Alison Stuart's Blog, page 2

CHRISTMAS FOOD AND FAMILY CONNECTIONS

I am ashamed to admit that I am a little behind in my Christmas baking. Prior to Covid lockdowns, Christmas is pretty much the only time of the year when I do bake (oh the calories!) and I love it because a day spent in the kitchen with the smell of cakes and mince pies wafting through the house, marks a connection with the women of my family back through the ages. With four grandchildren of my own, I now share this joy of family and connection with them... a happy, messy day of turning my tiny kitchen into bedlam to produce gingerbread men and iced biscuits and there is a little part of me that hopes that one day my grandchildren will stand in their own kitchens and experience that joy of food and family connections spanning the generations. 

My mother’s family came from the border country of Lancashire and Yorkshire (the Pendle witch country) and the women were formidable. According to Grandmother Brown (my great grandmother) if domestic work wasn’t finished by lunchtime then you were an idle housekeeper. My heavens, she’d be turning in the grave to see my standard of housekeeping! Sundays were for the Lord and woe betide my mother if she wore a dress without sleeves or picked up anything other than the “good book” on the Lord’s Day of Rest!

And then there was my Aunty Etty (Hetty a dimunitive of Henrietta), one of an overwhelming number of elderly great aunts we routinely met on visits to the UK  Aunty Etty enjoyed the reputation of being the best cook in the family and she was, as you can probably imagine, a round, sweet natured old lady.On the last occasion I saw her I had reached the grand old age of twenty one. She looked me up and down and the following conversation ensued.
“How old art thou?”
“Err, twenty one, Aunty Etty.”
“Twenty one! Twenty one and not married! Aren’t there any decent boys in Australia?”
​
This this year I would like to share “Aunty Etty’s mince pies” (which were legendary!). No one quite made them like Aunty Etty, even my Mum!  I have to confess to tweaking the recipe slightly, so along with Grandmother Brown, poor Aunty Etty is now probably spinning in her grave at my sacrilege! ENJOY... 

AUNTY ETTY’S MINCE PIES
8 oz (250gr) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz (125gr) sugar
4 oz (125gr) butter
I beaten egg
¼ tsp mixed spice
1 tsp lemon rind

• Sieve flour and add sugar
• Rub in butter until mixture resembles bread crumbs
• Make into dough with egg
• Wrap in cling film and rest in fridge ½ hr and then turn on to floured board and proceed as for ordinary pastry.
• Makes about 12 pies using one jar of fruit mince (of course, Aunty Etty made her own fruit mince!)
​
The Brown family c1914... Aunty Etty is second from the left in the front row.
​My grandfather, Frank, is standing to the left of his eldest brother Bateman (in uniform) who was killed in Mesopotamia during WW1. When another boy was born after Bateman's death, he was given his elder brother's name.  If you are in the mood for some Christmas reading, look for my short regency novella, A CHRISTMAS LOVE REDEEMED. 

February 1816: Fabien, Comte de Mont Clair, once a highly decorated officer of the exiled Napoleon, cuts a dashing swathe through a London society ball, his eyes only for the glittering ladies of the ‘ton’. His heart jolts at the sight of a woman sitting in a shadowed corner. Not just any woman, but one he would have once given the world for.
For Hannah, Lady Trevan, catering to the spoiled darlings of the ton as a humble chaperone is nothing compared to the pain she suffered at the hands of her late husband. Alone and impoverished, she is a person of no consequence but once, a long time ago, she sacrificed her world for the dashing Comte de Mont Clair. Now all she can do is hope that he may glance her way…

A CHRISTMAS LOVE REDEEMED

Release Day: A CHRISTMAS LOVE REDEEMED

I am so happy that this little 'phoenix' story has found its place in the sun.
I say 'phoenix' because it seems to had multiple reincarnations - beginning as a short story (A PERSON OF NO CONSQUENCE) and expanded into a novella for a Christmas anthology (TWELVE ROGUES OF CHRISTMAS) as NINE YEARS 'TIL CHRISTMAS.
And now here it is, standing by itself with a gorgeous new cover... my little regency Christmas romance... A CHRISTMAS LOVE REDEEMED - a second chance at love story with a touch of Cinderella! 
​
It is release day and you will find it as an ebook only at all your favourite ebook retailers. 

