strange and random happenstance

The dubious Riley, Ace of Spies holds a special place in my heart. Why would this suspect series with Sam Neill playing "ace" spy Sidney Reilly hold any meaning for me with all the miniseries I have watched over the years? Because it's my most hated. Well, it was. Until now. The Citadel was looking towards just tying Riley, Ace of Spies and then I realized something, at least I got to watch Sidney Reilly die. I had no such luck with Dr. Andrew Manson M.R.C.P. M.D. Out of curiosity is there an acronym for egocentric monomaniac whinger who I really want to punch in the face? Because if not there should be. Or maybe anyone with those traits should just be called Dr. Andrew Manson? OK, so you're probably thinking, I mean, this is a miniseries adapted from the book by A.J. Cronin that helped inspire Britain to found the NHS so it can't be that bad? Oh, you naive child. You have not suffered through ten of the most miserable hours of television ever created so I will forgive you. And explain. Because I don't want to make you go search out this series to understand my ire, I watched The Citadel so you don't have to. Dr. Andrew Manson is fresh out of medical school and moves to a small Welsh mining village to be a medical assistant to a doctor who is incapacitated. He didn't know this when he took to appointment. So he feels very put out and rails against everyone and everything and how unfair his life is that he lies about being engaged in marriage to get another job in a bigger mining town towing along his now wife Christine who has been sucked into his moaning maelstrom. He's even more dissatisfied at his new job, because of course he is, as his good friend pointed out, he's a man who always wants to reach that pinnacle, that citadel of science up on the hill, and anything less than is viewed as beneath him. So Christine works her ass off and helps him get his M.R.C.P. and then he does some research to get his M.D. but the villagers have offended him and off he goes to London. Where his job isn't perfect, so he quits. He buys a practice, but it's shit. He finally becomes successful, but at what cost? It takes him nine episodes to ask that. At. What. Cost. Because here's the thing, he's not a bad doctor, he's helping to improve everyone's life along the way and the truth is a coal mining village in Wales needs him far more than the hypochondriacs of Harley Street. It's oddly kind of the Doc Martin dilemma, he eventually understands his place is Portwenn. The problem with Dr. Andrew Manson is the damage he inflicts to those he supposedly loves. The way he treats Christine is horrible. He yells and rages and he claims to love her yet because of his self-centered behavior she suffers a horrible miscarriage and can't have children. Then he cheats on her. For quite a while. Then, like she always does, she forgives him and then dies. Getting hit by a bus. While buying cheese he didn't need for his sandwich. FFS! And yet, it wasn't all these horrible things that lead to him realizing he was an ass, it was when his shoe cobbler died at the hands of a doctor he thought was his friend but wasn't any better than a back alley abortionist. I just can't with Dr. Andrew Manson. He is just such an infuriating person. He is a horrible person. I mean; "Flames. Flames! Flaaaames…on the side of my face, breathing, breathless, heaving breaths." Just thinking about him enrages me. The only ONLY mild piece of interest in this entire series is that it's obviously the inspiration for Bramwell. As at his first job there's an inept Dr. Bramwell who likes a sing-a-long, and, well, that, as they say, is history. Sadly I have a feeling Dr. Eleanor Bramwell and Dr. Andrew Manson would get along. All egos in it together.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A.J. Cronin, Bramwell, Clue, Coal Mine, Dissatisfaction, Doc Martin, Doctor, Dr. Andrew Manson, Eleanor Bramwell, Fifty-Five Years a Masterpiece, Mrs. White, NHS, Riley Ace of Spies, Sam Neill, Sidney Riley, The Citadel, Wales

