tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29688017427835119222024-03-15T18:10:05.890-07:00Harriet Steel's BlogWelcome to my blog where you'll find posts about all kinds of things that I hope will interest you, including interviews with great authors in the murder-mystery genre like L J Ross (January 2020) and Faith Martin (May 2019). If you'd like to subscribe to my newsletter so that you don't miss new releases or offers, please use the box in the side bar to the right. My website - https://harrietsteel.com/Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-63723668344058342962020-06-11T08:05:00.001-07:002020-06-11T08:06:52.282-07:00Museums, mysteries, mint tea - and windmills!<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><b><br /></b></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><b>I'm delighted to have Jennifer Alderson, author of popular travel and cozy mysteries, on the blog today. Jennifer was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. Her love of travel, art, and culture inspires her ongoing mystery series, the Adventures of Zelda Richardson. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, Jennifer can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.</b></font></p><p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Jennifer, welcome. Do t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">ell us more about yourself and your family.</span></b></p><p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvQ_gSOWizEhRVLU0Gf_8hhaV9DFzWcsCP8pqXkCE4FQC9BZRi3Rfd9DXlTueh3aVY2X76cClZlAsHqznCea48BuOwRzNMQYoqYD1g0r3lfYH1qLbcjJDZnUfbg7iqH1uYeQzkPaGpscrT/s250/JenniferSAldersonAuthorPhoto250.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvQ_gSOWizEhRVLU0Gf_8hhaV9DFzWcsCP8pqXkCE4FQC9BZRi3Rfd9DXlTueh3aVY2X76cClZlAsHqznCea48BuOwRzNMQYoqYD1g0r3lfYH1qLbcjJDZnUfbg7iqH1uYeQzkPaGpscrT/" /></a></b></div><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>Thank you for inviting me to your blog, Harriet! </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">I am an American expat currently living in the Netherlands.
I moved to Amsterdam in 2004 to study art history for one year, but met my
future Dutch husband soon after arriving and ended up staying! <o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>After graduating, I worked for several Dutch museums
and cultural institutions on project-basis as a part-time collection
researcher, exhibition assistant, and assistant curator. However, subsidy cuts made
it was quite difficult to secure a full-time job.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4">When my son was born in 2011, I decided to stay at
home instead of searching for a new contract. Years earlier, I had started
writing a thriller about a naive volunteer in Nepal, but I hadn’t gotten much
more than halfway before I threw it in a desk drawer and forgot about it. My
son’s naptimes provided me with the opportunity to actually get it done. After completing
<i>Down and Out in Kathmandu</i>, I used my
love of art history as inspiration for <i>The
Lover’s Portrait</i> – book one in my Zelda Richardson mystery series. It was
only after my second novel was finished that I actually tried to get them
published.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>I am extremely happy to see the art history novels in
my Zelda Richardson series have<i> </i>won several
readers’ awards and are listed as recommended reads on several book blogs and
online magazines.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2zad2N8WLK0SabrRgJuCEkeSDINiW361c8dgjgLjed4EPQSFTNrVXR_q7VDERMAAZ68alwvwjegAFDx7LDudnh0CAoqWxcFTelyB9gJ5uJD_7U96HWpbo8izfP9TpTPcHIwdUv7zz-dg/s600/Rijksmuseum_nightSquare600b+%2528002%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2zad2N8WLK0SabrRgJuCEkeSDINiW361c8dgjgLjed4EPQSFTNrVXR_q7VDERMAAZ68alwvwjegAFDx7LDudnh0CAoqWxcFTelyB9gJ5uJD_7U96HWpbo8izfP9TpTPcHIwdUv7zz-dg/s320/Rijksmuseum_nightSquare600b+%2528002%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Rijksmuseum, and several other museums in Amsterdam, feature heavily in Jennifer’s art mystery series.</div></span><p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><span> </span></span> </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">How many books have you written? What are they about and why did you want to
write about those subjects?</font></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></b>As of May 2020, I have ten
books published and am planning on releasing two more later this year. My books
can be split into three series, but all are a mix of travel and mystery.</font></p>
<p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>The Travel Can Be Murder cozy
mystery series is my latest creation. It follows the adventures of tour guide
Lana Hansen as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures
that, unfortunately for Lana,<i> </i>often
turn deadly. The first four books take readers to Budapest, Paris, Amsterdam,
and Edinburgh.</font></p>
<p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>At this point, I have nine
planned out but am having so much fun writing them, I’ll probably extend the
series. Lana’s tours are set in cities I personally enjoyed visiting. Writing
these cozy mysteries is a great way to “relive” my own travel experiences. I
truly hope they inspire others to visit the cities I describe – when it is safe
to do so. Until then, this series is a great way to travel by book!</font></p>
<p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>The four books in my Zelda
Richardson mystery series were all inspired by art history classes and actual
art crimes. <i>The Lover’s Portrait</i> is a
suspenseful “whodunit?” about Nazi-looted artwork that transports readers to
wartime and present-day Amsterdam. Art, religion, and anthropology collide in <i>Rituals of the Dead</i>, an artifact mystery
set in Dutch New Guinea (Papua) and the Netherlands. <i>Marked for Revenge</i> is a fast-paced heist thriller inspired by the
mafia’s use of stolen artwork as currency in drug transactions. <i>The Vermeer Deception</i> was inspired by German
art dealer Cornelius Gurlitt – both his family’s ties to the Nazi-party and the
large collection of World War II-looted paintings and drawings he had been
hiding in his apartments.</font></p>
<p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The three novels in the Adventures
in Backpacking series (</span><i style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Down and Out in
Kathmandu, Notes of a Naive Traveler</i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">, and</span><i style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> Holiday Gone Wrong) </i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">take readers on backpacking journeys around
Nepal, Thailand, Panama, and Costa Rica. The nefarious characters and
wonderfully kind locals I met in all of those countries inspired the plots.</span></p><p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0eS6a7yLDsxa1l4Mn4TbE-iDJ9BJXzEvuKwjQvKgkIV9e3ecryeiLBKqS9IJPqwOAc70Cb46VtNLToOvL_t6OdTgIVzbxL0SsKUdSo9w1fX1nk4YuswuoNnSD_Hjm7kPMXRfX2-NvwQ3/s671/sway_stupa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="671" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0eS6a7yLDsxa1l4Mn4TbE-iDJ9BJXzEvuKwjQvKgkIV9e3ecryeiLBKqS9IJPqwOAc70Cb46VtNLToOvL_t6OdTgIVzbxL0SsKUdSo9w1fX1nk4YuswuoNnSD_Hjm7kPMXRfX2-NvwQ3/s320/sway_stupa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">A visit to Nepal inspired two novels. Swayambhunath is possibly the most famous temple complex in Kathmandu.<o:p></o:p></font></span></p><p class="NOBodyTextIndentLP" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><b><span lang="EN-US"> Do you have a special place where you like to write?</span></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">Under normal circumstances, I am a café writer. As
long as there is good music, mint tea, and the other patrons aren’t too rowdy,
I write faster in a café. When I write at home, I am easily distracted by the
laundry that should be washed or the floors that need a good mopping. Luckily,
Dutch cafes are now allowed to reopen their outdoor terraces, which has helped
increase my productivity after being in lockdown for three months! <o:p></o:p></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4"><br /></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNq1bKnXTQwWtj-OSvWrplvYGa9Q_4ySD5sZHTwmN1lZraijxKHIe45Nw8JK3oP15VCH_L8ZT5v_Vd1amNUTWHhqsbeG3-2_VmVr0evVtKTkry5DylQW5VqeBGTsltR6lPEfN8JKuDqsS/s500/FavoriteReadingPlaceVondelpark.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNq1bKnXTQwWtj-OSvWrplvYGa9Q_4ySD5sZHTwmN1lZraijxKHIe45Nw8JK3oP15VCH_L8ZT5v_Vd1amNUTWHhqsbeG3-2_VmVr0evVtKTkry5DylQW5VqeBGTsltR6lPEfN8JKuDqsS/s320/FavoriteReadingPlaceVondelpark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><font face="times" size="4"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></font><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">This cafe in Vondelpark is one of Jennifer’s favorite places to write.<o:p></o:p></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4"></font></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span><b><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">What part of the writing process do you enjoy the least?</font></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">The last few rounds of editing. By that point, I know the
story by heart and have trouble really focusing on the words in front of me.
