Nancy is a descendant of Pierre Billiou, a French Huguenot who immigrated to what was then New Amsterdam (later New York City) in 1661. While working as deputy editor of the nonprofit Center on Media, Crime and Justice in New York City, Nancy covered organized crime as well as cybercrime and terrorism.įor her Genevieve Planche novels-'The Blue' and 'The Fugitive Colours'-she drew on her own heritage to create her Huguenot heroine.

She loves crafting immersive historical stories, whether it's Jazz Age New York City in 'The Orchid Hour,' the 18th-century European porcelain workshops and art galleries in 'The Blue' or 'The Fugitive Colours,' or Henry VIII's tumultuous England in 'The Crown,' 'The Chalice,' and 'The Tapestry.'Ī magazine editor who has worked on the staffs of 'Rolling Stone' and 'Entertainment Weekly,' Nancy drew on her journalism experience to research 'The Orchid Hour,' which includes real-life figures such as Lucky Luciano, Arnold Rothstein, and Lous Buchalter.

If you tell Nancy Bilyeau that reading one of her historical novels of suspense is like strapping yourself into a time machine, you'll make her a happy woman. As she struggles to forge a life for herself in a country that rejects her faith, she must also decide if her future should be shared with a man-and if so, which of the two men who love her should be chosen. The life of Henry VIII as well as the future of Christendom are in her hands-hands that must someday hold the chalice that lays at the center of these deadly prophecies. As the power plays turn vicious, Joanna understands she may have to assume her role in a prophecy foretold by three different seers, each more omniscient than the last. Joanna Stafford has seen what lies inside the king’s torture rooms and risks imprisonment again, when she is caught up in a shadowy international plot targeting the King.

By 1538, the bloody power struggles between crown and cross threaten to tear the country apart.

Winner of the Best Historical Mystery Award from the RT Reviews, 'The Chalice' is a thriller told from the point of view of a young woman caught in the crosswinds of time: She has pledged to become a Dominican nun in an England ruled by Henry VIII, who has ruthlessly smashed his country's allegiance to Rome. It was a time for one woman to show a courage she never knew she had.

The chalice nancy bilyeau