Media Kit
Book Title: The Usurper King
Series: The Plantagenet Legacy Book 3
Author Name: Mercedes Rochelle
Publication Date: April 5, 2021
Publisher: Sergeant Press
Pages: 303
Genre: Historical Fiction
Book Title: The Accursed King
Series: The Plantagenet Legacy Book 4
Author Name: Mercedes Rochelle
Publication Date: April 18, 2022
Publisher: Sergeant Press
Pages: 299
Genre: Historical Fiction
Any Triggers: n/a
Twitter Handles: @authorRochelle @cathiedunn @marylschmidt
Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub @mschmidtphotography
Hashtags: #HenryIV #Plantagenet #TheUsurperKing #TheAccursedKing #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2026/02/blog-tour-henry-iv-audiobooks-by-mercedes-rochelle.html
Book Titles, Author Name & Narrator:
The Usurper King by Mercedes Rochelle
Narrated by Kevin E. Green
The Accursed King by Mercedes Rochelle
Narrated by Kevin E. Green
Blurbs:
The Usurper King:
From Outlaw to Usurper, Henry Bolingbroke fought one rebellion after another.
First, he led his own uprising. Then he captured a forsaken king. Henry had no intention of taking the crown for himself; it was given to him by popular acclaim. Alas, it didn’t take long to realize that that having the kingship was much less rewarding than striving for it. Only three months after his coronation, Henry IV had to face a rebellion led by Richard’s disgruntled favorites. Repressive measures led to more discontent. His own supporters turned against him, demanding more than he could give. The haughty Percies precipitated the Battle of Shrewsbury which nearly cost him the throne—and his life.
To make matters worse, even after Richard II’s funeral, the deposed monarch was rumored to be in Scotland, planning his return. The king just wouldn’t stay down and malcontents wanted him back.
Buy Link:
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/47aG6A
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
~~~
The Accursed King:
What happens when a king loses his prowess?
The day Henry IV could finally declare he had vanquished his enemies, he threw it all away with an infamous deed. No English king had executed an archbishop before. And divine judgment was quick to follow. Many thought he was struck with leprosy—God’s greatest punishment for sinners. From that point on, Henry’s health was cursed and he fought doggedly on as his body continued to betray him—reducing this once great warrior to an invalid.
Fortunately for England, his heir was ready and eager to take over. But Henry wasn’t willing to relinquish what he had worked so hard to preserve. No one was going to take away his royal prerogative—not even Prince Hal.
But Henry didn’t count on Hal’s dauntless nature, which threatened to tear the royal family apart.
EXCERPT FROM THE USURPER KING: Henry in France
Accompanying audio clip: https://soundcloud.com/user-678892305/the-usurper-king-henry-bolingbroke-in-paris
There was never any doubt. As his father had predicted, Henry Bolingbroke’s reputation guaranteed his welcome at the French court. He was known far and wide as a gallant knight, a champion in the lists, witty and clever. And wealthy. He was also the most handsome Englishman ever to grace the royal palace, with lush brown hair, kindly eyes, high cheekbones, and perfect teeth. The ladies thought he filled out his thigh-length houppelande in a most robust fashion, with wide shoulders and a thin waist, muscular legs and rounded calves. Having been widowed for five years now, he was conspicuously eligible and many of the women regarded him with flirtatious glances.
It had been over three months since Henry set foot in Paris and he still wasn’t sure of his standing. He was welcomed pleasantly enough by King Charles and given the use of the famous Hôtel de Clisson, a short walk from the royal residence at L’Hôtel de Saint-Pol. Clisson was built by Charles V just the other side of the Seine from l’île de la Cité. Grateful though Henry was for such opulent lodgings, he found it difficult to hold up his head and ignore the fact that things were not quite right. He missed his home. He missed his children. He missed his honor.
Everyone knew he had been outlawed from England. No one mentioned his exile in polite conversation, but he imagined people talking behind their hands, assessing him discreetly, trying to figure out just what he had done to warrant such treatment. It was bitterly ironic that he didn’t entirely know, himself. The covert hostility between Lancaster and King Richard had been growing for years although it was well hidden beneath a façade of courtly etiquette. But ever since the last parliament, when the king wreaked terrible revenge on his old enemies, no one felt safe. In all likelihood, for Henry and Thomas Mowbray—whose offenses were not yet called to account—it was only a matter of time before the king turned his attention to them.
Although, to be fair, if Mowbray hadn’t stirred things up, maybe Richard would have left them alone.
Perhaps Henry should have felt lucky that he suffered only exile, though it gave him no comfort to know that Mowbray was outlawed for life compared to his own six year sentence. At least his old friendships on the continent would sustain him. In his younger, more carefree days he was very free with his father’s money. You never knew when you would need to rely on someone’s good will.
Since this was the last winter of the fourteenth century, the French king delighted in having an excuse to throw yet another interminable fête to while away the January evenings. Fortunately, Henry was happily distracted by the charming Marie de Berry, first cousin to King Charles VI and daughter of the famous Duke de Berry. Marie was a twenty-three year old countess, already twice-widowed; she brought great riches and powerful alliances with her name. Henry found her most suitable and they had already discussed the possibility of marriage, though negotiations hadn’t proceeded any farther. Naturally, because they were seen frequently in each other’s company, rumors ran rampant.
While Henry and Marie sat at the banqueting table with Marshal Boucicaut, the ladies of the French court flitted around them, commanding attention with their tight-fitting bodices and voluminous skirts. Wide v-shaped collars exposed a little panel of fabric barely covering their cleavage. Their hair was hidden beneath elaborate contraptions extending high above their heads—sometimes pointed, sometimes winged, always draped in the finest gauze. All-in-all, the French fashions were way ahead of those in England.
But tonight, Henry was too engrossed in his conversation to notice the disappointed coquettes. He and Boucicaut entertained Marie with exploits from the famous Tournament at St. Inglevert, held eight years before.
“Just three French knights took on the whole world,” Henry said to Marie. “Jean, I mean Boucicaut, here, Reginald de Roye and the lord of Saimpy challenged one and all. It was the most glorious, the most dangerous tournament of the century. It went on for a month! And when it was finished, our French hosts emerged absolutely unbeatable. It was not at all unusual for each of them to take on five or six courses in a day. What stamina you had,” he added, turning to Boucicaut.
“Fortunately, we got to rest on Sundays and a handful of holidays in between—not counting the few days I was abed, recovering from wounds.”
Henry laughed. “We won’t talk about what your opponents looked like. You see, Marie, each knight was permitted six courses, not usually all at once. Your champions hung two shields under a hawthorn tree—one, a shield of war for sharp lances, and the other a shield of peace, for blunted lances. The first challenger, my brother in-law John Holland, immediately chose the war shield, and after that no one would dare pick the peace target for fear of being called cowardly.”
Boucicaut shook his head. “It’s amazing no one was killed.”
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/m20pRd
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Author Bio:
Mercedes Rochelle is an ardent lover of medieval history, and has channelled this interest into fiction writing. Her first four books cover eleventh-century Britain and events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. The next series is called The Plantagenet Legacy about the struggles and abdication of Richard II, leading to the troubled reigns of the Lancastrian Kings. She also writes a blog: HistoricalBritainBlog.com to explore the history behind the story.
Born in St. Louis, MO, she received by BA in Literature at the Univ. of Missouri St.Louis in 1979 then moved to New York in 1982 while in her mid-20s to “see the world”. The search hasn’t ended!
Today she lives in Sergeantsville, NJ with her husband in a log home they had built themselves.
Author Links:
Website: https://mercedesrochelle.com/
Twitter / X: https://x.com/authorrochelle
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mercedesrochelle.net
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/authorrochelle.bsky.social
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/mercedes-rochelle
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mercedes-Rochelle/author/B001KMG5P6
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1696491.Mercedes_Rochelle
When Angels Fly 
