Please join Julie Dewey as she tours the blogosphere for The Back Building, from December 22-31.
Iona Mueller arrives alone at the Willard Asylum for the Insane in this epic tale that spans a century. Through the Mueller family we take a deep look at what it means to be mentally ill in the year 1915 and in the present day.
By the time she reached fifteen years old, Iona had failed to become a “proper young lady” which profoundly concerned her parents. Her one and only friend, Hetty, the family maid, warned her not to disobey them but Iona couldn’t help herself. Iona’s quirk of counting steps may have been overlooked but when her mother and father learned of her exploits in the woods near her home in Ithaca, New York, she was taken to the town doctor. The doctor took one look at her self-cut short, mangled hair, learned of her bizarre behavior, and declared her insane.
At Willard Asylum on Seneca Lake there were plenty of activities to occupy her, including the job she procured working in the barn. Besides, she knew she was not anything like the crazy patients that banged their heads against the cinder walls until they bled or ran naked through the hallways. She was disobedient, that was true, and she would change. If only her parents would accept her correspondence and allow her to return home.
Iona’s new roommate, Cat, made every night a fight for survival. When Iona was caught trying to run away she was sent to the second ward, where her fate was sealed. Subject to tranquilizers and hydrotherapy, ice baths and physical beatings, Iona had only one thing on her mind. She had to stay away from the back building. Once you were placed there you were never seen again.
Iona met James at the institution’s barn. His kindness made the deprivation more bearable. He recognized that the violet hollows beneath her eyes, the bruises on her arms, and her apparent unraveling were the effect of the second ward. A plan was put into place, one that would remove Iona from harm’s way permanently.
In present day, it is Jenna, a young relative of Iona’s, who is plagued with mental illness. Jenna’s odd behaviors, bizarre language, and confusion disrupt her once perfectly normal life. Jenna’s family members trace their roots back to Iona in hopes of understanding their predisposition to mental illness. The journey leads them to an amazing discovery of the suitcases left behind by hundreds of patients at the Willard Asylum.
Julie Dewey is the author of four novels, including Forgetting Tabitha: The Story of an Orphan Train Rider, One Thousand Porches, The Back Building, and Cat, Book 1 of the Livin Large Series. Two have been on Amazon’s Top 100 Book List. She resides in Central New York with her husband and two children.
For more information please visit Julie Dewey's website. You can also connect with her on Facebook.
Set in 7th century England, The Oblate’s Confession tells the story
of Winwaed, a boy who – in a practice common at the time – is donated by
his father to a local monastery.
In a countryside wracked by plague and
war, the child comes to serve as a regular messenger between the
monastery and a hermit living on a nearby mountain. Missing his father,
he finds a surrogate in the hermit, an old man who teaches him
woodcraft, the practice of contemplative prayer, and, ultimately, the
true meaning of fatherhood. When the boy’s natural father visits the
monastery and asks him to pray for the death of his enemy – an enemy who
turns out to be the child’s monastic superior – the boy’s life is
thrown into turmoil. It is the struggle Winwaed undergoes to answer the
questions – Who is my father? Whom am I to obey? – that animates, and
finally necessitates, The Oblate’s Confession.
While entirely a work of fiction, the novel’s background is
historically accurate: all the kings and queens named really lived, all
the political divisions and rivalries actually existed, and each of the
plagues that visit the author’s imagined monastery did in fact ravage
that long-ago world. In the midst of a tale that touches the human in
all of us, readers will find themselves treated to a history of the
“Dark Ages” unlike anything available today outside of textbooks and
original source material.
Publication Date: December 2, 2014
Secant Publishing
Formats: eBook, Hardcover
Genre: Historical Fiction
*** (I liked it)
Taking place in the 7th century, Winwaed introduces us to life in a monastery. This isn't a fast paced, action packed book but rather one where I appreciated the pace and got to know Winwaed quite well. The authors knowledge of this time period is evident, the lifestyle and rituals of the monks I found intriguing. Describing his childhood now that he is an adult we watch him grow not just physically but spiritually -- with all the soul searching, questions and life in general during this time period.
If you are a medieval fan this book would appeal to you, though some might find the pace slow.
William Peak spent ten years researching and writing The Oblate’s
Confession, his debut novel. Based upon the work of one of the great (if
less well known) figures of Western European history, the Venerable
Bede, Peak’s book is meant to reawaken an interest in that lost and
mysterious period of time sometimes called “The Dark Ages.”
