Alison Stuart's Blog, page 9

Exile's Return is out on preorder!

The breath-taking conclusion to Alison Stuart’s English Civil War trilogy introduces a heroine with nothing left to lose and a hero with everything to gain…

Book 3 in the well received Guardians of the Crown series, EXILE'S RETURN is now available on preorder from Amazon and iBooks. http://www.alisonstuart.com/exiles-re...

The prologue and first chapter are available on the GR page to read or, as a special treat - HEAR an excerpt professionally read by Book-Snippets click HERE

There is a also a Rafflecopter Contest to celebrate the book's release.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/disp...?

Add Exile's Return to your Goodreads TBR list!


Exile's Return

Writing in a different culture - Guest Belinda Williams

This will be my last guest post for the year as we inch toward Christmas. I am taking a bit of time off in December before throwing myself into the hurly burly of Christmas celebrations. I do love Christmas but it is exhausting!

Belinda Williams has been a guest on my blog before and I am delighted to welcome her back as her latest book MODERN HEART is a contemporary romance written from the perspective of an Asian heroine and it is fascinating to read how she went about researching this book. 

My current WIP crosses cultures and I find it very challenging! Getting to the cultural heart of Modern Heart
​ The main character in my latest release, Modern Heart, is Asian. Looking at my author photo you can see that I don’t have an Asian bone in my body! For this reason, I felt a duty to ensure I researched Scarlett’s background adequately before putting pen to paper.
 
While Modern Heart is not primarily focused on the cultural elements—Scarlett is very much Australian—her relationship (or lack of relationship) with her mother is key to the story. Without giving away too much, Scarlett’s approach to life as an adult has been coloured by the expectations placed on her as a child. Expectations which were very high.
 
To get a sense of this I read The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. To say this book was illuminating would be understatement! This story was both fascinating and a little scary. For example, in real life Amy’s girls had to practice violin or piano every single day, regardless, and this included being on holiday in Europe. If they had a full day, no matter! She’d rouse her girls at 5am for an hour of practice before they set off for the day. I drew a lot Scarlett’s mother’s negative traits from this book!
 
I also read Tiger Babies Strike Back by Kim Wong Keltner which offered a more balanced insight into life growing up in a Chinese immigrant family in the Western world. Unlike Amy Chua, she argued for a move away from a strict parenting style and this was something I was able to explore with Scarlett, who is a very modern Australian woman.
 
Writing a character with a cultural background different to your own can be daunting and exciting, and I certainly found it to be both. It was research that got me through in the end though!
About MODERN HEART LIMITED TIME ONLY: DREAM CAREER! PERFECT MAN! THE CATCH? EMOTIONAL AVAILABILITY. 
​Scarlett Wong has a reputation for toughness. A talented and often feared Creative Director at an award-winning Sydney advertising agency, she doesn’t do relationships, she doesn’t invite men home, and she never stays the night. The only people who see her softer side are her three closest girlfriends, and they’re finally convinced they’ve found her perfect man: John Hart.

Scarlett’s never been one to back down from a challenge and she’s not going to start now. But when John secures Scarlett an invitation from one of New York’s leading galleries to exhibit her artwork, it means putting herself out there like never before. Scarlett’s perfect man wouldn’t interfere in her life like this – would he?

For a woman who thinks she’s not scared of anything, Scarlett is about to discover she’s not as tough as she thinks. Will she take the chance to turn her secret passion into a career, risk the safety of her advertising career and let John in? Or will old habits die that little bit too hard?
​
Purchase links available here: http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/modern-heart-city-love-3/ About Belinda Williams Belinda is a marketing communications specialist and copywriter who allowed an addiction to romance and chick-lit to get the better of her. She was named a top ten finalist in the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Award in both 2013 and 2014.

Her other addictions include music and cars. Belinda’s eclectic music taste forms the foundation of many of her writing ideas and her healthy appreciation for fast cars means she would not so secretly love a Lamborghini. For now she’ll have to settle with her son’s Hot Wheels collection and writing hot male leads with sports cars.
​
Belinda lives in Sydney and blogs regularly about writing and reading here: www.belindawilliamsbooks.com

Getting into the Christmas Spirit - Amy Rose Bennet

We had a lot of fun last week with our Historical Hearts Blog Hop and I am delighted to welcome back my friend Amy Rose Bennet with another Christmas themed blog.

Amy is one of the esteemed BLUESTOCKING BELLES_ who have put their heads together and come up with an anthology of Christmas themed Regency romances titled MISTLETOE, MARRIAGE & MAYHEM (at 99c it's a bargain!).

Amy Rose Bennett  has a passion for creating emotion-packed—and sometimes a little racy—stories set in the Georgian and Regency periods. Of course, her strong-willed heroines and rakish heroes always find their happily ever after.
 
Connect with her on her website and blog and Facebook 

Over to Amy to talk about a Regency Christmas AND give us a recipe for Regency Roast Duck (I MUST try it!) Regency Christmas Traditions Regency Christmas Dinner Thanks so much for having me on your blog again, Ms. Stuart. I can’t believe it’s only five weeks until Christmas! And thank you for featuring my latest release which is part of the Bluestocking Belles’ Christmas novella box set, MISTLETOE, MARRIAGE & MAYHEM. My contribution to the set is ALL SHE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS. All of the novellas are set in the late Georgian or Regency period and have a runaway brides theme. And of course all the stories take place around Christmas.
 
Christmas was celebrated a little differently in the Georgian and Regency periods when compared to modern day celebrations. For instance, the traditions of having a Christmas tree and putting out stockings did not begin until the Victorian era. But like today, Christmas was very much celebrated with family and close friends, and there would be a special Christmas dinner after a trip to church in the morning.
 
