Elizabeth Ellen Carter's Blog, page 32
January 28, 2014
The Write Stuff
No, no, no – not the movie!…
I’m a really slack person and I’m belatedly adding my 2c. This blog tour is where writers and authors answer questions about their writing process. Fantastic Australian writers Joanna Lloyd and Tea Cooper have posted theirs and now it is my turn.
What am I working on?
In addition to writing, I work full time (fun fact: having a novel published is no guarantee of a life riches), so I need to be disciplined about my time, so tend to work on one title at a time as well as manage promotion of my debut historical romance, Moonstone Obsession. At the moment my second novel Warrior’s Surrender is being edited and I’m starting work on a sequel to Moonstone Obsession called Moonstone Conspiracy. Sometime the muse has a mind of her own and other great ideas pop up. When they do, I try to write a two page treatment and there they will wait until they’re ready to be written.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I write historical romance -a very crowded genre! My work tends to differ in that I like to tie the story to real historical events and have the characters very aware of the life and times in which they live. Instead of writing costume romances, I love to put the history in historical romance.
The secret to being an author. SIT – sit down at your desk even when you don’t feel like it. STAY even when you feel like giving up
Why do I write what I do?
I’ve always been steeped in history and reminded that people in all ages past lived, laughed and loved as we did. Human nature doesn’t change, so the stories of people who lived 400 or 4000 years ago are timely and relevant. CS Lewis refers to ‘the snobbery of chronology’ which infers that because people in the past didn’t have access to technology or scientific knowledge, that they were stupid. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reason why we read Shakespeare today is his works explore transcendent truths that we can identify with today. I hope my stories will do the same.
How does your writing process work?
Some days I think I’m a pantser other days I might be a plotter. I tend to work by plotting the narrative framework and as I research, I allow the historical facts of the era fill in the spaces in between. Sometimes that requires an expansion to the story, other times whole ideas have to be jettisoned.
Then I write, hopefully getting down 2500 words per writing day.
I’m so grateful for the support of the marvellous writers I’ve met through Romance Writers of Australia, ideas , crit partners are such a valuable resource.
I’m especially blessed to have a husband who is an accomplished writer in his own right so is such a wonderful support. He is also my proofreader and editor who’s not afraid to give an honest opinion.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my post!
The post The Write Stuff appeared first on EE Carter.
January 10, 2014
Coastal Romance – Australia Day Blog Hop
I’m a little late with my Australia Day post, owing to the fact that I’ve just returned from Melbourne on a four day holiday. Many thanks to the incredible Annie Seaton for putting this opportunity together and my apologies again for my tardiness.
The Hotel Windsor, known back in 1899 as The Grand Hotel
As it so happens where we stayed in Melbourne, the Hotel Windsor on Spring Street has a tangible link to the history of the country. Built as the city’s premier destination in 1883 as The Grand Hotel, its location opposite Melbourne’s Parliament House was very convenient for late night sittings to determine the final clauses that would become our nation’s constitution.
The magnificent Exhibition Building in Melbourne, site of Australia’s federal Parliament for the first decade of the new nation’s life
Until the capital of Canberra was established in 1913 Melbourne’s Exhibition Centre was the location for the first decade and a bit of our combined nation’s history.
Canberra is one of the few ‘created capitals’, that is cities that were especially designed and built to be a national capital, rather than the most prominent trading town earning that honour, such as Paris or London. Other created capitals which come to mind are Washington DC and Brasilia, the new capital of Brazil.
Celebrating the wonder of Australia, its natural beauty, its First Peoples, all the migrants who came afterwards, our can-do spirit and inventiveness is Australia Day, held on the 26th of January to mark the landing of the First Fleet of English convicts to arrive in Port Phillip Bay in 1788. If you’d like a historical romance which looks at Australia’s early history, then I highly recommend Beyond Innocence by fellow Queenslander, Joanna Lloyd.
All present and incorrect. T-shirts saying Australia was established in 1788. It wasn’t. It was established in 1901.
Yet we’re not without our detractors, just in the past week two major retailers have pulled Australia Day T-shirts for having the temerity to say Australia: Established 1788.
And quite right too – Australia as a nation wasn’t established until January 1 1901 – the first day of the 20th century.
