Authors Answer 5: Have you read any foreign language novels?

No. Next question… But seriously, this is one of those issues where you feel you probably should do it, but life’s too short. I’m British, so naturally I’ve never mastered any foreign language well enough to attempt anything more taxing than ordering a beer and a pizza. I’ve tried, believe me, I’ve tried, but I just don’t have the right receptors in my brain. Even at school, after several years of daily lessons in French, I never felt competent to read a book in the language. And besides, there are so many books to read in English, where I understand the nuances of the words (most of the time), why would I struggle to read something that’s not in English? Struggle may be good for the soul, but I read for pleasure and entertainment and to be taken out of the everyday world for a time. So English it is, […]

Posted December 26, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in AuthorsAnswer / 0 Comments

Mystery review: ‘The Problem at Two Tithes’ by Clara Benson

Another bundle of fun in the Angela Marchmont series of murder mysteries set in the twenties. This is the seventh, and the author is absolutely on top form. After the wonderful outing in Italy in The Imbroglio at the Villa Pozzi, here we are back in the heart of England, at the very respectable village home of Angela’s brother, Sir Humphrew Cardew and his wife Elisabeth, two of the most pompous, stuffy and dull people imaginable. They disapprove of Angela and everything about her, and although she sets out not to ruffle their feathers, naturally she can’t help getting into trouble almost immediately. The village setting, and the murder that takes place against a backdrop of the village fete, is redolent of Midsomer Murders, or perhaps the Miss Marple series of Agatha Christie. There are eccentric characters in abundance – an elderly lady on a bicycle, the gossipy vicar’s wife […]

Posted December 20, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Mystery review: ‘The Imbroglio at the Villa Pozzi’ by Clara Benson

Good grief, that was the most amazing fun. The sixth Angela Marchmont amateur detective series, set in the twenties, sees Angela holidaying in Italy, tangling with spiritualists and meeting an old acquaintance, a certain jewel thief by the name of Edgar Valencourt, last seen charming Angela in The Treasure at Poldarrow Point, book 3 of the series. I always hoped he’d turn up again, but his reappearance was even better than I could have imagined. The mystery this time is nothing terribly convoluted, but I enjoyed trying to puzzle it out, getting it wrong and watching Angela resolve everything with an airy wave of her hand. But the murder takes a back seat to the characters, and their personal lives. The mysterious Duchessa, for example, who pops up from time to time. The fidgety English clergyman and his long-suffering wife. The almost-convincing medium and the daughter who ‘sees’ things. Even […]

Posted December 18, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Authors Answer 4: If you could interview any author, who would it be and what would you ask?

Ooh, another interesting one. I’d love to talk to Jane Austen. I’d like to know how she wrote her books in the days of quill pens. How much editing did she do? Did she plan it all in advance? How many drafts? Did she have the Regency equivalent of a beat sheet tucked away under her blotter? Or did she plan the whole thing in her head before she started writing? And did she have to keep a list of characters written down somewhere so that she could remember their ages and incomes (those all-important aspects of high-born life)? Her books are so perfectly constructed, and conform so well to modern ideas about structuring novels, yet she was writing two hundred years ago. She was one amazing lady. If I could have a second author to interview, I’d love to sit down and have a chat to Australian author Glenda […]

Posted December 18, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in AuthorsAnswer / 0 Comments

Urban fantasy review: ‘Twiceborn Endgame’ by Marina Finlayson

This is the third part of the Proving Trilogy, and there were big reveals in the first two parts which it’s difficult to avoid mentioning in this review. If you haven’t read them yet and don’t want to spoil the surprise, don’t read on. Werewolves are part of my unholy trinity – along with vampires and zombies – which I will NOT read about, no matter what. Or so I thought. But this is the series that made me love werewolves. Who’d a thunk it? But then this is an unusual urban fantasy in many ways. The main character, Kate, isn’t a badass teenage girl snarking her way through life, and doing nothing but drool over the hot blokes. She’s the mother of a young boy, and heaven knows that makes a refreshing change. Now, there’s a certain amount of snark (she’s Australian, so that goes with the territory), and […]

Posted December 11, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Authors Answer 3: How difficult do you find it to write characters who have vastly different beliefs than you?