I love Christmas time and cooking so I thought I would share a little bit about Regency Christmas fare. The heroine from my novella, Miss Tessa Penrose is married shortly before Christmas, and she observes that her wedding breakfast looks a lot like a traditional Christmas dinner. So what would the Regency Christmas table actually look like?
 
There would be a roast of some kind—usually goose, turkey, duck, or pheasant, or there might be roast beef or even a boar’s head—accompanied by stuffing from the fowl and roast vegetables. Other seasonal vegetables such as carrots, Brussels sprouts, purple or white broccoli, asparagus or cabbage might be served. To drink there might be mulled wine or a wassail-bowl—recipes varied depending according to the region or the family’s ‘secret’ recipe, but from what I can gather, wassail seemed quite similar to punch or mulled wine. It contained a mixture of cider, beer, sherry or brandy, sugar and spices and was served warm, in a large bowl.
 
At the end of the meal there would be pudding—popular desserts included Christmas plum pudding (usually a mixture of suet, brown sugar, peel, raisins and currants, spices, flour, bread crumbs, eggs, milk and brandy, cooked by boiling in a cloth), mince pies, trifle or syllabub (a dessert of whipped cream flavored with wine or sherry). Other treats offered might include gingerbread, butter shortbread, march pane (marzipan) and sugar plums (a small, round or oval sweetmeat made of boiled sugar and variously colored or flavored).
 
I’m a huge fan or roast duck and turkey so I’ve adapted a recipe of mine to reflect a Regency style roast duck. I must try it this Christmas! Regency Roast Duck ~ Regency Style Roast Duck and Crispy Roast Potatoes ~
 
Serves 4-6
Cooks in 3 hours (includes preparation and resting time)
 
Ingredients:2kg whole duck1 kg potatoes good for roasting (e.g. Desiree)1 cup of good quality duck or chicken stock1 tablespoon plain flour¼ cup brandysalt and pepper to taste 
Stuffing:½ cup toasted walnuts40g unsalted butter100 grams of lardons (bacon pieces)1 green apple, grated (leave skin on)1 tablespoon sage leaves, chopped finely1 tablespoon brandy plus more if needed1 stalk celery, finely diced½ large brown onion, finely chopped¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg1 & ½ cups stale breadcrumbs 
To serve: steamed green beans for 4-6
 
Method:

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Take the duck out of the fridge and bring to room temperature an hour before cooking.For the stuffing, roast the walnuts on a baking tray in the oven for about 5 minutes or until they just begin to color. Remove from the oven and when cool enough, chop the nuts roughly and set aside.Heat the 40 grams of butter in a medium non stick frying pan, then sauté the lardons, grated apple, diced onion and celery, and sage over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes until soft or just beginning to color. When almost cooked, deglaze the pan with the brandy. Transfer to a mixing bowl.Reduce the oven temperature to 180ºC.While the walnut, lardon, apple and sage mixture is still hot, add the breadcrumbs, and combine well. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then moisten with a little extra brandy if needed to just bring together.Stuff the duck with this mixture and secure the cavity; tie the duck legs together with cooking twine, or plug the cavity with a whole, small (or half) an apple to stop the stuffing escaping. Use a metal skewer through the back thigh area of the duck and the apple to keep the stuffing from falling out.Prick the duck skin lightly, season lightly with salt then place on a rack in a large roasting pan in the pre-heated oven for an hour.While the duck is cooking, place the potatoes in a saucepan. Cover with cold, salted water, bring to a simmer and parboil for 5 to 10 minutes, drain and then return to the saucepan and toss to roughen up the surfaces a little.After the duck has roasted for an hour, remove the tray, transfer the duck to a plate, then carefully pour the hot fat and juices from the bottom of the roasting tray into a jug. Skim off the fat to use for roasting the potatoes (or put the jug in the freezer until the fat sets and then you can remove it very easily). Set aside the remaining juices to use later for the gravy.Return the duck to the roasting tray and continue to roast in the oven. After 15 minutes, place the potatoes with the reserved duck fat in another tray (add an extra tablespoon of olive oil or melted butter if needed to make sure the potatoes are all coated in fat), season with salt then put in the oven on another shelf to roast. After 30 minutes, turn the potatoes so they crisp evenly.After the duck has roasted for another hour (two hours roasting time in total), remove it to a carving tray and stand for 20-30 minutes while you finish roasting the potatoes (they take about an hour), steaming the green beans, and making the gravy.To make the gravy, drain off the extra fat from the duck roasting tray, leaving about a tablespoon in the bottom as well as any meaty bits clinging to the pan. Put the tray on the stove top over medium-low heat and add the tablespoon of flour; stir with a wooden spoon and cook for a few minutes to make a light nut brown paste. Top up the reserved juices from the jug that you collected earlier, with an extra cup of chicken stock and the ¼ cup of brandy. Pour into the roasting tray, blending in the paste, then increase the heat to medium-hot, stirring constantly until the gravy boils and thickens. Turn the heat to low. Skim any extra fat off the sauce if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.Carve the duck and serve with the drained roast potatoes, beans and gravy. Enjoy! 
Sources & References:
 
The London Art of Cookery and Domestic Housekeeper's Complete Assistant, John Farley, 1811.
 
http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/A-Georgian-Christmas/
 
http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.ae/2013/12/a-regency-christmas-feast.html
 
Christmas Traditions in Regency England by Regan Walker http://thewritewaycafe.blogspot.ae/2014/12/christmas-traditions-in-regency-england.html#.Vj9-Klpm3dk
 
http://www.historicfood.com/Comfits.htm
​ Mistletoe, Marriage and Mayhem.... For The Bluestocking Belles' books carry you into the past for your happy-ever-after. When you have turned the last page of our novels and novellas, keep up with us (and other historical romance authors) in the Teatime Tattler, a Regency scandal sheet, and join in with the characters you love for impromptu storytelling in the Bluestocking Bookshop on Facebook. Also, look for online games and contests and monthly book chats, and find us at BellesInBlue on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Come visit at www.BluestockingBelles.com and kick up your bluestockinged heels!
 
MISTLETOE, MARRIAGE, & MAYHEM is a collection of novellas by the Bluestocking Belles. Heat rating: From G to PG-13
 
In this collection of novellas, the Bluestocking Belles bring you seven runaway Regency brides resisting and romancing their holiday heroes under the mistletoe. Whether scampering away or dashing toward their destinies, avoiding a rogue or chasing after a scoundrel, these ladies and their gentlemen leave miles of mayhem behind them on the slippery road to a happy-ever-after. ***All proceeds benefit the Malala Fund.***

For details of all the stories in Mistletoe, Marriage and Mayhem... Click the READ MORE link 
  
Book buy links:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo
​ All She Wants for Christmas, by Amy Rose Bennett
A frosty bluestocking and a hot-blooded rake. A stolen kiss and a Yuletide wedding. Sparks fly, but will hearts melt this Christmas?
 
The Ultimate Escape, by Susana Ellis
Abandoned on his wedding day, Oliver must choose between losing his bride forever or crossing over two hundred years to find her and win her back.
 
Under the Mistletoe, by Sherry Ewing
Margaret Templeton will settle for Captain Morledge’s hand in marriage, until she sees the man she once loved. Who will win her heart at the Christmas party of her would-be betrothed?
 
’Tis Her Season, by Mariana Gabrielle
Charlotte Amberly returns a Christmas gift from her intended—the ring—then hares off to London to take husband-hunting into her own hands. Will she let herself be caught?
 
Gingerbread Bride, by Jude Knight
Traveling with her father's fleet has not prepared Mary Pritchard for London. When she strikes out on her own, she finds adventure, trouble, and her girlhood hero, riding once more to her rescue.
 
A Dangerous Nativity, by Caroline Warfield
With Christmas coming, can the Earl of Chadbourn repair his widowed sister’s damaged estate, and far more damaged family? Dare he hope for love in the bargain?
 
Joy to the World, by Nicole Zoltack
Eliza Berkeley discovers she is marrying the wrong man—on her wedding day. When the real duke turns up instead, will her chance at marital bliss be spoiled?

World War 2 in historical Romance - Guest Aubrey Wynne

In the week of Remembrance Day we tend to think of the terrible killing fields of World War One. For many, World War Two is still a living memory and my guest this week, Aubrey Wynne, was able to go to a first hand resource for help with her WW2 romance, DANTE'S GIFT. 

Award-winning author Aubrey Wynne is an elementary teacher by trade, champion of children and animals by conscience, and author by night. Obsessions include history, travel, trail riding, and all things Christmas.

Aubrey’s latest holiday romance Dante’s Gift, includes both a present day and WWII love story intertwined. It is included in the box set Christmas Pets and Kisses and sold as a single. Her true love is historical romance and Rolf’s Quest, the first in a medieval fantasy series, will release in 2016. Sammi’s Serenade will debut in the box set Valentine’s Pets and Kisses.

Visit Aubrey at her WEBSITE and Facebook pages. Looking to a veteran for inspiration... ​So, I wanted to write a WWII romance for the holidays but had already committed to a Christmas story for a contemporary box set. Trying to kill two birds with one stone, (go ahead and groan, I love clichés,) I decided to combine the two love stories. Dante’s Gift was created with the help of my stepfather, a British veteran from WWII, stationed in North Africa and Italy. 
 
After doing my research, and finding a battle in Italy that would add some grit to my story, I went to Eric. Lucky for me he had been at that particular battle. He took one look at the name Cassino and shot down my idea like a true fighter pilot. As I crashed and burned, he quickly grabbed a map to find a better setting. His finger pointed to Foggia where he had been stationed at a large air base. I watched him trace a line towards Naples and the coast. Pointing to a place called Benevento, he said, “That’s it. That’s your setting.”
 
“Why?” I asked, hoping to hear another great adventure from his soldiering days.
 
“As a messenger traveling back and forth between the air base and Naples, I went through this little town often.” He smiled, as if remembering something or someone pleasant, then coughed and gave a quick glance over his shoulder at my mother.  “The Yanks bought sticky buns here. They cost a fortune because food and supplies were so scarce. But a soldier will pay a high price for a reminder of home.”
 
He helped with many small details that most people would never notice. What did they use to tape up a glass counter or cover broken out windows? Accurate descriptions of the local geography and available food were all great bits of information that I needed to weave into the prose to make it believable. The correct slang for an American versus a British soldier.
 
My story, of course, contains a scene or two with Eric. Look for the British pilot! I  also included a famous liqueur, Strega, that is still made there today. The small church of Santa Sofia, where my characters attend a funeral, is the only church that survived the bombing during the retreat of the Germans and the entry of the Americans.  And of course, there are the sticky buns.  Santa Sofia, Benevento Strega (Liquer) Santa Sofia, Benevento (Roman Arch) For more information:
Information on Santa Sofia, Benevento
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Sofia,_Benevento

Here is a link to a newsreel showing Benevento during WWII. The Germans had just left and the Americans were moving in. The destruction was terrible and the main cathedral had been bombed to pieces. But Santa Sofia, the smaller church, remains standing today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2RXMn7kJ00
 
Information on Strega and the legend of the Witches:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strega_(liqueur) About DANTE'S GIFT Kathleen James is far too practical for her own good. But on the most important night of her life, she gives way to romance and prepares for an intimate dinner with the man of her dreams—and an engagement ring. Unfortunately, the evening doesn’t end the way she envisioned.
 
Dominic Lawrence has planned this marriage proposal for six months. Nothing can go wrong—until his Nonna calls from Italy. Now he must interrupt the tenderest night of Katie’s life with the news that another woman will be under their roof.
 
 Nonna, a wartime bride from the ‘40s, knows how precious love can be. Can her own love story of an American soldier and a very special collie once again bring two hearts together at Christmas?
Read an excerpt... The pilot with wheat-colored hair put his elbows on the counter and leaned toward her. “I could buy thirty loaves of bread at home for that much lettuce.”
“But you are not home, soldier. You are here, in Benevento, and a sticky bun is 100 lire.” She meant to be rude but his soft brown gaze made her heart race as if she’d just chased Dante across the field. His smile went to his eyes, adding crinkles to the corners, and made her own lips turn up. “The cost of supplies is very expensive these days, as you know.”
“So I’ve heard. Give me five,” he said with a wink. “Maybe I can sweet talk the captain into putting me back into a plane.”
“Save your money, Ken. Your ears obviously ain’t got any better in the last ten minutes,” he answered, rubber-necking over the counter. “Get a load of that landing gear.”
Dante growled again but this time showed sharp, white teeth. “I don’t think he likes you much, Bob.”
“Well I don’t care for him, neither. Give me two of those, and we’ll get out of your hair.”
The men paid for the rolls and walked outside. She headed into the kitchen when that quiet, deep voice stopped her. “I’d like to apologize for my friend. He’s not a bad Joe once you get to know him.”
“I don’t think I care to,” she said without turning around.
“It looks like I may be making regular trips through your town. Do you work here often?” His tone dripped like honey from a ladle and poured over her; she felt her body turn toward him even as her brain told her “no.”
“My family owns it. I am here every day.”
“So your father is Guido?” He had resumed his place at the counter, balanced on his elbows again, inviting her back without a word.
She found herself leaning on the counter from the other side. “How do you know my father?”
“The sign says Guido’s Café.”
She laughed. “Yes, it does. So you are no private eye, eh?”
He whistled then. “You’d make Betty Grable green with envy when you smile. It makes those blue eyes sparkle like a fresh-cut diamond. You should do that more often.”
Her eyes lowered, embarrassed at the compliment and the image of the American pinup girl in a bathing suit. “You should go catch up with your friends.”
“My name is Ken Lawrence,” he said and held out his hand.
“Antonia Capriotti,” she replied and took his hand. A tingle shot down her center and curled her toes. “It is nice to meet you.”
“You’re blushing. Mmm, beautiful and modest. That’s a rare find, you know.” He held firmly onto her hand. “And who is this?”
She looked down at the silent collie. He hadn’t made a noise when this man reached across the counter and touched her. Odd. “Dante, our protector.”
“You need one, with mugs like Bob.” He made a kissing noise in the dog’s direction and slapped the counter. Dante jumped up, feet on the edge and barked. Ken reached over and scratched the dog behind his ears. “Good boy, you look like my old Schotzie.”
“You have a dog?”
“I did. Old man hit fourteen just before I left. Mom sent me his collar when he passed.”
“I’m sorry, they are just like one of the family, si?”
“Yes they are,” he agreed, giving Dante one more pat before he tipped his hat. “I hope to see you again soon, Antonia.”
She hugged the collie as the Yank left, a swagger to his walk. “What do you know that I don’t, hmm? I trust your instincts better than mine. Perhaps we’ll consider more conversation with this Americano if he returns.”
Buy DANTE'S GIFT Amazon:http://amzn.to/1OTMBmL
B&N:http://bit.ly/1MFcvpM

Kobo:http://bit.ly/1LGmdse

iBooks http://apple.co/1N0XSSd
​

Writing a Great War story...

Writers are often asked where they get their idea for a story. Inspiration can strike in the most unexpected ways and sometimes there is no one trigger point for a story. 

GATHER THE BONES is a story that came from a number of different sources but it is perhaps a little brown book published in 1920 that I found at the back of my parents bookshelves that sowed the seeds of my hero, Paul’s war. “ Ypres and the Battle for Ypres 1914-1918, An illustrated history and guide ”.


 It seems extraordinary that less than two years after the end of the war there was already a tourist industry around the battlefields, but the clue comes from a little insert on the town of Ypres which describes it as the “Centre for English, French and American Pilgrims”. In this little leaflet are advertisements for “Touring Cars” (wreaths by arrangement “placed on graves and photographed”), Hotels bearing the names “The Splendid” and “Hotel Britannique”. A good cup of tea in three minutes can be obtained from the Patisserie and Tea Rooms of Me Ve Vandaele on the Grand Place.


