Kate Forsyth's Blog, page 49
November 14, 2013
INTERVIEW: Celia Rees author of Witch Child
Celia Rees is the author of numerous books for young adults, including the brilliant Witch Child which I have just finished reading, and absolutely loved. I'm very happy to be featuring Celia on the blog this week. Here she answers my usual questions about daydreaming, serendipity, and inspirations.
Are you a daydreamer too?
I think all fiction writers are daydreamers. That is where we have always spun our stories, long before we thought of writing them down. All stories, long or short, start with the question What If? and so do most day dreams.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
No, I didn't always want to be a writer. I didn't begin writing until I was in my thirties and an English teacher. I became interested in the process of writing and reading. I began writing as a response to my adolescent students - what did they like to read, and why?
Tell me about yourself – where were you born, where do you live, what do you like to do?
I was born in Solihull, which is on the edge of Birmingham. I currently live with my husband, Terry, a Welshman, in Leamington Spa, a small town in Warwickshire, so I haven't strayed far. I was a teacher for 16 years. I gave up full time teaching to write in 1989. My first book was published in 1992. I've been a full time writer since 1997. I have a daughter, Catrin, who is a lawyer and lives in London. Writing is a fairly all consuming occupation, so I'm either researching, writing, or promoting a novel but, contrary to popular belief, it is not a lonely profession. You have to be on your own to write, but I don't mind that. When I'm not writing, my life is like anyone else's. I like food, cooking, shopping, going on holiday, to the cinema, galleries, theatre now and again - stuff everyone does.
How extensively do you plan your novels?
I don't plan obsessively. I plan enough to know that the idea will work and I like to know roughly where I'm going but if something new occurs to take the story in a totally different direction, I'll follow the idea, not the plan.
Do you ever use dreams as a source of inspiration?
Dreams are tricky. They are far more bizarre than any fiction, so can rarely be a direct inspiration. Having said that, images, sequences, places, people glimpsed in dreams can all be used and are certainly useful when describing dreams or visions. I do believe that much of what we write wells up from the subconscious and often the answer to a knotty problem will come after a night's sleep.
Did you make any astonishing serendipitous discoveries while writing Witch Chid?
Serendipity is a vital part of the writing process. If you hadn't walked down that street, visited that city, talked to that person, watched that film/play at that time, on that day, you might never have had the idea that became a novel. Also, once you do start writing, strange coincidences start occurring. This can go on long after a novel is finished and published. You discover things that you thought that you'd made up, really happened, are true.
[image error]
Where do you write, and when?
I saw an interview with Donna Tartt recently where she said that she was writing constantly, anywhere and everywhere. What she meant was she might be writing notes in a cafe, on a bus, on a train, jotting down thoughts, observations, or simple making things up in her head. I feel a bit like that. Sometimes, the only time I'm not writing is when I'm sleeping - and then I might be dreaming(see above). In lots of ways, writing is a constant process, thinking is part of that process - as are different kinds of writing - note making and taking, for example. If you mean writing finished prose, that normally happens at my desk, in my study, at my computer, and it happens when I'm ready to write said finished prose.
What is your favourite part of writing?
I like all of it, from having the initial idea, researching the idea, developing it into something that can become a novel, writing the words on the page, shaping the story, editing and refining, seeing the book into print. Each part of the process has its different rewards.
What do you do when you get blocked?
Go to sleep thinking about the problem (see above) OR Go for a walk. Walking clears the thoughts. I have a writer friend who swears that, if you've got a problem, the best thing to do is go out for a walk and not turn for home until you've come up the solution. You always do!
How do you keep your well of inspiration full?
You never know where inspiration will come from, so its important to stay curious; read things, see things, visit places and keep your mind open. The other important thing is to always carry a notebook and to write ideas down.
Do you have any rituals that help you to write?
No, I think they get in the way and can become an OCD excuse not to do anything. The only rule I have is to always carry a notebook. If I don't have one in my bag, I'll buy one - hence I have lots of notebooks.
Who are ten of your favourite writers?
To quote Donna Tartt again, I could tell you, but they will have changed by tomorrow. Also, it would depend on genre, period, all sorts of things. I'm not good at 'favourite' anything.
Donna Tartt
What do you consider to be good writing?
Command and control of the words on the page.
What is your advice for someone dreaming of being a writer too?
Read a lot.
What are you working on now?
I'm work on my first adult novel. I don't want to say too much about it right now. Perhaps I'll tell you a bit more in due course.
Thank you, Celia!
Celia's website
Are you a daydreamer too?
I think all fiction writers are daydreamers. That is where we have always spun our stories, long before we thought of writing them down. All stories, long or short, start with the question What If? and so do most day dreams.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
No, I didn't always want to be a writer. I didn't begin writing until I was in my thirties and an English teacher. I became interested in the process of writing and reading. I began writing as a response to my adolescent students - what did they like to read, and why?
Tell me about yourself – where were you born, where do you live, what do you like to do?
I was born in Solihull, which is on the edge of Birmingham. I currently live with my husband, Terry, a Welshman, in Leamington Spa, a small town in Warwickshire, so I haven't strayed far. I was a teacher for 16 years. I gave up full time teaching to write in 1989. My first book was published in 1992. I've been a full time writer since 1997. I have a daughter, Catrin, who is a lawyer and lives in London. Writing is a fairly all consuming occupation, so I'm either researching, writing, or promoting a novel but, contrary to popular belief, it is not a lonely profession. You have to be on your own to write, but I don't mind that. When I'm not writing, my life is like anyone else's. I like food, cooking, shopping, going on holiday, to the cinema, galleries, theatre now and again - stuff everyone does.
How extensively do you plan your novels?
I don't plan obsessively. I plan enough to know that the idea will work and I like to know roughly where I'm going but if something new occurs to take the story in a totally different direction, I'll follow the idea, not the plan.
Do you ever use dreams as a source of inspiration?
Dreams are tricky. They are far more bizarre than any fiction, so can rarely be a direct inspiration. Having said that, images, sequences, places, people glimpsed in dreams can all be used and are certainly useful when describing dreams or visions. I do believe that much of what we write wells up from the subconscious and often the answer to a knotty problem will come after a night's sleep.
Did you make any astonishing serendipitous discoveries while writing Witch Chid?
Serendipity is a vital part of the writing process. If you hadn't walked down that street, visited that city, talked to that person, watched that film/play at that time, on that day, you might never have had the idea that became a novel. Also, once you do start writing, strange coincidences start occurring. This can go on long after a novel is finished and published. You discover things that you thought that you'd made up, really happened, are true.
[image error]
Where do you write, and when?
I saw an interview with Donna Tartt recently where she said that she was writing constantly, anywhere and everywhere. What she meant was she might be writing notes in a cafe, on a bus, on a train, jotting down thoughts, observations, or simple making things up in her head. I feel a bit like that. Sometimes, the only time I'm not writing is when I'm sleeping - and then I might be dreaming(see above). In lots of ways, writing is a constant process, thinking is part of that process - as are different kinds of writing - note making and taking, for example. If you mean writing finished prose, that normally happens at my desk, in my study, at my computer, and it happens when I'm ready to write said finished prose.
What is your favourite part of writing?
I like all of it, from having the initial idea, researching the idea, developing it into something that can become a novel, writing the words on the page, shaping the story, editing and refining, seeing the book into print. Each part of the process has its different rewards.
What do you do when you get blocked?
Go to sleep thinking about the problem (see above) OR Go for a walk. Walking clears the thoughts. I have a writer friend who swears that, if you've got a problem, the best thing to do is go out for a walk and not turn for home until you've come up the solution. You always do!
How do you keep your well of inspiration full?
You never know where inspiration will come from, so its important to stay curious; read things, see things, visit places and keep your mind open. The other important thing is to always carry a notebook and to write ideas down.
Do you have any rituals that help you to write?
No, I think they get in the way and can become an OCD excuse not to do anything. The only rule I have is to always carry a notebook. If I don't have one in my bag, I'll buy one - hence I have lots of notebooks.
Who are ten of your favourite writers?
To quote Donna Tartt again, I could tell you, but they will have changed by tomorrow. Also, it would depend on genre, period, all sorts of things. I'm not good at 'favourite' anything.
Donna Tartt
What do you consider to be good writing?
Command and control of the words on the page.
What is your advice for someone dreaming of being a writer too?
Read a lot.
What are you working on now?
I'm work on my first adult novel. I don't want to say too much about it right now. Perhaps I'll tell you a bit more in due course.
Thank you, Celia!
Celia's website
November 12, 2013
SPOTLIGHT: Celia Rees on Inspiration
[image error]
When I was travelling in Wales recently, I found a copy of Celia Rees' book Witch Child in a bookshop in Hay-on-Wye. I'd always wanted to read this book and so I grabbed it at once, and read it that evening. It was perfect reading for a starlit night in that most magical of countries, and I was utterly transported and enchanted by this novel of a girl who is the daughter and grand-daughter of a witch and must struggle to find a place where she can be safe and true to herself.
So I am delighted to welcome Celia Rees to the blog today to talk about her inspirations for Witch Child:
One of the questions that Kate asks her guest authors is about inspiration.
It clearly has a universal fascination. ‘Where does your inspiration come from?’ is probably the question that I’m most commonly asked at any event whether I’m talking to adults or to children. The truth, as any author will tell you, is I don’t know and we don’t like to think about it too much. To do so might result in the wellspring drying up and we can’t risk that because inspiration is not a one off thing. It is an ongoing process. Yes, there’s that initial Big Idea, like a supernova going off in your head, but after that there will be, or should be, other moments almost as powerful.
Another of Kate’s questions concerns serendipity. Once you’ve had the Big Idea, sudden strange coincidences begin to occur. Synchronicities. Things begin to jump out at you, take on a sudden luminosity. You see something, hear something, that has huge relevance, that is new inspiration, that provides the catalyst, the essential element that will give that extra twist to your novel, make it more than just so, so.
These moments don’t come all that often and you can’t dial them up but, if you are lucky, they come when you need them. Such a one happened when I was writing Witch Child. I knew I had a good idea but I also knew that I needed something else, something more. Then I read about The Blair Witch Project.
The film wasn’t even showing in cinemas - just reading about the movie gave me a frisson of excitement. The story contained the vindicating elements that I look for when I’m writing historical fiction – this could have happened.
Everyone knows about the witch persecution in Salem, Massachusetts but I was looking for other, lesser known instances of the beliefs and fears that drove this kind of hysteria in Colonial America. The Blair Witch is based on The Bell Witch of Tennessee. That was vindication for me; the fear was there, in the woods, in the wilderness, in the minds of the European settlers.
But what I found really exciting was the premise of the film. That this was a true story. A film shot on handheld video camera by a group of students who had gone into the woods to research the Blair Witch and had disappeared. Only the video they’d shot remained. The ‘found’ document had been replaced by ‘found’ video footage. The film even had a website that contained all kinds of other stuff: a backstory of folklore and mythology, stained books, ‘Missing’ posters, interviews, T.V. news bulletins about the disappearances. This was made up, too, but it gave a documentary ring of truth that echoed and re-enforced the veracity of the ‘found’ film. I found the whole thing absolutely fascinating. It seemed to ask big questions about the very nature of fiction, about ways of telling, about what is real and what is not real and how do we know? If you Google Blair Witch, you will find that the debate goes on. The film has created its own mythology. I find this fascinating, too.
