Author: valerieholmesauthor

Valerie has had over 50 novellas and 7 novels published, both historical and contemporary. Two of which have been shortlisted for awards by the Romantic Novelists’ Association. She is a previous winner of Writing Magazine’s, ‘Annual Ghost Story Competition’. This illustrates her love of writing under the genres of ‘Romantic Adventure’ or darker ‘History Mystery’. Valerie is an experienced creative writing tutor working for The London School of Journalism, Writing Magazine and independently. As well as being an author herself, she enjoys being a reviewer of books for the Historical Novel Society and is also member of the ALLI and the Society of Authors.

Meet romantic novelist, Virginia Heath

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I am delighted to welcome prolific romance writer Virginia Heath as my guest today.

  • When and where did your passion for writing begin?

Hard to say, as I think it’s always been there. As a child I loved to read and devoured books like they were going out of fashion. At school I had a talent for writing and secretly fancied myself as an author one day but never dared say that out loud because I came from a very working class, blue-collar background. Girls like me dreamed of working in an office, they most certainly didn’t write books! But I made up stories in my head instead so I suppose it spiralled from there.

  • When did inspiration strike for your successful Wild Warriners Quartet?

The old Hollywood musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers! I love it, especially the premise – seven down on their luck farmers living in the middle of nowhere, all in desperate want of a wife. The Wild Warriners is my homage to that glorious film – but I thought having seven brothers was a bit much so I settled on four. Like the original brothers, the series starts with them working their land themselves because they cannot afford to hire anyone to help them. Unlike the originals, the Warriners descend from the aristocracy, with the eldest brother Jack being an earl and they tend part of his sprawling but dilapidated country estate in deepest, darkest, dankest Nottinghamshire.

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  • Is Regency your favourite period of history or are there others you want to set your future work in?

I’m a proper history nerd – I used to be a history teacher – so I love most periods of history. However, thanks to Mr Darcy, I do have a particular soft spot for the Regency. I think it’s the tight breeches and boots.

  •  Your historical research is impeccable. However, you keep the hero and heroine attractive and the dialogue accessible, whilst giving a flavour that is true to the period. How do you achieve this?

It’s a delicate balance writing a historical. Purists want you to keep everything strictly within the period. Modern readers want characters they can relate to. I figure, no matter what the historical backdrop, people are people so my characters think a lot like we do now. My heroes aren’t misogynists and my heroines aren’t subservient doormats. That said, if you are going to write history you have to get it right. The world my characters live in is completely accurate and although I don’t write hither and thither, I make sure my characters don’t say modern phrases which will pull readers out of the story.

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  • You are a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association – what does the organisation mean to you?

When I first started writing, the only writer I knew was me. I had nobody to talk shop with. Nobody to guide me through the confusing world of publishing and all it entails. Joining the Romantic Novelists Association was a godsend! I’ve made so many friends and learned so many things. It truly is one of the most supportive and nurturing institutions which champions romantic fiction in all its forms and I cannot say enough good things about it.

  • What key advice would you share with aspiring writers?

Write the book! Forget manuals on how to write, don’t get bogged down in everything else to do with publishing; if you want to be a published writer it starts with a completed book. Join a writing group, allow other writers to critique your manuscript. Take their advice on board and be prepared to revise and revise those words until they are perfect. Oh yes – and develop a thick skin! If you are determined to be a writer, you’ll need it.

  • Each author has their own favoured way of working – would you share yours with us?

My books run between 80K and 90K words – that’s a pretty standard sized novel. If I want to publish four a year it means I have to be semi-disciplined. I don’t have the luxury of waiting for the elusive muse to show up. I’m not entirely sure I believe in the muse anyway because it’s my brain thinking stuff up, so I just need to make sure I get my brain in gear. I do that by having a routine. It starts with a cup of tea and a dog walk, I do about 30 minutes of social media or admin, then I take myself up to my office and read only the words I wrote the day before, editing as I go to get me back into the zone. Then I pick up where I left off. There is no magic to it really. I work every day, Monday to Friday from around 8am till 4ish with regular breaks and a long lunch. I stop when the alarm goes off on my computer regardless of where I am in a sentence. In fact, finishing mid-sentence really feeds the muse overnight and ensures I’m raring to go the next morning. I try not to work evenings or weekends unless I am up against a deadline. I also try not to write on holidays or breaks. It’s important to recharge the batteries.

  • What has been the highlight of your writing career to date?