Prior to this date, the continent was divided into six of self-governing British colonies and before that, Terra Australis was occupied by between 500 and 700 Aboriginal nation groups.
Australia as a nation did not exist prior to Federation.
Please do go and visit some other amazing Australian authors and support them with sales of their books:
Don’t forget to call in every day and visit the blogs, leave a comment, enter the raffle copter for the fabulous gift basket.
$100 and 26 e-books (some print) from our generous authors
drawn Australia Day
January
1
Monique McDonnell
January
2
Sara Hantz
January
3
Annie Seaton
January
4
Imogene Nix
January
5
Caitlyn Nicholas
January
6
Tima Maria Lacoba
January
7
Nicole Flockton
January
8
Wendy L. Curtis
January
10
Susan Horsnell
January
11
Susanne Bellamy
January
12
J’aimee Brooker
January
13
Victoria Purman
January
14
Ann B Harrison
January
15
Cate Ellink
and
Demelza Carlton
January
16
Jenny Schwartz
January
17
Donna Gallagher
January
18
Lily Malone
January
19
Tea Cooper
January
20
Fiona McArthur
January
21
Max Henry
January
22
Jennie Jones
January
23
Alison Stuart
January
24
Eve Rabi
January
25
Kendall Talbot
January
26
Annie Seaton-Prize draw
Annie Seaton
The post Coastal Romance – Australia Day Blog Hop appeared first on EE Carter.
January 3, 2014
Tuesday Book Club – Lily Malone: Fairway To Heaven
Chesterfield couch, in royal purple – just perfect for our distinguished guest on tonight’s show.
I’m a few days late posting this up on my blog. The Christmas and New Year has been filled with lots and lots of socialising and precious little time for writing or promoting.
And less said about random modem problems the better…
I’m very proud to have as my guest on the purple couch today Lily Malone, an incredibly talented Australian author on my blog with her new book Fairway To Heaven to be released on January 8 – just in time for a relaxing summer time holiday read.
Thank you Elizabeth Ellen for being kind enough to let me take over your blog for the day!
It’s always a pleasure to have you as a guest Lily! – EEC
January 8 is the release date for my new (very) contemporary romance Fairway To Heaven. It’s set on the beach at Busselton in the beautiful south west corner of Western Australia – very close to where I live.
Lily knows how to play a round – with words and with a golf club!
They call it ‘God’s Own Country’ here, so perhaps a book title with ‘Heaven’ in the name is appropriate!
And yes, Fairway is about golf – just not golf as you know it!
Tell me more! I once played a round of golf and I was woeful, I’ll stick to miniature golf I think. – EEC
A bit about the book later, but first, I know that you enjoyed a wonderful relationship with your mother, Elizabeth Ann. I’ve read this on your blog, and having recently bought your book, Moonstone Obsession for my Kindle, I’ve seen your dedication to your mother in the front pages.
It felt right that I talk a bit about mothers and how they impact my writing here with you.
Yes, indeed! – EEC
My mother has read both my published books, but she hasn’t yet read Fairway To Heaven. My mother is from the generation that would never consider buying a Kindle, and she is always afraid that if she looks at a computer, she might break it. So I’ve had to print both my books His Brand Of Beautiful, and The Goodbye Ride, for her and give her a stack of paper. Then she’s been happy!
When she read my second book, the novella The Goodbye Ride, she quizzed me about the mother characters in my books.
In my debut book, His Brand Of Beautiful, Christina Clay’s mother abandons her as a young girl. That sense of abandonment haunts Christina throughout the novel, until she comes to terms with the fact that her mother’s decision to leave wasn’t Christina’s fault.
In The Goodbye Ride, Olivia’s mother is a woman fighting back from the verge of a nervous breakdown. Olivia moved home to help her father care for her mother after her mother tried to commit suicide.
Olivia’s mother battles obsessive-compulsive disorder. She is always cleaning the house which Olivia describes as: “like living in an advertisement for bleach.”
After she’d read both my books, my mum started a conversation when we were out walking one day. She said: “You write all these awful mothers. Why do you write such awful mothers? What did I ever do to you?”
I told her fiction wouldn’t be very interesting if it was all about my characters’ perfect childhoods, now, would it?
She seemed mollified by that!
So in Fairway To Heaven, I’ve done it again. There’s not much angst between Jennifer Gates and her parents, but Jenn’s parents live in Karratha (the north-west mining region of Western Australia) and Jenn is quite happily ensconced a few thousand miles to the south at Perth, and then Busselton. She loves her parents, but it suits her fine that they can’t exactly drop in any old time for a cuppa and a chat.
Jenn’s parents play lawn bowls – which my father loves – but my mother hates, and I’m sure my mum is going to have a few words to say about that!
So please enjoy this quick excerpt from Fairway, where Olivia is phoning in a ‘duty’ call to her parents, to tell them she’s left her boyfriend, Jack, the father of her 14-month old son.
Thank you Lily, such an interesting insight into the different personalities that go into making a family. My late grandfather – such a wise man – said family should be close enough in emergencies and far enough away that paying a visit is something special – EEC
Extract: Fairway To Heaven
What a great cover photograph!
I had a joke lined up about needing a niblick to play this shot, then I thought better of it.
It’s also two weeks—almost to the hour—since I spoke with my mother. She rang when I was madly polishing the staircase at Jack’s house, getting ready for the date night that never happened.
My parents’ number is the only one beside Emmy’s, Nathan’s and Jack’s, that I don’t have to look up before I dial. My mother answers on the third ring and says she knew it was me.
I always joke with my sister that mum is psycho like that.
We spend the first part of the conversation discussing how long it is since the last time we spoke, and what they’ve been doing (playing lawn bowls), and finally Mum gets around to asking whether I have any news.
It takes me a while to explain that I’m in Busselton.
With Sebby.
Just us.
Yes, without Jack.
No, Jack’s not coming later.
After that, she’s so shocked she has to pass the phone to my dad.
He asks what I’ve done to upset my mother, listens, says: “Right-o,” then proceeds to tell me about his week at lawn bowls.
In detail.
My parents have played bowls in Karratha every weekend, plus Wednesday’s, since my father retired from the mines.
Lawn bowls is what they do well.
Dramatic family situations, isn’t.
Eventually Mum comes back as Dad’s telling me he doesn’t like the new set of bowls the family bought him for Christmas.
“It’s me again, love,” Mum says, sounding teary. “Are you okay? Should I come down?”
Good God no. “You’ll miss your bowls. I’m fine. Really.”
“Sebastian is so young. Are you sure you can’t work things out with Jack? Relationships aren’t meant to be easy you know.”
“They’re not meant to be this hard, either.”
My dad mutters something in the background like: “lucky she never married that joker.” Only I’m not sure if he says ‘joker’ or ‘Jack’. Mum shushes him. I can picture her with her hand over the phone making evil eyes at my father.
“So what are you going to do in Busselton, love? Take some time away to get your head straight?”
“I’m trying to set up my own business.”
“A business? Doing what?”
Selling my body, mum. “Freelance writing. Just like what I did in Perth.”
“How are you going to make a living doing that when you don’t know anybody down there? Why didn’t you come home where at least you have connections? We could have helped you.”
The thought of returning to Karratha makes my head ache. “What would I do in Karratha, Mum? Marry a miner? Drive a truck?”
“There are worse things in the world.”
No there are not. “I’m happy here. Sebby can see Jack.”
“We’d see more of Seb if you moved up here.” Hope in her voice.
“He’s not much good at the bowling green, Mum. He makes too much noise.”
“Oh, silly,” she says, but she doesn’t raise the idea again. Instead she says: “I don’t like the idea of you being on your own down there.”
“It’s Busselton, Mum, not the fifth planet of Pluto.”
“I can be on the first plane to Perth. Just say the word.”
“I’m not actually in Perth, so I can’t pick you up at the airport, and anyway, don’t you have bowls all weekend? You can’t let the team down.” Go team.
“If you need anything, anything, you’ll call me, won’t you?”
I cross my fingers. “I promise, Mum.”
After that, I open a bottle of white wine and pour a glass to take to the porch, which is cheating, I know—it’s not even wine o’clock—but conversations with my mother bring out the rebel in me. Bless her.
Read more about Lily
You can find out more about Lily and her books at her website: www.lilymalone.wordpress.com
Lily is on Facebook: www.facebook.com.lilymalone
And Twitter: www.twitter.com/lily_lilymalone
Buy Fairway To Heaven
From all good online book stores from January 8.
The post Tuesday Book Club – Lily Malone: Fairway To Heaven appeared first on EE Carter.
December 20, 2013
New release – Above Par by Etopia Press
It’s my pleasure to introduce another Etopia Press author Crystal Donahue whose New Adults release Above Par was released this week:
Drew’s life just got a whole lot harder.
Her relationships are falling apart, her little sister is failing math, and her parents are leaving for Florida to take care of Grandpa.
Now not only does she have to play surrogate parent, study to graduate from her last semester of college, and deal with the looming threat of full-on adulthood, she has to do it all while running the family’s mini-golf course by herself.
Even the upbeat Drew is starting to feel like she just drove her ball down the unfairway.
Her luck takes a turn when she meets Weston, the snarky geometry teacher.
He’s smart, capable, dependable, and handsome—a real hole in one.
But even Weston has a few hazards of his own.
Now Drew will have to decide whether his secret is the wedge that drives them apart, or pushes them together.
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Above-Par-Crystal-Donahue-ebook/dp/B00HF95IIS/
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/above-par-crystal-donahue/1117760321?ean=2940148925248
The post New release – Above Par by Etopia Press appeared first on EE Carter.
December 19, 2013
Let’s Hear It For The Boy
I’ve always found it fascinating how fiction influences our lives – even down to our choice of mate.
On Facebook there are plenty of memes about ‘book boyfriends’, the men we fall in love with between the pages of our favourite stories.
When I was 18 and heart-broken because my boyfriend broke up with me, a wise adult gave me some great advice – ‘describe your future husband, what he looks like, what he does for a living, what his likes and dislikes are’
For the young and unattached, reading romances and watching the romantic dynamic between a movie or TV hero and heroine is a way of compiling that checklist – honing, even at a very young age who ‘The One’ would be, so I’d recognise it when I saw him.
And for the attached, these stories are the opportunity to experience falling in love afresh.
So, in laying my soul bare, I’m going to list some of my ‘book/TV/film boyfriends’ and address their good and bad qualities.
And I’d love it if you’d leave me your list in comments below:
Ned, why the long face?
Frankie Thomas as Ned and Bonita Granville as Nancy Drew in the 1939s film series
Ned Nickerson – Nancy Drew’s boyfriend
Good: He’s not phased by Nancy’s independence.
Bad: He’s not really interested in Nancy’s sleuthing.
Although he was second in charge, Joe was never above sharing his opinion.
Joe Asakura (a.k.a Jason) Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets
Good: He knows how to drive a hot car and he’s kick-ass fighter. He’s mysterious, brooding and gets all the glib one-liners
Bad: He ‘dies’ and ends up being a cyborg (long story) which really puts a damper on potential romance.
I soooo wanted to be Laura Holt back in the 1980s
Pierce Brosnan as Remington Steele
Good: Handsome, urbane, witty and rocks a tuxedo. He’s definitely the type you’d bring home to meet mum.
Bad: His thieving and con artist past (but seriously mum, he’s *reformed*!)
Who wants to believe?
Fox Mulder from The X-Files
Good: Smart, steady job, quick with the one-liners, dedicated.
Bad: We’ll give that line to Scully: “He’s a jerk. He’s not a jerk. He’s, um… he’s obsessed with his work.”
I think these two really really do like one another.
Rick O’Connell from The Mummy
Good: Handsome, brave and believes in true love.
Bad: Umm, nope can’t think of anything, he’s the perfect romantic hero.
Sex appeal: Elementary, my dear Watson
Benedict Cumerbatch as Sherlock Holmes
Good: Brains, good looks, loyal to his friends.
Bad: See: Fox Mulder.
Sir James Mitchell, the type of man it would be easy to fall in love with.
Sir James Mitchell from Moonstone Obsession
Good: He’s very much like the Rick O’Connell romantic hero archetype except he has been wounded by love in the past. I was inspired by the scene in Hitchcock’s Rebecca (which I rewatched recently) when Maxim reveals to the second Mrs de Winter the level of Rebecca’s perfidy.
Bad: No bad – he’s a keeper.
Baron Sebastian de la Croix from my latest book Warrior’s Surrender.
Good: Strong, capable, determined to get what he wants. Somewhat of a romantic.
Bad: If Sebastian has a fault at all is that he could share his burdens more with those he loves.
I know, I know, it’s Michael Fassbender.
The Honourable Damian Ridgeway, hero of my current WIP Moonstone Conspiracy, the sequel to Moonstone Obsession
Good: Take a pinch of Remington Steele, a dash of Fox Mulder, a sprinkling of Joe Asakura (minus the cyborg thing) and a handful of Rick O’Connell.
Bad: He’s my most complex character to date but underneath his razor-sharp sarcasm and impetuous nature beats the heart of a chivalrous man.
Last but certainly not least…
Mr Carter – husband to Elizabeth Ellen Carter
Good: Take all my romantic heroes and book boyfriends, mix together up all the best bits.
Bad: He may not be a perfect man, but he’s perfect for me. Nearly 20 years married with many more wonderful, crazy, romantic years to come.
The post Let’s Hear It For The Boy appeared first on EE Carter.
December 13, 2013
Susanne Bellamy – One Night Only… One Night In Sorrento
Chesterfield couch, in royal purple – just perfect for our distinguished guest on tonight’s show.
One of the most blessed things to have come out of this year is the opportunity to meet so many amazing writers – people who are so generous with their time, advice and support.
Among these sensational authors that I’ve had the pleasure to meet is fellow Queenslander Susanne Bellamy.
I’m delighted to dust of the purple couch to host an interview with Susanne, whose great new novella One Night In Sorrento has become an Amazon best seller.
Thank you for joining me Susanne!
How long have you been writing?
Three years ago after a good friend at work shared her guilty secret—she reads romance novels!—and we decided they’d be ‘easy’ to write! (Yep, I know, I hadn’t read one since I was a teenager and I was talking through my hat.)
At what point did you decide to try your hand at romance writing?
After the above discussion and while my husband was on, I think it was trip number four to Nepal, I challenged myself to write a full length romance novel, just to see if I could. The creative process was delightful and thrilling, but remained my little secret for several months.
Tell us about your journey to publication.
Brisbane Writers Festival 2010—I met Anna Campbell and Christine Wells when they ran a romance writing workshop which my romance reading friend and I attended. Anna advised joining the RWA and entering their competitions because the feedback would be great. I joined and entered the first available competition—the 2011 Emerald Award. Anna was right; the feedback was excellent, the judges loved White Ginger and I came third! I also pitched for the first time at Melbourne in 2011, without success, but my story was picked up in an online pitch competition and eventually published.
One Night In Sorrento by Susanne Bellamy. Make sure you buy today.
You’re incredibly well traveled. How does that influence the way you write descriptive scenes?
Far away places have excited me since I was a child and we travelled to England on the Fairsky. I remember the weird and wacky ‘crossing the line’ (Equator) ceremonies and attempting to barter for a sunhat for my mum somewhere along the Suez Canal (my mother cut my dealings short).
Sensory elements are part of all those travel memories. I sometimes think the sense of small is the strongest; the scent of lemons takes me right back to Amalfi! But so does a recording of “That’s Amore!” Wandering musicians still play that each night to diners in cafes and restaurants.
White Ginger is set in Hawaii and your latest, One Night In Sorrento is set in Italy. What is it about these locations that speaks romance?
Seriously…?! Okay, let’s consider—sea, coast, glorious light or tropical nights filled with exotic perfumes, beautiful sunsets and hunky men…and a literary history filled with tales of love and romance. And beautiful languages—wouldn’t you melt on hearing “Ti amo, mi amore”?
Oh my yes, I think I would! – EEC
Hang on a second…
The Impossible Dream… set in Barcelona
Beloved Jailer…set in Tuscany
Nepal Story
Merger in Melbourne
One Night In Sorrento isn’t there on your WIPs! How did that escape?
Thanks for the reminder my home page needs updating! Actually, One Night in Sorrento is a novella so it never quite reached the WIP list. And of those settings, there is only one I haven’t yet visited, but I plan to!
And you WILL be hearing lots more about one of these books VERY soon!
Hooray! I can’t wait – EEC
From Susanne’s web site: “I married my very own real life hero after he saved my life…” Oooh, now there’s a love story right there – do tell!
When the man of your dreams saves you from drowning, what can you do but marry him? I did. Suffice to say, he made sure I made it into the New Year and a new life with him. That storm wasn’t going to rob him of the girl he’d decided to marry.
Would you like to share a blurb of One Night In Sorrento?
Rhiannon steps out of her comfort zone when she travels to Sorrento for a meeting in borrowed business clothes. The last thing she expects is to miss her meeting, and end up in the company of Luca, a sexy Italian bike rider. What will one night in Sorrento bring?
Buy Susanne Bellamy’s One Night In Sorrento:
Your choice of Amazon store: http://tinyurl.com/oux973b
The post Susanne Bellamy – One Night Only… One Night In Sorrento appeared first on EE Carter.
December 9, 2013
Never Gonna Fall for Modern Love
I learned something tonight. I’m no good with modern love.
No, no, no – not the David Bowie song:
Modern romances I mean.
I had a great idea for a modern little novella, a couple of great scenes and…
… well a plot that just wouldn’t come together and hero who was so intangible as to be transparent.
I’ve faced the realisation that great author friends Lily Malone and Alison Stuart have ably described – I was writing the wrong book and no amount of thinking, revision and reworking was going to make it happen.
I have a soft spot for Miss Midnight and perhaps her day in the sun will come.
But today is not her day.
So who’s day is it?
Well that would be Lady Abigail Houghall, one of the antagonists of Moonstone Obsession.
Yep, that’s right, the villainess of Moonstone Obsession is demanding her own story and that she be the heroine and she gets her happily ever after.
Well, what the lady wants, the lady gets, but she has to get through France’s Reign of Terror first.
Heh.
So sorry Miss Midnight you’ve been gazumped by Moonstone Conspiracy.
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December 4, 2013
Moonstone Obsession – 5 star review
Thrilled to bits with a great review for Moonstone Obsession
The lovely reviewerLauren from You Gotta Read has given Moonstone Obsession a 5 star review!
Moonstone Obsession by Elizabeth Ellen Carter is a delightful Historical Romance which combines fact and fiction flawlessly to tell a story that I did not want to put down. Moonstone Obsession is the story of Selena Rosewell, who has given up on love to help her brother further his merchant shipping business. Then she meets James Mitchell, Lord Penventen, a man who doesn`t know which is more dangerous, the ladies of the Ton or spying for his country. The attraction between the two is instantaneous, but obstacles abound.
This book takes us from the ballrooms of London, to the shores of Cornwall to revolutionary Paris. Together, Selena and James face political intrigue, blackmail and unknown adversaries.
Moonstone Obsession is a compelling novel that will enthrall the reader for hours on end. It is a MUST read!
Wow! A must read!
If you’d love to read a copy of your own, then be sure to grab your own copy from these retailers:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
All Romance Ebooks
Kobo
The post Moonstone Obsession – 5 star review appeared first on EE Carter.
November 29, 2013
Coastal Romance – The Beautiful Cornish Coast
The fantastically talented author Annie Seaton, who also runs the terrific Coastal Romance Facebook page has organised an incredible give away between now and Christmas Eve. You have a chance to win 26 great stories and a $100 Amazon gift voucher.
To be in with a chance to win, click on the Rafflecopter giveaway link at the bottom of this post! + Bonus Prize!
Unlike Annie on Thursday and yesterday Jenny Schwartz, who shared sweet and reflective recollections of the seaside, I’m choosing to go with a dangerous theme.
Moonstone Obsession opens with a shipwreck off the north Cornwall Coast:
Captain Armsden watched his men tighten the rigging, giving the square-rigged vessel stability in the rising wind and seas. With quick, economical movements, they worked to maintain control of the vessel as it battled the rising swell and blustering gale. February in Cornwall was for sailors, a savage time of year in a savage part of England. Miscalculations saw many a ship run aground on the rocky coast, with cargo and lives lost by the score.
– prologue, Moonstone Obsession
The wild and beautiful coast was well recognised by sailors for its treacherous conditions, so much so a rhyme was popularised to remind sailors of the danger:
The ship Gunvor (a Norwegian ship, no relation to Cornwall’s Gunver Head) but which was wrecked on the Cornish Coast
From Pentire Point to Hartland Light a watery grave by day or night.
