A tribute to an old friend ...

I’m not running with my planned post for today.  Apologies if you were hoping to read more about my journey along La Loire.  That post will now run on October 7th.

Today, I want to pay tribute to an old friend who has, very sadly, died.  You have met him once before on this blog, although I was appropriately respectful in making my mention.  You can read that earlier post Here

Jan Kleiboer was husband to Nieske, father, grandfather and a great interlocutor and camper.  Jan and his wife came to one of my favourite campsites in the Marne Valley.  They spent many summers there and over twenty years, and more, I had the great privilege to get to know them as my tours across France sometimes coincided with theirs.  There were many times when I was able to listen to Jan discussing this or that, the EU often, and many other subjects that he felt passionate about.  

So, it is with great sadness that I say rest in peace old friend.  Thoughts are with Nieske and the rest of your family.  

For me, returning to the campsite in the Marne valley will always be tinged with a sense of loss.

I'm reviewing ...

 ... Fox Evil by Minette Walters.  I've always liked Walter's stories, and some I've read more than once.  Although this story has been around for quite a while, it was new to me, and I think it might be staying on my bookshelves.  Read on ...

An absolutely riveting read.  Ailsa Lockyer-Fox dies in suspicious circumstances.   Her husband Colonel James Lockyer-Fox is the prime suspect but the coroner and exonerates him.

But there are unseen tensions within the little Dorset village.  There are a group of gypsies encamped in a copse adjoining the Lockyer-Foxes' small estate.  The gypsies are attempting to lay claim to the land as their own, but in the village of Shenston, there are too few to resist or refute the claim – not that these people would want to be seen working together – there are too many old rivalries between the permanent residents of this sleepy little place.

Then James begins to get threatening phone calls and nuisance calls, and refuses to challenge them or deal with them, and instead focuses on his search for his illegitimate grandchild.  James becomes more and more reclusive until Mark Ankertone, his solicitor, comes down from London to see him and uncovers the mental torture to which his client has been subjected.  It is at this point that we also meet Captain Nancy Smith of the Royal Engineers – the long-lost granddaughter, and the opportunity for romance between these two is not lost.  But this is a crime novel, and I just could not stop myself wanting and hoping for Mark and Nancy to hit it off – Walters kept me waiting right to the very end.

The story is very well told with scenes from one aspect of the story interspliced with scenes from another theme.  As you get closer to the end, the scene interchanges happen more frequently, and at the end of each one, there is always a cliffhanger.  It’s definitely a page-turner.

Please welcome, friend and author...

... Kimberly Webb to the blog this week.  Thanks very much for making time in your busy schedule to be here today. So tell me, what is your current release?

KW  Jillian’s Island – a novel with love, laughter, a shipwreck, and seven castaways on a deserted island.  What could go wrong … that hasn’t already?

AW   What first got you into writing and why?

KW  I loved to read as a young teenager – I read and reread Harry Pottery, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Ella Enchanted so often the covers fell off.  I realized that I could make the stories last longer if I started writing my own, so when I was in high school I worked for years on my first novel, and I’ve never been able to stop writing ever since. 

AW   You write Romantic Comedy Mysteries.  Is it all imagination or do you do research?

KW  While all the characters and places are fictional, I do have to research to stay grounded in reality.  If I want my story and characters to be believable, I have to make sure that I get things right.  So, while I’m not having to learn a country’s entire history, I do need to know the current standards for a lifeboat, what exactly is a nautical mile, and how do you work a HAM radio?

AW  Have you tried/dabbled with other genres or writing for other forms of media?

KW  I have!  Right now, I’m writing romcoms, but I began with fantasy/fairytale, and I’ve explored a story in Historical Fiction.  I hope to write that one someday, but for now I’m trying to focus on one genre to get really good at that!

AW  Famous authors such as Roald Dahl and Dylan Thomas had a special space for writing.  Do you have a writing shed of your own?

KW  I’m lucky enough to have a spare room downstairs that my husband graciously agreed to let me turn into my office.  I do about half of my work there and the other half in my recliner with a laptop, simultaneously trying to concentrate and looking after my two rambunctious little kids!  The work in the office is probably better quality, but the armchair work is more fun!

AW   And finally, you find yourself alone on a dessert island with just enough battery power to make one call.  Who would you call and why?

KW  A perfect question (since this is a topic in my book!).  I assume you don’t want the boring answer of “Call the coast guard!” so I would call my husband to let him know I’m okay and could he please use his MacGyver skills to rig up whatever he needs to do to come rescue me!  I know he’d do it, too!

about the author… Kimberly has loved books and writing stories since she was 14, falling in love again and again with fictional heroes.  She earned an English degree from BYU-Idaho, but her true education came from the countless books that swept her away on grand adventures. 