The Hedge Witch by Cari Thomas
Published by: Voyager
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Rowan's family is large and quirky. The Greenfinchs are part of the Wort Cummings grove, another mark of eccentricity against Rowan. Yet Rowan would turn her back on all that for a chance at being popular. She doesn't want to think about how she fits into her family or her grove, she wants to dream about her first kiss and boys. But dreams will have to wait as reality crashes in. She's going to be spending the summer tending to hedges. In Wales. Rowan should be pleased she's leaving the crowded homestead and spending the summer in the Welsh countryside helping her Aunt Winnie who is a hedge witch. After all, those hedges do need watching. But Rowan is convinced her socials need watching more. How else can she know what all her classmates are up to? And it's not like remote Welsh villages are known for their cell service. Though her mother insists they are known for their rugged and handsome boys, which Rowan does not want to hear about from her mother. Especially when she learns that her Aunt Winnie has a boyfriend, meaning Aunt Winifred officially has more of a life than herself. Remote Welsh villages also aren't known for their magic. Because magic is supposed to be locked down. There's a lid on it so that the non-magical folk, the cowans, don't learn of it's existence. And someone isn't playing by the rules in Coedyllaeth. And unbeknownst to Rowan she's about to fall in with them. There aren't many kids her age about and the few magical ones there are form a little band. A band that has their own rules. Laila seems to be the leader, a daughter of a Moon Sower who takes Rowan under her wing. As Rowan informs her, she is desperate for gossip. Any gossip. And that's how she learns about the the oddly quaint town that is chockablock with eccentrics, after all a remote Welsh village surrounded by mystical woodlands with plenty of space and privacy does attract them. What these secretive folk don't like is odd happenings. And they've been occurring. Words disappearing from signs, hands disappearing from clocks. Things that could be written off as vandalism but that others would say is magic. They need to stop. And Rowan might be the only one who can stop them. Maybe summer won't be so boring after all?

When you find a series you love it's hard to wait for each volume to be completed. It might feel like eons when it's just a year or two. We're not bringing George R.R. Martin of Patrick Rothfuss into this conversation. Obviously. And I feel a bit of a hypocrite mentioning this in regard to Cari Thomas's The Language of Magic series because I binged all three available books one after the other last summer. It took me about a month and as I'm writing this review I am feeling the need to do a reread to stave off the withdrawal but will probably save that for when the next book in the main series is minimally announced. Because Cari Thomas is a thoughtful author and besides the man tetraology she is writing a companion prequel novella tetraology with each volume focusing on one of our heroines, Anna Everdell, Effie Fawkes, Rowan Greenfinch, and Miranda Richardson. As I type this I am awaiting the shipping notification for the second novella focusing on Miranda, The Burial Witch, but the first novella wisely focused on Rowan. I say wisely because Rowan is my favorite. Or maybe I should say, because I am Rowan. The thing about this world and these character that Cari Thomas has built is is they are relatable, they are wonderful, and they are occasionally problematic, which makes them painfully real. Effie and Manda in particular aren't written to be sympathetic, but that doesn't mean reading about them isn't enjoyable. You are completely drawn into the drama. The four of them bouncing off each other and causing chaos. Of course, taking them out of that dynamic and seeing them on their own is what this spin-off series is about. And that brings us back to Rowan. I loved Rowan for the moment she first appeared on the page with Darcey being mean about her weight. And then I met her family. They out Weasley the Weasleys. The Christmas celebrations in Shadowstitch are ones I want to crawl into the book and live. Here though she's thrown out into the country, away from her copious family, and she has to learn to solve problems on her own. Which she does with great aplomb. I also love that she has a batty Aunt that is basically a combination of the Witches from Discworld, prickly like Granny Weatherwax but with a libido of Nanny Ogg. I'm so glad she made an appearance in Shadowstitch. Dare I say I just want more of all of it? Yes I do dare. More!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Aunt Winnie, Cari Thomas, Cowans, Discworld, Granny Weatherwax, Moon Sower, Nany Ogg, Novella, Prequel, Rowan Greenfinch, Summer School, Tetraology, The Burial Witch, The Hedge Witch, The Language of Magic, Wales, Weasleys

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: October 9th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A rich, spellbinding new novel from the author of The Lake House - the story of a love affair and a mysterious murder that cast their shadows across generations, set in England from the 1860s until the present day.

My real name, no one remembers.
The truth about that summer, no one else knows.

In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe's life is in ruins.

Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist's sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker's Daughter is a story of murder, mystery, and thievery, of art, love and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river, is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker's daughter."

Kate Morton is an author who has really matured as a writer, each book better than the last and I can't wait for this one!

The Witch Elm by Tana French
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: October 9th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 528 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
" From the writer who "inspires cultic devotion in readers" (The New Yorker) and has been called "incandescent" by Stephen King, "absolutely mesmerizing" by Gillian Flynn, and "unputdownable" (People), comes a gripping new novel that turns a crime story inside out.

Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who's dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life - he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family's ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden - and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.

A spellbinding standalone from one of the best suspense writers working today, The Witch Elm asks what we become, and what we're capable of, when we no longer know who we are."

Family secrets and murder? Yes please!

The World of Lore: Dreadful Places by Aaron Mahnke
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: October 9th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Captivating stories of the places where human evil has left a nefarious mark—featuring both rare and best-loved stories from the hit podcast Lore, now a streaming television series.

Sometimes you walk into a room, a building, or even a town, and you feel it. Something seems off—an atmosphere that leaves you oddly unsettled, with a sense of lingering darkness. Join Aaron Mahnke, the host of the popular podcast Lore, as he explores some of these dreadful places and the history that haunts them.

Mahnke takes us to Colorado and the palatial Stanley Hotel, where wealthy guests enjoyed views of the Rocky Mountains at the turn of the twentieth century—and where, decades later, a restless author would awaken from a nightmare, inspired to write one of the most revered horror novels of all time. Mahnke also crosses land and sea to visit frightful sites—from New Orleans to Richmond, Virginia, to the brooding, ancient castles of England—each with its own echoes of dark deeds, horrible tragedies, and shocking evil still resounding.

Filled with evocative illustrations, this eerie tour of lurid landmarks and doomed destinations is just the ticket to take armchair travelers with a taste for the macabre to places they never thought they’d visit in their wildest, scariest dreams.

This volume includes some of the best stories from the Lore podcast, such as “Echoes,” “Withering Heights,” and “Behind Closed Doors” as well as rare material."

I love it when podcasts jump to books, because it's rare I'll listen to a podcast, but I will sure read a book!

Ghosts of Christmas Past by Neil Gaiman et al
Published by: John Murray
Publication Date: October 9th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A present contains a monstrous secret.
An uninvited guest haunts a Christmas party.
A shadow slips across the floor by firelight.
A festive entertainment ends in darkness and screams.

Who knows what haunts the night at the dark point of the year? This collection of seasonal chillers looks beneath Christmas cheer to a world of ghosts and horrors, mixing terrifying modern fiction with classic stories by masters of the macabre. From Neil Gaiman and M. R. James to Muriel Spark and E. Nesbit, there are stories here to make the hardiest soul quail - so find a comfy chair, lock the door, ignore the cold breath on your neck and get ready to welcome in the real spirits of Christmas."

Did you know that Halloween didn't used to be the only time for ghost stories? This book plans to bring back the tradition of Christmas Chills!

Carols and Chaos by Cindy Anstey
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: October 9th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of Suitors and Sabotage comes a swoonworthy Christmas adventure, perfect for fans of Jane Austen and Downton Abbey. 

1817. The happy chaos of the Yuletide season has descended upon the country estate of Shackleford Park in full force, but lady's maid Kate Darby barely has the time to notice. Between her household duties, caring for her ailing mother, and saving up money to someday own a dress shop, her hands are quite full. Matt Harlow is also rather busy. He's performing double-duty, acting as valet for both of the Steeple brothers, two of the estate's holiday guests.

Falling in love would be a disaster for either of them. But staving off their feelings for each other becomes the least of their problems when a devious counterfeiting scheme reaches the gates of Shackleford Park, and Kate and Matt are unwittingly swept up in the intrigue.

Full of sweetness, charm, and holiday mischief, Carols and Chaos - a standalone companion novel to Suitors and Sabotage - is perfect for readers who like their historical fiction with a side of romance and danger."

And now that we've radically shifted holidays to Christmas, how about this book that promises a fix for fans of Jane Austen and Downton Abbey? Because I am I fan of both!

The Hour of Death by Jane Willan
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: October 9th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 314 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Jane Willan’s The Hour of Death will be a Christmas delight for fans of G. M. Malliet, set on an island in Wales.

Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn make sleuthing a work of art. But will they paint themselves into a corner when they investigate the Village Art Society president’s death?

As Yuletide settles upon Gwenafwy Abbey, the rural Welsh convent’s peace is shattered when Tiffany Reese, president of the Village Art Society, is found dead on the floor of the parish hall. Sister Agatha, whose interests lie more with reading and writing mystery stories than with making the abbey’s world-renowned organic gouda, is not shy about inserting herself into the case. With the not-entirely-eager assistance of Father Selwyn, she begins her investigation.

Sister Agatha has no shortage of suspects to check off her naughty-or-nice list, until finally, Tiffany’s half-brother, Kendrick Geddings, emerges as the prime suspect. There never was any love lost between Tiffany and Kendrick, and of late they had been locked in a vicious battle for control of the family estate. But if Sister Agatha thinks she has the case wrapped up, she’ll have to think again.

As the days of Advent tick by, Sister Agatha is determined to crack the case by Christmas in The Hour of Death, Jane Willan’s perfectly puzzling second Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery."

A Welsh Christmas cozy for a cold winter night!

Queen of Kenosha by Howard Shapiro and Erica Chan
Published by: Animal Media Group LLC
Publication Date: October 9th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A coming of age tale, this is the first installment of the Thin Thinline Trilogy, the fiercely independent Nina Overstreet has an axe to grind. A talented singer-songwriter slogging her way through the burgeoning Greenwich Village folk music scene of 1963, the Queen of Kenosha, Wisconsin, realizes that standing on the cusp of stardom gets her little respect and barely a cup of coffee in New York City. It finally comes, but in a way she could have never imagined. A chance encounter with the mysterious Nick Ladd at a late-night gig spins her life in a different direction―one that becomes a daily balance between life and death, right and wrong. Nick recruits Nina to join him and a team of ex-FBI operatives in a clandestine agency to stop the establishment of the Fourth Reich by undercover Nazis in post-War America. It’s a cause Nina believes in … until she’s forced to compromise the very principles of fairness and patriotism she holds dear. As she and Nick grow closer as partners, she forces him to question his own intentions. But as the body count mounts in pursuit of the Nazi ringleader, the evasive Alex, the stakes grow even higher for Nick and Nina."

I think more small towns in Wisconsin need to be represented in books! Congrats Kenosha!

My Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: October 9th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Comedian and star of The Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Ellie Kemper delivers a hilarious and uplifting collection of essays about one pale woman’s journey from Midwestern naïf to Hollywood semi-celebrity to outrageously reasonable New Yorker.

There comes a time in every sitcom actress’s life when she is faced with the prospect of writing a book. When Ellie Kemper’s number was up, she was ready. Contagiously cheerful, predictably wholesome, and mostly inspiring except for one essay about her husband’s feet, My Squirrel Days is a funny, free-wheeling tour of Ellie’s life - from growing up in suburban St. Louis with a vivid imagination and a crush on David Letterman to moving to Los Angeles and accidentally falling on Doris Kearns Goodwin.

But those are not the only famous names dropped in this synopsis. Ellie will also share stories of inadvertently insulting Ricky Gervais at the Emmy Awards, telling Tina Fey that she has “great hair - really strong and thick,” and offering a maxi pad to Steve Carell. She will take you back to her childhood as a nature lover determined to commune with squirrels, to her college career as a benchwarming field hockey player with no assigned position, and to her young professional days writing radio commercials for McDonald’s but never getting paid. Ellie will guide you along her journey through adulthood, from unorganized bride to impatient wife to anxious mother who - as recently observed by a sassy hairstylist - “dresses like a mom.” Well, sassy hairstylist, Ellie Kemper is a mom. And she has been dressing like it since she was four.

Ellie has written for GQ, Esquire, The New York Times, McSweeney’s, and The Onion. Her voice is the perfect antidote to the chaos of modern life. In short, she will tell you nothing you need to know about making it in show business, and everything you need to know about discreetly changing a diaper at a Cibo Express."

I mean firstly, it's a book with Ellie Kemper and a squirrel on the cover, and buy that no matter the contents. But secondly, PLEASE tell me she's going on a book tour!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Christmas, Cindy Anstey, Ellie Kemper, Ghost of Christmas Past, Jane Willan, Kate Morton, Lore, My Squirrel Days, Neil Gaiman, Queen of Kenosha, Tana French, The Clockmaker's Daughter, Wales, Wisconsin

Winter Sisters by Robin Oliveira
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: February 27th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York, 1879: After an epic snow storm ravages the city of Albany, Dr. Mary Sutter, a former Civil War surgeon, begins a search for two little girls, the daughters of close friends killed by the storm who have vanished without a trace.

Mary’s mother and niece Elizabeth, who has been studying violin in Paris, return to Albany upon learning of the girls’ disappearance—but Elizabeth has another reason for wanting to come home, one she is not willing to reveal. Despite resistance from the community, who believe the girls to be dead, the family persists in their efforts to find the two sisters. When what happened to them is revealed, the uproar that ensues tears apart families, reputations, and even the social fabric of the city, exposing dark secrets about some of the most powerful of its citizens, and putting fragile loves and lives at great risk."

Oh, what happens to them!?!

A Whisper of Bones by Ellen Hart
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: February 27th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fans of Jane Lawless new and old will be fascinated by newly minted Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Ellen Hart’s latest intricate puzzle in A Whisper of Bones.

Britt Ickles doesn’t remember much from her only visit to her mother’s childhood home when she was a kid, except for playing with her cousin Timmy and the eruption of a sudden family feud. That’s why, when she drops by unannounced after years of silence, she’s shocked when her aunts tell her Timmy never existed, that she must be confusing him with someone else. But Britt can’t shake the feeling that Timmy did exist…and that something horrible has happened to him. Something her aunts want to cover up.

Britt hires Jane Lawless, hoping the private investigator can figure out what really happened to her cousin. When a fire in the family’s garage leads to the discovery of buried bones and one of the aunts dies suddenly and suspiciously, Jane can’t help but be pulled into the case. Do the bones belong to Timmy? Was the aunt’s death an accident, suicide, or homicide? What dark secret has this family been hiding for decades? It all depends on Jane Lawless to unravel."

New fan.

Murder in Thistlecross by Amy M. Reade
Published by: Lyrical Underground
Publication Date: February 27th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 228 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The emerald hills and violet valleys of Wales seem the ideal place to start over after murder-and divorce-shattered Eilidh's life in the Scottish Highlands. But within the stone walls of an ancient castle, a family's dark, violent past threatens much more than her newfound tranquility...

For the past two years, Eilidh has called the quaint Welsh village of Thistlecross home, embracing her new life as estate manager of a restored fifteenth-century castle. But the long-anticipated arrival of her employer's three estranged sons and their wives transforms Gylfinog Castell from a welcoming haven to a place seething with dangerous secrets. When the escalating tensions culminate in murder, Eilidh must sift through a castle full of suspects both upstairs and downstairs. She can trust no one as she follows a twisting maze of greed and malice to ferret out a killer who's breaching every defense, preparing to make Eilidh the next to die."

Welsh castle and death!?! YES!

It Takes a Coven by Carol J. Perry
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: February 27th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"There’s a new witch-hunt in Salem, Massachusetts...

When Lee Barrett joins a former student’s bridal party as maid of honor, she expects cake tastings and dress fittings. But wedding planning becomes more peculiar than Lee’s scrying talents could ever predict. There’s a magical baker, a best man with a checkered past, and a talking crow named Poe as the ring bearer. There’s also a kindly old man dead under his apple tree—one of a series of unexplained deaths hanging over the Wiccan community...

With witches dropping dead before they even come out of the proverbial broom closet, Lee’s best friend, River, fears she might have somehow unleashed a terrible curse on the city. Now, aided by Poe and her clairvoyant cat, Lee sets out to investigate. Are lives being claimed by vengeful supernatural forces—or by something more shocking? She soon discovers, casting light on the wicked truth can be one killer commitment..."

I can't be the only one occasionally needing to scratch the mystical cozy read now can I?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Whisper of Bones, Amy M. Reade, Carol J. Perry, Ellen Hart, It Takes a Coven, Jane Lawless, Murder in Thistlecross, Robin Oliveira, Tuesday Tomorrow, Wales, Winter Sisters

Stephanie Burgis is one of those lucky Jane Austen lovers who has somehow managed to escape the United States (East Lansing, Michigan to be exact) and relocate to Great Britain, where she now has dual citizenship, I am so jealous. She lives in Wales, after some years in Yorkshire, surrounded by castles (even more jealous) and coffee shops, and one would hope a bookstore or twelve. Stephanie shares her life with her husband Patrick Samphire, who is also a Middle Grade writer among other things. They have two sons, who I am sure will grow up to be book addicts, who could avoid that fate being raised by these two? Stephanie has exquisite tastes in books, and one of her favorite by Austen is Northanger Abbey, which I also adore and view as her most underappreciated book. She is also a huge fan of Caroline Stevermer who happens to be the next featured author this month!