Peak received his baccalaureate degree from Washington & Lee
University and his master’s from the creative writing program at Hollins
University. He works for the Talbot County Free Library on Maryland’s
Eastern Shore. Thanks to the column he writes for The Star Democrat about life at the library (archived at http://www.tcfl.org/peak/),
Peak is regularly greeted on the streets of Easton: “Hey, library
guy!” In his free time he likes to fish and bird and write long love
letters to his wife Melissa.
For more information please visit William Peak’s website.
The #1 New York Times bestselling Beautiful Creatures series continues in this brand-new digital-exclusive story.
Catch
up with Ethan, Lena, and Link as they finally graduate from high school
and get ready to leave the small Southern town of Gatlin. But when Dark
Caster Ridley makes an appearance, the sometime bad girl can't resist
picking a fight with her sometime boyfriend, Link. Angry and rebellious
as ever, Ridley ends up alone in New York City and becomes entangled in
the dangerous underground Caster club scene, where the stakes are high
and losers pay the ultimate price.
Where's a Linkubus when you need him?
ebook, 46 pages
Published
December 17th 2013
(first published January 1st 2013)
copy provided by netgalley for honest review
***
This book is the prequel to the Dangerous Creatures series and a relatively short novella. Having read nothing by either author and not being familiar with this series I had no preconceived ideas of what I was in for. Coming in at 46 pages there wasn't time to get too deeply involved with the characters, however what I read was interesting enough.
The synopsis above pretty well sums up what takes place here. I have seen the authors names around and was curious, the writing style was easy to follow and kept me entertained. There was enough here to establish relationships, create mysterious and the paranormal elements were interesting. Definitely could see myself continuing in this series.
All her heroines find love in the end—but is there love waiting for Jane?
Jane
Austen spends her days writing and matchmaking in the small countryside
village of Steventon, until a ball at Godmersham Park propels her into a
new world where she yearns for a romance of her own. But whether her
heart will settle on a young lawyer, a clever Reverend, a wealthy
childhood friend, or a mysterious stranger is anyone's guess.
Written
in the style of Jane herself, this novel ponders the question faced by
many devoted readers over the years—did she ever find love? Weaving fact
with fiction, it re-imagines her life, using her own stories to fill in
the gaps left by history and showing that all of us—to a greater or
lesser degree—are head over heels for Jane.
Audible Audio
Published
September 24th 2014
by Madison Street Publishing
(first published December 4th 2012)
audio provided by author for honest review (thank you)
*****
I am not a big Jane Austen fan. Not that I dislike her, a number of her books are on my tbr pile and I can say that I have read Pride and Prejudice, even watched the movie. About Jane Austen herself I know nothing, was she married, kids, siblings, what was her upbringing like? I am totally in the dark about it allwhich made me all the most anxious tostart this book.
I listened to the audio version (via Audible), Louisa Gummer was the reader and I must say she did a stellar job, it was a pleasure to listen to. Coming in at almost 12 hours in length the time just flew by. I loved the Austen family not just Jane. There was depth here and I got to know so much about the lifestyle, customs and just everyday life in that time period. Jane was a very likable person, she was strong, opinionated and the author has stirred a desire in me to learn more about her.
I loved how the author used phrases from Pride & Prejudice in this book, I am sure there were some from her other books as well, which has made me want to read them even more now.
Thank you to the author for reaching out to me, I don't think I would have discovered this book on my own and would have missed out.
If you are planning a road trip this holiday season or just need to go for a walk give A Jane Austen Daydream a try, you won't be disappointed.
Publication Date: December 16, 2013
Mockingbird Lane Press
Formats: eBook, Paperback, Audio Book
Pages: 276
Genre: Historical Fiction/Short Stories
Here I have discovered another benefit of taking part in these book tours. I never read short stories, they don't really appeal to me basically because I love a long story (sometimes the longer the better). Also I've never read a book on short stories, in fact I usually shy away from them. Why I even agreed to be part of this tour I am not even sure.
On that note I will say that I LOVED this book! And have totally changed my opinion on short stories. It had everything all wrapped in one, mystery, suspense, romance, history, murder and adventure. There was the seamstress, the quilter, the Jew, the slave, the surgeon and the curse (just to name a few). Each story was well written, rich in detail with unique plots. The authors writing style kept me reading all 11 stories in a matter of days.
This was an audio read for me and the reader did a fantastic job. If you are like me and have never read a book on short stories give this one a try, you won't be disappointed.