A novel is not just what the story is, it is how the story is told. For me, this narrative structuring is one of the most interesting aspects of fiction. Thinking about The Blair Witch Project, threw up intriguing possibilities about the novel I was writing. I’d already decided on a diary form and that the diary could be hidden in a quilt. OK, I thought, what if the quilt was found now and the diary was discovered during some kind of conservation process? What if the diary was then published? All it would need was a thin framing, an introduction from someone, let’s call her Alison Ellman, paper conservator, and an afterword from her asking for information, and an e mail address, why not? This would then act as a connection, a bridge, to the sequel Sorceress.
Witch Child would be a book (The Mary Papers) within a book. The Mary Papers hidden within a quilt and later discovered. Witch Child would be a story about a story. It would use the literary device of the 'found document', a tradition as old as the novel itself, as new as, well, The Blair Witch Project.
Sometimes you know when an idea is perfect. It slots right in, neat and tight, with no trouble whatsoever.
When I was travelling in Wales recently, I found a copy of Celia Rees' book Witch Child in a bookshop in Hay-on-Wye. I'd always wanted to read this book and so I grabbed it at once, and read it that evening. It was perfect reading for a starlit night in that most magical of countries, and I was utterly transported and enchanted by this novel of a girl who is the daughter and grand-daughter of a witch and must struggle to find a place where she can be safe and true to herself.
So I am delighted to welcome Celia Rees to the blog today to talk about her inspirations for Witch Child:
One of the questions that Kate asks her guest authors is about inspiration.
It clearly has a universal fascination. ‘Where does your inspiration come from?’ is probably the question that I’m most commonly asked at any event whether I’m talking to adults or to children. The truth, as any author will tell you, is I don’t know and we don’t like to think about it too much. To do so might result in the wellspring drying up and we can’t risk that because inspiration is not a one off thing. It is an ongoing process. Yes, there’s that initial Big Idea, like a supernova going off in your head, but after that there will be, or should be, other moments almost as powerful.
Another of Kate’s questions concerns serendipity. Once you’ve had the Big Idea, sudden strange coincidences begin to occur. Synchronicities. Things begin to jump out at you, take on a sudden luminosity. You see something, hear something, that has huge relevance, that is new inspiration, that provides the catalyst, the essential element that will give that extra twist to your novel, make it more than just so, so.
These moments don’t come all that often and you can’t dial them up but, if you are lucky, they come when you need them. Such a one happened when I was writing Witch Child. I knew I had a good idea but I also knew that I needed something else, something more. Then I read about The Blair Witch Project.
The film wasn’t even showing in cinemas - just reading about the movie gave me a frisson of excitement. The story contained the vindicating elements that I look for when I’m writing historical fiction – this could have happened.
Everyone knows about the witch persecution in Salem, Massachusetts but I was looking for other, lesser known instances of the beliefs and fears that drove this kind of hysteria in Colonial America. The Blair Witch is based on The Bell Witch of Tennessee. That was vindication for me; the fear was there, in the woods, in the wilderness, in the minds of the European settlers.
But what I found really exciting was the premise of the film. That this was a true story. A film shot on handheld video camera by a group of students who had gone into the woods to research the Blair Witch and had disappeared. Only the video they’d shot remained. The ‘found’ document had been replaced by ‘found’ video footage. The film even had a website that contained all kinds of other stuff: a backstory of folklore and mythology, stained books, ‘Missing’ posters, interviews, T.V. news bulletins about the disappearances. This was made up, too, but it gave a documentary ring of truth that echoed and re-enforced the veracity of the ‘found’ film. I found the whole thing absolutely fascinating. It seemed to ask big questions about the very nature of fiction, about ways of telling, about what is real and what is not real and how do we know? If you Google Blair Witch, you will find that the debate goes on. The film has created its own mythology. I find this fascinating, too.
A novel is not just what the story is, it is how the story is told. For me, this narrative structuring is one of the most interesting aspects of fiction. Thinking about The Blair Witch Project, threw up intriguing possibilities about the novel I was writing. I’d already decided on a diary form and that the diary could be hidden in a quilt. OK, I thought, what if the quilt was found now and the diary was discovered during some kind of conservation process? What if the diary was then published? All it would need was a thin framing, an introduction from someone, let’s call her Alison Ellman, paper conservator, and an afterword from her asking for information, and an e mail address, why not? This would then act as a connection, a bridge, to the sequel Sorceress.
Witch Child would be a book (The Mary Papers) within a book. The Mary Papers hidden within a quilt and later discovered. Witch Child would be a story about a story. It would use the literary device of the 'found document', a tradition as old as the novel itself, as new as, well, The Blair Witch Project.
Sometimes you know when an idea is perfect. It slots right in, neat and tight, with no trouble whatsoever.
November 10, 2013
BOOK REVIEW: Witch Child by Celia Rees
[image error]
Title: Witch Child
Author: Celia Rees
Publisher: Candlewick
Age Group & Genre: Historical Fiction for Young Adults
Reviewer: Kate Forsyth
The Blurb:
Welcome to the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary’s startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared?
What I Thought:
This wonderful historical novel for teenagers begins: ‘I am Mary. I am a witch.’
It is set in 1659, during the tumultuous months after Cromwell’s death and before the return of Charles II. Her story is purportedly told in diary entries that have been found sewn inside a quilt. It is a tragic and powerful tale, which begins when Mary’s grandmother is arrested and tortured by witch-finders and then hanged in the town square.
Mary is rescued by a rich woman who she suspects may be her real mother, and sent to join a group of Puritans fleeing to the New World. However, the Puritans are stern and narrow-minded and quick to blame any misfortune on witchcraft. Mary finds herself in increasing danger as the party lands in Salem, Massachusetts. A growing friendship with a Native American and his shaman grandfather increases her risk. A simple yet powerful tale that explores the nature of magic and superstition, faith and cruelty.
I absolutely loved it!
Celia's website: http://www.celiarees.com/
Celia's blog: http://celiarees.blogspot.com.au/
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT – I LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
Title: Witch Child
Author: Celia Rees
Publisher: Candlewick
Age Group & Genre: Historical Fiction for Young Adults
Reviewer: Kate Forsyth
The Blurb:
Welcome to the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary’s startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared?
What I Thought:
This wonderful historical novel for teenagers begins: ‘I am Mary. I am a witch.’
It is set in 1659, during the tumultuous months after Cromwell’s death and before the return of Charles II. Her story is purportedly told in diary entries that have been found sewn inside a quilt. It is a tragic and powerful tale, which begins when Mary’s grandmother is arrested and tortured by witch-finders and then hanged in the town square.
Mary is rescued by a rich woman who she suspects may be her real mother, and sent to join a group of Puritans fleeing to the New World. However, the Puritans are stern and narrow-minded and quick to blame any misfortune on witchcraft. Mary finds herself in increasing danger as the party lands in Salem, Massachusetts. A growing friendship with a Native American and his shaman grandfather increases her risk. A simple yet powerful tale that explores the nature of magic and superstition, faith and cruelty.
I absolutely loved it!
Celia's website: http://www.celiarees.com/
Celia's blog: http://celiarees.blogspot.com.au/
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT – I LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
November 7, 2013
INTERVIEW: Elisabeth Gifford, author of Secrets of the Sea House
A story set in the Scottish islands, that draws on selkie fairy tales, and moves fluidly between the past and the present ... anyone who knows me will be able to guess how eagerly I grabbed this book! Yet when I find a book I think I'm really going to love, I open it with trepidation as well as eagerness, afraid the book will not be as good as I had hoped.
Well, not this one.
I loved THE SECRETS OF THE SEA HOUSE truly, madly, deeply. It was one of the best books of the year so far.
[image error]
When I really love a book, I write at once to the author to tell them so. And you want to know something eerie and wonderful? Elisabeth Gifford, the author of THE SECRETS OF THE SEA HOUSE, wrote back to me saying that she was so excited to hear from me as she had just finished reading my novel THE WILD GIRL! We worked out we must have been reading each other's books at much the same time (except, with the time difference, she was reading my book while I slept and I read her book while she slept. The universe is a magical and mysterious place sometimes).
So Elisabeth is a very special guest on the blog today. Please make her welcome.
[image error]
Are you a daydreamer too?
By nature that’s my default setting. It used to get me into a lot of hot water as a child as I was generally facing the wrong way and with the wrong equipment at school - but having great thoughts. I don’t intend to give it up any time soon.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes I have, but it took a while to find the time and the confidence to decide I was allowed to spend lots of time writing. I began taking creative writing courses because I loved the process so much. From the Oxford diploma and the London University MA I found that I ended up with material for two books – and lots of inspiring friends, and now write full time.
Tell me a little about yourself – where were you born, where do you live, what do you like to do?
My father was a vicar in the industrial midlands so I’m very grateful for a rich and varied childhood. I hung around a lot of churchyards and loved the history of the old churches and cathedrals. Dad would stride around in a black cassock and sometimes go off to do an exorcism in a haunted house. I lived in France for a year, and in several parts of England and am now settled in Kingston, near London.
My husband’s family comes from Scotland so we’ve spent a lot of time there. I adore the way that writing allows you to explore and evoke time and place and love being absorbed in a book project. I love visiting places for research and so have been to China ( for a book on Chinese orphanages), the Hebrides, Spain, Sweden and soon, Warsaw for a new book.
How did you get the first flash of inspiration for this book?
We took the children to the Hebrides several times while they were growing up, looking for somewhere quiet and unspoilt so they could run wild a bit – rather spoiling the quiet once we got there! It was like going back in time on Harris and I fell in love with the island. The scenery is stunning and Scots Gaelic is still spoken. I couldn’t believe that here was a part of the UK but with such an ancient and unique culture still in place, and its own language.
A photo of Harris, an island in the Hebrides, by Elisabeth Gifford
We made some wonderful friends who shared stories of the last century. I loved the stories of selkies and mermaids that my small daughter told me, from her friend on the island. Then I came across the work of Gaelic historian John MacAulay and found that the legends were a form of oral history; there was in fact something very real behind the seal people myths. Through him, I came across the letter to the Times newspaper reporting a mermaid sighting by a Victorian schoolmaster in 1809 and it all began from there.
But underlying that was an awareness how in Ireland and Skye the old Gaelic culture had been inevitably suburbanized. I felt it was important to try and record Harris as it was, because with improved access via the Skye road bridge now meaning you only have to take one boat to get there, it risks the same process.
How extensively do you plan your novels?
I would firmly advise planning a novel before you start it, but I’m afraid it hasn’t worked that way for me so far. I begin with some ideas and some scenes. When I see where things are going I begin to channel the work towards a story arc. Eventually I have to be strict about adding and subtracting as some things may become backstory, only for you as a writer, and don’t help the plot. Once you have a voice that begins to speak and boss you around, as happened with Moira, it can sometimes feel like the story is out of your hands! If you hold too tight, the air can go out of things. When you think the book is done, then that’s a good time to stand back and see if you need to tighten the story line. That last stage is really important.
Do you ever use dreams as a source of inspiration?
I certainly find that I can dream what I’m really thinking about a situation and I wake up with a better understanding of it. I’ve had some surprising moments of clarity that way. The mind doesn’t always think in words! Sometimes, I like to go to bed having read some notes on a scene so that in the morning it feels active and live when I sit down to write. Once or twice, a clear dream has opened a door to the beginning of a story. I find that it’s important to value an almost dreaming attitude when creating a new scene so that you can imagine the richness you need to evoke a place.
