tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83708061655394636132024-03-14T08:44:55.624+11:00Alison Stuart- WriterAlison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08055771803989969825noreply@blogger.comBlogger247125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-67697485947547821612015-11-17T09:02:00.004+11:002015-11-17T09:02:53.541+11:00Alison Stuart Requests the Pleasure of Your Company at her New Home!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0Ws8fnCMJOSA2mb7c6ylP3DU-9CCC6fYvbgNQcagkppL0Hdg4fB4b9ewnDMsJ4K8tYPXRFyKbpX___fVsU-xIrJwLz8ud8ycOO5M1xhfRQZj3XeOrPG-fDpuJWHu_802eiQZcwFqnWyS/s1600/SIGN+ME+UP%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0Ws8fnCMJOSA2mb7c6ylP3DU-9CCC6fYvbgNQcagkppL0Hdg4fB4b9ewnDMsJ4K8tYPXRFyKbpX___fVsU-xIrJwLz8ud8ycOO5M1xhfRQZj3XeOrPG-fDpuJWHu_802eiQZcwFqnWyS/s400/SIGN+ME+UP%2521.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Thank you to everyone who has been following me on this blog site. I request the pleasure of your company at my new home</span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">However I have divided my blog into two.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">For regular posts, including my Friday guests - please bookmark this site...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/alison-stuart-blog-ms-stuart-requests">http://www.alisonstuart.com/alison-stuart-blog-ms-stuart-requests</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">and for blog posts for giveaways, contests, blog hops and tours - please bookmark this site...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/contests-tours-and-blog-hops">http://www.alisonstuart.com/contests-tours-and-blog-hops</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Thank you to everyone and I do hope you will come and visit me in my new digs...</span> </div>
Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-69539182531899933692015-10-14T08:09:00.000+11:002015-10-14T08:09:00.726+11:00Book Blast - The Indispensible Wife - Phillipa Lodge (#Giveaway)<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I'm a huge supporter of fellow historical romance writers and it is my pleasure today to introduce 'new to me' author, Phillipa Lodge who is 'on tour' with her latest release THE INDISPENSIBLE WIFE.</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHsdWvHxMFrjOHlXbRzSRE4Xp9oFMw7vLWpEyAQBt3Q548qnu4EM0D0bBfufOR-mUvfnGyUG8jO0Bn3EGUZWC676DgQVrxydrAJVPUS4NXES0IXHcaYUWoFi_GYs-HkYw6Oy3EovKJBBx/s1600/MBB_TourBanner_TheIndispensableWife+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHsdWvHxMFrjOHlXbRzSRE4Xp9oFMw7vLWpEyAQBt3Q548qnu4EM0D0bBfufOR-mUvfnGyUG8jO0Bn3EGUZWC676DgQVrxydrAJVPUS4NXES0IXHcaYUWoFi_GYs-HkYw6Oy3EovKJBBx/s320/MBB_TourBanner_TheIndispensableWife+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Philippa will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter. You can click <a href="https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1343/" target="_blank">HERE</a> to enter or go to the links at the end of this post. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>THE INDISPENSIBLE WIFE</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Aurore was delighted when a marriage was arranged with the boy she loved, her older brother's friend Dominique, Comte de Bures. But in a few years the first rush of joy has worn off, and their promising life seems ruined by loss, betrayal, and misunderstanding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One terrifying morning mercenaries overrun their château and usurpers take Aurore hostage. Miles away at Versailles, where he is required to dance attendance on Louis XIV, Dominique is nearly killed by a crossbow bolt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Escaping, Aurore travels with a troupe of itinerant musicians, hiding in the open while discovering hidden resources within herself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dom sets out to find his wife. He needs his old life back. He needs revenge. But his lands, his title, and his honor mean nothing unless he can win back the love of his indispensable wife.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BUY LINKS: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Indispensable-Wife-Ch%C3%A2teaux-Shadows-ebook/dp/B014T3V7D2/" target="_blank">AMAZON</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-indispensable-wife-philippa-lodge/1122601153?ean=2940150919433#productInfoTabs" target="_blank">Nook</a> and <a href="http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6407" target="_blank">Wild Rose Publishing</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uOzul2xINHU6xfYwrMq8puruoHZnSPtAcHtL13Mo8nI1OTChy-JhefbExexDSCPVJN9cDrMbwHqlSTusvKY1BP4-d8wWIJASB482ZEZ48sTXCRAuf79HBBvLJSN8Wa67URLpTytbNjUp/s1600/MediaKit_BookCover_TheIndispensableWife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uOzul2xINHU6xfYwrMq8puruoHZnSPtAcHtL13Mo8nI1OTChy-JhefbExexDSCPVJN9cDrMbwHqlSTusvKY1BP4-d8wWIJASB482ZEZ48sTXCRAuf79HBBvLJSN8Wa67URLpTytbNjUp/s320/MediaKit_BookCover_TheIndispensableWife.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>READ AN EXCERPT</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From atop the battlements, Dom signaled to the men. A musket ball whistled past his head at the same moment he heard the report of a musket. He ducked, still exposed to the courtyard but making less of a target of himself. He yanked the monk’s robes off over his head and fit an arrow to his longbow, then let the arrow fly at the large man who had ducked behind a low wall to reload his musket. The angle was bad and the arrow glanced off the wall, but it scraped across the man’s chain mail and went through the exposed sleeve of his tunic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dom cursed his sore bow arm, wondering briefly if it would ever regain full strength. The man pulled back further behind the slight cover the wall gave him, his arm pumping as he jammed a new musket ball into the barrel of his gun. Dom shot another arrow, just a hair higher, and sank it into the man’s right arm. The musket flew to the side as the man spun and fell.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dom and Henri scanned the courtyard for other traitors as horsemen thundered through the gate, shouting and brandishing sabers. Jean-Louis had arrived, followed by Le Fèvre and some others of Dom’s personal guards. Cédric and his group would be on foot right behind them. The baron led a division which would guard the gates from the outside in case any mercenaries were in the village and came to their leaders’ aid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pâques was with him. The man had insisted on coming, seeking vengeance for the loss of his left arm. It was probably only because of Pâques that Dom had not tried even harder to leave Aurore behind. Pâques still could not fight well, though as he was less of a target than Aurore, and he had extensive training before his injury; he would not be a liability.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dom shook thoughts of Aurore, tiny and vulnerable, from his mind, swung his bow to his back, and left Henri and Paul-Bénédicte on the battlements as he rattled down the stairs, eager to be among the first into the château itself, eager to flush out the enemy leaders. He noted that a crowd of villagers armed with shovels, axes, and pitchforks was streaming through the gates behind Cédric’s troops and the man he had shot with an arrow was no longer in the corner. He brandished his sword and pushed past the few men who were fighting back, barely glancing at Jean-Louis as he dismounted to follow. Cédric’s friend de Ligny bashed a man in a nightshirt with the pommel of his sword and stuck close to Dom’s left side, helping shove through the confused crowd. Cries of “It’s the comte!” rose up around him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>ABOUT PHILLIPA LODGE </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Philippa Lodge has been an avid reader since she asked her mother to point out where it said "Ma" in Little House in the Big Woods. She read everything she could get her hands on until grad school in French Studies, at which time she lost her reading mojo. Only through the twin discoveries of Harry Potter and romance has she gotten her groove back and gone back to the stuff she loved about seventeenth century France: kings, swords, opulence, and love. She lives in the suburbs of Sacramento, CA with her husband, three children, two cats, and a head full of courtesans (Oo la la!). She does the newsletter for her local chapter of the Romance Writers of America. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Connect with Phillipa on her <a href="http://philippalodge.blogspot.com/">website</a>, Twitter (@plaatsch) and <a href="http://facebook.com/AuthorPhilippaLodge" target="_blank">Facebook </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Philippa will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.</span><br />
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="28e4345f1343" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1343/" id="rcwidget_nwuci2bg" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">a Rafflecopter giveaway</span></a><br />
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<br />Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-30983741976432946972015-09-29T07:46:00.000+10:002015-10-01T16:33:30.669+10:00A Quirky Look at the History of Nursery Rhymes - CASTLES, CUSTOMS AND KINGS (Vol 2) Bloghop<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRhyphenhyphenozlwSASCUi-xi3a_C9D_p_BW8viiMWVxtgKrQIoz1Sjl7-Xa8L0psKXgYmmW829-_Nuzn9KlGYwoFEJytsfNMK6VdRdpbJoc2ohsJJxdJAtEQ0pWtSc9apyL3wEg2aMYwwB0wilOY/s1600/cover_castles2_lowres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRhyphenhyphenozlwSASCUi-xi3a_C9D_p_BW8viiMWVxtgKrQIoz1Sjl7-Xa8L0psKXgYmmW829-_Nuzn9KlGYwoFEJytsfNMK6VdRdpbJoc2ohsJJxdJAtEQ0pWtSc9apyL3wEg2aMYwwB0wilOY/s320/cover_castles2_lowres.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">I am honoured and thrilled to be included as a contributor to CASTLES, CUSTOMS AND KINGS Volume 2, produced by the wonderful people at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">English Historical Fiction Authors</a>. </span></i></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Castles-Customs-Kings-English-Historical/dp/0996264817" target="_blank">Castles, Customs, and Kings: True Tales by English HistoricalFiction Authors, Volume 2 </a></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Edited by Debra Brown and Sue Millard<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>An anthology of essays from the second year of the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, this book transports the reader across the centuries from prehistoric to twentieth century Britain. Nearly fifty different authors share the stories, incidents, and insights discovered while doing research for their own historical novels.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>From medieval law and literature to Tudor queens and courtiers, from Stuart royals and rebels to Regency soldiers and social calls, experience the panorama of Britain’s yesteryear. Explore the history behind the fiction, and discover the true tales surrounding Britain’s castles, customs, and kings.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Currently available in print only from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Castles-Customs-Kings-English-Historical/dp/0996264817" target="_blank">AMAZON </a>)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>To celebrate the release, I am joining in the fun of a blog hop with my fellow authors where we looks at a particularly quirky custom or tradition.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>My contribution is a peek into the often violent 17th century (or not!) origins of some of our best known nursery rhymes</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the most basic level, nursery rhymes are used as a way of familiarising a child with the patterns of their native tongue. Every culture uses variations of these simple rhymes. I can remember rocking my own fractious babies to sleep with “Rock a bye baby” and<br />
thinking at the time that the words must have originated from a frustrated mother, not unlike myself, harbouring dark thoughts about her infant… have you ever thought about how violent the words actually are? “<i>When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall and down will come baby, cradle and all…</i>”. So the rhyme served two purposes, calming the baby and satisfying the mother’s urge to commit infanticide at the same time!<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Back to the seventeenth century. The origins of many nursery rhymes are lost in history and those for which we do think we know the origin, may turn out to be specious... As you will see.</span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>RING A RING ROSIE: </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Ring-a-ring o' roses,<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>A pocket full of posies,<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>A-tishoo! A-tishoo!<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>We all fall down.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpVLZOsK7ttUBbS0BA1eImhEnrwLrPWBHDtC_oDc8x9epVXO8-zBrygdvfB8gB6TcwC-25zGjnAMT6QdTxHyGvxf8tWZQMiq_yxI4gxQI5McposdrmgZiKdYh-qAU4WVWPAlwxIlhfLA_/s1600/mother-goose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpVLZOsK7ttUBbS0BA1eImhEnrwLrPWBHDtC_oDc8x9epVXO8-zBrygdvfB8gB6TcwC-25zGjnAMT6QdTxHyGvxf8tWZQMiq_yxI4gxQI5McposdrmgZiKdYh-qAU4WVWPAlwxIlhfLA_/s200/mother-goose.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The common belief is that this rhyme originated with the Plague of 1665 (or the Black death of the 1300s). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The words were believed to have described the symptoms of the plague - a rash (the ring of roses) and sneezes and of course death (we all fall down). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This interpretation of the rhyme is a comparitively modern one and folklore scholars (now there’s a profession) have dismissed this origin arguing that </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1) It did not appear in written form until the mid nineteenth century </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">2) the description is not accurate for the bubonic plague (although it is for the pneumonic plague) and </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">3) the plague theory did not appear until the 1950s. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hmm… just because it</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> wasn’t written down until the mid nineteenth century doesn’t mean it didn’t<br />
exist in oral tradition for years, if not centuries. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>A FROG HE WOULD A WOOING (or courting) GO: </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_a4R2kPLqm0JRYafUsr8T66k3ClsfyT-ZDI66A7msSg1fwVyuipTm2XiohMmUuztLbueiH-8wds2VT3RiSJzflDFXc3a_QlMKt7T6aKacvWD1Hp4udIBcGBiCnCT3bz7sTEaKC_dvAUh9/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_a4R2kPLqm0JRYafUsr8T66k3ClsfyT-ZDI66A7msSg1fwVyuipTm2XiohMmUuztLbueiH-8wds2VT3RiSJzflDFXc3a_QlMKt7T6aKacvWD1Hp4udIBcGBiCnCT3bz7sTEaKC_dvAUh9/s200/download.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Whether his mother? let him or no<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>He rode right to Miss Mousie's den<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Said he "Miss Mousie are you within?"<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>He said "My dear I've come to see"<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>If you Miss Mousie will marry me"?</i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 27pt;">I was always under the belief that this rhyme/song referred to Charles II and his love of beautiful women, but scholars believe its origin is earlier. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 27pt;">It first appeared in written form in 1611 and it could refer to the reputed marriage of Francis of Anjou to Elizabeth I but versions of it are known from even earlier in the Tudor dynasty.<br />
Certainly it is a political satire but which Queen and which Frog are now lost in time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>GEORGIE PORGIE: </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Georgie Porgie, Puddin' and Pie,<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Kissed the girls and made them cry,<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>When the boys came out to play<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Georgie Porgie ran away</i><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzz09sgEuR8SaWLP2ZjGaVY1CH16gmzBafiSGh2IZRM5uWjCdkWzRbihras7Zt-d9bLZKPGIFTYHA7xNz__ccpqjBEDngayjampXVG86D1xzQ934T5Yokt5RRCrKrmMULyJRGzUlJv_e-f/s1600/vill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzz09sgEuR8SaWLP2ZjGaVY1CH16gmzBafiSGh2IZRM5uWjCdkWzRbihras7Zt-d9bLZKPGIFTYHA7xNz__ccpqjBEDngayjampXVG86D1xzQ934T5Yokt5RRCrKrmMULyJRGzUlJv_e-f/s200/vill.jpg" width="153" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This rhyme is believed to have originated with George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham and boon companion to Charles I. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The beautiful George was known to “bat for both teams” (to use a cricketing metaphor) and was reputedly the lover of both James I and Ann of Austria (the Queen of France). Political furore about his influence over Charles I led to his eventual assasination and you can read more about the lovely George <a href="http://hoydensandfirebrands.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/sweet-steenie-george-villiers-1st-duke.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">However there is no </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">real evidence for this story and it could just as easily refer to Charles II </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Rowley Powley Pudding and Pie) or George II, both notorious womanisers. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>DOCTOR FELL: </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I do not like thee, Doctor Fell,</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The reason why - I cannot tell;</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But this I know, and know full well,</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>I do not like thee, Doctor Fell</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This little rhyme is said to have been written by the English poet Thomas Brown around 1680 and refers to one of the dons at Oxford, Doctor John Fell of Christ Church, who expelled the young Brown for mischief.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To conclude… one of the best known and most beloved Nursery Rhymes:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>HUMPTY DUMPTY:</b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Humpty Dumpty had a great fall</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">All the King’s horses and all the King’s men</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>Couldn’t put Humpty together again</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirWWKO1VryFmTzVSA8NvdFObAQZr2WmSlsv_z93N9z899uURieuvLeSDx8KKlQlMKg3Enp-KeN6cFcnu2gj7b21g6nvBHjHnX3-p49gJiaisSJ8Y_hqQBYxH3OU-PuI0SW-3QH4vLFKxZ/s1600/download+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirWWKO1VryFmTzVSA8NvdFObAQZr2WmSlsv_z93N9z899uURieuvLeSDx8KKlQlMKg3Enp-KeN6cFcnu2gj7b21g6nvBHjHnX3-p49gJiaisSJ8Y_hqQBYxH3OU-PuI0SW-3QH4vLFKxZ/s200/download+(1).jpg" width="154" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 27pt;">Like all the rhymes, its origins are reputedly many and varied. “Humpty Dumpty” was a term used in the middle ages<br />
to describe someone of large girth and folklore scholars (them again!) have posited the theory it refers to Richard III (who we now know was NOT a man of large girth!).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 27pt;">By far the most likely origin comes from the English Civil War. In 1648 the town of Colchester was held for the royalists and besieged. The story goes that the King’s men had a large (and<br />
presumably rotund) gun which they placed strategically on the wall of the town. However the wall was not built to withstand the weight of the gun and it collapsed, taking the great gun, nicknamed Humpty Dumpty, with it. Despite the efforts of “all the King’s men and all the King’s horses” the great gun was too heavy to be raised again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: 27pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: 27pt;">I shall conveniently ignore the earliest written forms of this rhyme which make no mention of “King’s” men or horses or the fact it could refer to a kind of ale mixed with brandy, or an exceptionally clumsy person.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: 27pt;"><br />
</span> <br />
<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/AVvXsEgLho7d-O1-E_cayfJfNZH4mBmuY0SpQUdrEdNvPPd8cFvn0ByNY7lpPF7jmEHie_Srvb6A-6rQxwxQj3lLXtZLYEvS7a0fOxd8xZz9yAZL3xxYrpZbMkYsa2Cj91jhNxK7tRJpO9wtq2rK/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLho7d-O1-E_cayfJfNZH4mBmuY0SpQUdrEdNvPPd8cFvn0ByNY7lpPF7jmEHie_Srvb6A-6rQxwxQj3lLXtZLYEvS7a0fOxd8xZz9yAZL3xxYrpZbMkYsa2Cj91jhNxK7tRJpO9wtq2rK/s1600/images.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mons Meg at Edinburgh Castle</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: 27pt;">But reference to a giant siege gun of the English Civil War segues nicely into my contribution to CUSTOMS, CASTLES AND KINGS - the sad tale of Brilliana Harley and her spirited defence of Brampton Bryan Castle in Herefordshire.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: 27pt;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: 27pt;">Brilliana and the many stalwart women of the English Civil War, was the inspiration behind my own story <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/her-rebel-heart.html" target="_blank">HER REBEL HEART</a>. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: 27pt;"><b><br />
</b></span> <br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"><b>PLEASE VISIT MY FELLOW CONTRIBUTORS FOR THEIR QUIRKY TAKES ON HISTORY</b></span></div><br />
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</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"><b>AND DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY RAFFLECOPTER CONTEST FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A KINDLE EREADER!</b></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div lang="en-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;"><script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></div></div>Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-62096281381643790172015-09-26T12:00:00.000+10:002015-09-27T09:41:37.054+10:00#FallReading Blog Hop - Meet my Guest Margaret Madigan #bookboost @books_n_pearls <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyny-DGUzN1z6c5Z5uwjGFiTq4PSy9v0AH2k5CCVxYQNH6r7EsLKCMhnZx8QE3MLcL_-zWsxX_VE-gzZqxATz-SW5z_3XnlGFlWurXjbWxX5LD8VcsvBgaol4-Ad6Y0v_Rov_sJ6NzEw/s1600/m+madigan+hist+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyny-DGUzN1z6c5Z5uwjGFiTq4PSy9v0AH2k5CCVxYQNH6r7EsLKCMhnZx8QE3MLcL_-zWsxX_VE-gzZqxATz-SW5z_3XnlGFlWurXjbWxX5LD8VcsvBgaol4-Ad6Y0v_Rov_sJ6NzEw/s400/m+madigan+hist+banner.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="5yl5"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></b></span> <b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am very excited to be a part of a Historical Romance Blog Hop this weekend, hosted by the lovely girls at <a href="http://booksnpearls.com/" target="_blank">BOOKS 'N PEARLS</a>. </span></b><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">OVER THE WEEKEND THERE WILL BE DOZENS OF FABULOUS HISTORICAL ROMANCE AUTHORS TO MEET AND PRIZES TO BE WON. To hop over to the next blog click the Link at the end of this blog.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I grew up on 'Westerns' so I am delighted to be hosting <a href="http://booksbymadiganandmccain.com/" target="_blank">MARGARET MADIGAN</a>, whose latest book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gambling-Outlaw-Margaret-Madigan-ebook/dp/B00YM592E4" target="_blank">GAMBLING ON THE OUTLAW</a> came out in June this year. </span><br />
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<span class="5yl5" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>ABOUT GAMBLING ON THE OUTLAW</b> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beth Caldwell is no man's property. A gambler's widow with a willful, independent streak, she's already courting trouble after rejecting an offer of marriage from a foul-tempered and land-hungry cattle baron. But when Beth discovers a<br />
handsome outlaw hiding in her barn, she lands in a whole new heap of trouble...<br />
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Isaac Collins survived the Civil War only to find himself scapegoated for stagecoach robbery and murder. With nothing left to lose, he gambled everything on revenge and barely escaped with his life. Now he's relying on the kindness of a fierce, strong-willed woman...and God help him if there isn't something<br />
both sweet and forbidden simmering between them.<br />
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But Beth's rejected suitor is no gentleman. He'll do whatever it takes to get her land. And in Nevada, sometimes everything can ride on one a high-stakes game of chance.<span class="5yl5"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span><br />
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<span class="5yl5"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Read an Excerpt from GAMBLING ON THE OUTLAW<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I squared my shoulders and entered the room, determined to behave myself properly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> He was sat up in bed with several pillows piled behind him for support, looking every bit as if he belonged there, enough so that last night came to mind and I was tempted to crawl in and snuggle up next to him. But I gave myself a mental shake. He was quickly turning me into a silly schoolgirl.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I am a strong, independent woman</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I had other women depending on me and I couldn’t let some male drifter, a wanted<br />
man no less, distract me from my responsibilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I placed the tray on his lap and backed away as quickly as possible, taking a<br />
seat in the rocker I’d spent so much time in the last few days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> “It seems your presence is causing quite a stir around here. My friends don’t quite know how to react to you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> “What about you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> “What about me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> “You said none of your lady friends knows how to react to me. What about you? Do you know how to react to me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The taste of his lips on mine leaped to mind unbidden, along with the feel of his hands on me, and that’s all it took for my double-crossing heart, and my equally rebellious body, to react with lusty desire. I’d assumed I’d never again be lucky enough to find a man who made me feel that way, and yet here he was, already in my bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Although I wanted very much to shift from the rocker to the edge of the bed and assist him with his breakfast, perhaps feeding him bits of bread with creamy butter that he’d have to lick from my fingertips, I opted for maintaining at least a modicum of decency and kept my rear end rooted to the chair. I suspected where Mr. Isaac Collins was concerned, me and my good sense were in a heap of<br />
trouble, because my body had clearly declared war against us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> “Just how would you expect me to react?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> He’d been watching me, waiting for my answer, those warm brown eyes regarding me from under a fringe of dark lashes, making my belly flutter like a flock of hummingbirds had nested inside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> “A smart woman would be on her guard. She’d be concerned and maybe even afraid, and she’d send me on my way, happy to see the back of me. And I took you for a smart woman.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="5yl5"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Buy GAMBLING ON THE OUTLAW from </span></b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gambling-Outlaw-Margaret-Madigan-ebook/dp/B00YM592E4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1442883246&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gambling-on-the-outlaw-margaret-madigan/1122042370?ean=9781633752962" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.entangledpublishing.com/gambling-on-the-outlaw/" target="_blank">Entangled</a>, <a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/gambling-on-the-outlaw-entangled-select-historical" target="_blank">Kobo</a> and where all good Ebooks are sold. </span></span></div>
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</span> <b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">ABOUT MARGARET MADIGAN</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxxab4y5OLPd7OEQTTn21gPNHSCTpqKxcOrxP7LwYt_D6gSuacFyecUcBpd_eYkM1aCrEZOqOZggtCWIrJC1O1Yr2Hb7KzvHV701S_fGuX0Ydy1soz61hWAcGuc7TuFJu9ga3vOCQYtg/s1600/m+madigan+author+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxxab4y5OLPd7OEQTTn21gPNHSCTpqKxcOrxP7LwYt_D6gSuacFyecUcBpd_eYkM1aCrEZOqOZggtCWIrJC1O1Yr2Hb7KzvHV701S_fGuX0Ydy1soz61hWAcGuc7TuFJu9ga3vOCQYtg/s200/m+madigan+author+pic.jpg" width="192" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="c24"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Margaret is an author of romance and science fiction with Entangled Publishing and Evernight Publishing. She is a hard core </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="c24">Oregon Ducks fan. and a d</span><span class="c24">onut and pastry addict.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Best of all... she likes cats!<br />
<span class="c24">When she's </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> not writing you’ll find her in a college classroom </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">teaching English, or working as a literary agent for an amazing agency…and of </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">course, wrangling her family.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="5yl5"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Connect with Margaret:</span></b></span><span class="5yl5"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="5yl5"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Margaret-Madigan-Author/417523771630333?ref=hl">Facebook author fan page</a>, </span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/mmadiganauthor" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7242698.Margaret_Madigan" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Goodreads</a>, <a href="http://booksbymadiganandmccain.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Website</a></div>
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<span class="5yl5"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://margaretandmerissawrite.blogspot.com/">Blog</a>,</span></span><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/margaretmadigan/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pinterest</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Madigan/e/B00FGZPF9U/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Amazon fan page</a></div>
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<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-7270181820248179752015-09-11T14:05:00.003+10:002015-09-11T14:05:27.733+10:00Walking Worcester with my Imaginary Friends<div class="nospacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The 3rd
September marked the 364th anniversary of the Battle of Worcester, the defining event of the <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/the-guardians-of-the-crown-series.html" target="_blank">Guardians of the Crown</a> series which begins with the battle itself <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/by-the-sword-guardians-of-the-crown-book-1.html" target="_blank">(BY THE SWORD)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkOYZ8kJmTJ2Ebt1OrjjbFengXK02imE_cp1h8W1EqSyq-RIzTeb991fsR90hGY6PzuXdMwvidmICwn5CJynvSb3fQ-kTmqEs0WLyeEMuPs2BuLxpQvhaTWQDWomS9v_jCcydvahqyQBg/s1600/Cathedral+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkOYZ8kJmTJ2Ebt1OrjjbFengXK02imE_cp1h8W1EqSyq-RIzTeb991fsR90hGY6PzuXdMwvidmICwn5CJynvSb3fQ-kTmqEs0WLyeEMuPs2BuLxpQvhaTWQDWomS9v_jCcydvahqyQBg/s320/Cathedral+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worcester Cathedral</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My family has
had a long, long association with Worcester, most notably boasting a High
Sheriff of Worcester (my great grandfather) and a well respected MP and County
Councillor (my grandfather) and my father served under the colours of the now
defunct Worcestershire Regiment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In May this
year I returned (or, in a sense, went home) - on a canal boat (a whole other story!). My last visit to Worcester had
been some twenty plus years ago when I was researching a little story I was
writing about the Battle of Worcester. That little story became <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/by-the-sword-guardians-of-the-crown-book-1.html" target="_blank">BY THE SWORD</a>...
which flowed on to <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/the-kings-man-guardians-of-the-crown-book-2.html" target="_blank">THE KING'S MAN</a> and on to Book 3, EXILES' RETURN (which comes
out next February). I wanted to write about a group of friends/comrades and
what this seminal battle of the English Civil War meant to them and their
families.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkx1jI0CcV8yFMMf9RuIOhDt0Qu7r0PtHZhhXS5atSiXAY-Je7k3Ue8hv4Yqvsnjgty0DMe64ocTm_u43WGxVGX4B66AlkF_emB0j5Jpzj3ziTeJDVF1CrigIrdktEPdEMMfnkYw1D8haR/s1600/IMG_2628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkx1jI0CcV8yFMMf9RuIOhDt0Qu7r0PtHZhhXS5atSiXAY-Je7k3Ue8hv4Yqvsnjgty0DMe64ocTm_u43WGxVGX4B66AlkF_emB0j5Jpzj3ziTeJDVF1CrigIrdktEPdEMMfnkYw1D8haR/s320/IMG_2628.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our canal boat traverses the Sidbury Lock - The Commandery on the left</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We moored our
canal boat below the Sidbury Lock within spitting distance of The Commandery
and the site of what was once the Sidbury Gate through the walls of the old
city (now long since gone). Having an afternoon free, I abandoned my travelling
companions and stepped down on to the tow path of the canal (which had not been
there in 1651). They were waiting for me - Jonathan Thornton, Giles Longley, Kit
Lovell and his brother Daniel, <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/the-guardians-of-the-crown-series.html" target="_blank">the Guardians of Crown</a>, my companions from the past and they would be my guides for the
afternoon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWD4koKh3BMbKPhNszdjNYAa8VlG7tXPJM8eyXCliz0WoP1A8bJAikXhhhumbQQRONcveaDoR40nuaztCpmch5nwnJPBihnedo1x3H1pZYPAB863GpYbNwg_wdIKb4VLRZkDtU_weIZhBs/s1600/P5199151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWD4koKh3BMbKPhNszdjNYAa8VlG7tXPJM8eyXCliz0WoP1A8bJAikXhhhumbQQRONcveaDoR40nuaztCpmch5nwnJPBihnedo1x3H1pZYPAB863GpYbNwg_wdIKb4VLRZkDtU_weIZhBs/s320/P5199151.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AS outside The Commandery </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We began with The Commandery (that was its name long before the events of 1651). In its
past it had been a merchant's house, a hospital and in 1651 became the
Headquarters for Charles II.</span></div>
<div class="nospacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i style="color: #e06666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(Jonathan)
attended the meetings at the Commandery and concluded the house had been wrongly
named. He saw precious little evidence of command taking place within its
walls...</i><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #e06666;">In the endless
councils that took place in the hall the young King found himself assailed from
all sides by conflicting advice. (<a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/by-the-sword-guardians-of-the-crown-book-1.html" target="_blank">BY THE SWORD</a>)</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wtzy5m70mjk-_rGjFkZTl3Dvfo_9eooe0PWf1gz5nd-NIjcCW1pWVQgwTcbwygXKPnydRZf9AwCWIueuWMuAcKwqrCe7ugCrFpyBfUhwb_lRyF-g-zUiqr_fQdAX5MM2_HIrEWrbgHK_/s1600/Fort+Royal+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wtzy5m70mjk-_rGjFkZTl3Dvfo_9eooe0PWf1gz5nd-NIjcCW1pWVQgwTcbwygXKPnydRZf9AwCWIueuWMuAcKwqrCe7ugCrFpyBfUhwb_lRyF-g-zUiqr_fQdAX5MM2_HIrEWrbgHK_/s320/Fort+Royal+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From The
Commandery we set off up the hill to Fort Royal where a royalist battery had
been established to defend the approach to Worcester along the Sidbury road. I
won't go into the details of the battle itself (I've written about it
elsewhere...click <a href="http://hoydensandfirebrands.blogspot.com.au/2009/04/great-escape-part-1-battle-of-worcester.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>). Suffice to say that while the royalists held Fort
Royal, Cromwell had taken Red Hill and Perry Hill. The king himself led an
attack on Red Hill but was driven back to the city. Fort Royal fell, the
royalist defenders slaughtered to a man and the guns turned on the city itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gyiHlYsGlxQF8eVx6RAW3PGOtOgH7twyH6M2qLVj8bW6sK1fix2H1-uiJ-ncUWs7sxsVLYg6tbozd1jkb31yHSycHakC3ZV3oiXRn69X_avlpKlPo_uup1zoCGLmo_EJtAPb3Ytztp2x/s1600/Board+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gyiHlYsGlxQF8eVx6RAW3PGOtOgH7twyH6M2qLVj8bW6sK1fix2H1-uiJ-ncUWs7sxsVLYg6tbozd1jkb31yHSycHakC3ZV3oiXRn69X_avlpKlPo_uup1zoCGLmo_EJtAPb3Ytztp2x/s320/Board+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My American readers may be interested to know that it was on this hill that an oak tree was planted in commemoration of a visit by Thomas Jefferson who is quoted as reminding all Englishmen that it was at Worcester that the concept of Liberty was fought for... you can read his quote on the plaque below...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotPxAyE_T68_XT-AkYKXainFYLb5MEvxP43b1wq-r0tibcVQzpHw2JkGXPJW60TeNskP0y0tGFROEVPp8l8ZjoDX4EouwdeL4V2mZmu3Lg5ZCRv0SA66qVJotdsUVfCG7pj3T0qgS2zjv/s1600/Liberty+Oak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotPxAyE_T68_XT-AkYKXainFYLb5MEvxP43b1wq-r0tibcVQzpHw2JkGXPJW60TeNskP0y0tGFROEVPp8l8ZjoDX4EouwdeL4V2mZmu3Lg5ZCRv0SA66qVJotdsUVfCG7pj3T0qgS2zjv/s320/Liberty+Oak.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My companions
led me back down the hill toward Sidbury Gate... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="nospacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #e06666;">The Parliament
guns had been brought to bear on the gate, turning the retreat into </span></i></span></div>
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</div>
<i><span style="color: #e06666;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZbvki-tqLYCfKpqTsteHLsxO1S-MZFEozP270K-LOFvSuTkdy1eR-Ej5w-cVDZfAklHchJHJQf-g2S89mH3XBpON7RSP4ikwV0ocPTZwpPAk5h8VZoEfwNL19PT9NsLPM_We9Gd8nYpt/s1600/king-charles-ii-restaurant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></span></i>
<i><span style="color: #e06666;">wholesale
slaughter. Amidst the screaming of man and beast, the carnage of blood and guts
and with shot pounding into the walls and the city, the King managed to get
back through the gate. Jonathan followed through the confusion, scrambling over
an overturned oxen cart to reach his King. (<a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/by-the-sword-guardians-of-the-crown-book-1.html" target="_blank">BY THE SWORD</a>)</span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUBpoh_8_9ymHvk3AdojliJ8tMGMLAemNsQqEb58w2byssM_IPw5JwR-bLPCuSs_iHD8MzVh4Ta5gbLh_0Bc6UPy7ye0QxLBqJ8AKK-wMdmgjlbfCYdGj-o_A9sPivxpoLPi5J_tsCIJ1n/s1600/sidbury.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUBpoh_8_9ymHvk3AdojliJ8tMGMLAemNsQqEb58w2byssM_IPw5JwR-bLPCuSs_iHD8MzVh4Ta5gbLh_0Bc6UPy7ye0QxLBqJ8AKK-wMdmgjlbfCYdGj-o_A9sPivxpoLPi5J_tsCIJ1n/s1600/sidbury.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No trace of the
gate or walls remain today (destroyed for the building of the canal in the 1760s), just one small plaque on a wall marks its existence. We turned into the
city and down one of the last remaining authentic city streets - Friar Street
(curse those 70s redevelopments!). Still lined with half timbered houses, it is
only here one can still get a feeling for 17th century Worcester.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="nospacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Wilmot pulled
at Jonathan’s arm and they both ran up Friar Street, toward the King’s
lodging. Jonathan took only one look back to see Giles, fighting like a virago,
a small defence against the mass of red-coated soldiers who now flooded into
the city from all gates except one: St Martin’s Gate stood close by the King’s
lodging and remained as yet unbreached. (<a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/by-the-sword-guardians-of-the-crown-book-1.html" target="_blank">BY THE SWORD</a>)</span></span></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJH0CriOjDan93l4SEhnlneaxaOjmCJcjnJftPEDrCG1Upd1jgLHtXcy_zFhMHEJe7kKSVwckkoXNx0haIBtaa4_Stai9uaNTGy0UGuNvAo_mBm303EHn30Nkp3N7OuGnCIhzx41-sZSSh/s1600/Friars+Street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJH0CriOjDan93l4SEhnlneaxaOjmCJcjnJftPEDrCG1Upd1jgLHtXcy_zFhMHEJe7kKSVwckkoXNx0haIBtaa4_Stai9uaNTGy0UGuNvAo_mBm303EHn30Nkp3N7OuGnCIhzx41-sZSSh/s320/Friars+Street.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friar Street</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was here in
Friar Street that Jonathan, Giles, Kit and Daniel lodged in a house that may
have looked a little like Greyfriars (now a National Trust property). Here they
played cards on the night before the battle. </span></div>
<div class="nospacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #e06666;">Another evening
at the Commandery had ended in bickering and Jonathan trudged wearily back up
Friar Street to his billet ... In the downstairs parlour of the large,
half-timbered house, Giles played cards with Kit Lovell, who had recently
rejoined them. They were both fiendish card players, with a tendency to cheat,
and Jonathan declined their invitation to join them. (<a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/by-the-sword-guardians-of-the-crown-book-1.html" target="_blank">BY THE SWORD</a>)</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #e06666;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<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/AVvXsEhmkvN5LclynwLCBCYMK8-YhpuvkPlyb8B8e_2tSGTwrQl3TTn0ojJTfdVwchjnayD3Kk70oisplz8D5HGH4K-h9STKzwVGBBYbVPipZGsaefRna8hQm4CaSj1q9YCJx4FnmyhXtpnqeFvG/s1600/P5229307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkvN5LclynwLCBCYMK8-YhpuvkPlyb8B8e_2tSGTwrQl3TTn0ojJTfdVwchjnayD3Kk70oisplz8D5HGH4K-h9STKzwVGBBYbVPipZGsaefRna8hQm4CaSj1q9YCJx4FnmyhXtpnqeFvG/s320/P5229307.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The parlour of Greyfriars where the Guardians played cards on the night before the battle... maybe...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Further up
Friar Street we came to the building now known as The Charles II house (and rather ignomiously - a pie shop) which</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZbvki-tqLYCfKpqTsteHLsxO1S-MZFEozP270K-LOFvSuTkdy1eR-Ej5w-cVDZfAklHchJHJQf-g2S89mH3XBpON7RSP4ikwV0ocPTZwpPAk5h8VZoEfwNL19PT9NsLPM_We9Gd8nYpt/s1600/king-charles-ii-restaurant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZbvki-tqLYCfKpqTsteHLsxO1S-MZFEozP270K-LOFvSuTkdy1eR-Ej5w-cVDZfAklHchJHJQf-g2S89mH3XBpON7RSP4ikwV0ocPTZwpPAk5h8VZoEfwNL19PT9NsLPM_We9Gd8nYpt/s200/king-charles-ii-restaurant.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">had been the King's Lodgings and from which he escaped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #e06666;">They found the
King within his lodgings, watching uncomprehendingly as Buckingham burned
papers on a hastily lit fire.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="nospacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>‘We must go,
Your Majesty,’ Wilmot said.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="nospacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The King looked
up at his old friend and advisor. ‘Leslie will come,’ he insisted. ‘We will
rally again.’<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="nospacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>‘No, Your
Majesty,’ Buckingham spoke. ‘It’s too late. Leslie has failed us, Hamilton is
fallen. We must away while we still have breath in our bodies.’</i></span></div>
<div class="nospacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i style="color: #e06666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The noise of
the fighting, drawing closer up the street, brought the King to his feet. With
the Parliament’s soldiers at the front door of the house, the King and his
party left by the back. Taking the nearest horses they fled, at a hard gallop,
through St Martin’s Gate, the gate that led the way to the north. (<a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/by-the-sword-guardians-of-the-crown-book-1.html" target="_blank">BY THE SWORD</a>)</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here we parted company, my imaginary friends returning to the past, and I trudged back through the streets of Worcester to meet my real friends at the Worcester Porcelain museum (in what had been a thriving factory on my last visit).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBwS_6iUX256U1TpGX3nRH5eaoQfJ1bMWWhHZLEqDMMAJWzckwChQNEkPVIvq2rFhvWFzHVAnl3kerqCvW7rd_xpzNLlTzPd3PEyElg_enNbg2aSkWp9nyrwXt_oQc3MOWXVRCcjrlLxKm/s1600/IMG_2503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBwS_6iUX256U1TpGX3nRH5eaoQfJ1bMWWhHZLEqDMMAJWzckwChQNEkPVIvq2rFhvWFzHVAnl3kerqCvW7rd_xpzNLlTzPd3PEyElg_enNbg2aSkWp9nyrwXt_oQc3MOWXVRCcjrlLxKm/s320/IMG_2503.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">ABOUT <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/King%E2%80%99s-Man-Guardians-Crown-Book-ebook/dp/B013AI1HVE">THE
KING’S MAN</a></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The
second in a tantalising trilogy from award-winning author Alison Stuart, about
warriors, the wounds they carry, and the women that help them heal.</span></i></b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">London 1654:</span></i><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"> </span></i><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Kit
Lovell is one of the King’s men, a disillusioned Royalist who passes his time
cheating at cards, living off his wealthy and attractive mistress, and plotting
the death of Oliver Cromwell.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Penniless and friendless, Thamsine Granville has lost everything.
