Paula Lofting's Blog, page 4
June 9, 2013
Sons of the Wolf goes on tour!
Come and join me on my blog tour and win copies of Sons of the Wolf!
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Click link for the details
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PAULA'S PEOPLE: GUEST SPOT - CAROL MCGRATH, AUTHOR OF THE HANDFASTED WIFE
Hi Carol, welcome to my blog!
Thank you very much for having me as a guest on your blog today, Paula. I hope to be interesting about my debut novel The Handfasted Wife and answer your interview questions with consideration for your readers. You're welcome Carol. am very excited to have you here. Here goes then! I believe this is your first novel, what inspired you to write a book about Edith Swan-Neck?After university I was a history teacher in London so I assumed that I knew a great deal about The Battle of Hastings and The Norman Conquest. Tasks my students enjoyed were drawing their own vignettes inspired by The Bayeux Tapestry and reading ‘snippits’ from primary sources. I have always loved writing and was thrilled when I was accepted for the Oxford Diploma in Creative Writing, a two-year evening course. I had a radio play to write as part of the course and a visit to Normandy with our village Twinning Association provided the material for the play. The short film supporting the Tapestry at Bayeux suggested that Edith Swan-Neck, King Harold’s common-law wife, identified his body parts after the Battle of Hastings. When I began to research I found out three other interesting facts. Gytha, Harold’s mother, offered gold in return for his body(The Song of Hastings circa 1067/8). The Bayeux Tapestry showed a vignette of a woman fleeing a burning house with a child just before the battle scenes. Some historians think this could be Edith and her son Ulf who was taken as a child hostage into Normandy.Shockingly, I discovered that Edith Swan-Neck, recorded in legends as the great love of Harold’s life, was set aside in 1066 for a new political marriage. She was only a hand-fasted wife. My play was to be about Edith Swan-Neck’s experience of loss and disaster. This story haunted me so much that when I was accepted for a PhD in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London, some years later, I did not write the Dickensian novel I had planned, but instead returned to the royal women of 1066. I wanted to tell a woman’s story, to make her live and feel, and to provide readers with a sense of how battle, loss and change could have affected her life.
Thanks Carol, that is a very moving thought. It must have been so traumatic to have to search for your man among the human carnage of battle. Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on historical fact. How did you go about your research?
Women were marginalised on the Historical Record. Royal women only get a few lines. These royal women had an interesting story. Since I was a research student I had access to The Bodleian Library in Oxford. There I was able to sit in my dusty corner day after day, exploring old chronicles, research papers, journals and a heap of secondary material on the subject of The Norman Conquest. My starting point was, in fact, The Waltham Chronicle, where I saw for myself the story that Edith identified Harold’s body parts by marks only known to her. I read everything I could in primary and secondary sources about Edith Swan-Neck, Queen Edith, Harold’s sister, and Countess Gytha. Academic conferences, in particular one on The Bayeux Tapestry at The British Museum, provided me with a wealth of information, analysis and understanding concerning this marvelous embroidery. I used to embroider myself. Equally, I read everything I could about life during this great period of change and,importantly, I kept organised notes. As one experience and one book would lead to another I felt as if time paused as I was teleported into a past world. The more I learned the more I needed to explore further and so on. However, research for a novel is the part of the iceberg that lies below the surface of the water. It is the story that must take you, the readers, into the recreated medieval world, so you have the illusion that you are experiencing life as it might have been then. That is the magic of historical fiction.
Beautifully put Carol. Apart from Edith Swan-Neck are there any other important female characters in your book that you really like?
I love them all but especially Gytha, Harold’s mother because she stood up to William at Exeter and refused to hand over her dower city. What a presence and what strength! She is dynamic and shows it. I imagine her shaking a stick with an eagle’s head at her foes and ringing a little bell to summon her ladies.
Haha! Yes. I can imagine her being like that. What was the most enjoyable aspect of writing The Handfasted Wife?
I rise early to write and begin my day with an imagined world that I am creating. I find I am movingcharacters around in my head, eves-dropping on their conversations, feeling their sorrow and occasionally their joys too. The Handfasted Wife is an historical adventure brim-full of escape and pursuit and it was a lot of fun to write. Of course, I frequently burned the breakfast toast because I became so immersed in their world that I forgot our modern world.
Will we be hearing anymore about Edith in future books?
In a word, ‘Yes’.
How exciting!What are you working on now?
The Handfasted Wife is the first novel in my trilogy Daughters of Hastings. I am half way through a first draft of the second book, Countess of the North. This is the story of Gunnhild (Edith’s younger daughter) and her elopement from Wilton Abbey in 1075. It is rooted in the historical record and is a beautiful story to write. She is a very determined and feisty heroine. Watch out for her! She will be coming your way soon.
Thanks Carol, I really cant wait to read The Handfasted Wife
You can follow Carol @carolmcgrath on TwitterMy blog is http://scribbling-inthemargins.blogspot.com
Thank you very much for having me as a guest on your blog today, Paula. I hope to be interesting about my debut novel The Handfasted Wife and answer your interview questions with consideration for your readers. You're welcome Carol. am very excited to have you here. Here goes then! I believe this is your first novel, what inspired you to write a book about Edith Swan-Neck?After university I was a history teacher in London so I assumed that I knew a great deal about The Battle of Hastings and The Norman Conquest. Tasks my students enjoyed were drawing their own vignettes inspired by The Bayeux Tapestry and reading ‘snippits’ from primary sources. I have always loved writing and was thrilled when I was accepted for the Oxford Diploma in Creative Writing, a two-year evening course. I had a radio play to write as part of the course and a visit to Normandy with our village Twinning Association provided the material for the play. The short film supporting the Tapestry at Bayeux suggested that Edith Swan-Neck, King Harold’s common-law wife, identified his body parts after the Battle of Hastings. When I began to research I found out three other interesting facts. Gytha, Harold’s mother, offered gold in return for his body(The Song of Hastings circa 1067/8). The Bayeux Tapestry showed a vignette of a woman fleeing a burning house with a child just before the battle scenes. Some historians think this could be Edith and her son Ulf who was taken as a child hostage into Normandy.Shockingly, I discovered that Edith Swan-Neck, recorded in legends as the great love of Harold’s life, was set aside in 1066 for a new political marriage. She was only a hand-fasted wife. My play was to be about Edith Swan-Neck’s experience of loss and disaster. This story haunted me so much that when I was accepted for a PhD in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London, some years later, I did not write the Dickensian novel I had planned, but instead returned to the royal women of 1066. I wanted to tell a woman’s story, to make her live and feel, and to provide readers with a sense of how battle, loss and change could have affected her life.
Thanks Carol, that is a very moving thought. It must have been so traumatic to have to search for your man among the human carnage of battle. Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on historical fact. How did you go about your research?
Women were marginalised on the Historical Record. Royal women only get a few lines. These royal women had an interesting story. Since I was a research student I had access to The Bodleian Library in Oxford. There I was able to sit in my dusty corner day after day, exploring old chronicles, research papers, journals and a heap of secondary material on the subject of The Norman Conquest. My starting point was, in fact, The Waltham Chronicle, where I saw for myself the story that Edith identified Harold’s body parts by marks only known to her. I read everything I could in primary and secondary sources about Edith Swan-Neck, Queen Edith, Harold’s sister, and Countess Gytha. Academic conferences, in particular one on The Bayeux Tapestry at The British Museum, provided me with a wealth of information, analysis and understanding concerning this marvelous embroidery. I used to embroider myself. Equally, I read everything I could about life during this great period of change and,importantly, I kept organised notes. As one experience and one book would lead to another I felt as if time paused as I was teleported into a past world. The more I learned the more I needed to explore further and so on. However, research for a novel is the part of the iceberg that lies below the surface of the water. It is the story that must take you, the readers, into the recreated medieval world, so you have the illusion that you are experiencing life as it might have been then. That is the magic of historical fiction.