Stephanie has spent much time in school, from the United States to Vienna to England she has learned about music and then writing. I love finding a fellow educational enthusiast who is willing to take the time to learn! Though occasionally it feels as if you'll never be done with school. Writing a vast plethora of short stories, literally over thirty stories for teens and adults, she has turned to writing books, as well as more short stories. After a health setback she took her writing from a darker place to a lighter place, and place a comfort that I know all Janeites feel is home, Regency England. Though Stephanie's has a little some extra, a little magic! Her first book in this series, Kat, Incorrigible, won the 2011 Waverton Good Reads Award for Best Debut Children's Novel by a British Writer, under its UK title, A Most Improper Magick, and rightfully deserved I say! Now let's talk to Stephanie a little more.

Question: When did you first discover Jane Austen?

Answer: My dad read me Pride and Prejudice when I was eight years old, and I fell head-over-heels in love! I ended up devouring all of her novels, and I've re-read almost all of them many times since then.

Question: What do you think Jane Austen would think of her impact with so many literary offshoots, from parody to pastiche?

Answer: I'm sure she'd be pleased by her success, although she might wish she had gotten paid better for the books at the time she originally published them...

Question: Where do you get your inspiration from?

Answer: All of my books feature families, not just solitary characters, and that definitely comes from my own experience growing up in a big, noisy, loving family. As for the rest of it - the setting of my first Kat book, Kat, Incorrigible, was based on Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, where my husband and I used to go almost every weekend to soak in the atmosphere and walk our dog. Walking around Georgian House museums all across the UK was really, really helpful. And the second Kat book, Renegade Magic was directly inspired by my many trips to the city of Bath, and particularly by the wonderful Museum of the Roman Baths, which is amazing. I highly recommend a visit to anyone who ever gets the chance!

Question: What makes the early 19th century mesh so well with magic?

Answer: It's recent enough - and popular enough - to feel accessible even for people who don't generally read historical fiction, but it's also distant enough from our own time period to feel exotic and a bit like a fantasy setting in itself! I think the fact that we accept so many different social rules and expectations when we're reading Regency-era novels sets us up as readers to accept different rules of magic/reality as well.

Question: The world building and system of magic varies greatly in the regency fantasy genre, how did you go about creating yours?

Answer: I loved getting to create different layers of magic and secrecy in my world-building, rather than just having one system of magic. There's the magic everyone knows about (and is horrified by), witchcraft, but then there's also secret Guardian magic and the wild magic that even the Guardians fear. I don't do a lot of plotting or outlining before I write my books, but I discovered all the different layers as I wrote and had a lot of fun with them!

Question: If you had to choose between writing only period literature or only fantasy literature, which would win?

Answer: Fantasy would have to win, for me. I've published lots of contemporary fantasy short stories in various magazines, and the MG novel I'm working on right now is set in a secondary world that's only loosely based on early nineteenth century Germany. But I would never want to give up writing historical fiction, either! I have a historical fantasy novel for adults coming out next year, Masks and Shadows, which is set in a real eighteenth-century palace in Hungary, full of intrigue, magic and romance. It was delicious to get to play with another rich historical setting as I wrote that book. I can't imagine giving up writing historical fiction!

Question: Be honest, have you ever dressed up in Regency clothes just to pretend for a moment you are in the past?

Answer: Ha! No - but only for lack of opportunity. I would loooove to dress up in a real Regency outfit just to feel it for myself instead of having to guess exactly how those gowns really feel on my characters.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Most Improper Magic, Bath, Bolton Abbey, Jane Austen, Kat Incorrigible, Masks and Shadows, Middle Grade, Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Regency Magic, Renegade Magic, Stephanie Burgis, Wales, Yorkshire

They sat beneath the crumbling arches of a ruined abbey, taking tea and scones in the waning afternoon light. Nearby, an automaton gave gentry folk a tour of the formal gardens.

The summer had passed in a haze of adventure: patchwork golems rendered of iron and flesh; glowing terrors on the welsh marshes; glass men animated by the strangest blue aether; revenants loose in the Houses of Parliament.

Newbury smiled warmly. "Finally," he said, taking her hand. "Some time to ourselves."

"I fear not," sighed Veronica, glancing over his shoulder. "Here comes Sir Charles, and his face is like thunder."


George Mann has been "messing around writing 100 word Newbury and Hobbes stories recently." So, when he offered to write one especially for Steampunk Summer I jumped at the chance. As he told me, he "might not have time for a lengthy blog post" but what he has written is pure magic. I quite literally spent a few months trying to find a picture that would complement the text but without taking away from the visual it created in my mind. I know it doesn't do the text justice, but it's a place your mind somewhat conjures, if not precisely, when you are lost in George's words. Look for more George in the coming days!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: George Mann, Golem, Newbury and Hobbes, Steampunk Summer, Wales

The Wyvern's Treasure (Nathaniel Fludd Book 3) by R.L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: October 5th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
Challenge: Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Nathaniel Fludd and his Aunt Phil have cared for a Phoenix and helped recapture an escaped Basilisk. All in a days work for a Beastologist, except that there's this niggling doubt that perhaps they've been set up. How did that Basilisk escape? Also what of the sightings of a red haired man at both sites? Rushing back to England to solve these mysteries and perhaps answer a few relating to Nathaniel's parents disappearance, they find even more trouble. Aunt Phil's house has been ransacked, but luckily Cornelius, her pet Dodo, is fine, even if he might object to the word "pet." He in fact might object to many things, including Nathaniel and his "pet" Greasle, a gremlin, which is very similar to "vermin" in Cornelius's book. According to Cornelius the home invader looked very much like Phil... leading to the conclusion that perhaps the branch of the family that was long ago disowned due to their greed and corruption has returned to wreck vengeance. Octavius Fludd must have passed on his hatred of the other Fludds to his living descendant, Obediah. Hoping that perhaps Nathaniel's parents' lawyer and his ex governess, Miss Lumpton, might have some answers to their problems, they head to London by train, a far preferable means of transportation to Aunt Phil's rickety plane. But the lawyers office is boarded up and heading on to the Fludd homestead in Upton Downs, they discover this house has been ransacked as well and Miss Lumpton's possessions have been cleared out. But they don't have long to consider the ramifications of a second home invasion because a plea comes from Wales. The Wyverns are restless. These glorious dragons were long ago tamed into behavior by a treaty. This Covenant protected not only the people and their crops but helped to hide the Wyverns and keep them happy and secluded. Only a person has broken the treaty by entering their caves. It doesn't take Phil and Nathaniel long to realize that this has to be Obediah's work. If they can only find him before it's too late and the Covenant lies in tatters while the countryside burns.

Nathaniel Fludd and his adventures are a quick little joy to read. They have that nostalgic olde tyme feel with the exploratory gene akin to Indiana Jones. What I loved about this book was the Wyverns. In the two previous installments we had the beauty of the Phoenix, which introduced the glories of being a Beastologist to Nathaniel. In the second book, the Basilisk showed Nathaniel the dangers. But what we get with the Wyverns is something entirely new. They aren't good or evil, they just live by their instincts, but they have an intelligence and an ability to understand and communicate that the others did not. Instead of just observing the beasts, we get more of an inner knowledge as to how they think, how they live and love. Plus, instead of lone creatures, they live together in a community raising their young and forming life long bonds. Also, it never really struck me before about the underlying message of animal preservation. Creatures that were once pests and vermin were hunted into extinction or close to. Now these beasts become rare endangered animals and it's up to the Beastologists to nurture and care for the creatures while keeping them hidden from the outside world who contributed to their depleted numbers. Without bashing you over the head, but showing us these wonderful beasts, Robin is teaching kids the importance of animals, that it's preservation and care not exploitation that need to be embraced. Because as everyone knows, if there are still dragons in the world, we don't know of them anymore, so either the Beastologists are doing a really good job or they were too late. Hopefully the kids reading these books will realize there is a time when it's too late and it's best to start helping animals yesterday.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 3 comments  

Labels: Aunt Phil, Basilisk, Beastologist, Cornelius, Dodo, Greasle, Indiana Jones, Miss Lumpton, Nathaniel Fludd, Obediah Fludd, Phil A. Fludd, Phoenix, R.L. LaFevers, Reading Challenge, Wales, Wyverns