Terrified, in pain, and alone, she hurls a piece of brick at the coach of
Oliver Cromwell, and earns herself an immediate death sentence. Only the quick
thinking of a stranger saves her. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Far from the bored, benevolent rescuer that he seems, Kit plunges
Thamsine into his world of espionage and betrayal – a world that has no room
for falling in love.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Torn between Thamsine and loyalty to his master and King, Kit’s
carefully constructed web of lies begins to unravel. He must make one last
desperate gamble – the cost of which might be his life. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Buy<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/the-kings-man-guardians-of-the-crown-book-2.html" target="_blank">THE KING'S MAN</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>on<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-king-s-man-4" target="_blank">KOBO</a>,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kings-man-alison-stuart/1100074477?ean=9781760378141" target="_blank">NOOK</a>,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the-kings-man/id1024910529" target="_blank">iBooks</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Man-Guardians-Crown-Book-ebook/dp/B013AI1HVE">AMAZON</a><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>(Australian readers can still
buy <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/the-kings-man-guardians-of-the-crown-book-2.html">THE
KING’S MAN</a> for just 99c on <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/King%E2%80%99s-Man-Guardians-Crown-Book-ebook/dp/B013AI1HVE">AMAZON
AUSTRALIA</a> and the first book in the series, <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/The-Sword-Guardians-Crown-Book-ebook/dp/B00T5M2NZO">BY
THE SWORD</a> is currently free)</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE
RAFFLECOPTER CONTEST: </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Click <a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0d923dde5/?">HERE</a> (The prize
is a kindle Ereader)</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; layout-grid-mode: line; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">(And if you would like a smile, <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/the-kings-man-guardians-of-the-crown-book-2.html">THE
KING’S MAN</a> is featured in an ABC Art Nation program called ‘My Secret Art
Life’... Australian readers can view it on my website... click <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/the-kings-man-guardians-of-the-crown-book-2.html">HERE</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-22052317270147395912015-09-08T13:50:00.000+10:002015-09-08T13:50:59.221+10:00Release Day for THE KING'S MAN: Meet Kit Lovell...<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/the-kings-man-guardians-of-the-crown-book-2.html" target="_blank">THE KING'S MAN</a> releases today (8 September) - Book 2 in the Guardians of the Crown series.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-iCxFohrRaHylbb8CfqX2R1rpKyhRWlZCJTeMJYncoXCY5RYY2FHP8gc9jufGxPBoVn-51Ap274ZLGAEOjL0owPvwqQZvcXWuCLBVOF807Xho0R1GAGnN-O3KQWhk2NGipzpYk6u4pJ3a/s1600/Can+you+solve+the+puzzle+that+is+is+kit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-iCxFohrRaHylbb8CfqX2R1rpKyhRWlZCJTeMJYncoXCY5RYY2FHP8gc9jufGxPBoVn-51Ap274ZLGAEOjL0owPvwqQZvcXWuCLBVOF807Xho0R1GAGnN-O3KQWhk2NGipzpYk6u4pJ3a/s400/Can+you+solve+the+puzzle+that+is+is+kit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is now February
1654- three long years since the events that took place in Book 1 (BY THE SWORD).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In that
story readers first met a friend of Jonathan Thornton’s, KIT LOVELL, in a filthy inn in Perth (Scotland).</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Jonathan) opened the
door the tapster indicated. Two men sat at a rickety table playing cards; Giles
Longley and another English officer, Kit Lovell. A half-dressed drab, no doubt
picked out of the gutters of Perth, leaned on Lovell’s shoulder, apparently
engaged in nibbling his ear. Another girl sprawled on Giles’ lap, twirling a
lock of his hair in her fingers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Giles had his back to
the door so it was Kit who looked up, his eyes widening. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘Jesus Christ!’ he swore.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Jonathan forced a wry
smile. ‘Not quite.’</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the
eve of the Battle of Worcester (3 September 1651), a card game takes place… in
which the stakes are the lives of the men who must face battle the next day. They
are joined by Kit’s young brother, Daniel…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lovell cast his
brother a glance that was at once both reproving and affectionate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘He followed me,’
Lovell replied. ‘His mother will hold me responsible if anything happens to him
and, God knows, I fear her wrath more than Cromwell, but what could I do?’<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘This may be my last
chance,’ the boy said returning his brother’s look with a furrowed brow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘Your last chance for
what?’ Giles asked. ‘Getting yourself killed?’<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘My last chance to return
the King to the throne where he belongs,’ Daniel said, his eyes shining with an
idealism that had long since escaped Jonathan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Lovell laid his cards
down and fixed his brother with a hard look. ‘You don’t see do you?’ he said. ‘You’re
the last of us with any hope. Look at us...’ He waved his hand at the men
seated around the table. ‘If we lose this battle, what future do we have? But
you...you can still make something of your life.’</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The next
day, battle is joined and the King’s cause is lost even before the fighting
begins. In the midst of the battle we encounter Kit Lovell for the last time…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US"> '</span><span lang="EN-AU">Daniel!’<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Hearing Kit Lovell’s voice, Jonathan turned and saw
his friend standing in the path of a Parliament trooper who bore down on him from
behind with his sword upraised. Of Lovell’s brother there was no sign.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Summoning all his energy, Jonathan managed to reach Lovell
and push him aside just as the trooper slashed down with his sword. The
razor-sharp blade caught Jonathan across the back of his hand, slashing through
the heavy leather of his glove. <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Lovell regained his feet and clutched at Jonathan’s sleeve.
<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>‘I can’t find Daniel.’<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Before Jonathan could respond, the trooper turned,
pulling his pistol from his belt. He fired and Kit crumpled to the ground<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Seizing a primed pistol from a dead Scot at his feet,
Jonathan fired. The trooper’s face exploded in mass of blood and the man toppled,
screaming, from his horse. <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Jonathan stooped down to see to Lovell, who had taken
the pistol ball to the leg and now lay helpless on the trampled grass,
grimacing in agony.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Giles grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the
fallen man.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>‘Thornton, there’s no time. We must find the King and
get back to the city,’ Giles yelled above the noise.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>‘Go,’ Lovell said between gritted teeth. ‘Save the
King.’</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So… Kit Lovell, the King's man, fell wounded at the Battle of Worcester. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How did he survive and what
brings him to London in 1654, at the height of Cromwell’s Protectorate?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The inveterate gambler, Kit is playing a dangerous game and the stakes are a
life… He did not wager on falling in love...</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Buy <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/the-kings-man-guardians-of-the-crown-book-2.html" target="_blank">THE KING'S MAN</a> on <a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-king-s-man-4" target="_blank">KOBO</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kings-man-alison-stuart/1100074477?ean=9781760378141" target="_blank">NOOK</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the-kings-man/id1024910529" target="_blank">iBooks</a> and AMAZON</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To celebrate the launch of THE KING'S MAN, I will be running a RAFFLECOPTER CONTEST with the prize of a Kindle E-reader from now until the end of October. </span></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-23149729214189580312015-09-04T10:20:00.000+10:002015-09-04T10:20:20.689+10:00The Duke's Daughter - Guest poster Sasha Cottman<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>THE DUKE'S DAUGHTER is the third in Sasha Cottman's Regency 'Duke of Strathmore' series. It is a challenge for any author to find something new and different about this period, which is why I particularly like Sasha's stories.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The stories are about real people (admittedly of 'the ton') - the heroes and heroines are of the right age to be courting couples of this period and most importantly, for me anyway, they come from families who love them. To read most regencies you would think the characters were immaculate conceptions, untramelled by inconvenient parents or siblings. In Sasha's books, there are mothers and fathers who may not always agree with the way their offsring are erring and are not above teaching them the occasional life lesson, but at the end of the story you are left with the feeling that Christmas at the Duke of Strathmore's estates would be rowdy, happy, family times.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>This story revolves around the Strathmore daughter, Lucy, sister to the heroes of Book 1 and 2. We have met Lucy in the preceding two stories (LETTER FROM A RAKE and AN UNSUITABLE MATCH) and we are familiar with her interfering ways. With both her errant brothers happily settled it is Lucy's turn to find love...</i></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">THE DUKE'S DAUGHTER</span></b><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span lang="EN-US">When handsome army officer Avery Fox unexpectedly
inherits a fortune, he instantly becomes one of the season's most eligible
bachelors. More accustomed to the battlefield, he has no patience with the
naive debutantes who fill the ballrooms of London.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Honest
and impetuous Lady Lucy Radley is a breath of fresh air, guiding him through
the season and helping him to avoid any traps. So when Avery is left with
little option but to marry Lucy, he can't help but feel he's been manipulated.
Nor can he shake the feeling that a duke's daughter should be out of his reach.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>From
the wildly beautiful Scottish Highlands to the elegant soirees of Paris, Avery
and Lucy go on a journey that is full of surprises for them both. But
will their feelings for each other be strong enough to overcome the
circumstances of their marriage and survive the ghosts of Avery's past?</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Read an excerpt from THE DUKE'S DAUGHTER....</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;">Chapter One</span></b><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By every measure of her own behaviour, Lady Lucy Radley knew
this was the worst.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'You reckless fool,' she muttered under her breath as she headed
back inside and into the grand ballroom.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The room was a crush of London's social elite. Every few steps
she had to stop and make small talk with friends or acquaintances. A comment
here and there about someone's gown or promising a social call made for slow
going.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Finally she spied her cousin, Eve. She fixed a smile to
her face as Eve approached.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Where have you been, Lucy? I've been searching everywhere for
you.'<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'I was just outside admiring the flowers on the terrace.'<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Eve frowned, but the lie held.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15pt;">Another night, another ball in one of London's high-society
homes. In one respect Lucy would be happy when the London social season ended
in a few weeks; then she would be free to travel to her family home in Scotland
and go tramping across the valleys and mountain paths, the chill wind ruffling
her hair.</span></span><br />
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<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She puffed out her cheeks. With the impending close of the
season came an overwhelming sense of failure. Her two older brothers, David and
Alex, had taken wives. Perfect, love-filled unions with delightful girls, each
of whom Lucy was happy to now call sister.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her newest sister-in-law, Earl Langham's daughter Clarice, was
already in a delicate condition, and Lucy suspected it was only a matter of
time before her brother Alex and his wife Millie shared some good news.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For herself, this season had been an unmitigated disaster on the
husband-hunting front. The pickings were slim at best. Having refused both an
earl and a viscount the previous season, she suspected other suitable gentlemen
now viewed her as too fussy. No gentleman worth his boots wanted a difficult
wife. Only the usual group of fortune-hunters, intent on getting their hands on
her substantial dowry, were lining up at this stage of the season to ask her to
dance. Maintaining her pride as the daughter of a duke, she refused them all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Somewhere in the collective gentry of England there must be a man
worthy of her love. She just had to find him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What a mess.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'You are keeping something from me,' Eve said, poking a finger
gently into Lucy's arm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lucy shook her head. 'It's nothing. I suspect I am suffering
from a touch of ennui. These balls all begin to look the same after a while.
All the same people, sharing the same gossip.'<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Oh dear, and I thought I was having a bad day,' Eve replied.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Sorry, I was being selfish. You are the one who needs a friend
to cheer her up,' Lucy replied. She kissed her cousin gently on the cheek.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Eve's brother William had left London earlier that day to return
to his home in Paris, and she knew her cousin was taking his departure hard.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Yes, well, I knew I could sit at home and cry, or I could put
on a happy face and try to find something to smile about,' Eve replied.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Eve's father had tried without success to convince his son to
return permanently to England. With the war now over and Napoleon toppled from
power, everyone expected William Saunders to come home immediately, but it had
taken two years for him to make the journey back to London.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Perhaps once he gets back to France and starts to miss us all
again, he shall have a change of heart,' Lucy said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'One can only hope. Now, let's go and find a nice quiet spot and
you can tell me what you were really doing out in the garden. Charles Ashton
came in the door not a minute before you, and he had a face like thunder. As I
happened to see the two of you head out into the garden at the same time a
little while ago, I doubt Charles' foul temper was because he found the flowers
not to his liking,' Eve replied.<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #525252; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #525252; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">BUY THE DUKE'S DAUGHTER..</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dukes-Daughter-Sasha-Cottman-ebook/dp/B012Z6MYFA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1438405853&sr=8-2&keywords=the+dukes+daughter">Amazon.Com</a> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/Dukes-Daughter-Sasha-Cottman-ebook/dp/B012Z6MYFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438405800&sr=8-1&keywords=the+dukes+daughter">Amazon
Australia</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dukes-Daughter-Destiny-Romance-ebook/dp/B0131WTTLO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1438685881&sr=8-3&keywords=the+dukes+daughter">Amazon
UK</a> <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the-dukes-daughter/id1024399490?mt=11">iTunes</a> <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sasha_Cottman_The_Duke_s_Daughter?id=Zq9FCgAAQBAJ&hl=en">Googleplay</a> <a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-duke-s-daughter">Kobo</a> <a href="https://books.jbhifi.com.au/Book/the-dukes-daughter-sasha-cottman/613115">JBHiFi</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">About Sasha Cottman...</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhqQEYQ7ILO3Ot9oko3CFCCEkh6AD4YWC8JrJ2MkNTijyWLy6GOPlrBgkcyiB0iNZEQOJA-l0kqgGlUcpFUh1HgTKM0Pwr6mrYu8tO342RcOw9qN3i9k2vW7wRkZ9E6aPptFL5d86F2Lc/s1600/sasha+cottman+author+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhqQEYQ7ILO3Ot9oko3CFCCEkh6AD4YWC8JrJ2MkNTijyWLy6GOPlrBgkcyiB0iNZEQOJA-l0kqgGlUcpFUh1HgTKM0Pwr6mrYu8tO342RcOw9qN3i9k2vW7wRkZ9E6aPptFL5d86F2Lc/s200/sasha+cottman+author+pic.jpg" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sasha Cottman’s debut novel was published
in 2013. Letter from a Rake, was a Ruby finalist in 2014 and won the Book
Junkies Choice Award in 2014.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her books are centred on the theme of love,
honour and family. Her current book series, The Duke of Strathmore, covers the
story of the love lives of a group of siblings and their cousins.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sasha’s second novel An Unsuitable Match,
was a four time ARRA finalist in 2015. The third book in the Duke of Strathmore
series, The Duke’s Daughter, was released in August 2015.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sasha divides her time between the city of
Melbourne, Australia and her family beach retreat at Torquay. She and her
family have discovered all the places the family cat disappears to whenever it
realises they are about to head home on a Sunday night.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before accidentally enrolling in a course for
romance writers a number of years ago, she had always had a love of history.
While her writing career may appear at odds with her professional career as a
finance executive, it means she can spot a poorly written company board report
at twenty feet.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A self-confessed ‘hopeless’ cook, she
writes a blog, In the Regency Kitchen, where she recreates recipes from the
Regency/Georgian era. Her family have so far managed to survive being the test
subjects of her culinary efforts. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The little time she has left during the
week and weekends is spent trying to beat her husband at Fitbit challenges and
trying to find where the pair to that sock really went.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sasha is published by Destiny Romance a
digital imprint of Penguin Random House.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU">Connect with Sasha at... </span><span lang="EN-AU"><span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.sashacottman.com/">http://www.sashacottman.com</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/sashacottman" target="_blank">Twitter </a>and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sashacottmanauthor" target="_blank">Facebook </a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">For her In the Regency Kitchen
Blog where she attempts to recreate Regency Recipes with mixed success </span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="http://www.sashacottman.com/"><span lang="EN">http://www.sashacottman.com</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"> </span></span></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-52986853489424858932015-08-30T10:45:00.000+10:002015-08-30T10:45:44.008+10:00Crime and Punishment for Beginners - D.B. TAIT<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>This time last weekend I was enjoying the company of 400 of my closest friends (and I do mean that literally) at the Romance Writers of Australia Conference. Among them was today's guest D.B. Tait. </i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDNOsppRJB9vaqhIE_HjKC2-3rbN5F4z39MOAzKtECuurgsTB5dRNzfyIpYl_-LTTnLjYqU-2pcJBCCSwB6QfmV1aW8vkMzw0j2W_BROgO56DpMF4T-Ka19NyhtuG0auZ1cPtaS-yM6Mt/s1600/VSP9687.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDNOsppRJB9vaqhIE_HjKC2-3rbN5F4z39MOAzKtECuurgsTB5dRNzfyIpYl_-LTTnLjYqU-2pcJBCCSwB6QfmV1aW8vkMzw0j2W_BROgO56DpMF4T-Ka19NyhtuG0auZ1cPtaS-yM6Mt/s200/VSP9687.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In another life Tait is probably better known as erotic romance writer, Keziah HIll, but, like me, she is turning to a life of crime or at least, romantic suspense! </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Born and bred in Sydney Australia, DB Tait is a life long lover of books in all forms but crime fiction in particular. She worked for many years in the criminal justice system before deciding a tree change was need, so decamped to the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Now she writes and works part time in the community sector. Her first full length novel, <b>Cold Deception</b>, was published by Momentum, the digital first line of Pan Macmillan in March 2015. Her next novel <b>Desperate Deception</b> will be published in October 2015. </span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>With her background in the criminal justice system, she is ideally placed to write crime fiction. Can't wait to read this one!</i></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Crime
and Punishment for Beginners <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When writing a contemporary romantic
suspense novel, world building is as important as it is for historical novels
or science fiction. My second full length novel to be released in October 2015,
<b>Desperate Deception</b>, is set in the
Blue Mountains where I live and deals with themes relating to imprisonment and
crime.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I worked for quite a number of years in the
New South Wales prison system so I thought in writing this book, and the
previous book in the series, <b>Cold
Deception</b>, that I had already in my mind what I needed to bring the stories
to life. I would just need to ransack my memories. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But memory is faulty. Parole details,
sentencing details, what someone who has been arrested and denied bail might
experience in the van on the way to jail, were all aspects of my story I had to
re-remember and fact check. I’m lucky that I have contacts in the prison system
still (no, not that kind of contact!) so some things were easier than others to
get right. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I also have a couple of handy criminal
lawyer friends who can ensure the legal details are correct.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But I needed to get the feel of a criminal
court trial. I’m not sure if this falls into the category of a Fun Friday Fact,
(since it’s a bit depressing) but an online resource that is useful for getting
the flavour of a criminal court in NSW and how a Judge summarises a whole
criminal case at the point of sentencing, is the Case Law site (previously
Lawlink) <a href="https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/">https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au</a>
Here you can find Judges’ sentencing comments on a range of legal matters.
These sentencing comments are often bleak and terrifying in their ordinariness
- dry accounts of often awful and pathetic crimes. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They are a gold mine for a crime writer,
fascinating in their detail of both the law and the circumstances of the crime.
But has I read them, I feel like a voyeur into the lives, not only of the
perpetrators, but of the destroyed victims, both living and dead. Some Judges,
amid the dry discourse of case law, express poignant sympathy and regret for
those left living, providing a glimpse of humanity in what is frequently a
monolithic and cruel legal system. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These small shards of light in sentencing
comments are the moments when my crime writer mind expands with possibilities
for stories. I wonder about the victims, the perpetrators and what happened
that brought them so disastrously together. What was going on in their minds
and in the minds of those tasked with bringing the perpetrators to justice? Showing
that, bring it to life, is the essence of a good crime story.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0qDBBs-VrqB9JR3wK0J1vEmKvZi-a9P-32Jp384ioix4sDRI98UE1MzOadom6gkigqdxXi-G-IE5JCb_0k47-oehC9pjflBLGRzwy1sj0LKQF2bRV-fXeIhIpbkwHR1-q_rfB9bRahdf/s1600/Cold-Deception-high-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0qDBBs-VrqB9JR3wK0J1vEmKvZi-a9P-32Jp384ioix4sDRI98UE1MzOadom6gkigqdxXi-G-IE5JCb_0k47-oehC9pjflBLGRzwy1sj0LKQF2bRV-fXeIhIpbkwHR1-q_rfB9bRahdf/s320/Cold-Deception-high-res.jpg" width="240" /></a><b><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">ABOUT COLD DECEPTION</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Secrets, lies, deception. That’s
what it takes to stay alive.</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At 20, Julia Taylor went to
prison for murdering a man who deserved it. Ten years later, </span></span><span style="color: #313131; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">she’s ready to put
the past behind her and get on with her life. But someone won’t let her.
Someone will do anything to drive Julia away, including murder.</span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>As the body count rises, Julia is
forced to accept the help of Dylan Andrews, a cop with dark secrets of his own.