Beautifully put Carol. Apart from Edith Swan-Neck are there any other important female characters in your book that you really like?
I love them all but especially Gytha, Harold’s mother because she stood up to William at Exeter and refused to hand over her dower city. What a presence and what strength! She is dynamic and shows it. I imagine her shaking a stick with an eagle’s head at her foes and ringing a little bell to summon her ladies.
Haha! Yes. I can imagine her being like that. What was the most enjoyable aspect of writing The Handfasted Wife?
I rise early to write and begin my day with an imagined world that I am creating. I find I am movingcharacters around in my head, eves-dropping on their conversations, feeling their sorrow and occasionally their joys too. The Handfasted Wife is an historical adventure brim-full of escape and pursuit and it was a lot of fun to write. Of course, I frequently burned the breakfast toast because I became so immersed in their world that I forgot our modern world.
Will we be hearing anymore about Edith in future books?
In a word, ‘Yes’.
How exciting!What are you working on now?
The Handfasted Wife is the first novel in my trilogy Daughters of Hastings. I am half way through a first draft of the second book, Countess of the North. This is the story of Gunnhild (Edith’s younger daughter) and her elopement from Wilton Abbey in 1075. It is rooted in the historical record and is a beautiful story to write. She is a very determined and feisty heroine. Watch out for her! She will be coming your way soon.
Thanks Carol, I really cant wait to read The Handfasted Wife
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You can follow Carol @carolmcgrath on TwitterMy blog is http://scribbling-inthemargins.blogspot.com
May 17, 2013
Book Review Rome: The Emperor's Spy
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Rome: The Emperor's Spy by M.C. Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Rome is burning. Only one man can save it.
The Emperor: Nero, Emperor of Rome and all her provinces, feared by his subjects for his temper and cruelty, is in possession of an ancient document predicting that Rome will burn.
The Spy: Sebastos Pantera, assassin and spy for the Roman Legions, is ordered to stop the impending cataclysm. He knows that if he does not, his life - and those of thousands of others - are in terrible danger.
The Chariot Boy: Math, a young charioteer, is a pawn drawn into the deadly game between the Emperor and the Spy, where death stalks the drivers - on the track and off it
Manda Scott is a new author I have discovered who has the ability to turn what could be an ordinary sentence into a work of art. Her style had me drawing in breath with her talent for crafting words that mesmerise you with its beauty. Sebastos Pantera, loved his name - the Leopard, has returned to Gaul after working under cover in Britannia, that wild and untamed province of the Roman empire. There he had become absorbed into the lives of the Britons, living a double life for 5 years before tragedy ends that phase in his life and he is transported back into the service of Nero, his lord. Nero has a job for him; he must stop an ancient prophecy from being fulfilled, or Rome will burn, a little boy he loves will die and many other lives will be in jeopardy.
Math, as the boy is known is drawn to Pantera who becomes his mentor and in drawing Math into Nero's world, he also embroils other characters in the plot: Hannah, the exotic beauty from Alexandria with a secret so dangerous, it could destroy them all; Ajax, the scarred charioteer whom has looked after Math since he was born; Shimon,the Hebrew who knows Hannah's secret. Somehow the characters are all destined to meet and each have their part to play in finding a way to destroy the prophecy.
But none of them could count on the evil that watches them; silent,hidden and unexpected. It will eventually catch up with them and when it does, there will be no telling what horrors await them.
Scott's characters are both colourful and alive with realism. They bounce of the pages in a way that will have you thinking of them day and night. You care about them, you know them like your friends, your enemies and your loved ones. As each chapter ended, I was ready for the next, desperate to know what happened next until only sleep stopped me from reading. The plot is carefully laid out and nothing is left to the imagination.
I'm not a great Roman scholar, but Scott seems to know what she is talking about and adds an author's note at the end. Her chariot racing scenes were perhaps a little long for my liking but there was no doubt that she could craft the details of them as if she had actually been there.
At times, her writing was so embellished, it was a little ambiguous and you had to really read the sentence a few time over to work out the meaning. Apart from this one small criticism, this book in my opinion is a literary masterpiece.
View all my reviews
Rome: The Emperor's Spy by M.C. ScottMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Rome is burning. Only one man can save it.
The Emperor: Nero, Emperor of Rome and all her provinces, feared by his subjects for his temper and cruelty, is in possession of an ancient document predicting that Rome will burn.
The Spy: Sebastos Pantera, assassin and spy for the Roman Legions, is ordered to stop the impending cataclysm. He knows that if he does not, his life - and those of thousands of others - are in terrible danger.
The Chariot Boy: Math, a young charioteer, is a pawn drawn into the deadly game between the Emperor and the Spy, where death stalks the drivers - on the track and off it
Manda Scott is a new author I have discovered who has the ability to turn what could be an ordinary sentence into a work of art. Her style had me drawing in breath with her talent for crafting words that mesmerise you with its beauty. Sebastos Pantera, loved his name - the Leopard, has returned to Gaul after working under cover in Britannia, that wild and untamed province of the Roman empire. There he had become absorbed into the lives of the Britons, living a double life for 5 years before tragedy ends that phase in his life and he is transported back into the service of Nero, his lord. Nero has a job for him; he must stop an ancient prophecy from being fulfilled, or Rome will burn, a little boy he loves will die and many other lives will be in jeopardy.
Math, as the boy is known is drawn to Pantera who becomes his mentor and in drawing Math into Nero's world, he also embroils other characters in the plot: Hannah, the exotic beauty from Alexandria with a secret so dangerous, it could destroy them all; Ajax, the scarred charioteer whom has looked after Math since he was born; Shimon,the Hebrew who knows Hannah's secret. Somehow the characters are all destined to meet and each have their part to play in finding a way to destroy the prophecy.
But none of them could count on the evil that watches them; silent,hidden and unexpected. It will eventually catch up with them and when it does, there will be no telling what horrors await them.
Scott's characters are both colourful and alive with realism. They bounce of the pages in a way that will have you thinking of them day and night. You care about them, you know them like your friends, your enemies and your loved ones. As each chapter ended, I was ready for the next, desperate to know what happened next until only sleep stopped me from reading. The plot is carefully laid out and nothing is left to the imagination.
I'm not a great Roman scholar, but Scott seems to know what she is talking about and adds an author's note at the end. Her chariot racing scenes were perhaps a little long for my liking but there was no doubt that she could craft the details of them as if she had actually been there.
At times, her writing was so embellished, it was a little ambiguous and you had to really read the sentence a few time over to work out the meaning. Apart from this one small criticism, this book in my opinion is a literary masterpiece.
View all my reviews
May 16, 2013
PAULA'S PEOPLE: Guest of the Month, author Michael Wills talks about his new release Three Kings - One Crown
Michael WellsHi Mike, welcome to my blog and thanks for coming along to answer questions about yourself and your current work Three Kings one Crown. Congratulations on being published. This must have been an exciting project for you to work on and I expect it has taken you years of research and hard work to get it all on paper and then in print.
Yes It has Paula, but first let me say thank you for inviting me to be a guest on your blog.
· How does it feel to finally hold your book in your hand and see it in lovely print?
A wonderful feeling. As regards the content, well others will judge, but as far as the cover is concerned, I think that it looks great!
· What made you go assisted publishing and what led you to chose SilverWood books?
Well, when I finished my first book, I started sending query letters to publishers. It was a time consuming business. I could handle the disappointments, I had no unrealistic expectations, I was after all a novice novelist. However, not being a patient person, I quickly got frustrated. I have to confess that I am not exactly in the first flush of adulthood; I was impatient to get on with my next writing project. I thought to myself, “If you are confident that your book is good enough to be published, then prove it, spend some of your own money getting it out there”.
At the HNS Conference I attended a seminar at which Helen Hart was present. I was impressed by what she had to say. At that stage I had not heard of SilverWood. Subsequently, I noted that several writers whom I respect, were using the services of a firm called SilverWood. I checked out the company, and lo, the owner was Helen. I thought that their prices were reasonable, so I decided to place my manuscript for “Three Kings – One Crown” with them. A decision which I have certainly not regretted.· Also being a fan of this period in history I know why I am drawn to this time but I was wondering what it is about the 11thc that has inspired your story?
My primary fascination is with the Vikings. I suppose this is because I spent several years living in Scandinavia. As I hope my readers recognise, my writing style is very much concerned with interweaving the fiction with real events and recorded happenings. In preparing my manuscripts I concluded that it was impossible to research one aspect of the 11thcentury in isolation, so I had a thoroughly enjoyable time trying to make sense of the complications of this incredibly turbulent period. It is an absolutely absorbing time in history. The challenge for a novelist is to be selective about the amount of historical detail to include, while retaining a story which relates credibly to “real” history.
So how did your characters develop and have you based them on anyone in particular?
I have wondered the same thing! With both books, before I started writing, I knew how the book would start and I had a precise plan about how they would end. The long bit in between and the people in it were the product of imagination, sleepless hours and research. So who were the characters? My main fictional protagonists are male and often they reflect the qualities and vices of people I have known. What I do is to take the characters from their secure, normal existences and force them into situations which are outside their experience. The way in which they react is decided by the role which I have created in my mind. This role is often dictated by the real person I am relating them to. For example, Torkil in Three Kings – One Throne, is initially selfish and idle. Then he has an unexpected experience which gives him direction and ambition. Unfortunately, his new enthusiasm is so strong that he is prepared to ignore other responsibilities to fulfil this ambition. I am sure that I am not alone in having met people like this.
· Your book covers a wide area, Scandinavia, the Isle of Wight, much of England and Normandy and this is reflected in your descriptions of them in the book. Did you visit these places to get a feel for them as you wrote your book?
Yes, I think that this is very important to me in my writing. I visited all the places mentioned in the book together with my very patient wife, with the exception of Novgorod. I realise that I am privileged, as a retired person, to have the time and means to travel. Such places as Uppsala, Kiev, Istanbul and Roskilde really are inspirational. And I had many adventures on mountains, rough seas and in mosquito infested forests, but one of the most extraordinary experiences was to arrive on our boat at a harbour on a small island in Sweden and find that of all the hundreds of people there, we were the only ones not dressed as Vikings! It was the annual Viking Market. · Who is your favourite character in the book and why?
I am very fond of Ivar, the Danish boy slave. Despite his initial lowly status, through steadfastness, guile and unquestioning loyalty to his master, he survives to become a wealthy freeman.
· Who would be your least favourite character and why?
Undoubtedly Tostig, Earl Harold’s brother. This man was prepared not only to betray his brother, but even to facilitate a foreign king taking the English crown.
· Tell us about Finn’s story, the novel that you wrote before Three Kings, One Crown.
Finn is the youngest of three brothers who lived in a small settlement in Lapland in the late tenth century. He was persuaded by the dominant older brother to abandon their parents and to travel south to seek a better life. They eventually reached the realm of King Erik, (a real character), and found themselves forced into slavery. Through the resourcefulness of the oldest brother they escaped and eventually reached Denmark where they embarked on a Viking expedition to Britain. All went well for them, though not for their victims, until through overconfidence they found themselves trapped by Anglo-Saxons.
· What are you working on now and what do you have planned for the future?
I should be working on the third book in the Finn’s Legacy Trilogy, (Once more I know the beginning and the end, but not the middle!). However, I came across a story which was too alluring to resist. I have taken an excursion seven hundred years further on to the American War of Independence and the tragic story of the decimation of an English regiment. The book begins in rural Hampshire and ends in Vermont. I have written the English based first half of the book and I am going to Canada and Vermont in the autumn to do field research for the second half. Then, next in line is to return to finish the trilogy….but I have a longing to write a Viking story for teenagers, which is seriously threatening the planned order!
Thanks so much for coming along and giving us this great insight into you and your book. Best of luck for the future!
You can buy Mike's book Three Kings - One Crown here
You can follow the rest of the tour at :Jaffa Reads Too (Saturday 18th May)
Because this Girl Loves books (19th May)
May 1, 2013
A sneak peak from The Wolf Banner, sequel to Sons of the Wolf
“You are very pensive today, min deore,” Harold said when he and Eadgyth, having broken their fast that Sunday morn, attended mass with everyone in Waltham present to welcome their lord home. He was surveying the work in progress, the new Church of the Holy Rood. Harold had commissioned the new church to replace the old ramshackle building in thanksgiving for surviving a serious illness when he had been younger. His mother had prayed for him at the altar in the old church for his recovery and it was where he had first met Eadgyth and fallen in love with her as she had tended him when he was sick. He had made the oath to rebuild the old church in new finery some years ago, inspired by King Edward’s work on his own project, the great church of St Peter in Westminster.
The children skipped around them with Ranulf acting as their guardian and although the day which had started bright with sunshine and blue sky was now cloudy with a chill in the air, there was nothing but warmth between them as Eadgyth held on to her husband as if he were nothing more than a vision that would soon vaporise into thin air if she didn’t.
Eadgyth had been preoccupied, vague and hardly participating in her usual effervescent manner. Harold’s head canon, Adelard and the chief stonemason, a Frenchman called Robert Deschamps showed them around the half built church, explaining in his captivating style the machinations of the work. But Eadgyth seemed lost in a world of her own and although she was educated, knew how to converse very well in the French language that they were all speaking, she maintained a low profile throughout. As the party had paused to admire the building, the laughter of the children echoing as they skipped around the stone foundations and the half built walls, Harold stopped and leaned in closely to her and repeated what he had said to her earlier which had gone ignored. “Min Deore, you are lost in a world beyond here, what ails you this morning?” He emphasised ‘you’ as if he were referencing his own brooding manner from the previous night.
She turned dreamy eyes toward him and they were moist, as if ready to break into tears. “’Tis nothing, Harold...” She hesitated as if there were more.
Harold lowered his chin and raised thick brown eyebrows that contrasted to the lightness of his hair. So attuned to each other’s nature were they, that each one could read the other’s mood like a missive.
“Nothing is ever nothing when it is nothing,” Harold said, his voice low and encouraging.
“There is something that I wish to say to you, but I do not know where to begin,” she stated.
“Then say it, Sweeting. What is it?”
“Nay, I cannot here. Not with company around us.”
“Then let us walk,” he suggested. And he indicated to Skalpi that he wanted to be alone with his wife to walk back to their manor, knowing that the children would be safe with their nurse and Ranulf and the rest of his companions.
They walked on ahead and Eadgyth diverted to a peaceful place where she thought they could be in private for a while to talk. She had thought of nothing else all morning, all through the mass and then as they walked around their new church.
“I want you to marry,” she said after a few moments of silence. Her voice was confident. They sat by the mill pond on the wooden seating that Harold himself had made so that she could go there with the children when the weather was good.
For a moment, sitting beside her, it was as if he hadn’t heard her, for he didn’t move or make any acknowledgement. She heard him breathe and wondered if he was ever going to answer her. “It is the only way,” she said.
