For today's #HistFicThursdays blog, I am thrilled to be welcoming Samantha Ward-Smith to the blog with a guest post about her latest book Ravenscourt , as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club tour! Read on to find out about the inspiration for her novel, and how she brought Ravenscourt into the Gothic tradition. But first, let's meet the book... Blurb He wanted to be gone from the dark enclosing room, with its mocking misery, to be gone from this house of nightmares, of shattered dreams, and discovered secrets which could not be put back in the box. Venice, 1880. Alexander, Viscount Dundarran, seeks refuge from scandal amidst the fading grandeur of crumbling palazzos during the infamous Carnival in the city. There he encounters the enigmatic Lady Arabella Pembrook—a young, beautiful widow. Both are scarred by their pasts but find solace in each other and a chance at redemption. But when duty calls Alexander back to England upon his father's death,...
So it's that time of the year again. The time when the internet is flooded with a million and one blog posts about people's crazy new year resolutions. Well, I've got some bad news for you...this is another one of those posts! This New Year is special. It signals the arrival of a new decade as well, and I find it frightening to consider how much might change before the next decade. A year seems much more manageable to think about. There are a lot of things I have committed to for the next year. Firstly, my job as a Primary Teacher. I swing from loving my job to the opposite, and I suppose this is quite normal for any paid work. Another is my Science degree. I have an exam in June - my first exam since I was at High School - so that'll be interesting!!! Thirdly, Crowvus will take up a huge chunk of my time. It's time consuming, exhausting, it sometimes feels like we're banging our heads against brick walls, but I love it!! As well as publishing other people'...