Are you a daydreamer too?
By nature that’s my default setting. It used to get me into a lot of hot water as a child as I was generally facing the wrong way and with the wrong equipment at school - but having great thoughts. I don’t intend to give it up any time soon.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes I have, but it took a while to find the time and the confidence to decide I was allowed to spend lots of time writing. I began taking creative writing courses because I loved the process so much. From the Oxford diploma and the London University MA I found that I ended up with material for two books – and lots of inspiring friends, and now write full time.
Tell me a little about yourself – where were you born, where do you live, what do you like to do?
My father was a vicar in the industrial midlands so I’m very grateful for a rich and varied childhood. I hung around a lot of churchyards and loved the history of the old churches and cathedrals. Dad would stride around in a black cassock and sometimes go off to do an exorcism in a haunted house. I lived in France for a year, and in several parts of England and am now settled in Kingston, near London. My husband’s family comes from Scotland so we’ve spent a lot of time there. I adore the way that writing allows you to explore and evoke time and place and love being absorbed in a book project. I love visiting places for research and so have been to China ( for a book on Chinese orphanages), the Hebrides, Spain, Sweden and soon, Warsaw for a new book.
How did you get the first flash of inspiration for this book?
We took the children to the Hebrides several times while they were growing up, looking for somewhere quiet and unspoilt so they could run wild a bit – rather spoiling the quiet once we got there! It was like going back in time on Harris and I fell in love with the island. The scenery is stunning and Scots Gaelic is still spoken. I couldn’t believe that here was a part of the UK but with such an ancient and unique culture still in place, and its own language. We made some wonderful friends who shared stories of the last century. I loved the stories of selkies and mermaids that my small daughter told me, from her friend on the island. Then I came across the work of Gaelic historian John MacAulay and found that the legends were a form of oral history; there was in fact something very real behind the seal people myths. Through him, I came across the letter to the Times newspaper reporting a mermaid sighting by a Victorian schoolmaster in 1809 and it all began from there. But underlying that was an awareness how in Ireland and Skye the old Gaelic culture had been inevitably suburbanized. I felt it was important to try and record Harris as it was, because with improved access via the Skye road bridge now meaning you only have to take one boat to get there, it risks the same process.
How extensively do you plan your novels?
I would firmly advise planning a novel before you start it, but I’m afraid it hasn’t worked that way for me so far. I begin with some ideas and some scenes. When I see where things are going I begin to channel the work towards a story arc. Eventually I have to be strict about adding and subtracting as some things may become backstory, only for you as a writer, and don’t help the plot. Once you have a voice that begins to speak and boss you around, as happened with Moira, it can sometimes feel like the story is out of your hands! If you hold too tight, the air can go out of things. When you think the book is done, then that’s a good time to stand back and see if you need to tighten the story line. That last stage is really important.
Do you ever use dreams as a source of inspiration?
I certainly find that I can dream what I’m really thinking about a situation and I wake up with a better understanding of it. I’ve had some surprising moments of clarity that way. The mind doesn’t always think in words! Sometimes, I like to go to bed having read some notes on a scene so that in the morning it feels active and live when I sit down to write. Once or twice, a clear dream has opened a door to the beginning of a story. I find that it’s important to value an almost dreaming attitude when creating a new scene so that you can imagine the richness you need to evoke a place.
Did you make any astonishing serendipitous discoveries while writing this book?
When I’d finished Secret of the Sea House I was thrilled to find that there is in fact an archeological site in Arctic Norway for the vanished Sea Sami who once visited the shores of Scotland – giving rise to the sea people legends. The reported mermaid sightings died out conclusively 200 years ago and I couldn’t understand why they suddenly stopped. Then, after the book was published, I found that the Sea Sami culture also died out at exactly that time, under intense pressure to assimilate into mainstream culture in Norway and that made a lot of sense.
Through researching the new book that I’m editing now, I found that a relative had been part of a silent conspiracy around the British Embassy in Madrid to rescue Jewish refugees in 1940. A large circle of the most glamorous people there got together to rescue thousands of Jews and stranded allied soldiers who were escaping from France through the Pyrenees into Spain. It is hardly known about because of the conspiracy of silence that endured for many years after the war; the Spanish rescuers were risking a great deal defying Franco’s regime, and of course he stayed in power until the end of the seventies.
Where do you write, and when?
I have a laptop and move around the house depending on the sun and who is at home making noise! I can tune out quite a lot. My husband is an illustrator who works at home and has his own room, but I don’t want to feel I can only work in one place in case it becomes too limiting.
What is your favourite part of writing?
I love story and the magical way it has of telling us so much about who we are. I loved how, in The Wild Girl, the fairy tales are shown to be the source of healing for some of the characters in a very real way. I read Talking of Love on the Edge of a Precipice by Boris Cyrulnik. As a Jewish child he was hidden for years in solitude during the Second World War. Now he uses story to help people tell their traumatic pasts in a way that helps them build resilience. We tell stories as entertainment of course but they can also do a deep, healing work, helping us understand ourselves, where we come from and where we want to go.
What do you do when you get blocked?
I read. It’s so exciting to see how other writers go about things sometimes, and the way they use words. Or I might research pictures, films, and places. If I can I visit a new place that helps. Another way in is to let yourself write freely without censoring, from whatever inspires or interests you. Something can come out of that sort of writing that is fresh and exciting - it may be messy but you can go back and edit it into something with a shape. Or I write ‘in voice’ to see what a character has to say.
How do you keep your well of inspiration full?
I used to feel guilty about how much time I spent paying attention to the wrong things, but I love being in the moment and taking in the sounds, sights and smells of a place, getting a feel for a person or a situation. Imagery comes out of those impressions, so you have to spend time being aware of your own experiences in order to top up your bank. Also, reading around a subject is such fun and keeps on opening new doors - that you then want to explore. When writing the Sea House I was lucky to be able to spend several summers on the island itself in various locations and cottages and I think I read almost all the books available about the Outer Hebrides!
Do you have any rituals that help you to write?
I’ve sort of banned rituals in case they become too essential, but some things really do help. A quiet space is vital. I write in the morning, as that’s when I’m most fresh mentally, and I try and get enough sleep and exercise - with varying success. In the first stages I might wander around imagining scenes and get the writing down quickly. For the structuring phases I will sit at a desk so that I can spread out notes and schemes. Then I’ll read everything very critically to see what it feels like for the reader - lots of reading out loud to see how it runs at the editing phase. I suppose I have processes more that rituals.
Who are ten of your favourite writers?
Marilynne Robinson, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Tan Twan Eng, Flaubert, Alice Munroe, Seamus Heaney, Annie Proulx, Hilary Mantel, Catherine O’Flynne and Matthew Kneale. They are all writers who make you want to read their work over and over again and who have a wonderful sense of narrative – and humour.
What do you consider to be good writing?
People write as individually as they sing or talk! So I’m pretty open. I love writing that is energetic and full of texture, where the words evoke the story through the senses, the images and the detail. But I also love story and plot and read plenty of detective novels too.
What is your advice for someone dreaming of being a writer too?
First of all check you like to spend an awful lot of time writing. Write and read lots and lots. Keep a notebook and don’t be too critical with your initial outpourings. Read all you can about the writing process, find a group of fellow writers to workshop with, and then learn how to put on your editor’s hat and shape your writing to where you want it go. Don’t be quick to bin things. They may be the start of something that you come back to later!
What are you working on now?
It’s a family saga that spans two world wars and begins with a bride who runs away from her wedding. Part of it has been published as a short story, largely about my mother’s experience as an orphan after the war – with her permission. Without realizing it, you soak up a lot of family experience from your parents and their parents. I think I wanted to hold some of the textures and history of the last century, and explore how war deeply affected our parents and grand parents. It’s also about how families keep secrets.
It sounds wonderful! I'll be looking out for it eagerly.
Elisabeth Gifford's website
Well, not this one.
I loved THE SECRETS OF THE SEA HOUSE truly, madly, deeply. It was one of the best books of the year so far.
[image error]
When I really love a book, I write at once to the author to tell them so. And you want to know something eerie and wonderful? Elisabeth Gifford, the author of THE SECRETS OF THE SEA HOUSE, wrote back to me saying that she was so excited to hear from me as she had just finished reading my novel THE WILD GIRL! We worked out we must have been reading each other's books at much the same time (except, with the time difference, she was reading my book while I slept and I read her book while she slept. The universe is a magical and mysterious place sometimes).
So Elisabeth is a very special guest on the blog today. Please make her welcome.
[image error]
Are you a daydreamer too?
By nature that’s my default setting. It used to get me into a lot of hot water as a child as I was generally facing the wrong way and with the wrong equipment at school - but having great thoughts. I don’t intend to give it up any time soon.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes I have, but it took a while to find the time and the confidence to decide I was allowed to spend lots of time writing. I began taking creative writing courses because I loved the process so much. From the Oxford diploma and the London University MA I found that I ended up with material for two books – and lots of inspiring friends, and now write full time.
Tell me a little about yourself – where were you born, where do you live, what do you like to do?
My father was a vicar in the industrial midlands so I’m very grateful for a rich and varied childhood. I hung around a lot of churchyards and loved the history of the old churches and cathedrals. Dad would stride around in a black cassock and sometimes go off to do an exorcism in a haunted house. I lived in France for a year, and in several parts of England and am now settled in Kingston, near London.
My husband’s family comes from Scotland so we’ve spent a lot of time there. I adore the way that writing allows you to explore and evoke time and place and love being absorbed in a book project. I love visiting places for research and so have been to China ( for a book on Chinese orphanages), the Hebrides, Spain, Sweden and soon, Warsaw for a new book.
How did you get the first flash of inspiration for this book?
We took the children to the Hebrides several times while they were growing up, looking for somewhere quiet and unspoilt so they could run wild a bit – rather spoiling the quiet once we got there! It was like going back in time on Harris and I fell in love with the island. The scenery is stunning and Scots Gaelic is still spoken. I couldn’t believe that here was a part of the UK but with such an ancient and unique culture still in place, and its own language.
A photo of Harris, an island in the Hebrides, by Elisabeth Gifford
We made some wonderful friends who shared stories of the last century. I loved the stories of selkies and mermaids that my small daughter told me, from her friend on the island. Then I came across the work of Gaelic historian John MacAulay and found that the legends were a form of oral history; there was in fact something very real behind the seal people myths. Through him, I came across the letter to the Times newspaper reporting a mermaid sighting by a Victorian schoolmaster in 1809 and it all began from there.
But underlying that was an awareness how in Ireland and Skye the old Gaelic culture had been inevitably suburbanized. I felt it was important to try and record Harris as it was, because with improved access via the Skye road bridge now meaning you only have to take one boat to get there, it risks the same process.
How extensively do you plan your novels?
I would firmly advise planning a novel before you start it, but I’m afraid it hasn’t worked that way for me so far. I begin with some ideas and some scenes. When I see where things are going I begin to channel the work towards a story arc. Eventually I have to be strict about adding and subtracting as some things may become backstory, only for you as a writer, and don’t help the plot. Once you have a voice that begins to speak and boss you around, as happened with Moira, it can sometimes feel like the story is out of your hands! If you hold too tight, the air can go out of things. When you think the book is done, then that’s a good time to stand back and see if you need to tighten the story line. That last stage is really important.