He looked at her, bemused. “My love,” he said and he gave a little laugh that sounded fake. “What on earth has gotten into you? Have you tired of me already?”
She shook her head and put her hand in his. “Never, never, never ever would I tire of you, my Lord. It is not for me that I ask this, for I could never imagine being without you... and you have, not ever in our time together, given me cause to be displeased with you, or want to be away from you. It is for Wulfnoth and Hakon that I ask this.” She paused and showed him intensity of her pale blue eyes that betrayed the self-assurance of her voice.
He was looking at her with sudden understanding of the sacrifice she was attempting. “Eadgyth, lufestre, there is no point in asking this of me for I will not marry, not while I have you.”
“Even if it would get Hakon and Wulfhnoth back?”
“How would my marrying someone else help?” he asked.
“If you were to marry one of those women your sister is always urging you to marry, someone whose family could get you the influence you need at the court of the Duke – perhaps even the Duke’s niece, Judith. I have heard her name mentioned at court, or perhaps one of the Duke’s daughters, Agatha or something. Then the boys would be bound to come home.”
He looked at her with an amused smile and taking her hand to his lips, said: “You are such a clever little bee. I would never have thought of this idea myself.”
“Oh you!” she cried, smiling at his gentle teasing. “So why not do it then?” She gave him a playful slap on his upper arm and he winced, clasping the spot, pretending it had hurt.
“You want me to do this?” he asked. He was looking at her seriously.
“One day I will lose you Harold, we have always known that. If I have to lose you to another woman, then I would rather you did it for the boys.” She looked away and wiped the corner of her eye where a tear had formed. “It would make it easier...”
For a moment, Harold set his lips together and sighed. She did not look at him, but sensed that he was frowning. “You say this to me?” he asked suddenly, but it was not a question, more of a statement. “After all that we have meant to each other – I thought you knew me, Eadgyth. I thought you knew me better than myself! But I must have been wrong to think that, for if it were true, then you know I would never leave you for anyone else.” He stood and took a few steps away from her. Her words had made him angry.
She and Harold rarely exchanged heated words. When they had first met, she had thought him conceited and brash and mistook his outward show of self-confidence as arrogance. The second time she was to meet him, he was lying close death, grateful that she had taken the time to bathe him, change his soiled sheets and spoon feed him like a child. She had grown to love him in the months that followed and although she fought against it, he had won her heart. She came to know that she had loved him from the moment he brazenly kissed her hand with those mocking blue eyes of his gazing at her like some lecherous rogue. She just hadn’t realised it. Since she had agreed to become his handfastned wife, there had been very few times like this, where either one had hurt the other. Now it made her feel uncomfortable. She went to him and from behind, put her arms around him. He tautened, but did not pull away.
“If I have hurt you, my Lord, then please forgive me. It was not my intention,” she whispered as a lone tear rolled down her cheek. “I was trying to make it easier for us....”
“Easier?” he swung around and faced her, his face creased in a frown. “First you tell me to marry, then you tell me you could bear it if it was for Wulfnoth and Hakon. Do you think that when I said to you I would never marry anyone as long as I have you, that I did not mean it?”
“Harold, please, do not be angry with me. You said when you told me you wanted me to be your handfastned wife, that as the son of an earl, you may one day need to make an official alliance at the behest of the King for the sake of the kingdom. I have known all these years that we are together on borrowed time.”
“That was then, before I knew that our hearts and souls would always be as one. I couldn’t have known then that I would not want to put you aside, as I do not now.”
“But it will happen one day Harold –”
“And have I not resisted any attempts the King or my sister has made to wed me to some foreign princess?” She made to protest again, but he caught her shoulders. “I wish I could shake some sense into you, my beautiful, selfless Swannehaels!”
“Please, my love, do not be angry with me,” she cried, throwing herself into his arms. “I only thought of it because I saw how unhappy you were for Wulfnoth and Hakon.”
He stroked her hair. “My lady has been told that she need never worry, for she will never lose her lord, no matter what happens. You and the children are all I could ever need, Eadgyth. You are the one most constant in my life and will always be.”
As they stood there, in the strengthening wind, locked within each other’s arms, his words comforted her. She felt a sense of relief that although she would have been prepared for it, she didn’t have to lose him. Not right then, anyhow.
The children skipped around them with Ranulf acting as their guardian and although the day which had started bright with sunshine and blue sky was now cloudy with a chill in the air, there was nothing but warmth between them as Eadgyth held on to her husband as if he were nothing more than a vision that would soon vaporise into thin air if she didn’t.
Eadgyth had been preoccupied, vague and hardly participating in her usual effervescent manner. Harold’s head canon, Adelard and the chief stonemason, a Frenchman called Robert Deschamps showed them around the half built church, explaining in his captivating style the machinations of the work. But Eadgyth seemed lost in a world of her own and although she was educated, knew how to converse very well in the French language that they were all speaking, she maintained a low profile throughout. As the party had paused to admire the building, the laughter of the children echoing as they skipped around the stone foundations and the half built walls, Harold stopped and leaned in closely to her and repeated what he had said to her earlier which had gone ignored. “Min Deore, you are lost in a world beyond here, what ails you this morning?” He emphasised ‘you’ as if he were referencing his own brooding manner from the previous night.
She turned dreamy eyes toward him and they were moist, as if ready to break into tears. “’Tis nothing, Harold...” She hesitated as if there were more.
Harold lowered his chin and raised thick brown eyebrows that contrasted to the lightness of his hair. So attuned to each other’s nature were they, that each one could read the other’s mood like a missive.
“Nothing is ever nothing when it is nothing,” Harold said, his voice low and encouraging.
“There is something that I wish to say to you, but I do not know where to begin,” she stated.
“Then say it, Sweeting. What is it?”
“Nay, I cannot here. Not with company around us.”
“Then let us walk,” he suggested. And he indicated to Skalpi that he wanted to be alone with his wife to walk back to their manor, knowing that the children would be safe with their nurse and Ranulf and the rest of his companions.
They walked on ahead and Eadgyth diverted to a peaceful place where she thought they could be in private for a while to talk. She had thought of nothing else all morning, all through the mass and then as they walked around their new church.
“I want you to marry,” she said after a few moments of silence. Her voice was confident. They sat by the mill pond on the wooden seating that Harold himself had made so that she could go there with the children when the weather was good.
For a moment, sitting beside her, it was as if he hadn’t heard her, for he didn’t move or make any acknowledgement. She heard him breathe and wondered if he was ever going to answer her. “It is the only way,” she said.
He looked at her, bemused. “My love,” he said and he gave a little laugh that sounded fake. “What on earth has gotten into you? Have you tired of me already?”
She shook her head and put her hand in his. “Never, never, never ever would I tire of you, my Lord. It is not for me that I ask this, for I could never imagine being without you... and you have, not ever in our time together, given me cause to be displeased with you, or want to be away from you. It is for Wulfnoth and Hakon that I ask this.” She paused and showed him intensity of her pale blue eyes that betrayed the self-assurance of her voice.
He was looking at her with sudden understanding of the sacrifice she was attempting. “Eadgyth, lufestre, there is no point in asking this of me for I will not marry, not while I have you.”
“Even if it would get Hakon and Wulfhnoth back?”
“How would my marrying someone else help?” he asked.
“If you were to marry one of those women your sister is always urging you to marry, someone whose family could get you the influence you need at the court of the Duke – perhaps even the Duke’s niece, Judith. I have heard her name mentioned at court, or perhaps one of the Duke’s daughters, Agatha or something. Then the boys would be bound to come home.”
He looked at her with an amused smile and taking her hand to his lips, said: “You are such a clever little bee. I would never have thought of this idea myself.”
