Friday 29 December 2017

Announcing the release of Little Pink Taxi!

I am delighted to announce that my new contemporary romance LITTLE PINK TAXI will be released by Choc Lit on February 20th. The cover is still under wraps until January 9th, but the book is available for pre-order for only £0.99.

Here is a taste of the story, which is set in the Cairngorms in Scotland...

Take a ride with Love Taxis, the cab company with a Heart … 

Rosalie Heart is a well-known face in Irlwick – well, if you drive a bright pink taxi and your signature style is a pink anorak, you’re going to draw a bit of attention! But Rosalie’s company Love Taxis is more than just a gimmick – for many people in the remote Scottish village, it’s a lifeline.

Which is something that Marc Petersen will never understand. Marc’s ruthless approach to business doesn’t extend to pink taxi companies running at a loss. When he arrives in Irlwick to see to a new acquisition – Raventhorn, a rundown castle – it’s apparent he poses a threat to Rosalie’s entire existence; not just her business, but her childhood home too.

On the face of it Marc and Rosalie should loathe each other, but what they didn’t count on was somebody playing cupid …

You can pre-order Little Pink Taxi here


Here are a couple of photos which inspired the story...
  Cairngorms National Park, photo courtesy of Pixabay

My inspiration for Raventhorn castle, photo courtesy of Pixabay
Thank you so much Choc Lit for helping me fulfil my dream of seeing Little Pink Taxi published!


Friday 17 November 2017

The Truth about Me, You and Us


Genre: Contemporary women’s fiction

Release Date: 25 August 2017

Publisher: Accent Press

Sometimes the hardest person to be honest with is yourself…

Five years ago Helen Walters walked out on her ‘perfect’ life with the ‘perfect’ man. Wealthy, glamorous and bored, she longed for something more.

Now a talented artist with a small business, Helen creates crazy patchwork crafts to support her young daughter, Megan. Penniless, content and single, she is almost unrecognisable.

But when her past unexpectedly collides with her new life, Helen finds herself torn. She knows what the easiest choice is, but is it what she wants?

My review
I really enjoyed Kate Field's debut The Magic of Ramblings and was really looking forward to reading her second novel. I wasn't disappointed. From the very beginning I got hooked on Helen's story, and fell in love with the characters, especially Joel who is a wonderful, gorgeous hero. I had to keep turning the pages to find out what would happen and what Helen would decide to do in the end...Would she go back to Daniel and play happy families, or would she choose Joel and start a new life with him? The Truth about Me, You and Us is a really lovely romance that I highly recommend.

BUY LINK

ABOUT KATE FIELD

Kate writes contemporary women’s fiction, mainly set in her favourite county of Lancashire, where she lives with her husband, daughter and hyperactive cat.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Kate’s debut novel, The Magic of Ramblings, won the RNA’s Joan Hessayon Award for new writers in 2017.


Twitter: @katehaswords

GIVEAWAY
2 paperback copies of the book are up for grabs!
(open internationally)

Saturday 4 November 2017

Dancing for the Devil: new edition, new cover and new price!


I am delighted to announce that my historical romance set in Scotland has been re-released as one novel (instead of three short ones) by Áccent Press, and is now available both as an ebook and paperback from Amazon.

Here is the blurb

Can her love heal his haunted heart? - Cape Wrath, Scotland, November 1847.
Bruce McGunn is a man as brutal and unforgiving as his land. Discharged from the army, he is haunted by the spectres of his fallen comrades and convinced he is going mad. And he is running out of time to save his estate from the machinations of Cameron McRae, heir to the McGunn's ancestral enemies. When the clipper carrying McRae’s new bride is caught in a violent storm and docks at Wrath harbour, Bruce decides to revert to the old ways and hold the clipper and the woman to ransom. However, far from the spoilt heiress he expected, Rose is genuine, funny and vulnerable – a ray of sunshine in the long, harsh winter that has become his life.


Rose is determined to escape Wrath and its proud master – the man she calls McGlum. Will she be reunited with Cameron McRae, the dazzlingly handsome aristocrat she married after a whirlwind romance in Algiers, or will she risk her heart and her honour to help Bruce discover the truth about his past and solve the brutal murders committed on his land?




Friday 20 October 2017

October Round Robin: What is your favourite time period and why?


The topic for this month's round robin is:  In what time period do you prefer to set your stories – past, present, or future? What are the problems and advantages of that choice? Would you like to change?


Since my first published novel in 2015, I have written more historical romance - both novels and short stories - than contemporary romance. There is something about historical romance that draws me back time after time. Perhaps it's because of my inability to cope with modern technology  - iphones, ipads, satnavs, social media platforms and various other gadgets I don't know much about and have absolutely no interest in, yet I know I would feel compelled to include in a contemporary novel since they are so much part of modern life.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay
I may love writing historical romance but the genre poses specific challenges, of course. It can be difficult to make sure the characters, the period and setting, and of course the love story between the protagonists, are plausible. Research is always important whatever period you are setting your story, but it's even more so for historical fiction.

My first challenge is to make sure I get the tone, the language and the thought process of the characters right, and for this I try to take into account the more rigid social order of the times my novel is set. That includes the constraints imposed on women, the importance of religion in everyday life, the relationships between men and women, as well as the broader historical background - such as political struggles and wars.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Both my novels ANGEL HEART and DANCING FOR THE DEVIL feature Napoleon's cuirassiers at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo. There is a wealth of material about these battles, Waterloo was a particular useful site for my research. It also has details of many battles fought by the British army around the world, including the Punjab wars where my hero Bruce McGunn fought.

Reading social or political pamphlets or extracts of newspapers of the time helps me find out what was going at the time of my story, and what and who was popular, fashionable, or reviled. By reading fiction of the period I can pick up popular expressions, slang or understand the way people addressed one another at the time. If you fancy taking a look at some Victorian slang, click on Victorian Slang, but be warned, it's not for the faint hearted! For lots of fascinating posts and articles on the Victorian age you must read The Victorianist.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Secondly, I try not to get mixed up with the various items of clothing people wore at the time, and that includes underwear! There are of course lots of material detailing items of clothing for both men and women, but for a quick glance at outfits for writing a particular scene I find Pinterest very useful. This site here has great information about female underwear in different time periods and these have beautiful photos and descriptions: Fashion of the 1850s and Romantic Era Fashion and Hair.

When writing historical fiction, you must also pay attention to distances. Travelling by horse or carriage took a lot longer in the early nineteenth century, especially in bad weather and considering that the state of the roads could be appalling. It's the same for sea crossings.

My latest historical romance - DANCING FOR THE DEVIL - mainly takes place in the Scottish Highlands where I have unfortunately never been. Here are just a few sites I found useful, including this one on the Clearances. For general information about the Highlands, these were very useful: Highland dress and weapons, Scottish Folklore and Songs, and the Scots Tongue.

Of course, I just don't rely on the Internet and the material I find online. I always look out for great books too, all kinds of non-fiction books about fashion, travel and folklore. These featured on the photo below have been invaluable when I was researching DANCING FOR THE DEVIL. Visiting historic houses is always inspiring too, for ideas about design, furniture, everyday items. I always love looking at family portraits and old sepia photos, and make notes of unusual names.

Finally I would say that the biggest challenge for me is to avoid overloading the story with lots and lots of historical details. However frustrating it may be to leave out fascinating or quirky facts I came across during my hours of research, I need to remind myself that I am writing a love story, not a social or historical treatise!

Below is the list of authors taking part in this month's round robin.










Friday 18 August 2017

August Round Robin: Getting your Plot Moving Forward


The topic of our Round Robin for August is: When you are stumped on moving a plot line forward, what do you do to reinvigorate your imagination and get your characters moving?

My post today is going to be very short, because whenever I am stuck in my story - and it happens more often than I would like - it's basically because of one of the following two reasons: either I have lost touch with my characters; or there is something wrong, somewhere, in the story and I know it, but tackling it requires far more energy and imagination than I feel I have, so I am trying to ignore it and plod on...and it doesn't work.
Losing touch with my characters happens quite a lot in my case. First of all because I have a day job and can't spend as long as I would like writing and focusing on my stories. But also because I get too enthusiastic about researching background information, and easily sidetracked by facts and anecdotes I find fascinating but which, although more or less relevant with what's going on in my story, distract me and take me further from the heart of the novel - the characters.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Of course, I can try the usual remedies, which quite often will help get my story going again: a long walk, a conversation with myself (I do that quite a lot) or with a trusted friend about my story, eating lots of cakes in the hope that the sugar rush will stimulate my imagination...

But sometimes I need to go back to the very beginning, and the most important: the characters, their essence, motivations, personality, flaws and qualities, what makes them unique.
I look at my notes, start reading my story from Chapter One all over again, and try to recapture my feelings for my hero and heroine, and that wonderful enthusiasm and passion I feel when starting a new story and I am completely in love with my characters. With luck it won't take too long before the characters talk to me again and I can hear them, see them, and fall in love with them all over again. Then they can sort the mess they have made later on in the story, and get the plot going!

Once, for my contemporary romantic suspense A Spell in Provence, all I needed to get the story flowing again was to change the name of my heroine - from Alex to Amy. How odd that a simple change of name should open a whole lot of new possibilities.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay
However if the characters still aren't talking to me and don't get the story moving, then it is probably a sign that something is drastically wrong with my plot, and I may have to rethink my novel, which is very scary.

This could involve reviewing my characters' motivations, getting rid of a character - or create a new one - or tackling the novel from another angle. It could also mean starting the story from a completely new place.
This happened when I was writing The Dream Catcher. I reached about 20,000 words and got stuck - really stuck. Something wasn't right. My plot wasn't going anywhere. It felt contrived. I left it for a while, then had a rethink and changed the starting point of the story. And as if by magic, the words starting flowing and everything fell into place... Well, it wasn't quite as easy as that, of course, but at least it worked!

If I have tried all that and I still can't get the plot going, then it might be a sign that there is only one thing to do. Give up. At least for a few weeks or months. I hate giving up on a story, but I have done so in the past. Some stories I have picked up again. Some are still dormant in my computer and my mind - but dormant isn't the same as dead. I will write them one day when I figure out what is missing and how I can fix it...

The following authors are taking part in the Round Robin and would love a visit from you!





Thursday 13 July 2017

The Ravine of the Wild Woman, Algiers - Family Memories by Marie Laval

Our romantic anthology ESCAPE TO AFRICA is published today! This latest offering from the World Romance Writers is a collection of six very different romantic suspense short stories, all set in Africa, and available here for the special price of £0.99.



Let your wild side free and Escape to Africa! Come along on an adventure through these 6 stories brought to you by 6 best-selling, award-winning authors. You will uncover tales of an undercover operative in Casablanca, a safari guide in the Serengeti, students on holiday in Morocco, time-traveling agents in Tripoli, vengeance in Algeria, and deadly secrets in Carthage. Each of these stories will captivate you with love, danger, intrigue, and excitement. What better way to Escape?

When I was asked if I wanted to write a story for the anthology, I didn't hesitate for one second. Africa, and particularly Algeria in North Africa, always held a special place in my heart, and I hope that one day I will be able to visit and see the wonderful landscapes I have dreamt and written about.
Renée Cantrel, my mother, 1950s

My mother was born and brought up in Algiers, the sixth child of the Cantrel family. There was Marcel, who died at Dunkirk on June 1st 1940, Roger, Christiane, and twins Georgette and Guy.

Famille Cantrel, 1940. My mother is standing on the chair. Marcel is in his uniform. 
 My great-grandparents had a mixed and colourful background, since they came from Spain, France and Italy to settle in Algeria in the nineteenth century. They were what French people call 'Pied-Noirs'. They weren't wealthy at all but worked as builders and engineers, although there was always that story that my grandmother's family - the Di Bernardis - were aristocrats and had left their castle near Turin to emigrate to Algeria. I strongly suspect this was just one of those family fantasies handed down from generation to generation...

Paul in his Zouave uniform and his wife Noelie Cantrel
 My grandfather, Paul Cantrel, fought in the Zouaves regiment during the First World War.

Whilst in the trenches in Verdun he formed a friendship with a director from the Maison Godin de Guise - who still to this day manufacture stoves and cookers. They kept in touch after the war and he was appointed sales representative for Godin in Algeria.
The company gave him a car, which I believe the family was exceedingly proud of. Incidentally, the Godins were also 'visionaries' or 'utopian industrialists' who in 1846 built an ideal industrial city for their workers in the North of France, the Familistère, a fascinating building and project which is open to the public (details here).

Marcel, Roger, Christiane and twins Georgette and Guy Cantrel in the Godin company car, some time in the early 1930s
The Cantrel family lived in the Robertsau district of Algiers, and shared a cabanon (literally, a shack) on the coast where my mother said she spent the most carefree and wonderful holidays, swimming and fishing for sea urchins and mussels with her brothers and sisters. Like I said, the family weren't rich, and my mother was often sent to the local grocery shop to get supplies to put on a tab because she was small and cute and the grocer had a soft spot for her. She remembered that tea often consisted of slices of stale bread rubbed with garlic and softened with olive oil.

(I had posted a photo here which I genuinely thought was the summer house my mother's family came on holidays to in the seaside in Suffren, but I was apparently wrong and the copyright holder demanded I removed it, so there you are...)


She came to live in Amiens in the North of France after Algeria became independent in 1962, and found it really hard to adjust to the climate and the 'strange accent' and 'funny ways' of people there. It would be fair to say that people found her strange too. All her life she kept her Pied Noir accent, full of sunshine and quirky words and phrases taken from the Spanish, Arabic or Italian languages. This Pied Noir dialect even has a special name - the Pataouète.

She often talked to my sisters and I about her youth, and filled our heads and imagination with her memories of the Mediterranean sea sparkling under the midday sun, of hidden coves where pirate Barberossa's treasures were rumoured to be buried, of exotic scents, foods and colours. At times it was almost as if we'd been there ourselves.
Garden in Algiers, courtesy of Pixabay
My inspiration for The Ravine of the Wild Woman is a real place in Algiers, close to the Birmandreis Forest, named after a wild woman who lived there in the 1840s. Who was she really? Some said she was a melancholic young woman who had been abandoned by her lover and lived in a cave on the charity of locals. Others claimed she was a young mother who had lost her mind after her children vanished in the forest one day...

Blurb
Algeria, North Africa, 1865.
Lenora Sharp is Azerwal's perfect woman. Brave, determined and unconventional, she is also related to the man who stole his name, his childhood and his identity - the very man and he has vowed to destroy, even if it takes him all the way to hell. Will love get in the way of revenge, or will Azerwal lose his soul before he loses his heart?

Author Bio
Originally from Lyon in France, Marie has lived in Lancashire, Northern England, for the past twenty-five years. A member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors, Marie loves dreaming up romantic heroes and writing love stories. Her native France very much influences her writing and gives her novels 'a French twist'!

You can find more about my novels on











Tuesday 11 July 2017

The Romance of the Lake District by Helena Fairfax

I am delighted to have author Helena Fairfax on the blog today. I always love Helena's romantic stories, and I am very much enjoying reading her latest novel, FELICITY AT THE CROSS HOTEL, a wonderful romance set in the spectacular Lake District, which was released last Friday.
Hello Helena and congratulations on the release of your novel. I have to say that I absolutely love your cover! The Lake District has just been designated a World Heritage Site by Unesco, and deservedly so. I am lucky to live not too far away and try to visit at least once a year. We went to Coniston last August and absolutely loved it, even if we had a bit of a misadventure when walking up The Old Man, but that's another story...

Tell me, why did you choose to set your romantic novel in the Lakes?

Is there a better setting for a romance novel than the Lake District? With its spectacular landscape, its green mountains and the shining lakes, Cumbria has been inspiring writers for centuries. In the nineteenth century Cumbria inspired a whole school of poets – the "Lake Poets" of the Romantic Movement. The most famous of these poets is Wordsworth. Nearly every school child has heard of Wordsworth's host of golden daffodils, and in some ways his poetry has become devalued because it's now so often quoted. But actually, even in his day Wordsworth had his critics. Byron once said of him, "What will any reader out of the nursery say to such namby-pamby?"

To be honest, I have to agree with Byron about the "namby-pamby". I find Wordsworth's poetry a bit too simplistic and a little childish in its optimism. Here is the last verse of "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud":

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

It's strange that Wordsworth wrote mainly about the gentle beauty of the Lake District – the dancing daffodils - when there is also so much that's dark and dramatic. Besides the romance of the landscape, the setting of the Lake District is also perfect for a novelist because a soft, sunny day can swiftly turn threatening. Patrick Cross, the hero of my novel, is grieving the death of his friend, who died because of an act of recklessness while diving in the still, green waters of the lake. There have been many deaths in the mountains and lakes of Cumbria, and in my book I've dwelt on the contrast between the beauty and the danger of the landscape.

Derwent Water
It's a shame that nowadays some parts of the Lake District are inundated with tourists, and the roads in summer are very often clogged. But it's only in recent times that the Lakes have become a tourist destination, and there are many quieter areas that have remained unchanged for centuries. Alone in this magnificent landscape, away from the traffic, you can't help but feel a part of a long, long history of the soil that stretches back thousands of years.

Lots of people have fallen in love in this wonderful setting, but there are some exceptions. Bill Clinton was famously moved to propose to Hillary for the first time by the shores of Ennerdale Water, but she turned him down. Obviously there are some people who remain unmoved by the romance of the Lakes!
Ennerdale Water, scene of Bill Clinton's proposal, Trevor Harris via Wikimedia Commons
Will love blossom for Patrick Cross and Felicity Everdene, the hero and heroine of my novel? Here is the blurb to Felicity at the Cross Hotel:           

A quaint hotel in the Lake District. The Cross Hotel is the perfect getaway. Or is it?
Felicity Everdene needs a break from the family business. Driving through the Lake District to the Cross Hotel, past the shining lake and the mountains, everything seems perfect. But Felicity soon discovers all is not well at the Cross Hotel …
Patrick Cross left the village of Emmside years ago never intending to return, but his father has left him the family’s hotel in his will, and now he's forced to come back. With a missing barmaid, a grumpy chef, and the hotel losing money, the arrival of Felicity Everdene from the notorious Everdene family only adds to Patrick’s troubles.
With so much to overcome, can Felicity and Patrick bring happiness to the Cross Hotel … and find happiness for themselves?

Author Biography:

Helena Fairfax is a British author who was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She's grown used to the cold now which is just as well, since these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in the north of England, right next door to the windswept Yorkshire moors. Helena walks this romantic landscape every day with her rescue dog, finding it the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings. Subscribers to Helena's newsletter receive news of free stuff, competitions with prizes, gossip, and links to cool websites she's been looking at when she should have been writing.

Thank you very much for being my guest today, Helena. I had no idea Bill Clinton has proposed to his Hillary in the Lake District! Congratulations once again on your release. Felicity at the Cross Hotel is a wonderful read.

Amazon universal buy link for Felicity at the Cross Hotel: http://mybook.to/FelicityCH

Social Media Links






Thursday 6 July 2017

Author Jenny Twist takes us to beautiful Morocco!

I am continuing my tour of Africa and the authors of the romantic suspense anthology ESCAPE TO AFRICA, which will be released by the World Romance Writers on July 14th as an ebook, and on July 15th as a print book.

Let your wild side free and Escape to Africa! Come along on an adventure through these 6 stories brought to you by 6 best-selling, award-winning authors.

You’ll uncover tales of an undercover operative in Casablanca, a safari guide in the Serengeti, students on holiday in Morocco, time-traveling agents in Tripoli, vengeance in Algeria, and deadly secrets in Carthage. Each of these stories will captivate you with love, danger, intrigue, and excitement. What better way to Escape?

Hello Jenny and welcome. What were your initial thoughts about the theme for the anthology?

When World Romance Writers told me the theme for the next anthology was to be romantic suspense set in Africa, I told them I couldn’t do it since I know nothing about Africa and I don’t even know what romantic suspense means. Then one of my friends said, “I know for a fact you’ve been to Morocco. You’ve got pictures of it all over your Face Book page.” I felt like a complete twit.

Of course I know Morocco. I’ve been there twice and loved it both times.

The problem was it sort of didn’t feel like a foreign country. For a start it’s practically just down the road from me. I live half-way up a mountain in Spain and on a clear day I can see the Rif mountains of Morocco poking over the horizon.

The other thing is that the part of Spain I live in was ruled by the Moors for hundreds of years and was, in fact, the last Moorish stronghold when the Christian monarchs finally drove them out. Our buildings, our landscape and much of our culture was shaped by the Moors. So when I went to Morocco, I found it very familiar.

The major difference was that everything was miles cheaper than in Spain and that you can’t have a beer with your lunch. The only place you can drink alcohol is in tourist hotels. That is, in fact, for me, the only thing that prevents Morocco from being a paradise.

Casa Joya, Jenny's house
How lucky you are to live in such a beautiful place, and in a hot climate. Having suffered many Lancashire rainy and grey summers, I can only envy you! What you tell us about the setting of your story?

Tangiers is a typical tourist town, full of shops, restaurants and hotels. The hotel where we stayed was a delightful example of Old Raj splendour gone to seed. Beautiful carved wooden panelling, a huge ‘Scarlet O’Hara’ staircase sweeping down beneath a gorgeous stained glass skylight. The reception rooms and bars were luxuriously furnished. It was all a little shabby but somehow endearing.

However, upstairs was rather different. At some point someone had had the bright idea of refurbishing all the bedrooms in formica and white plastic. Even the headboards and bedside tables were plastic. This gave you the uncomfortable feeling that you were in a Wendy House.

The pianist in the bar was a total delight. I won’t describe him here, since he figures in the story and I don’t want to spoil it. Just take it from me we had one of the most entertaining nights ever.


Moroccan market, courtesy of Pixabay
We didn’t go on any of the wonderful tours on offer in the hotel lobby, nor did we accept the services of any of the ‘guides’, so perhaps our experience wasn’t typical. We just wandered through the streets, shopping and stopping to eat from time to time. I bought two leather handbags, my friend bought a djellaba (the loose, flowing, Kaftan-like garment beloved of tourists) and my husband bought a pair of bright orange slippers with those pointy toes that curl up at the end. I’ve never seen them since. I wonder what happened to them?

They sound like the kind of fun slippers a genii might like! Where else did you visit in Morocco?

Blue door, Chefchouen
Later we visited Chefchouen . . . it was a joy. The town was founded by Jews driven out of Granada by the Christian monarchs. It is typically Spanish with narrow, winding, cobbled streets lined with stalls, a Moorish fort and a delightful place by the riverbank where the women still do their washing. I was told they all have washing machines but for large or heavy things, such as carpets, they still go to the river. Indeed, when we went we saw all the carpets hanging over the walls to dry.

But the really amazing thing about Chefchouen is that the houses are painted blue! This is nothing to do with Smurf films. Legend has it that that was the Granada style and they brought it with them.
Granada is not painted blue now, so maybe Chefchouen is your only chance of seeing what Granada might have been like under the Moors.
Chefchouen
I would go back. I intend to go back. The next time we have guests who are staying long enough to make it worthwhile I want to go again. It seems a shame not to share it. Meantime I have written about it.

I was lucky enough to read your fast-paced romantic suspense story before anybody else, and I really enjoyed it!

Incidentally I still don’t know what romantic suspense is. I googled it and nobody else seems to know either with any degree of confidence. Therefore I have written a sort of thriller with a romance in it and introduced as much suspense as I could.
I would be really grateful for comments on this when the book comes out.

I am sure you will get lots of compliments on your story, Jenny. Thank you very much for being my guest on the blog today.

Here is the blurb for Jenny Twist's story - An Object of Desire
Two students on holiday in Morocco discover that two sinister looking characters are following them. They meet an attractive man who offers to take them to their next destination. All seems well until one of the girls disappears.

ESCAPE TO AFRICA is available for pre-order at the special price of £0.99  here


Friday 30 June 2017

Alicia Dean on Africa, Romance and Acacia Trees!


Welcome to Alicia Dean, one of six authors featuring in ESCAPE TO AFRICA, an anthology of romantic suspense stories to be released as an ebook on July 14th and print book on July 15th. This is the third anthology by the World Romance Writers, and I am delighted to have stories in the first anthology and Escape to Africa too.

Let your wild side free and Escape to Africa! Come along on an adventure through these 6 stories brought to you by 6 best-selling, award-winning authors.
You’ll uncover tales of an undercover operative in Casablanca, a safari guide in the Serengeti, students on holiday in Morocco, time-traveling agents in Tripoli, vengeance in Algeria, and deadly secrets in Carthage. Each of these stories will captivate you with love, danger, intrigue, and excitement. What better way to Escape?


Hello Alicia, and welcome. Can you tell us a little about your story?

Of course. The story is called Dying to Love You. Here is the blurb:

After dying for the third time, unloved and unlovable Autumn Baines is running out of chances to avoid purgatory. For her latest life, she’s sent to the Serengeti, where she’ll have to perform a selfless act and find someone to love her. She sees her chance with the arrival of widowed father Logan McBride and his teen daughter.
Faced with an opportunity to make a tremendous sacrifice, she’ll have to decide…can she forego her eternal happiness to give them theirs?

What an intriguing storyline! What went through your mind when you agreed to take part in the anthology?

When I agreed to write a story in Africa, I was a bit intimidated. I was unfamiliar with the continent, and to be honest, uninterested. I knew I wanted a place where safari tours were available, and I landed on the Serengeti. I set about researching and my apathy soon became amazement.

You must have done a lot of research. What interesting facts did you come across?

I learned all sorts of interesting facts about the people, the animals, and even the plant life. Some of the facts made it into the story, others did not. One fascinating tidbit that I really wanted to use, but couldn’t make work, was about the Castor Bean plant. Many West African tribes used the poisonous beans from the plant as a lie detector for handing down decisions in court. The accused would be fed numerous beans. If God miraculously allowed them to live, it meant they were innocent. If they died (which I imagine was the most common outcome), that would ‘prove’ they were witches or possessed by demons. Uh, yeah, that sounds fair.   I still might use it one of these days… Uh, in a story, not on a person. J

One tidbit I did mention in the story, which I thought was fascinating, was about the acacia tree. This is taken directly from my story, the best way to explain. J

Its hook-shaped thorns act as a deterrent against grazers. Despite the thorns, some herbivores still feed on the trees. The trees can release a toxin known as tannin, which can be lethal to animals if ingested. Acacia trees also have another chemical defense system, whereby they release a chemical called ethylene, which ‘warns’ other acacias in the vicinity. Within fifteen minutes, all the neighboring trees increase the tannin levels in their leaves, making the area unappetizing to tree-grazing animals. Giraffes tend to eat downwind from the trees, in the hope that the trees do not alarm each other. They usually only graze for a short time before moving on to the next tree.
Acacia Tree
Trees warning one another? Didn’t God create an incredible world?

That's absolutely fascinating indeed! Thank you very much, Alicia, for being my guest today.
ESCAPE TO AFRICA is available for pre-order at the special price of £0.99  here