Tuesday's Tales - Picture Prompt

Welcome to Tuesday's Tales

Welcome to Tuesday Tales and this week's picture prompt . This excerpt is taken from Megan's Story, the follow-on WIP from Duty Calls. [The large print version available at online outlets from May 29th] Luke Hawk is Rafe's half-brother (Duty Calls) and Megan's brother. (working title - Megan's Story) It is taken from an earlier scene than the one last week.

 

A couple of rings later Luke answered. “Vince? Hi, are you still intending to visit Megan?”

“Luke,” Vince ignored Luke’s question. “Listen to me. I’m with Megan now, and I think you should get here without delay, and call your parents and get them here too.”

“Hell, man. You’re scaring the shit out of me Vince. What the hell’s going on? If you’ve done anything to hurt her, you’ll regret it.”

“Luke, I’d never hurt her, surely you know that? I can’t discuss it on the phone, but she needs you all here now.” Vince waited long enough to hear Luke confirm he’s talk with his parents and get them and himself to Megan’s as quickly as possible before cutting the call.

Gently he eased Megan away from him and scanned the room for a comforter to wrap her in before taking off his Jacket and pulling it round her shoulders. He banked every cushion he could find around her before crossing the room to switch on the fire. Cheerful gas-induced flames leaped to life, creating an orange pattern of dancing flames on the opposite wall.

When he’d arrived, the summer sunlight filtered through a growing accumulation of grey clouds, now those clouds obscured it completely, darkening the normally cheerful room. Vince headed to the kitchen and filled the kettle with cold water. He opened cabinet doors searching for mugs or cups and saucers. The fourth try yielded up several cheerfully decorated mugs. He lifted two down and placed them on the counter top. Another search revealed tea, coffee and sugar containers. 

 

Thanks for reading this week's offering. 
Please click below to enjoy more amazing reads at 

 Tuesday's Tales 

 

 

  

 

 

Duty Calls is featured all this month by

Black Opal Books

 and all versions are on a special

15% off  offer

HERE

Sunday Snippet ~ 1st June ~ Duty Calls

 Duty Calls (15% off all versions) is one of Black Opal's Books featured books throughout June. 

 

 

Here is another snippet from Duty Calls, which is now available in large print as well as print and kindle editions.

 

He resurrected images of the first time he’d seen Cadmore’s fake sister. She reminded him of a long term druggie, with her lank, shoulder-length, dyed hair, cheap white cotton blouse, and black skirt. Her scrawny, flat-chested body repulsed him, and he wondered why Cadmore presumed he’d accept the woman over his twenty grand. Then Rafe had wondered why he’d accepted the bet. He’d seen her unsuccessful attempts to disguise her fear when he’d handled her like a piece of meat on a butcher’s slab during the card game.

 

He hadn’t gone to the decrepit house to play poker. He’d gone to learn more about the man who claimed to be the rightful heir to Lord Kinsale’s estates. And to do that, he’d
accepted Cadmore’s invitation to join him in an evening’s poker game. 

Then he remembered the woman’s old scars, small and round running down her arms, and across her chest mingled with new bruising from their brush with death. And the crisscrossed welts on her back, he’d assumed she received while immersed in the raging river.

Thanks for coming by :-)
Looking to find new authors to read?
You'll find them today at

SNIPPET SUNDAY

Tuesdays Tale 23-04-13 - Travel

Welcome back to another Tuesday's Tales  This week I'm sharing a clip from Megan, a WIP that has been on the go for several years, and is the 2nd story following the Hawke family siblings. The first being Duty Calls, published in 2011 by Black Opal Books.

(Info- Widowed Megan learns that someone is contesting her late husbands will. Here Megan and her lover, Vince, are questioning the grandmother of the contester.)

 “What can I say to convince you?” she asked into the silence.  “For a couple of years I managed to keep track of my daughter’s movements.  It wasn’t easy and I had to use my late husband’s influence to pull a few strings.  Then Marie Ann crossed the border into Mexico and I lost track of her.  For four years I heard nothing; then out of the blue she turned up with a baby girl.  She told me she was destitute that the father of her child left her when he discovered she was pregnant and she couldn’t afford to keep the child and would put it up for adoption if I didn’t take it in and look after it.”

