Shehanne Moore's Blog, page 47
June 2, 2013
A Tale of Two Massacres
Oh not quite. Gotcha though. No, I was just realizing what a lazy blogging week it’s been. This blog anyway. Fury, is of course active with her pirate crew. 
All quite hideous. Thankfully she wasn’t choosing between any of them to father the Beaumont heir.
While it’s been ages—all right, at least six weeks- since I blogged about my fav place. Glencoe. Scene of one massacre. And nearly scene of several last weekend as the crowds all but burst the Boots Bar at the seams. I was there doing a little research for my forthcoming book… of course there’s a ton of drinking, socializing with complete strangers from all round the world, and listening to bands, in it. Err….sort of…well, when I think about it….
It’s been the scene of massacre too–the book that is–after my lovely ed asked me to write out a character and her clan. The Macleods. To think they previously survived hundreds of years of warfare, massacre and clearances. But there. They did not survive the fact Fury got there first with a not being who she says she is plot.
Seriously, I did want some photographs and tie that in with a little serious hillying. Not sure how serious that was…. 
Yes, that is fence posts and ropes at the start of the trail to the Hidden Valley and Gearr Aonach. What will there be on mountains next? Escalators and pulley hoists?
Mr Shey making short work of it there as you can see.
Although some nice railings at the bit further on would not go amiss. And I’m not talking the rake. 
The valley, completely boxed by hills is stunning and was more or less empty.
Mr Shey is there somewhere. I am too.
All right. Not looking too happy there but there but there was a nasty moment shortly before where–avoiding the rake by doing the rock face,, my jacket fell off and I had to go all the way back down for it. So blue air.
You don’t see the valley till the last.
Its history is interesting. It was formed by the ice weight and supposedly used by the Glencoe Macdonalds, being a nice clan that way, to hide rustled cattle. Possibly where they hid their own. And it is said to be where survivors of the massacre hid that fatal night in 1692, although I’m not sure how feasible it would have been in the snow, in the dark, in that carnage.
The next day perhaps, if you wanted a good place to hide. The idea of the massacre inspired my next book. liked the idea of a small, cut off clan, living in an impregnable glen, pretty well at the mercy of their neighbours. And a lot of Glencoe, the place, has found its way in to the story.
I said two massacres at the start. I’ve also drawn in the story from another place thousands of miles away. The cave of the Bekiris. In fact there wasn’t ever a massacre there at all.
In 1821 it was the hideout of fighters in the Greek War of Independence.
So maybe it wasn’t, but when you stand in it, you just know history could have swung the other way there for those crowded on the shingle beach at the back of it and there could have been.
http://shehannemoore.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/stop-four-a-late-day-in-glencoe/
Filed under: Glencoe Tagged: Bekiris Cave, Glencoe Massacre, Greek War of Independence, Spetses, The Hidden Valley Glencoe
May 27, 2013
Once Upon A ……May Author Interview
Having had two posts on book beginnings you just know the word I left out there….Time. As openers go why shouldn’t it be up there with the greats. I mean it does give the story at a glance and that story is fanciful.
Where else would you pass off heroines with glass shoe fetishes, cats who like kinky boots, heroines who should go to specsavers, heroines who plainly find food hard to resist and men cardboard as frizelled toast, all living happily ever after?
Well the surprise you are in for today, is the word is not time….it’s TWIST and here today we have two, not one, fabulous authors to talk about their new release, very much a spin on two old tales. AND..as if that is not enough, this being la-la land after all, Herr Grimms, themselves masters of the art of retelling folk tales, to ask them a few questions. Lucky Michelle Smart and Aimee Duffy. (Not pictured below okay)
Jacob (And he’s not from Twilight either) (Oh okay does this look any better?
(Alright. So maybe not. Sorry Heath)
Jacob. So Fraulein Michelle , or maybe I should call you Cinderella, would that be okay?
Ella Who’s Michelle? Everyone calls me Ella.
Jacob Give me a second to write that down. Ella. Not Michella. Now, this is one version of the story my brother and I never seemed to come across. Prince Charming is fighting the undead is that right?
Ella So he said – he only deigned to tell me under duress. Apparently it’s not a subject women are designed to handle. We’re far too delicate. And we swoon a lot. (Bless him, he can be a right twat).
Jacob Right. But you do have a glass slipper?
Ella I certainly do – I have two of them! They are fabulous – honestly, you should see them. My Fairy Godmother is a genius! And the heels… they double as a lethal weapon. James Bond eat your heart out!
Jacob I see they open bottles too. Very handy at village beer festivals. Where did the idea come from?
Ella What idea? The idea to have a Ball while the undead are coming to our land? You’ll have to ask Charming that one. The twat.
Jacob Then we shall. We shall also ask you what is your favorite fairy tale and why? So I might write it.
Ella Well, duh! Do you really expect me to answer that?
Jacob Red Riding Hood obviously. Which brings us to this lady…who I believe is usually known as Aimee Duffy. Sometimes Duggy here it is true. And of course my brother Wilhelm. As soon as he has put down that damsel. 
I must say Fraulein Aimee, the cloak is very natty.
Ruby Natty? Well, I suppose I’ve had it a few years now but why mess with perfection? Wilhelm can call me Ruby.
Wilhelm So how is this different? Let me guess the wolf is secretly very sexy so you run off with him to live in forests happily ever after? As you can see, I like forests. Especially with damsels who need carrying in them
Ruby The wolf *shudders* is terrifying. A monster. It’s infected with a horrible disease.
Wilhelm What about the woodcutter? And grandma? Pardon me for asking but if I don’t Jacob will. Do they get it together?
Ruby *Sniffs air* I wouldn’t put cheating past Jeremy, he’s done it before. But no, grandma… grandma’s gone.
