Q&A – Page 13 – What Cathy Read Next…

Blog Tour: Beautiful Star & Other Stories by Andrew Swanston

January 15, 2018January 15, 2018 whatcathyreadnext2 Comments

I’m thrilled to be hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for Beautiful Star & Other Stories by Andrew Swanston. Andrew is the author of the exciting Thomas Hill series (The King’s Spy, The King’s Exile and The King’s Return) set in the English Civil War. Incendium, the first in a new series set in the 1570s featuring lawyer and spy Christopher Ratcliff, was published in February 2017 (as A. D. Swanston).

As well as my review of Beautiful Star & Other Stories, I’m delighted to bring you a fascinating interview with Andrew. Among other things, he talks about the most productive time for writing, the importance of detail to create historical authenticity and the benefits of ‘feet on the ground’ research.

About the Book

History is brought alive by the people it affects, rather than those who created it.

In Beautiful Star we meet Eilmer, a monk in 1010 with Icarus-like dreams; Charles II, hiding in 1651, and befriended by a small boy; and Jane Wenham, the Witch of Walkern, seen through the eyes of her grand-daughter. This moving and affecting journey through time brings a new perspective to the defence of Corfe Castle, the battle of Waterloo, the siege of Toulon and, in the title story, the devastating dangers of a fisherman’s life in 1875.

In Beautiful Star & Other Stories Andrew Swanston brings history to life, giving voices to the previously silent – the bystanders and observers, the poor and the peripheral – and bringing us a rich and refreshing perspective on the past.

Format: Paperback (256 pp.) Publisher: The Dome Press
Published: 11^th January 2018 Genre: Historical Fiction, Short Stories

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Beautiful Star & Other Stories on Goodreads

Interview with Andrew Swanston

The stories in Beautiful Star involve both real and imaginary characters. Which do you find the more difficult to write?

Interesting question. Imaginary characters are easier in that, within the historical framework of the story, they can do and say and think and look like whatever one wants them to. Real characters are easier in that they bring their personalities and their stories with them. Mixing the two is the most difficult task and what I like best.

What do you like about the short story format? What are its challenges?

In Beautiful Star, Julia Paterson tells her friend Willy Miller that flowers are neither wild nor tame, they are just flowers. So it is, for me, with stories – some longer, others shorter, but all just stories with plots and characters, beginnings, middles and endings. As a boy I loved the Sherlock Holmes stories. Strong characters, fast-moving plots, atmospheric but not very descriptive. Excellent examples of the art.

I’m sure that asking which of the stories in Beautiful Star you like best would be like asking you to choose a favourite child. Instead, I’ll ask which was the ‘naughtiest child’- the story you found most challenging to write, and why?

I think ‘A Witch and a Bitch’ was the most difficult because in making Jane Wenham’s imaginary grand-daughter the narrator I had to try to imagine the feelings of a teenage girl seeing her grandmother absurdly condemned to death in cruel circumstances three hundred years ago.

If you could be transported back in time to a period of history when and where would it be?

The seventeenth century – a time of conflict and change – has always appealed to me, which is why I wrote the Thomas Hill stories. During the War of the Three Kingdoms, I would have been a royalist and would have hoped to survive until the Restoration when the king and his court set a splendid example of debauchery and excess. Lovely.

You’ve written books set in the English Civil War (the Thomas Hill series), the Battle of Waterloo and, in your latest book Incendium, the reign of Elizabeth I. What attracts you to a particular historical period?

I am most interested in how major events such as the massacre of the Huguenots, the execution of Charles I or the return of Napoleon from Elba would have affected the daily lives of the people of the time. What would they have been thinking? Catholic retaliation in London, a republican tyranny, a French invasion? Poverty, starvation, disease?

What do you think is the key to creating an authentic picture of a particular historical period?

Detail, detail and more detail. Food, clothes, money, transport, anything and everything that enables the reader to ‘see’ a picture without its having to be described.

How do you approach the research for your books? Do you enjoy the process of research?

I love the research, especially meeting and talking to experts, who, without exception, I have found to be generous and supportive. I also love libraries, most of all The British Library. Best of all, though, is what I call ‘tramping the streets’ – visits to Malmesbury, Romsey, Waterloo, Stationers’ Hall, St Monans and elsewhere, often accompanied by my willing assistant (wife).

Do you have a special place to write or any writing rituals?

I write in my little study, usually with the door closed. That tells everyone that I am working and should only be disturbed if war has been declared. I have no particular rituals but am most productive in the pre-drinks hours of three to six.

