Stella Riley's Blog, page 13
June 8, 2013
Join me!
Join me at http://stellariley.wordpress.com/
and drop in for a chat.
and drop in for a chat.
June 6, 2013
The Black Madonna
The Black Madonna, like all my other titles, has now achieved Premium status on Smashwords.com. This means it is available for download to all devices, including Apple, Kobo and Nook.
To celebrate, I have made the book available from Smashwords at a discount of 50% until June 20th. Apply code FA23C at checkout.
To celebrate, I have made the book available from Smashwords at a discount of 50% until June 20th. Apply code FA23C at checkout.
June 1, 2013
The Black Madonna
The Black Madonna finally went live on Amazon last night. Hoorah!
May 31, 2013
The Black Madonna
The Black Madonna is now available for download to most devices from Smashwords.com. Unfortunately, there's a problem - temporarily - with Amazon but I hope to resolve this soon.
In the meantime, check out my blog on Romantic Historical Lovers.
In the meantime, check out my blog on Romantic Historical Lovers.
January 28, 2013
25% off A Splendid Defiance
A Splendid Defiance is available from Smashwords.com for download to just about anything at a discount of 25% until February 23rd. Apply code PC57X
December 9, 2012
A Splendid Defiance
Something my previous blog doesn't mention is that, like my previous titles, I've revised parts of Defiance - in particular, those sequences towards the end of the book involving Justin and Abby. There are 2 or 3 new scenes here, intended to 'flesh out' the original and improve the fact-fiction balance.
December 7, 2012
A Splendid Defiance
Against all the odds …
The Royalists hold the Castle, the Parliament would like it back and the town is full of overly-zealous Puritans. Where is this? Banbury, Oxfordshire in the summer of 1644.
As a backdrop for a novel set in the English Civil War, Banbury was the obvious choice for me because it was my home. A small amount of research showed that it was also the best choice because it offered exactly what I was looking for. The perfect scenario for a love story with a complex and fully-fleshed background that included, not only real events, but the men involved in them. Fortunately, these men left detailed records – for without their letters, military reports and news-sheets, A Splendid Defiance could never have been written.
My story starts with a disgruntled cavalry officer. Justin Ambrose has been posted to the garrison of Banbury Castle as a punishment and is bored, irritable and resentful. Close by in the town, Abigail Radford has learned to expect little from life; her dour and fanatically religious brother, Jonas, rules the family with a rod of iron and insists on submissive obedience in all things. Consequently, when Captain Ambrose crosses her path Abigail finds him as alarming as he is intriguing.
This man she barely knew … this impatient, often irascible man who cursed and blasphemed, who said things he shouldn’t, saw more than he should and laughed when she least expected it … this man who embodied everything she had been raised to abhor - was completely trustworthy. More than that. He made her feel safe.
The Castle garrison is 320 strong and its Governor is nineteen-year-old Sir William Compton. In August 1644, Roundhead Colonel John Fiennes arrives with 3,500 men and a massive artillery train to drive the Cavaliers out. The result is a fourteen week siege during which Colonel Fiennes bombards the Castle with cannon and mortar fire, attempts to take it by storm in a massive assault and sets colliers mining beneath the walls to plant explosive devices. By the time the King finally sends help, the exhausted garrison has neither powder, shot nor food and has eaten all but two of the horses. As an exercise in sustained defiance, this was a remarkable achievement.
With the siege behind them and against all the odds, Justin and Abigail develop a covert friendship. Out of a deep-rooted dislike of Jonas Radford coupled with a spirit of devilment, Justin uses this to nurture seeds of insurrection in Abigail. But what begins as a few innocent acts of defiance gradually becomes something very different, bringing danger in its wake. Both of them know that any future relationship is doomed. The gulf between them is so wide as to be unbridgeable – and not only due to the war. For Abigail, the obstacle is her appalling brother; for Justin, it is both an uncertain future and a shadow from his past that he can no longer escape when it unexpectedly threatens both Abigail’s life and the security of the Castle.
When the Parliament embarks on a second siege and with the war all but over, Abigail knows that Justin will soon be gone and wants to make every remaining moment count … while the feelings that Justin knows he has no choice but to deny become stronger and more painful than any blade or bullet. As the time for defiance dwindles to a close and surrender looms ever nearer, the fate of Abigail, Justin and the Castle are inevitably and inextricably linked.
A Splendid Defiance is a dramatic tale of forbidden love set against the turmoil and anguish of the Civil War. It is also the true account of one English castle and the men who defended it. Justin Ambrose, the Radford family and a handful of other characters are my invention; virtually everyone else in the novel lived and breathed and was there when it happened.
About the Author
Stella Riley trained as a teacher in London and worked there for several years before moving to Oxfordshire and starting to write. She now lives in Shropshire and her interests include amateur dramatics, dance and travel. After a break in her writing career, she is now launching her back-list as e-books.
A Splendid Defiance is now available from Smashwords.com and Amazon Kindle. Previous similarly available titles are The Marigold Chain, The Parfit Knight and The Mésalliance.
