Susan Appleyard's Blog, page 4
June 12, 2022
Platinum Jubilee
I have moved into a new house and have had no internet for a whole week! It was painful. So I have an awful lot of catching up to do. Here is my contribution to Discovering Diamonds’ celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee. It’s from my novella Dark Spirit about King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Enjoy.
https://discoveringdiamonds.blogspot.com/2022/06/susan-appleyard-from-diamond-to.html
June 2, 2022
Platinum Jubilee
For the month of June, Discovering Diamonds is celebrating the Queen by showcasing authors who have written about royalty. First up is Annie Whitehead.
https://discoveringdiamonds.blogspot.com/2022/06/annie-whitehead-from-diamond-to.html
[image error]May 3, 2022
My new cover
This is the tragic story of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, son of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi). Not published yet but coming soon to your favourite retailer.
The cover was designed by https://www.beautebook.com/services/book-cover-design
March 23, 2022
Calista by Laura Rahme
French detective Maurice Leroux is invited to look into four deaths that occurred in the space of a year at Alexandra Hall, a mansion owned by Aaron Nightingale and his Greek wife, Calista – two of the victims. The other two are Vera, Aaron’s sister, and a maid. Foul play is suspected. M. Leroux finds the atmosphere at the hall both sinister and mysterious. The housekeeper, a frightening individual, locks him in his bedroom at night ‘for his own protection’, but a locked door doesn’t allay his creeping suspicion that someone, somehow, has entered. The four maids and gardener, all owning various degrees of strangeness, act as if they have something to hide.
In such a book we might expect to read about spectral figures and things that go bump in the night. Here everyday objects take on a sinister aspect: spoons, a fountain that must never be turned off. M. Leroux’s own demons are resurrected – and none could be worse than a vicious mother – as he delves deeper into the mystery, comes to understand the relationships between the four victims and uncovers a terrible secret in the cellar of the house.
The author builds the drama very effectively to a satisfactory conclusion that will surprise. I am new to this genre, but I enjoyed it and it didn’t keep me awake at night.
****
Laura Rahme is a French-Australian writer based in Brittany, France. She holds university degrees in the fields of Aerospace Avionics and in Psychology. While living in Australia, she worked twenty years in information technology, and penned three historical novels. The Ming Storytellers (2012) was well received by the Historical Novel Society and is an epic tale featuring real-life admiral, Zheng He, and set in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty. Laura wrote the occult mystery, The Mascherari: A Novel of Venice (2014) after a short stay in Venice. Her third novel, Julien’s Terror (2017), a blend of gothic mystery and psychothriller, is set during and in the aftermath of the French revolution. Calista is her fourth novel. Laura is married to award-winning screenwriter, Shane Krause.
March 17, 2022
Isn’t research a joy?
Most writers would agree that diving down the rabbit hole can be a rewarding and enjoyable experience, almost, I might say, irresistible. Sometimes it’s difficult to climb out. Who knows what nuggets of gold you might find along the next path (or with the next click if you want to be literal.)
But researching a different time can be challenging, and more so when dealing with a different country. Aside from discovering such subjects as fauna and flora, weather, food and clothing, cities and buildings and more, I found myself looking up some weird and difficult subjects. Here are just a few examples of what I have dug deep for while writing my latest book set mostly in Austria in the mid to late 19th century.
Gonorrhea – symptoms and remedies.
Cigarette lighters and matches – surprisingly, lighters were invented before matches.
A bakery in Prague.
A bakery in Bad Ischl
Suicide in Vienna – which had the reputation of being the suicide capital of Europe at the time.
Viennese newspapers and their political leanings.
Types of carriages and bicycles
Don’t rush out and buy the book because I have put it on hold for the time being as I have no discipline and an idea for another book popped into my head and I just had to start it, didn’t I?
On another note, Digging into the Past is on the top 45 list at Feedspot. Check it out.
March 13, 2022
The Lines Between Us by Rebecca d’ Harlingue
This is a dual timeline family saga 17th and 20th centuries in Spain, Mexico and the U.S.A.
Anna is a childless widow. After her husband’s death, she reads his journal and learns things that both comfort and distress her. Although theirs was a marriage of mutual respect and affection, he confided things in his journal which he never confided to her. This is an ongoing theme. In this story, journals provide the bond between generations. They tell the stories of Spain when the Inquisition is still active, colonial Mexico, and three women forced by their times into lives they never would have chosen.
