The House by Sebastiana Randone #Historical #Fantasy #Romance

ONCE UPON OUR time, there existed an abundant, sagacious old wood where misshapen time gambolled capriciously in the hidden furrows of memory.

In the distance, imbedded amongst the broad greenery roamed a young woman whose acute dishevelment painted a picture of tribulation. The torn black silky night gown that hung precariously on her slight frame, told immediately, that this excursion was not deliberate in nature.

As she continued on a pathway that to a willing visitor would have delighted, her discomposure was made evident by erratic movement. Her dark probing eyes darted to and fro upon the foreign landscape, as coarse scrub brushed against her weary body.

A plethora of wispy ferns surrounded the path, the gossamer foliage of which glistened through cylindrical shafts of light.  Shadows were in pursuit, as the busy wood sang in a cacophony of scurrying birds, warning of night’s entrance.

She gazed up and saw a remote and distant sky, the blue horizon so unfathomable, that is could have been a faraway sea. Her legs were heavy with fatigue, but resignedly she sallied forth, as a somnambulist along an unchartered route. With only time, illusive as the shadow of a fleeting lover, accompanying her.

From afar, suddenly a figure appeared. The desire for illumination prompted the desperate woman to cry out, but her voice would not travel.  Again she tried and again, but to no avail. 

It was as if she were trapped within a nightmare, where fear itself had intervened and stymied all chance for salvation. Jumping and frantically waving her arms about, she attempted to attract the young man’s attention, only to fail, for he continued in the opposite direction. Sadly, a mass of thorny, impenetrable scrub prevented her from following him.

Apparelled in historical costume from a period long gone, he resembled a character from a Georgian novel.  He wore a bright burgundy velvet coat, the intensity of which was exaggerated by the contrasting presence of a pearly satin brocaded waistcoat matched by a cravat wrapped up to the chin, tight cream britches, and black riding boots. He radiated a physical beauty that defied gender. Tall and svelte, his fair long hair framed eyes that emulated a clear blue sky.

The sight of this man took her aback. His concentrated gaze however, much to the desperate woman’s chagrin, kept looking forward. Breathlessly she stood shaking her head in silent despair as the ethereal figure floated further, and further away, until disappearing completely into the arcane forest.

The House is an adult fairy tale rich in mystery and intrigue.

Here is a tale of a woman so absorbed with historical novels that her own reality ceases to offer any hope of romance and beauty.

Until one day this dreamy idealist finds herself in a mysterious forest. How she arrived there is unknown. Soon she encounters a dilapidated house, within whose ancient walls magical rooms that transport to parallel worlds lie in wait.  There she is transmigrated to 18th century England, where our heroine interacts with an odd mix of characters whose dysfunctional lives become immediately apparent.

Her first tribulation involves a nefarious lord, an archetype of the monstrous characters one encounters in fairy tales. The ramification from this confrontation sets the tone for the narrative.

A magic portal finally enables escape from the austere Georgian dwelling. She is then spirited back to the enigmatic house, and a journey to Regency London follows, where a large cast of eccentric identities present themselves.

Late one night, following a long stay in Florence, a young, heart-broken poet arrives. His introduction to the beautiful time traveller offers promise of restoration and love. But there are several more obstacles ahead before her destiny in this curious adventure is made apparent.

In the end an unexpected twist is revealed. But like all good fairy tales, this surprising conclusion is pleasing, even though the means of getting there are dark, and at times sinister.

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Genre - Historical, Fantasy, Romance

Rating - PG-16

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7 Questions with #Mystery #Author Thomas Thorpe (#Thriller)

1. Tell us a bit about your family.

My family moved to California from Duluth, Minnesota in 1949. We joined aunts and uncles, settling in the San Fernando Valley before freeways and city blocks grew up around us. As with many families, holidays were spent together playing games with the cousins and sharing the latest news of our lives. They’re mostly gone now, but memories of happy times remain.

I grew up in North Hollywood reading science fiction at the dawn of the space age. As an amateur astronomer, I built telescopes and spent many a cold night in Fraser Park taking pictures of nebulae, galaxies and comets. During summers while attending UCLA, I worked at NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center with the original seven astronauts; at Lowell Observatory and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Upon graduation, I began employment at Eastman Kodak (Lunar Orbiter) before returning to the JPL in Pasadena. There, I spent 38 years participating in the defining moments of Mars exploration by Mariner, Viking and Surveyor spacecraft. Ultimately, I managed the Mars Global Surveyor Mission through most of its ten-year operational life. I have published numerous science articles on Mars photometry and taught astronomy in Glendale College’s extended day program for nearly forty years.

2. Why do you write historical fiction?

With a career in space exploration, you might wonder why I choose to write books of historical fiction rather than science fiction. It could be that many years in one field leads a person to other avenues. A catalyst for my stories can be found in novels by Jane Austen. Her vivid portrayals make it easy to imagine similar characters in more adventuresome activities such as murder mysteries of the period. Research required to create accurate settings is not unlike the practice in science, and typically, a year’s fact-finding is necessary to put the mystery/thrillers into authentic accounts for each novel. And then, there are similarities in the difficulties my characters face arriving in a foreign country during the early 1800’s, not unlike landing on an alien planet.

3. Where do you get your inspiration from?

I write historical mystery thrillers set around the world in the first half of the nineteenth century. The era was both interesting and turbulent. Nations struggled with self-government, having emerged from colonialism or repressive monarchies. Word of the French and American revolutions spread worldwide and threatened the economic engines of soverign states, i.e. the practice of slavery. Tensions flared between traditional royalists and the young radicals who promoted democratic ideas to free themselves from repressive social classes. As a result, conspiracies abounded and murders were common.

4. Have you always enjoyed writing?

Yes. I began writing articles in my youth as an amateur astronomer contributing articles to magazines such as Sky & Telescope. Later, I published Science Journal articles describing the findings of NASA spacecraft at Mars. Finally, historical novel writing began while our spacecraft cruised to the planets, and after considerable travel.

Having chosen to write historical fiction, a big question was how to transition from writing objective science papers to writing prose in a genre of literature, how to build suspense, make characters come alive and develop a story. A suitable writing style requires considerable reading, advice in novel writing and practice, practice, practice, some of which included fan-fiction writing on the internet. Early papers can still be found in the archives of the Republic of Pemberly homepage.

5. What books did you love growing up?

Science fiction: Books by Pohl Anderson, Robert Heinlein, Philip k. Dick

6. Who is your favorite author?

Ann Perry, Jane Austen, Ken Follet, Agatha Christi, John Grisham

7. Location and life experiences can really influence writing, tell us where you grew up and where you now live?

I grew up in North Hollywood, California reading science fiction. As an amateur astronomer, I built telescopes and spent many a cold night in Fraser Park taking pictures of nebulae, galaxies and comets. During summers while attending UCLA, I worked at NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center with the original seven astronauts, at Lowell Observatory and JPL. Upon graduation, I started employment at Eastman Kodak (Lunar Orbiter) before returning to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. There, I spent 38 years participating in the defining moments of Mars exploration by Mariner, Viking and Surveyor spacecraft. Ultimately, I managed the Mars Global Surveyor Mission through most of its ten-year operational life. I have published numerous science articles on Mars photometry and also taught astronomy in Glendale College’s extended day program for nearly forty years. Today I live just North of the San Fernando Valley in Valencia, California.

William Darmon and wife Elizabeth were powerful figures who in 1818 set society's pace from expansive grounds known as Mayfair Hall. When a family member is murdered, a mysterious pendant is found containing a long lost request by Napoleon Bonaparte for an American mission to burn down Parliament buildings. The couple sets out on an action filled pursuit of the killer. While interviewing Henry Clay in post-war Maryland about the failed mission, they uncover evidence of a conspiracy to free the Emperor from exile. The Darmons infiltrate the cadre, but a shipwreck off the coast of Scotland, a firestorm at the Darmon's Manor and a harrowing assault on the Island of St. Helena loom before the mystery can be unraveled.

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Genre – Mystery, Historical, Thriller

Rating – PG

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Website www.darmonmysteries.com

N.S. Wikarski's Pet Peeves of the #Publishing Industry #AmReading #AmWriting

Pet Peeves Of The Publishing Industry 

by NS Wikarski 

Everybody knows that one of the chief benefits of hitting yourself over the head with a hammer is that it feels so good when you stop.

The hammer analogy aptly describes my experience with traditional publishing (aka legacy publishing). My first two books were published conventionally and I suffered through all the usual steps of producing a trade paperback. Editor, proof reader, formatter, cover artist, printer, distributor, publicist, book signings, fan conventions. I learned an enormous amount about the book business but, unfortunately, all the effort expended didn’t translate into much net income.

Then came Kindle ebooks and Createspace print on demand paperbacks. At first, I was hesitant to go the digital route but an author friend pointed out that since I still controlled the rights to my work, I might as well make a few pennies by selling electronic copies of what I’d written. Fortunately, my previous work experience included a few decades as a computer consultant so I was quite comfortable with formatting my own manuscripts. Given how many years I’d spent designing graphic user interfaces, I was equally comfortable with designing my own covers.

The distance from writing a novel to seeing it sold online was shortened by a couple of years. The markets that I could reach via Kindle and Createspace were global, not local. I could promote my work via cyberspace tours rather than packing a suitcase to head to yet another low turnout book signing.

Considering the months and months of work it took to create, warehouse, distribute, and market the legacy print copies, I was staggered to discover that my net royalty for each ebook or print on demand copy was exactly the same as what I was netting for the legacy print version of the same book. Best of all, in two years as a digital author, I’ve sold twice as many copies of my work as I was able to sell in nine years as a print author.

In my opinion, digital books are every writer’s dream come true. So why isn’t everybody doing this? I’ve had this conversation with several of my writer friends who are hesitant to take the plunge. For some it comes down to technical timidity. They’re afraid to format their own books much less tackle the daunting task of designing the covers. I have pointed out that they can hire knowledgeable people to help with these chores but they shrug their shoulders. They have no head for business. It’s not for them.

Other writers are extremely uncomfortable without the blessing of an agent and editor from a big six publishing house. It doesn’t occur to them that in order to receive that blessing, they are parting with their own intellectual property and the lion’s share of the income it could generate. These writers have forgotten that without the content they supply, the entire structure of legacy publishing would crumble like a house of cards. I believe the marketplace, not an agent or editor in New York, should decide the value of a writer’s work. Amazon has removed the middleman from the equation. As far as I’m concerned, Vive La Difference!

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Genre - Alternative History Fiction

Rating – PG

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7 Questions with #Author Robin Hawdon @authordebate #Historical

1. Tell us a bit about your family.

We live between Bath in the UK, the South of France and Australia. Sounds exotic but we love warm climates and have children in different continents.

2. How do you work through self-doubts and fear?

Just keep working – they will evaporate.

3. What scares you the most?

Not being read.

4. What makes you happiest?

This wonderful life, despite its setbacks.

5. What’s your greatest character strength?

Perseverance.

6. What’s your weakest character trait?  

Obstinacy

7. Why do you write?

It gives you two lives – the real one and the one you are creating.

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Genre – Detective, philosophy, religion, historical

Rating – G

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Website http://www.charlesdarwinblog.com