Posted on July 10, 2026 in Behind the Scenes, Book News, Butterfly Games
I just got some wonderful book news from the UK. Today, Butterfly Games appeared on multiple Amazon UK Best Seller lists, with both the Kindle edition and paperback reaching readers in categories close to my heart: 19th Century Historical Fiction and…
READ MOREWant to know what the title means? #ButterflyGames
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She goes to the ball, and her worst suspicions are confirmed. Read Butterfly Games. It's Jacquette's story, based on a real countess who lived in early 1800s Sweden. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FBLZMQHH/
Did you know that Butterfly Games is out in audiobook? And it's for sale right now on Audible. Get it now and enjoy hearing Jacquette and Oscar's story narrated by audiobook queen @estherwane. Esther has performed many great historicals, both fiction and nonfiction, including by
There is a problem one faces when writing about a woman who had an affair with a prince. Two hundred years later, it is very easy for the affair to become the whole story. That was certainly true of Jacquette Gyldenstol...
More Than a Stereotype: Finding the Real Jacquette Gyldenstolpe What Does Butterfly Games Really...
The title of Butterfly Games came from a real Swedish term: fjärilsleken. I share the history behind it—and the...
f.mtr.cool
Larry and I are out to see #goldentempo run at Saratoga. I looked at a horse named Oscar, but kind of like in my historical novel, Oscar didn’t exactly cover himself in glory. #traversstakes
She goes to the ball, and her worst suspicions are confirmed. Read Butterfly Games. It`s Jacquette`s story, based on a real countess who lived in early 1800s Sweden.
Did you know that Butterfly Games is out in audiobook? And it`s for sale right now on Audible. Get it now and enjoy hearing Jacquette and Oscar`s story narrated by audiobook queen @estherwane. Esther has performed many great historicals, both fiction and nonfiction, including by two of my favorite authors, @TracyBorman and @AlisonWeirBooks. Check it out here. Only $6.10 today if you buy from the Audible phone app.
https://www.audible.com/pd/B0GHSM4QBV?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=pdp
Was the Butterfly Game real?
Yes—and no. 🦋
While researching the Swedish royal court for Butterfly Games, I came across the word fjärilsleken—literally, “the butterfly game.”
It was used in connection with fleeting affairs and lovers who moved frivolously from one object of affection to another.
I knew almost immediately that I had my title.
But the Butterfly Game in the novel became something larger: a game of love, marriage, gossip, information, family connections, ambition, and power.
And Jacquette discovers that useful information can be turned against anyone.
Even her.
I tell the story behind the title in my new Literary Titan interview.
🦋 Read the full Q&A at the link in my bio.
#ButterflyGames #HistoricalFiction #JacquetteGyldenstolpe #SwedishHistory #HistoricalFictionBooks #Bookstagram #RoyalHistory
I did. I wrote Butterfly Games, Book 1.
Historical fiction set in late-Napoleonic Sweden, with royal scandal, forbidden love, dangerous gossip, and real people making seriously bad decisions.
A Swedish countess. A French-born prince. A palace full of enemies.
Read Butterfly Games. Link in bio.
#ButterflyGames #KellyScarborough #historicalfiction #bookreels #booktok bookstagram royalhistoricalfiction swedishhistory historicalfictionbooks napoleonicera
Butterfly Games, Book 1.
A Swedish countess. A French-born prince. A royal court where no one escapes without a little damage.
For readers who like their historical fiction with scandal, politics, forbidden love, and real people behaving badly in beautiful ballrooms.
Read it now. Link in bio.
#ButterflyGames #historicalfiction #bookstagram #KindleScreenshots kindlereads royalhistoricalfiction swedishhistory
I love reading novels about real women in history who did amazing things. This Wednesday, join four of my favorite authors discussing their recent works. These are all great books for your historical fiction TBR. Register and get a chance to win a book bundle with all four signed books! Scan the QR code to register for the Zoom and giveaway.
Happy 250th birthday, America. 🇺🇸
And in the world of Butterfly Games, July 4 belongs to Jacquette and Oscar, too. It`s their shared birthday.
They met when they were quite young, and in the summer of 1811, both stayed at Drottningholm Palace, that glittering royal world of impossible futures.
For Jacquette, one look was enough.
She never looked back.
What began as a summer encounter became the kind of love people talk about for centuries.
Read Butterfly Games and discover how Jacquette and Oscar’s story began. Link in bio.
#ButterflyGames #historicalfiction #books #bookish #royalty #DrottningholmPalace #NapoleonicEra #romantichistoricalfiction
I have happy book news: Butterfly Games*has won the Bronze Medal in Historical Fiction (Romance) in the 2026 Independent Publisher Book Awards!
The IPPY Awards honor independent publishing, and I’m so happy that Jacquette’s glittering, dangerous, late-Napoleonic Swedish world has received this recognition.
Thank you to every reader, reviewer, bookseller, librarian, blogger, and historical fiction friend who has helped her story find its way. I’m so grateful to all of you.
If you’ve been waiting for a reason to step into the salons, secrets, and dangerous games of Butterfly Games…visit my website to learn more. 🦋
#ButterflyGames #KellyScarborough #IPPYAwards #IndependentPublisherBookAwards #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalRomance #AwardWinningBook #Bookstagram #BookTok #IndieAuthor #WomenWriters