Luckily, editors are involved at that stage so I use their cues to focus on
what I need to fix, instead of trying to line edit the manuscript every time I
read it.<o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4"> What was the first thing you wrote? Was it any good?<o:p></o:p></font></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US">When I was fifteen, I finished my first full length
novel, a murder mystery </span><span lang="EN-US">à </span><span lang="EN-US">la Sidney Sheldon. It involved identical twins and the big plot twist
was that one of them had a fake leg. Reading it with adult eyes, I can assure
you it is quite horrid! However, it was a fully developed plot and actually fairly
complex.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">What are you working on now?<o:p></o:p></font></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">I am currently finishing
<i>Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in
Edinburgh</i>, book four in my Travel Can Be Murder cozy mystery series. It
will be out at the end of this summer – on September 18. If everything goes
well, book 5 will be out in time for Christmas!<o:p></o:p></font></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4"><br /></font></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNsXt7lFgUGhC-_5X2soGMj-VtHT6_qS_ZiMeMzADUOxz0f6iiA7myZsJK3_XP4ts-IFaUklSvQGQCKSdWfhE7jCfRN581e1tNLMzoLRNh7pxRL9ZDK1dpVGdxOs9YbelH97_T_Jfi8SF/s600/Windmill_Sunset.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNsXt7lFgUGhC-_5X2soGMj-VtHT6_qS_ZiMeMzADUOxz0f6iiA7myZsJK3_XP4ts-IFaUklSvQGQCKSdWfhE7jCfRN581e1tNLMzoLRNh7pxRL9ZDK1dpVGdxOs9YbelH97_T_Jfi8SF/s320/Windmill_Sunset.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">A windmill seemed like the perfect weapon for a cozy mystery set in the Netherlands.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> Do t</o:p></span><span lang="EN-US">ell us about your latest release.</span></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><i><span lang="EN-US">Death
by Windmill: A Mother’s Day Murder in Amsterdam</span></i><span lang="EN-US">
is the latest release in the Travel Can Be Murder cozy mystery series. These
stories are much more connected than the books in my other series, which means
readers get to know several reoccurring characters and watch them grow and
evolve.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4">In my latest novel, Lana’s estranged mother is a
surprise guest on the tour, invited by Lana’s boss Dotty who is convinced all
they need is a few days together to reconcile their differences. Before mother
and daughter can patch things up, Lana’s mother is arrested for murder after
one of her guests is pushed off a windmill. Lana has to forgive her mother and
flush out the real killer, before the tour is over.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>One of my favorite aspects of writing this series is
the holiday themes that I try to infuse into each book. In book 1 – <i>Death on the Danube </i>– the murder takes
place during a New Year’s trip and book 2 – <i>Death
by Baguette</i> – is set during Valentine’s Day. In <i>Death by Windmill</i>, Mother’s Day gives me an excuse to explore
several mother-daughter relationships – some healthy and others not so much.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>Lana’s tour group visits many of my favorite tourist
hotspots in Amsterdam and the outlying regions. It was quite fun to write about
my adopted hometown from the perspective of a tourist! Choosing which places to
include and which to leave out was possibly the most difficult thing about
setting it in a place I am now so familiar with.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>Lana and her mother Gillian are struggling to
reconnect after a ten-year estrangement. Three of the mothers worry about their
daughters’ job prospects, and another is too wrapped up in herself to notice that
her child is ready to leave the nest. Lana’s boss Dotty also decides to come
along for the tour, only to become ill during the trip. But the main conflict
has to do with one of the guests, a former CEO of a corporation that wronged
several members of the tour. When her identity is revealed, the group’s
comradery is tested, to say the least!</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><br /></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNxBuCZJ0KdteA2w1Z7Rg55PnCIqjKYHmriHFhV2_6NcOAZ7tVaeuwrawpJhcVhxDp_MsaOSytKfrkepEMLUN_HM_8Bu5lGFmBtUO-VIWWtmiaikI2WYrdJ0OJgTFDfOMvlJCWpvN2lnx/s600/TravelCanBeMurder3Books600.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNxBuCZJ0KdteA2w1Z7Rg55PnCIqjKYHmriHFhV2_6NcOAZ7tVaeuwrawpJhcVhxDp_MsaOSytKfrkepEMLUN_HM_8Bu5lGFmBtUO-VIWWtmiaikI2WYrdJ0OJgTFDfOMvlJCWpvN2lnx/s320/TravelCanBeMurder3Books600.jpg" /></a></div><font face="times" size="4"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></font><p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Where did the inspiration for the story come from?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>Traveling to new places and learning
about other cultures and customs is what I love to do most. After releasing the
third Zelda Richardson novel, I decided to create a new character-driven series
within the framework of a whodunit-style mystery. Because I love to travel, a
cozy mystery series based around a tour guide turned amateur sleuth was ideal!
Deciding on the series name – Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries – was
surprisingly easy once I knew tour groups and at least one murder would feature
in each story.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4"> How did you do your research?</font></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span>Deciding on where Lana’s group will
visit is quite challenging, but also part of the fun of writing the series. I
try to tie the theme to the location, as much as possible. For example,
Mother’s Day makes me think of flowers, which makes me think of Holland, which
is why <i>Death by Windmill</i> is set in
Amsterdam!</font></p>
<p class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">I wanted to write about cities I had
personally visited, in order to better describe them. Because I don’t want
these novels to turn into travelogues, the confrontations, eavesdropping, and
sleuthing take place during the group’s day tours, so readers get a mystery and
trip in one. To refresh my memory, I went through my old photos, maps, and travel
journals when choosing the locations. I also scanned recent travel blogs in order
to make certain the places I describing had not changed dramatically since my
visit. <o:p></o:p></font></span></p><p class="BodyA" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4"><br /></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> Stephen King once said: </o:p></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>‘If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the
time (or the tools) to write.’ Do you agree?</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><font face="times" size="4">Yes! Creative writing courses give you the basic
tools, but reading a wide range of genres is akin to taking the master class. I
believe it is the best way to become a better writer.</font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><br /></font></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4">Jennifer, thank you for coming on the blog. It's been such a pleasure having you.</font></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Thank you for inviting me, Harriet!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></font><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Connect with Jennifer via her </span><a href="http://www.jennifersalderson.com/" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">website</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">, </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/jenniferSAldersonauthor" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Facebook</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">, </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/JennifeSAlderson" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Goodreads</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> or </span><a href="https://twitter.com/JSAauthor" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Twitter</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span></b><b style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Social Media:</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US">Website: </span><a href="http://www.jennifersalderson.com/"><span lang="EN-US">http://www.jennifersalderson.com</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US">Goodreads: </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/JennifeSAlderson"><span lang="EN-US">https://www.goodreads.com/JennifeSAlderson</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US">Facebook: </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/jenniferSAldersonauthor"><span lang="EN-US">http://www.facebook.com/jenniferSAldersonauthor</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Twitter: </span><a href="https://twitter.com/JSAauthor" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">https://twitter.com/JSAauthor</span></a></div><font face="times" size="4"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span lang="EN-US">
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p><b style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Purchase
Book Links:</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><font face="times" size="4"></font></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><span lang="EN-US">Amazon worldwide: </span><a href="http://getbook.at/DeathbyWindmill"><span lang="EN-US">http://getbook.at/DeathbyWindmill</span></a></font></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Barnes & Noble:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="times" size="4"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death-by-windmill-jennifer-s-alderson/1137058674?ean=9789083001173">https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death-by-windmill-jennifer-s-alderson/1137058674?ean=9789083001173</a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Book Depository: </span><a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Death-by-Windmill-Mothers-Day-Murder-Amsterdam-Jennifer-S-Alderson/9789083001173/" style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">https://www.bookdepository.com/Death-by-Windmill-Mothers-Day-Murder-Amsterdam-Jennifer-S-Alderson/9789083001173/</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><font face="times" size="4"> </font></o:p></p>Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-57297943416815430192020-04-09T02:36:00.002-07:002020-06-11T08:12:59.366-07:00Relax with Inspector de Silva on audio<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><font size="4">With more time around the house, it's tempting to switch on the TV or the computer and browse for hours, but why not give your eyes a rest and your spirits a lift at the same time? Enjoy the first three books in the Inspector de Silva Mysteries, expertly read to you by the brilliant Matthew Lloyd Davies. Matthew has narrated all kinds of audio books and on stage, has acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the UK's National Theatre. </font></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><font size="4">To buy from Audible, click on the cover pictures in the sidebar. (Also available from Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Scribd, and other services.)</font></span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-67324075654487372182020-04-09T01:51:00.000-07:002020-04-09T01:51:22.322-07:00Find out what a troop of monkeys are doing in an elegant tearoom.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Saint Hill Manor in East Sussex in the UK is considered to be one of the finest sandstone buildings in the county, but it’s much better known for its connection with L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who bought the estate from the Maharajah of Jaipur in 1959 and made it his family home for nearly 10 years before returning to America.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">The Orangery</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Saint Hill Manor</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: start;">Hubbard was also an explorer, a master mariner, a talented photographer and the author of more than 500 published works of fiction and non-fiction. The Saint Hill library has copies of them all. Hubbard went to great lengths to restore Saint Hill which is still in beautiful condition today. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;">A remarkable and unique feature of the house is the Monkey Room. The murals were commissioned in 1945 by the wife of an American ambassador who wanted a conversation piece to amuse her guests. She certainly got it. Her chosen artist was John Spencer Churchill, nephew of Sir Winston Churchill, who spent months studying the monkeys at London zoo before he picked up his brush. The result is a delightful, mischievous work where, as Churchill said: </span><i style="font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;">Much as I tried the help it happening, the monkeys resemble human beings.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The artist's parents, the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The artist's uncle, Sir Winston Churchill.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I leave it up to you to decide whether you believe that was true or whether an impish nature got away with him. The room has had a variety for uses from dining room to cinema room. It’s now the most charming tea room I’ve ever had the pleasure of sipping a cup of Earl Grey in.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The Tea Room (Many famous people and politicians of the day featured on its walls as well as the artist's relations.)</td></tr>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-68635628102997391892020-03-18T05:31:00.000-07:002020-03-18T05:31:40.391-07:00Don't let the virus get you down!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It looks as if books are going to be more important than ever to our health and happiness as we learn to adjust to a changed world over the next few months. Those of you who already immerse yourselves in series and box sets will know all about the joys of binge reading, but for those who haven't explored its delights, now might just be the perfect time to binge in your favourite genre, or even try out a new one.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Mystery is, of course, my genre, and I was delighted when New Zealand podcaster, Jenny Wheeler, invited me along to talk to her on her podcast, </span><i style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Joys of Binge Reading</span></i><span style="font-size: large;">. I hope you'll join us. There's lots to explore.