Wilhelm That certainly sounds a most interesting concept. The kind of thing a Grimm brother would approve of. Tell me a bit about where we can get a copy to study in more length how you dispose of Grannie.
Ruby For now, it’s exclusive to Amazon. We may put it elsewhere in the future.
Wilhelm. Last thing did you choose this because it is your favorite tale? I mean I won’t be jealous and refuse to carry you out the woods if you choose one Jacob wrote up.
Ruby (Answering as Aimee). Nope, I just thought a mass infection in the woods spreading through an evil wolf would be fun. I’ve never written anything gory, or suspenseful and thought it would be a blast to write. And it was.
Thank you for having us Jacob and Wilhelm and Shey
Blurb: W
hen the sun goes d
own, guess what’s coming out to play…?
Glass Slippers and Combat Boots
Once upon a time in a land far, far away, the creatures are coming…
In a land run by misogynists, where fair maidens are deemed liable to fall in a dead faint at the sight of blood, Prince Charming is worried – the creatures that have destroyed their neighboring kingdoms are coming for them. He judges it imperative to get all the females to safety, but first he needs to break the enchantment enslaving his One True Love to her hateful home. Oh, and there’s the small matter of the Ball to get through too.
But when the creatures reach them ahead of their expected time, all plans are foregone. Can Ella break her wicked stepmother’s enchantment? Can she save her handsome Prince and the kingdom before midnight strikes? And can she show his soldiers what it really means to kick a monster’s butt? The clock is ticking…
Reunited With Red
Many, many years later…
When Ruby visits her grandmother in the deep, dark forest, she stumbles into a nightmare. Her grandma’s been attacked by a wolf-like creature, and an ancient disease that turned people into monsters is back… and so is the cold-hearted ex she walked out on a year ago.
Now she has to either accept Jeremy’s help or face becoming a monster herself. Fighting alongside the man she once loved isn’t easy, especially when she discovers there’s more to Jeremy than the cheating bastard she took him for.
As they fight to survive the disease and save those they love, can they keep from falling for each other all over again?
Glass Slippers and Combat Boots excerpt
“She murdered my father – I can’t prove it but I know it was Christell who put the poisonous spider in his bed. If she could, she would kill me too but my fairy godmother put her own enchantment on me that stops Christell or my stepsisters from killing me. It doesn’t stop them beating me when the mood takes them, but it is impossible for them to decapitate me or remove a limb or stop my heart from beating.”
“Why doesn’t your fairy godmother break the enchantment?”
“Ha!” Ella rolled her eyes and heaved herself up. “I haven’t seen her since my father’s funeral. She’s elderly and very scatty.”
James’s easy-going smile had vanished. His brow had furrowed and he stared at her for long moments before speaking. “Christell’s taking an awful risk letting you into the forest every day.”
“Like most of the humans in this land, she avoids the forest.” She dragged a finger along his stubbly cheek, tracing the long scar that ran along it, a permanent reminder of the war he had been fighting in for King and Country. “But you are braver than most humans.”
Darkness clouded his eyes. “I wish you had told me before… Ella, we need to find a way to break the enchantment.”
“Until my fairy godmother shows up, there is no way. Christell’s magic is too powerful and personal for an unconnected sorcerer to break it.”
“It’s not safe for you here,” he bit out. “I wanted to marry you and take you as far away as I could. It’s not safe here for anyone.”
Reunited With Red excerpt 
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To get the gun. Stay there,” he added when he heard the water splashing around her.
The splashing stopped, and she didn’t speak. He pulled a small torch from his pocket, clicked the button. Nothing happened. Shaking his head, he considered waiting for the clouds to pass the moon so he could see properly. That could take minutes they didn’t have.
Dropping to his knees, he felt blindly around the ground, but it was like looking for a natural blonde at Hugh Hefner’s. Then again, he’d be able to find Red there—or anywhere—even without the gift of sight. She may still be in the water, but he could remember her lavender scent, remember her silky smooth skin. Remember how his body fired up like it had been injected with a semi-lethal dose of hormones when she was in a ten foot radius.
“How…d-do you kn-know it will f-f-follow us.” Her teeth rattled together as she spoke.
Without the heat of his body, she must be freezing. He increased the speed of his search, thought about leaving the damn thing. After all he had plenty more at home, what was one shotgun when he had one in every closet? But keeping her alive for the journey back was more important than keeping her warm.
“J-J-Jer…?”
He considered how much to tell her, after all, he’d signed away the right to be honest with anyone, even the rest of the world when the half-dead creatures started attacking in the night. When he realized what had started it all, he had sworn he would put an end to what he helped create, even though opening his mouth meant he risked jail. Or worse, the other person’s death.
He’d been responsible for enough deaths already.
Buy Links:
Michelle’s Links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
Aimee’s Links:
Website/Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Pinterest / Google +
Filed under: Author Interviews, Uncategorized Tagged: Aimee Duffy, Cinderella, Fairy Godmother, Fiar-tales, Glass Slippers, Jeremy, Micehlle Smart, Once U[pon A twist, Prince Charming
May 21, 2013
Veni Vici Taurus
Ah the pleasure it is today to host Christine Elaine Black and help her promote her book Taurus which is FREE on kindle for four days. Yes. Firstly she’s a Wild Rose Press author– always good to step out the comfort zone that way and get to know authors from other publishers. But Christine I pounced on in a second–poor her– because her book is set in ancient Rome. She was born in Scotland for goodness sake!
What is more she next sent a post saying all she remembered from Latin classes was the name Flavius. I have to say I remember a lot from Latin classes–like being flung out of them eventually. I also remember three things.
Pyrrhus was the king of Epirus. The Rape of the Sabine Women. AND Flavius Betto was a young Roman Legionary on Hadrian’s Wall who carved his name into the Flavy stone, seen here with my pal Lora.
Now, I grant you may have heard of the first two. We did all the time from a particular Latin teacher. Indeed it was all he taught. Which out next Latin teacher was shocked to discover.
The third thing is more elusive. It was also something our teacher Mr Bett taught. Indeed he used to read stories from a little brown book, which I am ashamed to say, Lora and I, being convinced this could not possibly be the case, once broke into his classroom to check. The name, as we discovered by torchlight, was Flavius Cavatina. The old goat was certainly a blether. (Sure Lora will kill me for making us sound like a couple of hoods.)
But here’s the thing Flavius Betto was a centurion of the 20th legion Valeria Victrix and he did indeed have dealings with various walls. The discovery wasn’t made until many years after we had left the Latin class. Was Mr Bett a sort of er Flying –Roman–Dutchman?
Anyway, enough of me. It my great pleasure to introduce Christine Elaine Black and her post on Roman names.
CHOOSING A HERO’S NAME? by Christine Elaine Black
I’m fascinated with Roman heroes. One of the difficulties I have is choosing a name for my leading men.
Atticus, Augustinus, Augustus, Aurelius, Aelius, Acanthus, Acestes, Aegidius, Aegyptus, Aelius, Aeneas, Aficanus, Agricolus Agrippa, Amicus, Antonius……. You get the idea!!
There are so many to choose from and each has a special meaning.
Lots of readers (mainly men) ask me if I chose the name Maximus due to the famous Gladiator movie..
I hadn’t even thought of that when I wrote the book. I just loved the name.
Also the name Taurus spoke to me. Well it is the zodiac ‘bull’ and my Taurus is single-minded. All I remember from high school Latin is Flavia and Flavius. A bit like Dick and Jane but for Latin readers!bborn and single-minded.
I f you have a favorite Latin name or story I’d love to hear it!
………..
SO there we go. Mine is obviously Flavius and er Dick and Jane I have to say not as we knew it. As you can see below Christine’s story is free right now, so if you want to read or share, please support her.
May 15, 2013
Et Aussi Les Scots
Ok, so another, nice week or not, Fury still at number three, big happy dance, gotta say one of the nicest things about writing, is some of the fab new folks you get to know, in addition to the fab ones you’ve known for yoinks already. Noelle Clark did such an amazing thing for me this week, reviewing Lady Fury on her blog,
http://www.noelleclarkauthor.com/2013/05/book-review-unraveling-of-lady-fury-by.html
I was so touched–I am anyway, but it was more than usual– what can I but return the favour, by blogging this?
Okay, so maybe not quite in the same way. You will understand with all these screen hunks about, a little Aussi/Scots collaboration is more in order, just to show off some of the very, naturally talented actors to grace our multiplexes. For me anyway, no order- there never is here either–and the roles I love them best in.
I have taught whole lessons on Mel’s contribution to the film world. Nothing wrong with that but these were piano lessons. Meant to be anyway. Of course Mel isn’t a true Aussi, but let’s cut the guy some slack. We can’t all be perfect. Okay, so the attempt to model the latest in Dulux paint spray didn’t quite come off. But there’s Mel an honorary Aussi playing a heroic Scot. SO obviously I have to choose Braveheart, though it’s still a hard choice between that, What Women Want and Forever Young.
Gerard Butler
Sorry, Fury’s picture of him, not mine. Saves on the upload–look, editing at the mo, be thankful to get an ogle at all. Such a waste to the world it would have been had his partying antics not led to him being fired from that law firm. Adore him in 300 and PS I Love You.
No. Sorry You got two pics of Mel. You’ll just have to make do with the same one of Heath. A huge, untimely loss to the film world. I first clocked him in Monster’s Ball. Adored him in Casanova, but liked him best as Ned Kelly. Yes an Aussi outlaw!
Straight off, going to say, I don’t regard Ewan as a screen hunk. Sorry. But hey, he was born up the road in Perth and brought up in Crieff. Crieff? He is probably descended from Rob Roy! And he did make a film called The Men Who Stare At Goats, while I have been said to dance with them. Anyway. Brassed Off and The Island.
Jackman plays the piano…I like that. Shooting Wolverine his co-stars had to wear platform shoes to make him look smaller. I like that too. Jackman is one hell of a versatile actor so choosing a fav is difficult. Despite the fact I didn’t like the film–it was too all over the place–give me him in Australia any day. (Ahem)
Sean Connery
S’where to sh-tart about Sh-ir Sh-ean? Big Tam from Edinburgh is a legend and an institution, despite starting out onstage in South Pacific. he could also have been a model, or a footballer. Er a hard man too. So no-one needs telling. Sorry my fav of him isn’t Bond, it’s as Indiana Jones’s dad in the Last Crusade.
Russell Crowe
Oh go on, you know you want to tell me he’s from New Zealand, but like Mel, he’s as good as Aussi. Russ is a bit like Ewan for me but I got to say, in Gladiator, what a guy. Controversial? So? he’s also pretty generous with his dosh to charity.
Errol Flynn
Putting the Aussies ahead here but what the hell! In 1940 he was voted fourth most popular star in Hollywood so I can’t ignore the Tasmanian born star can I? What’s more he shot to overnight fame playing a pirate…. Captain Blood. While it’s a sort of fav of mine, you’ve got to give marks for the green tights, natty olde English hat, and that wonderful ‘Welcome to Sherwood Forest my lady,’ line in the Adventures of Robin Hood.
A nthony La Paglia
Not seen near enough on the big screen these days but who can forget some of his early appearances where you just knew he had something? So I Married an Axe Murderer? Lantana? Just love how his current accent is neither distinctly Aussie or American.
Eric Bana 
Can’t leave Eric out, even if the scales have totally tipped. Gorgeous in Troy and Munich. My fav is probably Troy , I just have to ask, where do you Aussie get them! And he’s so charitable too. Not that I’m thinking of the charitable causes.
And finally three screen galz. Not gonna be sexist after all! it’s the talent that counts. Anyway, depends on your preference
Moira Shearer
The Red Shoes anyone? Global fame for a Dunfermline girl.
Nicole Kidman
Another flame haired lass. Cold Mountain and The Others are my favs of hers.
Cate Blanchette
Hard to believe the star of Elizabeth where she’s so-oh English is Australian, but there we go. My fav…Notes On a Scandal. Oops, looks like we get outweighed again but hey! Oh I can think of one Scots actress here but her accent gets so much on my nose……how about no?
Need I say folks, I think between us the Aussies and the Scots have some pretty heavy artillery though.
Any favorite films of yours? It’s what comments box is for?
Filed under: Lists of Tagged: Anthony Lapaglia, Brassed Off, Braveheart, Cold Mountain, Crieff, Eric Bana, Errol Flynn, Ewan McGregor, Famous Australian film stars, Famous Scottish Film stars, Gerard Butler, Gladiator, Heath Ledger, Hugh Jackman, Mel Gibson, Moira Shearer, Ned Kelly, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Sean Connery, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Red Shoes 
cEt Aussi Les Scots
Ok, so another, nice week or not, Fury still at number three, big happy dance, gotta say one of the nicest things about writing, is some of the fab new folks you get to know, in addition to the fab ones you’ve known for yoinks already. Noelle Clark did such an amazing thing for me this week, reviewing Lady Fury on her blog,
http://www.noelleclarkauthor.com/2013/05/book-review-unraveling-of-lady-fury-by.html
I was so touched–I am anyway, but it was more than usual– what can I but return the favour, by blogging this?
Okay, so maybe not quite in the same way. You will understand with all these screen hunks about, a little Aussi/Scots collaboration is more in order, just to show off some of the very, naturally talented actors to grace our multiplexes. For me anyway, no order- there never is here either–and the roles I love them best in.
I have taught whole lessons on Mel’s contribution to the film world. Nothing wrong with that but these were piano lessons. Meant to be anyway. Of course Mel isn’t a true Aussi, but let’s cut the guy some slack. We can’t all be perfect. Okay, so our attempts to model the latest in Dulux paint spray don’t always come off either. But there’s Mel an honorary Aussi playing a heroic Scot. SO obviously I have to choose Braveheart, though it’s still a hard choice between that, What Women Want and Forever Young.
Gerard Butler
Sorry, Fury’s picture of him, not mine. Saves on the upload–look, editing at the mo, be thankful to get an ogle at all. Such a waste to the world it would have been had his partying antics not led to him being fired from that law firm. Adore him in 300 and PS I Love You.
No. Sorry You got two pics of Mel. You’ll just have to make do with the same one of Heath. A huge, untimely loss to the film world. I first clocked him in Monster’s Ball. Adored him in Casanova, but liked him best as Ned Kelly. Yes an Aussi outlaw!
Straight off, going to say, I don’t regard Ewan as a screen hunk. Sorry. But hey, he was born up the road in Perth and brought up in Crieff. Crieff? He is probably descended from Rob Roy! And he did make a film called The Men Who Stare At Goats, while I have been said to dance with them. Anyway. Brassed Off and The Island.
Jackman plays the piano…I like that. Shooting Wolverine his co-stars had to wear platform shoes to make him look smaller. I like that too. Jackman is one hell of a versatile actor so choosing a fav is difficult. Despite the fact I didn’t like the film–it was too all over the place–give me him in Australia any day. (Ahem)
Sean Connery
S’where to sh-tart about Sh-ir Sh-ean? Big Tam from Edinburgh is a legend and an institution, despite starting out onstage in South Pacific. he could also have been a model, or a footballer. Er a hard man too. So no-one needs telling. Sorry my fav of him isn’t Bond, it’s as Indiana Jones’s dad in the Last Crusade.
Russell Crowe
Oh go on, you know you want to tell me he’s from New Zealand, but like Mel, he’s as good as Aussi. Russ is a bit like Ewan for me but I got to say, in Gladiator, what a guy. Controversial? So? he’s also pretty generous with his dosh to charity.
Errol Flynn
Putting the Aussies ahead here but what the hell! In 1940 he was voted fourth most popular star in Hollywood so I can’t ignore the Tasmanian born star can I? What’s more he shot to overnight fame playing a pirate…. Captain Blood. While it’s a sort of fav of mine, you’ve got to give marks for the green tights, natty olde English hat, and that wonderful ‘Welcome to Sherwood Forest my lady,’ line in the Adventures of Robin Hood.
A nthony La Paglia
Not seen near enough on the big screen these days but who can forget some of his early appearances where you just knew he had something? So I Married an Axe Murderer? Lantana? Just love how his current accent is neither distinctly Aussie or American.
Eric Bana
Can’t leave Eric out, even if the scales have totally tipped. Gorgeous in Troy and Munich. My fav is probably Troy , I just have to ask, where do you Aussie get them! And he’s so charitable too. Not that I’m thinking of the charitable causes.
And finally three screen galz. Not gonna be sexist after all! it’s the talent that counts. Anyway, depends on your preference
Moira Shearer
The Red Shoes anyone? Global fame for a Dunfermline girl.
Nicole Kidman
Another flame haired lass. Cold Mountain and The Others are my favs of hers.
Cate Blanchette
Hard to believe the star of Elizabeth where she’s so-oh English is Australian, but there we go. My fav…Notes On a Scandal. Oops, looks like we get outweighed again but hey! Oh I can think of one Scots actress here but her accent gets so much on my nose……how about no?
Need I say folks, I think between us the Aussies and the Scots have some pretty heavy artillery though.
Any favorite films of yours? It’s what comments box is for?
Filed under: Lists of Tagged: Anthony Lapaglia, Brassed Off, Braveheart, Cold Mountain, Crieff, Eric Bana, Errol Flynn, Ewan McGregor, Famous Australian film stars, Famous Scottish Film stars, Gerard Butler, Gladiator, Heath Ledger, Hugh Jackman, Mel Gibson, Moira Shearer, Ned Kelly, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Sean Connery, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Red Shoes
May 10, 2013
To Be Nobody But Yourself – Inspiring Fury
Well today there I was all set to blog Sex, Lies and Secrets, or maybe it was Sex, Lies and Rules, I honestly hadn’t decided which title was best…I was kind of veering towards rules…(oops just making sure that is three little dots there not four in case my poor ed is reading this ). And not having decided I even thought maybe a blog for fellow writer Noelle Clark on Scots and Aussie screen hunks… There’s actually quite a few you know……
But two things happened this week, so knowing how much you’d rather hear about it, I decided to blog my granny instead and keep these posts for next week.
Okay Nanny…she would rise from the grave and clobber me with a monumental urn for calling her Granny..did she die, I’m doing a post on her? Well, obviously since I just mentioned grave. But since that was yoinks ago, you can hold the condolences.
No, at this moment, this week Lady Fury sits at number 3 on the Goodreads Best New March releases chart. My gob is smacked since the other nine of the actual top ten are best selling authors. When I say someone else asked me where I learned to write, 
well, ok, maybe I sit here blahhing and pontificating and ladling out tips write, left and centre, I have a confession to make. I never did, though I do think that tip in the box there, end there with a smile, is good.
I grew up in a housing estate. One, that to paraphrase the line from Fury about cicadas and church bells, was at the mercy of domestics and moon lighties. A place where the next door neighbour died and instead of a hearse drawing up, his wife arrived in a van and took away all the furniture, leaving who we all thought was his wife sitting on bare floorboards. With her two little girls.
A place where on day one, primary one, the teacher tied the boy sitting next to me’s ankles to his chair with his shoe laces. I don’t know about learning to write but it certainly taught those round about to sit the hell down and STF up. Although it is an action one would surely get the jail for now. Not the shutting up. No. The sitting down either.
So Nanny? Where did she fit in. Well, here she is on her wedding day, 
Note the strategically placed hand on the hubby’s shoulder. In a town bereft of men because of WW1 losses- he never went to the front because a leg break had crippled him - she pinched him off someone else, making sure of it in the time honoured way. Then she decided he would be having his own bedroom. Nanny had a boyfriend during the Depression, Fatty Allan. Fatty had money and my grandfather was on welfare benefits. Okay? Nanny was a great believer in not having a dog and barking herself. Work? How about no.
She also had police at the door for taking a poker off her sister’s head, and, in another dispute with a neighbour, a teapot. I will always remember Mum coming home in a terrible state aged 50, because Nanny aged 70, and on a zimmer frame having just had a stroke, attacked her with a rolled up copy of the Evening Telegraph. The birthday present – a black satin slip– was the wrong size apparently.
I realize I am painting an unsympathetic picture of Nanny. I loved her to bits. Because all four foot ten of her was such a character and when she sashayed off the number 33 Fintry bus, wearing high-heels, gloves and a little hat on a Tuesday afternoon, or ran along the road, to catch a bus, leaving my grandfather standing on his one leg…never crippled by the way…. so she could get a quick drink at the pub, not much like anyone else’s granny either. She swore. She smoked. She should have died when she was two hours old.
No. I ‘ve never studied the writing craft. Growing up, I was surrounded by minefields of inspiration. I just seam them.
But I do credit my primary school, doing a difficult job in a difficult area, for teaching rock solid basics on composition. As for Nanny, looking at Fury there at number three….. I salute her.
.
Filed under: writing Tagged: Dundee in the Depression, Family, Goodreads, Grandmothers, Growing up, Lady Fury
May 6, 2013
In the beginning were certain words
Well, in the beginning was the word, wasn’t it? You see how A.J’s post has inspired me with this one? And not just A.J. No. Fury now has her very own book club over at Furious Unravelings.
http://furiousunravelings.wordpress.com/miladys-book-club/
with a very nice page, not only showing some of the many members.
Myrtle.
and their favourite books….
but the badge she bestowed on her first guest, the lovely and extraordinarily brave Noelle Clark,
whose books about angels and flying has been write up Myrtle’s street so far. Get Myrtle to stop squawking about it…?
No way. http://furiousunravelings.wordpress.com/
Also, the first ‘professional’ review of The Unravelling of Lady Fury, by Book Reviews and Peeks just went up on Amazon.com. It’s actually a nail biting time for a writer. I have to say she saw things in the book I wasn’t aware I’d put in!! But we’ll keep that secret.
When you are physically incapable of doing frills and pouts and your characters do operate in certain vortexes–some off the grid– it’s not just hallelujah to get a five starrer review like this, it’s a flat out on the deck relief. I can stop peeking through my fingers–a little ways anyway.
SO openers, well A.J, wrote of their importance in hooking a reader in and I menshied my three favs.
I could also add to that list some other fabulous top ten openers.
’It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’ A tale of Two Cities.
‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’ Pride and Prejudice
“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” Catcher in the Rye
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Anna Karenina
Personally, I agree with A.J. there can be too much pressure put on how to start a novel. And as one of my favourite openers demonstrates, for me anyway the book itself fell flat and didn’t grip all the way, because an opener does not a great book necessarily make.
But there is no denying either that those openers are so great because they sum up the book in essence. Whether we stay hooked is another matter, we know from that first sentence what this book is going to be about.
Let’s look at that famously derided opener.
“ It was a dark and stormy night ; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets.’
Personally I don’t think it’s as bad as all that. I think the author did a great job of setting the scene…of describing that moment. But he’s not giving us the book is he? He’s giving us the kind of night it is which I don’t want to read on about unless he also gives us a pair of wellies and a plastic mac.
Pink would be nice.
But if you think of the words, ‘Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again,’ well now in nine words tops, we have that hint of mystery, a dream …always good, the word again, knowing the writer has been before and it must be something to them to dream, good, bad, or longingly about it. And what, where is this marvellously named place Manderley? Why is the writer dreaming and not there?
At a glance you also have the book.
Worth keeping in mind the next time you sit down on that dreaded first line.
Related articles
Come blog with me-A.J.Locke (shehannemoore.wordpress.com)
‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again’: Daphne du Maurier’s, Rebecca (aplethoraofpages.wordpress.com)
Filed under: writing Tagged: A Tale of Two Cities, Anna Karenina, Book openers, Catcher in the Rye, Gone with the WInd, Let Angels Fly, Manderley, Milady's Book Club, Noelle Clark, Pride & Prejudice, Rebecca, Tale of Two Cities
May 3, 2013
Come blog with me-A.J.Locke
It is always such a pleasure to introduce a newbie Etopia Press writer–like I’m an oldie myself that way. So it’s real pleasure today to have guesting a certain Ms Locke all the way from New York.
Yip. The big apple itself, all the way to unsunny today oh yet again, Scotland.
Maybe the lovely A.J. is new to Etopia, she is no stranger to blogging. I have to say I totally love her subject. First lines in books. Just think of them for a mo. We all have ones we love. I alone can think of four…including my own of course…well.
My other three respective of Malmesbury and what he was going to do, are, Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again. Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm. And The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there. Although I have to say for me, only two of these books lived up to these beasts of openers.
Before I hand you over to A.J. do you have favorites, because you know where to leave them? Les comment box.
All the First Lines by A.J. Locke
Thank you Shehanne for allowing me to guest blog today! I thought I would talk about those oh so important first lines. 
A lot can put expected from the first sentence of a novel. You want to capture the reader right off the bat and draw them into the story; not wait two or three chapters to get the momentum going and hope the reader sticks along. But it’s not the easiest thing to come out with a first sentence so dynamic it will knock the reader’s socks off. As a writer, when I’m starting a new story I always think about what I want the reader’s first foray into my novel to be like, the first sentence can definitely set a tone, and you want it to be the right tone.
There can be too much pressure put on how to start a novel, but it gets easier the more you write. There was a time when I thought starting with dialogue was a good idea because you were starting in the character’s voice, but I no longer think that’s the best way to start a story.
I thought it would be fun to look back at all of my novels and their first lines, and share them, not because I think they are all knock out stellar, but because I think it’s a good way to show a little bit of my writing evolution since I’ve been writing books since I was fourteen. I will start with my first book and end with my latest.
Shadow Realm – The night was midnight black.
Devil’s Night – The slap of her bare feet against the ground stirred up soft echoes that cried out to the cold, empty night as she walked
Sanguinarius – It was a forest of black dreams.
Nyt – If he finds me now I deserve to die, Kymora said to herself as she stared at the dilapidated building in front of her, hoping it only looked like crap for the purposes of being inconspicuous.
Seasons of Magick – “Now you’ve come to help me?”
Broken Nyt – Everyone get down here now!
Nyt III – Even with her mother’s arms tight around her, Kymora could hardly believe she was standing here with her
Black Eden – “I have a clear shot.”
Blood Cherry – “Well Christine, your medical history looks good.”
Wasteland Rhapsody – “You lose and still want a kiss?”
Graveyard Phoenix – “Mrs. Tillar, if you spill the canister of blood before I begin the resurrection, it will be a wasted night for all of us.”
Ravenous Dusk – The room was spinning, no wait, maybe I was the one spinning.
Ravishing Midnight – After a three month leave I was looking forward to going back to work, even though that involved dealing with demon politics that made being stuck between a rock and a hard place look like a vacation paradise.
Immortal Unrest – In less than twelve hours I’d be embarking on a career where following the rules was an absolute requirement, and here I was breaking the rules for the sake of that career.
Trickster’s Renegade – Days like this made me regret my decision to open a deity trinket shop instead of a liquor store.
Black Widow Witch – Today was the anniversary of the worst day of my life, and I was trying to forget about it by consuming a vast amount of alcohol.
Affairs of the Dead – I was in a strip club trying to help a ghost get laid, which was challenging, but not impossible.
Blurb
Help ghosts, stop a thief, and try not to die…
Necromancer Selene Vanream helps ghosts settle their affairs so they can move on. But when breaking the rules gets her in trouble, she’s bumped down to tracking ghosts trying to avoid the afterlife. Ghosts like Ethan Lance, who claims he was kicked out of his body when someone else jumped in. Which might be plausible—if such a thing were possible. And if Micah, Selene’s partner, didn’t pull her into an investigation of brutal murders that lead directly back to Ethan.
But when the whole mess puts Selene’s life in danger, she suddenly has very personal reasons to get Ethan’s body back. Between her uncomfortable relationship with Micah, and problems with her boss, Selene learns just how much trouble it can be when you don’t follow the rules…
Excerpt
I was in a strip club trying to help a ghost get laid, which was challenging, but not impossible. It was just extremely taxing on the necromancer extraordinaire (me) who had to channel energy into the ghost to make her corporeal enough to entice one of the stripper boys. Technically what I was doing was illegal, but it was my job to help ghosts settle their affairs so they could move on to eternally ever after, and Julia’s unfinished business was that she’d died a virgin. I’d made it as easy as I could for her by starting at a strip club; if she couldn’t get some here, I wasn’t sure how much lower I could scrape the barrel.