Do you ever use dreams as a source of inspiration?
I certainly find that I can dream what I’m really thinking about a situation and I wake up with a better understanding of it. I’ve had some surprising moments of clarity that way. The mind doesn’t always think in words! Sometimes, I like to go to bed having read some notes on a scene so that in the morning it feels active and live when I sit down to write. Once or twice, a clear dream has opened a door to the beginning of a story. I find that it’s important to value an almost dreaming attitude when creating a new scene so that you can imagine the richness you need to evoke a place.
Are you a daydreamer too?
By nature that’s my default setting. It used to get me into a lot of hot water as a child as I was generally facing the wrong way and with the wrong equipment at school - but having great thoughts. I don’t intend to give it up any time soon.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes I have, but it took a while to find the time and the confidence to decide I was allowed to spend lots of time writing. I began taking creative writing courses because I loved the process so much. From the Oxford diploma and the London University MA I found that I ended up with material for two books – and lots of inspiring friends, and now write full time.
Tell me a little about yourself – where were you born, where do you live, what do you like to do?
My father was a vicar in the industrial midlands so I’m very grateful for a rich and varied childhood. I hung around a lot of churchyards and loved the history of the old churches and cathedrals. Dad would stride around in a black cassock and sometimes go off to do an exorcism in a haunted house. I lived in France for a year, and in several parts of England and am now settled in Kingston, near London. My husband’s family comes from Scotland so we’ve spent a lot of time there. I adore the way that writing allows you to explore and evoke time and place and love being absorbed in a book project. I love visiting places for research and so have been to China ( for a book on Chinese orphanages), the Hebrides, Spain, Sweden and soon, Warsaw for a new book.
How did you get the first flash of inspiration for this book?
We took the children to the Hebrides several times while they were growing up, looking for somewhere quiet and unspoilt so they could run wild a bit – rather spoiling the quiet once we got there! It was like going back in time on Harris and I fell in love with the island. The scenery is stunning and Scots Gaelic is still spoken. I couldn’t believe that here was a part of the UK but with such an ancient and unique culture still in place, and its own language. We made some wonderful friends who shared stories of the last century. I loved the stories of selkies and mermaids that my small daughter told me, from her friend on the island. Then I came across the work of Gaelic historian John MacAulay and found that the legends were a form of oral history; there was in fact something very real behind the seal people myths. Through him, I came across the letter to the Times newspaper reporting a mermaid sighting by a Victorian schoolmaster in 1809 and it all began from there. But underlying that was an awareness how in Ireland and Skye the old Gaelic culture had been inevitably suburbanized. I felt it was important to try and record Harris as it was, because with improved access via the Skye road bridge now meaning you only have to take one boat to get there, it risks the same process.
How extensively do you plan your novels?
I would firmly advise planning a novel before you start it, but I’m afraid it hasn’t worked that way for me so far. I begin with some ideas and some scenes. When I see where things are going I begin to channel the work towards a story arc. Eventually I have to be strict about adding and subtracting as some things may become backstory, only for you as a writer, and don’t help the plot. Once you have a voice that begins to speak and boss you around, as happened with Moira, it can sometimes feel like the story is out of your hands! If you hold too tight, the air can go out of things. When you think the book is done, then that’s a good time to stand back and see if you need to tighten the story line. That last stage is really important.
Do you ever use dreams as a source of inspiration?
I certainly find that I can dream what I’m really thinking about a situation and I wake up with a better understanding of it. I’ve had some surprising moments of clarity that way. The mind doesn’t always think in words! Sometimes, I like to go to bed having read some notes on a scene so that in the morning it feels active and live when I sit down to write. Once or twice, a clear dream has opened a door to the beginning of a story. I find that it’s important to value an almost dreaming attitude when creating a new scene so that you can imagine the richness you need to evoke a place.
Did you make any astonishing serendipitous discoveries while writing this book?
When I’d finished Secret of the Sea House I was thrilled to find that there is in fact an archeological site in Arctic Norway for the vanished Sea Sami who once visited the shores of Scotland – giving rise to the sea people legends. The reported mermaid sightings died out conclusively 200 years ago and I couldn’t understand why they suddenly stopped. Then, after the book was published, I found that the Sea Sami culture also died out at exactly that time, under intense pressure to assimilate into mainstream culture in Norway and that made a lot of sense.
Through researching the new book that I’m editing now, I found that a relative had been part of a silent conspiracy around the British Embassy in Madrid to rescue Jewish refugees in 1940. A large circle of the most glamorous people there got together to rescue thousands of Jews and stranded allied soldiers who were escaping from France through the Pyrenees into Spain. It is hardly known about because of the conspiracy of silence that endured for many years after the war; the Spanish rescuers were risking a great deal defying Franco’s regime, and of course he stayed in power until the end of the seventies.
Where do you write, and when?
I have a laptop and move around the house depending on the sun and who is at home making noise! I can tune out quite a lot. My husband is an illustrator who works at home and has his own room, but I don’t want to feel I can only work in one place in case it becomes too limiting.
What is your favourite part of writing?
I love story and the magical way it has of telling us so much about who we are. I loved how, in The Wild Girl, the fairy tales are shown to be the source of healing for some of the characters in a very real way. I read Talking of Love on the Edge of a Precipice by Boris Cyrulnik. As a Jewish child he was hidden for years in solitude during the Second World War. Now he uses story to help people tell their traumatic pasts in a way that helps them build resilience. We tell stories as entertainment of course but they can also do a deep, healing work, helping us understand ourselves, where we come from and where we want to go.
What do you do when you get blocked?
I read. It’s so exciting to see how other writers go about things sometimes, and the way they use words. Or I might research pictures, films, and places. If I can I visit a new place that helps. Another way in is to let yourself write freely without censoring, from whatever inspires or interests you. Something can come out of that sort of writing that is fresh and exciting - it may be messy but you can go back and edit it into something with a shape. Or I write ‘in voice’ to see what a character has to say.
How do you keep your well of inspiration full?
I used to feel guilty about how much time I spent paying attention to the wrong things, but I love being in the moment and taking in the sounds, sights and smells of a place, getting a feel for a person or a situation. Imagery comes out of those impressions, so you have to spend time being aware of your own experiences in order to top up your bank. Also, reading around a subject is such fun and keeps on opening new doors - that you then want to explore. When writing the Sea House I was lucky to be able to spend several summers on the island itself in various locations and cottages and I think I read almost all the books available about the Outer Hebrides!
Do you have any rituals that help you to write?
I’ve sort of banned rituals in case they become too essential, but some things really do help. A quiet space is vital. I write in the morning, as that’s when I’m most fresh mentally, and I try and get enough sleep and exercise - with varying success. In the first stages I might wander around imagining scenes and get the writing down quickly. For the structuring phases I will sit at a desk so that I can spread out notes and schemes. Then I’ll read everything very critically to see what it feels like for the reader - lots of reading out loud to see how it runs at the editing phase. I suppose I have processes more that rituals.
Who are ten of your favourite writers?
Marilynne Robinson, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Tan Twan Eng, Flaubert, Alice Munroe, Seamus Heaney, Annie Proulx, Hilary Mantel, Catherine O’Flynne and Matthew Kneale. They are all writers who make you want to read their work over and over again and who have a wonderful sense of narrative – and humour.
What do you consider to be good writing?
People write as individually as they sing or talk! So I’m pretty open. I love writing that is energetic and full of texture, where the words evoke the story through the senses, the images and the detail. But I also love story and plot and read plenty of detective novels too.
What is your advice for someone dreaming of being a writer too?
First of all check you like to spend an awful lot of time writing. Write and read lots and lots. Keep a notebook and don’t be too critical with your initial outpourings. Read all you can about the writing process, find a group of fellow writers to workshop with, and then learn how to put on your editor’s hat and shape your writing to where you want it go. Don’t be quick to bin things. They may be the start of something that you come back to later!
What are you working on now?
It’s a family saga that spans two world wars and begins with a bride who runs away from her wedding. Part of it has been published as a short story, largely about my mother’s experience as an orphan after the war – with her permission. Without realizing it, you soak up a lot of family experience from your parents and their parents. I think I wanted to hold some of the textures and history of the last century, and explore how war deeply affected our parents and grand parents. It’s also about how families keep secrets.
It sounds wonderful! I'll be looking out for it eagerly.
Elisabeth Gifford's website
November 5, 2013
SPOTLIGHT: Selkie fairy tales from Scotland
I have always loved stories about selkies.
I have actually just re-written two selkie tales from Scotland to be published in May next year by Christmas Press, beautifully illustrated by the wonderful artist Fiona McDonald.
[image error]
One of my favourite books published last year was a selkie-inspired fantasy - Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan - and I have just read, and fallen in love with, a brilliant selkie-inspired family drama set in the Scottish Hebrides that moves between the present and the past. The book is called Secrets of the Sea House and is written by debut author Elisabeth Gifford, who has joined us today to talk about her own fascination with the selkie myth:
[image error]
The secret history hidden in the Selkie story.
The legend of the Selkie is told along the Western coast of Scotland and as far down as Ireland.
Selkies are seals in the water, but once on land, they take off their skins and become human. If an ordinary mortal sees a Selkie in human form, they will inevitably fall in love.
The Selkie legend has several variations but never ends happily. The husband or wife of a Selkie may hide away their seal skins, but once their hiding place is discovered the Selkie is powerless to resist the call of the sea. He slides back into his skins and departs, leaving behind any children.
It’s a sad and spine tingling legend that I first heard while on holiday in the Outer Hebrides with my children. But as I read and researched the history of the islands, I began to realise that the Selkie story was much more than just a fairy story.
In his book on the seal people, Gaelic historian John MacAulay puts forward an interesting theory, that the Selkie stories are actually a very old form of oral history. He suggests that for thousands of years, Eskimo type kayakers in sealskin canoes have been travelling down to Scotland from remote Arctic Norway. The Sea Sami, now extinct, were a nomadic tribe of hunter-gatherers that used Eskimo kayaks and technology to hunt and fish.
Now imagine how such a kayaker must have looked to someone who had never seen a kayaker before. A sealskin kayak becomes waterlogged after eight hours and so lies just below the surface of the water. All you would see from the shore would be the top half of a man and below the water, the shape of a long tail wavering in the refracted light. It must have looked remarkably like a creature that was half man, half seal. And imagine the islander’s shock if that creature came ashore, took off its sealskins and became entirely human.
There are several families from the Outer Hebrides who came claim direct descent from sea people. The famous poet MacOdrum was said to be one of the seal people and to get his skill in song writing from the seal’s gift of singing.
I was amazed to find that there were also many sightings of mermaids around Scotland’s shores, recorded by highly respectable people, among them, a letter to the London Times in 1809 reporting a mermaid sighting by a schoolmaster in Sanday. There was even a record of a funeral held in 1830 for a mermaid whose body was washed up on the shore of Benbecula in the Hebrides.
It could well be that such mermaid sightings were describing sightings of the same kayakers from Norway.
The Times mermaid was seen seated on a rock inaccessible to any human, combing its long hair. It’s interesting to note that a seal skinkayak has to haul out onto a rock every so often to dry out the kayak.
A female kayaker would no doubt take the chance to comb out her hair. As soon as it saw it was observed, the long-tailed creature launched back into the water, as a kayak would from a rock.
The Sea Sami tribe that once lived in Norway has now disappeared. Almost none of their fragile artefacts or kayaks have survived to prove that they ever visited Scotland. Two hundred years ago, under intense pressure to assimilate into the mainstream culture, the Sea Sami way of life disappeared. The last recorded mermaid sighting was also two hundred years ago – both mermaids and Sea Sami disappeared at exactly the same time.
The Selkie stories are probably the clearest evidence we have that Sea Sami ever visited the islands of the North Scotland.
Most of the island families that claim to be descended from Selkies are now in Canada or America following the mid Victorian clearances in Scotland, when entire communities of Gaelic crofters were evicted to make way for the landlord’s sheep.
In Secrets of the Sea House, Moira’s struggle with eviction in 1860 reflects that sad time. In a strange parallel, it seems that the mermaid and Selkie sightings stopped because the Sea Sami culture was banned in Norway, just as the Gaelic culture of the Outer Isles was once supressed for many years. Secrets of the Sea House is a mystery story, but it is also a way to celebrate and hold on to and celebrate some of the history of the Western seaboard of Scotland, and in particular the magical Selkie stories.
[image error]
I have actually just re-written two selkie tales from Scotland to be published in May next year by Christmas Press, beautifully illustrated by the wonderful artist Fiona McDonald.
[image error]
One of my favourite books published last year was a selkie-inspired fantasy - Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan - and I have just read, and fallen in love with, a brilliant selkie-inspired family drama set in the Scottish Hebrides that moves between the present and the past. The book is called Secrets of the Sea House and is written by debut author Elisabeth Gifford, who has joined us today to talk about her own fascination with the selkie myth:
[image error]
The secret history hidden in the Selkie story.
The legend of the Selkie is told along the Western coast of Scotland and as far down as Ireland.
Selkies are seals in the water, but once on land, they take off their skins and become human. If an ordinary mortal sees a Selkie in human form, they will inevitably fall in love.
The Selkie legend has several variations but never ends happily. The husband or wife of a Selkie may hide away their seal skins, but once their hiding place is discovered the Selkie is powerless to resist the call of the sea. He slides back into his skins and departs, leaving behind any children.
It’s a sad and spine tingling legend that I first heard while on holiday in the Outer Hebrides with my children. But as I read and researched the history of the islands, I began to realise that the Selkie story was much more than just a fairy story.
In his book on the seal people, Gaelic historian John MacAulay puts forward an interesting theory, that the Selkie stories are actually a very old form of oral history. He suggests that for thousands of years, Eskimo type kayakers in sealskin canoes have been travelling down to Scotland from remote Arctic Norway. The Sea Sami, now extinct, were a nomadic tribe of hunter-gatherers that used Eskimo kayaks and technology to hunt and fish.
Now imagine how such a kayaker must have looked to someone who had never seen a kayaker before. A sealskin kayak becomes waterlogged after eight hours and so lies just below the surface of the water. All you would see from the shore would be the top half of a man and below the water, the shape of a long tail wavering in the refracted light. It must have looked remarkably like a creature that was half man, half seal. And imagine the islander’s shock if that creature came ashore, took off its sealskins and became entirely human.
There are several families from the Outer Hebrides who came claim direct descent from sea people. The famous poet MacOdrum was said to be one of the seal people and to get his skill in song writing from the seal’s gift of singing.
I was amazed to find that there were also many sightings of mermaids around Scotland’s shores, recorded by highly respectable people, among them, a letter to the London Times in 1809 reporting a mermaid sighting by a schoolmaster in Sanday. There was even a record of a funeral held in 1830 for a mermaid whose body was washed up on the shore of Benbecula in the Hebrides.
It could well be that such mermaid sightings were describing sightings of the same kayakers from Norway.
The Times mermaid was seen seated on a rock inaccessible to any human, combing its long hair. It’s interesting to note that a seal skinkayak has to haul out onto a rock every so often to dry out the kayak.
A female kayaker would no doubt take the chance to comb out her hair. As soon as it saw it was observed, the long-tailed creature launched back into the water, as a kayak would from a rock.
The Sea Sami tribe that once lived in Norway has now disappeared. Almost none of their fragile artefacts or kayaks have survived to prove that they ever visited Scotland. Two hundred years ago, under intense pressure to assimilate into the mainstream culture, the Sea Sami way of life disappeared. The last recorded mermaid sighting was also two hundred years ago – both mermaids and Sea Sami disappeared at exactly the same time.
The Selkie stories are probably the clearest evidence we have that Sea Sami ever visited the islands of the North Scotland.
Most of the island families that claim to be descended from Selkies are now in Canada or America following the mid Victorian clearances in Scotland, when entire communities of Gaelic crofters were evicted to make way for the landlord’s sheep.
In Secrets of the Sea House, Moira’s struggle with eviction in 1860 reflects that sad time. In a strange parallel, it seems that the mermaid and Selkie sightings stopped because the Sea Sami culture was banned in Norway, just as the Gaelic culture of the Outer Isles was once supressed for many years. Secrets of the Sea House is a mystery story, but it is also a way to celebrate and hold on to and celebrate some of the history of the Western seaboard of Scotland, and in particular the magical Selkie stories.
[image error]
November 3, 2013
BOOK REVIEW: Secrets of the Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford
[image error]
Title: Secrets of the Sea House
Author: Elisabeth Gifford
Publisher: Corvus
Age Group & Genre: Parallel Contemporary/Historical Novel for Adults
Reviewer: Kate Forsyth
The Blurb:
Based on a real letter to the Times by a Victorian schoolmaster reporting a mermaid sighting, Secrets of the Sea House is an epic, sweeping tale of loss and love; hope and redemption; and how we heal ourselves with the stories we tell.
Scotland, 1860. Reverend Alexander Ferguson, naïve and newly-ordained, takes up his new parish, a poor, isolated patch on the Hebridean island of Harris. His time on the island will irrevocably change the course of his life, but the white house on the edge of the dunes keeps its silence long after Alexander departs.
It will be more than a century before the Sea House reluctantly gives up its secrets. Ruth and Michael buy the grand but dilapidated building and begin to turn it into a home for the family they hope to have. Their dreams are marred by a shocking discovery. The tiny bones of a baby are buried beneath the house; the child's fragile legs are fused together - a mermaid child. Who buried the bones? And why? But can the answers to Ruth's questions lie in her own past.
What I Thought:
I absolutely loved this book!
Intriguing and atmospheric, SECRETS OF THE SEA HOUSE is set in the Hebrides Islands of Scotland, with the narrative moving between the contemporary story of Ruth and her husband Michael, and the islands in the 1860s when crofters are being forced to emigrate and science and religion are in conflict.
Ruth and Michael are living in, and renovating, the ramshackle Sea House on the Hebridean Island of Harris. Ruth is haunted by feelings of fear and grief, and worries they have made a mistake in sinking all their savings into this remote and run-down house. Then they discover, buried beneath the floorboards, the tiny bones of a dead child. Its legs are fused together, its feet splayed like flippers. The discovery unsettles Ruth, reminding her of her dead mother’s strange tales of a selkie ancestry. She begins to try and find out how the skeleton came to be buried under the house.
The story moves to 1860, and the alternating points of view of the young and handsome Reverend Alexander Ferguson and his intelligent yet illiterate housemaid, Moira. Alexander’s obsession with mermaids and selkies, and his forbidden attraction to the daughter of the local laird, lead to grief and betrayal and death.
The book is full of the windswept and isolated beauty of the Hebrides, and I particularly like the way in which the author has researched - and possibly explained - the origin of Selkie tales in Scotland. I had never heard of this historical basis for these beautiful myths and so I learnt something new, which always makes me happy.
I also really loved the way in which the protagonist, Ruth, has to struggle with her own tragic history and try to find some way to overcome fears that felt very real.
Secrets of the Sea House is one of my favourite reads of the year - it is haunting, beautiful and magical.
Writer’s website: http://www.elisabethgifford.com/
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT – I LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
October 31, 2013
INTERVIEW: Christopher Gortner, author of THE TUDOR CONSPIRACY
It is my very great pleasure to welcome Christopher Gortner, one of my favourite historical novelists, to the blog today:
[image error]
Yes, absolutely. I think most writers must be; inspiration always strikes in day-dreams.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Not initially; I wanted to be a fashion designer. I worked in fashion for over ten years, in fact, in various capacities, but writing eventually chose me. Since childhood, I’d always written stories, and made several serious attempts at writing a novel, but it wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties that I decided to try my hand at an historical novel. Once I began, I was hooked. Still, it took over 13 years until I was eventually published.
Tell me a little about yourself – where were you born, where do you live, what do you like to do?
I was born in the US and raised in southern Spain; my mom is Spanish and my family moved there when I was six. I now live in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, and spend several weeks of the year in Guatemala, where my partner and I have a home. I love to read, do yoga, write, of course, and I am passionate about helping to rescue dogs at danger of being euthanized in high-kill shelters.
How did you get the first flash of inspiration for this book?
THE TUDOR CONSPIRACY is the second book in a trilogy based on a fictional man with a secret link to the Tudors who becomes Elizabeth I’s private spy.
The concept for the trilogy was inspired by the extensive spy network that William Cecil and Francis Walsingham developed to protect Elizabeth, and by the many anonymous men and women who dedicated themselves, and sometimes lost their lives, to safeguard her. I wanted to set the first two books in the tumultuous time before Elizabeth takes the throne, as I’ve always been intrigued by the so-called “forgotten Tudors” who came after Henry VIII.
It’s a time of great instability and change in England, especially after Edward VI dies and Mary assumes the throne. Mary herself is a tragic figure, who fell prey to her own circumstances and initiated a terrible reign of persecution. She’s a challenging, complex character for a novelist: a woman who was courageous and steadfast in her right to claim the throne, yet became a paranoid ruler determined to wrest her subjects back to the Catholic faith even as she suffered to fulfill her duty to bear an heir.
I thought that setting this second book during the time when she and Elizabeth—half-sisters yet antithetical in their personalities and beliefs—became foes would offer some fascinating material to work with, as my lead character struggles to protect Elizabeth without betraying Mary, whom he has met before and respects.
[image error]
How extensively do you plan your novels?
I research intensively for all my novels. I usually read everything I can find about my characters, the era in which they lived, and the world as they knew it. I also take trips to see extant sites associated with them. However, I am mindful that research can, in of itself, become an obsession, and at some point the actual writing has to start. Usually, I write once I feel I've a strong enough handle not only of the time and events surrounding my characters, but more importantly, who they are.
Developing an emotional blueprint for each of my characters is key for me; I don't necessarily need to agree with the people I write about, but I must understand them. I have to know them intimately in order to inhabit them. I also develop a brief outline of major events I want to cover, though I tend to refer to it loosely. I like to have an idea of where I want to start and where I want to end up, yet let the writing itself guide me on the journey. I'm superstitious about too much planning; I fear it will drain the joy of discovering the story, of letting it unfold in its own way.
Do you ever use dreams as a source of inspiration?
Dreams do inspire me, in that I sometimes find myself recreating imagery and scenery from my book and can overcome blocks I encounter while writing by, literally, "sleeping on it." But I don't keep a formal dream journal or anything like that. I think my dream life informs my waking state, like a faint dye permeates cloth.
Did you make any astonishing serendipitous discoveries while writing this book?