“Was she married to the child’s father?”  Vince asked, his gaze flicking to Megan, where she sat of the arm of the settee her hand resting on her brother’s shoulder.  She shifted uncomfortably then settled again and waited for Esmy response.

“She told me the father wanted to remain in his hometown and refused to travel with her when she wanted to return to the States. So she brought the child back with her and dumped it on me and then within the week disappeared again.”

“When was that?”  Megan’s quiet voice startled everyone.

“Let me see.”  Esmy thought back, trying to remember exactly how old the babe had been when her daughter left it behind.  “She was no more than a few months.  Three?  Perhaps four.  To be precise, I’d have to look at the adoption papers.”

“And how old is your granddaughter now?”  Megan held her breath.  Had her beloved Michael been married to two women at the same time?  She couldn’t bring herself to believe it.

“Fifteen.”

Megan released her breath and smiled down at the two men on her settee.

“Does your grand daughter’s birth certificate name the father?”  Luke asked the woman seated opposite him.

“I don’t remember.  I don’t think so.”

“Where was the child born?”  Vince asked.

“Vegas.”  Came the prompt response.

“I’d like to see the certificate and take a copy.”  Vince stated.  “Do you know how and when she left Mexico and whether she was alone?”

“No.”  Esmy shook her head.

Picking up the jug of cold coffee Megan returned to the kitchen.

“Are you prepared to take us to your house and allow us to look at the documents appertaining to your granddaughter.”  Vince asked.

 

Thank you for reading another snippet this week, and please hop on over to read everyone's offering for this week's Tuesday's Tales prompt.

 

SPOOK-A-LICIOUS:WHERE BOO-KS DEVOUR YOU BLOG HOP TOUR (OCT 17-24)

SPOOK-A-LICIOUS:

WHERE BOO-KS DEVOUR YOU

BLOG HOP TOUR (OCT 17-24)

1) HAVE FUN!!!

2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Monday, October 17, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, October 24, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
Winners will be drawn and posted October 25th! ***

4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS & BOOK PAGES! EXPERIENCE A NEW DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!

5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR & BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!

6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!***

Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***

Read on to learn more about the giveaways and link to other participants

Borley Rectory-Essex (1862-1939)- The Most Haunted House in Britain



Borley Rectory, reputed to be the most haunted house in the UK was built in 1863 by Rev. Henry D. E. Bull.
In 1939  a fire  raised the rectory to the ground in mysterious circumstances.
The most popular story to the background of Borley was that in 1362 Benedictine Monks built a monastery on the site which would later hold the rectory.
 
Legend told of a nun from the Bures convent, 7 miles southeast of Borley falling in love with a monk from the monastery. They had decided to elope to be together, but the elders discovered their plans. A friend of the monk was to drive a carriage to help them escape. On the fateful night they were captured by the elders. The coachman was beheaded, the monk hanged and the nun was bricked up alive in the walls of the vaults beneath the rectory. Their ghosts have haunted the site ever since.
 
Henry Price made it his life's work to investigate the reupted hauntings and the following links will give you more information.
http://www.ghost-story.co.uk/stories/borleyrectory5.html
http://www.ghost-story.co.uk/stories/borleyrectory4.html
http://www.ghost-story.co.uk/stories/borleyrectory4.html
 

The wall writings that appeared were investigated by many of the different occupants over the years.

The Borley rectory writings on the wall is one of the most interesting manifestation of the famous Borley rectory haunting, which was probably the first case of ghost hunting in history. They believed the writings had come from a young deceased catholic woman who wanted her body to be discovered and receive a proper Christian burial ceremony. She was trying to communicate with Marianne, wife of the Reverend Lionel Foyster, the couple living in the rectory in October 1930. We can read "Marianne... please help get" and "Marianne light mass prayers". Marianne wrote that she couldn't understand some of the writings.