What other writers of historical fiction do you admire?

At the head of a long and distinguished list of ‘auto-buys’ are C J Sansom, Robert Harris and Rory Clements. There are many others. [I agree. Those are some of my favourites too!]

What are you working on next?

The sequel to Incendium, set in 1574. I would very much like also to write another collection of shorter stories.

Thank you, Andrew, for those fascinating answers to my questions. Now, read on for my review of Beautiful Star & Other Stories….

My Review

In Beautiful Star, the author has taken what might have been considered footnotes in history and fashioned them into compelling, character-driven stories. I felt the stories really came alive when the author unleashed his writer’s imagination to conjure up the sights, sounds and smells of the period and to populate the historical fact with believable characters.

I simply devoured the stories in Beautiful Star and found something to enjoy, wonder at or be intrigued by in each of them.

In the title story, ‘Beautiful Star’, set in a Fife fishing village in 1875, the reader gets a wonderful insight into the lives of the fishermen and their families. There is fascinating detail about the craft of ship building (including the local boats known as Fifies), the seasonal nature of life in the village driven by the movement of shoals of fish and the colourful itinerant workers who flock to St Monans during ‘the Drave’, when the herring shoals congregate in the Forth of Fife. My favourite amongst these were the ‘fisher lassies’, who arrive to gut, sort and pack the herring. Spending most of their time up to their elbows in fish guts and salt, the leisure time of these tough, hardworking women is spent knitting, often while going for an evening stroll.

The fisherman prove to be superstitious folk with intriguing customs like starting every voyage with dry feet (prepare to be amazed by how this is achieved). But then, if you were setting sail in small boats for long periods of time then you’d probably be superstitious as well. In fact, the dangers of the sea and the potential impact on individual families and the whole village of disaster become all too clearly revealed. The story may be set in 1875, before satellite tracking and modern safety rules, but it still made me think of fisherman today and the perils they face on the open sea.

In ‘The Flying Monk’ we learn that experimentation with manned flight goes back further than you might think and did not start with the Wright Brothers. The protagonist of this story, a monk called Eilmer, also witnesses two sightings of Halley’s Comet. Such astronomical events were often viewed as harbingers of disaster. Observing the comet in 1066, the author has Eilmer remark, ‘It is a sign from God. Mark it well and be prepared. England’s enemies will come soon.’ He wasn’t wrong, was he?

A few highlights from other stories. In ‘HMS Association’, set in 1708, instinctive, local knowledge of the sea is dismissed resulting in tragedy, emphasising the limitations of navigation in inclement weather at the time. In ‘A Witch and a Bitch’, set in 1730, there is a reminder of how accusations of witchcraft were often directed at women viewed as ‘different’. As the accused woman remarks, “If they want to hang me, they will. An old woman on her own, they’ll find reasons enough if they choose.” In ‘The Castle’, set in the latter part of the English Civil War, the chatelaine of Corfe Castle steadfastly tries to carry out a vow made to her dead husband to defend the castle from Parliament’s forces. In the end, her future is determined by a man who thinks he knows better what’s good for her. No change there then. I particularly liked ‘A Tree’ set in 1651, probably the most impressionistic of the stories. In it, events of the Restoration are seen through the eyes of a 7-year-old boy who has a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger whilst perched in a tree.

The book’s description states that ‘history is brought alive by the people it affects’. I think the final story in the collection, ‘The Button Seller and the Drummer Boy’, set at the Battle of Waterloo, illustrates this really well. It’s easy to forget that war, as well as bringing death and destruction, is also a source of business opportunity for some. Such is the case for our button seller, whose travels through France and Belgium in search of orders for his company’s buttons for military uniforms, brings him to the site of the battle as it rages. He is confronted by the realities of war; that smart uniforms bearing the correct regimental buttons mean nothing in the face of bullets, sabres and cannon fire and will ultimately end up being valued only by those plundering bodies.

I really loved Beautiful Star & Other Stories and would recommend the collection for any lover of history (I think it might even convert some people who think history is dull) and those for whom the lives of the people who fought in a battle are more interesting than the battle itself. I really hope Andrew is true to his answer to my final interview question and writes another collection soon.

