Monday 27 February 2017

Turkish Delights and Gallic Fights

                                          
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TURKISH DELIGHTS AND GALLIC FIGHTS...ALL AT A HEART-STOPPINGLY LOW PRICE



When they met in London in 1799, Rose Charteris and Tom Hawkesleigh fell instantly in love. But disapproving families and misunderstandings came between them, and the romance was over as quickly as it started. Five years later, Tom is working for the Turkish ambassador in Constantinople and he runs into Rose once again...will she succumb to her desires and give Tom back her heart?








1813. Napoleon is on the rampage through France. Louise Fauriel comes from a family of talented silversmiths. Using their art shop as a front, the family run messages between the Comte d’Artois and his brother, King Louis. But Napoleon’s Secret Police are patrolling the area, searching for any signs of a revolt and keen to intercept any messages that could harm their campaign...








Turkey, 1811. Olivia Hartford falls in love with the magical land of Turkey and meets a number of interesting people, like Lady Hester Stanhope, niece of the prime minister of England, and intrepid world traveller. And then there is the handsome Selim, cousin to the Sultan. Is Olivia destined to live a life of solitude and regret? Or will her past stay buried long enough for her to have her happy ending?

Friday 3 February 2017

The Rake And His Honour

   This is the story of Arnaut, the second brother in the Montailhac family 
    and of his brave companion, Louise.

                                              

Together they travel between France and England, not always avoiding Napoleon's elite spies but determined to succeed in their mission.

                          to buy:      https://tinyurl.com/zlwnczj

Street in Saint Lizier in the Pyrenees


                          
Hartwell House, residence of the French king in exile, Louis XVIII


Image result for French king's fleur de lys


Thursday 26 January 2017

Olivia's new home

On arriving in ConstantinopleOlivia and her companion, Miss Neston, inspect the house her brother has rented for them. 


The ladies were pleased to find that their new home was a handsome, stone built villa near the top of the hill and with a view of the sea. 

Olivia flitted back from the balcony. 'I like this house,' she declared, 'The view over the city and across the water is delightful. It’s splendid to be living in one continent and looking out at another one, do you not agree, Nessie?' She surveyed the room and nodded briskly. 'All we need is carpets, a few hangings and some ornaments.' 



The view over the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus Strait from the hilltop in Galata where Olivia stays.


Image result for the bosphorus strait constantinople

Another view of the busy Strait




Tuesday 24 January 2017

An adventurous Regency lady

SCANDALOUS  LADY

Constantinople 1811

Not a promising start to the relationship between the diplomat and the artist.....
'It would be very easy, Olivia,' he insisted, his eyes flashing as she kept shaking her head. 'No servant would hesitate if I gave the order to have you tied in a sack and thrown in the Bosphorus.'
            At this she leapt to her feet. 'You are disgusting!' she shouted, 'I can hardly believe you're human when you talk like that. You take me away by force and plan to use me for your entertainment with no respect for my wishes or my reputation.'
            He rose in one fluid movement and stood over her. 'You have no reputation.'
                   ...and it soon gets much more complicated ! Oh dear!

The reviews for my story are very encouraging and I'm delighted to share some of them

Blesley whitfield on 21 Jan. 2017
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

I have just finished reading this book and, although it was after midnight, I simply couldn't put it down until I had reached the end. Beautifully written with such detail of what took place at the time.
The descriptions were just right of the characters, enough but not too much. I love to have some freedom to add my own thoughts on the characters. This was well researched and well written, hence the 5 star I have given it. An insight into the troubles at the times, with romance thrown in, as well as danger.


By Birdseye on 22 Jan. 2017
Format: Kindle Edition

Olivia is a wonderful character. She is delightfully independent. She knows exactly what she wants and what she needs and has the courage to get it. She is also so real, so strong. It was like following a friend that I admired through her adventures.

By evelyn on 20 Jan. 2017
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

A book with actual story telling as well as humour for a change.


Saturday 10 December 2016

Fire and Ice. Can they ever mix?


A new Regency tales adventure.

             Set in Constantinople in 1811, SCANDALOUS LADY   is the story of a top ranking, ice-cold diplomat who encounters a fiery, rebellious artist  and thereafter, nothing goes to plan - for either of them!
Published by Endeavour Press               
__________
Experience the city together with Olivia as she discovers the exotic mix of past and present, east and west in Constantinople, the " city of the world's desire ". 
                                                             Related image

                                     Dusk on the Golden Horn, 1845 - Ivan Aivazovsky




The Ciragan Palace, summer residence of the Sultan and his court. 




A narghile, a water pipe. In the coffeehouse she visits, Olivia takes only one puff but Lady Hester Stanhope is constantly smoking hers.


Image result for amadeo preziosi
Turkish Café -Picture by Amadeo Preziosi


Image result for Turkish food

The bewildering variety of food   [picture by TooIstanbul]


 
    








                             The splendid goods such as carpets



        and jewellery




     

                                                           Airy carriages

                               
                                                            picture by Giovanni Brindisi, 1845

                            and magnificent horses



                                 
       
                                                  


Saturday 19 November 2016

Interview with Regency Author, Beth Elliott by Lynette Rees


Interview with Regency Author, Beth Elliott

Hello, Beth, welcome to my blog. 
Hello Lynette. Thank you for inviting me. It’s lovely to have a chat.
You write Regency Romance and have recently had a book published by Endeavour Press called, ‘April and May’, could you tell readers a little about your book?april-and-may
Four years earlier Tom and Rose met and fell in love but both families disapproved and they were parted. They meet again in Constantinople. Circumstances force them to work together on a secret project. Rose now has a new admirer, handsome Kerim Pasha, the Sultan’s chief minister. Back in London, Tom and Kerim Pasha carry out their secret mission, with threats of violence never far away. Both wish to win Rose but it takes her a long time to understand her own feelings.
Is this your first book? Do you have any plans to write and publish any other books?
I’ve written six stories set in the Regency period. April and May has just been published as an e-book by Endeavour Press. It’s my first story using Constantinople [now Istanbul] as a setting, although the plot moves to London later on.
My next story, Scandalous Lady, is set entirely in Constantinople. That’s the story of an ice cold diplomat who meets a rebellious artist and thereafter, nothing goes to plan.
Who was your favourite character in ‘April and May’? And why?
I love all my main characters – no favourites, although I do have a soft spot for Sebastian. There’s a plot all ready for him to have his own story soon.
Is there any sort of theme throughout your book?
Very simply: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Did you learn anything from writing the story?
In terms of crafting the story there’s always more to learn. I feel pleased with some of my scenes but conveying character, events and setting while keeping the story flowing is a never-ending process.
Where do you usually write?
I have a small study [very untidy with books and papers in heaps] and prefer to write on the desktop, then edit on printed out pages. It gets messy!
Where’s the strangest place you’ve ever written?
When I stay with my long time French friend, she puts me in her study to write while she carries on with her endless DIY. [She has an enormous old farmhouse]. Every now and then she sticks her head round the door and asks ‘Are you writing?’ As she’s always holding either a hammer, an electric screwdriver or a saw, you bet I’m writing. It’s like that cartoon on Facebook where the stick figure with the gun says ‘Just write the damned novel’.
Tell me a little about your writing day…
I’m a night owl. In the day I may do research but the actual writing starts about 9pm and goes on until I run out of ideas or the characters get stroppy. They normally cooperate until at least midnight.
Do you have any writing advice for would be authors?
Writing is not easy but don’t get discouraged. Never throw anything you have written away. In a few days you’ll find something in there that is worth developing.
Which authors have you been influenced by?
I always loved tales of long ago and far away. As a child, Robert Louis Stevenson’s stories fired my imagination, and in a completely different vein I enjoyed Jane Austen. Then I sneaked my mother’s Georgette Heyer stories. I also like Louise Allen, Nicola Cornick and Loretta Chase. Then there’s Mary Balogh and Diane Gaston and, again showing an inclination for travel and adventure, Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe stories – after watching the delectable Sean Bean in the TV films of them.
Can you tell readers something about yourself that would either amuse/interest/or surprise them?
I studied French and Italian [in England] and went to teach at a university in France. There I met my Turkish husband. He had also studied French and Italian [ in Turkey]; so we had two languages in common but then we both had to learn each other’s own language to speak to the members of our families.
If you could be anything other than an author, what would that something be?
An archaeologist. It involves history, travel and breathless excitement when you discover unexpected items from so long ago. You’ll notice there’s a whole family of archaeologists in April and May.
Finally, can you tell readers where they can find your books and where they can find your website/social media links online?
The best way to find my books is via my website www.bethelliott.webs.com.
There’s a link there to my Amazon page as well as to Endeavour Press www.endeavourpress.co.uk
I have a Blog called Regency tales – http://Regencytales.blogspot.com. It’s mostly a well illustrated scrapbook of research for my stories, with a few interviews and travel notes.
I’m also on Facebook as Beth Elliott and on Twitter as @BethElliott.
Thanks for answering my questions and good luck with your new book! 
Thanks to you for the invitation. Your questions have made me think hard.  And in my grandmother’s language I’ll end by saying Diolch yn Fawr Iawn to you, Lynette.

Tuesday 15 November 2016

The splendid Palace of Schools, Coimbra.


From 1544 the University of Coimbra has been situated in the Royal Palace of the Alaçova,
 at the very top of the hill in the city of Coimbra. The splendid setting has enhanced the  sense of identity and tradition in this very special place of study.
The vast courtyard of the university, looking towards the main entrance to what
 was originally the Throne Room of the palace.

The Grand Staircase leading to the Latin Way

The crowning glory of this impressive site is the Joanine Library. This was built in 1724 and is a marvel of Baroque architecture. It houses 30,000 books as well as thousands of manuscripts.





 The decor is highly ornate with red, green and gold everywhere. To protect
the books from damage by insects, especially moths, a colony of bats is allowed to live in
the library.

                               File:Biblioteca Joanina.jpg
The ground floor stacks and credenzas
Photo: By Trishhhh - Flickr: DSC_5156, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/
index.php?curid=17696833

The upper stacks
Photo By Ernesto von Rückert [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons