Nicola Cornick's Blog, page 16

Magical History Tour Part 3!

I’ve been waiting to post this blog for over a month! So many other exciting things have been happening but at last I have the chance to post the final part of my wonderful trip to Edinburgh and I’ve saved my favourite bit until last.

I love featuring the sea and ships in my books and when I discovered that I could book a special guided tour of Trinity House Maritime Museum I jumped at the chance.  We arrived on an exceptionally wet day when we practically had to swim to the door. The museum is housed in an elegant Regency building dating from 1816 (built on the site of a previous medieval almshouse) and it felt full of the history and memories of seafaring. Check out the Trinity House website here if you have an interest in maritime history. It’s wonderful!

Trinity House describe their historic role as a focus for the seafaring community in the port of Leith and with a brief to look after the welfare of those who went to sea. The building was once the headquarters of the Masters and Mariners and is now a museum packed with treasures of the seafaring past. I had the best time poking around amongst the maps, models and artefacts!

This is mostly a picture blog as I was allowed to wander at will, ask lots of questions and take photos, which was marvellous. I can’t praise Trinity House highly enough as a must see place, a wonderful Regency building with a quirky and fascinating collection and very friendly and well informed guides. The museum and its artefacts and history gave me several story ideas…

This is the hall. The arms of Trinity House appear on the blue and white floor and also on the chairs (above). A set of six were commissioned  from Edinburgh furniture maker William Trotter. They feature wonderful detail of coiled rope and anchors in keeping with Trinity House’s maritime connections.

The Masters’ Room is still used for meetings of the Masters of Trinity House. It features the wonderful Camperdown fireplace commissioned to commemorate Admiral Duncan’s victory at the Battle of Camperdown in 1797. There are four doors opening off the room – some are false, designed to give the room a symmetrical appearance. Leading off this room is the strongroom where the money and important records were stored.

The Convening Room took my breath away in terms of its scale and magnificence. It was intended to be a meeting room for all the members of the Incorporation of Trinity House. A long mahogany table runs down the centre and the room is decorated with beautiful nautical imagery.

There were so many wonderful artefacts but amongst my favourites was the painting of George IV’s arrival at Leith for the Royal visit to Edinburgh in 1822. The visit had been arranged by Sir Walter Scott and special tickets were issued to spectators. Some of these are on view in the museum. I also loved the 17th century charter chest, the 18th century mahogany ballot box, used by the members for voting, and all the fragile and exquisitely detailed model ships.

Over the front door of the museum is a carving with the arms of  Trinity House and the words Pervia virtuti Sydera, Terra, Mare: ” The Earth, the sea and the stars are conquerable by men of courage. ” A number of the heroes I have written are adventurers and this seemed the perfect tribute to them. A wonderful place and an inspiration for a writer!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Guest Blog and Giveaway!

Today I am very excited to be a guest on Kate Hardy’s wonderful blog. As well as being a great friend of mine, Kate is a fabulous author who is celebrating her 50th book for Harlequin Mills & Boon. As part of the celebrations I am giving away a copy of Forbidden and a copy of Desired. Pop over to Kate’s blog to join in the party!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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More Winners!

Thank you for all the fun answers in my “Queen for a Day” blog contest. I absolutely loved all the things you would get up to when you were wearing your crown! The winners, picked from the hat (or biscuit tray) by puppy Rochester in time-honoured fashion, are Cathy P and Michelle. Congratulations, and your copies of Mischief and Mistletoe plus your commemorative “Queen for a Day” cards will be winging their way to you.

Congratulations are also due to Sharon from Ireland who won the August website contest, a copy of the Brides of Fortune trilogy and a big bunch of flowers.

Don’t miss the new contest! I’d love this prize myself! It’s a copy of the Word Wench  Mischief and Mistletoe anthology plus a luxury pamper basket. Treat yourself – you deserve it!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Queen for a Day Giveaway!

Today is the official publication day for FORBIDDEN! To celebrate, I am offering a special giveaway here on the blog, open internationally and running until Thursday 30th August.

The prizes: Two advance copies of the Mischief and Mistletoe Christmas anthology featuring stories by award-winning, bestselling authors Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Anne Gracie, Joanna Bourne. Patricia Rice, Susan King, Cara Elliott and myself, plus two special limited edition “Queen for the Day” Diamond Jubilee cards!

The question: If you were Queen for the Day, what would you do?

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Forbidden – Out Tomorrow!

Forbidden, Book 6 in my Scandalous Women of the Ton series is hitting the shelves tomorrow (although I’ve heard it has already been sighted in some stores.) I’m very excited that the final book in the series is coming out and at the same time I’m a little bit sad to say goodbye to all my scandalous ladies and their gorgeous heroes. I love writing series and I never really want to let go of the characters but I had such fun with Forbidden. I hope that Margery’s  rags to riches story is a happy way to end the series! (That said I can’t quite let go… Chessie Alton’s short story is coming later in the year!)

I’d like to thank everyone who has read the Scandalous Women of the Ton series over the years and written to me about the books. I’ve loved hearing from you all and it’s no exaggeration to say that it’s the letters and emails from readers that keep me writing – that and the opportunity to chat here on the blog! Today at the Word Wenches I am celebrating the imminent arrival of Forbidden with a blog post about writing the book and I’m giving away a copy as well. Please drop by to tell me what you would do if, like my heroine Margery, you went from maidservant to celebrity overnight!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Mr Rochester – Cover Star!

No, I’m not talking about the Charlotte Bronte classic today although it’s irresistible to post up a picture of Toby Stephens doing his best Rochester smoulder. Today I am feeling like a very proud parent because our local Guide Dogs Calendar for 2013 has been published and the cover star there in the centre  is none other than our guide dog puppy in training, Rochester. I think he looks absolutely gorgeous, as do all the other adorable guide dogs and puppies featured in the calendar. If you want to see a close up, click on the picture!

The shoot took place a few months ago with photographer Steve Iles of Capture Photography UK doing a wonderful job of capturing images of all the dogs in Rochester’s puppy class. Since many of them were quite young and couldn’t keep still for more than a few seconds, even when bribed with biscuits, this was a major challenge and underlined the old adage of “never work with children or animals.” Congratulations to Steve on a wonderful result!

Since the photo shoot Rochester has continued to work very hard on his guide dog training and has had many exciting experiences, travelling to London and Edinburgh, visiting historic houses, attending concerts and festivals and appearing on television, as well as his day to day training on the buses, in the supermarket, hospital and around town. He “writes” about his experiences in his own blog, Puppy with a Purpose.

All profits from the guide dog calendar go back to the charity and we are very proud of Rochester in all the work he does.

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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We have a winner!

Congratulations to Caroline, who has won the blog prize of some gorgeous stationery from my trip to Grey’s Court! Caroline, pleasecould you drop me an email with your snail mail details to nicola@nicolacornick.co.uk and I will put the gift in the post to you! As always, a big thank you to everyone here and on Facebook who commented on the blog and shared their thoughts. I love chatting to you all.

A quick reminder to enter my website contest if you would like to win a bouquet of summer flowers!

And… Don’t miss the final part of Lady Emma’s Disgrace! The whole story is now up on the website, free and exclusive. I do hope you like it and that all the readers who asked me to tell Emma and Tom’s story will be pleased with the outcome. I’ve enjoyed writing this so much and have been bowled over by the lovely response from readers. In fact I’ve enjoyed it so much that I am planning another  special website story for Francesca Alton which will be coming to the website at the end of the year.

Happy reading!

Nicola

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Blog Giveaway!

Yesterday I had a lovely day at Grey’s Court celebrating my birthday. Grey’s is a gorgeous little manor house with the best tea rooms I have ever come across.  The cake was awesome. Some historic houses, like my lovely Ashdown, are predominantly from one historical period but Grey’s Court is the most wonderful mixture of everything, from the medieval Great Tower to the Tudor rooms with their Georgian alterations. It’s also a really “homely” stately home and definitely the sort of place I could imagine living in! I loved the Cromwellian stables, dating from the time that Roundhead troops were stationed at Greys during the Civil War and the Dower House which was also know as the Bachelors’ Hall at one point in its history and has the carving over the door: “”Melius nil coelibe vita”,  ”Nothing is better than the celibate life”!

