My Favourite Character by Victoria Chatham

 

AVAILABLE HERE

I was recently asked which is my favourite character out of all my books, and why. It was a thought-provoking question, one I couldn't answer immediately. It’s that classic dilemma: you shouldn’t favour one of your children over the others; you should love them all equally. Sometimes you might not like them, or they might not like you, but that love remains the solid foundation upon which you build.

But, the characters in my books are not my children. My heroes tend to be the strong, silent types—disciplined, no-nonsense men with a natural sense of duty. They can look after themselves, but they truly thrive when they have a lady in their lives. My heroines challenge what has traditionally been regarded as societal norms. I strongly believe that, in every era, there are individuals who stand out, and this is crucial for all of my heroines. I have no hesitation now in choosing Emmeline Deveraux, the heroine from my first Regency romance, His Dark Enchantress. 

With the Napoleonic Wars raging across Europe, they created the perfect environment for Emmeline’s secret life as a spy. Her equestrian skills developed from my passion for everything related to horses, but I also drew on records from Astley's Amphitheatre, which opened in 1768. Philip Astley is widely regarded as the father of the modern circus. He initially ran a riding school, but later, he and his wife Patty Jones performed trick riding shows. Their acts became more popular when Philip decided to combine his riding expertise with clowning.

Astley's Amphitheatre

Besides Emmeline being an excellent horsewoman, she could also drive a team of horses, for which I drew on the expertise of Mrs. Cynthia Haydon (1918-2012), who, with her husband Frank, bred, trained, and exhibited the naturally high-stepping Hackney Horse. Their Hurstwood Stud in Sussex, England, was renowned worldwide and many of their horses were exported, especially to the USA. The Hackney Horse is now regarded as a rare breed.

Mrs. Cynthia Haydon

 When I first envisioned Emmeline, she wasn't neat and tidy like a proper Regency lady would have been. Her long black hair was loose, she was barefoot, and astride a black horse. It was pouring with rain, and she was soaked to the skin. Her eyes were blue, and one reader mentioned she sounded like Elizabeth Taylor, which had never occurred to me. However, as a twelve-year-old, Elizabeth Taylor played Velvet Brown in the 1944 film ‘National Velvet’, so it might have been an instinctive rather than deliberate choice. Although Emmeline would have preferred to stay at her grandfather’s home in Devon, he sent her to London for the Season, ostensibly to find a husband, as was the custom.

In her rural surroundings, Emmeline was in control. In London, she worried that someone from her past might recognise her, risking her chances of a favourable marriage. It is when she is kidnapped that Emmeline’s true character reveals itself. Fearful but resolute, she fights with all her might for survival. Emmeline can be forceful, funny, loving, but most of all, a woman with a mind of her own. Dare I say a gal after my own heart?

Victoria Chatham

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Images from the public domain.

 

Were you sober when you wrote this?

 

While promoting books, I get many questions. Some are funny: "Are you any of your characters?" The answer is no, the characters are all younger, smarter, and better looking than me.

The question that gave me pause was, "Were you sober when you wrote this book?"

Replaying that question caused so many thoughts to surface. I read that Robert Louis Stevenson wrote "Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde" while on a twenty-four-hour cocaine binge. Having read that book as a naive high school student, I wondered what crazy visions Stevenson must've had to dream up something so twisted and diabolical. As an adult I think, cocaine seemed a likely contributor.

William S. Burroughs was known for missing deadlines. It's rumored that his agent resorted to locking the author in a room and only supplying him with a bottle of booze after Burroughs passed another chapter under the door.

An upstart Nevada distillery uses a tagline: "Drink bourbon because no good story ever started after a kale salad." The reality of that ad might be balanced by a quote from Jimmy Breslin: "Don't trust a brilliant idea until it survives the hangover."

 I embrace this great quote from Ring Lardner, "No one, ever, wrote anything as well after even one drink as he would've done without it."

The answer to that original question; "I was stone cold sober". The questioner's reaction was to recoil. His unspoken follow-up question was probably, "You have thoughts like that when you're NOT drinking?"

Each of my mysteries is a collection of sometimes crazy sober thoughts, strung together by the dialogue between the fictional characters. Writing fiction allows me to release all those crazy thoughts that pop to mind, like when some idiot cuts you off in traffic.

Check my publisher's website for links to "A Bourbon to Die For" and all of my other books.

Authors — BWL Publishing

A haunting excerpt from Secrets of Lakeluster House, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

To purchase this novel, click HERE

 For those of you who like spooky stories, but not overly so, please enjoy this excerpt from my young adult novel. It's also a coming of age story for my protagonist.

Editorial Review by Renee Duke A YA novel that will definitely appeal to young teens who like scary stories, Secrets Of Lakeluster House successfully conveys the insecurity and emotional turmoil of its adolescent and preteen protagonists as they find courage they didn’t know they had.

An excerpt, the children are exploring a secret passage:

Sage stopped and raised her light; the hall appeared to curve. She couldn’t see Patrick anywhere. She was about to call out for her cousin. Something materialized in front of her, shifting hues of white and beige, transparent, yet slightly solid.

She froze, mute, unable to turn her head to see if Nate was there. Alarm rushed through her.

The woman in the long apron morphed out of the floating material. She turned her pleading eyes on Sage. “He no longer loved me,” she murmured. “We had plans.”

“Grandma Esther?” Sage thought she said the words aloud, or were they in her head? Had she really heard the woman speak?

The young man who resembled Huntley in a thinner version appeared beside the woman. “It was over, Essie,” he said with a British accent. "We had a bit of fun. Let’s remain friends.”

Sage’s stomach tightened into a fist. Why couldn’t she speak?

The man then stared right at Sage, his eyes black holes, which suddenly changed to ice blue. “Sage, you must go back.” His voice was so familiar. “You aren’t safe.”

He’d said her name! How was that possible? The woman nodded.

“He’s right. Leave us, dear. Be a good girl.” Then she pulled something from her apron pocket. The pistol.

Sage shuddered and nausea rose in her throat.

To purchase my books, visit my publisher's author page:

https://bwlpublishing.ca/lewis-diane-scott/

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with one naughty dachshund.

The Art of Diplomacy

 

Find my books here

I have lovely neighbours, and I'm not just talking about the ones who live next door but those in half a dozen of the houses and bungalows up and down the lane. Because we all live opposite fields that lead to woods and then on down to a wild beach, we often bump into each other when we're walking our dogs and stop to chat. And some of these meetings have led to close friendships over the years, friendships that always make room for new people when properties are sold. We're a mixed bunch too, with ages ranging from the thirties to the eighties, and yet that never seems to matter. Impromptu suppers, invitations for drinks in the late afternoon that go on until almost midnight, coffee at the end of a dog walk or just because. 

We help one another too. Parcels taken in, recycling bins put out, gardens watered, information about local tradesmen shared, family successes celebrated. And most valuable of all, the knowledge that if any of us need emergency help others will be there with a tow rope, buckets, mops, candles, strong arms, repairing skills and tools, hot tea, a meal, or just a comforting hand. 

Although this all sounds idyllic, it does, however, come at a cost because, inevitably, such a divergent mix of characters means an equally divergent mix of opinions. Left wing, right wing, the fence sitters, the easily offended, the intransigent. And who is what is sometimes surprising too. Age doesn't always equate with knowledge for example. And of course there are the talkers and the listeners, the questioners and the opinionated. One is a source of jokes and some of the few slightly risqué ones can lead to a very brief pause in the general flow of conversation! And yet everyone is kind. A difference of opinion is accepted without ever leading to argument. Not in what is probably the bravest way, such as 'let's agree to disagree on this one,' but by smiling and nodding and then encouraging the conversation to flow in a different direction.

The coward's way out? In this instance I don't think so. Having good neighbours is a two-way benefit that none of us want to destabilise, so we accept our differences, know that we are not there to judge, and save our arguments for those friends and family members whose robust rejoinders we can count upon.

One other thing. So far I've only discovered one reader amongst the lot, and coming from a family of readers and writers I find that shocking. I don't say so though. Not the right place for such an opinion! A wonderful source of characterisations though although if they ever turn up in one of my books they will be heavily disguised. 

In my book Miss Locatelli, Arabella, the main character, has to learn diplomacy the hard way. She gets there in the end but it takes a while! If you like sparky personalities who are not afraid of speaking their mind and getting into an argument, then she is the one for you.