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://bit.ly/2lyobuo" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/2lyobuo</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">And if you love vintage mysteries, I'm sure you'll enjoy the podcast series, </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">All About Agatha</span></i><span style="font-size: large;">. You guessed it - Agatha Christie. The hosts, Catherine Brobeck and Kemper Donovan, are working their way through all of Christie's remarkable catalogue of works (it includes 66 novels as well as short stories and plays) discussing, summarizing, and attempting to rank them according to plot, setting and characterisation. It's a massive project, and whether you're a reader or a writer of detective fiction, you'll find plenty of food for thought. To add to the entertainment, the podcast intersperses excerpts from Christie films, music and TV shows.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-about-agatha/e/64547546?autoplay=true"><span style="font-size: large;">https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-about-agatha/e/64547546?autoplay=true</span></a></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-17682166342315115812020-01-01T05:55:00.000-08:002020-01-01T05:55:10.349-08:00Happy New Year with L J Ross<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A very happy 2020 to you all. January 1st is always a good day for taking stock. Looking back over some of the past posts here on my blog, I've picked out a favourite one where I interviewed best-selling author, LJ Ross. Since then, she had added more books to her DCI Ryan series and also written several in an exciting new series featuring forensic psychologist, Dr Alexander Gregory. Do join us. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Louise, welcome. I know that you were born and bred in Northumberland and of course that’s where your spectacularly successful DCI Ryan series is set. Do you have any childhood memories you’re prepared to share with readers?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- I have so many happy memories of my childhood in Northumberland. I remember spending weekends exploring Bamburgh Castle and its enormous beach where I used to play ‘hide and seek’ amongst the sand dunes and look across the sea to Holy Island, which lies thirteen miles or so further north along the coastline. Those early memories of the sand, water and the towering castle on its craggy rock laid the groundwork for the stories I now write. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since January 2015, you’ve published six books in the DCI Ryan series to great acclaim. That’s a remarkable </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- I’ve always had a very strong work ethic and I can be very disciplined, when I want to be! However, I never like to sacrifice quality, so each book goes through rigorous editorial processes before release. The beauty of choosing to publish independently is that I don’t have to wait for traditional publishing schedules before releasing a book – I can decide when to release, which is great for readers because it means they don’t have to wait quite so long for the next instalment of DCI Ryan!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As any author knows, being a writer can be challenging and particularly so if you self-publish. To what do you attribute your success in a very competitive market?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">- I’m often asked this question and it’s a difficult one to answer because there are so many brilliant writers out there who have yet to be ‘discovered’. I was very fortunate that my first novel went on to become a UK #1 bestseller and I think it comes down to a number of factors aligning at the same time: a storyline that captures the reader’s imagination, editorial quality, cover, sales copy and a little bit of good old-fashioned </span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">luck. It’s as simple (and frustrating) as that.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You worked as a regulatory lawyer for many years, do you think the experience you gained contributed to your skill in plotting and attention to detail?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- I was experienced in drafting techniques and had an eye for detail after working as a lawyer. More importantly, I think the broad spectrum of people I met during that time has provided a wealth of inspiration for the characters I write!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- Often, I’ll take a laptop to a local coffee shop and write a little bit in the morning after I’ve dropped my son off at school. I like to try to do some walking during the day, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to enjoy cake as much as I do! I also have an office at home where I work if I’m on a tight deadline and need to shut myself away.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- My inspiration comes from the world around me and the people I meet, particularly the landscape of Northumberland which I find endlessly inspiring.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Are you a planner or do you prefer to let your plots evolve as you go along?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- A little of both! Some books have a more intricate plotline and therefore it’s important not to go off on a tangent, whereas others allow for more of an organic process.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- Taking a long walk with my family, or spending time hanging out with friends. Simple pleasures!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">-I enjoy writing the first and last few pages of a book. There’s a special feeling when you create something entirely new and an equally special feeling of accomplishment once it’s complete. I don’t enjoy writing the middle of the book, which is usually around the time my confidence and energy starts to wane!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If you had to choose only one, who is your favourite character in your books? Why is that?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- Whilst DCI Ryan is the lynchpin of my stories, I have to confess to holding a candle for DS Phillips. His character is loosely based on my late grandfather, who was witty, intelligent and loyal in much the same way as his fictional counterpart.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Who would you cast to play them if your books were to be made into films?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- I’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Have any particular writers influenced your work?</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- I have always been a voracious reader and so you might say all the writers I’ve enjoyed since childhood have influenced me in some way or another, for different reasons. However, as a crime writer, I don’t think you can beat Arthur Conan-Doyle for sheer longevity, clarity of writing and thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #373737; font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Do you have an all-time favourite book?</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #373737; font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #373737; font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">No, I can’t choose a favourite, but the books I have read more than once include M. M. Kaye’s ‘The Far Pavilions’, Daphne du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ and anything by Jim Thompson.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #373737; font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">You say in your biography that you’re a keen traveller. Do you think any of your destinations will inspire a new series, and if so, which ones?</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- I think there’s a grain of truth to the old saying that you should ‘write what you know’. In my case, I’ve spent time living in London, Paris and Florence (amongst other places) and would like to write a new series which has a more European flavour to reflect that experience.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Can you tell us what you’re working on now?</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- With ‘Dark Skies’ coming out in time for Christmas, I’m polishing off some final bits and pieces on that, as well as plotting the next DCI Ryan and tinkering with an entirely separate psychological thriller.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’d like to end by asking you for your responses to a few observations made by other writers over the years.</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fire away!</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.’ Stephen King</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">- I think this is very true. The act of reading over the course of a lifetime prepares you as a writer, in particular, to recognise the styles and genres you prefer to read and might then be well-placed to write. Of course, that will differ for each individual. </span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘One day I will find the right words and they will be simple.’ Jack Kerouac</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">- I think it’s true that, as a new writer, there’s a tendency to ‘over write’ and use ten words to describe what could have been conveyed with one or two. As a reader myself, I prefer the clarity of writers like Conan-Doyle and Jim Thompson, whose longevity is probably thanks to their ability to write in an accessible way. </span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #373737;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.’ – C S Lewis. Would you agree?</span></span><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">- In my case, it would be coffee, but let’s not quibble! As for a book long enough…I’d say, that rather depends on the book. </span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.’ Saul Bellow</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">- I think the content can be inspired, but the technical specification suffers thanks to over-tiredness!</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘The road to Hell is paved with adverbs.’ Stephen King</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">- I think we’re all guilty of the odd cheeky adverb (even Stephen King!)</span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we most need.’ Phillip Pullman </span></span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">- I think it’s at least true to say that we all need escapism from time-to-time. Stories are by the far the healthiest outlet!</span></span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-70101518910973202152019-08-18T02:22:00.000-07:002019-08-18T02:22:37.706-07:00Meet Sara Rosett, a Queen of Cozy Crime<br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm delighted to welcome USA Today and Audible bestselling author, Sara Rosett, to my blog. Sara writes light-hearted mysteries for readers who enjoy puzzling whodunits, atmospheric settings, and quirky characters. She is the author of the Ellie Avery series, the On the Run series, the Murder on Location series, and the High Society Lady Detective series. Sara also teaches an online course, How to Outline a Cozy Mystery. <i>Publishers Weekly </i>called her books "satisfying," "well-executed," and "sparkling." She loves to get new stamps in her passport and considers dark chocolate a daily requirement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><i>Sarah, welcome, would you like to tell us a bit more about your career?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Sure! I started out with a
traditional publisher for my first series, the Ellie Avery series. Those books
are about a mom who is a military spouse. She finds murder and mayhem wherever
she goes! I branched out into indie publishing for my next two series—the On
the Run series (travel, intrigue, and a dash of romance) and the Murder on
Location series (cozies about a location scout who travels around the English
countryside looking for filming locations for Jane Austen adaptations.)
Recently I moved to historical mysteries with the High Society Lady Detective
series. It’s set in 1920s England.</span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -18pt;"><i>Olive Belgrave and Kate Sharp, your detectives,
are both feisty, independent ladies. How did you go about creating their
characters? Is there anything of yourself in them?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">I think there’s always a little of myself in the characters I
write about. Kate is much more “take-charge” than I am. She sees a problem and
wants to solve it, which is a good characteristic for an amateur sleuth! I’d
read an interview with a location scout and thought it sounded like a
fascinating profession, so I dug in and researched it. Kate grew out of what I
learned about location scouting and the type of personality it takes to succeed
in the profession. For Olive, I knew I wanted to write about a young woman who
was brought up as a lady, but who wanted to make her own way in the world. I
wanted her to be smart and plucky and have a sense of humor. Her background
with the growing up connected to high society is both a help and and a
hindrance for Olive.</span></span><br />
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;">O</span></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;">live is a name one doesn’t hear very often
nowadays, and it has a great period ring to it. I imagine it’s no accident that
her surname isn’t a million miles from the swanky London district of Belgravia!
How do you choose names for your characters and how highly do you rate the
importance of names in fiction?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Names are so important in fiction! I love deciding on
character names. For the High Society Lady Detective series I searched
historical name lists to find period names. But sometimes it takes a while to
work out the right name for a character. When I began writing <i>Murder at Archly
Manor</i>, I named the main character Violet, but the name wasn’t a perfect
fit. Then I realized that Olive, the name I’d given to a cousin was a better
choice. It was a classic name, but had a little extra zing to it that I wanted.
I swapped the names and it felt right.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;"><i>Why do you write mysteries?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">I’ve always loved reading mysteries. I enjoy the puzzle
aspect of the plot. I grew up on Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. I moved on to
Mary Stewart and Elizabeth Peters. When I sat down to attempt to write a novel,
I knew it would be a mystery.</span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">W</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;">hat’s the most difficult part about writing for
you? What do you enjoy the most?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Getting the first draft down is the most difficult part for
me. Once I have “the bones” done I go back and revise. I like the revision
stage much more. Research is my absolute favorite part. If I’m not careful, I
can lose hours reading about train schedules in 1923 or what type of food was
served at The Savoy. Fun stuff!</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -18pt;"><i>How do you go about the historical research for your
novels? What drew you to the times you’ve chosen?</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">I enjoy Golden Age mysteries. Agatha Christie, Dorothy L.
Sayers, and Patricia Wentworth are some of my favorite authors. I find
interesting tidbits about everyday life in fiction from the 1920s and 1930s. I
also read quite a bit of nonfiction about that time period, and little details
from those books have become important clues and red herrings. Browsing vintage
images on Pinterest and watching </span><i><span lang="DA">Downton Abbey</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> are all “research”
in my book.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: -18pt;"><i>Do you have a special place where you like to
write?</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">I write in my
office, which has a window at one side of my desk. I need that window! For some
reason I find it easier to write near a window. I suppose it’s the fact that I
can gaze outside when I get stuck! </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIeOWJPvLZAgWm-VoJp0BP5Fm09fri3-DIXAyqCOJGfDMb-e9p8MG_fJJIvkcVa4h2mWmNyvRK8IziO6jT5pBrOa8qMBsZEMLnfcUPuYz5C0jzMFVFTBqNW4YyvsMH6XQ8DZ18berfkxhj/s1600/English-Countryside-Update-2700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIeOWJPvLZAgWm-VoJp0BP5Fm09fri3-DIXAyqCOJGfDMb-e9p8MG_fJJIvkcVa4h2mWmNyvRK8IziO6jT5pBrOa8qMBsZEMLnfcUPuYz5C0jzMFVFTBqNW4YyvsMH6XQ8DZ18berfkxhj/s320/English-Countryside-Update-2700.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -18pt;"><i>Have any other
writers influenced your work?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Mary Stewart’s
classic romantic suspense books were some of the first “grown-up” books I read.
I loved that the women were always clever and resourceful. The exotic locations
were great, too! Stewart had a wonderful way of capturing settings. Reading her
books inspired me to find the tiny details that make a reader feel like they’re
right there with the protagonist, experiencing the story along with her.</span></span><br />
<i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large; text-indent: -18pt;">What are you
working on now?</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0cm;">I’m finishing
a book for my travel mystery series, the On the Run series, and then I’ll focus
on promotion for the release of the fourth book in the High Society Lady
Detective series, </span><i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-indent: 0cm;">Murder in Black Tie.</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0cm;"> I have more books planned in that
series and will be working on those. I’m having so much fun in the nineteen
twenties and readers are enjoying them, so I have to write more!</span><br />
<i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></i>
<i style="text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;"><o:p>Steven King once said 'If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write.' Do you agree?</o:p></span></span></i><br />
<i style="font-size: x-large; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span></i>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0cm;">Absolutely! Reading is what I do in my down
time. If I don’t have a book to read, I get antsy! I learn so much from the
reading I do for pleasure. As a writer, it’s hard to turn my “author brain” off
and just enjoy the story, but I do try to do that. However, I’ll often be
reading along and I’ll notice things that I like—or things that bother me—about
a story. I mull over them and then I can either incorporate those techniques—or
avoid them!—in my own writing.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">You can find out more about Sara on social media.</span></i></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">LibraryThing: </span><span class="Hyperlink0"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.librarything.com/profile/SaraRosett">http://www.librarything.com/profile/SaraRosett</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-51073738888011816472019-07-16T10:20:00.000-07:002019-07-16T10:20:36.582-07:00A Moving Tribute<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Runnymede in Berkshire is famous as the place where in 1215, the Magna Carta was sealed by King John at the instigation of his barons. It’s a fascinating place to visit. The American Memorial and the memorial to JFK have been there for many years, but the 800th anniversary added new features.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LBZUPqJ6DNfSSRh_cNKLBd_AUZ1PnOjKloFlgPc-SVGnTj9OITJD5KCo8KKCb1dw6dPlohYgSsznKX0zR8HI1Zp0lDQ9BbGjyQaVC73DXO6faV7u8mEcEoqqfhH62t07aw_M8IkHq0s1/s1600/P1150604+ABA+memorial.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LBZUPqJ6DNfSSRh_cNKLBd_AUZ1PnOjKloFlgPc-SVGnTj9OITJD5KCo8KKCb1dw6dPlohYgSsznKX0zR8HI1Zp0lDQ9BbGjyQaVC73DXO6faV7u8mEcEoqqfhH62t07aw_M8IkHq0s1/s320/P1150604+ABA+memorial.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> One of these is The Jurors, twelve bronze chairs that incorporate images and symbols of humanity’s struggle for freedom, the rule of law and equal rights.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hP3RPEQ9w-HiepfktTvaSrDfVpocN90hePJpXtP73MUWbGUQt2UCJq9tsTldaSpa9PbYkXN5DYkSCIiJLLPEkIfHbnVv1gmeGM4NhNJpNArF83hAvJ6pCGcasLw3msiYi1hjuIP3D4Nz/s1600/thejurorsmaxmcclurelores.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1600" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hP3RPEQ9w-HiepfktTvaSrDfVpocN90hePJpXtP73MUWbGUQt2UCJq9tsTldaSpa9PbYkXN5DYkSCIiJLLPEkIfHbnVv1gmeGM4NhNJpNArF83hAvJ6pCGcasLw3msiYi1hjuIP3D4Nz/s320/thejurorsmaxmcclurelores.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Themes range from a tribute to Phillis Wheatley, the first African American woman to be published (1773) and Mary Prince, the first woman to present an anti-slavery petition to the British parliament (1828), to the oil tanker Exxon Valdez. It was the huge spillage from this tanker that led to the establishment of many of today’s principles of environmental conduct. There is also a model of the key to Nelson Mandela’s prison cell and of one of the keys to the notorious Bastille prison that was presented to George Washington after the French Revolution.</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1NFpWaCRCnHuOqjHNVL_dp5674aZjS6nlEViBCZRvbF6fHtPOCkFVJRScqWYSOrfeyqvaBXyd9YVzLiJptso6lUDTCZ-z1Fl57HBJfcDM3MaTAA8WwvrOXWljYLCZuA3rfs6xON5gf8j4/s1600/P1150597+The+Jurors.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1NFpWaCRCnHuOqjHNVL_dp5674aZjS6nlEViBCZRvbF6fHtPOCkFVJRScqWYSOrfeyqvaBXyd9YVzLiJptso6lUDTCZ-z1Fl57HBJfcDM3MaTAA8WwvrOXWljYLCZuA3rfs6xON5gf8j4/s320/P1150597+The+Jurors.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other symbols are more abstract, including a representation of the ancient Egyptian god, Ma’at. The god is shown weighing a human heart against a feather to decide whether the owner is fit to enter paradise. This symbol is remembered in the modern scales of justice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With so much to look at and reflect on, it’s a place to linger. The National Trust, who care for Runnymede, have a great deal of interesting information on their website if you'd like to find out more.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/runnymede/features/what-does-the-jurors-represent">https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/runnymede/features/what-does-the-jurors-represent</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I finished my day with a visit to the Air Force Memorial - a humbling reminder of those who gave their lives for freedom.</span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-71121009629290719942019-05-17T23:38:00.000-07:002019-05-17T23:38:31.018-07:00Bestselling mystery author, Faith Martin, talks about astrophysics, Hereward the Wake, and writing success.<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0cm;">
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Faith, welcome and many thanks for joining me. Your books are enjoyed by legions of murder mystery fans, would you like
to tell readers how you became a writer?</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 150%;">Thank you for inviting me, Harriet. I started writing when I became a carer for my parents and needed something to do to tax my mind/creativity.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Hillary Greene and Jenny Starling are both strong women but
still sympathetic and engaging. How did you go about creating their characters?
Is there anything of yourself in them?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I
created Hillary Greene when Morse was dominating Oxford, so I wanted a strong
female character who might try to compete! I've lived near the Oxford Canal all
my life, so having her live on a narrow boat seemed ideal - and could give my
readers a glimpse into a different kind of lifestyle. Jenny Starling is also
strong, but much funnier, and she is the 'voice' for my more plot-driven
whodunits. Her job is to navigate my readers around the clues and red herrings,
interview the suspects and lead them to their own conclusions as to who the
killer is, before the big reveal. So, the reader learns less about her private
life than about Hillary's, as the police procedurals are more character-driven,
whereas the murder mysteries are more about solving the puzzle. But I wanted
both women to be strong, independent and a 'character' in their own - very
different - right. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I wish there was something of myself in both of them.</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Alas, I can't cook (unless </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">you count warming up shop-bought chicken Kiev in the oven) so Jenny Starling </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">would be disgusted with me. And I am nowhere near as competent or brave as Hillary</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">! </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I was confronted by an armed robber I'd probably just squeak and fall over! </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, ditto for Hillary. I think though that both these characters have </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">traits which I'd like to have, and if I live vicariously through them - well, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">so do my readers, so I'm in good company!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Why do you write the kind of books you do?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I like to
write the kind of books I like to read. Don't forget, I was a reader long
before I began writing. I loved the Agatha Christie books when I was in my
teens, hence I've always wanted to write those kinds of books. And later, when
great characters/police procedurals like Rebus and DI Banks came out, I loved
those too - hence DI Hillary Greene.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I'm a full-time writer, so I don't have much time - but I have a dog, and like walking him in the countryside. I love wildlife, nature, flora etc, and as you've probably noticed, a lot of that seeps into my novels.<i> </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>With dozens of published books to your credit and approaching
a million sales for the D I Hillary Greene series alone, you must have a very
strong work ethic. How do you keep going?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Yes, the D I Hillary Greene series sold over a million copies worldwide in almost 1 year exactly, and I was absolutely stunned. Never thought or imagined that could happen, and a lot of it is due to Joffe Books and their great promotions. At one point I think she was No 1 in the UK and Australia and also in the USA and Canada top 50 too! I write every day (or in between books, researching and plotting the next one.) I've always loved writing, and I suppose I would feel guilty if I wasn't working. I grew up in a working-class family and I would probably get bored if I was idle! Right now, I have deadlines to meet for Harper Collins HQ's Ryder and Loveday series. The next book is due in October - so I'm not allowed to slack! But creating so many different characters, in so many genres, and set in different times (Ryder and Loveday are set in the 1960s) is always pushing me to come up with something different. I think this helps me stay 'fresh' and so provides my readers with 'fresh' things too. (At least that's what I hope it does!) </span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: 0cm;">What’s the most difficult part about writing to you? What do