“Oh you!” she cried, smiling at his gentle teasing. “So why not do it then?” She gave him a playful slap on his upper arm and he winced, clasping the spot, pretending it had hurt.
“You want me to do this?” he asked. He was looking at her seriously.
“One day I will lose you Harold, we have always known that. If I have to lose you to another woman, then I would rather you did it for the boys.” She looked away and wiped the corner of her eye where a tear had formed. “It would make it easier...”
For a moment, Harold set his lips together and sighed. She did not look at him, but sensed that he was frowning. “You say this to me?” he asked suddenly, but it was not a question, more of a statement. “After all that we have meant to each other – I thought you knew me, Eadgyth. I thought you knew me better than myself! But I must have been wrong to think that, for if it were true, then you know I would never leave you for anyone else.” He stood and took a few steps away from her. Her words had made him angry.
She and Harold rarely exchanged heated words. When they had first met, she had thought him conceited and brash and mistook his outward show of self-confidence as arrogance. The second time she was to meet him, he was lying close death, grateful that she had taken the time to bathe him, change his soiled sheets and spoon feed him like a child. She had grown to love him in the months that followed and although she fought against it, he had won her heart. She came to know that she had loved him from the moment he brazenly kissed her hand with those mocking blue eyes of his gazing at her like some lecherous rogue. She just hadn’t realised it. Since she had agreed to become his handfastned wife, there had been very few times like this, where either one had hurt the other. Now it made her feel uncomfortable. She went to him and from behind, put her arms around him. He tautened, but did not pull away.
“If I have hurt you, my Lord, then please forgive me. It was not my intention,” she whispered as a lone tear rolled down her cheek. “I was trying to make it easier for us....”
“Easier?” he swung around and faced her, his face creased in a frown. “First you tell me to marry, then you tell me you could bear it if it was for Wulfnoth and Hakon. Do you think that when I said to you I would never marry anyone as long as I have you, that I did not mean it?”
“Harold, please, do not be angry with me. You said when you told me you wanted me to be your handfastned wife, that as the son of an earl, you may one day need to make an official alliance at the behest of the King for the sake of the kingdom. I have known all these years that we are together on borrowed time.”
“That was then, before I knew that our hearts and souls would always be as one. I couldn’t have known then that I would not want to put you aside, as I do not now.”
“But it will happen one day Harold –”
“And have I not resisted any attempts the King or my sister has made to wed me to some foreign princess?” She made to protest again, but he caught her shoulders. “I wish I could shake some sense into you, my beautiful, selfless Swannehaels!”
“Please, my love, do not be angry with me,” she cried, throwing herself into his arms. “I only thought of it because I saw how unhappy you were for Wulfnoth and Hakon.”
He stroked her hair. “My lady has been told that she need never worry, for she will never lose her lord, no matter what happens. You and the children are all I could ever need, Eadgyth. You are the one most constant in my life and will always be.”
As they stood there, in the strengthening wind, locked within each other’s arms, his words comforted her. She felt a sense of relief that although she would have been prepared for it, she didn’t have to lose him. Not right then, anyhow.
April 16, 2013
PAULA'S PEOPLE: Guest of the Month, WWII Veteran Daphne Farrow
Today I'd like to welcome young Daphne Farrow who is only 91 years young to my blog as a guest Funny Things Happened to Me on the Way to Old Age. At first I was perturbed by this competition, after all, I had the privileged 'signing' table and thought that a little charming old lady would be more likely to win customers than I was going to. But soon my fears began to melt away as we somehow molded into a double act. If someone bought Daphne's book, I would look at them and smile and say, "Well, there's no point in me telling you about mine is there?" Instead of running up to the till in an effort to avoid me, I found that they would stop and ask me what I was selling and after giving them my carefully rehearsed spiel, they'd by one of my books as well! It may have had something to do with it being Christmas that both Daphne and I sold quite a few copies that day mostly as a tag team and we both struck up a lovely friendship.
I met Daphne in John Pye's The Bookshop bookshop in the lovely Sussex medieval High St of East Grinstead. I was doing a book signing in the week running up to Christmas and Daphne, who is a regular feature in The Bookshop, was there to hand sell her book,Daphne's book is a collection of stories about her life. It is a fantastic insight into life in the 20's, 30's and surviving the Plymouth blitz and serving as a WAAF officer.I was so intrigued by Daphne and her story that I wanted to let my friends and readers know about this wonderful sweet lady who had put her fond memories of her experiences down on paper.In two years, Daphne has managed to sell over 600 copies purely through The Bookshop and I thought I would introduce her to a wider audience by inviting her to be a guest on my blog.
So please welcome the lovely Daphne Farrow!
So Tell me where you were born Daphne?
I'm from Plymouth, a Devonshire lass.
What made you decide to write your book Daphne?
My daughter Annie kept nagging me to and I gave in because I wanted to make people laugh.
How would you describe your book?
Light-hearted and exact!
What was it like in the RAF?
I was a staff driver at HQ and later commissioned to become a technical officer. I had to go on a 6 week course that would have normally taken 3 years! We had to cram a lot of learning into those 6 weeks. I used to go on flights to test the repairs. There was a camaraderie and friendship and w e all had one thing in common, the determination to survive and fightback.
What was the most exciting moment of your life?
Meeting my husband. I had always wanted to fly and he was a pilot and took out in a Halifax Bomber over the field and I was so worried we weren't going to get above the trees. He just told me to hang on to the compass so i didn't fall over! It was the most exhilarating, heart stopping moment of my life but it was wonderful as we flew above the trees!
What or who are your inspirations?
I love music, Big Band music like Victor Sylvester, Classical music : Mozart's piano concerto no 23 and I loved dancing to the music of Strauss. My husband used to teach ballroom dancing so I loved that sort of music.
What have been your favourite books?
I love Agatha Christie books, they keep you in suspense
What is your favourite part of your book?
Absolutely no question, the part where I tell about the day Clifford, my husband flew me through the Northern Lights. As we flew by the beautiful chiffon colours I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Not even the Queen could have done better!
Me and the lovely Daphne in The BookshopMany thanks to Daphne for allowing me to interview her and tell the world about her wonderful book which can be bought on line here or on Amazon or The Bookshop
If you would like to know more about Daphne checkout her website at http://www.funnythingshappened.co.uk/
March 23, 2013
PAULA'S PEOPLE: Guest of the month Dave McCall who writes as David Ebsworth
Please welcome David Ebsworth!
[image error] David Ebsworth is the pen name of writer, Dave McCall, a former negotiator and Regional Secretary for the Transport & General Workers’ Union. He was born in Liverpool but has lived for the past thirty years in Wrexham with his wife, Ann. Since their retirement in 2008, the couple have spent about six months of each year in southern Spain. Dave began to write seriously in the following year, 2009. His debut novel, The Jacobites' Apprentice, was critically acclaimed by the Historical Novel Society who deemed it "worthy of a place on every historical fiction bookshelf." But he's here today to launch his new novel, The Assassin's Mark. Anyway, over to you, David. [image error] Well first, thanks very much for welcoming me to the blog. It's a great privilege to be here. And especially today, as you say, to launch my second novel, The Assassin’s Mark. It's set in 1938, towards the end of the Spanish Civil War, and follows the trials and tribulations of left-wing reporter Jack Telford, stuck on a tour bus with a very strange mixture of other travellers as he tries to uncover the hidden truths beneath the conflict. But, in the words of the synopsis, "Jack must contend first with his own gullibility, the tragic death of a fellow-passenger, capture by Republican guerrilleros, a final showdown at Spain's most holy shrine and the possibility that he has been badly betrayed. Betrayed and in serious danger." Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was researching a novel about the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War and came across a paper on the Battlefield Tours that Franco launched – mainly for British tourists – before the war was even finished. It was too good a story to ignore. What genre does your book fall under?
Historical thriller with a generous amount Agatha Christie and a splash of Rick Stein, seasoned with a pinch of the picaresque. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I always picture actors in my main character roles anyway so, in this case, Christopher Eccleston as Jack Telford and Rachel Weisz as Valerie Carter-Holt. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A Christie-esque thriller set on a battlefield tour bus towards the end of the Spanish Civil War.Is your book self-published or represented by an agency?
I spent a long time looking for agents and "traditional publishers" when I wrote Jacobites. A lot of people that I respect were very supportive about it but the agents I contacted were either too rude to even acknowledge me, or told me it wouldn't fit their lists, or liked it but weren't taking on any more new authors. Also, in meeting many other wordsmiths, I realised that there's a huge mythology about "traditional publishers". It's generally thought that, first, they pay their authors a generous advance; second, that they get your work automatically onto bookstore shelves; and, third, that they do all the marketing for you. It's a load of nonsense for all but a tiny minority. So, being passionate about my writing, and having market-tested a bit, I decided to go "independent", publishing with the help of SilverWood Books (www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk) and using their high quality professional backing (registrations, typesetting, design, proofing, etc.) but using my own editor (the inimitable Jo Field) and jacket cover graphic designer (the indefatigable and innovative Cathy Helms). I’ve found it a fantastic way for a new writer to get published and I love the buzz of doing my own marketing. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I started to write in February 2011 and finished the first draft (180,000 words) in October that year – then travelled with it through all its locations in Northern Spain to check the “feel” and complete the first re-write (168,000 words). The final version is 152,000 words.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
C J Sansom’s Winter in Madrid; Dave Boling’s Guernica; Rebecca Pawel’s Death of a Nationalist; Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Long list, I’m afraid. Old comrades like Jack Jones and Frank Deagan from whom I first learned about the “real” experience of the Spanish Civil War. Spanish family friends who lived through the war and Franco’s repression that followed it. Wonderful historians like Antony Beevor and Paul Preston who’ve never lost sight of the Spanish Civil War’s significance for all of us. Professor Sandie Holguín who introduced me to the bus tours that feature centrally in the story. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
The Spanish Civil War is badly neglected by English-language fiction writers so, at one level, I wanted the novel to be informative as well as entertaining. I’d like it to be a “must” for all those who already have an affection for Spain and maybe want to learn a bit more about the country’s history and culture – while still being able to sit on a beach with a good pot-boiler and need to keep “turning the pages.”
For more about David's previous novel, The Jacobites’ Apprentice, and other relevant information, you can visit his main website... www.davidebsworth.com
To Read my review of The Jacobites' Apprentice click here
Good luck Dave!
March 11, 2013
http://paulalofting-sonsofthewolf.blo...
An update on the new Novel and some Quick facts about women in Anglo Saxon England
Its been a long time since I updated this blog, I am currently working on the sequel to Sons of the Wolf which is called The Wolf Banner. I am going through the first re-write and the first edit with my new editor Michelle Gent of Gingernut Books and ejoying immensely this new partnership. Exciting times for Wulfhere and his family.
In the meantime, I will leave you with some interesting discoveries I have made in my research about women in this exciting era in history. If you would like to buy a copy of Sons of the Wolf, here are the links to it: Amazon UK Amazon.com Waterstones
THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN IN HIGH STATUS ROLES
Much has been said about women being mere pawns in medieval society and that they had little say in the affairs of men but in her very insightful look at Women in Anglo Saxon England Christine Fell has presented evidence that shows that women were far more intelligent, educated and efficient than previously given credit for. We are talking about high status women here of course, the average peasant lady, though most likely just as efficient and intelligent, would not have played much more of an important role beyond her scope, however, she too had laws to protect her and could own her own property aside from her husband.
Edith, Queen of Edward the Confessor, was known to have controlled the Royal Treasury and saw to it that Edward was arrayed in the splendour that befitted his office as King of the English Kingdoms. According to Pauline Stafford in Queen Emma and Queen Edith Edward's queen had 5 goldsmiths to help design and make these trappings for the Royal Couple. As she held the keys to the Treasury, Edith was in control of Winchester. Edith's remit appears to have been the ceremonial organisation of the court and she was a great landowner in her own right as is shown in the Domesday Book.
In the Domesday Book, a Lady called 'Eddiva' by the Norman scribes, whom we may believe to be Edith Swanneck, Harold Godwinson's handfastened wife. Handfastened meant that their union was not sanctified by a Church ceremony. To the Secular community, this did not mean that she was a mistress or a concubine. She was just as legally recognised as a wife as any other. however, because the union was more danico, this meant that Harold could be free to make a more political marriage if he needed to. So her union to Harold, we can assume was a 'love match', although we can also conjecture that there may have been some other motive for the union because a great deal of her lands fell within his first Earldom of East Anglia. This other Edith was no pawn either. She held land in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordhire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk and perhaps Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. This is estimated to around 27,000 acres. She also had many free men commended to her service and would have brought a great deal of support to Harold as his wife. Unfortunately after the invasion of the Normans, her lands were confiscated and we do not hear of her beyond this. She was said to have identified the body of her husband Harold after the slaughter of Hastings in 1066. It seems as Harold's lady, she may have kept a low profile as far as court was concerned as we do not see her name recorded in official duties as such, however her obvious wealth and landholdings made her a potentially powerful woman.
According to a statement in the Liber Eliensis, a chronicle written on the history of Ely Abbey and the lives of the saints, some women were able to maintain their independence by rejecting marriage and running their own household. It mentions Aelswith, who in the 11thc did just that and retired to her manor at Coveney with her women and spent her time embroidering and weaving such splendid vestments at her won expense, four of which were singled out for special comment, made of gold thread. These were gifted to the church of Ely. Aeslwith must have been a woman of strong character to have sustained herself and avoided marriage without having to become a nun.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN MARRIAGE
The laws governing women's rights were improved upon as time went by. Aethelbert's original law codes were improved on by Aelfred and then the laws of Aethelred improved upon them even more. Christine Fell believes that this may not have been due to a particular movement to create better conditions for women but more so that the tradtions of the Viking incursions and the influence the church was having on the law codes had changed by the time the 11thc came about. In any case, women were protected by these laws. There were laws to protect women from seduction, sexual assault and forced marriages. Aethelred's 1008 code states that a widow should remain unmarried for at least a year then she can choose as she wishes whether or not she can remarry. One wonders if a council of noble women were consulted on these laws or if they were wholly constructed by the men of the Witan.
SUMMARY
Doris Stenton had access to primary sources as a medieval specialist. She also could, as Christine Fell states in her book Women in Anglo Saxon England also have access to all of her husband Frank Stenton's work on the Anglo Saxons so we can in truth, precisely rely on her summary.
To paraphrase from Doris Stenton's The English Woman in History, published in 1956, one can believe that all the surviving evidence points to the fact that women were in law the equal to their husbands and brothers in pre-conquest time. Furhtermore, she even goes on to state that she believed that this was more so in Anglo Saxon England than any other era up until the modern age.
These are just some of the things about women from this era. I hope you enjoyed reading!
Links to my other blogs www.threadsto thepast.blogspot.co.uk
www.sonsofthewolf-paulalofting.blogsp...
Paula Peruses
Its been a long time since I updated this blog, I am currently working on the sequel to Sons of the Wolf which is called The Wolf Banner. I am going through the first re-write and the first edit with my new editor Michelle Gent of Gingernut Books and ejoying immensely this new partnership. Exciting times for Wulfhere and his family.
In the meantime, I will leave you with some interesting discoveries I have made in my research about women in this exciting era in history. If you would like to buy a copy of Sons of the Wolf, here are the links to it: Amazon UK Amazon.com Waterstones
THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN IN HIGH STATUS ROLES
Much has been said about women being mere pawns in medieval society and that they had little say in the affairs of men but in her very insightful look at Women in Anglo Saxon England Christine Fell has presented evidence that shows that women were far more intelligent, educated and efficient than previously given credit for. We are talking about high status women here of course, the average peasant lady, though most likely just as efficient and intelligent, would not have played much more of an important role beyond her scope, however, she too had laws to protect her and could own her own property aside from her husband.
Edith, Queen of Edward the Confessor, was known to have controlled the Royal Treasury and saw to it that Edward was arrayed in the splendour that befitted his office as King of the English Kingdoms. According to Pauline Stafford in Queen Emma and Queen Edith Edward's queen had 5 goldsmiths to help design and make these trappings for the Royal Couple. As she held the keys to the Treasury, Edith was in control of Winchester. Edith's remit appears to have been the ceremonial organisation of the court and she was a great landowner in her own right as is shown in the Domesday Book.
In the Domesday Book, a Lady called 'Eddiva' by the Norman scribes, whom we may believe to be Edith Swanneck, Harold Godwinson's handfastened wife. Handfastened meant that their union was not sanctified by a Church ceremony. To the Secular community, this did not mean that she was a mistress or a concubine. She was just as legally recognised as a wife as any other. however, because the union was more danico, this meant that Harold could be free to make a more political marriage if he needed to. So her union to Harold, we can assume was a 'love match', although we can also conjecture that there may have been some other motive for the union because a great deal of her lands fell within his first Earldom of East Anglia. This other Edith was no pawn either. She held land in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordhire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk and perhaps Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. This is estimated to around 27,000 acres. She also had many free men commended to her service and would have brought a great deal of support to Harold as his wife. Unfortunately after the invasion of the Normans, her lands were confiscated and we do not hear of her beyond this. She was said to have identified the body of her husband Harold after the slaughter of Hastings in 1066. It seems as Harold's lady, she may have kept a low profile as far as court was concerned as we do not see her name recorded in official duties as such, however her obvious wealth and landholdings made her a potentially powerful woman.
According to a statement in the Liber Eliensis, a chronicle written on the history of Ely Abbey and the lives of the saints, some women were able to maintain their independence by rejecting marriage and running their own household. It mentions Aelswith, who in the 11thc did just that and retired to her manor at Coveney with her women and spent her time embroidering and weaving such splendid vestments at her won expense, four of which were singled out for special comment, made of gold thread. These were gifted to the church of Ely. Aeslwith must have been a woman of strong character to have sustained herself and avoided marriage without having to become a nun.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN MARRIAGE
The laws governing women's rights were improved upon as time went by. Aethelbert's original law codes were improved on by Aelfred and then the laws of Aethelred improved upon them even more. Christine Fell believes that this may not have been due to a particular movement to create better conditions for women but more so that the tradtions of the Viking incursions and the influence the church was having on the law codes had changed by the time the 11thc came about. In any case, women were protected by these laws. There were laws to protect women from seduction, sexual assault and forced marriages. Aethelred's 1008 code states that a widow should remain unmarried for at least a year then she can choose as she wishes whether or not she can remarry. One wonders if a council of noble women were consulted on these laws or if they were wholly constructed by the men of the Witan.
SUMMARY
Doris Stenton had access to primary sources as a medieval specialist. She also could, as Christine Fell states in her book Women in Anglo Saxon England also have access to all of her husband Frank Stenton's work on the Anglo Saxons so we can in truth, precisely rely on her summary.
To paraphrase from Doris Stenton's The English Woman in History, published in 1956, one can believe that all the surviving evidence points to the fact that women were in law the equal to their husbands and brothers in pre-conquest time. Furhtermore, she even goes on to state that she believed that this was more so in Anglo Saxon England than any other era up until the modern age.
These are just some of the things about women from this era. I hope you enjoyed reading!
Links to my other blogs www.threadsto thepast.blogspot.co.uk
www.sonsofthewolf-paulalofting.blogsp...
Paula Peruses
March 6, 2013
Author Spotlight: Zach Abrams talks sbout his book Ringed Fence
Today I am highlighting the work of Zach Abrams The following is an interview that Zach has allowed me kindly to post!
1 What is your book about?
My book tells the story of Benjanin Short in his various incarnations. Benjamin is a very complex character and compartmentalises his life to an extreme. His life is split into five different characters, each living under a variation of his name and the people in each of these lives have little or no knowledge of the others. The one common thread weaving each of his lives together is his obsession for music. There is an inevitability the divisions can not be sustained and the story deals with the unforeseen events taking place causing the divisions to become blurred with catastrophic results.
Benjamin is an anti-hero. Although each of his characters has some redeeming features, they essentially are all different aspects of Benjamin's self obsession. He is a sociopath constantly using other people to serve his own ends.
2 How did you come up with the idea for your book?
That's the strange part. I didn't have an idea for a book. I was sitting thinking about writing something and I had the idea for the character. He developed in my mind and I thought I'd start trying to write about him. At first I though it would make an essay or a short story. The ideas expanded as I tried to explain about the different aspects of his character and the story seemed to write itself. At no time did I prepare or think through a plot and I didn't know where it was going. Afterwards, when I read it through for the first time it was like reading someone else's novel.
3 Does your main character resemble anyone in your family or circle of friends?
I certainly hope not. True there are aspects of myself and of people I know but Benjamin is not based on any one person. To survive in modern society, I, like most people have to compartmentalise. Benjamin takes this beyond the boundaries of what is normal or reasonable. Each of Benjamin's lives are reasonable normal if taken in isolation - it's only when they are combined under the same character and obsessively ring fenced that they become pathological
4 Who is your favorite writer? Why?
There are many writers I love depending on my mood. One that I particularly enjoy is the British author Michael Dobbs (to confuse matters there is a US author of the same name). I became addicted to his books after reading 'House of Cards' where I adored his depiction of Francis Urquhart. His own political experiences make his novels knowledgeable, insightful and amusing.
5 How long did it take you to write your book?
Once I started writing 'Ring Fenced,' I was consumed by it and wrote obsessively. I completed the first draft within five weeks the needed a rest to draw breath. The first edit took me about four months and it was over another year before I was sufficiently happy with it to allow anyone else, outside family, to read it. I waited a further year or more to embark on another novel and I have recently competed 'Made a Killing.' It was less obsessively written but not by much and I hope to have it published quite soon
6 What strange writing rituals do you have?
I don't know if I'd go as far as calling them rituals but I prefer to write into a word document while having a couple of windows open in the background. I have one open to a dictionary /thesaurus and the other open in Google search. This way I can often research or confirm small details I'm writing about while the thought is in my head. Only recently, I've added a separate word document to the combination so I can make notes on my time line and characters as I go along.
I've recently noticed that I'm not too distracted by background noise so I don't have a problem with a television or radio being on while I'm writing. It's maybe helped by my partial deafness but strangely enough I've found afterwards that I have a reasonable awareness of what the programme has been about and it hasn't significantly affected my writing - except maybe a few more typos to correct.
7 What are your hobbies?
Hobbies? Are you serious? Where's the time? Seriously though, I still have a lot of work commitments and try to write whenever I can. This involves the associated requirements to edit and publish and to try to mutually support other writers that I know. Outside of all of this I enjoy reading, music travel and sports.
