Tuesday, 20 May 2025

Rivers of France

Photo courtesy of Rolph Kranz
… I’m picking up from where I left you in my last post about the rivers of France – Nevers.  You can read that post Here if you need to refesh your memory.  Otherwise, read on ... 

Nevers to La Charité-sur-Loire is a short hop, and the temptation is to head out of the city towards the RN7 and take the fast route to La Charité.  Please don’t!  If you leave Nevers on the minor road that leads to Cours-les-Barres and Fourchambault, but turn left onto the D40 and cross the river, you will be rewarded with a fabulous view of Nevers and the river. Once on the left bank of the Loire, take the D12 to Cours and then turn right onto the D45.  This much quieter route takes you through rolling countryside and follows the river, which is on your right.  The D45 eventually intersects with the RN 151, and you can head straight into the heart of La Charité.
However, if you choose to dally you will discover a path that runs along the bank of the Loire and, providing the vegegtation doesn’t get in the way, you can get some lovely views of the river and the town.
Heading into town from the left bank takes you across an island in the centre of the river. There are paths along each bank if you want to wander and have a more detailed look at the power of La Loire.  Again, you can get some fabulous views of the town and the river – see above.  Not one of my pics, but a far better shot than the ones I managed to get on a very dull day!
The route from the island in the river brings you right to the old part of the town.  The narrow streets are now fully pedestrianised, but beware of helmeted locals on mopeds!  The street from the bridge will lead you to the church of Ste-Croix-Notre-Dame.  You will also pass the pâtisserie a short way down on your left.  Naturally, I popped in for an amandine for my lunch!  I will find a lovely spot by the river to eat it later.
The church kind of stands right in the middle of the road, but there is pedestrian access and the interior is really worth a look.  The town was established in the 11th century by a Cluniac Brotherhood who built a priory which was consecrated in 1107.  The town is named after the brotherhood.  Since then, La Charité has survived the Hundred Years War and was finally liberated by French forces in 1435.  Around 120 years later, in 1559, a substantial fire swept through the town, taking with it houses and businesses within the ramparts and inflicting significant damage on the church, which took over a hundred years to repair.  The restoration was completed in the late 17th century.
By the time of the Revolution in 1789, the town had suffered further incursions during the Religious Wars, and few of the brotherhood remained in residence.  The priory was subsequently sold but has been preserved.  The church was not so lucky, as it was only deemed a monument worth saving in the mid-nineteenth century.  As an edifice full of light, the nave is majestic with simple lines.  I would have loved to have seen the original windows, as the aspect of the church, the nave and the vast windows behind the altar are perfectly aligned to make the most of the sunlight.  The ‘modern’ replacement window designs are pleasing enough and hint at what was once here all those centuries ago.
I leave the church for a meander along the streets, and I eventually find a sign for the campsite. It is by the river.  I find a bench with a view of La Loire and the town.  It’s a perfect place for lunch.

There will be more from my journey along La Loire on June 3rd.
If you enjoyed this post and want to read my earlier posts, you can find them using the following links: Rivers of France  La Loire  Digoin  Nevers

Tuesday, 13 May 2025

Please welcome, friend and author, Bill Yarborough ...

... to the blog today. Hi Bill, and thanks for taking the time out to talk to us about your book, Memories of MK-ULTRA. Over to you ...


Memories of MK-ULTRA is about three children forced to take part in a life-altering experience. The CIA places them in a covert operation, experimenting with psychoactive drugs, electroshock, and other techniques to mold the human mind.  The experience dramatically impacts their lives, but they don’t remember any of it—at least not right away.
What kinds of individuals will such an experience produce?  How will it shape their personalities, their relationships, their performance in school, and ultimately, their career choices?  And how will their lives change if, suddenly, as young adults, they begin to remember their traumatic background?
Several major themes that run through the novel, including coming of age, psychological thriller, historical, and metaphysical aspects.
The reader can witness the enormous influence of the unconscious mind through the story’s two interwoven narratives.  One follows Dr. Rudolf Holtzmann, an MK-ULTRA psychiatrist, with a secret agenda to create future political leaders.  The other tracks the quirky developments of Beth, Tommy, and Curtis Matthews as they come of age through the turbulence of the 60s and 70s into their early adulthoods in the 80s.
Invisible strings pull them toward their preordained destinies, but their puppet master’s plans are complicated by Holtzmann’s rash and dangerous CIA assistant and by one of the program’s subjects, a 14-year-old indigenous boy with shamanic gifts.  Besides mind control, MK-ULTRA delved into the metaphysical, which drove its interest in psychedelic drugs, such as the magic mushrooms of Mexican shamans.
It takes Curtis’s psychotic breakdown and Beth’s startling vision to open up the pathways to the sibling’s buried past.  These developments lead to the detective work of Lynn Snyder, a diligent therapist—but will it be enough to unravel the tapestry of deception?
Memories of MK-ULTRA is grounded in historical events.  There have been many nonfiction MK-ULTRA books, including Stephen Kinzer’s Poisoner in Chief, which documented MK-ULTRA’s widespread deployment of mind-control experiments, its recruitment of former Nazi SS officers, and its use of psychedelic drugs on adults, college students, and children.  The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and NPR’s Fresh Air all favorably reviewed the book.
As much as the story is about the appalling things powerful people sometimes do—it’s ultimately about healing and transformation.  The first book of a trilogy, Memories of MK-ULTRA, opens a window into the multiple dimensions of the human mind and soul and forces us to question memory, identity, and the fragile concept of truth.

... about the author
Bill Yarborough’s debut novel Memories of MK-ULTRA is inspired by experiences from his early childhood, where he along with his brother and sister underwent experiments of the CIA’s MK-ULTRA mind control program.
As a result of his traumatic childhood, Bill engaged in an extensive healing journey during which he employed a wide range of traditional and innovative techniques.  He is currently working on a sequel to his first novel.  Bill lives with his informal editor and wife, Inge, in Northern California.  Besides embracing the joys of becoming a dad for three kids approaching their teenage years when he married, he served in the financial industry and was board president for two non-profits.  



You can get the book on Amazon

You can follow Bill on his Website on Facebook  LinkedIn  and on X

 

Tuesday, 6 May 2025

I hope you can join me ...

... in Ripon on Sunday.  Read on for more details ...


I will be at the Claro Lounge, 39 Market Square, Ripon (HG4 1BZ)  with lots of other Yorkshire Authors on Sunday, May 11th for the fabulous Promoting Yorkshire Authors' Book Fair.  The fair will be open from  

I will have all six of my Jacques Forêt Mysteries with me.  If you would like to chat about France, the Cévennes, the stories, or even Jacques himself, please drop by and say hello.  I will also be able to give you the latest info on the next book in the series.

The Miss Moonshine anthologies will be making an appearance, as well.  If you are in need of a feel-good, heart-warming read, then these collections of gentle stories will be just the ticket.

Gianetta Murray, (author of A Supernatural Shindig, an anthology and  Moved to Murder, the first in her cosy crime series) will also be at the fair with her books.  I’m sure Gianetta will be only too pleased to chat about how the work on book 2 is shaping up.

Lastly, all four of the Seasonal Paths multi-genre miscellanies of tales from the Seasonal Collective will be available to buy, too.  Gianetta and I both work with our fellow writers from North America to create these editions.  If you want to discover some new authors, these collections are just for you.

Please join me and Gianetta on May 11th from 10.00 am at The Claro Lounge, Ripon, HG4 1BZ.  It'll be great to see you there... 

Tuesday, 29 April 2025

I'm reviewing Discombobulated and Other Poems ...

... by Michelle L Feltham.  Read on ...


I had the great pleasure of meeting poet Michelle Feltham a couple of months ago. Our conversation moved from general pleasantries about the weather to comments about travel and photography.  But it was when we started talking about our respective passions for writing and reading that Michelle told me she had a book of poems out.  Naturally, I couldn't let her mention that without further questions, could I?  And I am so glad I delved deeper.

Michelle had a copy of her book with her, and very kindly let me have a look.  As I quickly flicked through the pages and stopped to read a stanza here of a couple of verses there, I realised I wanted to have a copy of the whole book.  One of the things I love about poetry is that it is so succinct in nature that a couple of lines can be enough to speak a thousand words because whatever the sentiment, it is conveyed with such power and understanding.  Those couple of lines were in a poem called Armistice.

Back home again, and I searched Amazon for copy of the book.  A few days later, it arrived and, as I was travelling again the following week I took it with me.  The constant rattle of the train in no way marred my enjoyment of these little works of art.  The 37 poems are brigaded into sections, 'Politics' being the first, followed by 'Our Natural World' and running through the seasons, to finally end with 'Reflections'.  So you can dip in and out depending on your mood and the time available.  As my train journey was two hours, I started at the first poem, the Discombobulated of the title, and gradually worked my way through to the last one, Life After Death.

Some of the poems made me laugh, some made me pause for thought, and some I went back to read again.  But it was the revelation at the very end of the book that caused me to sit up and think.  My thoughts were finally interrupted by the announcement from the train guard that I had arrived at my destination.  As a three-year-old, Michelle suffered in a severe vehicle accident which resulted in brain damage along with numerous other injuries.  She was not expected to survive.  But she did, and it was a great honour to have been able to speak to her all those weeks ago and to get an insight into the heart and mind of a poet.

Do I have a favourite amongst this collection?  Not exactly, there were so many phrases and linked lines that seemed to echo so much about today's society, the wars that are being conducted, the general poverty we see around us, and the need to be mindful of others.  But I will leave you with a snippet from Life After Death.

And if ever you should feel bereft,
Close your eyes and see that I never really left,
'Cause at the end of my life as at the start,
I'll forever be right there inside your heart.

I really hope Michelle continues to craft words and sentences and that further books of poetry will be completed and become available in the future.  But for the moment, you can get Michelle's book in print or e-format on Amazon.  Just click the link.  Please also be aware that all proceeds from the sale of this book go to charity.




Tuesday, 22 April 2025

The characters we all love to hate …

Graphic courtesy of Clker Pixabay
… are often the very best characters to write. At least that’s how I feel about one of mine.  Read on …

All of my characters are very important to me.  I spend just as much time developing my ‘baddies’, who may only be around for one story, as I do my central characters who appear in all of the books.
So, Richard Laurent Delacroix, the Canadian nephew of old Guy Delacroix from the first book, Messandrierre, has had a chequered career!  He first appears in Merle (Book #2) with a backstory that is not detailed but certainly looks dodgy.  He’s not well-liked by the other villagers, and when he decides to stay, you can almost hear the sighs of disappointment from his French neighbours.
In Montbel (Book #3), Delacroix inveigles his way into the life of the village.  But, he also begins to show more of his character, and it becomes quite clear that he is prepared to not only swindle his enemies but his associates as well.  As he says in the book, ‘everything has a value’ and that capacity to drill everything down to some form of value for himself, not necessarily always monetary, is one of the key drivers of his personality.  As the story of Montbel unwinds, Delacriox proves himself to be manipulative and an accomplished liar.
As one reader put it when I was answering questions at an event, ‘Delacriox seems or have no moral compass…’.  And, at that time the statement was true.  I had deliberately planned that this character would be someone that we all loved to hate.  What I hadn’t reckoned on was the level of fun that I would get out of writing such a character.
When we get to Marseille (Book #4) Delacroix has seriously upped his game and is contemplating more complex ways of obtaining the ‘value’ that he so craves.  In one particular scene in this story, Delacriox demonstrates to his associates that he actually does have a ‘moral compass’.  It isn’t much of one, but it is there and openly stated as he directs how the next phase of work that he’s planning will be taken forward.
Of course, in Marseille, Jacques Forêt finally thwarts Delacroix.  I can honestly say that some readers were really disappointed that Delacroix was tamed, and I started getting questions about whether he might return in a later book.  At the time I said 'no' and I kept on saying that each time that question arose.  I really didn’t have any plans for Delacroix once Marseille was published.
But things change, and sometimes characters just won’t leave you, no matter how much you want them too.  The same is true for actors, too.  There are some characters I‘ve played on stage that I would still like to revisit in a new text – the wicked witch in Snow White, Grace in Entertaining Angels, Bella Donna in Hansel and Gretel, or Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream – to name just a few!  There was a dark side to each of these characters, and it was great fun exploring that, but also a personal loss when I had to divest myself of each of those characters once the curtain had come down on the final performance.
But the great thing about books, unlike the characters I’ve played on stage, is that I can live again in Delacroix’s head in another story.  So, if you’ve read Mazargues (Book #7) you will have come across a short paragraph right at the very end giving a hint for the future:


and then…

 

A heavy postern gate slammed shut behind a tall, broad-shouldered and muscled man. He swept his hand through his thick silver-grey hair and donned a black fedora. He glanced across at a waiting car, a silver Mercedes, and smiled. Striding out, he crossed the open space, moved towards the car, opened the passenger door and got in.

“I’ll need a new name,” he said.

 

THE END


And you can read more about Meyrueis if you just click the following links Meyrueis Part 1  Mayrueis Part 2  Life on the Causses

If you want to read my previous posts from my time following Robert Louis Stevenson through the 
Cévennes, then click Following Stevenson  













Tuesday, 15 April 2025

Travelling with Stevenson ...

... It has been quite a while since I last wrote a Stevenson post. But, after a trawl through my old journals from my numerous travels in the Cévennes, I've discovered a few nuggets of previously unpublished bits of info and, most surprisingly, a pic!  Read on ... 


On one of my earliest trips to Mende and the surrounding area, I came across a very odd-looking scene on a mountainside.  At that point, I didn't carry a camera with me everywhere I went.  So, I just quickly sketched what I could see in my notebook.  As I was thumbing through my notes from that trip, I came across the said sketch.  I had completely forgotten it was there.  I had also ignored the action point I gave myself at that time: Find out what these funny little trees really are.
Finally, I have done that research, the sketch is above, and an idea came into my head for a plot line as a result.  In Mazargues, one of the local farmers has an issue with wood being stolen from his copse of trees that sits at one edge of his land.  That character is Fermier Sallan.  It's Didier Duclos who takes charge of the investigation, and he brings it to the best conclusion he can under the circumstances.  But it's quite clear that Didier isn't really happy with how the matter is resolved.
In Meyrueis, Fermier Sallan turns up at Jacques' office in Mende along with his younger brother, Maurice.  It turns out that the Sallan family are being targeted again, but this time it's because of their bees.  Maurice Sallan's wife manages the bees and their hives.  She sells the honey in Mende and at markets in and around the area.  The day before the brothers come into town to see Jacques, one of the hives has been destroyed.  As always, Jacques takes on the case, and he and Didier go to the farm to see the real problem for themselves.
It was my research into the origins and use of the 'strange little trees' I had discovered on the hillside that day that came to my rescue when I needed a subplot for Meyrueis.  In the Cévennes, a particular type of bee is kept up on the slopes - the European Black Bee.  It is still a proper honey bee, but it is more hardy than the bees we see all over the UK.  It is particularly suited to the harsh climate of the mountainsides and, because of the uniqueness of the flora in the area, the resulting honey has a flavour all of its own.  A bit like the honey from Scotland, where the bees feed on the pollen from the heather.  Honey has been produced in the mountains of the Cévennes for centuries. You can still see vestiges of this in the national park where the ancient farming practices are preserved.  So there are no white painted square hives as we are used to seeing in the UK.  The hives are old chestnut tree trunks that are hollowed out and then set on a small plinth.  The bees create their colony in the space inside the trunk, and pieces of wood are laid on the top. The flat stone laid across each hive is there to keep it safe from the winds.
Along with the sketch in my notebook, I also jotted down a brief description, and the couple of phrases are the basis for a description that I gave to Jacques ...

'Coming out of the shade of a small stand of trees, Jacques saw that the hillside had some kind of stepped arrangement reaching up, the highest point already in the first light from the morning sun. On the terraces, he could see round tree trunks with what appeared to be large flat stones on top. They were arranged like a resting army in uneven ranks. Not all quite the same height or width. Not all standing perfectly upright.'

There will be more from Meyrueis and the Causse Here, and if you want to read my earlier posts click the links Meyrueis Part 1  Meyrueis Part 2
If you want to read about my time following Robert Louis Stevenson through the Cévennes, here's the link Following Stevenson



Tuesday, 8 April 2025

Come stroll with me…

… across the Causse that overlooks the town of Meyrueis as part of my #AprilAuthorChallenge

I'm continuing my travels and I’m picking up from where I left you last week on the blog – sitting, having lunch in the real town of Meyrueis as I considered whether I should rebuild some of the old town walls for my fictional version of the place.
Although my lunch is finished, my internal debate isn’t.  I decide to leave it at that and make my way up onto the Causse that overlooks and dwarfs the town.  I have some scenes that will fit the unique landscape of these vast limestone plateaux.  From Meyrueis I take the D996 heading north-east out of town.  On the outkirts, I take a left on the D986 which traverses the Causse Méjean and head towards Hures-la-Parade.
The Causses, and there are quite a number spread across the whole of France, are vast limestone plateaux that range in height from 550 metres (1800 feet) to 1250 metres (4,100 feet) above sea level.  They were formed during the Second Geological Era, that’s about 250 million years ago.  Yeah, I know.  Seriously, big numbers are impossible to rationalise and understand, aren’t they?  But way back in that time, this area was a vast sea.  After about 70 million years, the sea began to retreat – I guess we had a form of global warming even then! – leaving behind various sediments and deposits.  At some point in the Tertiary Era (that’s between 66 million and 2.6 million years ago) the Tectonic plates had a bit of a barney with each other, the limestone plateau left by the sea was lifted, the Alps appeared, the limestone fractured creating vast gorges and the basis of the landscape that can be seen today was formed.  The rest is all down to 2.5 million years of weather and erosion.  Limestone is quite friable and porous, and it suffers from our changing seasons – rain in spring, freezing winters, damaging winds throughout the year.
Despite the difficult birth of the Causses, the landscape has supported sheep and cattle farming since at least the Bronze age.  It was during these times that the ancient process of what we now refer to as Transhumance was established.  The roads up to and across the Causses have their basis in the old drovers’ roads that enabled early farmers to feed their animals on the grass of the cooler high plateaux and sell the animals at the appropriate maturity in local markets.  The success of living on and around the plateaux led to the establishment of small villages in the lower gorges.
As I meander across this particular plateau, I see single-story farmhouses created from the local rock – mostly limestone.  The habitation here is sparse.  The trees are few and the clumps of low-level scrub are the only features.  As I look across the causse, I see a vast and barely undulating field of pale green with patches of small low-level mountain flowers providing the last vestiges of summer’s colour.  At the horizon I see sky and far distant mountains.  For a child of the Yorkshire Dales and the rolling green and treed countryside of the bit of the county where I now live, the scenery of the Causse Méjean has a meagre palette of colour.  The wind blows through the grass of the plain, creating constant movement and making the flowers dance.  There’s a seemingly ever-present low murmur as the breeze slips by.
The specific kind of silence here, the lack of habitation and passers-by make this a perfect backdrop for a plotline that I’m considering.

There will be more from Meyrueis and the Causse Here.  And you can catch up on previous posts by clicking the links  Meyrueis Part1  Following Stevenson