The characters always surprise me, particularly when they behave in ways that I did not anticipate. In this book, a major loss befalls my main character, Brendan, but it was unplanned. It just happened as I was writing it, and after I was done, I was a bit stunned by it. I even considered re-writing it to change the outcome, until I realized the loss fit the story I wanted to tell. In truth, it had to occur. I love it when that happens, even if it means I must say goodbye to a beloved character. As a writer, I feel I must be careful to always “hear” my story as it unfolds and not force it in directions it doesn’t want to go. For me, the unexpected is often the sign that I’m on the right path.
Where do you write, and when?
I write in my study at home, usually from early afternoon to around 6 or 7 pm at night. I used to be a night-owl, staying up till the wee hours to write, but I had a full-time day job and writing was a luxury that I was willing to forsake sleep for. I was also younger and could thrive on far less sleep. Now, I'm older, and finally, after many years, I can write full-time, so I try to stick to a schedule. I do find that scheduling writing every day is important for me. Nowadays, writers face so many distractions, as well as obligations: engaging on social media has become a must for marketing yet presents a challenge in terms of time management. I've discovered that I can easily spend an entire day online and not write a single word of my current work-in-progress. If I'm not disciplined, my writing suffers.
What is your favourite part of writing?
When I reach that magical midway point. The research is over for the most part, and I've developed a keen understanding of who my characters are, and where they’re headed. All of a sudden, everything aligns. It ceases to feel like writing and more like I’m simply relating the story as it happens before me. I relish that apparent loss of control; the way time ceases to exist, and I become submerged in the world I’ve created. It's truly a marvelous gift.
What do you do when you get blocked?
Get anxious, get frustrated, call my friends. Worry. Pace. But for the most part, I step away from the work and do something else. I let the book “steep” for a while. Sometimes, that’s all that needed - a bit of time away to let the story settle. I don’t often get blocked but when it happens, it can be alarming. It can happen at any time, too, so now I just try to breathe and remind myself, it has happened before and I get through it. The important thing, I’ve learned, is not to force it, because that is when I can veer wildly off course.
How do you keep your well of inspiration full?
I read a lot, more than 30 novels a year, in addition to my research. I fill myself with stories which I could never tell, that inspire and confound and make me envious. Reading other authors does for writers what attending a symphony played by other musicians does for a musician; you have to hear what others have to say and let it all seep in, to stir and refresh those areas where you’ve become too set in your ways. I’ve also learned that my well must be replenished on its own. I can't simply leap from one book to the next. It takes time for me to ease out of the book I’ve just finished, to let those characters fade and re-discover the neutral space I require to start the process all over again.
Do you have any rituals that help you to write?
Lots of strong black tea, patience, and the willingness to make mistakes. I don’t let everything be perfect at first; I stumble around like a stranger in a foreign land and let myself find my bearings as I go. The first draft is rarely the best, but once I have it, it’s the launching ground for the story waiting just underneath it. I just have to chisel away the excess, polish and refine. Rewriting is what I love best. It’s all there - a mess, certainly, but there.
Who are ten of your favourite writers?
I have more than ten, but here goes: Daphne Du Maurier, Nikos Kazantakis, Isabel Allende, Pauline Gedge, Robin Maxwell, Jude Morgan, Patricia Finney, Colin Falconer, Judith Merkle Riley, Cecelia Holland – and you.
(Bless you & thank you, Christopher!)
[image error]
What do you consider to be good writing?
When you cease to "see" it. Good writing disappears, so that all the reader hears is the story. I also consider good writing to be something that moves me. It doesn’t matter what I feel, as long as I feel something other than indifference.
What is your advice for someone dreaming of being a writer too?
Write every day. Be persistent. Persevere. Be willing to let it fall apart and to do it all again. Never imitate. Accept criticism and let it teach you. Always remember that of all the art forms, writing is the most fluid. It can always be improved.
What are you working on now?
I’m finishing the third book in the Spymaster Chronicles, titled THE TUDOR VENDETTA, and beginning to draft a new project about a character whom I’ve always wanted to write about. Earlier in the year, I delivered my revised manuscript about Lucrezia Borgia to my editors for US and UK publication in 2015.
Christopher's website
Christopher's blog - Historical Boys
[image error]
Christopher, are you a daydreamer too?
Yes, absolutely. I think most writers must be; inspiration always strikes in day-dreams.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Not initially; I wanted to be a fashion designer. I worked in fashion for over ten years, in fact, in various capacities, but writing eventually chose me. Since childhood, I’d always written stories, and made several serious attempts at writing a novel, but it wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties that I decided to try my hand at an historical novel. Once I began, I was hooked. Still, it took over 13 years until I was eventually published.
Tell me a little about yourself – where were you born, where do you live, what do you like to do?
I was born in the US and raised in southern Spain; my mom is Spanish and my family moved there when I was six. I now live in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, and spend several weeks of the year in Guatemala, where my partner and I have a home. I love to read, do yoga, write, of course, and I am passionate about helping to rescue dogs at danger of being euthanized in high-kill shelters.
How did you get the first flash of inspiration for this book?
THE TUDOR CONSPIRACY is the second book in a trilogy based on a fictional man with a secret link to the Tudors who becomes Elizabeth I’s private spy.
The concept for the trilogy was inspired by the extensive spy network that William Cecil and Francis Walsingham developed to protect Elizabeth, and by the many anonymous men and women who dedicated themselves, and sometimes lost their lives, to safeguard her. I wanted to set the first two books in the tumultuous time before Elizabeth takes the throne, as I’ve always been intrigued by the so-called “forgotten Tudors” who came after Henry VIII.
It’s a time of great instability and change in England, especially after Edward VI dies and Mary assumes the throne. Mary herself is a tragic figure, who fell prey to her own circumstances and initiated a terrible reign of persecution. She’s a challenging, complex character for a novelist: a woman who was courageous and steadfast in her right to claim the throne, yet became a paranoid ruler determined to wrest her subjects back to the Catholic faith even as she suffered to fulfill her duty to bear an heir.
I thought that setting this second book during the time when she and Elizabeth—half-sisters yet antithetical in their personalities and beliefs—became foes would offer some fascinating material to work with, as my lead character struggles to protect Elizabeth without betraying Mary, whom he has met before and respects.
[image error]
How extensively do you plan your novels?
I research intensively for all my novels. I usually read everything I can find about my characters, the era in which they lived, and the world as they knew it. I also take trips to see extant sites associated with them. However, I am mindful that research can, in of itself, become an obsession, and at some point the actual writing has to start. Usually, I write once I feel I've a strong enough handle not only of the time and events surrounding my characters, but more importantly, who they are.
Developing an emotional blueprint for each of my characters is key for me; I don't necessarily need to agree with the people I write about, but I must understand them. I have to know them intimately in order to inhabit them. I also develop a brief outline of major events I want to cover, though I tend to refer to it loosely. I like to have an idea of where I want to start and where I want to end up, yet let the writing itself guide me on the journey. I'm superstitious about too much planning; I fear it will drain the joy of discovering the story, of letting it unfold in its own way.
Do you ever use dreams as a source of inspiration?
Dreams do inspire me, in that I sometimes find myself recreating imagery and scenery from my book and can overcome blocks I encounter while writing by, literally, "sleeping on it." But I don't keep a formal dream journal or anything like that. I think my dream life informs my waking state, like a faint dye permeates cloth.
Did you make any astonishing serendipitous discoveries while writing this book?
The characters always surprise me, particularly when they behave in ways that I did not anticipate. In this book, a major loss befalls my main character, Brendan, but it was unplanned. It just happened as I was writing it, and after I was done, I was a bit stunned by it. I even considered re-writing it to change the outcome, until I realized the loss fit the story I wanted to tell. In truth, it had to occur. I love it when that happens, even if it means I must say goodbye to a beloved character. As a writer, I feel I must be careful to always “hear” my story as it unfolds and not force it in directions it doesn’t want to go. For me, the unexpected is often the sign that I’m on the right path.
Where do you write, and when?
I write in my study at home, usually from early afternoon to around 6 or 7 pm at night. I used to be a night-owl, staying up till the wee hours to write, but I had a full-time day job and writing was a luxury that I was willing to forsake sleep for. I was also younger and could thrive on far less sleep. Now, I'm older, and finally, after many years, I can write full-time, so I try to stick to a schedule. I do find that scheduling writing every day is important for me. Nowadays, writers face so many distractions, as well as obligations: engaging on social media has become a must for marketing yet presents a challenge in terms of time management. I've discovered that I can easily spend an entire day online and not write a single word of my current work-in-progress. If I'm not disciplined, my writing suffers.
What is your favourite part of writing?
When I reach that magical midway point. The research is over for the most part, and I've developed a keen understanding of who my characters are, and where they’re headed. All of a sudden, everything aligns. It ceases to feel like writing and more like I’m simply relating the story as it happens before me. I relish that apparent loss of control; the way time ceases to exist, and I become submerged in the world I’ve created. It's truly a marvelous gift.
What do you do when you get blocked?
Get anxious, get frustrated, call my friends. Worry. Pace. But for the most part, I step away from the work and do something else. I let the book “steep” for a while. Sometimes, that’s all that needed - a bit of time away to let the story settle. I don’t often get blocked but when it happens, it can be alarming. It can happen at any time, too, so now I just try to breathe and remind myself, it has happened before and I get through it. The important thing, I’ve learned, is not to force it, because that is when I can veer wildly off course.
How do you keep your well of inspiration full?
I read a lot, more than 30 novels a year, in addition to my research. I fill myself with stories which I could never tell, that inspire and confound and make me envious. Reading other authors does for writers what attending a symphony played by other musicians does for a musician; you have to hear what others have to say and let it all seep in, to stir and refresh those areas where you’ve become too set in your ways. I’ve also learned that my well must be replenished on its own. I can't simply leap from one book to the next. It takes time for me to ease out of the book I’ve just finished, to let those characters fade and re-discover the neutral space I require to start the process all over again.
Do you have any rituals that help you to write?
Lots of strong black tea, patience, and the willingness to make mistakes. I don’t let everything be perfect at first; I stumble around like a stranger in a foreign land and let myself find my bearings as I go. The first draft is rarely the best, but once I have it, it’s the launching ground for the story waiting just underneath it. I just have to chisel away the excess, polish and refine. Rewriting is what I love best. It’s all there - a mess, certainly, but there.
Who are ten of your favourite writers?
I have more than ten, but here goes: Daphne Du Maurier, Nikos Kazantakis, Isabel Allende, Pauline Gedge, Robin Maxwell, Jude Morgan, Patricia Finney, Colin Falconer, Judith Merkle Riley, Cecelia Holland – and you.
(Bless you & thank you, Christopher!)
[image error]
What do you consider to be good writing?
When you cease to "see" it. Good writing disappears, so that all the reader hears is the story. I also consider good writing to be something that moves me. It doesn’t matter what I feel, as long as I feel something other than indifference.
What is your advice for someone dreaming of being a writer too?
Write every day. Be persistent. Persevere. Be willing to let it fall apart and to do it all again. Never imitate. Accept criticism and let it teach you. Always remember that of all the art forms, writing is the most fluid. It can always be improved.
What are you working on now?
I’m finishing the third book in the Spymaster Chronicles, titled THE TUDOR VENDETTA, and beginning to draft a new project about a character whom I’ve always wanted to write about. Earlier in the year, I delivered my revised manuscript about Lucrezia Borgia to my editors for US and UK publication in 2015.
Christopher's website
Christopher's blog - Historical Boys
October 29, 2013
BOOK LIST: C.W. Gortner's brilliant historical novels
I can't recommend the historical novels of C.W. Gortner highly enough. He's one of the those authors you wish could just write faster. I've read all of his books and loved them all. Three are biographical novels illuminating the lives of three much-maligned queens of history. Two are fast-paced historical thrillers. All are fabulous. I hope you read and enjoy them too!
[image error]
The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner
Juana of Castile, the last queen of Spanish blood to inherit her country’s throne, is better known as Juana the Mad. I have always been fascinated by her (she was Katherine of Aragorn’s elder sister, just to help you put her into historical context.)
She was the third child of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain, and lived through the tumultuous years of their struggle to expel the Moors and unify Spain.
At the age of sixteen, she was sent to wed Philip, the archduke of Flanders, and heir to the Habsburg Empire. She found love and contentment in her marriage, and bore a number of children.
However, when tragedy strkes, Juana finds herself the new queen of Spain … and fighting for her land, her throne and her very sanity.
An utterly fascinating and illuminating novel which brings the sombre grandeur of the Spanish court vividly to life.
[image error]
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner
Catherine de Medici is usually cast as the villainess in history. In this biographical novel, C. W. Gortner brilliantly imagines her life from a young innocent pawn in the hands of her ruthless and powerful Medici clan, to the queen-regent of France, responsible for one of the most famous religious massacres in history.
For the first time, we hear Catherine’s story in her own voice and come to understand some of her motivations. An utterly brilliant and compulsively readable novel about one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen.
[image error]
The Queen's Vow: A Novel Of Isabella Of Castile by C.W. Gortner
I have always loved Spanish history, which is just as fascinating and bloody as Tudor England, and so loved C. W. Gortner’s novel about Juana the Mad, the last queen of Spain. In this novel, Christopher turns his attention to Juana’s extraordinary mother, Isabelle of Castile, best known as the queen who paid for Christopher Columbus’s exploratory journeys.
Isabella of Castile was an extraordinary woman, who fought all her life to unite Spain and expel the Moors, and to enforce Catholicism in her land. She was responsible for the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and was ruthless in her dealings with her enemies. In this novel, C.W. Gortner again steps inside the mind of a strong, powerful and passionate woman and makes sense of her story. Utterly fascinating.
[image error]
The Tudor Secret (The Spymaster Chronicles #1) by C.W. Gortner
In the summer of 1553, Brendan Prescott, an orphan who has been is reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family, is brought to court. He finds himself entangled in the court intrigues that swirl around the young king’s brilliant half-sister, Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of the beheaded Anne Boleyn.
Soon Brendan finds himself working as a double agent for William Cecil, who promises to help him unravel the secret of his own mysterious past.
The plot moves at breakneck speed, with lots of unexpected twists and turns, but is still full of the rich historical detail and psychological insight that marks out C.W. Gortner’s usual historical fiction.
[image error]
The Tudor Conspiracy (The Spymaster Chronicles #2) by C.W. Gortner
Another action-packed historical thriller from C.W. Gorter, THE TUDOR CONSIPRACY continues with the adventures of Brendan Prescott, Elizabethan spy and man of mystery. I really love this series – the writing is deft and lyrical, the plot is strong and ever surprising, and the combination of history and suspense and romance a potent mix. Love it!
You can read a longer review of The Tudor Conspiracy here
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT - I LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
[image error]
The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner
Juana of Castile, the last queen of Spanish blood to inherit her country’s throne, is better known as Juana the Mad. I have always been fascinated by her (she was Katherine of Aragorn’s elder sister, just to help you put her into historical context.)
She was the third child of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain, and lived through the tumultuous years of their struggle to expel the Moors and unify Spain.
At the age of sixteen, she was sent to wed Philip, the archduke of Flanders, and heir to the Habsburg Empire. She found love and contentment in her marriage, and bore a number of children.
However, when tragedy strkes, Juana finds herself the new queen of Spain … and fighting for her land, her throne and her very sanity.
An utterly fascinating and illuminating novel which brings the sombre grandeur of the Spanish court vividly to life.
[image error]
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner
Catherine de Medici is usually cast as the villainess in history. In this biographical novel, C. W. Gortner brilliantly imagines her life from a young innocent pawn in the hands of her ruthless and powerful Medici clan, to the queen-regent of France, responsible for one of the most famous religious massacres in history.
For the first time, we hear Catherine’s story in her own voice and come to understand some of her motivations. An utterly brilliant and compulsively readable novel about one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen.
[image error]
The Queen's Vow: A Novel Of Isabella Of Castile by C.W. Gortner
I have always loved Spanish history, which is just as fascinating and bloody as Tudor England, and so loved C. W. Gortner’s novel about Juana the Mad, the last queen of Spain. In this novel, Christopher turns his attention to Juana’s extraordinary mother, Isabelle of Castile, best known as the queen who paid for Christopher Columbus’s exploratory journeys.
Isabella of Castile was an extraordinary woman, who fought all her life to unite Spain and expel the Moors, and to enforce Catholicism in her land. She was responsible for the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and was ruthless in her dealings with her enemies. In this novel, C.W. Gortner again steps inside the mind of a strong, powerful and passionate woman and makes sense of her story. Utterly fascinating.
[image error]
The Tudor Secret (The Spymaster Chronicles #1) by C.W. Gortner
In the summer of 1553, Brendan Prescott, an orphan who has been is reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family, is brought to court. He finds himself entangled in the court intrigues that swirl around the young king’s brilliant half-sister, Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of the beheaded Anne Boleyn.
Soon Brendan finds himself working as a double agent for William Cecil, who promises to help him unravel the secret of his own mysterious past.
The plot moves at breakneck speed, with lots of unexpected twists and turns, but is still full of the rich historical detail and psychological insight that marks out C.W. Gortner’s usual historical fiction.
[image error]
The Tudor Conspiracy (The Spymaster Chronicles #2) by C.W. Gortner
Another action-packed historical thriller from C.W. Gorter, THE TUDOR CONSIPRACY continues with the adventures of Brendan Prescott, Elizabethan spy and man of mystery. I really love this series – the writing is deft and lyrical, the plot is strong and ever surprising, and the combination of history and suspense and romance a potent mix. Love it!
You can read a longer review of The Tudor Conspiracy here
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT - I LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
October 27, 2013
REVIEW: The Tudor Conspiracy by C. W. Gortner
Title: The Tudor Conspiracy
Author: C.W. Gortner
Publisher: St Martin’s Griffin
Age Group & Genre: Historical Thriller for Adults
Reviewer: Kate Forsyth
[image error]
The Blurb:
Winter 1554. Brendan Prescott, spymaster to the Princess Elizabeth, has discovered that he is connected to the Tudors by blood as well as allegiance. Though his secret is known only by a few, it could be his downfall as he is called to London to protect the princess.
Accompanied by his young squire Peregrine, he reluctantly leaves his sweetheart Kate behind - but in the city he discovers that no one is quite what they seem. What fate does Queen Mary intend for her sister? Is Robert Dudley somehow manipulating the princess, even though he is locked in the Tower? And should Brendan trust the alluring Sybilla, Mary's lady-in-waiting, who professes to be on his side?
As he tries to unravel the mysteries of the Tudor court Brendan's life will be put in danger many times, and along the way he learns more about his own past
What I Thought:
Christopher Gornter is one of my absolute favourite historical novelists – I pounce on his books as soon as they hit the shops and generally devour them in a single sitting. He is best known for writing biographical novels about strong, fascinating and often maligned women such as Catherine de Medici and Juana the Mad, but has also written a series of fast-paced, action-packed historical thrillers set in the days of Princess Elizabeth’s youth. The first in the series was THE TUDOR SECRET which I absolutely loved – lots of twists and turns, intrigue, drama, romance, and a vivid portrayal of the young, soon-to-be Virgin Queen.
[image error]
THE TUDOR CONSPIRACY is the second book in the series, and is as fresh and brilliant and beautifully written as the first.
Here is my review I posted on Goodreads:
The Tudor period was a time of turmoil, danger, and intrigue … and this means spies. Brendan Prescott works in the shadows on behalf of a young Princess Elizabeth, risking his life to save her from a dark conspiracy that could make her queen … or send her to her death. Not knowing who to trust, surrounded by peril on all sides, Brendan must race against time to retrieve treasonous letters before Queen Mary’s suspicions of her half-sister harden into murderous intent.
THE TUDOR CONSPIRACY is a fast-paced, action-packed historical thriller, filled with suspense and switchback reversals, that also manages to bring the corrupt and claustrophobic atmosphere of the Tudor court thrillingly to life. It follows on from C.W. Gortner’s earlier novel, THE TUDOR SECRET, but can be read on its own (though I really recommend reading Book 1 first – it was great too).
If you love historical fiction but haven’t discovered Christopher’s work yet, I’d urge you strongly to give him a whirl. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Christopher's website
Christopher's blog
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT – I LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
Author: C.W. Gortner
Publisher: St Martin’s Griffin
Age Group & Genre: Historical Thriller for Adults
Reviewer: Kate Forsyth
[image error]
The Blurb:
Winter 1554. Brendan Prescott, spymaster to the Princess Elizabeth, has discovered that he is connected to the Tudors by blood as well as allegiance. Though his secret is known only by a few, it could be his downfall as he is called to London to protect the princess.
Accompanied by his young squire Peregrine, he reluctantly leaves his sweetheart Kate behind - but in the city he discovers that no one is quite what they seem. What fate does Queen Mary intend for her sister? Is Robert Dudley somehow manipulating the princess, even though he is locked in the Tower? And should Brendan trust the alluring Sybilla, Mary's lady-in-waiting, who professes to be on his side?
As he tries to unravel the mysteries of the Tudor court Brendan's life will be put in danger many times, and along the way he learns more about his own past
What I Thought:
Christopher Gornter is one of my absolute favourite historical novelists – I pounce on his books as soon as they hit the shops and generally devour them in a single sitting. He is best known for writing biographical novels about strong, fascinating and often maligned women such as Catherine de Medici and Juana the Mad, but has also written a series of fast-paced, action-packed historical thrillers set in the days of Princess Elizabeth’s youth. The first in the series was THE TUDOR SECRET which I absolutely loved – lots of twists and turns, intrigue, drama, romance, and a vivid portrayal of the young, soon-to-be Virgin Queen.
[image error]
THE TUDOR CONSPIRACY is the second book in the series, and is as fresh and brilliant and beautifully written as the first.
Here is my review I posted on Goodreads:
The Tudor period was a time of turmoil, danger, and intrigue … and this means spies. Brendan Prescott works in the shadows on behalf of a young Princess Elizabeth, risking his life to save her from a dark conspiracy that could make her queen … or send her to her death. Not knowing who to trust, surrounded by peril on all sides, Brendan must race against time to retrieve treasonous letters before Queen Mary’s suspicions of her half-sister harden into murderous intent.
THE TUDOR CONSPIRACY is a fast-paced, action-packed historical thriller, filled with suspense and switchback reversals, that also manages to bring the corrupt and claustrophobic atmosphere of the Tudor court thrillingly to life. It follows on from C.W. Gortner’s earlier novel, THE TUDOR SECRET, but can be read on its own (though I really recommend reading Book 1 first – it was great too).
If you love historical fiction but haven’t discovered Christopher’s work yet, I’d urge you strongly to give him a whirl. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Christopher's website
Christopher's blog
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT – I LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
October 25, 2013
BOOK LIST: Books Read in September 2013
I’ve been on the move nearly all this month, with lots of Book Week events, followed by the Brisbane Writers Festival, and then the rest of the month spent on the road in England and Wales. So a lot of my reading was done on my e-book reader, which I really only use while travelling, and also dictated by where I was and what I was doing. I still managed to read 13 books (though one was only a novella), with lots of romance and murder mysteries, and one absolutely riveting and blood-chilling non-fiction.
[image error]
1. Ember Island – Kimberley Freeman
I get all excited when I hear a new Kimberley Freeman novel is due out. I know I’m in for a real page-turning delight, with a delicious mix of mystery, romance, history and family drama. These are books I like to clear some space for, because I know that once I pick one up I’m utterly compelled to keep on reading till the very end. ‘Ember Island’ was no exception. It weaves together the story of Tilly Kirkland, newly married to a man of secrets in the Channel Islands in 1890; and the story of bestselling novelist Nina Jones, who retreats to a small Queensland island in 2012 in an attempt to heal her broken heart and overcome her crippling writer’s block. The two stories touch as Nina discovers old diary pages hidden in the walls of her dilapidated old house …
[image error]
2. Captive of Sin – Anna Campbell
I like nothing better than a good romance novel, particularly when I’m feeling tired and over-worked (which seems to be all the time at the moment). Anna Campbell had recently been voted Australia’s Favourite Romance Author and I had read and enjoyed one of her earlier novels ‘Seven Night’s In A Rogue’s Bed’ and so hunted down another of her books. ‘Captive of Sin’ is a very readable Regency romance with a hero tormented by dark secrets in his past and a heroine on the run from her abusive step-brothers. I enjoyed it immensely!
[image error]
3. Code Name Verity – Elizabeth Wein
I’ve been hearing some slowly building buzz about this book for some kind, which grew much louder after it was named a Michael L. Printz Honor Book and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Then I met Elizabeth Wein at the Brisbane Writers Festival and so grabbed a copy. I’m so glad I did. I loved this book so much. ‘Code Name Verity’ begins with the first person account of a young English woman who has been captured by the Nazis in German-occupied France during the Second World War. She has been tortured and has agreed to tell her interrogators everything she knows. Instead, however, she writes about her growing friendship with Maddie, the female pilot who had dropped her into France. The first person voice is intimate and engaging and surprisingly funny; the descriptions of flying are lyrically beautiful; and the growing fear for our heroine masterfully built. At a high point of tension, the narrative voice suddenly swaps to Maddie, and we hear the rest of the story from her point of view. This switch in view destabilises the whole story in an utterly brilliant and surprising way. I gasped out loud once or twice, and finished the book with eyes swimming with tears. Once of the best YA historical novels I have ever read.
[image error]
4. The Passion of the Purple Plumeria – Lauren Willig
This is Book No 12 in a long-running series of delightful and very funny historical romances that tell the adventures of a set of English spies in Napoleonic times. The spies all have named like the Pink Carnation and the Black Tulip, and rampage about in disguise, getting into trouble, falling in love, and fighting off bully-boys with swords hidden in their parasols. Think the Scarlet Pimpernel mixed with Georgette Heyer and Sophie Kinsella (the books also have a chick-lit thread with the contemporary adventures of a young woman tracking down the truth about the Pink Carnation and other spies). Fabulous, frivolous fun (but you must start with Book 1 ‘The Secret History of the Pink Carnation’.)
[image error]
5. The Dress of the Season – Kate Noble
A sweet little Regency romance novella, adroitly handled by the author, and quite a nice way to pass the commute to work. It’s so short it can be read in an hour or so. I downloaded it on to my e-reader while caught with nothing to read in an airport, and finished it just as the gates opened for boarding. Nice.
[image error]
6. Hanns & Rudolf: The True Story of the German Jew Who Tracked Down and Caught the Kommandant of Auschwitz – Thomas Harding
The author of this utterly riveting and chilling book found out, at his great-uncle’s funeral, that the mild-mannered old man he had known had once been a Nazi hunter. And not just any Nazi. His Great Uncle Hanns had been the man who had hunted down and caught Rudolf Hoss, the Kommandant of Auschwitz and the architect of the Final Solution that saw millions of people efficiently and cold-bloodedly murdered.
Thomas Harding was so surprised and intrigued by this revelation, he began to try and found out more. His research led him to write this extraordinary book, which parallels the lives of the two men from birth till death.
Rudolf Hoss was born in 1901 in Baden-Baden, and ran away at the age of 14 to fight in WWI. He was a Commander at just sixteen years old, and joined the National Socialist Party after spending time in prison after murdering a traitor.
Hanns Alexander, meanwhile, was born in 1933 in Berlin to a prosperous middle-class Jewish family. He managed to escape Germany in time, but his great-aunt died in the concentration camps and his family lost everything. When WWII broke out, he fought for the British army, along with his twin brother.
Hoss, meanwhile, was busy fulfilling his orders to make Auschwitz ‘a site of mass annihilation.’ The chapters set during this time are truly disturbing and had me in tears more than once. Then, as Germany lost the war, Hoss escaped – abandoning his wife and children - and hid himself in an assumed identity.
After the concentration camps were discovered, the War Crimes Commission was established and Hanns Alexander was chosen to help track down war criminals. How he tracked down Hoss makes for riveting reading; in parts, it feels more like a thriller than non-fiction. An utterly brilliant book which I recommend very highly.
[image error]
7. Anybody Out There – Marian Keyes
I have never read any of Marian Keyes’ books before and bought one on the very strong recommendation of a friend. She said that they were the sort of books that make you laugh and make you cry, and really, what more could you want from any book? ‘Anybody Out There’ is certainly an engaging mixture of humour and pathos and gave me a lump in the throat more than once. It tells the story of Anna Walsh, who has been in some kind of terrible accident, and is recuperating on her parents’ couch in Dublin. But Anna is desperate to speak to a man named Aiden and so returns to New York to find him. There’s a vast cast of eccentric characters, some odd and some funny moments, and a dark and serious streak I was not expecting. Marian Keyes is not afraid to grapple with themes of grief, depression, loneliness, and pain, even as she mocks the shallowness of the beauty industry and throws in some slapstick humour. The warmth and wit of her heroine, Anna, keeps the story from jangling too wildly. This is chick-lit with heart and an acute social conscience.
[image error]
8. Love on a Midsummer Night – Christie English
A lovely, gentle and lyrical Regency romance with themes and images from
Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" woven through. The hero is a dissolute rake who has never been able to forget his first love. The heroine is a vulnerable widow who had been forced into marriage with a much older man and is now forced to stand against his lascivious heir. She turns to her old flame for help, and finds herself falling in love all over again. A sweet and easy read.
[image error]
9. Witch Child – Celia Rees
This wonderful historical novel for teenagers begins: ‘I am Mary. I am a witch.’ It is set in 1659, during the tumultuous months after Cromwell’s death and before the return of Charles II. Her story is purportedly told in diary entries that have been found sewn inside a quilt. It is a tragic and powerful tale, which begins when Mary’s grandmother is arrested and tortured by witch-finders and then hanged in the town square. Mary is rescued by a rich woman who she suspects may be her real mother, and sent to join a group of Puritans fleeing to the New World. However, the Puritans are stern and narrow-minded and quick to blame any misfortune on witchcraft. Mary finds herself in increasing danger as the party lands in Salem, Massachusetts. A growing friendship with a Native American and his shaman grandfather increases her risk. A simple yet powerful tale that explores the nature of magic and superstition, faith and cruelty.
[image error]
10. The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy - James Anderson
As one can probably tell from the title, this book is a gentle spoof of the Golden Age type of mysteries written by authors such as Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh. The story is set in a stately home. There is a butler, a beautiful and mysterious baroness whose car just happens to crash outside the manor’s front gate, a daring jewel thief, an amiable fool called Algernon Fotheringay, and a very puzzling mystery that involves not just a locked room but, indeed, a locked house. The detective is humble and crumpled, and, oh yes, there’s a few international spies thrown in too. I adored it. Clever, amusing, and surprisingly surprising.
[image error]
11. Beware This Boy – Maureen Jennings
I had never heard of Maureen Jennings before I picked up this book, but apparently she is best known for a series of historical mysteries that have been televised as ‘the Murdoch Mysteries’. I was interested in this book because it was compared to ‘Foyle’s War’, which I love, and because generally anything set during the Second World War is of interest to me. It’s an unusual crime novel. Yes, there is murder, and sabotage, and spies, and skulduggery, but the action is slow and deliberate, and much of the emphasis is on the interior lives of its troubled characters. The action all takes place in in rain, in fog, in bomb shelters, and in munitions’ factories. The atmosphere is gloomy and laden with dread. This is historical crime at its most serious and deliberate, and most effective in its evocation of a terrible time in British history.
[image error]
12. A Parcel of Patterns – Jill Paton Walsh
I spent a weekend in the Peaks District during my time in the UK this month. Given a choice between visiting Chatsworth House (the opulent seat of the Duke of Devonshire which was used as the site of Pemberley in the 2005 film adaption of Pride and Prejudice) and a small local village called Eyam (prounced ‘eem’), you might be surprised to know I chose the latter. Eyam, however, is the famous ‘plague village’ which isolated itself voluntarily in 1665 after the Black Death arrived in a flea-infested parcel of cloth. Only 83 villagers survived from a total population of 350. One of my all-time favourite books, ‘Year of Wonders’ by Geraldine Brooks, published in 2001, imagines what may have happened in that village in that year. ‘A Parcel of Patterns’ by Jill Paton Walsh, published in 1983, was one of the first fictional attempts to grapple with the subject. It is told from the point of view of a young woman named Mall, and shows how the coming of the plague destroyed lives and loves, and faith and fealty. It’s a delicate little book, and very sad.
[image error]
13. Secrets of the Sea House - Elisabeth Gifford
An intriguing and atmospheric novel set in the Hebrides Islands of Scotland, the narrative moves between the contemporary story of Ruth and her husband Michael, and the islands in the 1860s when crofters are being forced to emigrate and science and religion are in conflict.
Ruth and Michael are living in, and renovating, the ramshackle Sea House on the Hebridean Island of Harris. Ruth is haunted by feelings of fear and grief, and worries they have made a mistake in sinking all their savings into this remote and run-down house. Then they discover, buried beneath the floorboards, the tiny bones of a dead child. Its legs are fused together, its feet splayed like flippers. The discovery unsettles Ruth, reminding her of her dead mother’s strange tales of a selkie ancestry. She begins to try and find out how the skeleton came to be buried under the house.
The story moves to 1860, and the alternating points of view of the young and handsome Reverend Alexander Ferguson and his intelligent yet illiterate housemaid, Moira. Alexander’s obsession with mermaids and selkies, and his forbidden attraction to the daughter of the local laird, lead to grief and betrayal and death.
The weaving together of the two threads is masterfully done. The story is powerful, beautiful, and magical, and Ruth’s struggle to overcome the shackles of the past is sensitively handled. Hard to believe this s a debut author – definitely one to watch.
