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I am moving my blog to http://alisonstuart.blogspot.com/

Please join me over there!

Alison 

A few of us have been playing with the idea of character interviews. It's a fun way to promote a book, particularly as any good writer should know their characters inside out. So here, for fun, is an interview with Jonathan Thornton, hero of BY THE SWORD...

Interview with Sir Jonathan Thornton Bt. at Seven Ways Hall, Worcestershire.

JT:  Are we on?

AS:  Let me adjust that microphone…going live…

AS:  Sir Jonathan Thornton, welcome.   It’s  1660 and London is buzzing with the news that the King is to be restored to the throne. As a loyal supporter of the royalist cause how do you feel about that?

JT : Well, delighted, of course. It’s been a hard time for those of us who remained loyal to the King.

AS:  In what way?

JT: Our estates have been subject to heavy fines and the continual threat of sequestration. As an outlaw, had I inherited Seven Ways on my grandfather’s death, the entire estate would have been forfeit.

AS: But didn’t your grandfather find a solution to that problem?

JT:  He did. The old fox left it to my young cousin, Tom Ashley, but even the Ashley family’s parliamentary connections couldn’t entirely prevent the privations of the last few years.  Of course, my marriage to his mother didn’t help much either.

AS:  There were those of us who were surprised at your decision to settle down with Kate. You had, how can I put it,  a wild youth?

JT:  I can’t deny that I was the cause of my parent’s despair on more than one occasion.  My mother , god rest her, never recovered from that troop of Parliamentary horse trampling her garden and ruining her orchard. Of course I look back now and regret that I never really made peace with my parents before they died.

AS: Any other regrets?

JT:  Of course I have regrets. I’ve always had a tendency to act with my heart rather than my head and people I care about have got hurt in the process, badly hurt. Thank heavens for the wisdom of age and the love of a good woman to knock some sense into me.

AS:  I presume you are talking about Kate?

JT:  Of course.

AS:  And how did you meet Kate?

JT:  She was working in the garden at Seven Ways. I’ll never forget it. She wore an old, shabby gown and a battered straw hat. I thought I’d never seen a woman look quite so lovely.  At the time I had a price on my head and no intention of falling in love. That’s what I mean about my heart ruling the head.  Talk about a doomed relationship.

AS:  But you managed to overcome the problems?

JT:  We did, but our happiness came at a price. If you have a little time to spare, let me tell you the story….

Read Jonathan and Kate’s story in BY THE SWORD by Alison Stuart. Available from Wings Press http://www.wingsepress.com.

For more information on the period, how the story came to be written and to read an excerpt go to  http://www.alisonstuart.com

My second novel, BY THE SWORD, was released on 1 September, and as usual I am a month behind in catching up with my blog.

What people are saying about BY THE SWORD: "By The Sword was one of the most moving and powerful books I have read in a very long time. You could actually feel the struggle these two characters had to endure to be together. Alison Stuart really drove home how hard it was for people of that time especially woman to survive. Her book felt so real that I wondered if anyone living today could ever cope with the way life was back then. This book pulls at your heart strings and you hold your breath until the very end praying for these two characters." (5 cups - Coffeetime Romance).

I think there is always a fear with a second novel that it won't quite live up to the expectations of your first novel, so I was thrilled to receive this review.

Next Saturday I am holding a Book Launch/Fundraiser for both books. The proceeds of the afternoon will go to the International Women's Development Agency to support the work of the Karen Women's Association's Leadership School in Mae Ra Moe refugee camp on the Thai Burma Border. http://www.iwda.org.au/wp/2000/01/01/kwo/ 

For those of you have read my website, you will know I made a visit to this school in 2006 and it is very dear to my heart. "Teacher, do not forget me." http://www.alisonstuart.com/travels.html#teacher

If you are following the terrible events in Burma, you will know that the brutal suppression of the innocent civilians, particularly the ethnic minorities, continues and I have no doubt that the refugees are pouring across the border into Thailand as I write this. They will bring with them tales of terror, rape and murder, such as we heard on our journey to the refugee camps. Please hold the people of Burma in your hearts when you pray.

Alison

Just coming back down to earth after the 2007 Romance Writers of Australia Conference.  This weekend is one of the highlights of my year. A chance to catch up with friends and to be energised about writing. As usual I have come away talked and hugged out!

This year's keynote speaker was the wonderful Jennifer Crusie who, as well as being an inspiring teacher has a wonderful, dry sense of humour.  Accompanying her was my namesake Anne Stuart a writer of dark regencies. Being so far away from the US, having writers of this calibre is a real treat. But we can't ignore our own fabulous writers and the ranks of Australian authors grows every year.

What is even more exciting is that press coverage this year moved markedly from the giggle and snigger write up the Romance Writers have received in past years. We were delighted to meet Reuters journalist Jane Lee who did this piece on the conference. http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSSYD26754220070813?pageNumber=1

But for me the highlight of the weekend was my utter surprise at being made an Honorary Member of Romance Writers of Australia. My badge was presented by the beautiful Emma Darcy who I first met as a fledgeling writer when my manuscript of what is now BY THE SWORD finalled in the Emma Darcy Award.