you enjoy the most?</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: 0cm;">The only difficult thing I find about writing is sometimes getting motivated - I've been writing for 30 years now and have had more than 50 books published. But once I put the computer on and look at a blank page, I can feel my characters clamouring to get out and onto the screen - so away I go. And it is very satisfying writing a funny scene for Jenny (usually with an animal antagonist) or giving Trudy Loveday an emotional moment, or a hard lesson to learn about women's roles back before the 'swinging sixties' really got going. But I think most writers will tell you how hard but also satisfying writing a book can be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>How important is setting in your novels?</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I set my novels in the area I've always lived in - and describing the countryside as it is now </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-indent: 0cm;">is very important - because I have an awful feeling that for generations to </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-indent: 0cm;">come, they might only know about it from literature from the past.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgce8C3VNvlLp6HunfoBEkQ11y-4_d-UUMwwMG5DrYSzyLuxXGF7or0jEDyOuLa8mbMrEd7AZ-RzblMQWKhTOOgjvfjdHAuT1Tl-98qGudM5HX7H_q0ZgdwWBsIii3ruFmjWWr8jI-t18Sc/s1600/istockphoto-628483608-612x612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgce8C3VNvlLp6HunfoBEkQ11y-4_d-UUMwwMG5DrYSzyLuxXGF7or0jEDyOuLa8mbMrEd7AZ-RzblMQWKhTOOgjvfjdHAuT1Tl-98qGudM5HX7H_q0ZgdwWBsIii3ruFmjWWr8jI-t18Sc/s320/istockphoto-628483608-612x612.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Who would you like to sit next to on a long flight? (Up to
two people, living or dead.)</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">I don't fly - so I wouldn't
ever find myself sitting next to someone! But on a train - hmmmmm. As for my
'dead' companion, I think I would quite like to see what Hereward the Wake
would have to say. He must have been a real character - and lived during a
fascinating time in history. As for my live candidate - probably the astrophysicist,
Dr Cox. It must be really something to know so much about the universe and how
it works - and I could listen to that sort of stuff all day long! (Not necessarily
understand it mind!)</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwI_X9jkvaAqwZDqxtarS9YjGooVJvNcz6u4jArqIcyA2a07LtcqdPxgwmgTetOkx5IGoJnallnTAKY-hvgH5SB6jmBIfZQwvYrA425y2ctYAd7Yt3wBKJ-SLUDWRN_GS-huabLDgcyCa2/s1600/here1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwI_X9jkvaAqwZDqxtarS9YjGooVJvNcz6u4jArqIcyA2a07LtcqdPxgwmgTetOkx5IGoJnallnTAKY-hvgH5SB6jmBIfZQwvYrA425y2ctYAd7Yt3wBKJ-SLUDWRN_GS-huabLDgcyCa2/s320/here1.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>What are you most proud of, specifically in relation to your
writing – an award, story or plot twist?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">The only award I've ever won was when I first began writing as Maxine Barry. These were modern romances, and I won the Scarlet Award. I still have the silver platter on my bookcase. Mind you, I was the ONLY one to win it, since soon after, my publisher at the time joined forces with Constable, and they stopped producing romances and concentrated on crime instead. (You have to laugh at the irony!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">I suppose the only thing you might say I had any right to be proud of (more like surprised really) was to have got published at all. At the time I started writing, there was no self-publishing industry and it took me 5 years to get my first novel published (by Orion). I was beginning to think it wouldn't happen - but I stubbornly never gave up. So my advice to anyone struggling to find writing success is always the same - don't give up!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Faith, many, many thanks for coming. I</i></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>t’s been such a pleasure talking with
you. With all your achievements, you remain so modest and funny - a shining example to us all.</i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-56790307947426913322019-03-19T09:21:00.003-07:002019-03-19T09:21:38.408-07:00The most delightful building in London.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Most people who take an interest in history know that King George III was afflicted by a long period of madness that we now understand to have been caused by the disease, porphyria. It's perhaps less well known that he was the first British king to take an interest in science, amassing over his lifetime a very fine collection of scientific instruments and clocks.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VewsHMuSxAPLtdzzPIjsrS6mVa0nu4fERJN1SmQ3U0TYwkAnzaeHbpC_mR-JM4QFZN11x1MaFf6PW5eFwTIhk9tGL869SeUvTUB2RR5DrDf-agTj_gh2RFxYkykZiYeHrUwF8r1wxSih/s1600/mw02455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="578" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VewsHMuSxAPLtdzzPIjsrS6mVa0nu4fERJN1SmQ3U0TYwkAnzaeHbpC_mR-JM4QFZN11x1MaFf6PW5eFwTIhk9tGL869SeUvTUB2RR5DrDf-agTj_gh2RFxYkykZiYeHrUwF8r1wxSih/s320/mw02455.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the 1760s, he commissioned the most popular architect of the day, William Chambers, to build him an observatory at Richmond upon Thames, now part of London but at that time, out in the country. Landscaping was provided by Capability Brown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The building was completed in 1769, in time for the King, the Queen, and two astronomers to observe the Transit of Venus, the passage of Venus across the sun. Occurring only rarely, the transit was thought to provide a method of measuring the distance from the earth to the sun, as well as of determining the size of the universe. Two obelisks were also set up in the park to create a meridian line, and before the Royal Observatory moved to Greenwich in the 19th century, Mean Time was calculated from Richmond.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSeVXTnq0DfbQxCvSYvwpQitDpB93K1FFvpSH11Kw7kXRd6itNNJIix-HEzQZVQG-AXlKO-Fx_iUACKpZ9AUlBC35drOOPop-VrBOor3HeTUpyay5uAcij8C0ONC8nfFHgstajCrhUIky/s1600/P1000806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSeVXTnq0DfbQxCvSYvwpQitDpB93K1FFvpSH11Kw7kXRd6itNNJIix-HEzQZVQG-AXlKO-Fx_iUACKpZ9AUlBC35drOOPop-VrBOor3HeTUpyay5uAcij8C0ONC8nfFHgstajCrhUIky/s320/P1000806.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the twentieth century, the King's Observatory became the headquarters of the Meteorological Office. It was from there that the weather forecast was taken to decide when to launch the troops into France on D-Day. The two sheds used in forecasting, the only Grade I listed sheds I've ever come across, still stand in the grounds. They were built without nails so that they would be non-magnetic.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A detail from the Chinese wallpaper in the dining room. William Chambers had visited Canton on two occasions, and a lot of the interior decoration reflects </span><span style="font-size: large;">his interest in Chinese art.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDy7UER-zRBDQ7Aw9IOUpOsQJCJ7wHk4aOxSNrjmn6EyGTHfyqnsJpwfTer0fZEc5UGERKX3W0XkitYlUQwLfnbOzwrlF9NEdnH3g_pzweMbsdPgwljvyMUWXrEEoSUdeWspbNQ30wGfp/s1600/P1140146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDy7UER-zRBDQ7Aw9IOUpOsQJCJ7wHk4aOxSNrjmn6EyGTHfyqnsJpwfTer0fZEc5UGERKX3W0XkitYlUQwLfnbOzwrlF9NEdnH3g_pzweMbsdPgwljvyMUWXrEEoSUdeWspbNQ30wGfp/s320/P1140146.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Parts of the stunning collections of Chinese and Georgian porcelain on show</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The building's fortunes declined after the Met Office's departure, but it has now been restored to its former glory by the current leaseholder, a wealthy and philanthropic businessman, who, like Chambers, has a great interest in Chinese art. The freehold remains the property of the Crown.</span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-9313645998542688012019-03-11T08:49:00.000-07:002019-03-11T08:54:55.334-07:00Adventure on the high seas for Inspector de Silva!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGcg_cm-0U1n7M_5bz0nS3c54xsHI733vnxtaIwrlzEkKU4q3Wm-HyK0p9K_8Th-WI7FhCAbFiBkL8kjs0ohcJtES7-gCOiw5bkpwy4C3SwlBr6UhHSGKF5bApAbvzqh5wd9-DSYcZH0e/s1600/9780995693456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGcg_cm-0U1n7M_5bz0nS3c54xsHI733vnxtaIwrlzEkKU4q3Wm-HyK0p9K_8Th-WI7FhCAbFiBkL8kjs0ohcJtES7-gCOiw5bkpwy4C3SwlBr6UhHSGKF5bApAbvzqh5wd9-DSYcZH0e/s320/9780995693456.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm delighted to announce that the latest Inspector de Silva mystery is now available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. To grab your copy, just click on the image in the side-bar or go to:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">https://www.amazon.com/Passage-Nuala-Inspector-Silva-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07PK43L7H/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=passage+from+nuala&qid=1552319162&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull</span><br />
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<br />Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-78087237965825069692019-03-05T08:13:00.002-08:002019-03-06T23:22:05.397-08:00Local Hero<span style="font-size: large;">With the imminent launch of the new book in my Inspector de Silva series, which sees de Silva and Jane off to Egypt to visit the Pyramids, in mind, how could I refuse when I had the chance to ride a camel on a recent trip to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My husband and I visited the island hoping for winter sun, but found there was so much more to do there, not only riding camels! A highlight of the trip was discovering the work of their most famous artist, Cesar Manrique (1919 - 1992). I have to admit, we'd not heard of him before. He had an amazing career as an artist, architect, designer, sculptor, and activist. When tourism took off in Lanzarote in the late 1960s, he was the driving force in the campaign to prevent the island being spoiled by insensitive development, with the result that, for the most part, you see low-rise buildings in the traditional Moorish style, rather than concrete and glass monsters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of Manrique's houses is now home to the Cesar Manrique Foundation, a beautiful, airy gallery where some of his work is displayed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> In the basement, we marvelled at the rooms he designed out of the spaces left by gigantic larva bubbles, the result of Lanzarote's volcanic terrain. The walls are partly plastered and whitewashed and partly left in the original basalt rock, creating a striking contrast.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another treat was a visit to the house where he spent the last years of his life, before, tragically, he died in a car crash. The old building he restored is delightful: traditional in materials and construction but brought up to date with all mod cons and a gorgeous pool, and surrounded by colourful gardens.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Manrique was interested in the art of painters like Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock and emulated the scale of their paintings using vast canvases that he worked on on the floor of his studio. He also loved to use a variety of materials to build up texture in his paintings, for example sawdust, resin and glue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The house is on the edge of a small town in the north of the island called Haria. I like to think that Manrique, a ferociously hard worker, occasionally found time to enjoy an espresso and a chat with other locals at the delightful café in the shady main street. </span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-83984274582785213822019-01-18T05:52:00.000-08:002019-01-18T05:52:29.763-08:00The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The dark, winter months are a great time for curling up with a book, and I find that it's also a time when my thoughts turn to books that I loved when I was a child.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />A particular favuorite was C.S. Lewis's <em>The Lion the Witch and the Ward</em>robe, the first of <em>The Chronicles of Narnia. </em>C.S.Lewis spent some of his youth in the Surrey Hills area of the UK where I live. He arrived to stay in the house of a private tutor to whom his father sent him to finish his education, up until then, a very unhappy period of his life.</span></div>
