoy him.