You can learn more about them HERE

GIVEAWAYS

Please follow me here and visit me on FB

1st Prize ~ PDF version of Duty Calls

2nd Prize ~  The Brat Book Mark

3rd Prize ~ Duty calls Book Mark

OFFICIAL LINKY LIST FOR SPOOK-A-LICIOUS: WHERE BOO-KS DEVOUR YOU: BLOG HOP TOUR (OCT 17-24)

Congratulations to the winners and my thanks to all who visited this blog-hop.

Six Sentence Sunday

Thank you to everyone who visited last week.  I appreciate your company and comments. 
This week's 'six' follows on from last week's.
* * *

“Widow? Cadmore never said anything about a wife. He introduced me to his sister. I told you he wagered his sister against my twenty thousand pounds.”

The remembered stench of the dingy room, stale beer, and dirty, sweaty bodies that fateful night pervaded Rafe’s memory. The single overhead bulb that failed to illuminate the far corners of the room hid the gray-faced stick of a woman who’d stepped forward when commanded.

Duty Calls is available ~ HERE HERE & HERE

Please visit my website to learn more, and read the reviews.

You will find other participants of Six Sunday Sentence HERE

How does a writer make marketing their stories easier on themselves?

This week's blog-hop question has been set by L. P. Robinson this week.  "How does a writer make marketing their stories easier on themselves?"

'By the seat of their pants,' would be the facetious answer, but the reality is, with a great deal of hard work.

Yes Facebook, twitter and other networking sites are essential to get your message across.  But stop for a moment and ask yourself, 'who is your target market?  Are you connecting with the 'right' people, the right targets?

The people you are looking for are readers.  And not just readers, but those who enjoy your genre.  You can have ten thousand followers, but if none of them are interested in what you write, then you are not focussing in on your target market. Consider, for a minute.  Where do you go when you want to buy a pair of shoes?   And if you are looking for a specific brand and style of shoes, yes, your choices narrow down, but you are more likely to find what you are looking for.  And if they enjoy your book they will spread your fame by the strongest promotional tool out there -- word of mouth.

And yet... you still need to think outside the box, find sites that have connections, however slight.  If, as I have in my current novel, Duty Calls, you have a character who has had cancer, then look around similar sites and see if you can blog for them, or give a talk.  This is not everyone's idea of a good day out.  I happen to be one of those. But if you have the savvy to target potential readers who may otherwise be 'outside' your normal marketing box, then give it a go.

Six Sentence Sunday

#3 Thank you to everyone who keeps coming back to read my snippets every Sunday! I truly appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this week's offering.

It comes from my current novel Duty Calls and continues right on from where we left off last week.
When Rafe arrives in the UK to design some retirement chalets commisioned bt his friend Arthur, he didn't realise those chalets would be at the one place he never wanted to see again.

***
Arthur’s sudden air of innocence didn’t fool Rafe.  Arthur and his boss, Vince Parker, carried the responsibility for England’s national security. So getting rid of a scumbag like Cadmore would have been child’s play. 

“I suppose you invoked some national security code, somehow.”

“I do believe the papers mentioned something about drug overlords.” Arthur shifted from studying the countryside to staring at Rafe. “I doubt you heard, the 
executors traced his widow, who now lives at the Hall.”
***
Duty Calls is available HERE & HERE

Want more Six Sentence Sunday fun? Drop by http://www.sixsunday.com/
 for the list of participating authors. See you next week!

Six Sentence Sunday

#2
Thank you to everyone who made my first visit so enjoyable. This weeks 'six' follows on from last week's.
* * *

“No, I don’t need any reminders of my last visit regarding the Kinsale Estate,” Rafe confirmed.

“I never discovered how you managed to evade the executors of the will after Lord Kinsale‟s death,” Arthur lied.

“When they couldn’t trace you, they got in touch with Cadmore.

Apparently, he managed to convince them of the legitimacy of his claim, and he moved from London to live at the Hall for the next five years.”

“Why only five years?” Rafe asked, while trying to convince himself nothing more than idle curiosity prompted his question.

“He died in a turf-war shooting.”

* * *

Duty Calls is available ~ HERE  HERE & HERE

Please visit my website to learn more, and read the reviews.

Visit aother participants of Six Sunday Sentence HERE

Six Sentence Sunday 17th July

Hi, I'm participating in Six Sentence Sunday for the first time, so thank you to all who come by.
The snippet is from my current contemporary release, Duty Calls, from Black Opal Books and available at Amazon.com

“Other than the fact you’re stretching our friendship very thin, if you think I’ll set foot on Kinsale territory again.”
Brilliant blue skies overhead offered a large playground for the early summer sunshine, and the fluffy white clouds sailing by. He saw the high chimney-tops through the trees.

“Do you really think I’d bring you here without a very good reason?” Arthur remained in his seat, his hands on the steering wheel, watching Rafe pace up and down the soft verge beside the open-topped car.

"I can't think of a single reason good enough that justifies you resurrecting events that nearly cost me my life, and possibly cost the life on an unknown woman."

For more details, please visit my website: www.sherrygloag.com

Check out all the awesome Six Sentence Sunday authors

QUESTION: Do blogs or serializing your novel on line really help build your brand name? Question provided by author Wendy Woods

In the days before blogging, 'getting your name out there' involved massive and convaluted methods of advertising, book tours - which once upon a time your publisher footed the bill for - and required huge blocks of time to travel from city to city for book signings, interviews and the likes.

Now - thanks to the net - you can sit at home and instead of meeting several hundred fans, hopefully, you can attract thousands. 

Does this happen overnight?  No, of course not!
Can you simply announce the arrival of your latest book, sit back, and wait for the stampede?  In your dreams!

It takes time and for some it takes longer than for others.  Why?

"You get back what you put out" kinda covers it, in a way.  The more books you write, the more people you are likely to attract.  If they like what you write, they want more.  But, if you keep them waiting too long they'll look elsewhere, and by the time your next effort hits the virtual and physical books shelves they may not bother to even give your latest book a look in.

So to feed your reader's appetites you must keep writing.

'OK!  I've got that.'  I hear you say.but then there's more.  People want/need to know more about you the author and your writing style and the only way to doo that is to write regularly on your own blog and guest on as many other blogs as you can.

Job done?  Not at all.  Visit other blogs and comment.  If you like to read your visitors' comments, others will be please to hear from you and they will reciprocate.  Not only do you begin to get your name out there, but the wonderful bonus is, you make an enormous number of new and caring friends. 

Social networks abound.  Some find them daunting, others love them.  Fact of life, if you want to reach new readers, then you have to get off your butt and get chatting.

Yes it takes time, and if you take a break, the reality is people have busy lives and will interact with those actively participating on the social blog sits. 

How do I know this?  I am one of those who has a hard tme getting my head round the social networking system.  And quite frankly if I don't make an effort then I notice the difference. 

So does blogging your brand name make a difference?

Yes!

And in this day and age, we've never had it so good!

My website: http://www.sherrygloag.com/

Buy Duty Calls at http://tinyurl.com/6el9qef

Duty Calls in print now

I am so excited today because Duty Calls is now available in print  at Black Opal Books & Amazon.com 

as well as in Kindle, Nook and other formats at several online outlets.

~ * ~ * ~

Blurb:
She’d saved his life…
Rafe Hawk refuses to accept the inheritance, of a large English estate, and the title that goes with it, after his birth father’s death because the man chose duty over the woman he loved and their son.
So when he finds himself temporarily living at Kinsale Hall, he’s not prepared to trust anyone associated with the place, including Trudi Delaney and her daughter.
So why, when he looks into their eyes, does he suddenly remember a woman who may have lost her life after a storm while saving his over a decade ago?

Now he could destroy hers...
Instinct warns Trudi Delaney the arrival of the contemptuous American architect at Kinsale Hall will change her life forever. Especially when she discovers he spends so much of his time in areas of Kinsale Hall off-limits to visitors.
Eleven years after escaping from her psychotic husband with a stranger, she’s still plagued by nightmares of events she can’t remember. Events such as, who fathered her beautiful daughter?
Now more than a decade later, she is confronted by another stranger. Will this one destroy everything she holds dear?

What are people saying about Duty calls?

Rachel: "Very well written...

VF: Solid writing...