I find this a slightly odd question. Any author of fiction is going to be writing characters who are very different from themselves in scores of ways. I’ve written characters who are male, good with a sword, live in multi-couple marriages, rule a nation, can ride a horse, summon eagles or speak many languages, none of which can be said of me. And then there’s magic: my characters can spout fire from their fingertips, bend metal with mental power, manipulate emotions in other people and read memories. Their beliefs are the least of it. As far as religious belief goes, my world has a slightly uneasy relationship with it, since one group of people likes to use religion as a tool: to keep the population under control, or to disseminate a useful idea. And they create religions wholesale, simply making up gods and mythology and rituals, as it suits them. […]

Posted December 10, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in AuthorsAnswer, Brightmoon world, Writing musings / 0 Comments

Georgette Heyer Regency Romance #1: ‘Regency Buck’

This is the first stage in my attempt to read (or reread) all of Georgette Heyer’s Regency romances in the correct order. This was first published in 1935, and it shows. The writing style is high-flown Jane Austen, the backdrops are authentically drawn from the era, complete with famous characters, and the plot is squeezed in amongst all that historical accuracy. The characters have to play second fiddle, and the book suffers for it. Judith Taverner and her brother Perry are orphans, seemingly abandoned by the guardian appointed by their father, the Earl of Worth. Undaunted, they set off for London to track down the Earl and establish themselves. And on the way there, they bump into (literally!) a most unpleasant character, haughty and supercilious, who treats them like dirt. And guess who their guardian turns out to be? This was rather good fun, if you can overcome a natural […]

Posted December 7, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Georgette Heyer, Regency romances, Review / 2 Comments

A big 99c promotion (5/6 Dec only) and a writing update

Winter is upon us! I love living in Scotland, but there are a few disadvantages. The first snowfall of the winter hit us about a week ago. There’s been snow on the mountains already, but this was the first time it was all the way down to sea level. It wasn’t a big fall here, but enough to give a good covering, and the cold weather meant it stayed for a few days. Happily, it’s all gone now, but I’m sure there’ll be more to come. I love the snow, but only when I can sit inside a warm house and watch it through the window. I hate to be out driving in it! Lots of Scots escape to the sun in the winter, sometimes for three months, and I can see why: the long nights, gloomy mornings and days when it just never seems to get properly light can […]

Posted December 5, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Publishing/marketing, Ramblings, Regency romances, The Fire Mages' Daughter / 2 Comments

Regency romance review: ‘Two Corinthians’ by Carola Dunn

I love a good Regency romance, but I find it difficult to find any that aren’t dreadfully silly, and historically inaccurate to boot. I don’t expect every last detail to be perfect, but some things are terribly easy to check, like correct forms of address for the aristocracy, and it’s a great irritant when the author hasn’t even bothered. However, I have no such complaints here. There is a great deal of detail of clothing, and the language is riddled with contemporary cant, but it all felt very authentic. And while there is an outbreak of silliness at the end, it was forgivable. The two Corinthians (men about town) of the title are George Winterbourne and Bertram Pomeroy. Bertram having lost the love of his life to George’s brother, is urged by his ailing father to marry soon. The suggestion is the elder Miss Sutton, Claire, eccentric and spinsterish at […]

Posted December 4, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Mystery review: ‘The Incident at Fives Castle’ by Clara Benson

The fifth twenties murder mystery in the Angela Marchmont series, this time set in a Scottish castle at Hogmanay, where a murder takes place while the occupants are cut off by snow. And wouldn’t you know it, but Angela is the one to discover the body (again). This one was great fun. Spies, a missing scientist, hidden documents, secret meetings and lots of rushing about in the snow. And a whole ocean full of red herrings. I didn’t guess this one at all, but it didn’t matter, it was great fun watching the story unfold, Angela beetle about being helpful and Freddy get his nose (or his ear!) into everything. Since the American Ambassador was one of those present, we also learned a little bit more about Angela’s past, which, far from being illuminating, actually makes her even more mysterious. I’d love to know more about the not-spoken-of Mr Marchmont. […]

Posted December 1, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments