Please welcome...

Beatrice Fishback to my blog this week.  Continuing the theme of murder and mayhem, Beatrice is here to tell us about her forthcoming book and one of the characters who is a real baddy!

Bethel Manor, an inspirational Victorian romance set in the beautiful East Anglian area of Great Britain, offers some lively characters.  Along with the reliable and generous, Fredrick Shaw and his feisty daughter, Clare and the hot-tempered, yet compassionate, Master James Blackwell, there are also vagabonds and thieves.  Simeon Quire plays a secondary role, but thinks he has a major responsibility for the demise of the Blackwell name.  Simeon can be best described as a combination of The Grinch and Scrooge.  He is a mean man who has little sympathy for the poor, yet he goes to great lengths to maintain his reputation as an upstanding citizen.

It appears a parchment recently uncovered in the annals of Ely cathedral’s vast library details Simeon’s plan to destroy the Blackwell family and his reasoning for doing so.  Although the words are barely legible, he pens that his desire to get rid of them is because his previous deceitful and conniving ways of stealing from the coffers were exposed by James Blackwell’s father, Andrew.  Simeon kept detailed records of the monies he pilfered from the church, and the authorities turned a blind eye since he paid them handsomely to stay quiet.

Simeon is an evil man who managed to make Andrew and Elizabeth Blackwell and their two children, James and Grace, flee from Ely in order that they would not be placed in the workhouse in separate quarters.  Further, it was revealed that Andrew and Elizabeth had to give up their son, James to Alpheton orphanage in Bristol since they no longer had enough income to feed a family of four.

Simeon Quire tried to destroy the Blackwells in order to save his own reputation, and the parchment and confession prove it.

Short clip from Bethel Manor:

“It’s time.” Simeon bounded off his chair.  

“I’d hoped to finish this tonight, but I’ll come back in the morning. It shouldn’t take long.” He twisted the knob on the oil lamp to stop the wick from burning and noticed a name under the dimming light. “Wait!”

“I told you one hour. And it’s been longer. At least ten minutes longer. I’m ready to go, so come back again in the morning.” Simeon slipped on his coat and headed toward the door. “You can write down what you need then.”

“The name Blackwell stared at him from the inked paper. “This is extremely important. I must be certain to see this when I return at dawn.”

 About the Author

Beatrice Fishback is a Yankee who has traveled the world as a military spouse and lived in Europe for a total of twenty-years. She is the author of Loving Your Military Man by FamilyLife Publishing and, with her husband Jim, is the co-author of Defending the Military Marriage and Defending the Military Family. She has been published in various compilations, magazines and online websites.

She and her husband have spoken to audiences in the U.S.A, Germany, England, Italy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Korea, and Japan. They have also presented to international audiences in the Czech Republic, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Latvia.

Beatrice and Jim currently reside in North Carolina where scones are called biscuits and are topped with gravy, and tea is served over ice.

Bethel Manor is available for pre-order using this link : Amazon Pre-order

http://www.facebook.com/Beasattitudes