My RONA (Romantic Novel of the Year) nomination in 2017. To be shortlisted was the most amazing feeling in the world. That said, seeing each book on the shelves in a bookshop never gets old either. I always go and visit a new book on publication day.

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  • What project are you working on next?

I’ve just finished my second series – The King’s Elite. It’s a quartet featuring four Regency spies, which has been huge fun to write. It’s been fascinating researching all the smuggling and shenanigans which went on and then weaving some of that into stories which are best described as romantic suspense with a dash of comedy here and there. I can’t ever seem to write a book without a dash of funny. The final book, The Determined Lord Hadleigh, comes out in June. Then, just for a change, I have a Victorian romance coming out early next year involving my first older hero and heroine. It’s called Lilian and the Irresistible Duke and it’s set mostly in one of my favourite cities – Rome. But this has Renaissance art and the Vatican as a backdrop rather than all the high jinks of smuggling. Right now, I am working on a new standalone story about a nerdy heroine who likes to dig up ruins, and a reclusive earl who is all done with life. It’s a RomCom Beauty-and-the-Beast meets Indiana Jones story. Or at least I think it is. I can’t plot, so I have no idea how it is going to turn out yet! As per usual, I really won’t know what sort of story it truly is until I write the words ‘the end’.

Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to answer my questions.

Here are Virginia’s social media links:-

Website: https://www.virginiaheathromance.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virginiaheathauthor/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/VirginiaHeath_

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virginiaheathwrites/

Aunty Mary’s Traditional Yorkshire Pudding recipe.

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Sunday has always been a family day to me. One traditional dish that I have fond memories of, especially on a wet and windy winter’s day, was a roast dinner with home made Yorkshire Puddings accompanied with a fresh mint sauce.

Although this lovely staple regional food is highly regarded it is very simple to do.

This is the recipe that has been passed on down through time to my Aunty Mary who then gave it to me.

The first recorded reference to this versatile savoury pudding was in the early eighteenth century, when it was described as ‘dripping pudding’ but I suspect it had been used for a long time before that. It started as a way of using up the dripping fat from the roast with a simple batter to make a filling accompaniment to the meal.

Ingredients

4 eggs
200 ml whole milk (you can use semi-skimmed)
200 grams plain flour
pinch of salt
one tablespoon of cold water

Method

Heat up an oven to 200C

 

 

Whisk the eggs until light and fluffy in a bowl and then whisk in the milk. A hand whisk is all that is needed for this.

Then spoon in the sieved flour and add the pinch of salt until you have a smooth mixture that just coats the back of a spoon smoothly when poured over it. You can stir in a spoon of cold water or leave the mixture to stand a few hours in a fridge.

Prepare a 12 bun baking tin by coating each bun case with either lard, or a sunflower or vegetable oil that can take high temperatures. Place the tin in the hot oven and leave for 5 minutes until the oil is smoking and hot.

Remove the bun tin from the oven and pour in the batter evenly between the 12 indents. It should instantly begin to fry and bubble.

Replace the tin in the oven quickly and bake for for 15 to 20 minutes at 230C until the Yorkshires rise and are golden brown and crispy on the outside.

Their are all sorts of things written about the height and size of a Yorkshire pudding, but a simple recipe and a wholesome pudding should just be enjoyed as it has for many years.

Yorkshire pudding batter has been used in many variations over the years and I would love to learn of people’s favourite recipes as it is such a feel-good simple part of a meal.

Catching up: Sapere Books 1 year on!

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Congratulations to Amy, Caoimhe and Richard on there first birthday as Sapere Books.

Amy has taken time out of her busy schedule to share some of the events that have happened in this amazing first year.

Since we last caught up in March 2018, a lot has happened at Sapere Books! We now have over 40 authors who have joined the Sapere family, and we have published lots of fabulous novels in our first year.

The genres we were looking for initially are thriving: crime fiction; historical fiction and romantic fiction are all very popular with our readers, and books in a series do particularly well for us. We are just about to publish in a genre we haven’t tried yet: military ‘action and adventure’ fiction, and we are preparing to launch titles in that genre by this time next year, including a Vietnam combat series and Tudor-era naval fiction.