Whilst I was there I picked up a couple gifts to give away, a little notepad (always useful!) and a box of beautiful blue and white patterned cards (assuming anyone sends cards rather than emails these days!) I’d like to give them away to one commenter on the blog to celebrate my birthday and to thank everyone for coming here to chat to me!  So if you would like to enter the drawing just tell me whether you still write letters and cards in these electronic times!

Whilst I am on the subject of contests, don’t miss my website contest this month if you would like to treat yourself to a gorgeous bouquet of summer flowers!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Most Haunted!

One of the things that I particularly enjoyed about my recent trip to Edinburgh was a trip around some of the most haunted spots in the city. We hadn’t deliberately set out to do a ghost walk but on one of the days we visited The Real Mary King’s Close, Gladstone’s Land and Greyfriars’ churchyard and in the process got something of a paranormal overload.

I had been expecting the Real Mary King’s Close to be the place where I felt the strongest supernatural vibes. Of course we also had with us Rochester the trusty guide dog puppy and everyone knows that animals are a great deal more susceptible to the supernatural than we are, so as we headed down the steps into the dark passageways of the Close I was waiting for something dramatic to happen.

The Close has had a reputation for hauntings since at least the 17th century. Originally it consisted of narrow streets with tenement houses on either side, stretching up to seven stories high. When the Royal Exchange building was constructed in 1753 the Close was partially demolished and the remainder of the streets and houses were buried beneath the building. As a result it became a place of myth and legend, with tales of plague deaths, murders and hauntings abounding. It was easy enough to feel spooked as we walked through the dimly lit rooms and passageways but Rochester tootled along quite happily and I have to admit that although I thoroughly enjoyed the tour I didn’t feel the touch of any ghostly apparition.

And so to Greyfriars Churchyard, where Rochester wanted to pay homage to the faithful terrier Greyfriars Bobby, the loyal dog who for many years stoodguard over his master’s grave. The Kirk stands on the site of the Franciscan monastery of the Grey Friars and the building is one of the oldest surviving outside of Edinburgh’s Old Town. The kirkyard is reputedly haunted by a poltergeist, the unhappy spirit of  “Bloody” George Mackenzie, which is said to cause bruises, bites and cuts to those unfortunate people who come into contact with it. Mackenzie, the Lord Advocate, imprisoned 1200 of the Scottish Covenanters, Presbyterians who opposed the policies of King Charles II. Their prison adjoins the churchyard and I must admit that the longer I stayed there the more oppressive the atmosphere seemed to become. No bites or bruises, fortunately, but definitely a sense of unhappiness and dread.

On the way out of the kirkyard we saw these splendid “mortsafes,” designed to protect burials from the grave robbers who would dig the bodies up and sell them to the medical schools.

And so finally to Gladstone’s Land, a surviving 17th century tenement house that the National Trust for Scotland has restored and furnished. This was the home of a prosperous Edinburgh merchant, Thomas Gledstanes, and it was a fascinating. I really enjoyed my visit. and especially the beautiful “painted chamber.”  Alas, Rochester the puppy wasn’t so keen. He got as far as the kitchen and became very agitated, whining to go out. I don’t know whether Gladstone’s Land is reputed to be haunted but as one of the other visitors said to me: “That dog can see something you and I can’t!”

For a guide dog puppy’s  view of the Edinburgh trip check out Rochester’s blog, Puppy with a Purpose!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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And So To Bed…

Over on the Word Wenches blog today I am talking about fourposter beds. What could be more lovely, lush and romantic? Do drop by to chat about your sleep preferences!

I’d also be thrilled if you would like to join me here on the blog next week for a peek into my trip into Edinburgh’s dark side – yes, I did a ghost tour of the city and had some very interesting experiences!

Have a great weekend and see you next week!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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