My grateful thanks to The Dome Press for my review copy, in return for my honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Fascinating, intimate, thought-provoking

Try something similar…The Path of the King by John Buchan

About the Author

Andrew read a little law and a lot of sport at Cambridge University, and held various positions in the book trade, including being a director of Waterstone & Co and Chairman of Methven’s plc, before turning to writing. Inspired by a lifelong interest in early modern history, his Thomas Hill novels are set during the English Civil War and the early period of the Restoration. Andrew’s novel Incendium was published in February 2017 and is the first of two thrillers featuring Dr. Christopher Radcliff, an intelligencer for the Earl of Leicester, and is set in 1572 at the time of the massacre of the Huguenots in France.

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Blog Tour/Q&A: Blackmail, Sex and Lies by Kathryn McMaster

December 13, 2017December 13, 2017 whatcathyreadnext

I’m thrilled to be co-hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for Blackmail, Sex and Lies by Kathryn McMaster. The book is based on the true story of Madeleine Smith who was accused of murdering her lover. Be sure to check out the other great book bloggers taking part in the tour.

Below I have a fascinating interview with Kathryn in which she talks about her research for the book, the need for multi-tasking, why Sunday is writing day and her childhood fascination with true crime stories.

Why not enter my giveaway with a chance to win your own ebook copy of Blackmail, Sex and Lies. To enter, click here. The winner will be selected at random. Entries must be received by 20^th December 2017.

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About the Book

Blackmail, Sex and Lies is a story of deception, scandal, and fractured traditional Victorian social values. It is the tale of a naïve, young woman caught up in a whirlwind romance with a much older man. However, both have personality flaws that result in poor choices, and ultimately lead to a tragic end.

This Victorian murder mystery, based on a true story, takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, 1857. It explores the disastrous romance between the vivacious socialite, Madeleine Hamilton Smith, and her working class lover, Pierre Emile L’Angelier. After a two-year torrid, and forbidden relationship with L’Angelier, that takes place against her parents’ wishes, the situation changes dramatically when William Minnoch enters the scene. This new man in Madeleine’s life is handsome, rich, and of her social class. He is also a man of whom her family approve. Sadly, insane jealous rages, and threats of blackmail, are suddenly silenced by an untimely death.

For 160 years, people have believed Madeleine Smith to have been guilty of murder. But was she? Could she have been innocent after all?

Format: ebook, paperback (198 pp.) Publisher: Drama Llama Press Published: 30^th August 2017 Genre: True Crime, Historical Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Blackmail, Sex and Lies on Goodreads

Interview: Kathryn McMaster, author of Blackmail, Sex and Lies

Without giving too much away, can you tell me a bit about Blackmail, Sex and Lies?

The book is based on a true story that took place in 1857. A young, naïve, Glaswegian socialite, Madeleine Smith is charmed and beguiled by an older man, Pierre Emile L’Anglier. He is a social climber, not of her class, who uses Madeleine in the worst possible way to improve himself in seducing her and then telling her that there is really no way out of the situation, as under Scottish law they are now married. The relationship becomes controlling and abusive, and eventually he dies, rather unexpectedly. For 160 years, Madeleine was suspected of murdering him. But did she? Evidence shows otherwise, but you will have to read the book and decide for yourself.

Blackmail, Sex and Lies is described as ‘creative non-fiction’. Why did you choose to write a fictionalised account of the story of Madeleine Smith?

There were already eight or nine books published as true accounts of the Madeleine Smith story, but nothing that showed us the terrible state of mind she must have been in. She was still a minor, she was forbidden by her family to see this man, but continued to do so, and therefore she had no one to unburden herself when the relationship turned toxic. Reading a dry, factual account does not bring the characters to life, shows their inner fears, nor do you get a feel for how society was in those days, and how the events affected all those involved, including her family. Fictionalising true crimes does this. However, you have to be still careful that you stick the facts and you don’t stray too far from what took place.

You’ve chosen an arresting title for the book. How did you come up with it?

Blackmail, Sex and Lies encapsulates the contents of the book perfectly. L’Angelier seduces her, Madeleine lies to him as she tries to extract herself from the relationship that has turned abusive, and then he blackmails her.

How did you approach the research for the book? Do you enjoy the process of research?

I love researching. For about ten years, I researched both my and my husband’s family trees, and so poring over old documents, court records, census records, and newspapers of the day is nothing new. I use all of these resources at my disposal before sifting through the facts, inconsistencies and opinions of others before writing. The research period can sometimes be as long as three or four months before I start outlining the book, and deciding whether the accused was innocent or guilty. Only then do I start writing.

What was the most surprising fact you uncovered during your research?

It would have to be the open use of arsenic in everyday living during the Victorian era. Yes, they impregnated flypaper to kill flies, fair enough, but they also used it in dyes for wallpaper, paint, and even fabrics. The users often complained to the manufacturers that these products made them ill, but their complaints were ignored. In addition to that, they used it as a beauty product to soften the face and skin when added to water. Right up until the late 18th century, and even the early 19th century arsenic soap and arsenic wafers were used as cosmetics both in Britain and America. In the book I have advertisements where they advocate the use of arsenic. L’Angelier himself was an arsenic eater, taking it for stamina and to improve his health. So you can see the dilemma now of his death and the accused’s position.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered when writing the book?

Time. I run several author Facebook groups and I also co-own the book marketing platform, One Stop Fiction. This takes a lot of time away from my writing, and it always a difficult balance to make sure one doesn’t suffer at the expense of the other.

You’ve written that what fascinates you is the ‘why’ rather than the ‘how’ of crime. Where does this interest come from?

For about forty-five years I have been interested in crime and the criminal mind. My father had a large library of true crime books, and while others were reading Enid Blyton and other safer fiction for their age, I would sneak these books into my room and read them with the aid of a torch under the bedclothes. I was fascinated and horrified at the same time.

This interest never left me, and after a long career in secondary and adult education, I started taking courses on criminal profiling and a degree in Forensic Science, Criminal Investigation. It is definitely the most interesting part of the crime, because nine times we know how a crime has been committed. However, the motive behind such a killing is more interesting. What was the trigger that caused this person to turn to crime, and to commit heinous acts against others? What makes the mind of the criminal tick? How different would they have turned out if they had been brought up in a different environment? Are criminals born or are they created? These are the questions that I find the most interesting.

Do you have a special place to write or any writing rituals?

Because I am so busy, and at my computer every day, for a lot of the day, I write when I can. I now set Sunday aside as my writing day, but do try and write a few paragraphs each day, during the week. It is not ideal, and I get frustrated when I can’t find the time to write. If I am at a part in my writing where I cannot break off and leave it, it is not uncommon for me to be writing late into the early hours of the following morning, or even getting up at 3:00 a.m. to get a chapter written before my working day begins. My special writing place is usually either in bed or on the couch. As all my children are adults, and I am ‘retired’ I have very few interruptions within the home, for which I am grateful.

Which other writers do you admire?

I admire anyone who can spin a good, entertaining story that sucks you in from the first pages, and has you captivated until the last. There are some authors who are consistently good at doing that, and then there are others who write a ‘one hit wonder’ and seem to lose their mojo and never write anything great after that. While I love reading, I won’t pick up a book based on the author, but rather by the reviews that it has received, and the storyline to see if it will be of interest to me. With time being so precious, I don’t have the time to waste on authors who trade on their reputation they made with one or two novels, and then didn’t write anything great after that.

What are you working on next?

I am a little undisciplined in my writing as I have so many ideas for books that I may start one manuscript, and then something else pops up that grabs my attention, so I leave that book to research the next story. I think I have at least four manuscripts that I started recently, none of them finished, or even close to finished.

One deals with a very strange murder that took place in the late 1990s down in the south of England. Another, entitled Six Short Summers, is about Barbara Whitham Waterhouse who was murdered in 1891. Her murder needs to be told as it is related to my first book, Who Killed Little Johnny Gill?. John Gill’s murder and mutilation was so atrocious that it was thought to be the work of Jack the Ripper, however, when Barbara was murdered, her injuries were very similar to that of Johnny Gill’s, who had been murdered in Manningham, Bradford, three years earlier and just eight miles apart.

Barbara’s story is the one I need to finish after the one I am currently writing, entitled Triple Murder at Sea, about a murder that took place aboard the sailing vessel the Herbert Fuller in 1896. I started writing this after Johnny Gill, but then Madeleine Smith derailed me, and so I left it for a while. Triple Murder at Sea is a novella, offered free to subscribers to my website – when it is finished – which should be before Christmas, if all goes well!

Thank you, Kathryn, for those fascinating answers to my questions.

About the Author

Kathryn McMaster is a writer, entrepreneur, wife, mother, and champion of good indie authors. She co-owns the book promotion company One Stop Fiction where readers can sign up to receive news of free and discounted 4 and 5 star reviewed books. She is also a bestselling author of historical murder mysteries set in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Her debut novel, Who Killed Little Johnny Gill? was well received. All her novels are based on true stories and she melds fact with fiction, writing in the creative non-fiction style. She lives on her 30 acre farm in the beautiful Casentino Valley, Italy for 6 months of the year, and during the other half of the year, on the small island of Gozo, Malta.

Connect with Kathryn

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