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The team with the winner of The Sapere Books Popular Romantic Fiction Award, Catherine Isaac

One of the most exciting announcements for us in our first year is our sponsorship of two excellent writing awards. In March we sponsored a new award for 2019 from the Romantic Novelists’ Association: The Sapere Books Popular Romantic Fiction Award. The shortlist was very strong and the winner was Catherine Isaac for her wonderful novel YOU ME EVERYTHING. We are also the new sponsors of the Crime Writers’ Association Historical Dagger Award. The shortlist will be announced at CrimeFest in May and I can’t wait to read them all! We are also currently interviewing for our first full-time staff member, which is very exciting, so we should have a new Editorial Assistant to introduce to our authors soon!

Many of the authors we signed up before our launch are working on new projects with us, as they are thrilled with reader feedback and the wonderful work Caoimhe has been doing marketing our books: we regularly feature on Amazon’s best-seller lists, and have been getting Kindle deals world-wide, from the US to Australia – and even India!

We don’t anticipate growing our list hugely in the next year, as we already have so many amazing books scheduled for release, but we will continue to support our Sapere family and we hope all of our authors will continue working with us for many years to come!

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Happy Birthday Sapere Books!

 

Catching up with Linda Stratmann

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Welcome back, Linda.
Congratulations on becoming the new Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association!
Photos by Gary Stratmann
Photographs by Gary Stratmann
Linda, what is your vision for the CWA as the new Chair?
One of the greatest pleasures of being a member of the CWA has been the people I have met and the friends I have made. I joined in 2004 and have served as Membership Secretary, Dagger Liaison Officer and Vice Chair. Seeing the membership numbers grow, with new Chapters formed both at home and abroad has been a rewarding and exciting experience.
The benefits to our members as listed on our website, are substantial. We are doing so much more to interact with other organisations, supporting libraries, booksellers and publishers and have established National Crime Reading Month, and formed the Crime Readers Association, which is free to join, and provides a regular newsletter to over 10,000 subscribers and bi-monthly Case Files.
The CWA has never been in a more vibrant and healthy state than it is now. For that I must express my gratitude to all the former Chairs, whose contribution has made the Association what it is today. I must especially thank Martin Edwards, who in the last two years has striven to make us more businesslike and efficient. Martin has established a CWA archive at Gladstone’s Library, a beautiful location which holds regular events, notably the crime writing related Alibis in the Archive which has proved extremely popular.
I can assure everyone that I do not intend to be the new broom that sweeps away the past. Neither do I want to rush into new ventures before we are ready. The foundation we have now is a firm one, and I want to consolidate what we have before considering how we can move on in the ever-changing world of publishing. I do want to further develop the already formed links with the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors as well as other crime, thriller and mystery writers associations worldwide.
Above all, I see the CWA as an organisation which should serve all its members at whatever stage they are in their writing career; whether debut, mid-career or long-established. We all have something both to contribute and to gain. The CWA is the flagship organisation for crime writers, and a brand of quality. The Dagger prizes we award annually are a recognition of the best in crime writing. My hope is that the future will further strengthen that position.
I wish you and the CWA ongoing and even greater success!

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Twitter – @LindaStratmann
Linda Stratmann is the author of thirteen non-fiction books mainly about true crime, but her work also includes Chloroform, the Quest for Oblivion, a history of the use and misuse of chloroform, and three biographies, notably The Marquess of Queensberry: Wilde’s Nemesis. The Secret Poisoner chronicles the efforts of science and the law to tackle poison murder in the nineteenth century. She has recently edited a new volume in the Notable British Trials Series, The Trial of the Mannings.
Linda also writes two fiction series. The Frances Doughty Mysteries set in1880s Bayswater, feature a clever and determined lady detective, whose adventures explore aspects of Victorian life such as diet, education, medicine, women’s rights, fear of premature burial and the fashion for cycling.
The second series is set in 1870s Brighton. Mina Scarletti is a deceptively diminutive lady with a twisted spine, whose boldness and confidence enable her to overcome her apparent disadvantages. Mina writes horror and ghost stories and exposes the activities of fraudulent spirit mediums who prey on the vulnerable bereaved.

 

Aunty Mary’s Rhubarb Crumble

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The humble rhubarb has gone from being known as an ancient cure, to a favourite British dessert, to one that post WWII fell from grace. During the war years the price was controlled so that everyone could afford it and many, like my Aunty Mary learned how to use it in a variety of recipes from tarts to Rhubarb and Ginger Jam.

This article looks at the ever popular Rhubarb Crumble.

So what is it and how did it come to be linked so strongly with Yorkshire?

It is a large leafed herbaceous perennial growing from rhizomes – a vegetable, the stalk of which provides vitamins K and C but lacks sweetness and so is low in calories. However, the leaves are high in oxalic acid which can damage the kidneys.

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Because it is not sweet sugar is used in recipes and this will affect some of the benefits eating the stalk can bring, when cooked properly. It is thought to have been used as far back as 2700 BC as a medicine. Claims that it could treat gut, lung and liver problems kept it popular. In recent years it has come back into fashion and there is still a Wakefield Rhubarb Festival held in February.

Rhubarb was a native crop in Siberia growing on the banks of the Volga.  Marco Polo is attributed with bringing it to Europe. In the seventeenth century it is claimed to have been more valuable than opium.

The Yorkshire Rhubarb Triangle began around 1877 when the method of forcing rhubarb was brought to West Yorkshire. Forcing had been discovered by accident in the Chelsea Physic Garden, London, in 1817, but the conditions of the sheltered area  between Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford in the shadows of the Pennines provided a perfect growing environment. The rain, cold and the high nitrogen available from ‘Shoddy’ – a by product of the successful woollen mill industry that also thrived in the area – all helped. The Yorkshire coalfields provided an ample supply of fuel to heat the sheds needed to grow the crop in the dark. Then excellent railways in the region linked to London and Covent Garden market as well.

Forced rhubarb was grown in sheds and the first crop early in the year was said to be the best.

The following recipe is for a simple dessert and not a health recommendation for this unique rhubarb crop.

When picking rhubarb go for early and straight, thin colourful stalks. If the stalks are limp they are not fresh. Later in the year you might need to strip off the tougher outer layer before cooking.

Ingredients

6 Stalks of rhubarb
Two teaspoonfuls of ground ginger
1 level tablespoon of Demerara sugar

For the Crumble

7 oz  unsalted butter
7 oz golden caster sugar
14 oz plain flour

Method

Rub butter and the flour together until crumble is fine. You can substitute some flour with oats to make the top crunchier.

Add in the sugar (to taste).

When finely mixed it should clump together when squeezed once and fall apart again a separate time.

Leave in the fridge to chill.

Top and tail the crunchy stalks of rhubarb.

Either soften in a pan with a knob of butter and the ginger and sugar until softer, or bake on a tray in the oven on 170C for ten minutes.

If the pan method is used, drain off some of the fluid. If the oven method is used then transfer to the serving dish once the rhubarb has been tested to make sure it is tender.

I would love to receive any other original recipes for the versatile and unique rhubarb.

Meet prolific crime writer Margaret Duffy

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I am delighted to welcome crime writer, Margaret Duffy, as my guest this month.

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Margaret, your website mentions your Czech granddad. Was he the person who inspired your passion for creating and writing stories began?

Although my lovely Czech Grandad told me spooky stories about castles with corridors where candles suddenly blew out he died after having had several strokes when I was quite young so any connection with him must be in my genes. The Czechs apparently are known to be story-tellers. My Dad had a novel called Many Bridges published in the fifties that was based on truth, the Czech Resistance during the Second World War. My flights of fancy started with writing a play with me acting all the parts, six of them, performed in the living room in front of my parents. I really hope they weren’t too bored.

Your work has been delightfully described as ‘police procedural with a touch of romance’, do you have to keep the balance carefully, as crime is your first love – so to speak?

My characters are married which I suppose is also a bit boring. Twice actually as Ingrid (Langley) found Patrick (Gillard) so insufferable at one stage that she threw him out (of her cottage) and went on to smash his classical guitar. She can be like that sometimes. Later, when he was recovering after being horribly injured serving in Special Services and turned up on her doorstep saying he had to find a working partner for a new job in MI5 she took pity on him. But don’t worry he said, no relationship, no sex, just a socialising job, perhaps at house parties given by the rich and famous. In a word, spy-hunting. They soon threw the sex reservation bit out of the window when the old magic of their original relationship resurfaced.
DCI James Carrick of Bath CID eventually marries his one-time DS Joanna Mackenzie too and the four end up working on cases together when Patrick and Ingrid are recruited by the National Crime Agency.

To date you have had over 20 Patrick Gillards, 4 James Carrick and 3 stand alone novels published. Was it the character, setting, or crime that inspired these?

It’s these characters that inspire me all the time, I’m much more interested in how they get the better of serious criminals than the crimes themselves. And criminals are usually rather stupid.

Do you plan each novel out meticulously before writing a first draft?

No, I never know how the plot will develop or end when I start, I just write until it sort of grabs me. I don’t do drafts either, just make corrections and polish it as I go. I find it helps me to picture exactly what’s going on.

What is the most fascinating piece of research you have stumbled across when researching a novel?

The most interesting piece of research I ever did was to read a paper on the various changes that take place with regard to dead bodies when they’re immersed in water.

When did you fall in love with the beautiful city of Bath?

We lived near Bath for several years and I had a job in the City centre. I was struck how, just behind the tourist-thronged streets, beautiful buildings steeped in history and obvious wealth were slum areas, drunks and the homeless. A good place to set crime stories. It’s changed a lot for the better now though.

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You are a member of the Crime Writers’ Association – what does the organisation mean to you?

The CWA is marvellous from the point of view that it’s so rewarding and valuable to mix and talk to people of like mind.

What key advice would you share with aspiring writers?

Aspiring writers should never take no for an answer, just work hard to improve what you’re trying to achieve.

What has been the highlight of your writing career to date?

The highlight of my writing career was getting my first crime novel, A Murder of Crows, published.

What is next for Margaret?

What next? I’m working on number twenty eight, Gillard’s Sting, and also trying to interest an agent, as mine doesn’t handle it, in a sci-fi crime novel, The Killing Mind.

Many thanks for your time in answering my questions and sharing some insight into your writing world. I wish you every success with your new project and hope you let us know when it is published.

http://www.margaretduffy.co.uk/

Money Matters in Regency England

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Book 2 http://getbook.at/ForRicher
Join Parthena and Jerome on their exciting adventure!

The first conflict in For Richer, For Poorer occurs when heroine Miss Parthena Munro ‘borrows’ a coin purse from Mr Jerome Fender.

I used the term ‘coin purse’ rather than wallet because, unlike the pre-plastic card society where paper money had been the norm it was not so commonly used in Regency England.

Banknotes outside of London were not guaranteed by the Bank of England until 1826 when its first branch outside the City was opened in Gloucester. Privately owned regional banks in England and Ireland had unique notes that were signed by their own chief cashiers and therefore their continued validity depended on the success of the issuing bank. This meant that banknotes were not as secure as they are today, should a run on such an establishment occur, it could wipe out a person’s assets.

Coins had immediate and standardised values and so, although weighty, were accepted everywhere.

The golden guinea had a value of 1 sovereign and 1 shilling making it the highest denomination.

Next was the sovereign (1 pound) worth 20 shillings.

Then a half sovereign worth 10 shillings

A Crown equalled 5 shillings

1 shilling equalled 12d (old pennies)

1/2 shilling was known as a six pence piece.

A groat was 4d

A farthing was 1/4d

However, not everyone in Regency England was expected to pay their bills immediately. The aristocracy, upper and middle classes lived on credit to a large extent. This seems a strange inequality to us today, but it was the lower classes who were expected to pay coin for their goods and services on demand.

This created a highly unfair society. It also led to a number of Debtors’ prisons such as  York prison, Marshalsea and The Fleet. Charles Dickens’ father was in the former under the Insolvent Debtor’s Act of 1813, when he failed to pay his debts to a trader. It was a hard system to break free from even though there was the chance of day-release to go and work, but debts continued to mount.

This period marks the beginning of change in what had previously been the norm because of the inability of debtors to pay their cumulative debts to their creditors, which could then bring these companies down as they also had creditors too. Therefore, the system had to change and settlement by cash was being favoured, yet the debtors still kept these prisons throughout Dickensian times.

What Parthena did could have cost her liberty, her life or seen her transported to the . It was just as well that it was Jerome she borrowed the coin from!

Book 2

Mount Grace Priory
Now a ruin, but once a thriving community, beautifully set against the forestry with the moorland above.

Aunty Mary’s Yorkshire Parkin

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Nothing felt more homely and welcoming when I was growing up in my home town of Redcar, North Yorkshire, than entering my Aunty Mary’s old terrace house and smelling the delights being created in her kitchen.

Artie, her friendly black spaniel, also shared my enthusiasm for her cheerful personality and her home cooking hospitality.

One such recipe, Parkin, is a traditional cake (not for the health conscious or diabetic) that is basically a ginger cake packed with oats and treacle. It is mentioned in my books, such as: For Richer, For Poorer, as its recipe has been passed down the generations.

It was certainly made during the Industrial Revolution and gained favour as the ideal snack to partake of in November on a cold Bonfire Night on the 5th. The first Sunday of that month is referred to as ‘Parkin Sunday’.

This rich cake, full of flavour, also helped to keep hardworking folk filled and warmed through the cold winter months.

Lancashire also has its own recipes for parkin, but there are differences between the two versions. Yorkshire includes oats and uses more black treacle (molasses) giving a darker distinct flavour. Lancashire Parkin tends to be lighter and sweeter using more golden syrup (not corn syrup, which is different) instead. Opinions on this vary, as much as the recipes because some people leave out the oats all together, but this version hits the mark when you want to feel re-energized on a cold and dreary day.

The recipe I have included here is the one my Aunty Mary used and the one that when I do indulge takes me back to my childhood, a warm and loving home with my aunt and of course dear old Artie.

Ingredients

5 oz      oats
4 oz      SR flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp     ground ginger
1 tsp     mixed spice
1/2 tsp  nutmeg
Pinch of salt
5 oz       black treacle
3 oz       golden syrup
4 oz       soft brown sugar
4 oz       butter
2 large   beaten eggs
1 tbsp    milk

 

Method

  1. Line a 1lb loaf tin with baking paper or a paper loaf case.
  2. Preheat oven to 150C
  3. Assemble dry ingredients in a large bowl
  4. Melt the brown sugar with the treacle, syrup and butter – DO NOT BOIL THEM – remove from heat once the sugar has melted. Allow to cool slightly.
  5. Pour the hot mixture into the dry ingredients and mix.
  6. Add eggs and milk – stir well. You should have a thick liquid batter mix.
  7. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for between 1 to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Or until a skewer comes out clean when tested. The cake should be firm and springy.
  8. Allow to cool in the baking tin.

The resulting cake should be dark, sticky, and spicy and has a flavour that improves if it is left in an airtight tin for 3-5 days after it has been allowed to cool.

Then enjoy a slice with a nice cup of tea – but in moderation!

If you know any other versions of this old favourite or more about the origins of it I would love to see your comments.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Richer-Poorer-Adventure-Regency-Yorkshire-ebook/dp/B07LCSMG9R/
Availbale now

Jacobean Architecture and Kiplin Hall, Richmond, North Yorkshire.

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Leaham Hall in For Richer, For Poorer is a Jacobean style of country house that provides employment for its estate workers and the small nearby village of Leaham. In reality the image of Kiplin Hall inspired its fictitious counterpart.

Jacobean architecture gained popularity during the reign of King James I (1566-1625) with its love of symmetry and the mixture of gable or flat roofs; these brick built buildings were houses of the well-to-do landed gentry.

The era’s love of colour, Palladian columns, woodwork and carvings, along with the use of granite made them quite unique. The central staircase would be a focal point that lead the family or visitors up to the first and second  floors.

The Jacobean period was one that was tumultuous and the use of heraldry could reveal the owner’s loyalty. These houses, like many of the time, could also have been used as safe havens for those who had Jacobite sympathies.

Kiplin is a treasure to be discovered, tucked away in the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire near the village of Scorton. It was built by George Calvert who was the Secretary of State to James 1 and founder of Maryland USA.

I borrowed some aspects of this tranquil setting for my plot in For Richer, For Poorer and placed Leaham Hall under threat.  The early nineteenth century was a time of great social, industrial, political and religious change; so I set Parthena and Jerome Fender loose on a quest to save the Hall, the estate and the village.

Here are some pictures of the moorland trods that Parthena and Jerome have to cross. You can find out more about these ancient pathways in my blog post at Sapere Books

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A step back in time!

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In my book Abigail Moor The Cruck Inn was named after the design of the North Yorkshire cruck-built buildings. There are many examples in the region but none as well preserved as the old inn Spout House which served Bilsdale until it closed its doors in 1914.

I visited it when researching the area for my book and found it was literally like taking a step back in time. Spout House can be visited from Easter – 31st October. It is just one of  many historic places hidden away in the beautiful North York Moors National Park.

The amazing time capsule that is Spout House was the inspiration behind the starting point of Abigail’s adventure that takes her on to the beautiful city of York with its gothic cathedral, then to the amazing historical whaling port of Whitby and further to discover the rugged bays of the North Yorkshire coast.

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Historic York.

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The ancient whaling port of Whitby.

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You can follow Abigail on her journey here!

Abigail Moor: The Darkest Dawn is available at Amazon and Smashwords

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