RosemaryMorris.HistoricalNovelist

 Black   Magic is an interesting fantasy fiction novel, in which the main character shares his being with another entity, and an important protagonist is a vampire.        At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Goran van Hagen resigns from the army and returns to his home at the mountains in Germany. On Midsummer Eve he is drawn into a celebration at which he drinks a potion that enables Der Held, the hero of the mountain to share his body. From then on, they struggle for control. Goran is puzzled by his experiences,   an ancient crone’s description of Held.      “Sometimes the Held can be beautiful. I, myself, have seen him thus. His magic for the crops, for the herds, for the birth of strong children is most powerful, though when he is as you first saw him, with the horns, he is what the priests say is the devil. Some women offer themselves to him because of the good fortune his embrace bestows, but others simply desire to bathe in ...

  I visited Pen and Sword Publisher online and made notes of non-fiction books I would like to read. Four of the titles are:- King John's Right Hand Lady by Sharon Benett Connelly. Olaf The Vking Saint by John Carr. The Redcoats of Wellington's Light Division in the Peninsular War by Gareth Glover and Charles II's Favourite Mistress, Pretty, Witty Nell Gwyn by Sarah-Beth Watkins. Sometimes, when I read historical non-fiction a snippet gives me an idea for my next novels.

  Every time I sort out all the scribbled messages about writing in my note books I decide to deal with them quickly. I never stick to my decision. So, today, I dealt with all of them and am starting with the proverbial clean slate.

  Finding Katy held my attention from the first paragraph to the last. As I read, I was desperate to know if the mystery would be solved. After naïve sixteen-year-old Katy’s family disowned her during the first world war, she endured a living nightmare of cruelty, and did not know the whether the person she loved most lived or died.   Ms Grieve gave each of the main characters their own chapters to enable her readers to share their experiences, be with them on their journey, and reach what had seemed an impossible resolution. Several times, I needed a tissue to wipe my eyes. Katy and the other members of the cast will stay with me.   I highly recommend Finding Katy by talented novelist Ms Grieve.

 What are you reading? I read Downlands by Phillipa Gregory and am now reading A Marriage of Lions by Elizabeth Chadwick.

  I can't begin to write a new #classic #historical#romance until I choose the forenames of the main characters. I spent hours searching for the heroine's name in a novel I will submit to my publisher in 2024. Inappropriate names in fiction for an era such as Sky or Wayne annoy me. So far my characters are English. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names is very useful. Once, I wanted to call my heroine, Wendy, in a medieval novel but it was first used by J.M. Barrie in Peter Pan in 1904.