Still to come in 2013, The Black Madonna and Garland of Straw.
The Royalists hold the Castle, the Parliament would like it back and the town is full of overly-zealous Puritans. Where is this? Banbury, Oxfordshire in the summer of 1644.
As a backdrop for a novel set in the English Civil War, Banbury was the obvious choice for me because it was my home. A small amount of research showed that it was also the best choice because it offered exactly what I was looking for. The perfect scenario for a love story with a complex and fully-fleshed background that included, not only real events, but the men involved in them. Fortunately, these men left detailed records – for without their letters, military reports and news-sheets, A Splendid Defiance could never have been written.
My story starts with a disgruntled cavalry officer. Justin Ambrose has been posted to the garrison of Banbury Castle as a punishment and is bored, irritable and resentful. Close by in the town, Abigail Radford has learned to expect little from life; her dour and fanatically religious brother, Jonas, rules the family with a rod of iron and insists on submissive obedience in all things. Consequently, when Captain Ambrose crosses her path Abigail finds him as alarming as he is intriguing.
This man she barely knew … this impatient, often irascible man who cursed and blasphemed, who said things he shouldn’t, saw more than he should and laughed when she least expected it … this man who embodied everything she had been raised to abhor - was completely trustworthy. More than that. He made her feel safe.
The Castle garrison is 320 strong and its Governor is nineteen-year-old Sir William Compton. In August 1644, Roundhead Colonel John Fiennes arrives with 3,500 men and a massive artillery train to drive the Cavaliers out. The result is a fourteen week siege during which Colonel Fiennes bombards the Castle with cannon and mortar fire, attempts to take it by storm in a massive assault and sets colliers mining beneath the walls to plant explosive devices. By the time the King finally sends help, the exhausted garrison has neither powder, shot nor food and has eaten all but two of the horses. As an exercise in sustained defiance, this was a remarkable achievement.
With the siege behind them and against all the odds, Justin and Abigail develop a covert friendship. Out of a deep-rooted dislike of Jonas Radford coupled with a spirit of devilment, Justin uses this to nurture seeds of insurrection in Abigail. But what begins as a few innocent acts of defiance gradually becomes something very different, bringing danger in its wake. Both of them know that any future relationship is doomed. The gulf between them is so wide as to be unbridgeable – and not only due to the war. For Abigail, the obstacle is her appalling brother; for Justin, it is both an uncertain future and a shadow from his past that he can no longer escape when it unexpectedly threatens both Abigail’s life and the security of the Castle.
When the Parliament embarks on a second siege and with the war all but over, Abigail knows that Justin will soon be gone and wants to make every remaining moment count … while the feelings that Justin knows he has no choice but to deny become stronger and more painful than any blade or bullet. As the time for defiance dwindles to a close and surrender looms ever nearer, the fate of Abigail, Justin and the Castle are inevitably and inextricably linked.
A Splendid Defiance is a dramatic tale of forbidden love set against the turmoil and anguish of the Civil War. It is also the true account of one English castle and the men who defended it. Justin Ambrose, the Radford family and a handful of other characters are my invention; virtually everyone else in the novel lived and breathed and was there when it happened.
About the Author
Stella Riley trained as a teacher in London and worked there for several years before moving to Oxfordshire and starting to write. She now lives in Shropshire and her interests include amateur dramatics, dance and travel. After a break in her writing career, she is now launching her back-list as e-books.
A Splendid Defiance is now available from Smashwords.com and Amazon Kindle. Previous similarly available titles are The Marigold Chain, The Parfit Knight and The Mésalliance.
Still to come in 2013, The Black Madonna and Garland of Straw.
November 30, 2012
A Splendid Defiance
A Splendid Defiance is due for release on Amazon and Smashwords on December 8th. Although the love story between Justin and Abby is fictional, the majority of the rest of the book is not. It's a true account of an English Castle & town during the Civil War.
September 17, 2012
The Mesalliance
The Mesalliance was published by Robert Hale - who insisted on radical cuts to make it fit into the standard 192 pages. It's always been a favourite of mine - much better, I think, than Parfit Knight. Consequently, I've done a lot of revision to the original and significantly extended it. Finished length will now be in the region of just over 100,000 words - about 25% longer than Parfit Knight.
Many of my regular readers have never come across a copy - so I hope that publishing it as an e-book will make it accessible to anyone who missed it first time round.
Many of my regular readers have never come across a copy - so I hope that publishing it as an e-book will make it accessible to anyone who missed it first time round.
My e-books
The Marigold Chain and The Parfit Knight are now available as e-books from Amazon Kindle, Kobo and Smashwords.com.
I hope to send The Mesalliance off to join them within the next couple of weeks. Next in line - A Splendid Defiance.
Hope this helps anyone who may be interested. Happy reading.
I hope to send The Mesalliance off to join them within the next couple of weeks. Next in line - A Splendid Defiance.
Hope this helps anyone who may be interested. Happy reading.