Unfortunately help has a cost. Dylan is digging into Julia’s past, uncovering
secrets she is desperate to keep.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Julia must keep Dylan at a distance, or else risk her own safety, and
the safety of everyone she loves …</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Read an Excerpt from Cold Deception<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dylan Andrews led the struggling woman away
from the Council building, across the square and to the wisteria covered picnic
area. Grey and bare, the twisting vine hung down in a dense veil, providing
minimal cover from prying eyes. Luckily few people were around on this freezing
morning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“What’re you doing? Let me go!” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Through her struggles Dylan could see she was
still gasping for breath and shaking. The dark circles under her eyes stood out
in stark relief against the complete whiteness of her skin. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Sit down,” he ordered. “You’re having a panic
attack. Just sit there and breathe.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She collapsed on a bench and leaned against the
stone picnic table. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“I’ll be alright in a minute,” she said in a
small voice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He stared down at her, irritated with himself
and his reaction to her. Everything he knew about Julia Taylor indicated she
wasn’t the run of the mill ex-crim, yet his hackles rose when he was around
her. He knew he wouldn’t have to keep an eye on her like most crims first out
of jail. She wasn’t a user and murderers had a low recidivism rate. Many people
thought her crime was justified and there was certainly no doubt the pedophile
priest was no loss to the world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That was the problem. She didn’t have the right
to make that decision. No one did except a court of law. Sure, she’d been young
and foolish, but he’d seen first hand what out of control vigilantism did. Some
nights the vision of Dale Rowe’s dismembered limbs still visited him …. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her breathing returned to normal and some
colour appeared in her face. No doubt about it, the Taylor women were stunners.
Blossom was a carbon copy of her mother, but the woman in front of him was
equally compelling. Instead of dark and petite like the other women in her
family, Julia was taller with round curves, pale skin and chocolate-honeycomb
hair. She pulled off her woollen beanie and strands of gold flashed in the
filtered winter sun. Looking into her eyes he could get lost in all that riot
of colour. What were they? Green, hazel, brown? Large eyes filled with pain and
something else. Something he didn’t want to think too much about. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yearning. That’s what it was. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not surprising, he supposed. You don’t spend
ten years in jail without yearning for freedom. But wanting was a double edged
sword, as he knew only too well. What you wanted wasn’t always good for you. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He sat in on the bench opposite her, aware his
size intimidated her. That was okay in some situations but not in the midst of
a panic attack. He watched her scrub her hands over her face and push back her
mane of hair. Pulling her scarf free from around her neck she took in a deep
breath and let it out. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The skin of her neck was creamy and pale. He
couldn’t help following that track of smoothness down toward her buttoned
shirt. It was a little too tight and the first button pulled, stretching to
open. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He gave himself a good mental slap. Of all the
women in the world to lust after, this was not the one. Apart from the fact she
was just out of jail; was suffering from a bad transition to the real world and
he might have to arrest her sister at some stage, there was something about her
he knew was dangerous. Not dangerous for others, just for him. Under that tough
persona he could see she was too vulnerable, too lost. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Do you want me to get you some water?” he
said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She shook her head.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“How often does it happen?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She finally met his eyes and he saw wariness
had replaced yearning. Good. She needed to be on guard. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Just when I come across a crowd of people in
an enclosed space. I thought I was over it. I guess I’m not.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“You had one yesterday when I bought Blossom
home. There wasn’t a crowd there.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hard bitterness leached into her eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“I wasn’t expecting to see a cop on my doorstep
so soon after getting out. You reminded me of someone.” She wounded the scarf
back around her neck and stood up. “Thanks for saving me,” she said with a wry
smile. “It’s a first for me.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Being saved?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Being saved by a cop.” She crammed her beanie
back on her head as the wind pricked up. “I’m okay now. Time for another go.
This time I’m prepared.” She turned toward the Council Chambers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When she was half way across the square he
called after her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Who do I remind you of?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She stopped and turned back toward him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“The cop who punched me in the gut then pushed
me into a filthy police cell the night I was arrested. He didn’t rape me. He’d
done that already to the woman in the cell next to me. I was lucky, wasn’t I?”
She shrugged. “He went on to big and better things, though. Quite a business
man in more ways than one.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She lifted
her hand and saluted him then went on her way. A chill, colder than the icy
wind, settled into his bones as he watched her go.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=alistuwri-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00T5NYU7W&asins=B00T5NYU7W&linkId=BCPUA7SVKV3HTJKA&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></font></p>
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<font face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif"></iframe></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnTQTq5NnLYtP9amRnCPMFznd3GFOHR5hQtfeT9NEk9fExS-z8_SjTJQ_mIJPPRX0tRyafV1gaxKccHWqdFJUrl_FLMkjwZUE3WBItNqmqs6lAifT6IBo8mFUjrwYmb1kk7IEOsotbVBE/s1600/DesperateDeception-high-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnTQTq5NnLYtP9amRnCPMFznd3GFOHR5hQtfeT9NEk9fExS-z8_SjTJQ_mIJPPRX0tRyafV1gaxKccHWqdFJUrl_FLMkjwZUE3WBItNqmqs6lAifT6IBo8mFUjrwYmb1kk7IEOsotbVBE/s200/DesperateDeception-high-res.jpg" width="150" /></a><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Links to your favourite digital bookshop where
you can buy <b>Cold Deception</b> are here <a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/cold-deception/">http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/cold-deception/</a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can also pre order <b>Desperate Deception</b> here <a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/desperate-deception-dark-mountain-2/">http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/desperate-deception-dark-mountain-2/</a>
</span></span></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-55551142457742364232015-08-16T16:50:00.001+10:002015-08-16T16:50:06.611+10:00Down among the dead... Guest post E.E. Carter<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaOeJmOqD-KksaIGOg-4QBo66liDSTn0-Pa1yG0k7-W4dzdhReRGKUt496Xhj8ZOA7iT_qTUkA7GGRRIysax-G4wQz-n_ohGlx74kZAFxPrG6hm2mcsakh0CGZ_Hg6k1x25dLRU9V2-BU/s1600/EECarterSX200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I have been greatly looking forward to having Australian author Elizabeth Ellen Carter as </i></span></span><i style="color: #e06666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">my guest because I know her latest book, MOONSTONE CONSPIRACY, involves a scene in the Paris Catacombs... or at least the part of the catacombs that has served as an ossuary for over 200 years. I visited the catacombs on our recent trip to Paris... and it is a case of one visited - never forgotten.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5y1hw9GnAuU7i4N7e12seE_qDULq0k3HrNAJ9NzeP18E7WZV9aKykHplwyl7O96Qe-jp0HNoH5NwEDEiuvxm5Gs9XrEZiT0QtE0cpOiA2p70ZNPf1k3Oi8KXMmmMOf5tnAmMjtOFd3AY/s1600/catacombs-of-paris2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5y1hw9GnAuU7i4N7e12seE_qDULq0k3HrNAJ9NzeP18E7WZV9aKykHplwyl7O96Qe-jp0HNoH5NwEDEiuvxm5Gs9XrEZiT0QtE0cpOiA2p70ZNPf1k3Oi8KXMmmMOf5tnAmMjtOFd3AY/s320/catacombs-of-paris2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>DOWN AMONG THE DEAD OF PARIS</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paris has few skyscrapers unlike many
modern metropolitian cities and the reason lies beneath the city streets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For under the City of Light, is a City
of Death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They are the catacombs – miles of upon
miles (some say as much as 400 miles) of tunnels that criss-cross the city. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Strictly speaking, only a little more
than a mile of the underground network is an underground ossuary (correctly
called a catacomb), the rest are disused mining tunnels that supplied limestone
and gypsum for the people above ground.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have to confess, that before
researching Moonstone Conspiracy I hadn’t given much thought to the origin of
‘Plaster of Paris’!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ultimately expediency helped the people
of Paris solve a distasteful and potentially deadly problem – where to store
the remains of the dead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By the 17<sup>th</sup> century Paris was
a major European centre home to half a million people – a population equal to that of London. And people have a rather
inconvenient habit of dying.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rather than establishing new cemeteries
outside the city (and one very good reasons against doing so is cemeteries
‘sterilise’ arable land otherwise use for feeding the living), Parisians keep
piling more and more bodies into existing cemeteries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgK9g17sugmA0RGfjIoItlclWLzp1Z-xl4P27bUNz0hJKqEBJcnej_ZFb8dhbNa5ACKCSMZJzsF48OPYoSX6fVAjyjFa_z8aHjuKOCAzUPKASrI8HfFt93E_2wCMVD_PCfzy8tBZbZj9z/s1600/Saints-Innocents-cemetery-in-Paris+1550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgK9g17sugmA0RGfjIoItlclWLzp1Z-xl4P27bUNz0hJKqEBJcnej_ZFb8dhbNa5ACKCSMZJzsF48OPYoSX6fVAjyjFa_z8aHjuKOCAzUPKASrI8HfFt93E_2wCMVD_PCfzy8tBZbZj9z/s320/Saints-Innocents-cemetery-in-Paris+1550.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church of Les Innocentes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sadly, not a sustainable practice,
especially when the inmates decide they want to escape – literally. Following
heavy rains in the spring of 1780, a wall of Paris’s largest cemetery, Les
Innocents , collapsed, spilling rotten corpses onto neighbouring properties.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From 1786 and for the next 12 years,
between six and seven million new ‘residents’ found their eternal resting place
underground. The earliest bones moved to the catacombs are estimated to be more
than 1200 years old.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The catacombs today are a major Parisian
tourist attraction – officially and unofficially. Organised tours are available
to savour this history of this most remarkable
place.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOB4IdhDyY0Rqo3epQ_5eoBIm4D6ZLA_zzgrfVwqCqYlyd-skfsoyuuAu_iV6SQMIp6ClbQhHC_CwxFOfjYFZNT_FIZEZYrBQOsb1DhlIYVErPuz9KiPqcCGZrZhcnrE1yFJXtxXRCjh0/s1600/Paris_Catacombs_a-1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOB4IdhDyY0Rqo3epQ_5eoBIm4D6ZLA_zzgrfVwqCqYlyd-skfsoyuuAu_iV6SQMIp6ClbQhHC_CwxFOfjYFZNT_FIZEZYrBQOsb1DhlIYVErPuz9KiPqcCGZrZhcnrE1yFJXtxXRCjh0/s320/Paris_Catacombs_a-1024x768.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Supporting pillars of bones and skulls</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For others, known as cataphiles, the
appeal is the forbidden. Groups of modern day cavers explore the rest of the tunnel network,
dodging officials sent to ferret them out and not always successfully. One
underground amphitheatre had been turned into a cinema, complete with chairs,
projector and screen, a neighbouring cavern was home to a restaurant and bar!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So it’s not very surprising to learn
that during World War II, both the Germans <i>and
</i>the French Resistance used the catacombs as secret bunkers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While I didn’t find any research to
suggest that Parisians looking to escape persecution and certain death during
the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror used the tunnels, I think they would
have done so on that basis, the Paris Catacombs and the people who inhabited
them play a major role in Moonstone Conspiracy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During the French Revolution, churches
were nationalised and deconsecrated, even the magnificent 1200 year old Notre
Dame Cathedral was vandalised and turned into a temple for the <i>culte de la raison</i> (that incident
featured in Moonstone Obsession). Not only were aristocrats guillotined, but
also priests and nuns – including those who were cloistered with no interest in
temporal politics – others were dragged out onto the street and hung or raped,
then beaten to death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Catacombs often brings to mind the ones
in Rome where, back in ancient Rome, Christians escaped persecution. So I
extrapolated some historical fact to create <i>eglise
sous terre</i> – the church underground – in Moonstone Conspiracy to draw attention
to not only real historic events in Paris, but also the restive outer regions
including the Vendee.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Excerpt from MOONSTONE CONSPIRACY<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>A single
candle lay inside a small adit, just wide enough for them to walk two abreast.
Daniel picked it up and handed it to Abigail. His meaning was clear—if he had
to defend them, he would need both hands.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The white
chalky walls reflected the light down a tunnel which turned black as it pushed
further into the hill.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“Do not
fear, you are among friends,” whispered a voice that echoed eerily down the
passage ways.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“Who do
we have the honor of calling friend?” asked Daniel.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“Come
further inside to safety. The soldiers are superstitious; they won’t come any
further than this entrance.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Daniel
placed his left hand on the small of Abigail’s back to gently urge her forward.
She glanced up at him and he gave a nod of confirmation making sure in the
candlelight that she caught of glimpse of the knife he carried.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>They
rounded the corner and the passage continued for about fifteen yards to where a
small lamp stood, indicating another corner. They rounded it and then another.
Dotted at intervals of about ten yards small lamps lit their way until they
entered another passage. Abigail suppressed a scream. A skull in the wall eyed
her sightlessly. She raised her candle higher and could see skulls, hundreds of
them, twenty feet along and lining six feet up the walls.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Bones of
other sorts too were neatly stacked in rows.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“There’s
no need to fear. Our sentries will keep a look out,” the voice laughed, amused
by his own jest.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=alistuwri-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B010UBKGO8&asins=B010UBKGO8&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&linkId=4IPNIF5U2R4VJZNO" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></i></font></p>
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<b style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">MOONSTONE CONSPIRACY</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRwhcG5IK4MuvhGCwDs1ln9jIe39utJ5ZoipO9qDCN9af8sq_2zRA3coXpz_9vzf46cLbgWbbob-Ks69Iz0t7KMjyj1lz2pWhoeexkazlpWjHx-OV4hIvzGoKOPSR7ez7LdBiwI-BR0iK/s1600/MoonstoneConspiracy_ByElizabethEllenCarter-453x680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRwhcG5IK4MuvhGCwDs1ln9jIe39utJ5ZoipO9qDCN9af8sq_2zRA3coXpz_9vzf46cLbgWbbob-Ks69Iz0t7KMjyj1lz2pWhoeexkazlpWjHx-OV4hIvzGoKOPSR7ez7LdBiwI-BR0iK/s320/MoonstoneConspiracy_ByElizabethEllenCarter-453x680.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For her unwitting participation in a plot to embezzle the Exchequer, Lady Abigail Houghall</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">has spent the last two years exiled to the city of Bath. A card sharp, sometime mistress, and target of scandalous gossip by the London Beau Monde, Lady Abigail plots to escape her gilded cage as well as the prudish society that condemns her. But the times are not easy. France is in chaos. The king has been executed, and whispers of a similar revolution are stirring in England. And because of her participation in the robbery plot, the Spymaster of England is blackmailing her into passing him information about the members of London’s upper crust. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When the dashing English spy Daniel Ridgeway takes a seat at her card table and threatens to expose her for cheating, she has no choice but to do as he demands: seduce the leader of the revolutionaries and learn what she can about their plot. As she’s drawn deeper into Daniel’s dangerous world, from the seedy backstreets of London to the claustrophobic catacombs of a war-torn Paris, she realizes an even more dangerous fact. She’s falling in love with her seductive partner. And the stakes of this game might just be too high, even for her. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">MEET ELIZABETH ELLEN CARTER</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaOeJmOqD-KksaIGOg-4QBo66liDSTn0-Pa1yG0k7-W4dzdhReRGKUt496Xhj8ZOA7iT_qTUkA7GGRRIysax-G4wQz-n_ohGlx74kZAFxPrG6hm2mcsakh0CGZ_Hg6k1x25dLRU9V2-BU/s1600/EECarterSX200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaOeJmOqD-KksaIGOg-4QBo66liDSTn0-Pa1yG0k7-W4dzdhReRGKUt496Xhj8ZOA7iT_qTUkA7GGRRIysax-G4wQz-n_ohGlx74kZAFxPrG6hm2mcsakh0CGZ_Hg6k1x25dLRU9V2-BU/s200/EECarterSX200_.jpg" width="135" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;">Elizabeth
Ellen Carter’s </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">lives in Australia with her husband and two cats. A former newspaper journalist, she ran an award-winning PR agency for 12 years.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Her debut novel, </span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://eecarter.com/index.php/homepage/books/moonstone-obsession/" title="Moonstone Obsession"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moonstone
Obsession</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> set in England and France during the French Revolution,</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">was published in 2013. </span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Her
second novel, </span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://eecarter.com/index.php/homepage/books/warriors-surrender/"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Warrior’s Surrender</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, was
published the following year. Set in Northumbria in 1077, it sets the
relationship between a displaced Saxon noblewoman and a Norman baron against
the turbulent backdrop of England in the years following the Norman invasion of
1066. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Warrior’s
Surrender (now in print as well as eBook) was named Favourite Historical
Fiction at the 2015 Readers & Writers Down Under Readers Choice Awards in
March this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;">A Moonstone Obsession character, the sinful Lady Abigail Houghall,
features in the full length novel </span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="http://eecarter.com/index.php/homepage/books/moonstone-conspiracy/" title="Moonstone Conspiracy"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moonstone
Conspiracy</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;">, released in July 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Carter is
currently working on her fourth novel, set in ancient Rome and tentatively
titled Dark Heart, which will bring together the elements for which she has
become known in just a few years – in-depth historical detail woven through
gripping adventure and captivating romance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Find E.E. Carter </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Web:
http://eecarter.com<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethEllenCarter<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twitter:
https://twitter.com/EECarterAuthor<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;">Pinterest:
</span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/eecarterauthor/"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">https://www.pinterest.com/eecarterauthor/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;">Buy
<em>Moonstone Conspiracy </em>here:<br />
</span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="http://www.etopiapress.com/moonstone-conspiracy/"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Etopia Press Bookstore</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moonstone-Conspiracy-Elizabeth-Ellen-Carter-ebook/dp/B010UBKGO8"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Amazon</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moonstone-obsession-elizabeth-ellen-carter/1117164354?ean=9781940223667"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Barnes and Noble</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/moonstone-obsession/id948289905?mt=11"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">iBookstore</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/moonstone-obsession"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Kobo</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Elizabeth_Ellen_Carter_Moonstone_Conspiracy?id=N6oTCgAAQBAJ"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Google Play</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-moonstoneconspiracy-1844240-162.html"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">All Romance Ebooks</span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-75180088172389622982015-08-08T07:58:00.000+10:002015-08-08T07:58:24.056+10:00THE KING'S MAN - COVER REVEAL<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE KING'S MAN</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>AVAILABLE ON <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Man-Guardians-Crown-Book-ebook/dp/B013AI1HVE" target="_blank">PRE-ORDER</a> from AMAZON NOW</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Book 2 in the Guardians of the Crown series'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To be released on September 8 - </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013AI1HVE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013AI1HVE&linkCode=as2&tag=alistuwri-20&linkId=RLFC7FEFEMBRCLTW">The King's Man (Guardians of the Crown Book 2)</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=alistuwri-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B013AI1HVE" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>You met him in <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/by-the-sword-guardians-of-the-crown-book-1.html" target="_blank">BY THE SWORD</a>... you saw him fall at the Battle of Worcester. What has happened to Kit Lovell in the intervening three years... and can he ever forgive himself?</i></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>London 1654: </i>Kit Lovell is one of the King’s men, a disillusioned Royalist who passes his time cheating at cards, living off his wealthy and attractive mistress, and plotting the death of Oliver Cromwell.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Penniless and friendless, Thamsine Granville has lost everything. Terrified, in pain, and alone, she hurls a piece of brick at the coach of Oliver Cromwell, and earns herself an immediate death sentence. Only the quick thinking of a stranger saves her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Far from the bored, benevolent rescuer that he seems, Kit plunges Thamsine into his world of espionage and betrayal – a world that has no room for falling in love.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Torn between Thamsine and loyalty to his master and King, Kit’s carefully constructed web of lies begins to unravel. He must make one last desperate gamble – the cost of which might be his life. </span></div>
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<b><span ms="" quot="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">THE GUARDIANS OF THE CROWN... a series set in the English Civil War about love, honour, betrayal and loyalty... view the trailer...</span></b></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-76950698948862278072015-08-07T11:56:00.001+10:002015-08-07T12:04:22.840+10:00The Wilful Colt - Guest post with Ann B. Harrison<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAQn7OL0t0_IsT25JlB4uM6HI638Wiel_4T3BqYg2a2Er9PS_A0RuUPcok4KwH49jfOtxIslszrWRRp5Vau2fdFs9iUQ4eYhNtJCq2iFaJe-H7LxZFiO49PwxG8uoqs_8xu-LJdn9oSnR/s1600/1553104_741285115951039_7640874901490346613_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAQn7OL0t0_IsT25JlB4uM6HI638Wiel_4T3BqYg2a2Er9PS_A0RuUPcok4KwH49jfOtxIslszrWRRp5Vau2fdFs9iUQ4eYhNtJCq2iFaJe-H7LxZFiO49PwxG8uoqs_8xu-LJdn9oSnR/s200/1553104_741285115951039_7640874901490346613_o.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>My Friday guest this week is Australian author, Ann B. Harrison, with a horsey tale. I was one of those desperate horsey little girls who would have given my right arm to have my own horse... as it was I had to be content with an imaginary horse I kept stabled in the back yard by the incinerator. Just as well I had a vivid imagination! Consequently I love horsey tales...</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Ann hails from a particularly lovely part of the country - the Hunter Valley and her </i></span><i style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">country background and environment makes her perfectly placed to write western/rural romances and romantic suspense. She tells me she is nurturing a desire to write about a man in a kilt... hmm, not a big call for kilts in rural romance! </i><br />
