Posted Wednesday, 21 January, 2015 by jorielov Heather Webb, Penguin Group (USA), Plume, Rodin's Lover 6 Comments
What an incredible amount of joy it is for me to welcome to Jorie Loves A Story, the writer of historically enriched French novels which ache to be classified as literary as much as they are most decisively historical in breadth of scope — Ms. Heather Webb!
I was quite wickedly intrigued by her debut novel: “Becoming Josephine” which not only introduced me to the Bonaparte’s in a way I had not expected possible, but it clued me into the particulars of Revolutionary France and the swirling tide of rule that would alter time and history. I was not quite ready to meet Josephine as her story was quite brutally harsh and incredibly layered, (a credit to the writer who brought her truth to light from her pen) but what I walked away with was this undying intrigue for France & for eclipsing previously unknown eras of French history through stories presenting a lifeblood of a living person who dared to make their mark at a time that was fashionably slanted against them!
This has become Ms. Webb’s signature style — of interweaving historical fact and the mysterious unknown spirit of truth of her characters into a riveting read of history encased in a figmented glass of eloquence.
I’ve come full circle — I hosted Ms. Webb for her debut novel, and now after having spent many a spontaneously happy moon meeting up with her in the twitterverse, I am hosting her for her second novel, this time centered around the Belle Epoque era of artistic dynasty!
You’ve previously reflected how much you adore the Belle Epoque era of French history due to the well of inspiring innovative thoughts, movements, and progress stepping out of it. Do you remember what gave you the first bonefide passionate link to the Belle Epoque world? Was it a particular person, story, or movement that eclipsed your heart?
Webb responds: It began when I was twelve years old and living in Nashville. (My dad was military so we moved around a lot.) A traveling exhibit of the impressionists came to one of the museums downtown. My mom, ever on the hunt for the cultural things to see in each place we lived, bought us tickets immediately. I’ll never forget marveling over the array of gorgeous paintings, how the artists used color to depict light and movement. From that point on, I wanted to know more about these painters and thus began my interest in this era.
I have oft found the best discoveries we have in our lives are the ones that are fortuitously spontaneous and unexpectedly alighting on our path! How keen your Mum had a bit of inspiration towards your growing curiosity on art history inasmuch as sparking a flame inside your mind that would one day lead you toward’s telling the story within Rodin’s Lover! I love finding such connective pieces of where inspiration and curiosity start to carve such an intricate thread through our mind’s eye towards revealing in our future how that moment solidified a desire we had yet to give a name too!
When it comes to fine art, I have drifted between Renaissance artists of Italy (i.e. Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michaelangelo and Raphael) to the Pre-Raphaelites (i.e. John W. Waterhouse, Bouguereau, or Godward), yet I haven’t explored Rodin. Except to say I have lamented about his sculpture “The Thinker” throughout my childhood, whilst I studied fine art. What tipped your interest on Rodin initially, and sparked your joy in bringing out Camille Claudel who had such anguish in loving Rodin?!
Webb responds: I fell in love with both Camille and Rodin while in my French film class in college. The film, simply called Camille Claudel, was multiple award-winning in Europe and the U.S. with stars Isabelle Adjani and Gérard Depardieu playing the roles of Camille and Rodin. Their tragic love story gripped me and I swooned at the beauty they created both together and separately. After the film, I became rather obsessed with sculpture in general. Many years later, I had not forgotten Camille, and knew I wanted to delve more into her life.
Isn’t that interesting?! Depardieu, you say?! I remember finding him for the first time in Green Card; yet I had not realised they had brought Rodin & Claudel to the screen! Although having become further interested in the real-life counterparts to this story, I had nearly suspected there might have been a classic motion picture on behalf of their life, as they so oft had brought to life people who had such a strong impact on art and society. There is beauty within tragedy as much as there is solace out of darkness — I can see how the strong emotional ties of their orbit heightened your motivation to tell their stories!
As an additional note to my readers: this film is available at your Public Library! Read More
Posted Wednesday, 21 January, 2015 by jorielov in 19th Century, Adulterous Affair, Art, Art History, Auguste Rodin, Belle Epoque Era, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Camille Claudel, Cookery, France, France Book Tours, Historical Fiction, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Passionate Researcher, Reader Submitted Author Interview, Sculpture, Sociological Behavior, Taboo Relationships & Romance, Writing Style & Voice
Posted Thursday, 11 December, 2014 by jorielov Blood for Blood, Die I Will Not, John Chase mysteries, Poisoned Pen Press, S.K. Rizzolo, The Rose in the Wheel 0 Comments
On why I am showcasing a Book Spotlight in lieu of the book review:
Originally I was going to contribute a book review for this blog tour, however, I had several personal circumstances arise since the time I received the book(s) for the tour and my re-scheduled tour date. As I had previously expressed on my reviews for Death Comes to London & Death Comes to the Village I was taken ill last week and it took a long while for me to catch up on both my energies and my sleep; yet there were other things that had occurred as well, which is why I continued to lose hours to read the books I had in queue. I was fighting the clock to become current and losing ground on the hours I had left to spare in order to resume where I had left off — therefore, as I had the kind blessing of being able to receive all three of the John Chase mysteries: The Rose in the Wheel, Blood for Blood, and Die I Will Not I will be tweeting my reading adventures within the novels whilst making amends by posting my reviews after the blog tour has concluded. All three reviews will be on Jorie Loves A Story in December, as they were always meant to be showcased. I do regret I couldn’t contribute more to the blog tour, as I had planned to interview the author as well; which I had to cancel.
What initially drew my eye into wanting to participate on this blog tour is the fact these are mysteries set within the era of the Regency; one of my most highly read periods of British life and history! As I had previously disclosed on my Kurland St. Mary mysteries posts, I have the tendency to overlook reading about the Regency outside the world of Romance — so imagine my delight in finding not one, but two new mystery series!? This one is quite different from the Kurland St. Mary mysteries — the tone is set differently and the series has a uniquely different pace to it. I love curling inside mysteries of suspense where you never quite know what you will find inside whilst getting to know who the investigators are and how the writer has written the puzzle of the crime!
Let me introduce you to the novels I am in the process of reading and perhaps I shall tempt you to read them as well? I am most curious if there are other Regency Romance readers who are finding themselves happily entrenched in the Mystery / Suspense genre?
Book Synopsis:
This well imagined, carefully detailed, and cleverly plotted debut draws on actual historical events of 1811 London.
Regency London knows Constance Tyrone as the conspicuously celibate founder of the St. Catherine Society, dedicated to helping poor women. One wet November evening a carriage mows down Constance outside her office. Curiously, while her corpse’s one foot is bare, the other is shod in a clean satin slipper despite the muddy road. Why was a gentlewoman abroad in the night? And if she died under the wheel, whose hands bruised her neck and stole her monogrammed crucifix?
Dismissing the idea of an accident, Bow Street Runner John Chase forms an unlikely alliance with Penelope Wolfe, wife of the chief suspect. A young mother paying the price for an imprudent marriage, Penelope is eager to clear her husband Jeremy, a feckless portrait painter whose salacious drawings of the victim suggest an erotic interest. Chase’s first task is to learn the identity of the mysterious benefactor who goes bail for Wolfe while Penelope traces the victim’s last movements. Barrister Edward Buckler, intrigued, shakes off his habitual lethargy and joins their investigation.
