Hide Your Wallets and Checkbooks

Yes, it is that time again—when I seek to take as many of you into book bankruptcy with me as I can.  So it may be better for your budgets to give this blog a pass.   It is just that when I find a book I really enjoy, I want to share it with the world.   For some books, I am hard put not to stop strangers on the street.  So, my fellow book-lovers, this is for you. But keep in mind that bookstores are not your only option; most of us live in towns that thankfully have libraries.

One benefit of my Lionheart book tour was that I finally had some time for pleasure reading; what else was I going to do at 30,000 feet?   I've already blogged about one of my book tour finds, Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers.   I was also able to plunge into the world of thirteenth century England, courtesy of Priscilla Royal's new mystery, A Killing Season.   In the interest of full disclosure, Priscilla is a friend.  But I would not recommend her books if I did not enjoy them thoroughly.    I think most writers worry when we are sent a writer friend's new book, for what do we do if we don't like it?   Since I wouldn't want to be publicly critical of a friend's book, I would have to find a way to dodge the bullet if asked outright.   Luckily, I've been spared such awkwardness, for my writer friends are very good at what they do!

A Killing Season is the eighth book in this successful series, set in England during the years after the battle of Evesham.  Edward I is now king, although he has yet to make an appearance in any of the books.  Like the Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters and the Dame Frevisse mysteries by Margaret Frazer, Priscilla's series revolves around a monastery, Tyndal Priory, one of the daughter houses of Fontevrault, set near Norwich.   The highborn and prideful prioress, Eleanor, rules over a community of nuns and monks, and shares star billing in the novels with Brother Thomas, who was compelled to take holy vows in the wake of a scandal that almost destroyed him.  Thomas is a fascinating creation, for it is rare to discuss sexuality in novels set in the Middle Ages.   But what of those men and women who could not conform, whose natural urges ran counter to the teachings of the Holy Church?   How did they cope in a world that showed them neither understanding nor mercy, a world in which they themselves believed they were sinners, most likely doomed to eternal hellfire?      With a deft touch, Priscilla shows us Thomas's inner anguish of spirit as he struggles to honor the vows he'd not wanted to take and forges a close bond with Eleanor and the others who share his new world.   Oh, yes, and she writes corking good mysteries, too!   Eleanor and Thomas, like Brother Cadfael and Dame Frevisse, keep stumbling over bodies; who knew medieval monasteries were such hotbeds of crime?

In A Killing Season, the action  shifts to a haunted castle, perched at the back of beyond, where the sons of a newly returned crusader are being struck down under bizarre circumstances.  The lord of the castle is a friend of Eleanor's brother, and responding to his plea for help, they find themselves in a harsh landscape where everything is suspect and nothing is as it seems.  Readers will be caught up in the action from the first pages, when Eleanor and Thomas arrive at the windswept, isolated fortress in time to witness a truly shocking death.   My only complaint with the book was that I had to keep closing it every time my plane landed and then I couldn't start reading again until I was back in my hotel room much later that evening.

It may be unfair to recommend this next book, for it will not be available to us until next year.  But what I read of it was so spectacular that I have to share my enthusiasm.  My readers know I really liked Mary Sharratt's novel, The Daughters of Witching Hill,  based upon an actual witchcraft trial in 17th century England.   Mary's new novel, Illuminations, takes us back to the 12th century and introduces us to one of the most remarkable, enigmatic, and famous women of the Middle Ages, the German abbess, writer, composer, visionary, and mystic, Hildegard of Bingen.   It is very challenging to write of someone like Hildegard, one reason why I was never tempted to take on Joan of Arc!   But Mary was up to the challenge, and she has written a book that I think my readers will find as fascinating as I did.

For a total change of pace, I'd like to recommend Until Tuesday, by Luis Carlos Montalvan, a former army captain, who served two tours of duty in Iraq, won two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart, and came home shattered in body and spirit.   What saved him was a service dog, a golden retriever named Tuesday.   The author writes movingly of the bond that develops between him and his dog, but what I found even more compelling and disturbing was his account of what it is like to deal with an often indifferent world while suffering from PTSD and physical injuries that will never fully heal.  It is a troubling and often infuriating story, for we owe our returning soldiers better than this.  Thank God for programs that provide service dogs like Tuesday; these animals are angels without wings for so many soldiers…and for others with disabilities, too.  Dogs truly are humankind's best friends, and all they ask is a little love…and some juicy treats like hamburger every now and then.  Captain Montalvan believes that Tuesday was his salvation; read Until Tuesday and I think you'll agree with him.

Now I have some interesting tour news.  I've mentioned before that plans are in the works for Academic Travel (my Eleanor tour company) to do a William Marshal tour with Elizabeth Chadwick and a Tudor tour with Margaret George.   Many of my readers share my appreciation for the novels of C.W. Gortner.  So I am very happy to announce that Academic Travel and Christopher are considering two possible tours, one to Spain, the site of his excellent The Last Queen, or one to France to visit the places associated with the controversial French queen who is the subject of another of Christopher's books that I recommend, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici.    As Academic did with my tour, they are asking for feedback and input from people who might be interested in going on one of these tours.  You can respond to their survey here.   http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22DSXYCVG4A

I was hesitant about mentioning this last item, for I've never asked my readers to rally round one of my books, to post reviews on Amazon, etc; I just didn't feel comfortable doing that.  But Coeur de Lion has no such qualms.   Kings are rarely shrinking violets, after all, especially when we're dealing with those pushy Angevins.   So I am bowing to his royal will and revealing that Lionheart is one of the semi-finalists in the 2011 Goodreads Choice Award for historical fiction.  It is even harder for me to urge people to vote for Lionheart because there are some wonderful books on the list.  But I am feeling you-know-who's hot breath on the back of my neck and so here are the details.  The voting started November 1st and continues until November 30th.   I feel honored that Goodreads readers have deemed Lionheart worthy of inclusion; Richard takes it as his just due, of course.   Here is the link to the site where readers can vote for the book of their choice.  http://www.goodreads.com/award/choice/2011#56595-Best-Historical-Fiction It is also a good place to find new books to read—just in case you have any money left after being bombarded with my recommendations all year long.

November 16, 2011