Lady Rosamund's Recluse

Well, we've got to the editing and proof-reading stages - hoorah! As you probably know, I wrote the first draft of Lady Rosamund whilst I was grappling with the storyline of Lord Nathaniel - Rosamund's storyline was just there, ready to go, fully formed in my head. 

However, the downside of such a situation is that though it appears to be a more than satisfactory story to oneself, it may not be crystal clear to a reader. This means that the editing process can be a little more painful, as you realise that though your main characters are fine, the backstory and the heft of the plot may need a little filling out.

But I'm getting there, and I have to say that I love the two main protagonists in this story - Rosamund and Petroc. They are the most 'real' to me of all my characters. Yes, my friends will realise that there is quite a lot of the young me in Rosamund, but she is cleverer and far braver than I ever was.

Those of you who have read the first three books of the 'The Brockworth Chronicles' series will know that amongst Rosamund's many interests, she has developed a bit of an obsession about one of her ancestors, Lady Thomasina Brockworth (nee Tregannon). However, she has reached the limit of what information she can source at home or in London (see the Chronicle), and her attempts to elicit some information from the current Keeper of Kothgorr Castle (the Tregannon's ancestral home), Petroc Tregannon, has met with absolutely no success.

Petroc Tregannon on the beach below Kothgorr castle.

But then, whilst enduring 'The Season' she comes across an advert in the Times inviting
applications for the post of temporary assistant over the summer season at Kothgorr Castle, acting as assistant to the Viscount and helping sort documents in the muniments room. Despite the fact that Rosamund has labelled Petroc Tregannon 'the rudest man in the world', she knows that this is the perfect, and perhaps only opportunity that she will get to riffle through the Tregannon's records at her leisure!

The fly in the ointment is, of course, that they will be expecting applications from males only, and how on earth could she persuade her family to allow her to work in a single gentleman's home? Mmm - a conundrum.

But Rosamund isn't going to allow such trifling considerations get in her way, is she? Certainly, her feisty ancestress, Lady Thomasina, would not! So Rosamund sends off her application, posing as Mr Ross Fothergill, never for one moment anticipating all the scrapes and dangers she might encounter in the rather forbidding granite pile of Kothgorr Castle.

A vague idea of how imagine Kothgorr Castle to look on a stormy day.

Hopefully 'Lady Rosamund's Recluse will be published sometime in May. Of all the four books, I've written about the Brockworth family so far, this is, by far, my favourite. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.  Detta 

Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis is published!

Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis book cover,  where he is looking quite austere. This reflects his character at the beginning of the story. However, dealing with Rebecca Northley forces him to come out of his rather stodgy shell, and the man who emerges is far more attractive.

Yes, I'm finally happy with 'Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis (or at least happy enough - you can tweak things forever and never get anything completed), and have published it as a Kindle e-book on Amazon. Yes, this one has been ten months in gestation, with three very different plotlines, the first two having to be discarded as pretty boring! John, husband and proofreader, says it's the best of the three novels I've published so far, so that's promising, at least. It's hard for me to be objective, so at the moment I have to believe him.

Miss Rebecca Northley- rich, beautiful, and intelligent, she holds a long standing grudge against Nathaniel Brockworth, which she vents in her political pamphlet Nemesis, anonymously. But then dramatic events make her reassess his character, and she finds that, quite against her preferred attitude towards him, she starts to find him quite attractive. Annoyingly, very attractive.
But it's all quite impossible - she is a rich middle-class Cit's daughter - he is the brother of a Marquess, no less, part of the nobility and therefore, far beyond her expectations as a possible match. And then there are all those embarrassing things she wrote about Nathaniel and his family. No! Any deeper relationship between them is impossible! Or is it?

Certainly, Nathaniel emerges as a much more rounded and interesting character than in the first two novels - quite the commanding figure (something I had not quite realised when I started writing). But that's the strange thing about creating a story - after a while, your characters start taking on a life of their own. 

In this particular case, you know that, without having to deal with the ups and quite dramatic downs of his relationship with Rebecca, Nathaniel would have plodded along in a nice, safe rut for probably the rest of his life. But when the chips are down, Nathaniel steps up manfully and not only takes on the challenge, but triumphs.

I have to admit I hadn't seen him as the knight-in-shining-armour type, but as I said before, sometimes your characters just do their own thing; and sitting back pondering the outcome, you see that yes, it's a logical development of the character. And so much more romantic than your original concept!

Rebecca's vineyard in sunny Hampshire - a key part of the final part of the novel.

And I have not one, but two villains in this novel - one truly dastardly, and the other just a little bit sad. Naturally, the real baddie gets away (not totally without punishment - to be fair), whilst his more sympathetic co-conspirator is not so lucky. Sorry, no more spoilers.

Sir Harold Skeffington - a suitably repellent villain! 

This novel, in line with the previous two books in the Brockworth Chronicles series, has a completely different plot line, with perhaps a little more comedy, and some rather unexpected plot twists. I like to think it's a bit edgier than the other two, but my readers will decide.

If you would like to read Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis, it is now available on Amazon as an e-book, here.

Now for a short holiday, and then onto re-writing 'Lady Rosamund's Recluse', the first draft of which I finished quite a while ago.

Regards, Detta

Jewellery and characters

Rebecca wearing the emeralds that she has inherited from her mother (also a green-eyed redhead). A bit over the top? Nathaniel thinks so.

 I'm not a person who has a lot of jewellery. Most days of the year you will find me wearing my wedding ring only. It's not that I don't like jewellery, but I find that I'm quite picky about what I do like. I suppose my tastes were formed when as a schoolgirl, a group of us would sometimes add a small detour to our journey on our way home, to ogle the treasures to be viewed in the best jewellers in Preston, Whittles, (in our opinion) at that time. They were, of course, the most expensive jewellers in town too. There we would stand, and pick out the engagement ring that we were going to have, when the (very rich) man of our dreams declared his undying love for us and showered us with all our teenage, avaricious, heart's desires!

I always focussed on the lovely emerald cut (yes it is a thing), emerald and diamond ring, which even in those days had a price tag in the thousands, if I recall correctly. It looked something like the ring pictured below, but with slightly bigger diamonds if memory serves. Like all good jewellers, Whittles had that special arrangement of lights that made the diamonds flash, and the emerald glow. Amazingly alluring!

 

In my latest book, 'Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis', Nathaniel will present the love of his life with a similar ring. She already has some very impressive jewellery, including some whopping emeralds. Unfortunately these are more suitable for a lady of more advanced years who is valiantly still trying to impress, and using  jewels to attract attention. Nathaniel is quite certain that his love requires little embellishment - nature has endowed her with more than sufficient beauty. So this ring, though still reflecting the colour of her eyes, is a token of his love and devotion. As he explains that he has chosen the emerald for it's unusual brilliance of colour, clarity and lack of flaws, he shows the care that has gone into that choice. It is an expression of his his deep feelings for her. He has seen her character and her intrinsic perfection in his eyes. He also points out that in some cultures emeralds are a symbol of new beginnings - you'll have to read the book to find out why that statement is significant!

So, as you may have guessed, I have moved on from that avaricious teenager, and look more for meaning in people and things, than the mere flash of conspicuously costly baubles. I'm not saying that I would refuse that wonderful ring if given to me with a suitable expression of devotion. I wouldn't. However, I live in hope rather than expectation!

Anyway, getting back to jewels and what they mean in my novels. No doubt Nathaniel will present her with a matching pendant and earrings by the end of the story - something like those below, I'm sure!

Though jewellery does not feature heavily in my novels (a bit more in Lady Serena's Secret, as she designs jewellery secretly), it is a metaphor for the deep regard of our male protagonist for his love, always. Hew in Lady Serena's Secret, manages to get hold of some of her original designs (as yet, unexecuted), and has 'The Lotus Ring' made for her in his own workshop. Hew has compared Serena to the Lotus flower, and written a poem in Persian for her, expressing his romantic vision of her. A man who writes poetry, commissions original jewellery for you, and is tall dark and handsome. Be still my beating heart! Below is what I think Serena's jewellery might look like!

 

The Lotus Parure - though I think they would all be in yellow gold - Serena has honey blonde hair, and yellow gold would be more traditional back then.

I have to admit that the Lotus jewellery would be highly impractical - can you imagine how that ring would catch on everything? But ladies of High Society did not have to be practical - they had maids for all that! I just imagine the thrill one would get just looking at something so unique and special, remembering the sentiments expressed when it was given. (That's the romantic in me coming out!)

