aka The John Dee Chronicles
J.A. Downes 
Renaissance Weekly speaks with Cristóbal Navarro, the mysterious operative whose loyalties proved more complex than his mission We arranged to meet Cristóbal Navarro at a discreet tavern near London Bridge, where the Spanish agent agreed to speak candidly about his recent activities on England’s coast. Tall and weathered from months of surveillance work, he carries … Read more
An Interview with Thomas Seymour on the Eve of Execution Renaissance Weekly’s final conversation with the Lord Admiral who gambled everything and lost The Tower of London at midnight is a place where ambition comes to die.In a cold stone chamber lit by a single guttering candle, we found Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of … Read more
We talk with the Holy Roman Emperor’s most enigmatic envoy about diplomacy, loyalty, and the art of influence RENAISSANCE WEEKLY: Ambassador Renard, you’ve been at the heart of English politics during some very turbulent times. How do you navigate such dangerous waters? SIMON RENARD: [settling back in his chair with a thin smile] One learns … Read more
RISING STAR: An Interview with the Enigmatic Katherine Arden Renaissance Weekly: We sit down with the mysterious young woman who’s been spotted in the entourage of the renowned Dr. John Dee RW: Katherine, you’ve been making quite a name for yourself in scholarly circles. How did you come to work with the famous Dr. John Dee? Kat … Read more
FREE and available now! The BookCompanion app is available now in Apple App Stores around the world. It offers Predestination book series content and Tudor England history support. Free at the Apple AppStore Compatibility The same app works on iPhones and on iPads, but your device OS does need to be fairly up to date; … Read more
Back in 2018-2019 I was commuting to work by car, about 1 hour each direction. This was in the Calgary area of Alberta, Canada. Most of the roads I travelled were long, straight, and 2-lanes in each direction, with minimal other traffic 😀 I had time to listen … and to think. What I listened to, … Read more
One question I often get is, ‘When will John Dee, Jack, and Kat return?’ Another is, ‘What happened to Kat at the end of Predestination?’ Never fear, the answer is near! John, Jack, and Kat will return in the sequel which I am currently writing (spring 2024) with a hoped for publication date of summer 2024. … Read more
Proclamation Poetry will be the death of me, is finally published. Initially available as paperback at Amazon, and eBook on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. This sequel picks up where Predestination ended, in the summer of 1553. King Edward VI has passed away and England faces the prospect of abiding by Edward’s ‘Devise for the Succession’ and … Read more
Resurrection: The Heresy of a Jesuit, is the prequel to my Predestination series. It was published yesterday and will be available on all the normal sites (Amazon, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, etc) within a day or two of this post. Resurrection is centred on the young John Dee’s visit to Paris (France) in … Read more
I am pleased to provide an early ‘reveal’ of the cover for Resurrection: The Heresy of a Jesuit. All parts of a novel require slavish attention to detail, and that is especially true of the cover art. It is, after all, the ‘face’ of the manuscript, and needs to both be recognisable and to evoke … Read more