The Michelin Guides are ubiquitous today and I have a small collection of the narrow green guides for parts of France I have visited. It began in 1900 just as the first automobiles were appearing on the roads of  France. Two enterprising brothers, André and Edouard Michelin decided to produce a small guide, given free to motorists, listing petrol stations across France and information on where to get your vehicle repaired as well as crucial information on accommodation and meals.  In 1904 the Guide went international, with the publication of the Michelin Guide Belgium. 
The company must have seen the opportunity that existed and even while the war still raged it started to produce a produced a series of guides to the battlefields. According to a page in the guide, during the war itself, Michelin converted a warehouse into a hospital for the wounded, all funded by the company. It opened on September 22 1914 and the first wounded arrived that night. In all nearly 3000 soldiers were treated at the Michelin Hospital. (An illustrated booklet on how Michelin "did his bit" will be sent "free on application")


We are informed that during the Great War, Ypres was bombarded continuously for four years and 250,000 British fell defending the city. “Today Ypres is being quickly reconstructed,out of 5,000 Houses destroyed, 3,000 will have been rebuild by the end of 1923; thanks to the tenacity of the Population and financial help from the Belgium Government.”“A number of quite up to date Hotels, providing every comfort: Central Heating, Electricity, Baths etc are already in full swing. ..The country around is agricultural, with villages and farms being rebuilt once more...Every convenience and comfort for Pilgrims and Tourists is to be had in Ypres...”


So we have hired our touring car (with a British Driver), fortified ourself with a 3 minute cup of tea and off we go. The most extraordinary thing about this little book are the illustrations: Before and After shots of little towns, chateau, woods and churches. Our touring car is pictured driving down a road lined by the broken stumps of trees and this is another taken at an intersection in what would have once been the thriving little town of Messines. 




My husband and I visited modern Ypres in 2005. Like the little towns of the Ypres salient it has been rebuilt, reconstructed to look as it did before 1914, but in the flat, green fields of the Ypres salient are the many, many cemeteries and memorials and in places it is still possible to see the craters and trenches that once criss crossed the area. 

Even ninety years after the last gun was silenced, the bodies of the missing were being discovered and a reinternment was occurring while we were there. I tried to imagine what it was like for the families of those young men who had no graveside to mourn and slowly the idea for Gather the Bones took shape.

I had Paul’s war there on my desk. In that non descript little book I had the images of the battlefields, the trenches, the concrete machine gun posts but more importantly I had the pilgrimage. Evelyn, Charlie’s mother, has to see where her son died, to really believe he is dead. It was the Evelyns who bought the 1920 Michelin Guide, booked the Hotel Splendid, bought their wreath and in their hired touring car, laid their ghosts to rest.About GATHER THE BONESEngland 1922: In the shadow of the Great War, grieving widow, Helen Morrow and her husband’s cousin, the wounded and reclusive Paul, are haunted not only by the horrors of the trenches but ghosts from another time and another conflict.

The desperate voice of a young woman reaches out to them from the pages of a coded diary and Paul and Helen are bound together in their search for answers, not only to the old mystery but also the circumstances surrounding the death of Helen’s husband at Passchandaele in  1917.

As the two stories become entwined, Paul and Helen will not find peace until the mysteries are solved.

The Horse that started a Legend

​Today is Melbourne Cup Day. The horse race that ‘stops a nation’ – literally. I had only been in Australia a few short months (at school in Perth) and at lunchtime on the first Tuesday in November, the girls, took a smuggled radio down to the back of the playing fields to listen to the running of the Cup. It was 1968 and Rain Lover won.

As an Australian there are few better things to claim in your pedigree then descent from a convict.  Only one other thing could possibly trump that… and that is claiming a connection with a famous horse. I can claim both… and, oddly, they are related.

Before we continue… the horse is not the famous Phar Lap, but the next most famous horse, the winner of the very first Melbourne, Archer.

Archer’s owner and trainer was my Great+ Uncle, Etienne DeMestre, grandson of Mary Hyde, my convict ancestor. Etienne’s mother, Mary Ann Black had married an interesting Frenchman by the name of Prosper DeMestre, who established himself as a businessman in Sydney in about 1818. They had a large family of which Etienne was the youngest son and my own great+ grandmother, Annette, the youngest daughter.

Anyway, back to the horse. The deMestres owned considerable property on the Shoalhaven River in NSW (to the south of Sydney) where they bred and trained horses. The de Mestre stables at Terara were a model of how such stables should be run and informal race meetings were often held at their private race track.  Horses dominated their lives and as anyone involved in that industry will tell you. It is drought or famine. I have read some very amusing correspondence from one of the deMestre women complaining about her beloved horse being sold from underneath her.

The great horse, Archer, was foaled in 1856 and came into Etienne’s hands in 1860. Archer was one of three horses, DeMestre sent to Melbourne for the running of the first Melbourne Cup. One of the many, many family legends is that in order for his horse to reach, Etienne walked Archer from Shoalhaven to Melbourne (some 850kms). So great is this myth that it was even made into a film (Archer’s Adventure 1985 starring Nicole Kidman – yes really!). However like all good myths, it is just that… the furthest Archer had to walk was the 8 miles to the wharf on the River. Before railways boat was the only way to transport horses (and sadly DeMestre’s 1876 cup entry was lost at sea along with nine other racehorses).

That first Melbourne Cup was a modest affair, watched by a mere four thousand spectators. Ridden by popular aboriginal jockey Johnny Cutts (wearing the all black livery of the DeMestre stables), Archer took out the field of seventeen to become the first winner. He won again the following year and would have raced in the third cup, but the entry was received too late. The refusal to allow the entry led to a boycott by interstate trainers and the smallest field in the history of the cup was run that year.

De Mestre trained five winners of the Melbourne Cup (a record only bested by Bart Cummings). However he was plagued by financial and health difficulties and died in 1916 at the age of 84. Archer was retired to stud after injury and lived out a long and happy life.
​
Which brings me to one of the strange coincidences in life… I was talking to my friend, Australian historical romance writer, Tea Cooper about her latest release THE HORSE THIEF… and in the course of conversation Tea told me that she had drawn heavily on the story of Archer for her own story, set in the lovely Hunter Valley (north of Sydney) which lays its own claim on Archer…

​Tea writes “… there is a local Hunter Valley myth that Archer was in fact a ‘Hunter horse’ and indeed a famous Hunter horse by the name of Young Dover was frequently ridden from Maitland to racetracks across NSW. He won many races after travelling over 100 miles in one day.

Today the Hunter Valley in NSW is regarded as one of the most important horse breeding areas in Australia, but it wasn’t until the 1870s that the first Hunter horse won the Melbourne Cup. Perhaps the reason the Hunter lays claim to breeding the first winner of the Melbourne Cup is that the stories of Young Dover and Archer have melded in the minds of Hunter Valley residents over the years. In some of the more ‘historic’ watering holes in the Hunter Valley, Archer is still claimed as a Hunter animal.

For fiction’s sake I have adopted the Hunter version of the myth. The Kilhamptons did not exist other than in my imagination, nor did their property, Helligen. It is loosely based on the historic homestead, Tocal, near Paterson in the Hunter, north of Sydney…’

It therefore seems appropriate that here on Melbourne Cup Day I introduce Tea’s wonderful story of a horse… and a dream. Great Uncle Etienne DeMestre THE HORSE THIEF - Tea Cooper Two people, one dream … with the past riding hard on their heels.
 
When India Kilhampton is caught up in the excitement of the first Melbourne Cup her mind is made up. She will breed a horse to win the coveted trophy and reunite her fractured family. Determined to make her dream a reality she advertises for a horse breeder.
 
Jim Mawgan arrives at Helligen Stud in the Hunter Valley to take up the position. Jim however has a mission: he must fulfill his father’s dying wish to right past wrongs and prove his ownership of his prized stallion Jefferson.
 
Jim and India discover they share a common goal but as the secrets of the past unravel old enmities surface.
 
Will India save Jim before he is branded a horse thief and sentenced to death? Buy the Horse Thief Print available now in bookshops and from Harlequin MIRA http://ow.ly/SS1WP  
http://ow.ly/SS22D Amazon.com.au
http://ow.ly/SS271 Amazon.com
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Halloween - The Ghosts of Gwydir Castle

Some years ago I took my sons, then aged 12 and 8 on their first visit to England. For reasons I won’t go into, my husband was supposed to accompany us but didn’t make the trip so it was just me and the two boys circumnavigating England in a Fiat Punto… and we did castles. I mean we really DID castles! Starting in the Tower of London on our first day through Warwick Castle, Ashby de La Zouch, York and down into Wales.If you want to see castles then Wales is the place to go. The great castles built by Edward I as a symbol of his power and authority over the rebellious Welsh ring the Welsh border down through the Marches and across the coastline. However by the late middle ages, the need for these great stone edifices had diminished and the wealthy landowners were building elegant houses with minimal fortifications and “all mod cons”.Our adventure was in the days before GPS and Navman and I was driving a car with an 8 year old and a 12 year old who, for all his badges in Scouts, appeared incapable of reading a map. So every evening, in consultation with the road atlas, I would painstakingly write out our route for the day for him to read out loud to me. Gwydir Castle - exteriorThis system worked well until we got to Wales where all the road signs are in Welsh. The inevitable happened and we got lost… spectacularly lost somewhere in northern Wales and on a back road I saw a sign that said “Gwydir Castle”. If nothing else it was a chance for a break and to consult the road map and ask a friendly native where we were. As it turned out Gwydir Castle was not so much a castle as a late medieval/Tudor fortified manor house. Probably owing to its strategic position in a narrow valley, the site of Gwydir had been in continual occupation for centuries before Meredith ap Ieuan ap Robert, the founder of the Wynn dynasty, built the present Gwydir Castle, using material from the dissolved Abbey of Maenan. Of particular interest to me, as a student of the English Civil War, the house was reputed to have been visited in 1645 by Charles I, as the guest of Sir Richard Wynn, 2nd Baronet, Treasurer to Queen Henrietta Maria, and Groom of the Royal Bed Chamber.It had recently been purchased and opened up to the public by the owners to raise the money to restore it (I believe it is now a B&B). At the time I happened upon it in 1996, these works were very much in their early stages and it was dark, gloomy and overgrown. Everything you would imagine a thoroughly haunted house to be! In preparing for this article I found wonderful images on the internet which bear no resemblance to the half derelict building it had been! Gwydir Castle - gatesI have an interest in ghost stories and the paranormal and while I have not ‘seen’ a ghost I have visited places where I have felt decidedly uncomfortable and Gwydir was one of those places. From the moment I stepped through the heavy front gate, it felt as if my heckles went up and I am not surprised to see it described (more recently) on its website as “One of the most haunted houses in Wales”. Needless to say we were the only visitors so I got talking to the caretaker, asking her about the spectral inhabitants of the house. The most frequent ‘visitor’ is a grey (or white) lady thought to be the ghost of a servant girl who was murdered after becoming pregnant during a romance with one of the lords of the manor and her body  hidden in a wall space beside a chimney breast (a priest hole). The presence of this apparition is said to be accompanied by the stench of decaying flesh. It is said that the 5th Baronet confessed on his death bed to a murder in his youth. The other suspect is the first Baronet, Sir John Wynn (whose ghost is also seen) who was reputedly something of a local tyrant.Also seen is a monk (said to have died when trapped in a tunnel from a secret room) and the sound of crying children is also heard. Gwydir Castle - interiorThankfully our visit was uneventful and free of nauseating smells of decay. However the chatty caretaker did tell us about the ghost dog. She owned a dog which came with her to work at the Castle. Hearing barking she looked out of the window and saw her dog joyfully gambling in the garden with a strange dog (she described as “a tall, grey dog”) she had never seen before. She went out to call her animal in and at the sound of her voice the second dog just vanished. FOR MORE ON THE GHOSTS, CLICK HERESome years later, the owner of the house found some bones in the cellar during the restoration and had them sent away for analysis. The result came back saying they were the bones of a dog. Conscious that the bodies of animals were often used in the foundations of houses to ward off evil spirits, she restored the bones to where they had been found and the spectral dog has not been seen since.We went on to visit Conwy Castle (where I nearly lost the boys to a harrassed school teacher in charge of a large school group), Ruthin Castle (complete with hokey medieval banquet), Harlech Castle (Men of…) and my favourite castle, Denbigh Castle but if I look back at that trip, it is the quiet, brooding menace of Gwydir Castle that stays with me more than any of the others!FOR A GHOSTLY TALE, READ ALISON STUART'S GATHER THE BONES... 

In the shadow of the Great War, grieving widow, Helen Morrow and her husband’s cousin, the wounded and reclusive Paul, are haunted not only by the horrors of the trenches but ghosts from another time and another conflict.

The desperate voice of a young woman reaches out to them from the pages of a coded diary and Paul and Helen are bound together in their search for answers, not only to the old mystery but also the circumstances surrounding the death of Helen’s husband at Passchandaele in  1917.

As the two stories become entwined, Paul and Helen will not find peace until the mysteries are solved.

The Lure of the Irish: Guest Louise Reynolds

I have written before about the importance of my writing tribes and one of my most important tribes is my fabulous 'Writers'Group'. We don't meet all that often but we communicate daily... sharing the trials and tribulations of our writing lives and the intersection with our non writing lives.

So I will declare that Louise Reynolds is one of my tribe members and we have loved, lived and agonised with her over her latest release IF I KISSED YOU. It is such a thrill to see it come to life!

Louise Reynolds is an author of contemporary romantic fiction published by Penguin Random House Australia. By day, she works in the commercial lighting industry, lighting anything from bridges to five star hotels. By night, she's working her way through a United Nations of fictional heroes. She loves live jazz, cooking complicated meals that totally destroy the kitchen, and dining out. She has embraced Melbourne by wearing far too much black (DON'T WE ALL!)
Connect with Louise on her website and if you're a foodie I recommend having a look at her PINTEREST boards! 
The world of Irish 'Travellers' Thanks for inviting me to your blog, Alison.

With Irish heritage and a father who possessed 52 first cousins and innumerable more extended family it was always on the cards that I would write a book with an Irish hero.

But in my latest release, ‘If I Kissed You’, my hero, Declan, wasn’t pulled from the gentle farming community from which our family sprang. He came into my mind from the world of the Irish travellers.

Stories abound about travellers, most of them unflattering, but in my research I uncovered a people who have strong family ties, are deeply religious and yet seem to have a moral compass with a few more points than the rest of us. Let’s just call it viewing life through a different lens.

Travellers, or as they call themselves, Pavee, are distinctly Celtic people separated by race, culture and language from the Rom, the people we know as Gypsies, a word now considered a racial slur. Many of the Irish travellers took to the roads during the Irish famine and never returned to a settled life. Others have a much more ancient lineage.

Travellers do exist in Australia, often doing odd jobs and fruit-pickingIn researching ‘If I Kissed You’ I referred to novels and media that gave an insight into the way of speech, terminologies and lifestyle. “Traveller” by John F McDonald was a fascinating read purely for the language and expression. Here I was pulled into a world with a rich, arcane language designed to obscure meaning and confuse the law and settled people.  Youtube offered pearls of travellers singing, particularly useful for one scene in the book.
 
I watched a few episodes of ‘My Great Big Gypsy wedding”, a TV series showcasing the lives of the travellers. I’ve never enjoyed seeing people presented for ridicule, but I was interested in the language, customs and rhythm of their speech. This isn’t the Ireland of my Irish forebears but a place of bare-knuckle fighting and horse fairs.

But there’s no reason to think there is any less love in Traveller families than our own-- although they go about things differently. IF I KISSED YOU Raised by a pair of hopeless hippies, Nell Connor had to grow up quickly. But now her father, awash in whisky, has handed her the reins of his Irish pub. After obliterating every trace of Ireland, Nell has transformed it into a smart, and trendy bar. Business is booming but, outside of work, things aren't going so smoothly.

When gorgeous musician Declan Gaffney arrives, it's clear he's definitely not Nell's type.  He's Irish (therefore must be feckless and unreliable), he sings romantic Irish ballads (which Nell hates) and his nomadic lifestyle reminds her of some of the most painful parts of her childhood. 

After Declan helps Nell out of a tricky situation, her father takes a shine to him and starts matchmaking. And when her aura-reading mother turns up, Nell's carefully ordered life is thrown into chaos. She's losing control but the biggest shock of all is yet to come ...  

In a story that shines a light on the unusual forms family can take, Nell must accept that sometimes love takes you in unexpected directions. Read an excerpt from IF I KISSED YOU... This scene sheds light on the courting habits of the travellers and how it compares with our own. Nell is the heroine, an Australian from the “settled world”, Declan is the hero and former traveller and Aisleen is his sister who still lives as a traveller.
 
“‘Aisleen’s nice,’ Nell murmured as she lay in the crook of Declan’s arm later that night.
​He leaned down and buffed the top of her head with a soft kiss.
It was kind of her since Aisleen had been quite standoffish. ‘Yes, she’s a good girl. I hope Tommy will make her happy.’ He felt himself tighten as he remembered how it could have been for him.
‘You have your doubts?’
He was silent for a moment then turned his head towards her. Her eyes were deep caramel in the dark, serious. ‘It’s different for us. We marry very young and there’s hardly any courtship.’
‘You’re joking. You mean, like an arranged marriage?’
‘No. The way it’s done is, you hang around with a group of lads and watch the girls. When one takes your fancy you grab her and drag her somewhere private to give her a decent kiss.’ He lowered his head and kissed Nell deeply. ‘A bit like that, actually.’
‘Don’t try to side-track me. A decent kiss?’ Nell demanded. ‘What the hell does that mean?’
‘Decent in the sense you put a bit of effort in, make it as long as you can to try and see if she’ll do.’
‘If she’ll do,’ she echoed. She swatted his arm in a playful gesture. ‘That’s terrible.’
‘It does sound bad but it’s just the way it is.’ Jaysus, but it did sound bad. Nell was right. Choosing a life partner on the basis of long-distance observation and a stolen kiss was daft. He knew that now.
‘So when you’ve decided “if she’ll do”, what happens next?’
‘Well, after that you’d better be calling on her mam and da and asking to marry her if she’ll have you.’ In fact you couldn’t get so much as a kiss but the girl would be measuring new curtains for her da’s second-best van. Before you knew it you had a ring on your finger and a pile of children at your ankles.
Nell punched his arm playfully. ‘Ah, so the poor woman has some say after all.’
‘Of course. What do you think? That we’re savages?’ He leaned down and kissed the top of her head again.
Nell was quiet for some time, then she raised her head to look at him. ‘Have you ever been married?’
‘You say that like an Australian. You might as well ask if I’ve ever been to the moon. It makes it sound easy to get out of if you don’t like it. It’s different in Ireland; it takes years to get a divorce, and that’s if you can stomach the idea of eternal damnation.’ Especially in my culture. Pavs don’t divorce, they bury.
Nell bit her lip. ‘I hadn’t thought of it that way. So, no then?’
Declan focussed his eyes on the ceiling. When was he going to get honest with Nell? He needed to tell her the whole truth now and ease the monkey off his back. He turned his head to look at her. ‘Actually, I was engaged once.’
She rolled over on to her side and rested her head in a cupped hand, her eyes bright with interest. ‘Once?’
He nodded.
‘What happened?’
He dragged his gaze away from her exposed breasts and fixed it on the ceiling again. ‘She died.’
Nell’s sharp intake of breath made him glance back at her. Her mouth formed an O, the sweet bottom lip dropped in dismay. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t be. It was a long time ago.’
‘But, still . . . ’
‘Shhh.’ He placed a finger against her lips. ‘Rose is gone, and you’re here.’”
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Myth? Meet the bunyip: Guest post Virginia Taylor

When my children were young, one of our favourite bed time stories was THE BUNYIP OF BERKELEY CREEK. The bunyip is one of the most endearing creatures of Australian Mythology and I am thrilled that my guest this week, VIRGINIA TAYLOR has managed to include this mythical beast in her latest book... ELLA.

Virginia Taylor, former midwife, former theatre set designer, and now full time author sold her first two romantic comedies to Random House and a series of three historical romances to Kensington Books during the past two years. She is working on the next three in the series and a new series of romantic comedies. Apparently, she never sleeps.

Is It A Fish or a Beast? . . .
Every country has its own legends and, in Australia, we tell tales of a mythical water-dwelling, flesh-eating beast called a bunyip which apparently lurks in order to lure unsuspecting travellers to their doom.

​Ask anyone what a bunyip looks like and you will be given a different answer, ranging from an octopus with wings to the description I found during my research and used in the passage below for Ella, #2 in my South Landers series of historical romances published by Kensington Books:
 
. . . she set her quivering jaw. “Your stupid dog almost drowned me. That wretched animal shouldn’t be roaming free, as I...” Suddenly aware of her skirts hitched over her crinoline, she shook the drenched black fabric to her ankles, shamed by the display of the cage and most of her wet underwear.

Mortified that more than her fear showed, she hauled in a shuddering breath. “I’m sure I can have you arrested for trespass and willful destruction,” she muttered, wanting to weep.

He stepped back, his expression amused. “Destruction? I don’t suppose you noticed I saved your life.”

“After your dog attacked me.” Pushing back the curtain of hair dripping over her nose, she began to shiver, a reaction she couldn’t control. “I thought she was a bunyip.”

“A bunyip?” He raised his eyebrows at Girl, who shook off a halo of water droplets, stretched full length, and grinned at him. “A mythical monster?”

She glanced at the hills, backlit by the endless blue sky. “If a jet-black, hairy creature attacked you in a billabong, you might believe in mythical monsters, too.” She swiped her wet sleeve under her nose. . . ABOUT ELLA... Ella Beaufort knew better than to rely on a sexy stranger. But with two sisters to support on the modest earnings of the family sheep station, she accepts shearer Cal Lynton’s help—along with his intoxicating kiss. The most Ella can hope for is an affair. Something a woman in her situation wouldn’t dare—or would she?
 
Heir to his family fortune, Charlton Alfred Landon Lynton abandoned his privileged life to prove his independence. He doesn’t have time for a woman, but once he woos the lovely Ella into his bed, he is ready to make her his wife…until she shocks him with her refusal, claiming she can only marry a rich man! Angry and brokenhearted, the heir in disguise leaves the beautiful golddigger behind…
 
But amid the breathtaking landscape of South Australian, Ella and Cal are destined to meet again. Will their heated reunion lead to cruel confrontation—or the kind of passion that lasts a lifetime? BUY ELLA:
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