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<img data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/413748ee951f622114f2044d5/images/3c98392a-f326-4981-bcba-118236b5c3c3.jpg" data-file-id="2795541" height="250" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/413748ee951f622114f2044d5/images/3c98392a-f326-4981-bcba-118236b5c3c3.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: 250px; margin: 0px; width: 168px;" width="168" />I<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">In his autobiography, <em>Surprised by Joy</em>, Lewis describes his time under the tutelage of William T. Kirkpatrick, the retired headmaster of his father's old school, as one of the happiest of his life. The Surrey Hills are a beautiful part of south-east England, still unspoiled in spite of their proximity to London. At the beginning of the twentieth century, they must have been even more idyllic. Lewis went on to spend the majority of the rest of his life at Oxford University, but he retained a fondness for Surrey. It's thought that Kirkpatrick was the model for the professor in <em>The Chronicles of Narnia.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Narnia fans were delighted when, a few years ago, the conservators of Banstead Common, an area not far from the Surrey Hills, decided to commemorate Lewis's famous stories with a sculpture trail created from standing deadwood. It’s something that will, I'm sure, give great pleasure to many future generations of adults and children.</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-size: large;">I'd love to hear about your favourite childhood books and any stories associated with them that you'd like to share.</span><br /></div>
Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-22365267712926612882018-12-23T03:37:00.000-08:002018-12-23T03:37:10.493-08:00It's Not Just Reindeer<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">J</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">ust before I head to the shops to buy the carrot for Rudolph, I'd like to share with you some weird and wonderful Christmas traditions that I read about recently.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At Christmas time in Catalonia, families bring home the caga tio, a hollow log decorated with a smiley face. The children of the house care for him and keep him warm with a blanket, feeding him almond sweets and orange peel until Christmas Day. On Christmas morning, they beat him with a stick until he defecates presents!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Germany has a traditional called Schrottwichteln, roughly translated as Scrap Santa. Originally, people would wrap up and give unwanted, funny household items as prettily as possible to amuse the receiver, but now most people buy something cheap and jokey to give.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe some Dump on Trump loo paper?</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the Czech Republic, they like to eat fried carp on Christmas Eve. To make sure it's as fresh as possible, it's often bought several days ahead. If you have no garden pond, the carp lives in the bath until the family is ready to cook him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In Sweden, it has, apparently, been a popular tradition since the 1950s for families to watch Donald Duck cartoons together on Christmas Eve.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Of course, most families have their own personal traditions. Whatever yours may be, have a wonderful Christmas. </span></div>
Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-6996541454992671612018-12-02T07:54:00.001-08:002018-12-02T08:00:26.513-08:00You're welcome for Christmas in Nuala!<span style="font-size: large;">I'm delighted to announce that the latest Inspector de Silva mystery<i>,</i> <i>Christmas in Nuala,</i> is now available to buy in Kindle from Amazon or to download free with Kindle Unlimited. (</span><span style="font-size: large;">Just click on the image in the side-bar to reach the Amazon page.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Perfect for fans of Golden Age mysteries, it's an intriguing and colourful short read for the holiday season.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEES6l89G621DC8ClVYU4EFHXZRzm4G0V-KgYBUzNRapflBmHsF9AFDi9MlLNInUUY7x_Z5WEj8VSsk5HTmfWJb6jcK7GkSJEOrgmrWB81rv7ALwPpXZxWg4ovhKwBMA_1tqwa_wn5NVZ/s1600/Christmas+in+Nuala+Cover+LARGE+EBOOK+%2528002%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEES6l89G621DC8ClVYU4EFHXZRzm4G0V-KgYBUzNRapflBmHsF9AFDi9MlLNInUUY7x_Z5WEj8VSsk5HTmfWJb6jcK7GkSJEOrgmrWB81rv7ALwPpXZxWg4ovhKwBMA_1tqwa_wn5NVZ/s320/Christmas+in+Nuala+Cover+LARGE+EBOOK+%2528002%2529.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The little town of Nuala is full of Christmas good cheer, until a brutal murder overshadows the festivities. The mystery he needs to solve baffles Inspector de Silva. It’s just as well he has his wife Jane to support him in his race both to unmask the villain and save an endangered romance. This colourful series set in Ceylon in the 1930s is perfect for fans of Golden Age mysteries, and Christmas in Nuala makes a great short read for the holiday season.</span></span><br />
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-15660541008074906572018-11-17T09:11:00.000-08:002018-11-17T09:11:13.457-08:00Inspector de Silva is on audio!<span style="font-size: large;">November has been an exciting month for me as the first of the Inspector de Silva Mysteries series to be published by the American audio publisher, Tantor, was released this week.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5GgnfrpI5VY-zLetVqbJylz36JI-cHRiaDH44GaCMRezGtdgstxJ3pZVUk8uX9ObxS_G7t2KjZetV1vxp2E1XNeUWknKHTkQVgdvx0SxNJzj3InmvybIrL76_xnbIncaoG7vsAbnfA0m6/s1600/TroubleNuala_Proof+%2528002%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5GgnfrpI5VY-zLetVqbJylz36JI-cHRiaDH44GaCMRezGtdgstxJ3pZVUk8uX9ObxS_G7t2KjZetV1vxp2E1XNeUWknKHTkQVgdvx0SxNJzj3InmvybIrL76_xnbIncaoG7vsAbnfA0m6/s320/TroubleNuala_Proof+%2528002%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I'm delighted with the result and feel very privileged that an actor of the calibre of Matthew Lloyd Davis is the narrator. It's been a fascinating experience hearing him bring my characters to life. As well as narrating audiobooks, Matthew is a director and actor who has made regular appearances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and in London's West End.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuk4mHPDuUB19TNMA3ZEY6Nov0oVtcqlRczO0sUKcaJTy7IXmXVRdVrAGQXGYJC6tmLhu0sshPw6dQWB__CSWSZN2oGcSfzRWkykOmciY1XbaGUoOEoB8SQCqdMSGMg557E0Djnu-f486S/s1600/Matthew+Lloyd+Davis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuk4mHPDuUB19TNMA3ZEY6Nov0oVtcqlRczO0sUKcaJTy7IXmXVRdVrAGQXGYJC6tmLhu0sshPw6dQWB__CSWSZN2oGcSfzRWkykOmciY1XbaGUoOEoB8SQCqdMSGMg557E0Djnu-f486S/s1600/Matthew+Lloyd+Davis.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, if you're looking for ideas for Xmas presents,or just want to treat yourself, a good cozy mystery might be the answer! Amazon usually make audiobooks extra appealing with a generous discount if you already have the Kindle version. As a recent convert to Audible, I'd forgotten how relaxing it is to be read to. Once one gets to adulthood, it's a rare thing, and Matthew has the trick of making it seem as if he's reading the book just for you.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The next two books in the series will be out on audio by the end of the year.<br /><br /></span>Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-7295391782060170042018-09-14T03:31:00.001-07:002018-09-14T03:31:41.476-07:00The Lion, the Wizard and the Princess<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygk_6FYXXXZDT0Z6LawdaBBsW6jb2Bg-bopKPCoOIxMX0KwjzMoHTEx1JZckNFrnM8b_hyphenhypheno-_ADbXioQ1CGmYqA_BilyBKcutloXzqm1YKLF-lMplxYj7HHCGDNSMlIsHm-CC2Y7thgtr/s1600/P1000124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygk_6FYXXXZDT0Z6LawdaBBsW6jb2Bg-bopKPCoOIxMX0KwjzMoHTEx1JZckNFrnM8b_hyphenhypheno-_ADbXioQ1CGmYqA_BilyBKcutloXzqm1YKLF-lMplxYj7HHCGDNSMlIsHm-CC2Y7thgtr/s320/P1000124.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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A view of Syon House in the 18th century by Canaletto.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">It’s surprising
enough to find a grand ducal house set in acres of rolling parkland a
bare nine miles from Piccadilly Circus and only a stone's throw from Heathrow Airport, but that’s not the only surprise in
store when one visits Syon House. Owned by the 12<sup>th</sup> Duke of
Northumberland, it has been in his family for generations and frequently played
an important part in English history. One very interesting guest to the house
was Pocahontas, the famous Powhatan princess. In 1616, she spent about a year
living nearby, in what was then the small town of Brentford (now part of London),
and it’s believed that she often visited Syon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5I0wcGQRrPaK7oyK2WlDcZkdbAfa-9-Bvi3v6F9qpB_ddvwWMEazhiwqm0-D-OrRNPQf7ZUkB4k-Lfoc4cqZ101_8DPR6vImmEInHB62_himal2sJRoaZB6CPr4lUpZP_NLkDF8wYY-l/s1600/P1000122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5I0wcGQRrPaK7oyK2WlDcZkdbAfa-9-Bvi3v6F9qpB_ddvwWMEazhiwqm0-D-OrRNPQf7ZUkB4k-Lfoc4cqZ101_8DPR6vImmEInHB62_himal2sJRoaZB6CPr4lUpZP_NLkDF8wYY-l/s320/P1000122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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The Percy Lion, the emblem of the Northumberland family.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0cm;">At the time of her
visits, the member of the Northumberland family who owned Syon was the 9</span><sup style="text-indent: 0cm;">th</sup><span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0cm;">
Earl, Henry Percy, known as “the Wizard Earl” for his interests in astronomy
and other fledgling sciences. (Nothing to do with Harry Potter!) He</span><span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0cm;"> was unlucky enough to
have a distant relative, Thomas Percy, who was one of the plotters who tried to
kill James I in the Gunpowder Plot. Thomas was shot attempting to escape, and Henry,
even though he had nothing to do with the plot, remained under suspicion for
many years and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. As an aristocrat,
however, he was able to live quite comfortably and enjoyed the company of his
great friend, Sir Walter Raleigh, who was also held in the Tower.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpg3r1DJSNJder2lFRObv5dxQ7kBcWuwH8Sxor_bkq58GPMHuk0CvN115hg1cfaJrbDP37uYQkY7sEWkdBYqvHjSGmFz3UC_6KjvK-HHvHPAOjb501g0irpn2xl4wYZu_NacGZDPuSVoB7/s1600/P1000126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpg3r1DJSNJder2lFRObv5dxQ7kBcWuwH8Sxor_bkq58GPMHuk0CvN115hg1cfaJrbDP37uYQkY7sEWkdBYqvHjSGmFz3UC_6KjvK-HHvHPAOjb501g0irpn2xl4wYZu_NacGZDPuSVoB7/s320/P1000126.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0cm;">The connection with
America and Pocahontas came about through another relation, George, who left England
(perhaps to avoid being dragged into the repercussions of the Gunpowder Plot)
and founded Jamestown in Virginia. Captain John Smith took part in the
expedition and this led to the legend, celebrated in the famous Disney film,
that John Smith and Pocahontas fell in love. In fact, she was probably a very
young child at the time, and many historians have debunked the idea, claiming
that there’s far more evidence that the relationship was one of father and
daughter. She was, apparently, a delightful and very bright child. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pocahontas with her father at the time of John Smith's visit - unknown artist.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0cm;">Pocahontas did,
however, end up marrying an Englishman. His name was John Rolfe and he was a
Norfolk farmer who had travelled to America in the hope of learning the secrets
of tobacco farming. The English were keen to grow the valuable commodity at home
and make more profit from the sale of it than they could when it had to be
