Blurb:
Accompanied
by his wife to Flanders, Josiah Tenterchilt meets a man who could not be more
different from him: an apprentice surgeon named Henry Fotherby. As these two
men pursue their own actions, fate and the careful connivance of a mysterious
individual will push them together for the rest of their lives.
But it is a tumultuous time, and
the French revolutionaries are not the only ones who pose a threat. The two
gentlemen must find their place in a world where the constraints of social
class are inescapable, and ‘slavery or abolition’ are the words on everyone’s
lips.
Beneath Black Clouds and White is
the prequel to Day's Dying Glory.
Excerpt:
“Henry, you saved so many lives,
but some men are beyond curing.”
“No, it was not that.” He turned
to face his uncle once more. “He was court martialled and shot.”
“Good lord, Henry,” he said
quickly. “Whatever for?”
“Insubordination.”
“And you defended him?” His uncle
scowled up at him and shook his head. “Do you want the revolution here in
England? King George may struggle with himself but that is no reason to
guillotine him.”
“I defended him because he was
wronged,” Fotherby replied, as calmly as he could. “He was not able to consider
his actions.”
“You cannot do it, Henry.”
“Do what?”
“Bring that into Wanderford
Hall.”
“What do you mean?” Fotherby
whispered, staring at the man before him.
“I tolerated your engagement to a
woman of no birth and no money. I accepted her and her father into this house.
But you cannot take the daughter of such a man and make her the mistress of
Wanderford Hall.”
“It is not your house to tell me
what I can and cannot do. I say that Miss Simmons shall be a fine mistress of
Wanderford Hall. How can you judge a woman on the actions of her father? I
should not care to think that I were judged on your actions simply because I am
your nephew.”
Virginia, thanks so much for
stopping by. Tell us a little about yourself.
First of all, thank you for inviting
me to share a few thoughts and ideas on my writing and books. I’m a private music teacher who, from time to
time, moonlights as an author! I live in
the far north of Scotland where I soak up the inspiration from the beautiful
landscape and the steady pace of life.
How did you get started writing?
I attribute my writing to two
factors. I grew up surrounded by some of
the most awesome – like, actually AWEsome – landscape in the whole world. It was easy to write about the connection of
land and man, or those who recognised the beauty of all things around them when
the view from your bedroom window was of a mountain rising from the sea. The hypnotic rhythm of the lighthouse, the sound
of the gulls and no traffic, and the sharp wind carrying a tangy salt spray
everywhere you went. I grew up in Orkney
before the cruise ships arrived, and it was incredible.
Secondly, and most significantly
of all, I have been encouraged from before I held a pen to create stories. My family have been tirelessly supportive of
my writing and, as every single one of them except Dad are writers, there’s no
wonder! And Dad reads more than Austen’s Mr Bennett.
What was the inspiration for your
book?
This is a tough question because
there have been so many influences.
Amongst them was our own family history research. Ancestry has become very important to me, and
it’s opened up my eyes to events I’d never really thought about. Knowing that my ancestors were present at the
D-Day landings, in the two Boer War, and even – yes that’s right! – as far back
as the tide-turning events of 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, gave me a real fascination
about military history. But I wanted to
convey not only the emotions of those who fought, but the feelings and fear of
those who stayed behind and waited for them.
Wars in history have been fought by soldiers, but they were felt as
keenly by the people who stayed at home.
I wanted to convey the battles which were faced both at home and abroad,
because the battle for Abolition (which is the root of Beneath Black Clouds and
White) was not defined by rank or class, but by everyone across society. I like to think my ancestors were pro-abolition,
but I don’t know. Writing this book
allowed me to project how the topic might have been received by them.
What’s a genre you haven’t
written in yet that you’d like to?
Years ago I wrote a crime story
which was a great plot but exceptionally shoddily written! I’d quite like to go
back to it now that I have a better grasp of language. I’d also love to feel confident writing for
children.
Are there any genres you won’t
read or write in? Why?
Being quintessentially British I can’t
bring myself to write or read erotica.
I’d never write science fiction
either because, quite honestly, I’m just not clever enough.
What are you up to now? Do you
have any releases planned, or are you still writing?
At the moment, all my writing
endeavours are linked to my MLitt dissertation, but there are two more books to
appear with these characters over the next few years. They follow the Tenterchilt and the Fotherby
families into the 1850s, where there’s a logical conclusion for them. But families never end, so perhaps they’ll be
more to come..?
The next of my writings to make
an appearance, though, is quite different! Before the end of this year I am
having an historical fantasy book serialised. It takes place in the aftermath
of Culloden but has its roots much further back in time… Watch this space!
Alright, now for some random, fun
questions. Favorite color?
Yellow all the way! There’s no
colour to match it for benefit and cheerfulness. I’ve had a yellow room now for
the past twenty years!
Favorite movie?
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves – so many
memories, so many heroics, so much fun.
Book that inspired you to become
an author?
Eeek! I’m not sure there was a
single book which led me to write my own.
One thing I do know is that I decided I wanted to be an author like G.
P. Taylor, who is always accessible to his fans. I remember contacting him and Philip Pullman’s
agent concerning my undergraduate dissertation years ago. I got a lovely, supportive reply back from G.
P. Taylor and heard absolutely nothing from Philip Pullman. So I make sure I have a contact email address
at the front of my books which I use solely for my writing, so that I’ll never
miss a message from a fan. Go on, drop
me an email! I love getting feedback and
I always try to answer any book related questions.
You have one superpower. What is
it?
Time travel. Even sticking to that golden rule of never interacting
with the people of the time, I’d love to be able to see what made people do the
things they did. Also, I’ve fallen into
the web of genealogy – if I’d known how addictive it was, I’d never have
started! We’ve got so many “brick walls” in our family tree research, I’d quite
like to be able to knock them down. So,
I’d travel back and fill in a few blanks.
I’m really interested in the unreported lives of everyday heroes, lives
which have been lost in the retelling of written history, simply because those
around these individuals couldn’t write.
You can have dinner with any 3
people, dead, alive, fictitious, etc. Who are they?
The temptation is to say Lord
Byron, who I find absolutely fascinating and inspirational. But I’m just not sure I would trust him after
the meal! So I’ll go for:
1. Robin
Hood – because there is so much I would want to know. Was it true?
Who was he first of all? Why did
he really do it?
2. Janet
Mackintosh Cayley – the chief “brick wall” in our family tree, who’s been driving
me mad for about eight years, now!
3. Athos – Because
I’m convinced he is my perfect man!
Last question: Which of your
characters are you most like and how/why?
Oh my goodness, this is a tricky
one! So many of my characters possess
certain attributes of my personality. To
pick out one single character is a bit like picking out one facial feature with
makes you look like the person you see in the mirror. They’re all so excitingly multifaceted, and
only part of them is anything like me!
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Author Bio and Links:
Virginia grew up in Orkney, using
the breath-taking scenery to fuel her imagination and the writing fire within
her. Her favourite genres to write are fantasy and historical fiction,
sometimes mixing the two together such as her soon-to-be-serialised books "Caledon".
She enjoys swashbuckling stories such as the Three Musketeers by Alexandre
Dumas and is still waiting for a screen adaption that lives up to the film!
When she's not writing, Virginia
is a music teacher in Caithness. She believes wholeheartedly in the power of
music, especially as a tool of inspiration. She also helps out with the John o'
Groats Book Festival which has just celebrated its 2nd year. Hopefully they'll
be plenty more to come!
Buy Links:
On sale for 99c during the tour.
Excerpt:
