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#HistFicThursdays - Gothic Horror - The Lady Who Dances in the Ashes

One of the problems – or, perhaps, the best things – about Gothic Horror is that it does tend to be sad. Usually, there are at least one or two characters who don’t deserve whatever is happening to them, or who have done something which is being punished in a way which does not in any way fit the crime. M.R. James’s writing is perhaps a constant reiteration of the old proverb, “curiosity killed the cat”, but curiosity in itself isn’t a bad thing; while Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula finds himself in the initial dangerous situation through no fault of his own. Perhaps the saddest story in this anthology is The Lady Who Dances in the Ashes , which was first published by Sley House in Tales of Sley House 2022 . Here is the story of a man who is facing professional and financial ruin as a result of suggesting that mental health patients can be treated in the community rather than institutionalised. He is one of the most sympathetic narrators you will find in the book, but he bad...

Masterworks: The Ambassadress - Ronan Beckman - Interview

  Today is the fifth of a series on nine interviews I'm sharing on the Crowvus Book Blog. These are from the authors of the short stories included in the Masterworks anthology by the Historical Writers Forum. We're running through chronologically, some are video interviews, others are written.

Join Ronan Beckman as he talks about his inspiration and the real people involved in his brilliant story, The Ambassadress, on the video below...

Or you can watch the interview in YouTube here!

You can find The Ambassadress in the Masterworks anthology, which is available on #KindleUnlimited HERE!



Now, let's meet the author!

Ronan Beckman is an American educator who has lived in the UK for over 30 years. He has a wife and daughter at home, who he is immensely dependent upon for feedback and editing of his writing. His interest in history and genealogy helped to spark an interest in further developing the stories of some of the family he researched - resulting in his debut novel An Actress of Repute. Subsequently, he has become a bit obsessed with all things Georgian and Regency related. In addition to fiction based on historical biography, Ronan is working on editing the works of a coal miner who became a Member of Parliament, and gathering information for a planned biography of a French cartoonist who was the roommate and collaborator of a young Mark Twain.

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