shipped from America.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pocahontas, now Mrs Rebecca Rolfe, wearing Jacobean dress and a pair of silver earrings made for her by the 9th Earl. Artist unknown.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">Under Rolfe’s
influence, Pocahontas eventually converted to Christianity and changed her name
to Rebecca Rolfe. What an extraordinary experience it must have been for her, not
only to have a different name and religion but also to be brought to London by
her new husband, a city so different from the unspoiled wilderness she was
used to.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;">Sadly, she had no immunity to the diseases that were rife in London
and fell ill, probably with tuberculosis. The move to Brentford and Syon was
intended to benefit her health, but it ultimately failed. John Rolfe decided
they should return to her homeland, but whilst waiting at Gravesend for their
ship to sail, Pocahontas died, leaving Rolfe a widower with their young son,
Thomas, to care for. She was only twenty-one. A tragic end for a brave and adventurous young woman. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-90685459163563743442018-08-02T01:35:00.001-07:002018-08-02T01:35:30.502-07:00The Fussy Librarian<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks to a wonderful fan, I had the opportunity of talking with The Fussy Librarian this week. Here's the link if you'd like to know more. If you're not already acquainted with the site, The Fussy Librarian is a great place for readers and authors alike.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxWioaAUjJJJcVRmYuJc_DetiWHNxJwsEXGK39esPQfOjEjy93idbeS7jXjmz7QxKKREr_38pn5aOjtaf-NDnml6Jq0o_so0Ez6zrukVMOTyfo6Hlwbo7kT4cYBjl_015Xk12mWDCqDFL/s1600/fussy-logo-wht-bg_notagline.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="360" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxWioaAUjJJJcVRmYuJc_DetiWHNxJwsEXGK39esPQfOjEjy93idbeS7jXjmz7QxKKREr_38pn5aOjtaf-NDnml6Jq0o_so0Ez6zrukVMOTyfo6Hlwbo7kT4cYBjl_015Xk12mWDCqDFL/s320/fussy-logo-wht-bg_notagline.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-85417861598257563062018-07-07T09:24:00.000-07:002018-07-07T09:24:21.052-07:00Summer Reads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHs-dlKH7SGlFwU5VKxFRxYEuvccvSRi3Xl1gXLZsNfJUc9MoqORxEjPhF-rCPpIbTn0IpoJQv1GI0VjyJKz3i5FLUOnhjUYBBVSOZfPZeU5hi6AStjxI-cmEDYBflHPtsqolMwsEhhsqv/s1600/The+Magic+Touch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHs-dlKH7SGlFwU5VKxFRxYEuvccvSRi3Xl1gXLZsNfJUc9MoqORxEjPhF-rCPpIbTn0IpoJQv1GI0VjyJKz3i5FLUOnhjUYBBVSOZfPZeU5hi6AStjxI-cmEDYBflHPtsqolMwsEhhsqv/s320/The+Magic+Touch.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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This is just to let you know that there are dozens of good free summer reads to chose from over on Instafreebie.com, including my short story, <i>The Magic Touch. F</i>ollow this link to find out more. https://claims.instafreebie.com/gg/SOkeKtH955p9ZOXJbtBi</div>
Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-88550204812259955862018-04-19T09:07:00.001-07:002018-04-19T09:07:26.738-07:00Time for an Exhibition! <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I don't usually write this kind of post, but the Picasso exhibition at Tate Modern was so fascinating that I couldn't resist. It focuses on 1932, an important year for the artist. He had turned fifty the previous October and was in great demand. Success had brought him a grand apartment in Paris, an expensive chauffeur-driven car and, last but not least, marriage to the celebrated ballerina, Olga Khokhlova.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not bad for a man who had been a penniless Spanish immigrant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But there was a cloud on the horizon. He was worried that he was being looked on as a painter of the past, not the future. He was aware that critics in the Paris art world were openly sidelining him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">His anxiety unleashed a flood of creativity. 1932 saw the creation of more than two hundred paintings as well as sculptures and drawings, mainly executed at Boisgeloup, the chateau in Normandy that he rented for the summer. Beginning with a mood of sensuous exuberance, in particular the desire to rival his friend Matisse, as the year went on, some works reflected the unease of the time. Increasingly, the world was in the grip of economic hardship and the rise of totalitarian regimes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Many of those works make unsettling viewing. The ones that drew me back were the ones that celebrate life and love. Particular favourites were these beautiful studies of women, one of them with a book in her lap. The exhibition is on until early September. If you chance to be in London, I highly recommend it.</span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-65620305331813518132018-03-13T03:52:00.000-07:002018-03-13T03:52:41.543-07:00Heralds of Spring<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The sight of the first daffodil never fails to lift my spirits. When I see that hint of yellow, I know spring is on the way. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">They've often featured in art, from delicate botanical paintings to wild explosions of colour and life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Much prized by the Romans who believed the sap had healing powers, they then went out of fashion as cultivated plants until the early seventeenth century. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Interestingly, the sap is poisonous to many animals and to other flowers. If you want to put daffodils in a mixed arrangement, first soak the stems in water for 24 hours to remove it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's said to be bad luck to give one daffodil, so always give a bunch. In season, daffodils are cheap, so you shouldn't need to stint.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Daffodils have been found to contain a substance called narciclasine. Scientists believe it may help in the treatment of brain cancer.</span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-90541024108432991342018-02-16T09:20:00.000-08:002018-02-16T09:20:39.149-08:00Last Call for the Dining Car!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Who can read about the glory days of train travel without thinking of Agatha Christie's <i>Murder on the Orient Express</i>?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the course of researching for my next<i> Inspector de Silva Mystery</i>, where a critical scene takes place on the Kandy-Colombo train, I've loved reading up about those days. I still remember what a treat it was as a teenager when I was allowed to go on the morning train from the country up to London </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">with my late father</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The British rail breakfast was legendary. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What could be more delightful than enjoying a good meal on the train while England's green and pleasant land flashed past the window? Dining cars were always beautifully appointed, the snowy tablecloths crisply starched, the service silver and the crockery and cutlery marked with the badge of the line you were travelling on.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqfxmrrDRbFrxOsH6D6nKzRN2T_gD25NvcKKXOIhkeIdASqZuatKv1sK6onAwOj3ByIZC1y5iXn3ZxuEngPxmmIbdautySJUHXgNhzEjn5yftYWyybdsOA_c3hHKZPT_lKkQXyqCKMXPg/s1600/The-Royal-Scotsman-3-s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqfxmrrDRbFrxOsH6D6nKzRN2T_gD25NvcKKXOIhkeIdASqZuatKv1sK6onAwOj3ByIZC1y5iXn3ZxuEngPxmmIbdautySJUHXgNhzEjn5yftYWyybdsOA_c3hHKZPT_lKkQXyqCKMXPg/s320/The-Royal-Scotsman-3-s.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Training for the smartly uniformed stewards who served passengers was rigorous. It included having to walk repeatedly along a white line painted down the middle of a carriage while the train was in motion to make sure no customer's soup was served into their lap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sadly, though, after the railways were privatised dining cars started to die out. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The last one ran on the 19.33 from King's Cross to Leeds in May 2011. Passengers were served a valedictory meal of smoked haddock "Arnold Bennett" crepe, rib-eye steak, leg of lamb, or fillets of trout, with blue cheese, apple and walnut strudel or ginger and rhubarb pavlova to follow. Glasses were raised for the last time from a wine list that included fine clarets. This final journey was particularly significant because railway dining had begun on the very same route more than a hundred years previously.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com77tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-9496225977695230482017-12-20T00:15:00.000-08:002017-12-20T00:15:34.008-08:00Bumblebees and dumbledores<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I doubt anyone would choose to be a writer if they didn't love words and, for me, there's a particular pleasure in finding ones that have gone out of fashion. The other day, I picked up a novel by Thomas Hardy that I hadn't read for many years and, as I read, a word jumped out at me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If I say "dumbledore", most people will think of Harry Potter, but clearly Hardy had never heard of the famous boy wizard. I looked up a dictionary of word origins and history, (if you google online etymological dictionary you should find the one I use) and found that in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the word was used in West Country dialect to mean a bumblebee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other beautifully expressive words I've discovered over this past year are wamblecropt. It means overcome by indigestion, hopefully not too appropriate in the days of festive meals that stretch ahead of us!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Over the party season, I hope you won't be subjected to people who are ultracrepidarian. (Prone to expressing very forceful opinions on subjects about which they know absolutely nothing.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After a particularly late night, will you indulge in a bit of snudging at the office? The practice of striding around looking enormously busy while doing nothing at all except perhaps checking your Smartphone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lastly, when you need a rest from all the excitement, try gongoozling. This is the habit of sitting quietly staring at water. But don't forget to wrap up warm, especially if the weather's foxy. (Misleadingly sunny and bright but in fact freezing cold.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Merry Christmas!</span><br />
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<br />Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-29529198202027692872017-12-07T02:50:00.002-08:002017-12-07T23:22:06.724-08:00Talking MysteryI was honoured to be invited to talk about mysteries and Inspector de Silva on Kendall and Cooper Talk Mysteries. Past guests have included bestselling author of cozy mysteries, Laura Child, and the queen of tartan noir, Val McDermid.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi2YqXfjvao">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi2YqXfjvao</a>Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-49374468821294555132017-11-22T01:44:00.000-08:002017-11-22T01:44:25.729-08:00Inspiration for a Civil War Quilt Sampler<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm not all that handy
with a needle myself but I greatly admire those who are so I'm delighted to
welcome keen and skilful quilter, Rosey Moffatt, to the blog. She's kindly
agreed to share some of her knowledge of American Civil War quilts with us, so
over to you, Rosey. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">It's a pleasure to be here, thank you for inviting me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The history of the Civil War quilt is about necessity and
need, none more so than for providing comfort for the soldiers during the four
year hardship of the American Civil War.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Having spent a good deal of my life in North America I have
long been fascinated by its history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
stories of the people who landed on its foreign shores from all over Europe,