<i style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To find out more about Ann, visit her <a href="http://www.annbharrisonromance.com/" target="_blank">WEBSITE</a></i><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Ann's latest book CHANCE FOR LOVE, is set a long way from the Hunter Valley - in the beautiful idyll of Colorado. Mountains and horses... and horses is what Ann will talk to us about today.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>THE WILFUL COLT</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Growing up as a country girl, I had come into contact with a wide variety of animals and had more than my share of orphans to look after but my world changed when our first foal was born.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He was a stunning chestnut Arab with a crooked white blaze on his nose and we called him Shilo. Our daughter lay claim to him from the beginning and she adored him.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPp_hDr0NlbTkacH2J0KLUhVgeWz_9xBuA4CwAs953s1ldkOCD96wADzeO9GdWzAUe40e-kzmWWQ0rk6hfUi5jstn30HbWTMPcbFaNILoBTDjyPJD-O6OJnhj4EzBtyotKb9Iblqs_Kprl/s1600/shutterstock_182760512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPp_hDr0NlbTkacH2J0KLUhVgeWz_9xBuA4CwAs953s1ldkOCD96wADzeO9GdWzAUe40e-kzmWWQ0rk6hfUi5jstn30HbWTMPcbFaNILoBTDjyPJD-O6OJnhj4EzBtyotKb9Iblqs_Kprl/s200/shutterstock_182760512.jpg" width="170" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our old neighbour whom we’d dubbed, Uncle Tom gave us all the advice we could wish for. I mean to say, we were used to sheep and cattle, not long legged graceful if not wilful colts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shilo soon got too big for his boots and when I walked into the paddock he would charge me, kicking up his feet and quite rightly putting the wind up me and his young owner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Back then, almost twenty years ago, we weren’t so lucky as to have the internet so back to Uncle Tom we went. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was time to break in Shilo. We herded him into a yard with his dam and called in the local farrier who as the local horse breaker, educated us too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Never let him boss you around.” All well and good for a strapping 6’ man like him. I was 5’ nothing! “Show him who’s boss.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We did. Solitary confinement seemed to work for him and we had no trouble breaking him in after that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I wrote the following scene in Chance for Love I remembered those words. “Never let him boss you around.” Callie, my Aussie heroine takes on a rodeo bull in order to save her husband from serious harm by herding said bull into a yard. I wish I’d had her nerves when we had our fiery colt to deal with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Excerpt from CHANCE FOR LOVE</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>She looked on in horror as her husband threw himself on the ground only to be picked up and thrown through the air. He landed, hitting the ground hard. Callie waited for him to attempt to get up and escape the bull but he didn’t move. Terror pawed at the ground and ducked his head down, ready to attack again.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Callie turned the horse, rode to the gate, and slipped the latch, pushing her way through. She kicked Sultan’s ribs and headed straight for the bull, waving her hat and screaming at the top of her lungs. She rode between bull and man, pushing the bull further away from the prone body lying still in the grass.'</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“Move you big bastard. Move I say.” </i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcZ33KxYx3svam-HsuTP497LN0lByYvjtkRMeoOOTOLtcX5VFh1qc-sdKJox3SPiWlf3xEei-J0sPvFoMRJxqlgWNICFT0Pd8Jq8aDyhM3k3_BYEi3OjAqQuNY-eUH3qqhjMMGFZwAdUn/s1600/Chance+for+Love+%25234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcZ33KxYx3svam-HsuTP497LN0lByYvjtkRMeoOOTOLtcX5VFh1qc-sdKJox3SPiWlf3xEei-J0sPvFoMRJxqlgWNICFT0Pd8Jq8aDyhM3k3_BYEi3OjAqQuNY-eUH3qqhjMMGFZwAdUn/s320/Chance+for+Love+%25234.jpg" width="216" /></a><i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She herded Terror away from Chance toward the holding yard, not stopping until he was forced inside and the gate was shut behind him. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She hurried back to Chance and jumped from the horse before it stilled. Callie crouched beside him. “Chance, please, please be alright.”</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>More about CHANCE FOR LOVE</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Callie can't resist the advert for a ranch manager in Colorado. Only thing is, it also stipulates marriage. Down on her luck with more debt than she can manage after the death of her parents in a vehicle accident, she takes the plunge and commits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chance is sick of the high life he's led for years as a top rodeo rider. The glitz and glamour aren't what he wants. After an accident leaves him unable to return to the circuit, he decides now is the time to do what his heart has been yearning for - marry a down to earth country girl and raise bulls on his ranch, with the hope of bringing his brothers back together. Little did he know that an advert would bring him a sassy talking Australian bride to turn his world up side down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BUY</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span>Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-7135217947995692882015-08-06T17:29:00.000+10:002015-08-06T17:37:34.632+10:00When the tribe roars...New releases from Downunder!<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>One wonderful aspect of being a writer (and maybe it is a romance writer thing!) is the generosity and the friendship of my fellow writers. Apart from my wonderful, amazing Critique Group (who are always ready with tea and sympathy over all aspects of life, not just writing), I am fortunate to belong to another group of published writers who meet every few months for lunch and laughs!</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>In an amazing coincidence, nearly everyone in the group has a book out or just coming out and I would like to introduce you to the varied talents of this incredible group - we are as different as the books we write!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First up is Nicki Edwards who writes medical romances set in remote parts of Australia.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Response-Nicki-Edwards-ebook/dp/B012Z32TN0" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>EMERGENCY RESPONSE</b></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mackenzie jumps at the chance to work in a mining town in the West Australian desert – anything to lift her spirits. Though she barely dares to hope, she wonders if she might find the kind of love that can ease her loneliness. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the outback, Nathan Kennedy is at a loose end. He's been making money in the mines for years, and pressure from his family to return to the east coast, settle down and get married is reaching fever pitch. The problem is, he hasn't met the right woman. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When Mackenzie turns up in town, there's an instant attraction between her and Nathan, maybe even true love. But tragedy's not done with Mackenzie Jones – the past is about to catch up with her in more ways than one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Can Nathan convince Mackenzie to stop running, or is this just another tragedy in the making?</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perfect for fans of Fiona McArthur and Melanie Milburne.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have written before about Fiona Lowe's lovely Contemporary romances. Her latest series is set in Montana in the fictional town of Medicine River. Her latest release is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Truly-Madly-Montana-Medicine-Romance-ebook/dp/B00Q5DLWOE" target="_blank">TRULY MADLY MONTANA</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Romances set in the Australian bush are popular at the moment and Lisa Ireland has just released <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Feels-Like-Home-Lisa-Ireland-ebook/dp/B00X51KM5Y" target="_blank">FEELS LIKE HOME</a> (and I hum that song every time I step on a Qantas plane!). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And if you like your reading on the hotter side Delwyn Jenkins sexy, sensual paranormals are for you. Book 3 in the Watchtower series will be released on September 24. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kissed-Water-Watchtower-Chronicles-3-ebook/dp/B00QSUL9R4" target="_blank">KISSED BY WATER</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sasha Cottman is a fellow historical romance writer and Book 3 in her Regency Romance Duke of STrathmore series, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dukes-Daughter-Sasha-Cottman-ebook/dp/B012Z6MYFA" target="_blank">THE DUKE'S DAUGHTER</a> will be released on 11 August. Sasha will be my guest later this month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">... and of course me... THE KING'S MAN will be released on September 8 but watch this space next week for news about that release!</span><br />
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<br />Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-20177210344240260932015-07-31T10:00:00.000+10:002015-07-31T10:00:01.386+10:00Pitching the Pitch with Belinda Williams.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>As we edge closer to the Romance Writers of Australia Conference, writers across the country are polishing their 'pitches'. This is the one time of the year when a writer gets to front an editor or an agent and sell their book.</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For some people it is a mind bogglingly terrifying experience, but for some it is a way of life - marketing professionals in particular ('The PITCH' was my favourite part of T</span><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruentransfer/" style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">he Gruen Transfe</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">r,a </span>humorous<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> look at how the ad men sold an often unsaleable product).</span></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUB1zkuy-Jjnu-0vgke8RfysiMVgMoiV7m2pyCvDSqZT42cWKiTHz_aWbUx46H6Eg_Ts7QV8NeY59srnjShDcPXEWss2ndQdCBFpONHsbvLXL5wD7j9emw0PDAje9VtI83x9gCYYfOEzn/s1600/Belinda+Williams+bio+pic+-+screen+res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUB1zkuy-Jjnu-0vgke8RfysiMVgMoiV7m2pyCvDSqZT42cWKiTHz_aWbUx46H6Eg_Ts7QV8NeY59srnjShDcPXEWss2ndQdCBFpONHsbvLXL5wD7j9emw0PDAje9VtI83x9gCYYfOEzn/s200/Belinda+Williams+bio+pic+-+screen+res.jpg" width="132" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">My guest this week, Belinda Williams, </span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.533332824707px;">is a marketing communications specialist and copywriter who allowed an addiction to romance and chick-lit to get the better of her. She was named a top ten finalist in the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Award in both 2013 and 2014 and it is interesting to see how she took her real life experience into her latest book... called THE PITCH!</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.533332824707px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Over to Belinda to explain where the lines between fact and fiction blur...</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.533332824707px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">PITCHING THE PITCH</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My
‘Fun Fact’ isn’t something I stumbled on, nor is it a particular piece of
research I found fascinating. My Fun Fact relates to my real world experience
in marketing. In my other life I work in marketing and have done for fifteen
years. I guess I wanted to write a book set in this world and I felt the time
had come when I could accurately portray this to my readers.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
<i>The Pitch</i>, Maddy runs her own
marketing agency. In real life, I’ve worked for both marketing and advertising
agencies. In <i>The Pitch</i>, Maddy is
pitching for a huge piece of business that could change the trajectory of her
agency. In real life I’ve pitched for business. In <i>The Pitch</i>, Maddy’s big potential client is a major bank. In real
life I’ve worked for financial services companies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So
yes, there are a lot of parallels but I should stress that <i>The Pitch</i> is completely fictitious (and I’m not saying that to
cover myself, it’s true. Or do I mean fiction? You get my point . . .) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
think the major motivating factor and theme for <i>The Pitch</i> was the desire to write about the issues around juggling
work or career aspirations with relationships because it’s a challenge so many
women face.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
writing <i>The Pitch</i>, I feel like I’ve
conducted the research over a lot of years and in many different jobs. So
either it’s one of the lengthiest research projects for a contemporary romance novel,
or one of the easiest! I’ll leave it to my readers to decide how effective my
‘research’ proved.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">About
The Pitch<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHeXaF_PBEhIo2dy5Sy9Fp9sBDNn80p5heDjTHW-jew0EfB1NBwBsTZem1EDEIc_bQDJcYGQ0BDbfRLTfRZZC2yKiXOxfd-z5JNGLjjeBucNi1Ze2qEbOb3JFcM8wOdZNMKcEthffsxJ19/s1600/The+Pitch+-+screen+res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHeXaF_PBEhIo2dy5Sy9Fp9sBDNn80p5heDjTHW-jew0EfB1NBwBsTZem1EDEIc_bQDJcYGQ0BDbfRLTfRZZC2yKiXOxfd-z5JNGLjjeBucNi1Ze2qEbOb3JFcM8wOdZNMKcEthffsxJ19/s320/The+Pitch+-+screen+res.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">She’s
in a long-term, committed relationship. With her business.</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-AU"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">In three years Madeline Spencer has single-handedly
grown her marketing agency, Grounded Marketing, into one of the country’s
fastest growing companies. But her success has been at the expense of her
social life, and her girlfriends have had enough. They’ll do whatever it takes,
from speed dating to blind dates, to show her there’s more to life than work.</span></i><i><span lang="EN-AU"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Only Maddy is having a hard time forgetting about her
business. She’s about to pitch for her biggest client ever and the mysterious
media mogul, Paul Neilsen, has volunteered to mentor her. Maddy might just be
in with a shot of landing the account—if she can keep her mind on the job.</span></i><i><span lang="EN-AU"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Working with Paul is not at all what she’d imagined,
and Maddy finds herself torn between her ever increasing workload and her
feelings for Paul. She’s discovering playing in the big league means making
sacrifices…and Maddy must decide what she can’t live without.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">The Pitch</span></i><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; padding: 0in;"> is the second book in the City Love series released by </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/"><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Momentum</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; padding: 0in;">.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/the-pitch-city-love-2/">Buy now</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">More About the
Author<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;">Belinda's </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 14.65pt;">other
addictions include music and cars.Her eclectic music taste forms the
foundation of many of her writing ideas and her healthy appreciation for fast
cars means she would not so secretly love a Lamborghini. For now she’ll have to
settle with her son’s Hot Wheels collection and writing hot male leads with
sports cars.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;">Belinda lives
in Sydney and blogs regularly about writing and reading here: </span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="http://www.belindawilliamsbooks.com/"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">http://www.belindawilliamsbooks.com</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://twitter.com/bwilliamsbooks"><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">@bwilliamsbooks</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-AU" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/belindawilliamsbooks">Facebook</a></span></span></span><span lang="EN-AU"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-53780201140491178972015-07-24T10:00:00.000+10:002015-07-24T10:00:12.651+10:00Research from the Ground Up: Hannah Methwell (aka M.J. Logue)<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I have been looking forward to this week's guest, Hannah Methwell. Hannah writes a historical fiction series (as M.J. Logue) set in the English Civil War - the Uncivil Wars series - which I blogged about <a href="http://alisonstuart.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/book-review-uncivil-wars-series-by-mj.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>, having devoured the entire series while I was away on holiday.</i></span><br />
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</i></span> <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>What makes me particularly envious of Hannah is that she is a re-enactor. I am certain if I lived in England, I would be a re-enactor too, but alas, the Sealed Knot or English Civil War Society have not ventured downunder. I should add she is a one-eyed adherant to the Parliamentary cause and is trying to convert me...</i></span><br />
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</span></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPJy60Cn6seE9BiCPjJRBOTfZ1VfzXI22HGoGBnHzjOjmb5C2mnqlGjlvqIeefoi4sNDnrTo5vyKehyphenhyphen8hUCagD8ht85YYDBLm4Izd_mh-HnARIpSkxUw9r0twNcFdJQrgRnLwUmygyCFJ/s1600/hannah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPJy60Cn6seE9BiCPjJRBOTfZ1VfzXI22HGoGBnHzjOjmb5C2mnqlGjlvqIeefoi4sNDnrTo5vyKehyphenhyphen8hUCagD8ht85YYDBLm4Izd_mh-HnARIpSkxUw9r0twNcFdJQrgRnLwUmygyCFJ/s1600/hannah.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">When not attempting to redeem the reputation of the Army of Parliament, Hannah lives in Cornwall with her husband and son, three cats, and a toad under the back doorstep. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">As she says: "There is little more to divulge, other than - "I had rather have a plain, russet-coated Captain, that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows, than that which you call a Gentle-man and is nothing else. "</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As this is a research post... it is only appropriate that Hannah talks to us about 'method research' - living the life of an English Civil War camp follower - which she does frequently.</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>RESEARCH FROM THE GROUND UP</b></span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have the most unladylike wrists imaginable - broad and flat and solidly-muscled. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Possibly, had I not learned to fight with a heavy backsword, I'd be a delicate little flower. But I did, and I'm thankful. (Not really. He's tall and fair and a bit scarred, and I'm red-haired. Probably Babbitt, then.)</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I decided when I was writing my first book set in the seventeenth century, that rather than writing randomly about stuff out of books, it might be an idea if I turned myself into one of Cromwell's plain russet-coated captains, who knew whereof she wrote and loved what she knew. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Walking into the courtyard of a seventeenth-century inn in North Cornwall to meet half a hundred musketeers, pikemen and camp followers was one of the weirdest moments of my life. I was in a plain russet skirt and bodice, petticoats, stays, kerchief, coif, cap, latchet shoes, wool stockings. Some of them were in back and breast plate and buffcoat. Some were in officers' black, or soldiers' coats. There was nothing, at first glance, to anchor me into the present day, in that inn courtyard. Frightened the hell out of me, and in the same heartbeat, it was like coming home.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I have crawled out of a nest of blankets in a damp canvas tent in the first pearly light of a summer dawn, to bury bare feet in dew-wet grass and smell woodsmoke and frying bacon. </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I have slept in a castle with the sound of the sea thirty yards below my head as the tide swept in.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I have cooked on an open fire in the rain.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I have faced a cavalry charge, and not broken.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I have fired a musket and fought hand-to-hand with a dragoon in a green field in Devon, and I didn't think the musket butt would ever be the same and I'm damn sure my knuckles haven't.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I have been preached at by a Ranter, married to a gentleman, and got drunk with cavalry officers. (Rowdy lot, they are, too.)</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I've sat in an silent Elizabethan manor garden at dusk, with the bats flitting low in the air and the scent of hot grass and bruised rosemary rising from the earth as it cools.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I know Babbitt's world. I've lived in it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For more information about the Babbit/Uncivil War books, visit M.J. Logues <a href="http://uncivilwars.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Website</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>RED HORSE - Babbit Book 1</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRArzTv9ZMdf4QSPz_UhBSxSmdZR23jlvA6YhaWVwoVWi_DGdrI7vIkFKTTENQwY34_GodYcLu27QnNlsGmoCO-buH8wsYWyvDcu_Ey7uMKJQQK2joCbIXLxbyFp1W-HM783S1ncO6qRZ/s1600/RH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRArzTv9ZMdf4QSPz_UhBSxSmdZR23jlvA6YhaWVwoVWi_DGdrI7vIkFKTTENQwY34_GodYcLu27QnNlsGmoCO-buH8wsYWyvDcu_Ey7uMKJQQK2joCbIXLxbyFp1W-HM783S1ncO6qRZ/s200/RH.jpg" width="137" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><i>September 1642, and the storm clouds of civil war are gathering over England. After the King raises his standard against his rebellious Parliament, idealistic young Luce Pettitt sees his duty clear - to defend the noble cause of freedom against the Royal tyrant. He doesn't expect that duty to lie with possibly the scruffiest, most disreputable troop of cavalry in the Army of Parliament, commanded by maverick ex-mercenary Hollie Babbitt. Events conspire to bring Hollie and Luce to a wary friendship, in spite of their differences. But in the aftermath of the first bloody battle of the war, will Luce keep faith with his ideals, or his friend?</i></span></span><br />
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-11995185729037419182015-07-17T16:46:00.001+10:002015-07-17T16:46:45.958+10:00MIddle Class Women in Georgian Times - Guest Elyse Huntington<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
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<b><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>And it's Friday! And another chilly week in Melbourne (Australia) - there has even been snow in Queensland (unheard of!).</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxBEHKasD4l2VCHn_ta78VuBhyvAAmGmVSFzdQHRYe5dyDmqDDnonq1StGd7rHrCRl3Xq7aInyuqYVnqD5h5sz3zFVRelhCTNxGygQx_rHaHYDyUreG5jDYViHLJfTurhugsrUr_yT6L4/s1600/Phras.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxBEHKasD4l2VCHn_ta78VuBhyvAAmGmVSFzdQHRYe5dyDmqDDnonq1StGd7rHrCRl3Xq7aInyuqYVnqD5h5sz3zFVRelhCTNxGygQx_rHaHYDyUreG5jDYViHLJfTurhugsrUr_yT6L4/s200/Phras.jpg" width="138" /></a><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>To warm our hearts I have debut Australian author Elyse Huntington whose first </i></span></b><b style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>book, MY DARK DUKE is the perfect antidote to a chilly night. Hailing from Borneo, Elyse joins the ranks of 'lawyers who write romance' (of which I am an alumni member!). The world seems to expect lawyers to write crime novels but romance is a wonderful escape from the cut and thrust of the legal world and I'm with her! Elyse has always had a fascination with Dukes and any book with Duke on the cover was an immediate draw card. Meet Elyse at her <a href="website: www.elysehuntington.com" target="_blank">website</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/elysehuntingtonauthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13952719.Elyse_Huntington" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>MY DARK DUKE is set in Georgian rather than Regency times and Elyse's researches have taken her into some interesting areas. Today she focuses on the lives of middle class women of the 18th century. Welcome... Elyse!</i></span></b></div>
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<b style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Middle-class
Women in 18<sup>th</sup> century England</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Despite having written
my first novel My Dark Duke which is set in England in 1770, I find that I am
still discovering new information about 18<sup>th</sup> century England. Of course,
this is hardly surprising. There are so many aspects of this century that
information about it would encompass many encyclopedic volumes. There’s the
politics, fashion, living conditions, architecture, medicine and social
conventions, to name just a few. Today, though, I have chosen to focus on women
who are considered to belong to the middle class in the Georgian era.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Childbirth was
dangerous and infant mortality was high. Infants who progressed to solid food were
fortunate to survive diseases such as infantile diarrhoea , which was likely caused
by the preparation of food in unhygenic kitchens, from dirty bread, or from
water or milk infested with bacteria. Babies who had teething problems might
have their gums lanced with a sharp instrument. And if you think this sounded
terrible, there is even advice that strong children should be bled from the
jugular to help with teething!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once the girls were
older, they would attend day schools or boarding schools where they learnt
subjects such as English, French, arithmetic, geography, needlework and dancing.
Girls in more affluent households had governesses and visiting tutors and may
be given lessons in languages such as Latin or Italian, and be taught how to
play different musical instruments. It’s likely that part of the motive for
their education, at least at some schools, was to assist them in obtaining
husbands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When it came to
marriage, women found husbands from either working with them (such as domestic
servants) or answering lonely-heart ads, some of which were hilariously
prescriptive. I was surprised to find out that the average age of marriage was
around 26 or so. And here I had thought ‘young’ ladies of this age were very
much on-the-shelf.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This leads to the next
interesting fact that an average family was estimated to have 2.5 children, so really,
no bigger than the families you meet today. This is partially explained by the
fact that the women were no longer at their most fertile by the time they
married in their mid-twenties. There was also the adherence to the church’s
calendar, which meant couples abstained from intercourse during Lent, Sundays
and fasting days. This, in addition to menstruation and long periods of
breast-feeding which could inhibit ovulation, meant that babies were not
conceived very often. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The women had to
supervise their servants to ensure the smooth running of their household. They
also did their own food shopping at the markets (or street vendors) if they
didn’t have a cook or a housekeeper, or were between cooks. Cooking in those
days was very labour intensive. The cook had to ensure that the coal-fuelled
fire was the perfect temperature for a roast pig or a cake, she had to maintain
her cooking utensils and she had to preserve as much as she could to prevent
waste. Thankfully, there were also establishments where you could buy
ready-made dishes to eat in or take away, if you were to be in one of those
highly inconvenient between-cooks periods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do admit that my
preference is to write about the wealthy men and women in the aristocracy. I did
find reading about this particular class of women to be quite entertaining. Who
knows, one day I might even write about a duke who, against his better
judgment, falls in love with such a female. She will be around 25,
well-educated, independent and of <i>course</i>,
be very impudent!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I leave you with this humorous
anecdote of a marriage ceremony taken from Dr. Johnson’s London by Liza Picard
which includes quotes from the Gentleman’s Magazine, September 1964. I can
easily picture a heroine of mine doing exactly this!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When asked whether she
would ‘take this man to be her wedded husband’, one woman said, ‘No and I have
often told him so’. The parson asked the obvious question – why was she
there? ‘Only to tell you, before him,
that I would not marry him’, and she left the church, and her swain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>MY DARK DUKE</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcx4cJ21AqX6qXOFkouyuuduLpyPrZB6w6rC7nOqSJZNelNx5GOSK-5TYrk_JkCnewaubCEsduxlKHn4eA7QtrMcWIqlp7l0pxcJsmKTX7jucjTP2JiJLtvAxixrBJZzQJN3qdjesvIfrL/s1600/mydarkduke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcx4cJ21AqX6qXOFkouyuuduLpyPrZB6w6rC7nOqSJZNelNx5GOSK-5TYrk_JkCnewaubCEsduxlKHn4eA7QtrMcWIqlp7l0pxcJsmKTX7jucjTP2JiJLtvAxixrBJZzQJN3qdjesvIfrL/s320/mydarkduke.jpg" width="211" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Since his notorious wife died in mysterious circumstances,
rumours about James, the handsome Duke of Trent, have scandalized society. Now,
he must marry again – but finding an eligible woman willing to overlook his
past won't be easy. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Defiantly single, Lady Alethea Sinclair has already turned down
six offers of marriage. She prefers living on her own terms and refuses to
answer to any man. Yet when Alethea meets the seductive and enigmatic Duke she
finds herself strangely drawn to him.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Intrigued by Alethea's defiance of society's expectations, James
is instantly taken with the willful beauty and soon they are enjoying a playful
flirtation. And when circumstances force them into a comprising situation, he
does the honourable thing and marries her.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>But adjusting to the constraints of marriage doesn't come easily
to the rebellious Alethea and, despite their growing feelings for each other,
the Duke's troubled past keeps getting in the way. Can they learn to trust each
other and give love a chance before it's too late?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>A steamy Georgian romance about desire, the importance of
staying true to yourself and the power of the past to cast a shadow on the
present.</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">There is a bonus epilogue for My Dark Duke at her <a href="http://www.elysehuntington.com/" target="_blank">website</a> so please do visit. And if you sign up for her mailing list, you will have exclusive access to a free short story when it becomes available. Click <a href="http://www.elysehuntington.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">MY DARK DUKE is available at all reputable ebook stores...</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=alistuwri-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00X3EXDL8&asins=B00X3EXDL8&linkId=YVKIJXXC2HSWWGKO&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-19472162098091576622015-07-11T10:11:00.000+10:002015-07-11T18:52:46.195+10:00Brokering a Marriage - 17th Century Style - Guest Diane M. Denton<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>My Friday guest today is <a href="http://www.dmdenton-author-artist.com/" target="_blank">Diane Denton</a>, one of the seventeenth century passionistas, with whom the magic of the 'interwebs' has allowed me to connect. Say what you like about Facebook and social media, I remain eternally grateful for the contacts it has given me and the friendships I have developed with people like Diane!</i></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YIS9drTEMDkvT5JbrlCBKJr2EcqaPPzu5zAnBZ38FqUoJsPXGz1Hm8X9EtwrjTKPdI5ioBxNxg5Y6uBRFMzKuWMMHa_ZhaEW4sHZJYIyTn-WhUlT3fBqMZor_QBuchE6syHeJg8mjjUl/s1600/Diane+Profile+Pic+FINAL+3_pe_pe_pe+smaller_pe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YIS9drTEMDkvT5JbrlCBKJr2EcqaPPzu5zAnBZ38FqUoJsPXGz1Hm8X9EtwrjTKPdI5ioBxNxg5Y6uBRFMzKuWMMHa_ZhaEW4sHZJYIyTn-WhUlT3fBqMZor_QBuchE6syHeJg8mjjUl/s200/Diane+Profile+Pic+FINAL+3_pe_pe_pe+smaller_pe.jpg" width="150" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What to say </span>about<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Diane? She is a true creative who finds expression through poetry and music and this is reflected in her wonderful novels, set partly in Italy and partly in Restoration England - </span></i></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>A HOUSE NEAR LUCCOLI </i></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i> and its sequel </i></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>TO A STRANGE SOMEWHERE FLED</i></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i> (more on those later). The stories are interwoven with the beautiful baroque music of the period and the real lives of musicians such as Alessandro Stradella. I have learned so much about women and music in the 17th century (see Diane's post on HOYDENS AND FIREBRANDS... click <a href="http://hoydensandfirebrands.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/modest-or-unmannerly-which-instrument.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. You can connect with Diane through her website... click <a href="http://www.dmdenton-author-artist.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</i></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Continuing her thoughts on the life of women in the 17th century, Diane is bringing us a fabulous post on Marriage brokering and the part it plays in her book A HOUSE NEAR LUCCOLI. </i></b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over to Diane.... </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Marriage broker - </b>someone who arranges (or tries to arrange) marriages for others, usually between strangers and for a fee.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why would a talented up-and-coming composer, patronized by a Queen and other highly placed individuals, engage in marriage brokering? As with most of the self-injurious choices made by the flamboyant 17th century composer Alessandro Stradella (1639 – 1682), who is at the heart of my historical fiction A House Near Luccoli, there isn’t any definitive answer as to what he was thinking. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLf5SezjXyqQv9ztiey7UYlFQBD8Jm4v2LA5Wj6tQDHi9sQYOq7d7pEiWTmJVP8iHUR9y1zjf0cjBjH-rooHKmvmHMz8AUHJG8ivxBENKNQeDjxp5kXxVfwZMiDQAbYR4qnX3zRTyDZB4/s1600/Marriage+Image+-+from+William+Hogarth%2527s+A+Rake%2527s+Progress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLf5SezjXyqQv9ztiey7UYlFQBD8Jm4v2LA5Wj6tQDHi9sQYOq7d7pEiWTmJVP8iHUR9y1zjf0cjBjH-rooHKmvmHMz8AUHJG8ivxBENKNQeDjxp5kXxVfwZMiDQAbYR4qnX3zRTyDZB4/s320/Marriage+Image+-+from+William+Hogarth%2527s+A+Rake%2527s+Progress.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Marriage... from Hogarth's A Rake's Progress</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Although born to minor nobility and receiving many commissions, his extant letters reveal he was often in financial difficulty, which may have been due to his ‘employers’ not always paying him and his own mismanagement of money. In any case, in 1667 he was involved in a dubious marriage brokering scheme, and then again in 1671, an incident he referred to as “a certain misfortune” that happened to him in Rome.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With a well-known castrato as an
accomplice, Stradella contrived to receive a substantial payment from an ugly
old woman “of low birth, not respectable” by marrying her off to Cardinal who
was a member of the powerful Roman Cibo family. It’s reported that Stradella
and the singer got the Cardinal drunk and a priest performed the marriage
before he sobered up. The Cardinal put the woman in a nunnery, had the marriage
annulled, and demanded that Stradella and the castrato be imprisoned, one
account claiming the latter was tried and found guilty, while Stradella avoided
the same consequence by taking refuge in a convent and eventually fleeing Rome
altogether. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This happened
ten years before the timeline of <i>A House
Near Luccoli</i>, which finds Stradella in Genoa involved in yet another
scandal; but, as with most of his reckless adventures, it could not be left out
of any part of his story entirely.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <i>There were woundings all the time. In
words or actions, owned or anonymous, answered or ignored. Sometimes they were
as obvious as Pier Francesco Guano attacked on the second of December, needing
twelve stitched on his face. Lonati must have known it was old news, pounding
the front door and rushing upstairs.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “Only the beginning.” He didn’t
acknowledge Donatella dropping music sheets, just Alessandro picking them up.
“Beware. If you don’t turn around you’re a dead man.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Alessandro’s irritation came down on the
keyboard, but then he played the piece as pleasantly as it was written, “I’m a
prisoner of cortesia now.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Lonati snatched the pages out of
Donatella’s hands. “Well, this is from the good old days. Rome, mid-sixties?
All carnivals and palaces, especially for Monesio and Stradella.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “What’s behind us may be all there is.”
Alessandro continued to accompany his aggravation with music that might soothe
it.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “Your singing was magnificent.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “What part?” Donatella approached the
conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Alessandro winked. “Rigore, of course.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i> “The talk of the town,” Lonati began to
pet her arm but thought better of it, “before he received more attention for
his lack of discipline.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18.6666660308838px; line-height: 21.4666652679443px;"><b>A HOUSE NEAR LUCCOLI</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18.6666660308838px; line-height: 21.4666652679443px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQuvb4mi9IUC74BrnwMD2H0KxAQmfWiTgTyXKHR8qO61KZKqYtPiseoXfcQ_zEKJCm7rvwdr4JSCCqIxojElirhyz2WP_vjVt-Ebs-2gdGBEXYPqsd6H85CttGcqvYYoa6qMiCM5n0bGT/s1600/House%252Bcover%252Bfront%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQuvb4mi9IUC74BrnwMD2H0KxAQmfWiTgTyXKHR8qO61KZKqYtPiseoXfcQ_zEKJCm7rvwdr4JSCCqIxojElirhyz2WP_vjVt-Ebs-2gdGBEXYPqsd6H85CttGcqvYYoa6qMiCM5n0bGT/s200/House%252Bcover%252Bfront%255B1%255D.jpg" width="134" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">Over three years
since the charismatic composer, violinist, and singer Alessandro Stradella
sought refuge in the palaces and twisted alleys of Genoa, royally welcomed
despite the alleged scandals and even crimes that forced him to flee from Rome,
Venice, and Turin, his professional and personal life have begun to unravel
again. He is offered, by the very man he is rumored to have wronged, a
respectable if slightly shabby apartment and yet another chance to redeem his
character and career. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">He moves in to the curiosity and consternation of his
caretakers, also tenants, three women whose reputations are of concern only to
themselves. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">Donatella, still unmarried in her mid-thirties, is plainly
irrelevant. Yet, like the city she lives in, there are hidden longings in her,
propriety the rule, not cure, for what ails her. She cares more for her
bedridden grandmother and cats than overbearing aunt, keeping house and tending
to a small terraced garden, painting flowers and waxing poetic in her journal.
At first, she is in awe of and certain she will have little to do with
Stradella. Slowly, his ego, playfulness, need of a copyist and camouflage
involve her in an inspired and insidious world, exciting and heartbreaking as
she is enlarged by his magnanimity and reduced by his missteps, forging a
friendship that challenges how far she will go.</span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.1000003814697px;">Available from Amazon and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-house-near-luccoli-dm-denton/1112651636?ean=9780985778972" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=alistuwri-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0092ROFNK&asins=B0092ROFNK&linkId=MYBCMRVD627G3M5J&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></font></p>
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<font color="#333333" face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif"></font></p>
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<font color="#333333" face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif"></iframe></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>To
A Strange Somewhere Fled</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe14bKOeIJ133GD-_Z98BywtdQGJkIrOtL0tEvRueh7WYfXoQ-ETxoMj7MjJDNSfByCzpvgDslPUOmd_UWbd4qQbdtbrCpx4S8tauKp7Qvr9XxYTJA1m3TTtLbDhyva0wYd1mEdQrzJcmR/s1600/To+A+Strange+Somewhere+Fled+cover+rfs+front+only.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe14bKOeIJ133GD-_Z98BywtdQGJkIrOtL0tEvRueh7WYfXoQ-ETxoMj7MjJDNSfByCzpvgDslPUOmd_UWbd4qQbdtbrCpx4S8tauKp7Qvr9XxYTJA1m3TTtLbDhyva0wYd1mEdQrzJcmR/s200/To+A+Strange+Somewhere+Fled+cover+rfs+front+only.jpg" width="131" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">Sequel to <i>A House Near Luccoli. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">After the sudden
end to her collaboration with composer Alessandro Stradella, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">Donatella moves
from Genoa to join her parents in a small village in Oxfordshire, England. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">The
gift of a sonnet, 'stolen' music, inexpressible secrets, and an irrepressible
spirit have stowed away on her journey. Haunted by whispers and visions, angels
and demons, will she rise out of grief and aimlessness? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">Her father's friendship
with the residents of Wroxton Abbey, who are important figures in the court of
Charles II, offers new possibilities, especially as music and its masters—including
the 'divine' Henry Purcell—have not finished with her yet.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Also available from Amazon and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-a-strange-somewhere-fled-dm-denton/1121461207?ean=9780990715863" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.1000003814697px;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=alistuwri-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00UHMRGSA&asins=B00UHMRGSA&linkId=Q2R27E5WOBS2ZPOT&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></span></font></p>
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<font color="#333333"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.1000003814697px;"></iframe></span></span></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-54663209593700438182015-07-04T08:00:00.000+10:002015-07-04T14:56:56.594+10:00Meeting my Waterloo: A sale, a contest and a new story...<div class="NoSpacing">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Sebastian_is_found_after_Waterloo"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘Are you certain he’s here?’ Isabel — Lady
Somerton — asked, her voice muffled by the lavender scented kerchief she had
pressed to her nose and mouth. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></a></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The pathetic piece of muslin did little to
conceal the stench of unwashed bodies, blood, corrupted wounds and worse that
pervaded the makeshift hospital. The price Wellington had paid for the victory
lay crowded on filthy straw mattresses on the makeshift hospital floor of an
old warehouse in Battersea.</span></span></i></div>
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<i style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everywhere she turned the wounded had been crowded together, so many of
them that only a curtain separated the officers
from the other ranks. Pushing aside the curtain, the conditions for the
officers was little better. At least they had cots, not straw-filled bags, but
those who had survived the rapid evacuation to England were in a poor state.
Most still wore the tattered remnants of the uniform they had worn in battle
over ten days ago and it looked to Isabel as if the rough bandages over their
wounds had not been changed in days. </span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Opening lines from <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/lord-somertons-heir.html" target="_blank">LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR</a> ... by Alison Stuart)</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Waterloo June 2015: It is hard to imagine these peaceful fields were once the scene of so much carnage... (20,000 casualties)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWObdqmnBxdPhs7qjEt0Ndbp7KQv2yMOix12fSP7GvS-YSf1lg5N1InY6DcrX-a0v5tLQ-JAIQ6hXujkYoJ0EyQPYkDtf6PKyz3s_7Zwzt4OZ88WHQu2CkmiQNRq7ugXCvT6ulSjRXYZ8g/s1600/Waterloo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWObdqmnBxdPhs7qjEt0Ndbp7KQv2yMOix12fSP7GvS-YSf1lg5N1InY6DcrX-a0v5tLQ-JAIQ6hXujkYoJ0EyQPYkDtf6PKyz3s_7Zwzt4OZ88WHQu2CkmiQNRq7ugXCvT6ulSjRXYZ8g/s400/Waterloo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The battle site of Waterloo today</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ten years ago, my military husband and I made a flying visit to the battle site at Waterloo, en route to returning a rental car. (Needless to say in the days before GPS we then got hopelessly lost trying to get back into Brussels and nearly missed our train... but that's another story). That brief visit was the inspiration behind my Waterloo story<a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/lord-somertons-heir.html" target="_blank"> LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR</a> which starts in the days immediately following the battle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On our recent travels, booked in complete ignorance that June 18 2015 was in fact the bicentennial of Waterloo, we found ourselves accidentally on a Waterloo trail that began in London with a visit to the Guards Museum and ended at Waterloo - the week before the Bicentennial weekend of re-enactments. A little bit of better planning and we could have been AT the bicentennial! However as it turned out, we had the place pretty much to ourselves, apart from hordes of workmen frantically trying to finish the paving and put up signs and bleachers etc. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alison labours up the 200 steps of the Butte de Lion</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The new Visitors' Centre had been open a week and it is a marvel of 21st century technology including animated paintings, detailed and lifelike wax mannequins and a 3D movie about the battle that has you ducking for cover while facing the charge of 8000 French Curaissiers! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Napoleon's staff on the eve of Waterloo - Visitors' Centre</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Needless to say I have returned with a Waterloo buzz and a suitcase full of Waterloo memorabilia so in conjunction with my wonderful publishers from the 4th to the 13th of July I have a very special offer... several very special offers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>A CONTEST</b>... The prize is a collection of Waterloo memorabilia including a full reproduction of The Times with Wellington's Waterloo despatch. To enter, you only have to participate in the <a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0d923dde4/?" target="_blank">RAFFLECOPTER</a> at the end of this post or click <a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0d923dde4/?" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>A SALE</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JD7EYW6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00JD7EYW6&linkCode=as2&tag=alistuwri-20&linkId=JC2DZ4XW5A6GEYGK">Lord Somerton's Heir</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=alistuwri-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00JD7EYW6" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> , my own 'Waterloo' story will be on sale on Amazon and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lord-somertons-heir/id852042879?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" target="_blank">iBooks</a> for only .99c for this week only.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=alistuwri-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00JD7EYW6&asins=B00JD7EYW6&linkId=MYELG7QE2LMQP5M2&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></font></p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKLLhmOYHKVZBuOYv_mhyhxpVsGJKVqTZB105fVH52N8I8qCTv0yG5OOgTPTuH-AF6g4vFS0ZIgoRT6rA6SYIjikVKDl1GD842MalXZU3xI0l6IowU-l7hNOE-pshddnoTYTnu3_C9wxI/s1600/SEBASTIAN%2527S+WATERLOO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKLLhmOYHKVZBuOYv_mhyhxpVsGJKVqTZB105fVH52N8I8qCTv0yG5OOgTPTuH-AF6g4vFS0ZIgoRT6rA6SYIjikVKDl1GD842MalXZU3xI0l6IowU-l7hNOE-pshddnoTYTnu3_C9wxI/s200/SEBASTIAN%2527S+WATERLOO.jpg" width="125" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>A NEW STORY</b> And finally, in honour of Waterloo I have written a short story... a prequel to <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/lord-somertons-heir.html" target="_blank">LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR</a>, which I have titled SEBASTIAN'S WATERLOO, in which we share the events of the 18th June 1815 with the hero of LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR, Captain Sebastian Alder. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This available is FREE to subscribers of my Readers' Group Newsletter... so you can subscribe here to either read the story on line or download it to your ereader.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">TO SUBSCRIBE JUST CLICK <a href="http://eepurl.com/brzg_z" target="_blank">HERE</a> OR USE THE FORM TO THE RIGHT OF THIS POST</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">ENTER THE WATERLOO CONTEST HERE</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="0d923dde4" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0d923dde4/" id="rcwidget_t5k9vnpu" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-62734735504862657012015-07-03T09:55:00.000+10:002015-07-03T09:55:41.839+10:00The sweetest notes of all - Stradivarius violins and my guest Lee Christine<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My guest on this cold, grey Melbourne winter day is fellow Escape author, Lee Christine.</span></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg10lMYAlSKLFtjKobOSCl4IY1ov6F17uJAbUyZxQrbDK4JBHKku57vd5CkgCOr_Fs6ZQCp5BtrOLoqqYT986Wbw-crlijt62cOW_HbphRcet1NgAqLdrWMQVNhwZVYNG9Kpniga1R3ouJg/s1600/DSC02569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg10lMYAlSKLFtjKobOSCl4IY1ov6F17uJAbUyZxQrbDK4JBHKku57vd5CkgCOr_Fs6ZQCp5BtrOLoqqYT986Wbw-crlijt62cOW_HbphRcet1NgAqLdrWMQVNhwZVYNG9Kpniga1R3ouJg/s200/DSC02569.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-AU">Music has always played a part in Lee's life and as a
teenager she loved playing the guitar and writing songs. Those lyrics were all
about love so when she turned her hand to writing novels later in life romance
was the obvious choice. </span>Lee’s novels are sexy, fast-paced and contemporary. She lives on Australia’s eastern seaboard and loves snow skiing and playing the alto saxophone.</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lee writes wonderful romantic suspense and her three part 'Safe' series has received fantastic reviews. </span></span></i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i> </i></span></span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WHESW84/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00WHESW84&linkCode=as2&tag=alistuwri-20&linkId=67WT576XPDI3NXXY">A Dangerous Arrangement (Dangerous Arrangements Book 1)</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=alistuwri-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00WHESW84" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </i></span><i style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, book
one in Lee’s next romantic suspense series has just been released.</i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In keeping with her interest in music, she is bringing us some little known facts about the wonderful Stradivarius violins. </span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT STRADIVARIUS VIOLINS?</b></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thank
you Alison for having me of your blog today!<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In my latest romantic suspense novel, ‘A
Dangerous Arrangement’ released by Escape Publishing, my heroine plays a
Stradivarius violin, an instrument constructed of a dense Croatian maple and made
by Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) an Italian luthier.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ve always been fascinated by the
Stradivarius, primarily the violin, though Stradivari also made violas, harps,
guitars and cellos. And for a long while now, I’ve wanted to write stories
about classical musicians, performers at the top of their game who’ve been
given access to instruments worth millions of dollars, such as the Stradivarius,
though tenures with certain orchestras.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Experts don’t really know what gives the
Stradivarius its superior sound though it is believed to have something to do
with the density of the wood.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
Australian Chamber Orchestra own a Stradivarius violin valued at around three
million dollars. It is Australia’s only Stradivarius and is played by Satu
Vanska, the assistant leader of the orchestra. I partly used Satu as
inspiration for my character of Marina Wentworth as well as Kirsten Williams,
associate concertmaster with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are only 650 Stradivarius instruments
left in the world and each has a unique nickname. The following is a list of
famous people who have owned and/or played a Stradivarius instrument:-</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Andre Rieu: plays a violin
called ex-Captain Saville, made in 1667</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Queen Elizabeth: owned a violin
called Oistrakh, made in 1671</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Napoleon Bonaparte: owned a
violin called Molitor, made in 1697</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">The Mendelssohn Family: owned a
violin called the Red Mendelssohn, made in 1721</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Da Vinci Family: owed a violin
called the Leonardo Da Vinci, made in 1725</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Julian Lloyd-Webber: played a
cello called Barjansky, made in 1690</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Yo-Yo Ma: plays a cello called
Davidov, made in 1712</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Other owners include the King of Spain, US
Library of Congress and some US and UK universities. Many also owned by different musical
foundations and museums.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Visit Lee Christine at her website: Click <a href="http://leechristine.com.au/" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>A DANGEROUS ARRANGEMENT</b></i></span></div>
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Venice en-route to a cruise ship for a short working holiday, the last thing
she expects is to be confronted by a handsome stranger demanding answers. After
going to great lengths to keep her real reasons for the trip a secret, Marina
refuses to let her immediate attraction to Dean Logan derail her plans.</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Desperate to recover his latest super yacht
designs, Dean doesn’t want to believe the lovely violinist is involved in the
devastating cyber-attack that threatens to destroy his yacht building empire.