Julia’s prolonged virginity was an enigma to me, even though she told me that she’d been waiting for her soul mate. I just didn’t understand why that meant she couldn’t hit up a bar, get drunk, and have a fun, regret-filled weekend that included the walk of shame. At least she’d have been in better shape once soul mate came around.
“What do you think about him?” I asked, pointing to one of the three oiled up men who were gyrating for the benefit of all the screaming women. He had blond hair and green eyes, and wasn’t overly muscular. Julia looked at him then quickly looked away. I took that as a sign of approval.
“I think this was a bad idea,” she stammered.
“This was a fantastic idea,” I said. “And it will work, don’t worry.”
“No, I mean, I don’t think I can do this. I waited my whole life for my soul mate and now you want me to just—” she stole another quick look at the stripper, “I don’t think I can do this with some random…stripper man. It’s so indecent.”
I rolled my eyes. “Julia, you’re a ghost; you no longer have the option of being discerning. And if you don’t wrap up what’s keeping you around, you run the risk of turning into a monster. Then it’s an even bigger pain in the ass to get rid of you. So let’s call our efforts here at Bump and Moan choice A, and murderous monster choice B. Which choice would you like to make?”
“A,” Julia said, but she didn’t sound happy about it. I smiled, and grabbed a couple drinks off the tray of a passing waitress. I set them down in front of Julia.
“Drink,” I said. “This will help.”
“I’m a ghost,” she said. “I thought I was unable to eat or drink.”
“You can feel the effects of the alcohol since you’ll be working off my energy, so drink up. I’ve pegged you as a light weight so I think two drinks will be enough.”
“But how is this supposed to help?” she asked, frowning.
“Because its job is to help,” I said.
Buy Links
Amazon Barnes & Noble All Romance E-books Kobo
Author Links
Blog: http://iqurae.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @maqueripe
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17226279-affairs-of-the-dead
Filed under: Guest bloggers, writing Tagged: A.J.Locke, Affairs Of The Dead, Etopia Press, Manderley, New York, Scarlett O'Hara
May 1, 2013
I threw a gnome through a window, apparently.
Yes, it has been some week. To think that is one of seven things I did not even know about me. The gnome throwing. Seeing some weird shit oh yes. haven’t we all?
Firstly Lady Fury was upset about Tatler. It has taken her till today when I placed her on Pinterest with a board of other ladies in red gowns, for her to come down from the ceiling, accept the blogger award I gave her and bestow upon the world her quite hidious paper doll…
http://furiousunravelings.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/milady-pirate/
As for me, well…the gnome throwing….into a flower bed too. What can I say except that I paid a visit here…
The home of the Mountain Lord of Chaos, who had this to say of it the following morning:-
Well, what a night! I fear I will be in the doghouse with Princess Ruby for quite some time. She told me that it would be the last time she frees me from police custody.
It all started when Shehanne Moore returned from white water rafting and insisted that Findl Nettlecrusher come to the village tavern with us. This was playing with fire, if ever there was. The gnomes are generally forbidden from fraternising with guests, and certainly not usually allowed in the tavern! Shehanne was most insistent, and my protests went unheeded.
To cut a long story short, what proceeded was one of the most raucus nights I have ever witnessed. It started with a drinking contest where great big jugs of whisky were quaffed in seconds. Poor Findl barely stood a chance. Next, we had a display of Highland Dancing on top of the bar in front of a crowd of astonished Rambling Club members. Somehow a whole hog roast ended up in the fire, and the whole evening culminated in Findl being hurled head-first through a window, into the Mayor’s prize-winning flowerbed.
I mean it could have been worse. At least I never got involved in rammy up Everest as some folks recently did. And Findle could still rise obviously as you can see from this picture I took. .
So there was no need for the Mountain Lord to be hustled off like this 
to the nearest police cell.
Seriously, I have to say that the Citadel is a wonderful place. You get to white-water raft and everything.
Okay so that flamingo came to grief, and the Lord Of Chaos, is actually quite a pussy cat. I don’t tend to reblog things as a rule –no the edits on that other pussy cat the Black Wolf are done….Whoooh. I just want to share this. Mountain Lord has created a fabulous other world. And tkaen such trouble to ask several other author along this week. I was thrilled to get a place. More of that. More of them at the end. Here’s the Q and A session that happened BEFORE that gnome got thrown.
We are extremely pleased you have journeyed to us in the Karkonose, Shehanne. Can you tell us something about the place where you usually dwell and your background?
(well maybe he was but I doubt I will get back!!)
I am a miserable creature, oh mighty lord of the citadel, dwelling on wine in the miserable lande of ye Scots, north of ye Englande, north of ye sun…miles north in fact, where ye people dress in kilts, live in castles, eat ye strange dish called haggis and say ye hoots mon, for the benefit of ye tourists. Ye aisles of ye shoppes are stocked with garden furniture of every description, instead of gloves and hats, ye beer-bellied men ponce about ye supermarket car-parks in ye shorts and ye open-toed sandals, at the first hint of sun. And ye young demonstrate their drinking skills on ye streets on ye nightly basis. Mountainous, so ye climb here has been nothing.
There dwell I in a house where you would be lucky to get a biscuit and ye younger daughter complained that last week she found a potato plant growing in a kitchen cupboard. 
So you cannot imagine how glad I am to come here, oh master. ML: There are many similarities between your home and ours methinks.
Are you enjoying your visit to the Citadel?