And finally we are only told of one gift from Theo to Isabel in Book One : Lady Isabel's Inheritance. (Presumably she got the heirloom family engagement ring - what an omission by me!). It is described as an oval locket encrusted with Aquamarines to match Isabel's eyes. Theo thinks diamonds are too cold to reflect her personality. Once again, it is the personal thought and sentiment that goes into the choice of jewellery that matters. That it is an expression of love rather than a commodity. 

Isabel's locket. This is the nearest that I can get my current Ai programme to generate something close to the description. The B for Brockworth should be more elaborate and larger. I'll keep trying and if I come up with something closer to my mental image - I will post it here.

Take note gentlemen - we ladies are quietly suckers for a bit of heartfelt sentiment, especially when it is packaged so beautifully!

Lady Serena's Secret published!

Well it's been a while coming, but Lady Serena's Secret is now available as an e-book on Amazon. It was not an easy book to write as Lady Serena is basically a very nice person. And nice people are trickier to write about, as they tend not to offend or do outrageous things. In short - they can be a bit boring. So, whilst being true to the nature of one's chief protagonist, a writer has to dig a little deeper into her subject. No-one is really perfect after all - are they?

And Serena, I am glad to say, is not quite the perfect 'Diamond of the First Water' - a model of upper class beauty and perfection, that she first appears to be. No, Lady Serena has been flouting quite a few of those unspoken rules that dictate the rather restricted lifestyle of Upper Class Virgins. 

Bored with yet another London Season, Serena and her friends, Lady Millie and Lady Fliss are, instead of devoting their energies to finding suitable husbands, relieving their ennui, by helping out at a Girl's Charity School (which is acceptable), and supporting it financially by secretly producing a Lady's Periodical, 'La Dernier Cri' (which is not quite so acceptable). Their involvement in this kind of enterprise would, if it ever became known publicly, bring not only scandal to them, but also to their families. However, so far, they have eluded detection, and are quietly proud of the results of their efforts.

Serena, not content with sailing close to the wind with her publishing activities, secretly designs clothes and jewellery (though the latter she has not indulged in recently, as the danger of detection is considerably higher). However, she still provides her modiste, Madame Tiffany with the odd dress design when she feels inspired and cannot resist her muse any longer. The haute ton would be shocked and outraged if they knew that Lady Serena had designed some of the most admired dresses of the Season.

Hew d'Arras, Earl of Blencathra has returned to English shores reluctantly, due to the necessity of taking over the reins of the family Estate and businesses, and to avoid an almost certain demise from illness, if he had insisted on remaining in India. He is also looking forward to the challenge of extending the gem and jewellery business he started in India, and building up the family shipping business to be a global enterprise.

When he left England ten years previously, he had sworn never to return. However, embracing the inescapable, he looks up his sole remaining close relative, his cousin Isabel, who has recently married Theo Brockworth, Marquess of Norcombe - Serena's eldest brother. On being introduced to the Brockworth family, Hew discovers that Serena is everything he despises in females - a beautiful blue-eyed blonde, and despite his instant attraction to her physically, immediately raises all his defences. 

Far from the usual stunned admiration that she is used to receiving when introduced to any male on the right side of the grave, Serena is totally dumbfounded when Hew views her with stony disdain, bordering on outright hostility. Somewhat miffed that he appears to have taken her in instant dislike for no apparent reason, Serena delights in thwarting his efforts to put her off, when Isabel invites her to help in Hew's quest of finding a new home in London.

And so begins the on-off, up and down relationship between Serena and Hew. As Serena goes about her life helping friends and acquaintances whenever she can, Hew starts to realise that there may be more to Lady Serena than first appearances might suggest. Indeed, far from the ambitious, avaricious and manipulative heartless siren he expected, he has to admit that she is warm, generous, talented and soft-hearted, amongst countless other virtues. Likewise, Serena starts to realise that far from being the stony-faced, one dimensional businessman that he likes to portray himself as, Hew is a closet Romantic with an artistic side that he keeps very carefully concealed. 

Running the gauntlet of scandal, intrigue, fortune hunters and the malicious harpies of the ton, enjoy the trials and tribulations of love within the Ruling Class during the 1820's with Hew and Serena, in

Lady Serena's Secret

now available as a e-book at Amazon, here.