Rhys Bowen’s books sell in the millions around the world. She enjoys popular and critical acclaim for both her Royal Spyness mysteries and her bestselling historical fiction. But she says it’s the surprising, heart-warming feedback she gets from her readers that means the most to her.br /

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Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler, and today Rhys talks about the unexpected rewards of being a top international author – the stories she hears of how her books have helped readers through the loneliness of pandemic lockdown and other dire emergencies. Like the woman in Texas who sat in her car watching flood waters destroy her house, listening to a Rhys Bowen audio book for comfort.br /

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And on a personal note I can attest to Rhys’s kindness. We had done a whole 30 minutes of our interview before I noticed I’d failed to push “Record”. I fessed up and Rhys generously agreed to repeat the whole thing over again. And she even refused to accept some NZ wine as a overwhelmingly grateful thank you!br /

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Twelve Days of Christmas Giveawaybr /

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I'm delighted to say Rhys’s Royal Spyness book The Twelve Clues of Christmas is one of four Christmas books featured in our Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway that starts this week. br /

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ENTER THE CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAYbr /

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Every week for the next four weeks we’ll be giving away our four book Holiday Reading Bundle as our Christmas gift to you for supporting us all year. br /

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That's four Holiday Book Bundles, each consisting of four books - two contemporary and two historical. If you enter once, you'll be automatically entered for each of the four weeks so you have four chances to win! br /

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Enter online at https://thejoysofbingereading.com/giveaway/ or on the Binge Reading Facebook page.br /

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Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:br /

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How Rhys knows so much about royal protocolWhere the highly popular 'Royal Spyness' series came fromQueen Victoria's fascination with NiceBalancing historical accuracy with #MeToo sensibilitiesThe pandemic in AmericaSpoofing a romantic suspense classicbr /

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Where to find Rhys Bowen:br /

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Website: https://rhysbowen.com/br /

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Facebook: @RhysBowenAuthorbr /

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Instagram: @authorrhysbowenbr /

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Twitter:   @Rhysbowenbr /

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Email:   [email protected] /

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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rhys-bowenbr /

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/202867.Rhys_Bowenbr /

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What follows is a near as transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.br /

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But now, here’s Rhys.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: Hello there Rhys, and welcome to the show second time around. It’s so good of you to be here.br /

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Rhys Bowen: Hi Jenny. Good to see you again.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: Yes, it is again, because we spoke in May 2018 last, when you had a Royal Spyness story out about weddings.  You are still going strong on your Royal Spyness series. You’ve got The Late Mrs. Summers out this year as well as one of your new historical mystery, Above the Bay of Angels.br /

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Tell me, how have you been faring during the pandemic?br /

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Introducing Rhys Bowen authorbr /

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Rhys Bowen: It's been very scary here. You have been doing so well in New Zealand and I'm very envious of what you've been doing. Everybody seems to be on board and pulling together to bring this thing to an end, which we don't have here. We have been very good about isolating and wearing...