persecuted for their non-conformist religious beliefs and forced to forge new
lives in unknown territories are as big a story as was their feat in crossing
those mighty plains and mountains. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those
early pioneers who forged out new lives for themselves and their families and
who settled on a piece of land and struggled to live off of it, living in the
privation of their wagons, or dugouts, before building simple houses, had to
make do with everything they came into contact with. Nothing was wasted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">For warmth against the cold nights, quilts were made out of
any materials they could lay their hands on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have read much about the early pioneering women who kept home and hearth
together and sewed and quilted together to make warm comforters for their large
families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although there is much to be
said about these women, this is the background from which quilts were made in
the American Civil War, which lasted from April 12, 1861 when the Confederates
attacked the military installation at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South
Carolina, to April 9, 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops to Ulysses
Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Four years of hostilities and deprivation prevailed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">During these four years, the women at home aided their
soldiers by making them quilts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soldiers
were not provided for by government, so it was up to the women to provide for
the men going to war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The purpose of
these quilts was to provide Union and Confederate soldiers with warm bedding,
and to fundraise at local fairs for the war effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quilts sold at the fairs were often of a
better design, the nicer the design the more money could be raised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Calico was too expensive to purchase, so they
made do, by re-using fabric from old clothing the men left behind before they
went off to battle. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any available fabric
was used, old shirts “shirtings”, old suits, worn-out blankets, denim work clothes,
feed and fertilizer sacks.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Laurel Horton
in her article on South Carolina quilts and the Civil War states that
manufactured cloth was generally called Confederate homespun. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She claims that none of the makeshift Confederate
quilts are known to survive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most
basic quilt designs were limited by these fabrics, utility being their express
purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was necessary that they were
put together quickly and simply, and as soldiers died they were often buried in
their quilts, so that very few survive today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is reckoned that over 250,000 quilts had been made for the Union
soldiers of the American Civil War.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Unionists of the northern States wore blue uniforms,
whilst the Confederates of the southern “slave” states wore red uniforms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quilt colours of blues and grays, reds and
browns, reflected these. The typical soldier’s quilt size was 7’4” x 4’ (223cm
x 121cm) which was the size of a soldier’s cot. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Block designs were shared amongst quilters,
becoming established designs continued and admired in quilts today. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have just completed a small Civil War sampler quilt using
typical block designs but adding some of my own colours and fabric patterns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The style and designs are correct.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">One of the most famous and intricate commemorative Civil War
quilts, now in the Bennington<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Museum in
Vermont, is one made by Jane A. Stickle in which she embroidered the words “In
War Time. 1868” on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is made up of
5,602 pieces and was started in 1863 taking five years to make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many commemorative quilts were made after the
war, and reproduction Civil War quilts continue to inspire today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reference:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Information on the 250,000 quilts made during the Civil War from Judy
Anne Breneman, 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you would like to know more about Rosey’s work do visit</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> <i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">roseymoffatt.com/roseysbarndesigns/home/roseymof/public_html/roseysbarndesigns/</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2968801742783511922.post-63433782505127293272017-10-12T09:59:00.001-07:002017-10-12T09:59:35.414-07:00Trip Fiction Brings the World to your Bookshelf<br />
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<strong>A year or so ago, I came across a marvellous website called Trip Fiction. It was founded in 2012 (the year of the UK Olympics seems rather apt) but the germ of the idea had occurred to the founders, Tina and Tony, long before that. I've found it so useful and it's always nice to share a good thing so I asked Andrew Morris, who is now one of the team, to come along and tell my readers more.</strong> </div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Thank you so much, Harriet, for
inviting TripFiction to introduce ourselves to your own book-loving audience.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Books set in location offer great travel reading. <a href="http://www.tripfiction.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">TripFiction</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>was
created to make it easy to match a location with a book, and thanks to our
searchable database you can find a book relevant to any trip. TripFiction
features novels, travelogues and memoirs set in over 1,500 countries, regions,
and cities from around the world, so your destination is almost bound to
be covered.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2u-bu6jkyebFh5adq65Frd1Rw4ASVR81I4tyP2T-S_GGA-563B4N9RbuXsRkGDHEfpJXLVtb2EK5ir0OiEw_fsZ6u0-pDfFEalRtS7MYOqiylHu0r5BUrjL7JxSX2wXyjkB1Ikctboto/s1600/TF_books_image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="1496" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2u-bu6jkyebFh5adq65Frd1Rw4ASVR81I4tyP2T-S_GGA-563B4N9RbuXsRkGDHEfpJXLVtb2EK5ir0OiEw_fsZ6u0-pDfFEalRtS7MYOqiylHu0r5BUrjL7JxSX2wXyjkB1Ikctboto/s320/TF_books_image.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TripFiction
lets you see a location through an author’s eyes.</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Works of fiction generate a feel for,
and empathy with, a location that is quite different to that obtained through
conventional travel guides. Literature – modern or historical – can help us
absorb atmosphere and context in a way that no other written word finds
possible.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TripFiction was created to make
it easy for you to select literature that is most pertinent and
relevant to your trip in a way that has not been practical
before. You can search books by location, by author, by genre – and cross
reference across all three. So, apart from just selecting by location, you can
see which countries feature on your favourite author’s books, or whether a book
of a particular genre is set in a city you are about to visit.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The website does not just list titles.
Each title has a synopsis and frequently a lead review. It also carries
reviews and ratings by members of the TripFiction community – ratings are
given for both the content of the book and also for how well it portrays the
location itself.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And we carry interviews with authors,
talking about their work and how important a specific location, or a strong
general sense of place, might be in their writing. You'll remember this
lovely </span><a href="http://www.tripfiction.com/talking-location-author-harriet-steel-sri-lanka/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">#TalkingLocationWith post</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">,
Harriet, where you told TripFiction how Sri Lanka was the perfect setting for
your own Inspector de Silva series. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We also set up the TripFiction Book
Club (#TFBookClub) earlier this year to allow readers to win a book set in a
particular location, and for us all to read and comment on the book together
for a couple of months. So far we've travelled to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.tripfiction.com/tfbookclub-reads-rosanna-leys-the-little-theatre-by-the-sea/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Sardinia</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.tripfiction.com/tfbookclub-reads-prague-nights-historical-novel-set-prague/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Prague</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.tripfiction.com/thriller-set-in-central-america/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Central America</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">and
the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.tripfiction.com/the-tfbookclub-reads-exquisite-by-sarah-stovell/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Lake District</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And we are delighted that your very own<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.tripfiction.com/books/trouble-in-nuala/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Trouble
in Nuala</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, the first in your Inspector de Silva series, will be the
#TFBookClub read for November & December, allowing readers to travel with
you to exotic Sri Lanka.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">(There will be a limited number of free
paperback copies of the book as well as e-copies to give away to readers who
participate in the TF Book Club. In addition, the lucky winner of the
associated giveaway competition will win a copy of each of the three books in
the series and, for an extra relaxing read, a delightful elephant mug and some
Ceylon tea to drink out of it! Look out for more news soon.) </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Thanks again for letting us introduce
TripFiction to your audience, Harriet, and we look forward to exploring the
world with them through books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Social media
links for TF:<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/TripFiction" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> (@TripFiction), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TripFiction.literarywanderlust/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Facebook </span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(@TripFiction.Literarywanderlust), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtUYpkTmr0BqUEHypT3qQPzxo2PFw6Uxj" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">YouTube </span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(TripFiction #Literarywanderlust), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/tripfiction/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Instagram</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> (@TripFiction) and <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://uk.pinterest.com/tripfiction/boards/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Pinterest</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> (@TripFiction)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.tripfiction.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">www.tripfiction.com</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Harriet Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145800030897476345noreply@blogger.com0