As horrifying murders on the Ratcliffe Highway claim all London’s attention, the trio discovers that it won’t be easy to unravel the enigma of Constance Tyrone, a woman who revives the legend of martyred St. Catherine. Read More
Posted Thursday, 11 December, 2014 by jorielov in 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Books for Review Arrived by Post, Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, the Regency era
Posted Monday, 8 December, 2014 by jorielov Catherine Lloyd, Death Comes to London, Death Comes to the Village, Kensington Publishing Corp., Kurland St. Mary Mysteries, Lady Darby Mysteries 0 Comments
Death Comes to London by Catherine Lloyd
Published By: Kensington Publishing Corp. ()
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, E-book
Converse on Twitter via:#KurlandStMaryMysteries, #DeathComesToLondonBlogTour
Acquired Book By:
I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Death Comes to London” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I requested the first novel in the series to better understand the flow of continuity and the origins of the Kurland St. Mary mysteries series of which Kensington sent me a complimentary copy of “Death Comes to the Village”. I read both novels back to back for the blog tour and was not obligated to post a review for the first novel. I received a complimentary copy of “Death Comes to London” direct from the publisher Kensington Books, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
I sometimes find curious extra bits tucked inside my review book parcels, and this time around Kensington surprised me with a few things: a bookmark for “Death of a Dog Whisperer” by Laurien Berenson replete with the ENTIRE series listing on the opposite side of the bookmark! How lovely! I am going to be seeking this series out via my local library! My grandmother was keen on the series (at least I am thinking she was! I only remember there was a cookery mystery series she loved to read and I felt it was this one?) but it was the Double Fudge Brownie recipe bookmark which whet an interest to see when in 2015 I can borrow “Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder” to sort it out for myself! And, ooh yes! I am going to bake these brownies too! Which girl do you know wouldn’t savour a ‘free’ chocolate maddeningly rich brownie recipe!? The third surprise was a postie (postcard) annoucement for Kat Martin’s “Against the Sky” February release — on the flipside, it reflects her Alaskan series! However a rather buff agent of the law is on the cover of “Against the Sky” also set in Alaska (perhaps their the same series?) and I happily read “first time in print”! Ooh how lovely – perhaps it was an e-book previously!? (as an aside I found a tweet which answers my questions! see below this review!) Thank you, Kensington for whetting the whistle of my curiosity with these lovelies!
Inspired to Read:
As I have expressed recently, my love and passion for reading cosy mysteries are twofold: I appreciate the ones which take-on a particular historical setting and thereby become a part of the emerging sub-genre “Cosy Historical Mysteries” of which I defined a bit underneath this tour’s author’s guest post; all the while I appreciate the traditional cosy mysteries which harken back to the grandmother of the genre itself Agatha Christie! (read my thoughts on Dame Christie via my tour stop for The Monogram Murders) The Regency is a era of folly and mirth of joyful readings for me — I positively adore reading romances set during the Regency era and the fact this particular mystery series is set within a tranquil and quaint village outside of London; well, you can well imagine how wicked happy I was to request to be on the blog tour! I believe as you read my review of the first novel Death Comes to the Village prior to reading this review of the sequel you shall understand fully why I am drawn into reading cosies!
I read this installment with my newly given reading marker with the cutest hound dog and a stack of books seen on the front side of the Death of a Dog Whisperer bookmark! I had forgotten to mention there is a wicked lovely puzzle you can play with the cover art for “Death Comes to London” on the author’s website! Read More
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Posted Monday, 8 December, 2014 by jorielov in #IndieWriterMonth, 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Cosy Historical Mystery, England, Equality In Literature, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Features, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Regency Era
Posted Sunday, 7 December, 2014 by jorielov Catherine Lloyd, Death Comes to London, Death Comes to the Village, Kensington Publishing Corp., Kurland St. Mary Mysteries, Lady Darby Mysteries 0 Comments
Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd
Published By: Kensington Publishing Corp. ()
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, E-book
Converse on Twitter via:#KurlandStMaryMysteries
Acquired Book By:
I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Death Comes to London” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I requested the first novel in the series to better understand the flow of continuity and the origins of the Kurland St. Mary mysteries series of which Kensington sent me a complimentary copy of “Death Comes to the Village”. I read both novels back to back for the blog tour and was not obligated to post a review for the first novel. I received a complimentary copy of “Death Comes to London” direct from the publisher Kensington Books, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Death Comes to the Village
Regency-set historical mystery, first in new series.
A wounded soldier and a rector's daughter discover strange goings-on in the sleepy village of Kurland St. Mary in Catherine Lloyd's charming Regency-set mystery debut.
Major Robert Kurland has returned to the quiet vistas of his village home to recuperate from the horrors of Waterloo. However injured his body may be, his mind is as active as ever. Too active, perhaps. When he glimpses a shadowy figure from his bedroom window struggling with a heavy load, the tranquil façade of the village begins to loom sinister. . .
Unable to forget the incident, Robert confides in his childhood friend, Miss Lucy Harrington. As the dutiful daughter of the widowed rector, following up on the major's suspicions offers a welcome diversion--but soon presents real danger. Someone is intent on stopping their investigation. And in a place where no one locks their doors, a series of thefts and the disappearance of two young serving girls demands explanation. . .
As Robert grapples with his difficult recovery, he and Lucy try to unearth the dark truth lurking within the village shadows, and stop a killer waiting to strike again...
Places to find the book:
Series: Kurland St. Mary Mysteries, No.1
Also in this series: Death Comes to London, Intangible, Beneath Creek Waters
on 31st November, 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
About Catherine Lloyd
Catherine Lloyd grew up in London, England in the middle of a large family of girls. She quickly decided her imagination was a wonderful thing and was often in trouble for making stuff up. She finally worked out she could make a career out of this when she moved to the USA with her husband and four children and began writing fiction. With a background in historical research and a love of old-fashioned mysteries, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to wonder what a young Regency Miss Marple might be like, and how she would deal with a far from pleasant hero of the Napoleonic wars.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
My introduction of the key characters:
The charm of the cosy within is the cantankerous bloke who warms your heart whilst saying the most wild and unsettling of declarations! He’s at his honest wit’s end, and thereby, all the wildlife in his particular section of the world must be within his field of sight of being ousted out of their natural environment because they are interferring with his tranquility of slumberment! If it weren’t so dire of a picture to envision this war hero walking angst ridden through wood and thistle, it would be laughable because whom would suggest such a crazy thing? Owls surely hoot for good reasons, but on the upturnt it was his nature of voicing his vexations at these natural occurring consternations that endeared me on the upstart of the novel!
My very first impression (of which will not surprise most who know me) of Major Robert Kurland mirrored a direct twin of L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stuart’s fated voyeur photographer who catches a murderer red-handed in Rear Window!) The Major has returnt from the front of war with an ill-begotten injured leg, laid up (pent up most likely!), and finding every wince of a vice he can lay his mind upon! He charmed me with his crustacean countenance!
Lucy is a spitfire in her own right, but with less confidence in voicing her confluence of opinions, and relegates her resolve of still being under her father’s roof; thereby his rules of life. A rector’s daughter who replaced her dear Mum who died in childbirth, Lucy’s path in life is laid out like paving stones leading out of a garden. Everything expected of her without a want or will of her own regard, yet a slow burn of freedom knits into her bosom! Her age of youth is on her side, which gives the impression she’s a heap of a step towards endeavouring her own mind and heart like Jo March!
The one character who will irk your ire quite a heap isn’t the Major, for he is by far the best companion detective to Lucy, and thereby brings out the joy in reading this series, no by all accounts it is the rector! Lucy’s father has a tongue of thorns and an indifference of gratitude for his daughter’s selfless and tireless work to maintain a home rather than a house. She took charge of everything yet has gained nothing but discontempt back from the one person you’d have felt would sing her praises. I applaud the differences being rapt apparent between her father and the Major; as the Major appears to be to have become not necessarily a full-on surrogate father but he is in her stead of confidence for an advisor on life’s affairs. She trusts the Major and even that surprises her a bit, but it is the level of honesty between them which I believe has endeared them to each other. Read More
Posted Sunday, 7 December, 2014 by jorielov in #IndieWriterMonth, 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Cosy Historical Mystery, England, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Regency Era
Posted Tuesday, 2 December, 2014 by jorielov John Singer Sargent | Violet Paget mysteries, Lady Darby Mysteries, Mary F. Burns, The Spoils of Avalon 5 Comments
Whilst I was participating on The Spoils of Avalon blog tour on behalf of the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, I was meant to post this lovely conversation I had with Ms. Burns on behalf of her series and the genre at large. It sparked a conversational thread as well, which I have included below our main conversation as I had not realised no one was addressing the parallels and the changes within the Mystery & Suspense genre as I have started to observe a Renaissance of a new style emerging out of the gate when there is such an overflow of lighter cosies being marketed in today’s fiction.
I personally applaud the authors, who like Ms. Burns are taking the extra step towards ensuing the legacy of Agatha Christie and others like her; who are not only upheld in voice or style but are carried forward — where they are seeking out new timescapes inside the historical past to carve out their own cosy niche and elevate the cosy to a new level of immersion. I love sophisticated comedies and dramas, but this also parlays into my appreciation for a sophisticate cosy!
Cosy to me, first and foremost references the direct correlation between the crime itself and the level of intensity of the nature of the crime; either through descriptive narrative or through visceral imagery. I may watch certain hard-boiled crime dramas on television (the ones most addictive by far have been NCIS and Castle) but when it comes to curating a list of next reads and favourite cosies in print — alas! This is where I become quite particular in my choices and my penchant for a well-conceived mystery and/or suspense within the pages is put centerpoint. If I can help bridge the gap between where the cosies of the past and the cosies of the modern world are merging and re-defining themselves, then I consider myself blessed to be a book blogger who can showcase the differences.
Secondary to the first declaration on behalf of cosies, for me, are the realism of character, setting, era, and the plausible circumstances stitched around the mystery itself. I even like a light suspension of reality if bits and bobbles of fantasy elements are explored (those based on mythology, lore, or fable); but truly what I am seeking is a well-conceived idea which sparks such a joy to devour the story itself, I lose myself in the pages and never notice fully the dissolvementof time off the clock!
The death of a humble clergyman in 1877 leads amateur sleuths Violet Paget and John Singer Sargent into a medieval world of saints and kings—including the legendary Arthur—as they follow a trail of relics and antiquities lost since the destruction of Glastonbury Abbey in 1539. Written in alternating chapters between the two time periods, The Spoils of Avalon creates a sparkling, magical mystery that bridges the gap between two worlds that could hardly be more different—the industrialized, Darwinian, materialistic Victorian Age and the agricultural, faith-infused life of a medieval abbey on the brink of violent change at the hands of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell.
First in a new series of historical mysteries, <em>The Spoils of Avalon</em> introduces two unlikely detectives and life-long friends—beginning as young people on the verge of making their names famous for the next several decades throughout Europe and America: the brilliant and brittle Violet Paget, known as the writer Vernon Lee, and the talented, genial portrait painter John Singer Sargent.
Friends from the age of ten, Paget and Sargent frequently met in the popular European watering places and capitals, frequenting the same salons and drawing rooms in London, Rome, Paris, Florence, Venice, Vienna and Madrid. Both were possessed of keen minds and bohemian tendencies, unorthodox educations and outsized egos (especially Paget). Their instant, natural bonding led them to address each other as “Twin”, and they corresponded frequently when they were apart.
Henry James once described Violet Paget as having “the most formidable mind” of their times, and he was an active fan and patron of John Sargent, introducing him to London society and his own inner circles of literary and artistic genius.
I agree with what you revealed about taking an cosy historical mystery arc of narrative and fusing it directly into the heart of a well-respected historical figure by presenting the person and the era of the series setting in a believable series of circumstances that honour the person. What originally led you to realising you had a golden opportunity to bring forward John Singer Sargent & Violet Paget as crime solving partners?
Burns responds: I am a long-time fan of ‘historical’ amateur detectives (Oscar Wilde, Jane Austen) as well as purely fictional ones (Max Liebermann, Charles DuLuc), and have written some mysteries long ago. However, I had fallen so much in love with both Sargent and Paget while I was writing my “regular” historical Portraits of an Artist that I simply couldn’t let go of them, and I wanted readers to see how fun and interesting they are. I struggled with the challenge that Sargent isn’t all that well-known and that Violet Paget (aka Vernon Lee) is completely obscure these days, so who would want to read about them? But I decided it was worth the risk—I would write them so well that people would love them as I do! It seemed to me that the historical mystery genre was the perfect medium to bring out their mischievous and interesting characters, both serious and humorous at the same time. Read More
Posted Tuesday, 2 December, 2014 by jorielov in #IndieWriterMonth, 16th Century, 19th Century, Arthurian Legend, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, British Literature, Classic Mystery, Cosy Historical Mystery, Cosy Mystery, Debut Author, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Reader Submitted Author Interview