8 What are you reading at the moment?
Currently I'm reading 'The Invention of the Big Bang' by Fred Schafer. It has a very unusual style and is a compelling read with the author telling you someone's retelling of the main characters life story. It took a bit of effort to get into it but it's proving very much worth the effort, absorbing. I love reading Indie books, you find real originality while the mainstream mainly keeps churning out variations of the same thing.
1 What is your book about?
My book tells the story of Benjanin Short in his various incarnations. Benjamin is a very complex character and compartmentalises his life to an extreme. His life is split into five different characters, each living under a variation of his name and the people in each of these lives have little or no knowledge of the others. The one common thread weaving each of his lives together is his obsession for music. There is an inevitability the divisions can not be sustained and the story deals with the unforeseen events taking place causing the divisions to become blurred with catastrophic results.Benjamin is an anti-hero. Although each of his characters has some redeeming features, they essentially are all different aspects of Benjamin's self obsession. He is a sociopath constantly using other people to serve his own ends.
2 How did you come up with the idea for your book?
That's the strange part. I didn't have an idea for a book. I was sitting thinking about writing something and I had the idea for the character. He developed in my mind and I thought I'd start trying to write about him. At first I though it would make an essay or a short story. The ideas expanded as I tried to explain about the different aspects of his character and the story seemed to write itself. At no time did I prepare or think through a plot and I didn't know where it was going. Afterwards, when I read it through for the first time it was like reading someone else's novel.
3 Does your main character resemble anyone in your family or circle of friends?
I certainly hope not. True there are aspects of myself and of people I know but Benjamin is not based on any one person. To survive in modern society, I, like most people have to compartmentalise. Benjamin takes this beyond the boundaries of what is normal or reasonable. Each of Benjamin's lives are reasonable normal if taken in isolation - it's only when they are combined under the same character and obsessively ring fenced that they become pathological
4 Who is your favorite writer? Why?
There are many writers I love depending on my mood. One that I particularly enjoy is the British author Michael Dobbs (to confuse matters there is a US author of the same name). I became addicted to his books after reading 'House of Cards' where I adored his depiction of Francis Urquhart. His own political experiences make his novels knowledgeable, insightful and amusing.
5 How long did it take you to write your book?
Once I started writing 'Ring Fenced,' I was consumed by it and wrote obsessively. I completed the first draft within five weeks the needed a rest to draw breath. The first edit took me about four months and it was over another year before I was sufficiently happy with it to allow anyone else, outside family, to read it. I waited a further year or more to embark on another novel and I have recently competed 'Made a Killing.' It was less obsessively written but not by much and I hope to have it published quite soon
6 What strange writing rituals do you have?
I don't know if I'd go as far as calling them rituals but I prefer to write into a word document while having a couple of windows open in the background. I have one open to a dictionary /thesaurus and the other open in Google search. This way I can often research or confirm small details I'm writing about while the thought is in my head. Only recently, I've added a separate word document to the combination so I can make notes on my time line and characters as I go along.
I've recently noticed that I'm not too distracted by background noise so I don't have a problem with a television or radio being on while I'm writing. It's maybe helped by my partial deafness but strangely enough I've found afterwards that I have a reasonable awareness of what the programme has been about and it hasn't significantly affected my writing - except maybe a few more typos to correct.
7 What are your hobbies?
Hobbies? Are you serious? Where's the time? Seriously though, I still have a lot of work commitments and try to write whenever I can. This involves the associated requirements to edit and publish and to try to mutually support other writers that I know. Outside of all of this I enjoy reading, music travel and sports.
8 What are you reading at the moment?
Currently I'm reading 'The Invention of the Big Bang' by Fred Schafer. It has a very unusual style and is a compelling read with the author telling you someone's retelling of the main characters life story. It took a bit of effort to get into it but it's proving very much worth the effort, absorbing. I love reading Indie books, you find real originality while the mainstream mainly keeps churning out variations of the same thing.
March 1, 2013
Guest Post: Alison Morton talks about her new novel Inceptio!
INCEPTIO 1 March 2013 Paula Lofting Thank you very much for welcoming me to your blog, Paula.
My debut novel, INCEPTIO, is published today, the end of three years of slog – researching, writing, and polishing. It’s a thriller, so it’s doubly exciting. Now, I’d like to tell you about it! But too much telling’s frowned on by Those Who Know, so let me show you…
An eleven year old fascinated by the mosaics in Ampurias (huge Roman site in Spain), I asked my father, “What would it be like if Roman women were in charge, instead of the men?” Maybe it was the fierce sun boiling my brain, maybe it was just a precocious kid asking a smartarse question. But clever man and senior ‘Roman nut’, my father replied, “What do youthink it would be like?” Real life intervened (school, uni, career, military, marriage, motherhood, business ownership), but the idea bubbled away in my mind and INCEPTIO slowly took shape.
Of course, I made the classic mistake of submitting too soon, but had some encouraging replies. Several rewrites later and I’d received some requests for full manuscript, even from a US agent! I had replies like ‘If it was a straight thriller, I’d take it on’ and ‘Your writing is excellent, but it wouldn’t fit our list.’ I was (am!) passionate about my stories so I decided to self publish with bought-in publishing services. Using verycarefully chosen high quality professional backing (editing, advice, registrations, typesetting, design, book jacket, proofing, etc.), I’ve found it a fantastic way for a new writer to enter the market.
How is an ‘alternate history thriller’ different from a normal thriller?
Alternate history is based on the idea of “what if”? What if King Harold had won the Battle of Hastings in 1066? Or if Julius Caesar had taken notice of the warning that assassins wanted to murder him on the Ides of March? Sometimes, it could be little things such as in the film Sliding Doors, when the train door shuts and Gwyneth Paltrow’s character splits into two; one rides away on the train, the other is left standing on the platform.
The rest of the story or history of a country, from that point on develops differently from the one we know. In my book, Roma Nova battled its way from a small colony somewhere north of Italy in the late fourth century into a high tech, financial mini-state which retained and developed Roman Republican values, but with a twist. It’s really fun working this out! The thriller story then takes place against this background. The nearest comparison would be J D Robb’s Eve Dallas Deathseries.
Stories with Romans are usually about famous emperors, epic battles, depravity, intrigue, wicked empresses and a lot of sandals, tunics and swords. But imagine the Roman theme projected sixteen hundred years further forward into the 21stcentury. How different would that world be?
So what’s INCEPTIO about?
New York – present day, alternate reality. Karen Brown, angry and frightened after surviving a kidnap attempt, has a harsh choice – being eliminated by government enforcer Jeffery Renschman or fleeing to the mysterious Roma Nova, her dead mother’s homeland in Europe. Founded sixteen centuries ago by Roman exiles and ruled by women, Roma Nova gives Karen safety, a ready-made family and a new career. But a shocking discovery about her new lover, the fascinating but arrogant special forces officer Conrad Tellus who rescued her in America, isolates her.
Renschman reaches into her new home and nearly kills her. Recovering, she is desperate to find out why he is hunting her so viciously. Unable to rely on anybody else, she undergoes intensive training, develops fighting skills and becomes an undercover cop. But crazy with bitterness at his past failures, Renschman sets a trap for her, knowing she has no choice but to spring it...
And next? I’m working on PERFIDITAS (Betrayal), the second book in the Roma Nova series.
You can find INCEPTIO on Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inceptio-Roma-Nova-Alison-Morton/dp/1781320624and Amazon US http://www.amazon.com/Inceptio-Roma-Nova-Alison-Morton/dp/1781320624
You can read more about Alison, Romans, alternate history and writing here:
blog
Twitter: @alison_morton
