The Secret Wife by Gill Paul

Gill Paul’s latest novel is an intriguing blend of two stories in two different eras. A young woman hides away at a cabin inherited from her great-grandfather in upstate New York; Kitty is reeling after discovering her husband’s infidelity and still mourning her parents’ sudden death. The cabin offers her a place to think, and she determines to learn more about the man she inherited it from.

Dmitri Malama is a Russian soldier recovering from an injury in 1914 at Tsarskoe Selo, where he is looked after by Grand Duchess Tatiana who, along with her mother and her sister Olga, is training as a nurse to help the war effort. Dmitri and Tatiana grow close and begin to exchange letters, and gradually we come to understand the connection between Kitty’s family and the Russian royal family.

The Secret Wife is an enthralling and page-turning story linking two intriguing women and the very different lives they lead. This book follows the characters’ journeys across the century from the horror of the First World War and the terrors of the Russian Revolution, to the émigré community of Berlin between the wars, and the hustle and bustle of the mid-century New York publishing scene. It is wonderfully researched and beautifully written. This novel will appeal to fans of Rachel Hore and Lucinda Riley and offers readers a perfect blend of romance and history.

Editor's Choice HNR 78

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-secret-wife/

The Edge of the Fall by Kate Williams

Kate Williams’ novel continues the saga of the de Witt family, in the aftermath of the Great War. The period covered is 1919-1926, and comparisons to Downton Abbey will be inevitable. Williams, however, is a writer of powers much greater than the soap-opera variety of Downton, with a knack for creating sympathetic, if not always likeable, characters and flawless dialogue. She captures the era perfectly, and Celia the book’s main protagonist gives it a name: ‘war fatigue’. There is a listlessness and lack of drive in many of the characters: without the war and with an uncertain future, what are they to do now? Celia feels too old and ugly for love and she fails at Finishing School. Cousin Louisa feels that at many of the parties she attends in London people are portraying a false gaiety, their smiles falling away when they think they are unobserved. Emmeline is fading from tiredness, raising twins. Rudolph, home from the internment camp, is in rapid decline; though barely fifty he looks eighty. The old order is crumbling, as all the drive and energy in the book is with those who wish to create a new order; Tom through business, and Samuel through protest.

The book is also a mystery and a family drama. The story opens with the death of a young woman, and the reader will spend 400 pages wondering, did she fall? Or was she pushed? We are given three points of view: Celia, Louisa and briefly, Arthur. While the mystery invites the reader in, it is the meticulous attention to detail and wonderful characterisation which will captivate readers and hold their attention. Williams is certainly a writer to watch.

Set Me Free by Daniela Sacerdoti Blog Tour

I was thrilled to be invited to take part in the blog tour for Daniela Sacerdoti's newest Glen Avich novel. It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Dani's writing. Dani's newest book Set Me Free is now available in paperback and kindle edition and comes with a free recipe book.

Set Me Free is the third of Daniela Sacerdoti's Glen Avich novels set in the tight knit community of an Aberdeenshire Village. The books are loosely connected and have some recurring characters However they can be read as entirely stand alone novels and in any order. Believe me once you have discovered this author you will want to read more.
Set Me Free is the story of Margherita whose world is falling apart. Unable to have children of their own she and her husband adopted six year old Lara, a troubled but incredibly bright young girl and then a miracle happens Margherita gets pregnant but what should be a time of joy instead becomes a crisis as Ash; Margherita's cold and distant husband isn't sure he wants another child. Although they manage to patch things up for a time when Leo is three the cracks in their marriage become too huge to ignore on top of which Margherita is worried about Lara who is now fifteen and struggling with anger issues and bullying at school and online. Margherita asks Ash for a separation, desperate to find some space and time to think. She travels to Glen Avich where her Mum and Step-Dad run the local coffee shop. The village has a revitalising effect on both Lara and her Mum and they fall in love with the peace and quiet, the fresh air, the scenery and the people. But is Margherita ready to give her heart away again when she meets historian Torcuil Ramsay? and who is the mysterious boy that Lara has been seeing in secret? After a summer of rediscovering her love of baking and finding what she really wants you will be rooting for Margherita to make the right decision. An enchanting read from a wonderful writer. Daniela Sacerdoti goes beyond the boundaries of contemporary romance incorporating elements of magical realism and the supernatural. I defy you not to fall in love with the place, the characters and the writing.

Daniela was kind enough to answer a few questions for me, which I greatly appreciate.

Five Books that Inspired you

Many, many books inspired me but some stand out.

First and foremost, it has to be Anne of Green Gables by Lucy M. Montgomery, probably my favourite book of all time. It’s the story of an orphaned girl in Canada and the readers gets to follow her absorbing journey through life over six books as she grows up and gets married. Her story really touched me and has stayed with me ever since I first read the books.

The second book has to be Wuthering Heights – so beautifully written and immensely powerful; its images are burnt into my imagination.

I’m also really into Harry Potter – I’ve read all seven books and I think J. K. Rowling is amazing. Recently, at the Colombia Book Fair, I was asked who would I be if I were a character in the Harry Potter saga, and which house would I be in – my answers were Luna Lovegood, and Ravenclaw.

I was lucky enough to have my dad reading The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to me when I was very young. I loved them and they stayed in my imagination forever – I would advise anyone to read them both!

Finally, advice for new writers: To be very determined and not let themselves be discouraged by rejection and criticism. To work very hard and to be themselves, write from the heart and not pay heed to trends or to what the market wants at that given moment.
And last, but not least, to read a lot!


Thank you very much to Janne at Black & White Publishing for sending me a copy of the book for review.

Find out more about Dani and her books at her website http://danielasacerdoti.com/en/adult-fiction/ and her twitter @danisacerdoti

Author Spotlight

Hello again sorry for the unexpected absence but I have returned with an interview with the lovely Susan Lanigan.  

Susan is the author of the amazing White Feathers one of my favourite books this year.

White Feathers is the tale of Eva Downey, neglected daughter of  an Irish family living in London, bright, bookish and stifled she jumps at the chance to attend a school for young ladies in Kent. Here she learns to express herself, makes friends with the charming Sybil and finds a kindred spirit in teacher Christopher Shandlin. However Christopher is a conscientious objector and using the threat of not sending her beloved sister Grace for life saving medical treatment, Eva's family bully her into presenting him with a white feather, the symbol of cowardice. Eva is devastated and throws herself into war work. The impact of the white feather resounds through the years affecting Christopher, Eva and their families. This is a wonderful novel of love, war, family and duty and for me was one of the outstanding debuts of the year. I cannot wait to see what Susan will write next. If you haven't picked this book up yet then get it for Christmas for yourself or a friend and read it you won't be disappointed.


1. Do you plan your work in detail and then research or does your research spark and inform your ideas?

I tend to use the real events the way Tarzan uses ropes to swing from tree to tree – the real event being the next tree and my story being the ropes between. This is especially helpful in first drafts where the plot is coming into shape. For the first draft of White Feathers, I did a month of research and jotted down some notes, but it was hard to know exactly where I was going until I wrote it, and during that draft, the direction changed. There was a character who was only supposed to have one scene but he came in and utterly stole the show, and my heart, so he became a protagonist.

The real events stayed as absolutes. You can’t just move the battle of Loos…though I’m sure the many people who were butchered in that pointless caper would wish otherwise.

2. Do you think historical fiction is enjoying a resurgence and why is that?

At the most basic level – this would be my guess – historical fiction often focuses around dramatic events. This means that things happen, which is good for plot! The greater power struggles also provide a magnifying glass for the meaner, smaller ordinary abuses of power that take place. White Feathers is organised around an individual act of emotional violence that is perpetrated in the wake of a massive historical event, World War I. Everything is on a bigger scale, more dramatic.


3.What draws you to writing about the past?

I write about the past so that I can write aslant about the present. In one part of the book I have a character, Lucia, urging Eva, the protagonist, to “sing it straight” – that’s an operatic term which means without adornment or affectation.

Also the more I got into the characters’ minds, the more irritated I became with the idea that “we in the present” know so much better. What nonsense. These people are intelligent! They know what’s going on.

I have my characters battle emotional and physical violence because I see how power works, then and now. Although I am not writing about Ireland, the cruelty we Irish have inflicted on our own who in any way “let the side down”, or were different, kindles rage in my heart. Anger fires me. Love may light a candle in the darkness, but anger will plug you into the entire National Grid.

4. Do you have a typical writing day?

I never work in the mornings, mostly because all through drafts 1-4 of White Feathers, I had a job and all my energy was focused on getting out the door on time. The fifth draft was done with my editor and I took time out of the workplace for that.

I do everything from Dropbox so it won’t get lost. There is always a ritual to Opening the File. The time between my sitting down to write and Opening the File can be a good half an hour. This is not the fault of Dropbox.

I never work in silence. I always, always, listen to music. Characters have songs. Events have songs. I’m a very aural person.

5. What are you working on now?

Two stories are fighting each other: one is about the Sudetenland and a dangerous romance. The first draft is three quarters done. However a particular individual in White Feathers very much wants her own story and is staking her claim. She is a demanding but charming muse, and difficult to resist.