BUY LINKS A CHRISTMAS LOVE REDEEMED February 1816: Fabien, Comte de Mont Clair, once a highly decorated officer of the exiled Napoleon, cuts a dashing swathe through a London society ball, his eyes only for the glittering ladies of the ‘ton’. His heart jolts at the sight of a woman sitting in a shadowed corner. Not just any woman, but one he would have once given the world for.
For Hannah, Lady Trevan, catering to the spoiled darlings of the ton as a humble chaperone is nothing compared to the pain she suffered at the hands of her late husband. Alone and impoverished, she is a person of no consequence but once, a long time ago, she sacrificed her world for the dashing Comte de Mont Clair. Now all she can do is hope that he may glance her way…

Release Day: LORD SOMERTON'S. HEIR

"(Isabel) turned on her heel and walked back to the house with her head held high. With every step, the enormity of Anthony's death sank in. She was free, but at what price came freedom? Her back straightened and her lips tightened... To attain freedom, first she had to find Lord Somerton's heir... "

Part Regency romance, part mystery... LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR has hit the shelves of all major book retailers (at least here in Australia/New Zealand) or through online ordering. 

As I mentioned in my last post, this is a 'second chance' book, not just for my protagonists but also for me. It has been available for some time as an ebook so I am absolutely thrilled that it has been given a new cover, a revision and is now out in print AND audio (I am listening to it as I type). 

First love left them desolate ... can a new love heal their wounds? A tale of second chance love in aristocratic Regency England, for lovers of all things Bridgerton.
Sebastian Alder's sudden elevation from penniless army captain to Viscount Somerton is the stuff of fairy tales, but the cold reality of an inherited estate in wretched condition leaves him little time for fantasy, and the memory of his wife's brutal death haunts his every moment. When he learns of the mysterious circumstances of his cousin's demise, he must also look for a potential murderer ... surely not Isabel, his cousin's ladylike widow?
Isabel, Lady Somerton, is desperate to bury the memory of her unhappy marriage by founding the charity school she has always dreamed of. Her hopes are shattered from beyond the grave when she is left not only penniless but once more bound to the whims of a Somerton ... although perhaps the new Lord Somerton is a man she can trust ... or even care for?
Suspicion could tear them apart ... honesty and courage may pull them together.

Click HERE for the BUY links!

And to celebrate the release, anyone signing up to my newsletter during the month of September will not only get 2 free books but also go in the draw to win an autographed copy of LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR (Australia only) or the box set of 3 ebooks FEATHERS IN THE WIND (rest of the world). Just click the button below!

Join Alison's Readers' Group

Second Chance Love and a Cover Reveal!

Everybody deserves a second chance to find love... even books... and I am delighted to announce that LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR (a #regencyromance AND #historicalmystery) is going to be relaunched on 1 September in print, audio and digital. The text has been refreshed and revised and the cover is simply gorgeous. 

Sebastian Alder's sudden elevation from penniless army captain to Viscount Somerton is the stuff of fairy tales, but the cold reality of an inherited estate in wretched condition leaves him little time for fantasy, and the memory of his wife's brutal death haunts his every moment. When he learns of the mysterious circumstances of his cousin's demise, he must also look for a potential murderer ... surely not Isabel, his cousin's ladylike widow?
Isabel, Lady Somerton, is desperate to bury the memory of her unhappy marriage by founding the charity school she has always dreamed of. Her hopes are shattered from beyond the grave when she is left not only penniless but once more bound to the whims of a Somerton ... although perhaps the new Lord Somerton is a man she can trust ... or even care for?
Suspicion could tear them apart ... honesty and courage may pull them together.

The current digital version is still available but the print book can be pre-ordered HERE ... and stay tuned for news of the audio book (Have I said how much I love audiobooks?). PRE ORDER

The Australian Romance Reader Awards 2020

THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER was released the day before my home town of Melbourne went into a HARD lockdown. that lasted from 9 July until the end of October. During that time we couldn't venture further than 5km from our home and then only to visit the supermarket (1 person per household) or exercise for 1 hour a day and there was a nightly curfew of 8pm. Masks were worn from the moment you stepped out of the door.* 

Of course all the shops had to close and although bookshops, like Jeffreys Books (where my son works) kept going with a 'click and collect' system, I did not see THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER on a shelf in a store until November, so she had a vexed start to life!

So to discover this week that THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER has been nominated BY READERS for no less than three Award categories in the 2020 Australian Romance Readers Awards, is special in so many ways. Favourite Historical RomanceFavourite Australian-set Romance(and heartwarmingly) Favourite author
It makes no difference to me if I do or don't take home a final award. To know my orphan book (like my orphan heroine!) has been read and loved by readers around the country, means everything to me.  Thank you  ARRA and thank you readers. 

​The full award nominees can be read HERE. 

​(*It is a matter of record that the lockdown had the desired effect and we saw off what was threatening to be a massive Covid outbreak but at huge personal effort from every member of our community.)

Three Award nominations for THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER

The Australian Romance Reader Awards are extra special because the nominations come directly from the readers, so you can imagine the thrill I got this week to find The Goldminer's Sister nominated for Favourite Historical AND Favourite Australian-set novel and Alison Stuart nominated as Favourite Author.

Chuffed... super chuffed!

GEEVOR TIN MINE

Squeezing down the hand hewn tunnels... not a job for the claustrophic! I was looking through some photographs from our trip to the Cornwall in 2011 and I came across these images taken on a visit to the Geevor Tin Mine.
We were on the track of my husband's ancestors who had been tin miners in the far west of Corwnall... near the little town of St Just. The mine they worked was Geevor, on a barren and bleak shoreline. I am guessing the miners of old would have walked the several miles to and from their place of work. 
The sharp eyed will notice that I used Geevor as a reference point in THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER... although at the time the book is set it would have been known as North Levant. It closed in 1891 and the miners dispersed around the world... South Africa, Canada and South Australia where my husband's family ended up in the mines at Burra. 
It was reopened in the early part of the twentieth century and despite still being viable, the tunnels ran under the sea bed and keeping the water at bay made continued operation unceconomic and it closed in the early 1990s.
​Today it survives as a living museum and afforded us the chance to go down into the earliest workings - dug by hand, no doubt by my husband's family.  
It certainly was a long way from the bleak north coast of Cornwall to the hard scrabble of outback South Australia... they were a tough breed back then!
​

The Harriet Gordon Mysteries

You may (or may not!) know that I also write a historical mystery series - THE HARRIET GORDON MYSTERIES- as A.M. Stuart and book 2 in the series Revenge in Rubies has just been released!

This book is a little bit special for me because it actually had its genesis twenty years ago as a writing exercise for a writing group during my time in Singapore. I am guessing our exercise for the month may have been 'mystery'. I recall us gathered on a friend's verandah... she lived in one of the old black and white houses that had once been a part of an army barracks (appropriately). A fan whirred above us and there was still enough ulu around her house for the night insects and the monkeys to make themselves a presence as I picked up my papers and began to read... "The colonel’s lady was dead..."

They say good writing is never wasted and those few thousand words I wrote for the ANZA Writers Group became the basis for Revenge in Rubies...

The other truism of writing is 'write what you know' and in setting Revenge in Rubies in the world of the military I really was writing what I knew. I served for nearly twenty years as an officer in the Australian Army Reserve so I have endured many a long mess dinner, played 'mess games' and I would like to think I bring that intrinsic knowledge of soldiers and their lives to this book. I also drew on my father's experiences as an officer in the British Army.

You will find Revenge in Rubies in all good book stores in print, digital and audio.
And if you are interested in Book 1 - Singapore Sapphire the ebook is currently on sale until 4 October for $1.99.

Some Regency Romance Fun...

I have really enjoyed being a part of a project to bring about an anthology of regency romance novellas based on the Twelve Days of Christmas.... 12 Rogues of Christmas

My story - NINE YEARS 'TIL CHRISTMAS is (obviously) #9...
In the nine long years since they parted, there has been no Christmas for Hannah Linton, only the memory of her first and only love, Fabien Brassard, an officer in the French Navy who she saved from a shipwreck.But the war is over, and chance will throw them back together. Will they find each other in the crowded ballrooms of London or will a malicious heart drive them apart again?
Will there be time at last for Hannah and Fabien…?

Available Now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

SCHOOL DAYS... DEAR OLD GOLDEN RULE DAYS

The heroine of THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER, Eliza Penrose, is a school teacher (and the working title for the book was THE SCHOOLMISTRESS) Not by choice but by necessity. There were few options for well educated women like Eliza who found themselves down on their luck... governess, companion... school teacher?

One of the ghosts I needed to lay to rest was my own memories of school. I was born in Kenya and I can only think of my early schooling  as terribly unhappy (although I'm sure they weren't - after all  my best friend from those days, is still one of my oldest and dearest friends). Maybe it was the system of education which had only one end in mind: To equip the students to pass the 11+ examination to permit them to go on to schooling in England.

I was doomed to boarding school in England (although a steady diet of Enid Blyton did rather lend a rosy glow to this prospect), only seeing my parents for the long summer holidays. Then fate rolled the dice and my parents decided to go in the opposite direction and moved us to Australia and I discovered school was not a place of terror. It could be fun! I attended a wonderful girls' school in Melbourne from Grade 5 to Year 12 and I am happy to report that apart from being a complete failure in the Maths department, my later school memories are only happy ones. 

So what made my early schooling in Kenya so miserable? Corporal punishment for starters - one teacher had a cream and blue painted ruler with which she would strike the errant pupil over the knuckles. I remember teachers who were bullies, inedible school lunches... Ah! Do you think I might have used THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER to exorcise some of my ghosts? Although quite why Eliza has a passion for calculus is yet to be explained!

Thankfully, as grey as my own memories are, at least I didn't go to school in the nineteenth century (think Jane Eyre's Lowood School). I'm not sure when Eliza Penrose told me she was a schoolmistress  but once we had settled on her occupation I realised I needed to do some work! 

So I took myself off to Sovereign Hill... a living goldfields museum in Ballarat where there are a number of different types of schools set up, complete with teachers and, if it is a school day, pupils. It is a popular outing for schools and the kids get dressed up in clothes of the day. What struck me watching several sessions in progress, how the children fell into the role playing. No talking in class, no cheeking the teacher. They basically did what they were told. Of course the presence of a long birch cane in the teacher's hand was probably a psychological deterrent. 

Armed with the visual knowledge of schools on goldfields I returned home, only to find that in 1873 (the year THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER is set), the entire system of education in Victoria changed. The 1872 Education Act established a proper Education Department, removed funding from non government schools and effectively established a secular, compulsory education "For the first time in this colony, the young will now have an opportunity of acquiring the rudiments of education unmixed with the leaven of sectarianism, and every child, no matter what its parents' circumstances may be, will receive at the hands of the state that key which, rightly used, unlocks whole stores of knowledge, from whose ample treasures the patient and industrious may freely help themselves. If due effect be given to the compulsory clauses, none will grow up in that gross ignorance which is such a fruitful mother of crime, which fills our gaols, and yearly robs honest industry of a large portion of its reward." (The Argus December 1872).

Into the bin went all my notes on education on the goldfields, but what I did have was the 1872 Act and its regulations which gave me the entire structure of the education system, from the classification and licensing of teachers (including the assistant 'pupil' teachers which were older children, paid to assist in the classroom with the younger children), the establishment of the local Boards of Advice, pay scales and... pure gold... the curriculum and yes it did include Military Drills so beloved of Flora Donald. 

And on the subject of Flora Donald... the tawse. This peculiarly Scottish modification of a belt or a cane sounds absolutely dreadful. Made of heavy leather split into two at one end, it must have instilled terror into a schoolroom. In this BBC article "The Lochgelly Tawse was made by cutting 2ft long strips of leather from pre-tanned and pre-curried hides. The leather would then be dressed and cut halfway up the middle to form the tails. The particular design of the tails provided the searing nip when it struck the student's hand. However, the Lochgelly method was preferable in that the tails were "edged" in order to prevent drawing blood." It was still being used right up until the late 1980s. It makes my teacher's blue and cream ruler look tame, but I can still remember the terror of anticipation as she raised her hand to strike. 

So what are your memories of school days...? 

Images from Sovereign Hill