However his growing feelings for Marina fail to extinguish the nagging
suspicion that she is hiding something.</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Set against the backdrop of Italy’s Amalfi
Coast, Dean and Marina must navigate the dangerous waters of secrecy,
attraction, and the fusion of two very different worlds. Will their lives
remain discordant, or will they take the chance at true harmony?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>To buy A DANGEROUS ARRANGEMENT visit <a href="http://www.escapepublishing.com.au/product/9780857992611" target="_blank">ESCAPE PUBLISHING </a> or go directly to AMAZON</i></span></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-1243387383646639302015-06-24T07:57:00.000+10:002015-06-24T07:57:19.463+10:00Book Review - The Uncivil Wars Series by M.J. Logue<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another "Missing in Action" post... Actually I have been travelling - nearly six weeks of 'research' in the UK and Europe. Museums, castles, cathedrals... so much information to absorb it is dribbling out of my ears! More on my travels in later posts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One thing travel has afforded is long hours in planes and trains and an opportunity to catch up on reading and the books that have held me in a thrall is a new series, set in my favourite period, the English Civil War, by writer M.J. Logue - THE UNCIVIL WARS. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I should declare that Logue (or her alter ego, Hannah Methwell) is a compadre of mine... sharing as we do a PASSION for the English Civil War. Unlike me, Hannah is able to indulge her passion as a proper re-enactor and as a consequence she lives and breathes the ECW in ways I can only fantasise about... and it shows in her writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is too hard to separate out the Uncivil War stories, because although they stand alone, they are at the same time entwined and episodic. Logue has done something really unusual... she has created a troop of Parliamentary cavalry under the command of an unusual hero, more an anti-hero, Holofernes Babbit (Hollie). To complement the three UCW books written to date, are 3 short novellas that delve into the backstory of the characters and I think it is important. to at least read KERSEN before embarking on the series as this story introduces us to the 16 year old Hollie adrift in Holland, having fled his brutal father to join the fighting in the 30 year wars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twenty years later (in THE RED HORSE) we meet a hardened and embittered mercenary who has returned to England to take the pay of king of parliament... whoever offers the most... and fight in the English Civil Wars. Tall, auburn haired, scarred emotionally and physically, like his horse, the vicious Tyburn, Hollie won't easily be broken to obey the commands of men he considers his military inferior. On and off the battlefield he is difficult, obstreporous, volatile and unpredictable. He has been given command of a raggle taggle troop of the sweepings of the street... so much for the perception of 'roundheads' as dour and godly crop heads.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hollie's fire is tempered by the calm and poetic nature of the young man who is made his Cornet, a task Lucifer (Luce) Pettit initially baulks at. Unlike Hollie, Luce (a gentleman by birth and nephew to the Earl of Essex) genuinely believes in the cause for which he is fighting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Logue's writing, like Hollie, defies convention. The story is told from any number of perspectives and sometimes all in the same scene, but it works. You get right under the characters' skins and come to care for all of them, even the horses, deeply! The dialogue is utterly true to period and to each character.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now to the books... KERSEN (Hollie's story) I have mentioned. There are 2 other short prequels, A CLOAK OF ZEAL and UNBREAKABLE both of which centre on a young man, Thankful Russell (or Hapless as he comes to be called for good reason) who we meet briefly in Book 1 but by Book 3 is a member of Hollie's regiment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BOOK 1: THE RED HORSE - in which we meet Captain Hollie Babbit and his reluctant new cornet, Luce Pettit. This book spans the early days of the war (August 1642 to December 1642), a time of battles that are fought and neither won nor lost, the reality of the battlefield and the uncertain politics surrounding the command of the Parliamentary forces. Through all of this Hollie rages, somewhat unsuccessfully. wounded at Edgehill and forced into the company of Luce, the two form a grudging respect bordering on friendship. Luce takes his shattered commander home to meet his Aunt Het ('the mendingest lady in Essex') and in Het's care, Hollie begins to heal not only physically but emotionally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Book 2: COMMAND THE RAVEN - picks up in the early months of 1643 with Hollie back in </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">command of his uncommandable troop, while hankering after Het who has offered him a glimpse of what life with hearth and home could be like. In despair 'Uncle Essex' sends him north to support the Parliamentary cause being led by the Fairfaxes. Sir Thomas Fairfax is a particular favourite of mine and Logue's too, I suspect. He is drawn with great affection and respect but recognising his weaknesses too. In this book we meet Thankful Russell, on the staff of Essex. They<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> are also joined by Hollie's father, the firey preacher, Elijah Babbit and the issues from his childhood which drove him away at 16 have to be confronted. L</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">ike the first book, the book ends with a return to Het's arms.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And here I must take a small issue with Logue.... rather than continue the series with what should be next book (1643/4), by her own admission, she jumps to 1645. Yes it stands by itself, but we miss the arcs of the characters in the intervening 2 years... during which Hapless becomes one of the Babbit troop and a peculiar little trooper called Gray who may not be what he appears to be joins them as well. Without the intervening years, as a reader it made me hard to engage with a really important character who will die in A WILDERNESS OF SIN. The character's death is sad but if we had a better opportunity to get to know this character in greater depth, it would have been even more heartbreaking. A small point and it does not detract from reading A WILDERNESS OF SIN as a stand alone.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVx0px1uwPWJIgOPibRx7VTWdTVGJUe-koc2B1J1BzZuvELzHErMegG-DEyLE44rqZTRoDkQgFoSx2CiSbjeVOh8tfGbnVpvspvCJR88umy6hwOzl28aoaZtAMQUPrfMo-uqZD66X275-/s1600/Wilderness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVx0px1uwPWJIgOPibRx7VTWdTVGJUe-koc2B1J1BzZuvELzHErMegG-DEyLE44rqZTRoDkQgFoSx2CiSbjeVOh8tfGbnVpvspvCJR88umy6hwOzl28aoaZtAMQUPrfMo-uqZD66X275-/s200/Wilderness.jpg" width="146" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Book 3: A WILDERNESS OF SIN... begins in the aftermath of the battle of Naseby in June 1645 during which Hapless has been badly wounded in an altercation that has nothing to do with King and Parliament and everything to do with Trooper Gray. Once again the broken men return to Het for 'mending' but Hollie has to return to the war and a New Model Army which has no time or patience for men like him. As the Parliamentary forces start mopping up the last royalist resistance, the war has become a tedious routine of sieges and beaurocracy and Hollie does not react well to being curbed in this matter. In the aftermath of the death of one of the key characters ( a scene which had me reaching for tissues in the middle of an airport), Hollie begins to question why he is doing what he is doing. His own sense of honour will see him complete the task but at the end of the book, like small desperate child, he asks Het 'Do I have to go back?'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Logue's writing is compelling, her voice utterly unique. I can't think of another author's writings to compare. Hollie Babbit is NOT a Richard Sharpe but in the eposidic nature of the stories and the well written cast of secondary characters (including animals), there are some slight similarities. This is pure historical fiction at its best. While there is romance, it is not romantic historical fiction. Logue's battles are brutal and bloody, no glossing over the horror that is a civil war. She has created sympathetic characters to espouse the 'unpopular' side (the Parliamentary cause) and she also captures the complex politics of the time in a way that makes it accessible and understandable to the reader.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is such an important period of history and yet it is not a 'popular' subject for fiction. There are a few of us, hacking away at the corners in the hope that more readers will come to love this period as we do. Logue's books fill an important niche. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am hanging out for the next stories... hurry up, Hannah! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(You can find out more about THE UNCIVIL WARS at <a href="http://uncivilwars.blogspot.com.au/">http://uncivilwars.blogspot.com.au/</a> and you will meet Hannah next month when she is my guest on Friday Fun Facts)</i></span></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-78393556849540844832015-05-07T13:58:00.000+10:002015-05-07T13:58:31.717+10:00MIA or 6 things I learned from a book deadline...<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Firstly I must issue an apology for my recent absence from the blogosphere ... I have just crawled out of the tangled jungle of a contracted 'book deadline' - (without the assistance of Humphrey Bogart...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the first time I have encountered this beast before and it all seemed fairly straightforward when I put my signature to a contract around July last year that said <i><span style="color: red;">'Thou shalt deliver unto us a completed manuscript by no later than 30 April 2015'</span></i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I blithely tossed my hair... 'Oodles of time', thought I. 'I've published 6 books. Loads of my friends do it on a regular basis. It can't be too hard...'</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">HOWEVER what with one thing and another... I did not get to sit down to even consider the concept of the book until September - giving me seven months to write the book from a standing start. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There I hit my first snag.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had a hero, a historical time span but no earthly idea where to go from there. I resorted to Tarot Cards (no kidding) - as a mind kicking exercise it is brilliant, by the end of that session with my Writers Group, I had a heroine, an antagonist and motivations etc. etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Next step, said I, let's PLOT the story. I have stated on many occasions I am not a plotter but I thought on this occasion something more than just 'a vague idea' was needed, so I plotted - or thought I did. I then sat down to write and, you guessed it, the plot went out of the window... Of the 7 months I had available to me it took me 5 months to write the rough draft.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Throw into this mix, two weddings (I have now officially run out of children to marry off), Christmas, the fact I still work, edits on other books... and time began to disappear from underneath me. Extraneous activities (such as keeping up with my blog went out of the window) but I am pleased to say I fell across the finish line with the duly finished story delivered up to my publisher on the due date.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So what have I learned from this exercise?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. I can write a book to a deadline but at a cost to my life, my health, my family and my sanity. Next time there will have to be an enormous 6 figure advance attached to it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. I can write a book to a deadline and still be a pantser but at a cost to my life, my health etc etc...(see 1 above)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. I cannot plot (see 2 above).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4. In order to reach the deadline with something that looks vaguely book shaped, I had to write SOMETHING every day... even if some days it felt like I was carving every word from stone with my thumbnail. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5. I could not have done it without someone keeping me accountable and that someone was a Facebook group set up by my friend Monique McDonell <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1522004348059160/" target="_blank">#1000wordsaday</a>. Only by checking in my word count on a daily basis did I get across that line. Some days were woeful some were good, but word by word I got across that line and I don't think I could have done it without the support of that group and the accountability of having to check in daily. Actually I had 2 'someones' because standing behind me with their shoulders against my back when it looked like my steps might falter, were the wonderful ladies of my Writers' Group to whom I am completely accountable for my goals...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6. When in doubt... resort to Tarot Cards...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course it remains to be seen whether the book I delivered passes muster with my editor, but any rewrites will be welcome and only improve the story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So how did I eventually do it? In this photograph, the sheet of paper with the sticky notes is my first attempt at plotting. The picture of the white board (expunged the day I handed the story in!) is how I actually got it over the line, using the 4 Act method of writing. The black writing was where I had got in the plot and the red was what was needed to bring it home. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plotting for pantsers... Alison style</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">THAT worked well but I had to be halfway through the book before it even started to work. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh... and Scrivener... I couldn't have done it without Scrivener (or my Writers' Group or my husband...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(I am just about to go AWOL again as I head off on a 6 week vacation... but once I am back in June I have some very exciting projects to get my teeth stuck into - and the deadlines will be of my own choosing!) WATCH THIS SPACE....</i></span><br />
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-21445778002669309482015-04-24T10:53:00.002+10:002015-04-24T10:53:59.311+10:00Commemorating not Celebrating Gallipoli<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The 25th April 2015 marks the 100th Anniversary of the landings at what is now known as Anzac Cove. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I stood in the queue at my local post office this week I found myself confronted with a whole stand of ANZAC centenary 'items' - everything from stubby holders to tea towels. The television has been flooded with mini series, docu dramas, documentaries and advertisements. When did the death of over 8000 young men become a cause for celebration? <span style="font-size: 12pt;">A significant date in our history certainly but not for reasons of ‘celebration’.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is one of the saddest days in our history. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The whole Gallipoli operation, cost 26,111 Australian casualties, including the 8,141 deaths. And all for nothing. A failed military strategy that never had any hope of succeeding in a war that cost over 800,000 lives and probably should never have been allowed to happen. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is plenty of learned information to be found on the complex train of events that led to the start of the the 'Great War' but I think in its most simplistic form it is best summed up by Private Baldrick, a character in the 1980s television show Blackadder (Blackadder goes Forth).<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">Baldrick says: I heard that it started when a bloke called Archie Duke shot an ostrich 'cause he was hungry.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">Captain Blackadder explains: I</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="background: white;">n order to prevent war in Europe, two superblocs<br />
developed: us, the French and the Russians on one side, and the Germans and Austro-Hungary on the other. The idea was to have two vast opposing armies, each acting as the other's deterrent. That way there could never be a war.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">Baldrick says: </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">But this is a sort of a war, isn't it, sir?<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Blackadder replies. Yes, that's right. You see, there was a tiny flaw in the plan. It was <rubbish>;.<o:p></o:p></rubbish></span></i></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 12pt;"><i>·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></i></span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Baldrick concludes with his usual pereceptivity: So the poor old ostrich died for nothing.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #000005; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In fact Blackadder’s explanation regarding the two power blocs is a succinct explanation of the cause of the war which has its origins in a bitter power struggle between Germany and Russia over the Balkans, thousands of miles from England, Belgium and France - and Australia. It all came to a head on 29 June 1914 with the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian national. This act of aggression triggered a diplomatic crisis which in turn invoked the international alliances and within two months Europe was at war. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #000005; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #000005; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Far away at the bottom of the world, Australia, an independent country for only thirteen years, felt the pull of the old empirical ties and Australia went to war in support of the 'Mother Country'. Thousands of young men seeing it as a great adventure signed up and were sent firstly to Egypt and then on to Gallipoli. The reality of what they had committed themselves to was written in their blood at Anzac Cove on 25th April 2015. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ANZAC Cove</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last year I visited Gallipoli and as I heard our Turkish guide speak I saw it from the Turkish perspective for the first time. The Turks were defending an invasion of their country, as we would an invasion of our country. They hold Gallipoli in as much reverence as we do, more so because of the contribution of a single man... Mustafa Kamal (Attaturk). As the commander of the 19th Division of the 5th Army of the Ottoman Empire, his brilliant strategies and leadership inspired his men to the spirited defence of their homeland. The Turks tell you "Without Attaturk, no Turkey. Without Gallipoli no Attaturk". Every Turkish child is obligated to make a visit to Gallipoli so at any time (particularly weekends) you find busloads of bored Turkish teenagers mooching around the memorials. Teenagers of any country are a universal breed...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My husband's grandfather went to Gallipoli in August, in a second wave. He fought at Lone Pine and survived, only to be sent to the Western Front where he was badly wounded. He would talk about his time at Gallipoli but only after his death did the family discover that he had served most of his time on the Somme. The horror of the Western Front rendered him silent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As we stood at Anzac Cove two former soldiers ourselves, my husband and I (as we are want to do on the great battlefields of the war), talked through the allied strategy... Take the Gallipoli peninsula, secure the Dardanelles, take Istanbul. We concluded that in common with much of the military strategy of a war that should never have been, that it was doomed to failure the moment the ink dried on the orders. High command in London was deluding themselves that the Turks, who held such a brilliant defensive position, would just let the allied forces march in. This was THEIR country and they defended it with their blood. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Over 86,000 Turks died in the defence of the Gallipoli peninsula.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However the respect the Turks showed for their invaders and is written in Attaturk's words, carved in stone on the battlefields, was never to be repeated and was not seen on the Western front. As our Turkish guide said, as bloody as it was, the Gallipoli campaign was the last war of gentlemen.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well." </i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(Attaturk 1934)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So let us not 'celebrate' ANZAC day but rather take the time to quietly</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> remember not only our own casualties, but the 44,150 total Allied deaths and the 86,692 Turkish dead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On ANZAC day I will don my own (peacetime) medals and stand in the cold, dark dawn in a little country town (population 12) and remember the boys of that town who went to war in a country so very far from their home and never came back. For that little country town in Victoria, World War One took the life blood from the gold mines that sustained it and the town itself died on the battlefields of Europe.</span></div>
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-80016702759893177592015-03-22T15:57:00.000+11:002015-03-22T17:13:34.848+11:00The Story of a B-O-O-K...BY THE SWORD<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>(Excerpt from BY THE SWORD by Alison Stuart)</b></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jonathan lifted his
hand to her face, tilting her chin so she looked at him. Her eyes swam with
unshed tears. Tears he had caused. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘So many deaths. Too
many, Kate. Believe me, it’s not always easy to be the survivor. I may not be
dead but I have lost all that is important to me. It’s a hollow victory over
death.’<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So many deaths...Marston
Moor and afterwards, Oxford. He had run at life, stumbled into the path of
innocent people, and he had survived while they had died.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘Jonathan?’
She touched his hand. The merest brush but she may as well have branded him
with fire.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once upon a time a little girl went to visit an old house in an obscure corner of Worcestershire, called Harvington Hall. The house creaked and groaned with a history dating back to the Middle Ages. The little girl had never seen anything so old... so mysterious... and she began to imagine a world of people who may have lived in this old house called the Thornton family.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AS aged 11 on her first visit to Harvington Hall in 1969</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The old house and the cast of imaginary inhabitants lived on with the little girl as she grew up and over the years she scribbled, sketched illustrations, drew family trees, floor plans and breathed life into the imaginary world.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5kJ43AJgev3H0aKvzTHP8jvYZDW8fYYYpEEnxzCfoIXRKV_OFYuTPcbAYtSw3XPD5Yegz5y6NA1Jl16QiCrT5Yx7EbxR05IHju59CwYoXH2OtOvkUszo-H1ktKm9HGipNL5acI0UMRee/s1600/2015-03-19+16.46.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5kJ43AJgev3H0aKvzTHP8jvYZDW8fYYYpEEnxzCfoIXRKV_OFYuTPcbAYtSw3XPD5Yegz5y6NA1Jl16QiCrT5Yx7EbxR05IHju59CwYoXH2OtOvkUszo-H1ktKm9HGipNL5acI0UMRee/s1600/2015-03-19+16.46.41.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original Seven Ways folder complete with illustrations!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The folder became lost in the bottom of the drawer and forgotten until one day she dislocated her shoulder in a skiing accident and left alone in a ski lodge all by herself she began to write... and in no time at all she had written A B-O-O-K but she didn't know if it was a good book or a heap of rubbish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She entered it into a contest called the Emma Darcy Award run by the Romance Writers of Australia and it came second, so she began to think maybe this book wasn't a terrible story. She entered it into a big contest in England called the Catherine Cookson Fiction Prize and it was long listed... but alas none of the publishers she sent it was interested. "It's a terrific book," they said, "but its set in the English Civil War and we can't sell stories set in that period of history."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEget9YzyFkgRUazfy6OFuse-eftnYK27COEifW7WV_s1fShMg9tvSGZ1hv_d5RIOjHVVcLc1PoYkxF6jmcinMjbyib43_010RoXjxKY3UfyqhiZaNxvFH4VFQ4wSJjw7NNF2QoJLfFM5IQR/s1600/2015-03-19+16.27.50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEget9YzyFkgRUazfy6OFuse-eftnYK27COEifW7WV_s1fShMg9tvSGZ1hv_d5RIOjHVVcLc1PoYkxF6jmcinMjbyib43_010RoXjxKY3UfyqhiZaNxvFH4VFQ4wSJjw7NNF2QoJLfFM5IQR/s1600/2015-03-19+16.27.50.jpg" height="320" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just in case you wonder what an actual manuscript looks like...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This made the writer of the B-O-O-K very sad and she put the story away in the actual sock drawer (this was in the days before cyber sock drawers) and then a little miracle happened - called Ebooks and suddenly there was a publisher who liked the B-O-O-K and so it was finally published but there was a problem. No one had invented ebook readers... and even though it won the Epic Award for "Best Historical Romance", not enough people bought the B-O-O-K and after a little while it went back into the sock drawer. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgly1r8bZiiRj2WtLEPe7FzakxxiQhyMxQPGhnZa3kx8Ipx8ZQXgU03-a2-FICqP45fbo5LAFiF6_P1X76OwicqHdF3gRlZSFGWH7JI45Ahs7CwTPil4zitqsGG7WLgfCSs__1G7LlLprIl/s1600/ByTheSwordFinal-Harlequin1920_1920x3022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgly1r8bZiiRj2WtLEPe7FzakxxiQhyMxQPGhnZa3kx8Ipx8ZQXgU03-a2-FICqP45fbo5LAFiF6_P1X76OwicqHdF3gRlZSFGWH7JI45Ahs7CwTPil4zitqsGG7WLgfCSs__1G7LlLprIl/s1600/ByTheSwordFinal-Harlequin1920_1920x3022.jpg" height="320" width="203" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Still the little girl inside the author dreamed about the old house and its imaginary family... Not just one story but the story of the house and the family on through the ages.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then one day she mentioned it to her lovely publisher (Escape Publishing) and her publisher thought it was a good story and they had an idea to make three interwoven stories - <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/the-guardians-of-the-crown-series.html" target="_blank">THE GUARDIANS OF THE CROWN</a> series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>So today, March 22, <a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/by-the-sword.html" target="_blank">BY THE SWORD</a></b> - that little story begun so many, many years ago, begins a whole new life as the first in a trilogy spanning the years of the Interregnum from 1650-1660.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It will always be the B-O-O-K of my heart... I hope you enjoy reading about Jonathan and Kate's adventures as much as I loved writing about them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>TO BUY:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alisonstuart.com/by-the-sword.html" target="_blank"><b>BY THE SWORD</b></a> is available as an ebook only from all reputable book stores:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/by-the-sword-alison-stuart/1102346076" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble (Nook)</a></span><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/by-the-sword/id964395585?mt=11" target="_blank">iBooks</a><br />
<a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/by-the-sword-11" target="_blank">Kobo</a><br />
For a complete listing visit <a href="http://www.escapepublishing.com.au/product/9780857992369" target="_blank">Escape Publishing</a><br />
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<br />Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-81720096824710505792015-03-09T12:01:00.000+11:002015-03-09T12:01:49.742+11:00A Reader's Weekend in Canberra... ARRC15<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/AVvXsEie2WkLw-Mxv9QUsdputv3sKvJpEHvyRnNPCBt5s4J7pOqvmNUNwsfCiJrE6elxo5UnDTl123A0gttLrfFrgOkN92-vKY483QSvLzOUu99_vAxjqhsWNHCelEU6kKKENR_xFr8A8m8FsBqn/s1600/11037321_840702135990860_1940971339580599667_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2WkLw-Mxv9QUsdputv3sKvJpEHvyRnNPCBt5s4J7pOqvmNUNwsfCiJrE6elxo5UnDTl123A0gttLrfFrgOkN92-vKY483QSvLzOUu99_vAxjqhsWNHCelEU6kKKENR_xFr8A8m8FsBqn/s1600/11037321_840702135990860_1940971339580599667_n.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Regency Fashion Parade!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For those who think the life of a writer is a solitary vigil beside a guttering candle in a cold, cheerless loft, they are obviously not thinking of romance writers. Every time I get together with my "tribe" I am reminded how blessed I am to found my niche in the writing world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But no writer can really call themselves a writer without readers and while the Australian Romance Readers Convention is teeny tiny compared to the American equivalent (I've yet to go to RT but I've heard stories), a reader nomination for an Australian Romance Readers Award (for Lord Somerton's Heir) was all the incentive I need to pack my bags for a weekend in Canberra with my "peeps".</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKw1wFekie64dZpJLgf_cIMgYVS177p-MpImUHa6Vl1lT9G4VvxJXAAat8X_9jLJVNKvEF-5YNXKV1FYgRhKIR53o4fNtk9JLwKMjSd3TvHXey8I8oRmz4XvesgHT8LxTyT6aLe_3mpWiT/s1600/2015-03-07+18.57.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKw1wFekie64dZpJLgf_cIMgYVS177p-MpImUHa6Vl1lT9G4VvxJXAAat8X_9jLJVNKvEF-5YNXKV1FYgRhKIR53o4fNtk9JLwKMjSd3TvHXey8I8oRmz4XvesgHT8LxTyT6aLe_3mpWiT/s1600/2015-03-07+18.57.05.jpg" height="320" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roomies</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Knowing how full on these weekends can be I normally lodge alone but a dear friend, Beverley Eikli, made a last minute decision to come to Canberra and agreed to be my roomie. I had forgotten what fun it was to have a roomie and as we are both on deadlines (hers more urgent than mine) we shared a little writing time and space - but, in my case, not nearly enough!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The weekend kicked off on Friday night with a gathering of the Harlequin authors followed by the welcome drinks and a chance to finally put some names to faces among the bloggers and readers who were there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Among inspirational women in my life, I rate Helene Young highly. Not only is she a fabulous writer of romantic suspense but she is an airline pilot. Now I have worked most of my life in male dominated professions (law... the military) but whatever difficulties I encountered are nothing compared to the fight for women to be fly (and yet look at how many of the early aviators were women???). I remember the battle Debbie Worley fought in the late 70s and it was wonderful to see Debbie with Helene on a recent TV program talking about how they just wanted to be able to do what they loved. Anyway I digress, Helene was the first key note speaker talking, aptly, about inspirational heroines (she also took out one of the ARRA awards). American authors Sylvia Day, Kelley Armstrong and Victoria Dahl were also among the guests as well as the charming, delightful and thoroughly lovely Nalini Singh. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZp_elEMRG6hPbfg3bigewlhUDDVQ3CKnx4MK1A-M0JwI5sXL1BNsn5KWRBXrjYD6FLJvTZdT21hKNpDeXFEBNJsvtS0Yhpp0sYK8EEOjoEVlTete-wrZQ9msgAf3co7GJGr6RW8yQ3sC/s1600/2015-03-07+15.55.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZp_elEMRG6hPbfg3bigewlhUDDVQ3CKnx4MK1A-M0JwI5sXL1BNsn5KWRBXrjYD6FLJvTZdT21hKNpDeXFEBNJsvtS0Yhpp0sYK8EEOjoEVlTete-wrZQ9msgAf3co7GJGr6RW8yQ3sC/s1600/2015-03-07+15.55.06.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready for the Book signing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3xNyIkQQq3iOT_HWZSHwZHi2SQwRg_O0FmJ5zDOcNw0sXrGsWPDXRdmO05X2-mmbtszcEXU0_kNeDtD_3m8UvDulLhuQ96R1nOqgpsrmlnTls_9TDknbSjTBNksWT6JplRIagf5R5VYF/s1600/2015-03-07+15.48.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3xNyIkQQq3iOT_HWZSHwZHi2SQwRg_O0FmJ5zDOcNw0sXrGsWPDXRdmO05X2-mmbtszcEXU0_kNeDtD_3m8UvDulLhuQ96R1nOqgpsrmlnTls_9TDknbSjTBNksWT6JplRIagf5R5VYF/s1600/2015-03-07+15.48.55.jpg" height="200" width="158" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pen poised...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The atmosphere at ARRC was so relaxed and the amazing organising committee had gone to so much trouble with games and contests and inventive ways for readers to connect with authors - not that we are a frightening bunch but if you are both a little shy, sometimes we all need a nudge. I loved having a chance to chat with a couple of special readers as a "Mystery Author". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then, of course, there is the book signing... A lovely opportunity to talk to readers about what they like reading. Although I reached rather depressing conclusion I needed to be writing "hot" paranormals, not considered historical romances... The queues for Sylvia Day and Nalini Singh are testament to that fact!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJSGAFBLEMp86WcG8QBERfAzQ916rOJxVB4_rO4gVRCzW1546OXyylpQ8k4p0c5oVTq7jowrpAA7hNAixysWgNNc7fNV537MmsIsGUQqAoiZI6lvCCMirRryMm2vGcvpRHxqdr6CsiFS7/s1600/CLX-3180_20150309_09463101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJSGAFBLEMp86WcG8QBERfAzQ916rOJxVB4_rO4gVRCzW1546OXyylpQ8k4p0c5oVTq7jowrpAA7hNAixysWgNNc7fNV537MmsIsGUQqAoiZI6lvCCMirRryMm2vGcvpRHxqdr6CsiFS7/s1600/CLX-3180_20150309_09463101.jpg" height="320" width="109" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The ARRA dinner is a highlight, the fun amplified by a foto booth and a lifesize cut out of Fabio (remember him? <span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">most beautiful man</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> in the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">cosmos</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, including the black holes"). Anne Gracie was the thoroughly deserving winner of the Historical Romance Award. I texted my husband to say "I didn't win" and he respond</span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">ed "Win what?". I love that man...</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid6InaNyG0pToeNNuZ0LrHn6rHTe9RJvWIoshTOyFiBAnDXW3OnPH6HnWBJoJpMMMZO-EKXAtEGD8iFgHasv0zt8GDvWyzy8p_LvHhOSFgw9fUpWzp1zFh5t4kcDcD9nUBlJKO_2XfPZGQ/s1600/2015-03-08+09.50.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid6InaNyG0pToeNNuZ0LrHn6rHTe9RJvWIoshTOyFiBAnDXW3OnPH6HnWBJoJpMMMZO-EKXAtEGD8iFgHasv0zt8GDvWyzy8p_LvHhOSFgw9fUpWzp1zFh5t4kcDcD9nUBlJKO_2XfPZGQ/s1600/2015-03-08+09.50.24.jpg" height="320" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lady Elizabeth Kentmere</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sunday brought a special treat... a secret "Fashion Parade" of regency historical fashion and I was one of the models. As you may have guessed I love any excuse to dress up. Author Bronwyn Parry produced a Regency day dress... handstitched I have to say, as was the chemise, stay, chemisette and cap! The whole ensemble was extremely comfortable. I did have to remember to remove my watch and Fitbit! Beverley Eikli, also a fabulous costume maker, provided a couple of the other costumes and we had some ring ins from the Jane Austen Society. Jeniffer Kloester (who has a life long affair with Georgette Heyer) wrote the script but none of us knew anything about our characters until we were on stage. Apparently Lady Elizabeth Kentmere was a foremost equestrienne, handy with a whip and a devil in a curricle. Hard not to collapse on the floor, paralysed with laughter! (Particularly when I think I looked more like Mrs. Bennet!)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Later in the day I appeared on a historical panel with Anne Gracie, Suzie Love and Allyssa James. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That was it... needless to say I climbed into my own bed last night and was asleep before my head hit the pillow - with dreams of Fabio!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uUeduAn2tLftS-isMzwbHCctm6WJoieybQP11RwEnPhYgVwhecv1L_MUBDjgqO0Www3ncoF-TShtkBq4Gn_I0dB31WIqDB-PZ_2jXF65iGVs75whz_bIOS7SveRW9eXDkWTDvmmQrJr7/s1600/2015-03-07+22.17.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uUeduAn2tLftS-isMzwbHCctm6WJoieybQP11RwEnPhYgVwhecv1L_MUBDjgqO0Www3ncoF-TShtkBq4Gn_I0dB31WIqDB-PZ_2jXF65iGVs75whz_bIOS7SveRW9eXDkWTDvmmQrJr7/s1600/2015-03-07+22.17.38.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-49817252324020336742015-02-21T17:56:00.000+11:002015-02-21T17:56:21.027+11:00I have found a new love... Pinterest<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a data-pin-board-width="400" data-pin-do="embedBoard" data-pin-scale-height="200" data-pin-scale-width="80" href="https://www.pinterest.com/alisonstuart14/alisons-books-by-the-sword/">Follow Alison's board Alison's Books - BY THE SWORD on Pinterest.</a><!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --><script async="" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yes, it's true. Facebook... Twitter... you have your place in my heart but I am afraid a perky, newcomer has stolen my heart. I have discovered <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/alisonstuart14/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now you might think that I have just found a new and fascinating way to procrastinate and you would not be wrong. I could happily spend hours flicking through the Boards and repinning fantastical pictures. It is the 21st century equivalent of going through magazines and cutting out pictures to stick in a scrap book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My problem is that I am a visual person so something like Pinterest is of immediate interest to me. I like maps, and pictures of all sorts of things. to help me visualise my work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had a brief flirtation with <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/alisonstuart14/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> when it first started but the lawyer in me tapped me on the shoulder and pointed out that what I was doing was quite possibly a breach of someone's copyright and you know that probably (read, definitely) rings true. If you google Pinterest and Copyright there are slews of articles warning of lawsuits and damnation both for Pinterest and users of Pinterest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And this sensible advice comes from a lawyer - Mr. Pink... who wrote in a Wall Street article journal (How to use Pinterest without breaking the Law... http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/03/13/dont-get-stuck-by-pinterest-lawyers-warn/</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.314em;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For the most conservative of Pinterest users, lawyers say following a few simple rules will avoid potential legal trouble.</span></i></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“The best and easiest way to avoid trouble is to put up your own content, the content you created,” Jonathan Pink, a California-based intellectual property lawyer with Bryan Cave LLP told the Law Blog.</span></i></div>
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<i style="line-height: 1.314em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For example, Mr. Pink said that if a Pinterest user sees a piece of furniture that he or she likes, or a tasty-looking cookie, they’ll be safe taking out their smart phone, snapping a photo, and pinning it.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Own the content you are publishing,” Mr. Pink said.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the flip side, Mr. Pink said, “if you are going to play it conservative and safe, you should never pin an image on Pinterest for which you don’t own the copyright interest or for which you have not obtained a license from the copyright owner.”</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are some exceptions: Old photos that pre-date 1923 can be “safely posted” under copyright law, he said.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One area that might be somewhat less risky is recipes.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“You can post a recipe as long as you are creating the text of the recipe yourself, according to Mr. Pink.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Hmm... I have to take issue with Mr. Pink, simply taking your own photograph of anything does not necessarily make it yours either... you are still infringing on the rights of the owner of the chair or the building. But, hey, I'm not a lawyer any more so this is not legal advice!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Back to my rediscovery of Pinterest. Like all forms of social media since my initial flirtation, followed by a dose of panic, I ventured back on to it - with my own content in hand. Interesting photographs I have taken for research purposes in my travels, my needlework and, of course, my cats.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What I discovered was a realm of possibilities. The whole world had discovered Pinterest (and were happily posting up pictures regardless of possible copyright violation). What if I posted up all those images I captured for use with my books (currently stored on Scrivener and Evernote)? What if each book had its very own board? Would that help bring it to life for the readers? <i>(see the Pinterest Board for By The Sword - above)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So yes, all my books, including the WIPs in progress now have their own Pinterest Boards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But best of all, for me, were the costume resources! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shrewsbury</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One thing you probably don't know about me is that I am a costume fiend. I love historical costume and in my adolescence dreamed of becoming a stage costume designer. I can't get enough of galleries with decent costume displays (The Bath Costume Museum for example) and I am hoping to get to the V&A on my next trip to London. This is why (if you follow me on FB) you FREQUENTLY see me in dress ups... from Medieval costume in Shrewsbury to Roman Armour in Wales. Being the visual and historical person I am, nothing gets me into a time and place faster than costume. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 1.314em;">I am addicted to costume and <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/alisonstuart14/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> just feeds my addiction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So come and visit me on <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/alisonstuart14/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> and I will happily share my addiction with you!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.0240001678467px;"><a data-pin-board-width="400" data-pin-do="embedUser" data-pin-scale-height="200" data-pin-scale-width="80" href="https://www.pinterest.com/alisonstuart14/">Visit Alison's profile on Pinterest.</a><!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --><script async="" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script></span></span></div>
Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370806165539463613.post-13594764860315854312015-02-09T21:52:00.000+11:002015-02-09T21:52:26.952+11:00JOIN ME FOR VALENTINE'S DAY! (with the Digital Writers' Festival)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWMm-RME6Ekx9sl2-hS3Fyz-slYq6XaYjJkGeQp-Z7O_6wstOx-T7tOIXoVsFE2Sf0e8GYrFtoI4Vf22cOmIzlrV5AsB9hyphenhyphenHHO1yIhxZDA_Q6i5fa58kPvPmuBLHoI5J7SYBArXYoXq9A/s1600/Valentine's%2BDay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWMm-RME6Ekx9sl2-hS3Fyz-slYq6XaYjJkGeQp-Z7O_6wstOx-T7tOIXoVsFE2Sf0e8GYrFtoI4Vf22cOmIzlrV5AsB9hyphenhyphenHHO1yIhxZDA_Q6i5fa58kPvPmuBLHoI5J7SYBArXYoXq9A/s1600/Valentine's%2BDay.jpg" height="282" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 23.1000003814697px;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>To kick off your Valentine’s Day evening, join a bunch of writers, poets, and comedians as they share their stories of love (both true and unrequited), lust, ardor, and romantic awkwardness. In the leadup to the event, send in dedications to your loved ones for our artists to read on air – just the way they did it on FM radio back in the nineties.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Join me and fellow Escape author, <a href="http://leechristine.com.au/" target="_blank">Lee Christine</a> for an hour of fun and romance on Valentine's Day Evening.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are the guests of the Digital Writers Festival and we will be 'hanging out' in a Google Hang Out with Siv Parker and Karys McEwan from 6pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Click <a href="http://digitalwritersfestival.com/2015/event/dedicated/" target="_blank">HERE</a> to go the web page for further details, to RSVP and to send in your dedications!</span><br />
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Alison Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101217971756114754noreply@blogger.com