Anna’s brother is a self-absorbed widower who has removed all reminders of his wife from the house and will not allow her name to be spoken, although he puts it about that she died in childbirth. His daughter Juliana is a serious sixteen-year-old. One day, Sebastian, Juliana and Juliana’s duenna disappear. Anna is distraught and although she has seldom travelled, she goes to Sevilla to search for them. At her brother’s house, she found Juliana’s journal and reads it while in Sevilla. When she discovers the horrifying reason for her beloved niece’s disappearance, she abandons the search.
At this point, the narrative fast-forwards to St. Louis in 1992 and Rachel who is at the bedside of her mother, Helen. I have read just a few dual timeline books, but this was a sudden and acute dislocation. I was invested in the Spanish characters and wasn’t ready to leave Sevilla with Juliana’s fate yet unknown.
However… In the moments before her death, Helen mentions Anna and Juliana, people who Rachel has never heard of. Going through her mother’s things later, Rachel finds papers and a journal that have been left specifically to her own daughter. She cannot resist reading and thus establishes a connection to people long dead and has a better understanding of her own mother.
The author has clearly immersed herself in 17th century culture. The voices of the characters are authentic and the prose is one of the best features of the book. Example: ‘I know that our suffering is slight relative to what others have to endure, but weighing sorrow does not lessen pain.’ I found these words particularly moving.
All in all, an excellent book emphasising our connection to the past and with surprises along the way and a shocking ending.
(An odd thing happened shortly after the narrative turned to the modern era. The font became italicised and remained that way until the end. I’m sure this was accidental as I could see no reason for it.)
*****
Rebecca D’Harlingue has studied Spanish literature, worked as a hospital administrator, and taught English as a Second Language to adults form all over the world. The discovery of family papers prompted her to explore the repercussions of family secrets, and of the ways we attempt to reveal ourselves.
She shares her love of story both with preschoolers at a Head Start program, and with the members of the book club she has belonged to for decades. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, Arthur, where they are fortunate to frequently spend time with their children and grandchildren.
March 3, 2022
Marian Halcombe by Brenda W. Clough
A Victorian drama set in the mid 19th century. The title character has accepted her spinsterhood, believing she is too plain to attract a husband until widower Theophilus Camlet enters her life. Even then, Marian has difficulty believing love has come her way, especially when the suitor appears to be a perfect match. Eventually, a marriage proposal leads to marriage. When the happy couple returns from their honeymoon, it is to find the first Mrs Camlet installed in the house. I hardly need to say that complications develop from there, and I don’t want to give too much away except to say that Camlet ends up in prison twice.
Marian is her beloved’s staunch advocate, never losing faith in him and never letting anything stand in her way as she pursues the truth. In her endeavours, she is assisted by her sister and brother-in-law who, while doing his best to help, tries to rein in Marion’s rash tendencies. She has a habit of leaping headfirst into situations without giving any thought to her safety or the safety of her unborn child. I did not care for the character of Marian. She seemed to me to be too mannish, as if, in order to create a ‘strong’ female protagonist, the author had written a male character and just changed the clothes and pronouns. She is too assertive, too reckless for a woman of her time. The author did a better job with the gentle sister and the thoughtful, dependable brother-in-law.
I also have to question the subtitle ‘… the most dangerous woman in Europe.’ Nothing in this story, the first of three, suggests Marian deserved that description.
Aside from my dislike of Marian, I found much to like in this book. The writing is so reminiscent of the period, particularly the dialogue but also the narrative. The author has captured the flavour of the era nicely and without long and irrelevant descriptions of clothing. Full marks for that. Also, the plot never lets up. No sooner do the characters begin to believe their problems are over than another wrinkle appears.
On the whole, this is an enjoyable book that kept my interest and I have no hesitation in recommending it.
****
January 30, 2022
The Governor’s man by Jacquie Rogers
Set in Roman Britannia, this book has an intriguing beginning. A messenger is accosted by two men who cut off his head. They are not common robbers. They only want the message. One of them puts something in the dead boy’s mouth before tossing the head into the bushes.
The story is taken up two months earlier when Frumentarius (investigator) Quintus Valerius returns to Rome to find his wife gone, along with all the furniture and slaves, and a notice of divorce awaiting him. He asks his brother-in-law to sell the house and send the proceeds to his mother. Free of encumbrances, he is soon on his way to Britannia to investigate why money from the imperial mines has suddenly dwindled. The governor in Britannia is Gaius Trebonius, who had once saved his life and who he trusts. Trebonius gives him as an assistant, Tyro a native just released from the drunk tank. Quintus sees him as more of an encumbrance than an asset, while Tyro views the investigator as a stiff-necked toff.
Although the pair start out looking for the Emperor’s missing money, they are soon involved in two murders, the second possibly incited by the White Ones, Druids who were thought to have been wiped out a century earlier. As well, the tribes are stirring, a revolt is in the air.
All of which is complicated by Quintus’s guilt over his inability to save his brother and his painful history with Julia who he meets on the way to the mine. Thirteen years earlier, they fell in love but Quintus was called home to Rome to deal with a family scandal and left without knowing she was pregnant. The relationship is fraught with tension because one is resentful and the other is determined not to get involved again. Deeper feelings and further complications run through their encounters.
The book is a reflection of how unsettled life was in Roman Britannia. It is a complex story with many threads that the author weaves together deftly. There is enough going on to fill two or three novels, but I have to say, I was never confused.
An excellent book that I believe will interest more than just those who like to delve into the Roman world.
*****
Jacquie Rogers had several careers, including advertising and university lecturing, before finding writing suited her best. Her short stories have been published in several countries. In 2020 she was Runner Up in the Lincoln Book Festival story competition.
‘The Governor’s Man’ is the first in her series of novels set in 3rd century Roman Britain, published in May 2021 by Sharpe Books.
After a nomadic existence for most of her life, Jacquie now lives in the Malvern Hills of England. She walks the hills daily with her husband Peter and their frantic Staffie-cross, Peggy. When pandemics permit, Jacquie loves to travel by motorbike and enjoys discussing politics, travel and books with friends and family. She spends a lot of time in cafes and pubs.
Jacquie blogs at jacquierogersauthor.com YouTube: The Governor’s Man by Jacquie Rogers
Other connections: linktr.ee/jacquierogers
January 12, 2022
Charlie Smithers’ Adventures in Arran by C.W. Lovatt
Charlie Smithers appeared in Dolly Pleasance, a book I recently reviewed, but he is the protagonist in several of the author’s other books. In this, the latest, my interest was snared by the pandemonium that ensued after a sneeze or two. At the same time, secondary characters and the villains of the piece were introduced. The book has the strangest opening sentence I have ever come across. Here it is: UNGUPHSHEW!
Our hero is summoned by the Home Secretary and given a mission which takes him to Arran in Scotland, along with a sidekick, a master of disguise who proves very useful. The villainous Germans are there attempting to thwart him. He is on the trail of gold and a mysterious package, and there are many adventures and setbacks along the way. It’s pretty violent in places but tongue-in-cheek with oodles of humour.
Charlie is a likeable character, but I couldn’t quite equate him with the character in Dolly Pleasance. They seemed like two very different people. The secondary characters are interesting, particularly Charlie’s employer, the sneezer, and the villains are suitably villainous.
How a gentleman’s gentleman became a tool of the British Government is not explained. I suggest, unlike me, reading the first book first to get the answer to this question and a full sense of the characters, although this book works well as a stand-alone.
Recommended for those who like a dash of humour in their thrillers.
****
CW Lovatt is the award-winning author of the best-selling Charlie Smithers novels (including the spinoff, “Dolly Pleasance”), as well as the critically acclaimed Josiah Stubb Trilogy. His latest novel, “Adventures in Arran” is the fourth book of the Charlie Smithers Collection.
January 1, 2022
She’s done it again!
The amazing Helen Hollick has come up with another brilliant idea to promote historical fiction authors. It is an award named for one of her prolific reviewers who sadly died in April 2022. Unlike most awards I have seen, this one offers a monetary prize and it’s free to enter! All you have to do is get your historical novel or historical non-fiction into Helen at Discovering Diamonds (that’s free too) and you might get a spot on the long list to brag about. Submissions are open until November 30th 2022.
Here is the link for submissions. https://discoveringdiamonds.blogspot.com/