So long as Gnome Nettlecrusher understands when it comes to white water rafting he is looking at a being who nearly drowned in six inches of water. I am sure it will be very satisfactory. But if this tavern you speak so highly of, serves turnip ale, I think you will find my clog dancing skills are better. Especially upon the nearest table. You have karaoke?
Tell us what is happening to you at the moment as a writer. Well, what is happening is that I am writing out a character and her clan for my second book. To think they survived hundreds of years of warfare, massacre and clearances, to meet with ye ed’s red pen. But she is brill so…
Do you have anything exciting lined up for the future?
A night out in ye Dundee city centre is always very exciting.
We employ lots of gnomes here at the citadel. They are quite rambunctious and troublesome at times, and often refuse to work. Do you have any tips on looking after them?
Gnome throwing. Definitely. Short of that make them go stand in someone’s garden with their rods for an entire afternoon. Their fishing ones that is. That will quieten them down. Either that or they will get nicked, then your problems will be solved.
I have a long running feud with Vlad Dracula, who lives over in Transylvania. He thinks I stole his wife and will not let it lie. Do you any recommendations on how I should deal with the grumpy old curmudgeon?
Oh just send her back. You know all she does is complain and want you to count turnips anyway. He is a curmudgeon. She is a curmudgeon. This is a match made in heaven…. Think of who else you could have, oh mighty master. My own heroine would but require you to change one letters of the name Ruby.
My wife Ruby says I spend too much time in the local village and not enough time counting turnips for her. How can I keep her happy?
You see? You can’t.
I failed in my last attempt to unleash chaos on the world. Can you think of a way I should employ my powers to redeem myself and make the world a better place?
Well, you’ve asked me and all these other writers on here. What more is there?
ML: You could be right about this one.
So who is Mountain Lord..well fabulously imaginative and highly recommended. I’ve not such fun in yoinks. Oh to have to adjust to the non throwing gnome world again.
http://mountain-lord.blogspot.co.uk/
And just look at some of the wonderful writers Mountain Lord featured recently.
Jonathon Mills author or The Witch of Glenaster
http://mountain-lord.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/tea-and-biscuits-at-citadel-author_26.html
Catherine Cavendish, author of Miss Abigail’s Room and The Second Wife http://mountain-lord.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/tea-and-biscuits-at-citadel-author.html
Steve Emmett, author of Diavolino http://mountain-lord.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/enjoying-tea-and-biscuits-at-citadel.html
Marie Egles Carhart on behalf of J.R.Egles, author of The Kabrini Message. http://mountain-lord.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/tea-and-biscuits-at-citadel-marie-egles.html
And I don’t think Monsieur le Chaotic Lord is finished yet. Not by a long chop of turnip neep.
Filed under: blogging, Guest bloggers Tagged: ., Dracula, gnomes, Tea and bisctuis at the Citadel, The Citadel blogspot, The Moutain Lord. Lord Of Chaos
April 27, 2013
Inspiring…The Sequel
Straight upfront, I have already received this award, but when another blogger is kind enough–desperate rather– to think of me, and I am desperate, edits, edits, I am going to follow through. Films have sequels,. Why not blogs? Do the things that are required of a recipient. That is firstly to give the link back to their site.
A very nice site by the way, with lots of writing tips. Then I am going to redisplay the badge so the bloggers I nominate can copy it from here and put it on their blogs.
Then I’m going to get on with giving you the wonderful news that Fury is on the cover of Tatler.
Oh come on. It ‘s her frock and everything. Where is she now? Well the answer is pretty bleeding obvious in’it? She is at Ravenhurst, where she fights for 99 percent of the book to be. That is why she is even saying AT LAST.
So, where were we, apart from wondering what kind of blog she will write on this at Furious Unravelings?
Inspiring blogger award? Well the next thing is to tell seven things about yourself. I have done that so instead of reboring you all, I am going to talk briefly–ain’t you glad- -of seven times I was inspired to do something.
1 Frequently in trouble in school, I was inspired to write sets of I will….and I will not, lines out in advance, to hand straight over when slapped with them.
2 Still in school, I was inspired by the boredom of certain classes to spend a lot of time outwith the gates, and by the chaos of others, not to miss a lesson, even if it meant sneaking back in again.
3 Having been caught along with the other librarians, running a boozing den while working part time there, I was inspired to ask the vice principal of the college what he thought he was doing there.
4 I was next inspired, having got the sack, to find another part time job.
5 Opening the door to some police officers, after someone dumped a pile of rubbish–half a garden in fact–over an adjoining fence, I was inspired to tell them that Mr Shey didn’t know anything about it.
6 Regarding Mr Shey, I was also inspired, to deck a woman at a Dundee taxi rank, after she attempted a hi-jack which, because of his job, he found difficulty preventing, at 3 am in the morning.
7 On stage one evening, I was inspired, along with five others, I was inspired to invent an entire scene of Charlie’s Aunt, after someone forgot to come on.
There now, I come to the next bit. The blog nominations. I am going to go for ones I didn’t ask before, so please nobody hit me!!! I might hit you
http:/katereedwood.blogspot.com/
http://antoniavanzandt.blogspot.com/back.
http:// www.noelleclarkauthor.com/
Http://reneamason.com/
http://www.jerriealexander.com/
http:/susanarden.blogspot.com//
http://artsakhliberty.wordpress.com/
http://kbvollmarblog.wordpress.com/
http://mountain-lord.blogspot.com
Lastly….but not least, I am going to nominate Fury cos I don’t know about being inspiring she will go tits about someone wearing her frock.
http://furiousunravelings.wordpress.com/about-2/
Filed under: blogging Tagged: Dundee, Inspiring Blogger award, Lady Fury 