First, a classical/pop singer/composer, she moved on to the
professional world of production art and calligraphy. Next came a long
career as an award winning quilt artist/teacher and an ESL/Reading
instructor. Her short stories have been published in descant 2008, Snowy
Egret, Transcendent Visions, The Storyteller, and Down In the Dirt.
“Unexpected Gifts”, her debut novel, is currently available on
Amazon. “Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads”, her
collection of short stories, Jan. 2014, both books by Mockingbird Lane
Press.
Please join T.K. Thorne as she tours with the blogosphere with HF
Virtual Book Tours for Noah’s Wife, from December 15-19, and enter to
win an autographed copy & magnetic bookmark!
Publication Date: April 17, 2011
ForeWord Reviews 2009 Historical Fiction BOOK OF THE YEAR.
A novel set in 5500 BCE can’t possibly relate to today’s issues— or can it?
Dysfunctional family relationships • Sexual abuse Kidnapping • Love triangle Religious freedom • Autism • Cultural Change
This award-winning novel touches all of these issues with wisdom and humor.
From the perspective of a young girl with what is now known as
Aspergers, Thorne weaves twists into the Biblical story, entwining myth,
history, and archeological findings with her vivid imagination.
Na’amah wishes only to be a shepherdess on her beloved hills in
ancient Turkey— a desire shattered by the hatred of her powerful brother
and the love of two men.
Her savant abilities and penchant to speak truth forces her to walk a
dangerous path in an age of change— a time of challenge to the goddess’
ancient ways, when cultures clash and the earth itself is unstable.
When foreign raiders kidnap her, Na’amah’s journey to escape and return
home becomes an attempt to save her people from the disaster only she
knows is coming.
A few interesting tidbits:
Scientists (including Robert Ballard, the explorer who found the
sunken Titanic) discovered evidence that the Black Sea was once a fresh
water lake that flooded in a cataclysmic event around 5500.
The oldest known worshiped deity was female! The role of the feminine
in the divine was entwined with early Judaism and keeps reappearing
throughout history.
One in every 88 persons has a form of autism. The choice to make
Noah’s wife an Asperger savant stemmed from personal experience in the
author’s life and gives the story a distinctive perspective.
Being raised in the church I am very familiar with the story of Noah's Ark. Nothing Biblically is mentioned at all about his wife, other than the fact that she existed. She had no name and neither do the daughter in laws.
With Noah's wife we are
told the story from her point of view. There is no reference to anything
biblical nor is it preachy at all. But this is a book that stayed
true to the time period and environment. There isn't much talk of Noah's God but there is a lot of talk about the mother goddess. Meeting Na’amah’s when she is a young girl and getting a glimpse of her home life it wasn't hard to empathize with her plight. With the synopsis above you can read the direction that this book takes. It isn't hard to see that the author has done a fair amount of research and it came across in her writing. Not just her knowledge of the time period but of Asperger's as well and getting into Na'amah's mind.
I listened to the audio version and really enjoyed it. Melissa Carey was the reader, my first time listening to her and she did a wonderful job.
TK Thorne was the first Jewish woman to become a police officer in
Birmingham, AL (USA). She retired as a captain and currently serves as
executive director of the city’s business improvement district—both
careers providing fodder for her writing. Her debut novel Noah’s Wife
won ForeWord Reviews’ “Book of the Year” for historical fiction. The New
York Post featured her book Last Chance for Justice: How Relentless
Investigators Uncovered New Evidence Convicting the Birmingham Church
Bombers on their “Books You Should Be Reading” list. A short film from
her screenplay Six Blocks Wide was a semi-finalist at “A Film for Peace
Festival” in Italy. She describes herself as a writer, humanist,
dog-mom, horse-servant, and cat-slave.
To enter to win an Autographed copy of Noah’s Wife & magnetized bookmark, please complete the giveaway form below.
Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm on December 19th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to residents of the US only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems;
any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor,
and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner have 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
I am all things quilt! I make them, collect them and love to feel fabric, I am a quilter and proud of it! I wanted to read this book but time just didn't let me, but I gotta let everyone know about it.
Coming from a long line of seamstresses, Libby has yet to sew
anything more than the rudimentary button or hem, but on a visit to
Connecticut she learns more than just how to sew patchwork. Set in 1855
New England and London, this tender story, Libby Morgan: Reunion,
follows tenacious Elizabeth (Libby) Jane Morgan through her thirteenth
summer of new adventures at home and abroad. She is given a birthday
gift of sewing tools and fabric, as well as old family letters to use as
templates for making her first quilt. Her decision to first read the
letters results in questions that only her Grandmother Morgan’s stories
can answer—stories of true love, horrible loss and family connections to
London nobles. Her keen eye and inquisitive nature draws her family
into a mysterious investigation that tests their faith, challenges their
ability to forgive, and results in a resurrection and reunion of lost
hearts.
Leah A. Zieber is a quilt historian and quilt maker from Temecula,
California, specializing in American quilt history and reproduction
quilts from the nineteenth century. Her quilts have been exhibited
across the country in quilt shows, museums and historical societies and
were most recently published in Stars: A Study of 19th Century Star
Quilts. Leah has worked closely with Southern California collectors,
cataloging, managing, and independently researching their textile
collections. Her own collection of antique quilts and related textile
items spans one hundred and eighty five years, and she shares her
knowledge of American quilt history using her collection in lectures and
workshops. Libby Morgan: Reunion is her debut novel and the first in
her American Heritage Quilt Series.
For more information please visit Leah Zieber’s website and blog. You can also connect with her on Facebook and LinkedIn.
The follow-up to the #1 bestseller The Winter Palace--perfect for the readers of Hilary Mantel and Alison Weir.
Catherine the Great, the Romanov monarch reflects on her
astonishing ascension to the throne, her leadership over the world's
greatest power, and the lives sacrificed to make her the most feared
woman in the world--lives including her own... Catherine the
Great muses on her life, her relentless battle between love and power,
the country she brought into the glorious new century, and the bodies
left in her wake. By the end of her life, she had accomplished more than
virtually any other woman in history. She built and grew the Romanov
empire, amassed a vast fortune of art and land, and controlled an unruly
and conniving court. Now, in a voice both indelible and intimate, she
reflects on the decisions that gained her the world and brought her
enemies to their knees. And before her last breath, shadowed by the
bloody French Revolution, she sets up the end game for her last
political maneuver, ensuring her successor and the greater glory of
Russia.
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
March 25th 2014
by Bantam ** - *** (a cross between 'it's okay' and 'I liked it")
I really enjoyed The Winter Palace, it was my first venture into HF Russia. I've hear of Catherine the Great but knew next to nothing about her, I liked the authors writing style and got a real feel for the country and it's people.
I met Eva Stachniak just after The Winter Palace was released. She was doing a reading ad I was able to have a nice talk with her afterwards. Her passion for this time and place in history was evident and I got real excited when I heard about the sequel.
My feelings for Empress of the Night are mixed, as you can see from my rating. I really struggled with this book, I don't think it was because my expectations were too high, the format was one that I liked. Catherine having suffered a stroke is reflecting on her life. The narrative is what I struggled with, it had a surreal feel to it and at times I had trouble following the story and really couldn't connect with anyone in this book.
There is a bright side and that is my interest in Russian history has peaked and I am on the lookout for books taking place there. Also the cover is gorgeous.
Will I give up on Eva Stachniak, not a chance, she has already shown what she can do with The Winter Palace and I have a couple of her other books in my tbr pile.
"I saw a woman hanged on my way to the Pittsburgh docks..”
Agnes Canon is tired of being a spectator in life, an invisible
daughter among seven sisters, meat for the marriage market. The rivers
of her Pennsylvania countryside flow west, and she yearns to flow with
them, explore new lands, know the independence that is the usual sphere
of men.
This is a story of a woman’s search for freedom, both social and
intellectual, and her quest to understand what freedom means. She learns
that freedom can be the scent and sound of unsettled prairies, the
glimpse of a cougar, the call of a hawk. The struggle for freedom can
test the chains of power, poverty, gender, or the legalized horror of
slavery. And to her surprise, she discovers it can be found within a
marriage, a relationship between a man and a woman who are equals in
everything that matters.
It’s also the story of Jabez Robinson, a man who has traveled across
the continent and seen the beauty of the country and the ghastliness of
war, as he watches his nation barrel toward disaster. Faced with
deep-seated social institutions and hard-headed intransigence, he finds
himself helpless to intervene. Jabez’s story is an indictment of war in
any century or country, and an admission that common sense and reasoned
negotiation continue to fail us.
As Agnes and Jabez struggle to keep their community and their lives
from crumbling about them, they must face the stark reality that whether
it’s the freedom of an African from servitude, of the South from the
North, or of a woman from the demands of social convention, the cost is
measured in chaos and blood. This eloquent work of historical fiction chronicles the building of a
marriage against the background of a civilization growing – and dying –
in the prelude to civil war.
I can't recall reading much historical fiction about the Civil War, for me this book was a real eye-opener. Deborah Lincoln is a new author to me which made me doubly excited to read this book. Agnes Canon is the great grandmother of the author, I love this type of book as it is so much more personal from the author.
The synopsis above tells a lot of the plot here but what it doesn't say is how powerful a book this is. I was captivated right from the that opening line. There is much going on in this book and the author writes in such a mesmerizing way that I was visualizing and feeling this story. This was a tumultuous time in American history and Agnes Canon's War gave a vivid glimpse of not just the physical side but the emotional side also. This isn't a 'happy ever after' type of book (it's war time remember) but rather one that will stay with you long after you are finished.
Praise for Agnes Canon’s War
“Impressively researched, it captures the brutality of the war in the
West and the complicated, divided loyalties of the people who are
caught up in it. Agnes Canon’s War will have readers anticipating the
romance and dreading the battles in equal amounts.” -Steve Wiegenstein, author of Slant of Light and This Old World
“The characters are likeable, intelligent, humorous, spunky and
passionate people whose zest for adventure is met and then some! Superb
historical fiction this reviewer highly recommends.” – Historical Novel Society
“Agnes Canon’s War is brilliantly researched and written. Deborah
Lincoln has successfully described the occurrences of the Civil War era
in the border state of Missouri and the resultant emotions upon the
inhabitants of the area. Many neighbors were bitterly opposed to one
another, and severe heartache touched everyone. Lincoln’s writing places
the reader in the midst of that turmoil. Her research is accurate and
lends to a skillfully-designed background for Agnes Canon’s story. An
example is her reference to Westport Landing. It is a little-known fact
(even to most Missourians) that this original port on the Missouri
River, located in the vicinity of today’s Grand and Main Streets,
resulted in present-day Kansas City. This heartfelt book will likely
impress even the most seasoned historians.” -William R.
Reynolds, Jr. author of Andrew Pickens: South Carolina Patriot in the
Revolutionary War and The Cherokee Struggle to Maintain Identity in the
17th and 18th Centuries
“Years ago in fiction workshop, this manuscript leaped out at me with
the most memorable opening line I’d seen in forever: “I saw a woman
hanged on my way to the Pittsburgh docks.”
On revisiting this story several years after my first beta-read of
the whole novel, I was struck by how many details and scenes I remember.
Historical fiction is not for the lazy writer. The tremendous amount of
research that skilled writers weave into the narrative are simply
amazing.
I’m afraid I’ll be guilty of plot spoilers if I mention some of my
favorite scenes or the tragic events that really happened. I will say
Jabez has a first wife, and Agnes befriends her to her dying day. That
first wife has a fascination for what today would sound like New Age
mysticism. Any reader who hates reading about war should keep going,
because all sorts of intriguing historical issues and beliefs come to
light in Agnes Canon’s world.
The prose is polished, the story spellbinding, the authenticity both inspiring and heartbreaking. Five stars!” -Carol Kean Blog, Book Reviews, Cosmic Rants
Deborah Lincoln grew up in the small town of Celina, among the
cornfields of western Ohio. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English
from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in Library Science
from the University of Michigan. She and her husband have three grown
sons and live on the Oregon coast.
Of her passion for historical fiction, she says: “I’m fascinated by
the way events—wars and cataclysms and upheavals, of course, but the
everyday changes that wash over everyday lives—bring a poignancy to a
person’s efforts to survive and prosper. I hate the idea that brave and
intelligent people have been forgotten, that the hardships they
underwent have dropped below the surface like a stone in a lake, with
not a ripple left behind to mark the spot.”
Agnes Canon’s War is the story of her great great-grandparents, two
remarkable people whose lives illustrate the joys and trials that marked
America’s tumultuous nineteenth century.
For more information on Deborah Lincoln please visit her website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Today I am happy to have Mark Patten stop with his guest post on
Objects and Memory in Historical Fiction
My novel, Omphalos, is made up of six different stories, each set in a
different time period, from the present day back to 4000 BC. What, then, makes
it a novel, rather than a collection of short stories? Well, to start with, the
stories do not follow on sequentially from one another: instead they are
nested, one inside another, like a set of Russian Matryoshka dolls. They are also linked, by a physical place – La
Hougue Bie, on the island of Jersey (although much of the action takes place
elsewhere), by suggested ancestral links, but also, significantly, by objects.
“La Hougue Bie” La Hougue Bie, Jersey.
Photo: Man Vyi (image is in the Public Domain).
Before I became a novelist, I was an
academic, and I still teach alongside my writing. I have been both an
archaeologist and a historian (more accurately, a historical biographer) and,
whilst the historian works with written accounts, objects are the starting
point for the archaeologist. In writing a novel that is partly about
inter-generational connections, I found that objects could be a useful linking device.
Objects from one period can pop up in another, and not only when they are dug
up by an archaeologist. They can be found in cellars and attics, unearthed
accidentally in the course of building works, or handed down as family
heirlooms, whether genuine or spurious.
“Matryoshka2” Matryoshka dolls. Photo:
BrokenSphere/Wikimedia Commons (licensed under GNU).
One of my stories, “Jerusalem,” is set
in the 16th Century, and follows a Catholic priest, Richard Mabon,
and his secretary, Nicholas Ahier, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Mabon is a
historical figure, who really did make the pilgrimage, but my account of his
journey is wholly fictional). Like many pilgrims at the time, Mabon brings back
a wooden model of the Holy Sepulchre, made of wood with details picked out in
ivory and mother-of-pearl. He plans to use it to illustrate his Easter sermons.
Another story, “The Infinite Labyrinth,” is set in the 18th Century,
and the protagonist, Suzanne de Beaubigny, a Royalist refugee from
revolutionary France, encounters a small girl playing with the broken pieces of
the model, which the girl’s father has found in cellar. With it is an account
of Mabon’s pilgrimage, which Suzanne translates.
“Holy Sepulchre Model” Wooden model of
the Holy Sepulchre, British Museum. Photo: Andres Rueda (licensed under CCA).
The same little girl shows Suzanne a
book in her father’s library, a lavishly illustrated Medieval prayer book. This
is a real object, the 14th Century psalter of Bonne of Luxembourg,
now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The girl’s father is a
historical character, the British spymaster, Philippe d’Auvergne, and he almost
certainly did own the psalter, having received it from his adoptive father. He
may have believed it to be a genuine family heirloom, but this cannot really
have been the case. The psalter would unquestionably have been in the French
Royal collection until the Revolution, and was presumably bought by Philippe’s
adoptive father at one of the many auctions that followed.
“Psalter” Psalter of Bonne of
Luxembourg, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: Eugene a (image is in
the Public Domain).
In “The Spirit of the Times,” set during
the Second World War, Oberleutnant Friedrich Werner finds a small bead whilst
his men are digging an air-raid shelter. He sends it as a gift to his daughter,
Hannelore, in Berlin, and she writes a story about it, which she sends to him.
Almost seven decades later, Hannelore’s story, suffused with the Nazi racial
ideology she has learned in school, has the power to shock the protagonists of
“Touching Souls,” set in 2013. The true story of the bead, however, is to be
found in “The Song of Strangers,” set in 4000 BC.
“Tumiac variscite beads” Neolithic beads
from Tumiac, Brittany. Photo: Vassil (licensed under CCA).
Together, these stories, their
characters and these objects, will take the reader on a journey, a pilgrimage
of sorts, through six thousand years of our shared history.
“Omphalos is a powerful word, a powerful connotation, as are the
stories focused on in this excellent collection. The author leads the
reader from one story to the next like an easy progress through the
chambers of La Hougue Bie, followed by a reverse journey of revelation.
To say too much of how this is cleverly achieved through the excellent
use of letters, prose and poetry, I feel, would spoil the enjoyment of a
potential reader. The skilful writing techniques used make it a
thoroughly engrossing read. I have no qualms in recommending ‘Omphalos’
to the lover of historical fiction and to those who enjoy a well-crafted
tale.” – Nancy Jardine
Mark Patton was born and grew up on the island of Jersey. He studied
Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge and completed his PhD at
University College London. He has taught at the Universities of Wales,
Greenwich and Westminster, and currently teaches with The Open
University. He is the author of two previous historical novels,
Undreamed Shores (Crooked Cat, 2012) and An Accidental King (Crooked Cat
2013).
For more information please visit Mark Patton’s website and blog. You can also connect with him on Twitter and Goodreads.
