Hello, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Virginia Crow and her new book, “Beneath Black Clouds and White”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a paperback copy of the featured book, “Beneath
Black Clouds and White.” Also, come
back daily to interact with Virginia and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Beneath Black Clouds and
White
by Virginia Crow
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GENRE: Historical Fiction
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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.
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EXCERPT TWO:
Fotherby
relinquished her hands and began running at once toward Wanderford Hall. Never
had the distance seemed so great, nor the hill so steep, but he ran on. He did
not spare a thought for Portland, nor the woman, but continued to run. If he
had not known the way or became lost amongst the trees, he had only to follow
the beacon atop the hill. As he crashed through the trees and charged across
the lawns of the Hall towards the fountain, he gave a cry at the enormous
flames that were visible through all the windows, and the thick billowing smoke
that rose from the structure. He flung himself against the timbers of the door,
but it was to no avail for they had been locked. It took him several minutes
before the door gave beneath his blows and he collapsed into the building.
He
coughed into his sleeve as he beheld the aggressive fire consuming the interior
of the house. The huge painting of his ancestors blistered and burned before
him, and he looked about for a moment before calling out to his father and
uncle. But, as he did so, the smoke caught in his throat and he began coughing
violently. Fotherby could not allow himself the time to weep but rushed back
into the house, calling his father as though he expected the old man to hear.
He rushed towards the stairs and began climbing but, three steps from the top,
the timber structure collapsed beneath him and he plunged to the floor below.
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BOOK TRAILER:
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**Beneath Black
Clouds and White is on SALE during the book tour for ONLY
$0.99!!!**
Virginia will be awarding a paperback copy of
Beneath Black Clouds and White (International Giveaway) to a randomly drawn
winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
GUEST POST:
World-building can be the most important element of your book.
What media outlets, role-models and real-life inspirations did you draw from
while writing this book?
At
some point in their lives most people have wished they could time-travel. I do on several occasions. It’s this which caused me to begin exploring
Historical Fiction as my chosen genre. When
I read through the choice of blog topics, this one stood out as being a great
opportunity to share the twisty-turny voyage I take when I’m putting my story
together.
Creating
a world which has already been proven in history is precarious. There are rules to it – after all, you can’t
change history, can you? Otherwise it
becomes a totally different genre. But
what you can do is add to history.
There are certain characters and locations in my books who were entirely
real, brushing shoulders with those who were entirely fictitious. And then there are those who are somewhere in
between.
For
example, when our hero, Henry Fotherby, goes to take his exam at Surgeons Hall
in London, his experience and perception of the building is based on that of a
young gentleman whose journal I read.
Because the building was a real building, and one that several hundreds
of people have engaged with over the course of its existence, it had to be
real. But Wanderford Hall, Fotherby’s
country house, is entirely fictious. My
visits to Buxton – Fotherby’s local town – have only ever been passing
through. Deep research into the designs
and dates of the town’s massive upgrading told me exactly how St Anne’s Well
looked, where it was within the old town, where the taverns were situated, and
the peculiar little island in the river where Fotherby has his duel. Most of my research for the places came via
the digital archives of libraries, or local directories of locations.
People
were a little bit more difficult. I
could reference figures who were seen as heroes at the time, like General
Baird, or Wellesley (who wouldn’t be promoted to Wellington for several years),
but I didn’t want the book to explore these men as characters – history has
already done that for them! Besides,
there is already so much research out there about them, it was time to redress
the balance and tell the story of the everyday heroes.
Most
of my characters were entirely made up, some even with invented names, but
there is one character in the book who bridges the gap between fiction and
fact. This person was Doctor Shipton,
who was a real physician from Buxton. I’m
a real ancestry addict and I found this gentleman listed while I was doing some
research. His characteristics and
interactions with my other characters are entirely based on what I needed from
such a character, but he was a real person.
I’m not sure if he has any living descendants but, if he does, I hope
they’re pleased with how I’ve portrayed him!
There’s
also a gap between reality and fantasy where you can sow a few seeds! When history is a bit thin on the ground with
its facts, you can fill in some of the missing pages. On one occasion in the book, a character is
referenced as an inspiration to the William Blake poem “The Little Black
Boy”. And it worked! Someone once told me that my books felt
entirely believable, and I think the reason is that I combine about 95%
historical accuracy, with 5% speculated plot.
Although the storyline is (almost) complete fiction, my characters
behave and engage as people of the time did.
So,
with the help of journals, directories, maps and censuses, Beneath Black
Clouds and White managed to bridge the precarious chasm between historical
fact and historical fiction.
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AUTHOR BIO:
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!
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CONNECT WITH VIRGINIA:
Website:
Email:
daysdyingglory@gmail.com
Facebook:
Twitter:
Smashwords Author Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
Publisher Website - Crowvus:
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BOOK BUY LINKS
& BOOK SALE INFO:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
Kobo eBook #1:
Kobo eBook #2:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
Smashwords eBook:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Virginia ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting me on your FABULOUS blog, Ally!
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDelete