Book One of the Fitzjohn Duology
Historical Fiction with Speculative and Romantic Elements
Date Published: 09-01-2026
Publisher: Literary Wanderlust
England, 1381 AD: Blanche Fitzjohn is an outcast in her small coastal
village. Not only is she the illegitimate daughter of John of Gaunt, the man
responsible for her neighbors’ over-taxation, but she possesses strange
abilities: hearing sound from miles away and smelling people’s emotions.
She takes solace in her studies with the local wisewoman and in her friendship
with Geoff, a groom at the local manor. Until the day Henry of Lancaster,
Blanche’s half-brother, brings her news of an arranged marriage to Sir
Thomas Prescott, Constable of the Tower of London. Although she smells cruelty
on him, Blanche agrees to marry Thomas in the hopes that her influence may
help better the lives of Geoff and all England’s villeins.
But soon, the peasants’ discontent turns to revolt. Though her heart is
of the people, Blanche’s nobility makes her an enemy to the rebels. To
save herself and Henry from the executioner’s ax, Blanche must use every
power at her disposal, even those she once considered a curse.
Interview
What is the hardest part of writing your books?
I enjoy editing, both at the line level and developmentally, but
getting the initial words on paper can be a challenge. However, I’ve learned
not to go back and self-edit while writing the initial draft. I try to rely on
reaching a set number of words per day, focusing on quantity over quality. It
is easy for writers to get too “in our heads,” where we can become our worst
enemies.
For me, first pages are uniquely difficult. Given the need to hook
readers, to snap up the chronically distracted doom scroller, there’s a lot of
pressure with the opening chapters. I go through many iterations of my openings
before settling on the ultimate version.
What are your most played songs?
While working on Uprising, I discovered Beedle the
Bardcore, and my writing playlist will never be the same. If Blanche were a
song, she’d be Beedle the Bardcore’s Hey Yah! for sure.
Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few different critique
partners over the years. I met the first through a local writer’s group, and
the second through an online writing forum. After posting my first chapter, I
got an email from another writer who had enjoyed it. My book is set in medieval
England, as was hers. We exchanged manuscripts and have been reading and
critiquing each other's work ever since. She recently published her debut (The Siren’s Daughter by
Claire Fuge). I’m forever grateful for Claire; having a partner who really
understands how it feels to go through the querying and publishing process has
been a blessing.
What books are you reading now?
This is my favorite thing to talk about! I’m currently listening
to Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory while reading I, Eliza Hamilton
by Susan Holloway Scott and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah
Harkness. I recently finished Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser and
absolutely adored it.
How did you start your writing career?
As an avid reader, especially of historical fiction and
non-fiction, I’ve always dreamt of writing my own book. But ultimately, my
writing career stemmed from parenting and running. I started writing parenting
essays, but after embarking on several ultrarunning adventures, I discovered
people tended to have a lot of questions about them. I wrote whatever answers I
could, which led to pieces in publications such as The Guardian and Ultrarunning
Magazine. After my initial bylines, I returned to my first love: history.
With a wealth of knowledge and a particular passion for comparing the past to
today’s issues, I wrote articles for Vanity Fair, The Tudor Times and Tudor
Life Magazine, and then won History Inquiry’s Medieval Writing
challenge with my article Past and Precedence: Abortion Law in the Middle
Ages and Its Use to Overturn Roe v. Wade. That piece ultimately led me to
explore women’s issues through a medieval lens, which is a major theme of the Fitzjohn
Duology.
Tell us about your next release.
Uprising, Book One of the Fitzjohn Duology, was
published September 1, 2026 by Literary Wanderlust, and tells the story of
Blanche Fitzjohn, a fourteenth century neurodivergent woman whose perceived
disabilities become superpowers during England’s peasant uprising of
1381.
In Informant, Book Two of the Fitzjohn Duology, Blanche’s
journey continues in the tumultuous court of Richard II. Through war and
rebellion, she uses her hidden abilities as a Lancaster spy in a bid to save
her family. Ultimately, though, she must choose where her true loyalty lies:
with her king, husband, father, brother, lover…or herself.
About the Author
J.E. Rizzo is a life-long history fanatic and writer of historical fiction,
and her work can be found in Vanity Fair, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, The
Tudor Times, Tudor Life Magazine, Scary Mommy, and Ultrarunning Magazine.
Rizzo won Manuscript Academy’s Agent Choice Award in 2024, and her
article Past and Precedence: Abortion Law in the Middle Ages and Its Use to
Overturn Roe v. Wade won History Inquiry’s Medieval History Writing
Challenge.
By day, Rizzo works in Human Resources—a field offering more than ample
opportunity to observe the follies and fancies of humankind. Before her career
in HR, Rizzo worked as an opera singer, a professional baker, and a dog
walker. These days, when not writing she can be found running ultramarathons
through the forests and mountains of New England, knitting, reading, sewing,
baking, or performing any number of (what some might call) old-lady hobbies.
She also keeps busing caring for her two children and forty-seven houseplants,
making her husband carry heavy things and cook her gourmet meals, and
rehabilitating her rescue dog and semi-feral ginger cat.
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