This was a labor of love, and to quote Shakespeare, “the course of true love never did run smooth.” 

Martha Jean Johnson – 5 June 2025

The Back Flap

For fans of Philippa Gregor, Alison Weir and Elizabeth Fremantle, an untold story about how the plot against Anne Boleyn entrapped a gifted young musician.

A glamorous queen, a volatile king, a gifted musician concealing a forbidden romance. Everyone knows Anne Boleyn’s story. No one knows Mark Smeaton’s.

On May 17, 1536, a young court musician was executed, accused of adultery and treason with the queen. Most historians believe both he and Anne Boleyn were innocent—victims of Henry VIII’s rage.

Mark Smeaton was a talented performer who rose from poverty to become a royal favorite. He played for the king in private and entertained at sumptuous feasts. He witnessed Anne Boleyn’s astonishing rise and fall—her reign of a thousand days. History tells us little about him, other than noting his confession and execution. The Queen’s Musician imagines his story, as seen from his perspective and that of the young woman who loves him. It all takes place amid the spectacle and danger of the Tudor court.

About the book

What is the book about?

A young musician whose life is destroyed by a government conspiracy. Mark Smeaton was one of five men executed for adultery with Anne Boleyn. Most historians believe Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell fabricated the case—that Anne Boleyn and the men were innocent.

When did you start writing the book?

I began to focus on Mark Smeaton’s story about five years ago. The injustice of it haunted me.

How long did it take you to write it?

This was a labor of love, and to quote Shakespeare, “the course of true love never did run smooth.” I spent a year completing a less-than-stellar draft before switching to a different writing project. I returned to Mark’s story during the pandemic and invested another year in a top-to-bottom revision. Then I circulated the manuscript to beta-readers. I’d say I put in about three years of concentrated work.

Where did you get the idea from?

Anne Boleyn has captivated me since I was a teenager, and Mark Smeaton is often a minor character in books and movies about her. For some reason I can’t explain, I began to want to give him his own voice. Taking Mark’s point of view also let me explore Anne Boleyn’s rise and fall from a unique vantage point.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

I didn’t want to define this man solely by his death. History records his trial and execution. He was only twenty-three or twenty-four when he died. But I had to stretch myself to imagine a fuller biography for him, one that encompasses his past and brings in his hopes and dreams.

What came easily?

Mark Smeaton’s life unraveled out of the blue. In the novel, Thomas Cromwell summons him and questions him about Anne Boleyn. Although this scene occurs in the last third of the book, I wrote it first. I won’t say it came easily, but I had a distinct sense of what these hours must have been like. Mark was at the mercy of one of the most feared men in England. Cromwell’s thugs brutalized and threatened him. He had come so far in life, rising from poverty to become a popular court musician. Then he lost everything in the space of a single night.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

Mark Smeaton and the other condemned men are historical figures. Some of the era’s big names—Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey—are background characters. But I also invented several very nasty court operatives and Mark’s loyal friend, Paul.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I’m a huge C.J. Sansom fan. Sansom wrote a Tudor detective series, the Matthew Shardlake mysteries. The cases unfold in the midst of the era’s politics— the plots, the murderous rivalries, the religious turmoil, the nonstop jockeying for power. I try to capture that context too. On another level, I whizzed through Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl which jumps back-and-forth between two narrators. In The Queen’s Musician, Mark Smeaton and Madge Shelton (Mark’s secret love) take turns telling the story.

Do you have a target reader?

Anyone fascinated by Anne Boleyn. Anyone who loved the musical, Six. Anyone hooked on Masterpiece Theatre. But I hope the novel will appeal to a broader readership. The Queen’s Musician is a book about loss and redemption, the splendor of music, and the saving grace of love and friendship.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so, can you please describe it?

I want to hear my characters’ voices in my head before I start. I try to visualize where they are. Once I begin, I write for three or four hours every morning. My brain peters out after that, but I mull over what I’ve written all day and into the night. Some of my best solutions pop into my head while I’m sitting on the subway.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

Extensively and probably obsessively. For this novel, I created bulleted lists of key developments for each chapter. At one point, I put them on sticky notes that I spread out on the coffee table so I could re-think and re-order them. I also prepared separate outlines for what was happening to Mark and Madge, plus a third for specific historic events like Anne Boleyn’s coronation. Sometimes, writing the novel was the literary equivalent of braiding.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

My intent is to write cogent sentences and paragraphs the first time around, even if they’re less than scintillating. Then I edit chapter by chapter, polishing, tightening, embellishing, pruning. But that’s “act one” for me. Once I’ve pounded out the story, I feel freer and more creative. I can devote my energy to adding nuance.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I consulted a story editor and several experts on historical fiction. One told me my initial 75,000-word draft was too short for this genre. Add 10,000 words, she suggested. I hunkered down and conjured up a few new scenes including a much earlier encounter between Mark and Thomas Cromwell that foreshadows all that’s to come. Now, I can’t envision the novel without them.

Do you listen to music while you write?

Not while I’m writing. I’m usually lost in some parallel universe once my fingers touch the keys. But since my protagonist is a musician, I listened to Renaissance music as part of my research. It’s sublime—now I keep subscribing to early music YouTube channels.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

A dozen or so without success. A very prominent one told me there wasn’t a market for a novel about a court musician. Eventually, I came to a point where I thought, “Look, you can do this yourself.” By this time, I was fully committed to getting Mark’s story into print.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

I weighed self-publishing, but decided that I needed a partner with publishing expertise. I worried that going solo would result in a novel that wasn’t as good as it could be. That’s why I chose the hybrid publisher, She Writes Press/Spark Press. I respected their savvy and professionalism.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

SparkPress did the cover. It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I hired a publicist to help with the release, and if you can do that, I recommend it. Even if you have the skills to do outreach yourself, the sheer volume of work is overwhelming.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

It’s an amazing journey. Just prepare yourself for a gigantic learning curve.

About You

Where did you grow up?

Albuquerque, NM. My teenage years were very American Graffiti.

Where do you live now?

Jersey City, NJ.

What would you like readers to know about you?

That I love my main characters and believe they will too.

What are you working on now?

I write Historical Magic, a Substack where I review historical novels and discuss my own love of reading and writing. I’ve also drafted another novel about another musician. Still fiddling with it, you might say.

End of Interview:

Get your copy of The Queen’s Musician from Amazon US.