Pentire is near Padstow, a beautiful historic town protected from the worst of the wild weather of the Irish Sea by Gunver Head, the headland past which the mouth of the River Camel widens and flows into the sea. In Moonstone Obsession, Padstow becomes a hot bed of intrigue as our hero Sir James Mitchell, Lord of Penventen (owner of Penventen Hall, which in real life is the Elizabethan manor Prideaux Place) discovers that a threat to the Crown lies very close to home.
This fascinating piece of coastline features sharp cliff, semi-submerged rocks but by contrast it is also home to wide sandy beaches and in Newquay, a thriving surfing community exists in one of England’s most popular holiday and party destinations.
But the wide sandy shallows were just as hazardous to ships as the rocks and records of shipwrecks dates back to the 13th century. Wrecks which have survived the pounding waves are now popular dive attractions.
“Do tell us more about your interest in the local cliffs, Mr. Elkerton,” enquired Lady Catherine.
“This is a fascinating part of England, Lady Catherine,” he answered. “The north Cornwall coast sees so much adverse weather and the strata in the rocks are most interesting. The folded and contorted stratification of shale and sandstone is unique in southern England. I’ve spent some time looking at Culm Measures and the folding rocks at Millook Haven about thirty miles from here. Being in Padstow for this summer allows me to compare the features of the natural harbor at Bude, which is where I had the opportunity to explore during the spring.”
– Chapter 11, Moonstone Obsession
But you don’t have to get your feet wet to enjoy this magnificent region. Although Padstow is not nearly as famous as Newquay, (but Rick Stein does have a restaurant there), this town is perfect for people looking for a leisurely holiday to soak up the atmosphere, history and scenery. Long walks from Padstow along Gunver Head have long been popular with walkers – including the summer party staying at Moonstone Obsession:
The Reverend Kirk smiled, knowing he had a willing audience. Hours spent writing and honing his sermons made him an accomplished speaker, and the opportunity to be a storyteller was irresistible.
“Let’s go back along the beach to the other side of the headland where the really tall cliffs start, and I’ll tell you the story of Black Heart Pete, the most notorious brigand of Cornwall,” he began.
He spun a flagrantly false but utterly engaging tale that kept everyone amused on the two-mile walk across the headland to the rocks and cliffs on the ocean side called Gunver Head.
– Chapter 15, Moonstone Obsession
And who can blame them when the view looks like this:
The view from Padstow to Gunver Head
But if your interest has been piqued by Cornwall and shipwreck, please do take a look at my post on the 1939 film Jamaica Inn by the intriguing gothic writer Daphne du Maurier whose famous works Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel were also set in Cornwall. And if you’d like to know more about real life shipwrecks, then there is this amazing story (with lots and lots of pictures) of the historic photo archive of shipwrecks taken by four generation of the Gibson family.
Prize 1
As wild as the north Cornish Coast, as passionate as a love that endures.
I have one Miessence Certified Organic Botanical Perfume to give away.
If you love the rich, warm scent of Oriental perfume, then you will love this prize – Wild!
For when you want to feel: alluring, captivating, divine, ravishing, erotic, sensual, daring, rhythmic, intense, confident, intimate, risky, adventurous, fascinating, mesmeric, enrapturing, hypnotising, riveting, mysterious, extravagant, ecstatic
Top notes – French fennel and Sri Lankan cinnamon
Heart notes – French orris root, Egyptian geranium, Bulgarian damask rose
Base notes – Chinese benzoin resin, Indonesian patchouli, Somalian myrrh, Vanuatuan vanilla bourbon
To win:
1. Go to my Amazon author page and ‘like’ it.
2. Go to Moonstone Obsession’s Amazon page, look inside and find the name of Captain Armsden’s ill-fated ship.
3. Tell me which number ‘liker’ you are and the name of Captain Armsden’s ship in comments below on this page.
Grand Prize
And if you’d like to win Moonstone Obsession AND another 25 wonderful romances and a $100 Amazon gift voucher, then be sure to click the Rafflecopter link below.
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Prize Draw
The post Coastal Romance – The Beautiful Cornish Coast appeared first on EE Carter.
November 28, 2013
Love and Politics
The husband of the very talented author Hazel Gower has created a book trailer for Moonstone Obsession. Isn’t it lovely?
Meanwhile do visit me today with another terrific author Iris Blobel – we talk Regency politics!
The post Love and Politics appeared first on EE Carter.