Lisa: interesting indeed!

t f-d: Rather good :)

K: I want to know more...

wo2011: This is very good writing. Sincere writing. Intelligently done...

Read more reviews

Excerpt:

Book Trailer:



What is your favourite author quote and why?



Thursday ~ 16th June 2011

This week affiliate author, Amy Romine, asks the question - "What is your favourite author quote and why?"

This is a great question, Amy, and here are a few of my favourites :-

Nora Roberts

"Love and magic have a great deal in common. They enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take practice."

Oscar Hammerstein

"All the sounds of the earth are like music."

Oscar Wilde

"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal."

"Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much."

Aesop

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.

 

Groucho Marx 

"I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book. "

Confucius

Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.

Charles Dickens

Minds, like bodies, will often fall into a pimpled, ill-conditioned state from mere excess of comfort.

Trip Around the World: Mega Author Blog Hop: Ticket to Paradise!

Trip Around the World: Mega Author Blog Hop: Ticket to Paradise!
~May 16th - 23rd~
particpation details below - at the end of the blog 



Let me introduce myself before I take you round Norwich and the surrounding countryside of Norfolk England. I am Sherry Gloag’s heroine, Trudi Delaney, in her latest novel, Duty Calls, published in February by Black Opal Books.

I'll start by showing you where the inspiration for some of the scenes in Duty Calls come from. The novel opens with the arrival of Gloag’s hero, Rafe Hawk, at Kinsale Hall. The large house in Duty Calls is set in expansive grounds all of which are very roughly based on Holkham Hall on the North Norfolk coast in England.

Holkham Hall



Ms Gloag makes no apologies for rearranging the settings and transplanting them in an unspecified country location. The original setting is close to the county town of Norwich which is regarded as the most complete medieval city in Britain and its amazing history will delight and enthral as you discover how the past has shaped the city. 

Norwich was one of the most important towns in Anglo Saxon Britain developed from a collection of small settlements along one of Norfolk's rivers, the Wensum. From these relatively humble beginnings Norwich was to experience dramatic changes with the Norman invasion and settlement in 1066.

The cathedral, was founded in 1096 and built using Normandy stone shipped over from Caen. Only Salisbury Cathedral’s spire is taller than the one in Norwich.



Ethelbert Gate



Providing access from the southern end of Tombland, the Ethelbert Gate is unique example of Norwich preserving evidence of the 12th-century gatehouse, but is essentially a rebuild of c.1320. The upper storey originally housed a chapel, and the gate is remarkable for its early and sophisticated use of flint flushwork.

When you take an official city tour, you will hear about what is called, locally, Kett’s rebellion. Not content with one peasant rebellion, Norwich in 1549 saw Robert Kett’s three week uprising against the enclosure of commons and the dissolution of the monasteries. Kett, a tanner seized the city and led his army to victory over one government army before falling to a far larger one: Kett was hanged from Norwich Keep. The tour iformation maintains that there are links with Ethelbert’s Gate and Kett’s followers.

Norwich with its trading centre was soon the fourth city in the land. More medieval churches remain in Norwich than even London or Paris and were built with the fortunes from the wool trade. 

 Once thought to be a natural phenomenom, research in the 1950'sproved The Norfolk Broads were man-made, showing the sides of the deep lakes were vertical and not gently sloping as would be expected of a naturally formed lake, coupled with the historical evidence of peat demand.

In other words, through the need to dig peat for fuel to cook and keep warm, over the centuries past generations gifted a vast area that became a natural habitat to many species for birds, butterflies and other creatures, as a well as an ideal location for boating holidays for the present generation.

When, in Duty Calls, the children’s safety is in question, I envisaged taking the girls to places based on those mentioned above.

Because of its position off the main south-north motorways and modern-day-rat-race, Norfolk still maintains much of its old-world charm and historical roots. Snettishan and Holme host a couple of the best known bird sanctuaries in Britain. And the beaches offer a wonderful opportunity for family entertainment.

Norfolk is siuated in the south east of England, and in one medium-sized county offers a wide variety of visitor delights that has something for everyone.



BLURB:
She’d saved his life…
Rafe Hawk refuses to accept the inheritance, of a large English estate, and the title that goes with it, after his birth father’s death because the man chose duty over the woman he loved and their son.
So when he finds himself temporarily living at Kinsale Hall, he’s not prepared to trust anyone associated with the place, including Trudi Delaney and her daughter.
So why, when he looks into their eyes, does he suddenly remember a woman who may have lost her life after a storm while saving his over a decade ago?
Now he could destroy hers.

Instinct warns Trudi Delaney the arrival of the contemptuous American architect at Kinsale Hall will change her life forever. Especially when she discovers he spends so much of his time in areas of Kinsale Hall off-limits to visitors.
Eleven years after escaping from her psychotic husband with a stranger, she’s still plagued by nightmares of events she can’t remember. Events such as, who fathered her beautiful daughter?
Now more than a decade later, she is confronted by another stranger. Will this one destroy everything she holds dear?

EXCERPT:
“Stop the car!” Rafe Hawk swung round to face the driver. “I recognise this road. You never said the commission to build those retirement units was at Kinsale Hall. You know damn well I swore never set foot in the place again, eleven years ago.”
Rage hazed his vision. “You knew I’d refuse the commission if you’d revealed the location, and because you withheld that vital information, Arthur, this contract is null and void.” He shot forward in his seat when Arthur tramped on the brakes.
His friend from their Uni days skewed round in his seat. “How long have we known each other?”
Startled by Arthur Clifton’s question, Rafe hesitated. “What’s the length of our friendship got to do with anything? Other than the fact you’re stretching it very thin, if you think I’ll set foot on Kinsale territory again.” He swung open the car door and leaped out, his fingers tunnelling through his windswept hair.
Brilliant blue skies overhead offered a large playground for the early summer sunshine, and the fluffy white clouds sailing by. He saw the high chimney-tops through the trees.
“Do you really think I’d bring you here without a very good reason?” Arthur remained in his seat, his hands on the steering wheel, watching Rafe pace up and down the soft verge beside the open-topped car.
"I can't think of a single reason good enough that justifies you resurrecting events that nearly cost me my life, and possibly cost the life on an unknown woman."

REVIEWS for Duty Calls

MORE About the Author

My Blog-hop Prize

To win a free pdf copy of my current novel, Duty Calls, 

Describe what or where in Norfolk you would like to visit and why.

Click "Follow" on this blog
Please also leave your email address (in case you are a winner!) 

TO ENJOY YOUR NEXT HOLIDAY TRIP

THIS TIME IN GREECE

VISIT Kristine Cheney's BLOG

AND LEAVE A COMMENT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN

MORE FABULOUS PRIZES   

* * * * *

My Website: www.sherrygloag.com

TOUR RULES:
1) HAVE FUN!!!
2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!
3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Monday, May 16, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, May 23, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS! EXPERIENCE A NEW DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!
5) PARTICIPATION AT EVERY BLOG IS RECOMMENDED. BUT REMEMBER: THE MORE YOU HOP, THE MORE CHANCES YOU HAVE TO WIN. EVERY AUTHOR IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW EVERY AUTHOR SOME LOVE!
6) OH! AND DON'T FORGET!!" HAVE FUN!! :-)

Simple!! LOL

Remember ~ rule #5~

PARTICIPATION AT EVERY BLOG IS RECOMMENDED. BUT REMEMBER: THE MORE YOU HOP, THE MORE CHANCES YOU HAVE TO WIN. EVERY AUTHOR IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW EVERY AUTHOR SOME LOVE!

Influencial settings in Duty Calls

Choosing the setting for my current novel, Duty Calls came easily and is based on the landscape and beautiful scenery of Holkham Hall, Norfolk, in the UK.


Trudi Delaney, my heroine, has reluctantly accepted ownership of the huge English estate her late husband managed to ‘acquire’.

Not only does she want nothing to do with anything connected with her late husband, but she is plagued by misgivings that the rightful heir is still alive.

I live in the beautiful English county of Norfolk which is peppered with large estates, and Holkham Hall  is close enough to consider it an extension of our garden and we visit regularly. One of my favourite walks is through the trees and around the lake.


http://tinyurl.com/4yskywk



It is the lake and view of Holkham that I use as the setting for Duty Calls, not the interior of the house.

Holkham has twenty five tenanted farms plus several thousand hectares of what they describe as ‘in-hand’ land that is farmed on a rotation basis.





The nearby farm in Duty Calls comes from the imagination, as does the walk through the woods. But I couldn’t resist adding the fawn as you will often see several when you walk through the grounds of Holkahm Hall during the spring.

There are several wonderful walks that take you in every direction across the lands and attract thousands of visitors every year.

Holkham Hall recently featured as the interior of Buckingham Palace in the BBC TV drama 'The Lost Prince'. The park featured in the C4 docudrama 'Victoria's Men' televised in June 2008 to name just a few of the many other television and film credits.

Holkham, unlike my fictional Kinsale Hall is close to the sea and boasts one of the largest expanses of sand covered beach along the Norfolk coast.

The director of 'Shakespeare in Love' had actress Gwyneth Paltrow walking along Holkhan beach in the closing scenes.

 It is also one of the few nudist beaches in the county! And when you discover that Holkham beach is purported to be one of the Queen’s favourite beaches that is quite a surprise.

My Website

Buy Duty Calls HERE ~ HERE ~ HERE ~ HERE
Book Trailer

My Facebook

My Blog

Brenda Novak's Auction

Duty Calls

Duty Calls

released on February 11th

by Black Opal Books

Blurb:- She’d saved his life…

Rafe Hawk refuses to accept the inheritance, of a large English estate, and the title that goes with it, after his birth father’s death because the man chose duty over the woman he loved and their son.

So when he finds himself temporarily living at Kinsale Hall, he’s not prepared to trust anyone associated with the place, including Trudi Delaney and her daughter.

So why, when he looks into their eyes, does he suddenly remember a woman who vanished without a trace after saving his life one stormy night ten years earlier?

Now he could destroy hers.

Instinct warns Trudi Delaney the arrival of the contemptuous American architect at Kinsale Hall will change her life forever. Especially when she discovers he spends so much of his time in areas of Kinsale Hall off-limits to visitors.

Eleven years after escaping from her psychotic husband with a stranger, she’s still plagued by nightmares of events she can’t remember. Events such as, who fathered her beautiful daughter?

Now, more than a decade later, she is confronted by another stranger. Will this one destroy everything she holds dear?
~ ~ ~ ~

Excerpt:-
“Only Daniel Kinsale and his solicitors knew I’d arranged to meet him. No one knew I changed my schedule and arrived in England a week earlier than expected, and yet Denny Cadmore somehow discovered both my plans and identity.”

Rafe glared at his parent. “Given those facts, tell me why I should stake a claim on a god-forsaken English estate, when everything and everyone who means anything to me is here in Boston?”

The drone of the old-fashioned overhead fan broke the ensuing silence. The oppressive heat stalked through the room sapping the energy from anyone or anything in its path.

“Rafe you’re making me dizzy, sit down and stop prowling round the room.” His mother patted the cushions beside her. “How many times do I have to tell you, you were born from love, not lust? Whether you like it or not, you are the legitimate heir to your father’s estates.”

A shaft of sunlight caught a few silvery streaks in her blonde hair.

“But born out of wedlock,” Rafe snapped, before realising the words queued up for release.

“Yes, out of wedlock,” she sighed. “I’ve never denied it, nor have I stolen your entitlement to your birth name. Your birth father…” she paused for a few seconds, “…Daniel, loved me.”

She continued on a wistful note, “I knew he couldn’t divorce his wife and accepted we had no future together, only the present. I’ve explained why he felt duty bound to uphold his family’s expectations. Nor that you were unintended. Having you gave me reason to survive without Daniel. You are from the man of my heart.”

Rafe’s free hand crashed down on the table sending the letter floating to the floor. “If he loved you so much, how come another of his bastards crawled out of the woodwork? One whose birth certificate proves he’s ten days younger than me? How come that same bastard damn near sent me to my grave?

Explain that if you can!”

You can read the reviews HERE