When she’s not writing, Kimberly can be found jogging, getting lost in a good book, or chasing a bit of everyday magic with her husband and three children.  She still believes in the wonder of Disneyland, the thrill of a well-told tale, and the idea that the best adventures often begin with a single, unexpected detour.

about the book…Tagline: Stranded in paradise. Seven strangers. One unforgettable adventure.

Jillian knows how to keep her cool.  She’s spent years smoothing over chaos as a yacht stewardess, but nothing could prepare her for the real storm: when her grandfather’s yacht is shipwrecked on a remote Bahamian island.

With Grandpa Skippy and five other castaways stranded alongside her, Jillian must navigate more than just survival.  Mysterious ruins, unexpected dangers, and the island’s secrets test their limits.  And then there’s Dr. Carter Buckley, a marine biology professor who’s far too distracting for this deserted-island scenario.

As friendships form and romance stirs under swaying palms, Jillian realizes getting off the island might not be the only adventure fate has in store.

You can get the book on Amazon

You can follow Kimberely on her  Amazon Author Page  her Website and on Facebook

 and Instagram

Come and meet ...

... friend and author Wendy Nakanishi. I first came across Wendy at a conference where she was talking about living in Japan.  My second encounter was over dinner in an Italian restaurant in Brighton. Like Wendy, I was in the city for a conference.  And now, Wendy is here on my blog.  Come and meet this fascinating writer...

I am Wendy Jones Nakanishi, an American, a long-term resident of Japan: my husband is an orange grower on Shikoku island.  I adopted the pen name of Lea O’Harra to write crime fiction, wanting to try my hand at a literary genre I’ve researched in a number of published articles as a Japanese university professor.  That Ian Rankin was a fellow postgrad at Edinburgh in the early eighties also played a part in my decision.  I wrote the Inspector Inoue thriller series first: Imperfect Strangers (2015), Progeny (2016), and Lady First (2017).  My fourth book, Dead Reckoning (2022), is a standalone murder mystery set in the American Midwest in a rural community not dissimilar to my hometown of Rolling Prairie, Indiana, population 500.  My fifth, Sayonara, My Sweet ((2025) is a standalone in small-town Japan. My books have been nominated/finalists in a number of literary competitions.

about her latest book ... In the summer of 1988, beautiful young Kaori Hirakata from a wealthy family resident in a town in Kyushu falls in love with Hiroki Sato – a local boy from the wrong side of the tracks – and decides to run away with him.

Is it a case of love is blind?  Kaori is horrified when Hiroki admits he once belonged to a yakuza gang in Tokyo.  She toys with breaking up with him but changes her mind after he apologizes and brings her a box of chocolates.

Her younger brother Aki is eavesdropping on the couple when he hears the sister he adores begin to cough.  An ambulance is summoned but too late: she dies, and it turns out some of the chocolates were poisoned.  Hiroki disappears.  Unable to find the main suspect, the police cannot solve the case, and Kaori’s family moves away.

Ten years later, Aki returns, determined to find out who killed his sister.

You can get the book Here

You can follow Wendy on her author Website and on her Amazon Author Page

If you are coming to the Death in the Dales Festival of Crime in October, Wendy and I will be taking part in a panel discussion about using foreign locations in our books.  You can read more about the Festival of Crime Here

Look out for a post about the third panel member - David Beckler - in September ...

 

Come and join me...

 ... and lots of other Yorkshire authors at the Live at the Libraries event next week.   Read on for more details ...

The Live at the Libraries Festival runs from August 13th to 15th.  You may recall that I blogged about this event in June, and you can read that earlier post Here  Live at the Libraries Festival will take place in Harrogate, Knaresborough, and Bilton

We have panels and workshops, and we are covering more than just crime, as we did last July.  This time around, we have events for poets, writing for children, and my favourite genre of crime.  So please do keep checking with your library to see what's coming up, meanwhile, here's some advance information about the content of the crime events.

Wednesday, August 13th

We will be at Harrogate Library and we will be Creating a Villain 13:00 - 14:30

I will be hosting this event and chatting with Gianetta Murray, Dawn Treacher, and Tom Sibson.  Just because there will be a panel of authors, it doesn't mean that the audience is just expected to listen and ask a few questions at the end. No, there will be audience participation, and I hope you will let us know your thoughts as we go through the session.

We're bringing back last year's Just a Minute. 15:00 - 16:30

Sue and Ged Williams will be hosting, and Pat Sutcliffe, Ian Walker, and I will be providing answers. Again, there will be audience participation, so please bring your questions along with you 

Ever wanted to write a mystery? Then join us for  Plotting a Crime 17:00 - 18:30

Gianetta Murray will host this event along with writers Roshan Pitteea, LK Pang, and Anne Wedgwood.  Bring your ideas with you and join in.

Thursday, August 14th

I will be at Knaresborough Library, Creating Criminal Characters - 10:00-12:00

This will be a workshop, so numbers are limited to 12. The aim is to make sure attendees leave armed with tips, strategies and references to enable them to create a Criminal Character for their own story. Please contact the library if you wish to attend

Who would you Murder and How would you do it? - 19:00 - 20:30

This workshop will be hosted by Sue Williams, and she will be ably supported by Roshan Pitteea and Tom Sibson.  Again, this is limited to 12, so please contact the library if you wish to attend.

Friday, August 15th

We will be at Bilston Library and Creating a Villain - 14:00 - 15:30

Sue Williams will be hosting on this occasion, and Roshan Pitteea and Tom Sibson will be taking the audience through the numerous considerations required to make your characters walk on the page.

Be great to see you there if you can make it.

I'm reviewing The Corisco Conspiracy ...

... by Raphael Sone on the blog today.  Read on to find out what I made of this fascinating memoir...

This book is a memoir, and as such, some may consider it to be a truth told from one individual’s point of view.  Because that is what a memoir is, right?  Erm… not in this case.  The central character is William Shakespeare, referred to as Musketman Shakespeare, who, it turns out, was a spy!

The opening of the story lets you know that Shakespeare arrives in Rome to meet a fellow playwright with whom he plans to work.  However, his friend had left the city several weeks before William’s arrival and had gone to Spain.  Before making a decision about what to do next, Shakespeare is visited by one Guy Fawkes – yes, it is he of the bonfire fame – and William is diverted to the Island city of Corisco. It is there that Shakespeare contrives ‘the most diabolical assassination plot in British history.’

With a set-up like that, and my lifelong association with the real William Shakespeare through his plays and poetry, I just could not ignore this book.

The memoir opens in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616 with the writer looking back on his life, his family and his work, which all seems quite tame. However, the tension gradually ramps up until you find yourself reading a romp of an adventure story.  The twists and turns in the plot kept me turning the page, and I finished it in two reading stints across one weekend.  I could not put this book down.

The narrative voice is companionable and flows very easily across the page, and perfectly suits the content of the memoir.  I liked the use of quotes from the real William's plays for each of the chapter headings.  I recognised most of the quotes taken from thirteen of the plays, but there were a small number that were a little more obscure.  However, I really enjoyed looking those up and re-reading some of the original verse or prose, including the quote.

All in all, this was a great read.  I hope Mr Sóne is working on something else to entertain us.

You can get the book Here

You can find out more about the author Here

I'm Off My Beaten Track in ...

... Cadiz.  I’ve been going through my travel journals and discovered some notes about a short stay in Cadiz. Come and join me as I meander the streets of this ancient Spanish port.  Read on …

SPANISH SCRIBBLINGS

‘… after three days at sea, I’m really glad that we are finally berthed and have stopped moving.  I just can’t wait to get onto dry land again.  The boat is parked right next to the town, just as though a car has slotted into a standard parking spot!  It’s the relative sizes of everything that kind of blows my mind as I walk into the city centre…’

Cadiz, with a population of around 120,000, was founded by the Phoenicians around 1100 BC. The Phoenicians were renowned for their expertise as seafarers, navigators, and traders.  That wealth is eminently demonstrated here in the city of Cadiz, along with the marvellous architecture from various historical periods across four millennia.

‘It’s Sunday today, and as I meander through the streets, there are few people around.  I want to visit the cathedral, but there is a service going on, so I’ll have to wait.  But then, there are other churches if the number of spires and domes I saw from the restaurant where I was having breakfast, are anything to go by…’

‘The streets are mostly pedestrianised and the narrowness and height of the buildings keep the sun at bay in the hottest part of the day.  The artistry in the masonry surrounding very ordinary doors is a treat to see…’

‘Above, the narrow streets are decorated with theatrical masks from the Commedia dell’Arte - Harlequin, Il Dottore, Pantalone, Pulcinella, Innamorati and others whose names I can’t recall.

No matter where I walk, these theatricals look down on me, but I can’t find anything to explain why this and why here and now in February.  I decide to check this out once I get back to the boat.  But then I turn a corner.  A large square opens out in front of me, and at one side is the Gran Teatro Falla.  A stunning red and white brick building in Moorish style.  Suddenly everything becomes clear – the city is preparing for the Carnaval de Cádiz, which, according to the banner, will take place from February 27th until March 9th.  I want to stay here.  I would love to be here for that…’

'As I make my way back to the boat, I notice that the first square I came to as I started my stroll is suddenly full of people at the pavement cafes.  There are stalls with paintings, sketches, and handmade jewellery.  So I browse to the lilt of music from somewhere.  As I explore the stalls, I discover a musician playing an accordion ably supported by a group of automaton musicians playing various instruments.  Along with a crowd of others, I stop and listen for a while...'

 

Alas, I wasn’t able to stay; my time in Cadiz was fixed, but there is always the opportunity to come back another year.  I’ll let you know if I achieve that…