WordCrafter News
Posted: January 30, 2023 Filed under: Anthology, Books, Dark Fantasy, Fiction, Ghost Stories, Historical Fiction, Kickstarter, Short Fiction, Stories, Western, Women's Fiction, WordCrafter Press, Writing | Tags: Anthology, Dark Fantasy, Delilah, Historical Fiction, horror, Kaye Lynne Booth, Kickstarter, Paranormal, Poetry, Poetry Treasures 3: Passions, Short Fiction, Short Fiction Contest, Western, Women's Fiction, WordCrafter Press, Writing Contest, Writing to be Read 4 Comments
Kickstarter for Delilah
Today is the last day that you can show your support for Delilah and the Women in the West adventure series. Tomorrow is the last day of the campaign, and it doesn’t look as if it will reach my $500 funding goal. The project is currently only (63%) funded, but there’s still time for you to show your support and get some of the cool rewards and add-ons offered. With your support, we could still fund the project. So please, back my Kickstarter for Delilah, if you will.
When the campaign ends, you will still be able to pre-order the book, for a higher price, and get it on its March 21st release date, but if you support the Kickstarter campaign, you can get an early digital copy, a signed print copy, and even a chance to name a character in Sarah: Book 2. There’s also short stories, audio stories and an interview with Delilah available as add-ons. So click on the link below and drop in to see what you can get, and support me and Delilah.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kayelynnebooth-wcp/delilah-women-in-the-west-adventure-series
Thanks to those who are already backing the campaign. Thanks to all of you who maybe couldn’t back the campaign, but still shared the link around on social media in an effort to help. All support is greatly appreciated.
If you miss the Kickstarter, you can still pre-order the book from your favorite book distributor here: https://books2read.com/DelilahWIW
Open submissions call
2023 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest is open to submissions with an April 30 deadline. The theme is scary stuff in paranormal, dark fantasy or horror, and the winning story will have a guaranteed spot in this year’s anthology, alongside all the stories by invitation. You can find the full submission guidelines here.
Poetry Treasures 3 in 2023
The edition of Poetry Treasures 3 is currently in the works. We will be aiming for an April release date. It will feature the author/post guests from the 2022 Treasuring Poetry blog series and it will be compiled and edited by Robbie Cheadle and myself. The 2023 theme will be Passions, and I think it will turn out to be an impressive volume.
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Delilah and I need your support
Posted: January 2, 2023 Filed under: Book Promotion, Books, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Kickstarter, Western, Women's Fiction, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Delilah, Historical Fiction, Kaye Lynne Booth, Kickstarter, Western, Women in the West adventure series, Women's Fiction, WordCrafter Press 7 Comments
The Kickstarter for Delilah and the Women in the West adventure series starts today and we need your support. You can show your support for as little as five dollars, and recieve a digital copy of the book in return. And there are signed print copies and other great rewards for the higher levels of support as well, including plus some pretty cool add-ons that I’m excited to share with you. I’m asking each one of you to click on the link below and check it out.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kayelynnebooth-wcp/delilah-women-in-the-west-adventure-series
Some of you may know why this book is so special to me, but I’ll briefly tell you, in case you don’t. Delilah was the first book I ever wrote. It started as an assignment meant to get me to write outside my comfort zone, and turned out to be a genre I truly enjoy writing. After I got it written, I received some feedback that caused me to make changes that affected the second half of the book.I had it in a publisher’s hands for five years, but they didn’t do a whole lotto promote it and they only sold a few copies. I tried two different covers for it, including one that I designed myself, and if I’m honest, they were both pretty awful.
When the contract was up, I got my rights back, revised the book to reflect the original story, and began developing the idea for this series. In the Women in the West adventure series, each book features a strong female protagonist and cameo appearances by bold historical female characters for a Western Women’s Historical Fiction series which may be the first of its kind. At this time, there are three books planned: Delilah the tale of a woman who overcomes all odds in the Colorado frontier as she sets out to avenge the wrongs done to her and rescue Sarah, her ward who was abducted. Sarah’s story after being traded to the Utes makes up the second book. The heroine of the third book, Marta, is a Mormon woman who we also met in Delilah, and her story tells us her fate after being abducted by the Utes and then returned to civilization.
Women in the West is going to be a great series. Delilah is scheduled for release on March 21, 2023, but Kickstarter supporters will recieve their digital copies early and for less than the 5.99 retail price. So please drop by and see what all the fuss is about. If a Kickstarter campaign doesn’t fund, or meet it’s goal, the creator doesn’t get anything, so your support will be greatly appreciated. I think Delilah is a wonderful story, which readers of westerns, historical fiction, or womens fiction will enjoy. Please come on over and join the campaign today.
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Kickstarter for Delilah coming in January
Posted: December 12, 2022 Filed under: Adventure, Book Event, Book Promotion, Book Release, Books, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Kickstarter, Western, Women's Fiction, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Delilah, Historical Fiction, Kaye Lynne Booth, Western, Women in the West adventure series, Women's Fiction, WordCrafter Press 2 Comments
Exciting News!
The re-release of Delilah is scheduled for March 21, 2023, from WordCrafter Press. After almost a year of revisions, this isn’t just a ‘slap a new cover on and call it good’ type of release. This is the story of Delilah as it was originally intended, and it’s being launched as the first book in my new Women in the West adventure series!
It all starts with Delilah
Books 2 & 3 in the series will feature the stories of Sarah and Marta, who are introduced in Delilah, but both have stories of their own worthy of telling. They will be released in 2024 & 2025 respectively. I am truly excited about this new series, which features strong female protagonists and strong historical women in supporting roles.
Delilah is available for pre-order now: https://books2read.com/DelilahWIW
The Book
Delilah is a woman haunted by her past.
Her homecoming from prison quickly turns into a quest for vengeance when she is brutally raped and left for dead, and her fourteen-year-old ward is abducted. Sheer will and determination take this tough and gritty heroine up against wild beasts of the forest, Indians and outlaws to Leadville, Colorado, where she .
Can the colorful inhabitants of the Colorado mining town work their way into Delilah’s heart, offering a chance for a future she thought she’d lost along with her innocence?
If you like strong and capable female protagonists, you’ll love Delilah.
Upcoming Kickstarter Campaign
To bring in 2023 right, I will be running a Kickstarter campaign for Delilah January 2 – 31. It’s my very first Kickstarter, so I’m starting out small, with a goal of $500. The money raised will be used to improve covers and to fulfill the wonderful rewards which will be offered.There will be lots of great stuff offered, and I need all the support I can get, so I hope you all will drop by and show your support.
When you support my Kickstarter at any level you get an early digital copy of Delilah, which will be delivered before the March 21st release date, and there will also be opportunity to recieve a signed print copy, or even to name a character in book 2, Sarah. You might also get access to an interview by Sara W. McBride with Delilah herself, or to an audio story narrated by me, of my flash fiction western, “I Had to Do It”, or a PDF of my western paranormal short, “Don’t Eat the Pickled Eggs”.
You can check it out now, on my Kickstarter pre-launch page, which will take you directly to the Kickstarter once it goes live. While you’re there, sign up to be notified upon launch, so you can be there on Day 1. Your support will be greatly appreciated.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kayelynnebooth-wcp/delilah-women-in-the-west-adventure-series
Kaye Lynne Booth lives, works, and plays in the mountains of Colorado. With a dual emphasis M.F.A. in Creative Writing and an M.A. in Publishing, writing is more than a passion. It’s a way of life. She’s a multi-genre author, who finds inspiration from the nature around her, and her love of the old west, and other odd and quirky things which might surprise you.
Kaye Lynne Booth lives, works, and plays in the mountains of Colorado. With a dual emphasis M.F.A. in Creative Writing and an M.A. in Publishing, writing is more than a passion. It’s a way of life. She’s a multi-genre author, who finds inspiration from the nature around her, and her love of the old west, and other odd and quirky things which might surprise you.
She has short stories featured in the following anthologies: The Collapsar Directive (“If You’re Happy and You Know It”); Relationship Add Vice (“The Devil Made Her Do It”); Nightmareland (“The Haunting in Carol’s Woods”); Whispers of the Past (“The Woman in the Water”); Spirits of the West (“Don’t Eat the Pickled Eggs”); and Where Spirits Linger (“The People Upstairs”). Her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets, and her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, are both available in both digital and print editions at most of your favorite book distributors.
In addition, she keeps up her authors’ blog, Writing to be Read, where she posts reflections on her own writing, author interviews and book reviews, along with writing tips and inspirational posts from fellow writers. Kaye Lynne has also created her own very small publishing house in WordCrafter Press, and WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services, where she offers quality author services, such as publishing, editing, and book blog tours. She has served as a judge for the Western Writers of America and sitting on the editorial team for Western State Colorado University and WordFire Press for the Gilded Glass anthology and editing Weird Tales: The Best of the Early Years 1926-27, under Kevin J. Anderson & Jonathan Maberry.
In her spare time, she is bird watching, or gardening, or just soaking up some of that Colorado sunshine.
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Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, as a sampling of her works just for joining.
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Welcome to the WordCrafter “Will Write for Wine” & “Stories I Stole From Lord Byron’s Bastard” Book Blog Tour
Posted: June 27, 2022 Filed under: Beach Reads, Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Review, Books, Fiction, Giveaways, Guest Post, Historical Fiction, Historical Inspiration, Humor, Review, Romantic Comedy, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, Writing Inspiration | Tags: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Humor, Novel, Sara W. McBride, Short Fiction, Stores I Stole From Lord Byron's Bastard, Will Write for Wine, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 15 Comments
Stories I Stole from Lord Byron’s Bastard is a collection inspired by Venetian history. The fictional character, Alexis Lynn, wrote these stories in the novel Will Write for Wine by Sara W. McBride, but they are fun stand-alone adventures to be enjoyed with an excellent glass of Italian wine.
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Welcome to the WordCrafter Will Write for Wine & Stories I Stole From Lord Byron’s Bastard Book Blog Tour. This is going to be a fun tour because we have two fabulous books to celebrate by a wonderful new author Sara W. McBride. Will Write for Wine is her debut novel about a writer, Alexis Lynn, and her funny and romantic escapades when she moves to Venice to start a new life. Stories I Stole From Lord Byron’s Bastard is the recently released short story collection and companion to the novel. Her fiction is well researched and presented with a witty flare which I find refreshing and I think you will too. I hope you’ll follow the tour and join us at each blog stop. You’ll find the schedule and links below.
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, June 27 – Opening Day Post – Writing to be Read – Guest Post: Inspiration for the Devil’s Bridge” & Review of Stories I Stole From Lord Byron’s Bastard
Tuesday, June 28 – Showers of Blessings – Guest Post: Inspiration for “Stealing Georgione’s Mistress”
Wednesday June 29 – Carla Loves to Read – Guest Post: Inspiration for “The Masked Kiss”
Thursday, June 30 – Writing to be Read – Guest Post: Inspiration for “A Dowry for Safron” & Interview with Sara W. McBride
Friday, July 1 – Zigler’s News – Guest Post: Inspiration for “The Pregnant Man” & Review of Stories I Stole From Lord Byron’s Bastard
Saturday, July 2 – Annette Rochelle Aben– – Guest Post: Inspiration for “The Haunted Palazzo”
Sunday, July 3 – Roberta Writes – Guest Post: Inspiration for “The Secret Vault”
Monday, July 4 – Wrap-Up Post – Writing to be Read – Guest Post: Inspiration for Will Write for Wine & Review of Will Write for Wine
Give-Away
In addidtion, to the awesome guests posts, interview, and reviews at each tour stop, Sara is offerin a chance to win a digital copy of each book, Will Write For Wine & Stories I Stole From Lord Byron’s Bastard. Leave a comment and click on the link below to enter for a chance to win:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d9280cae1/?
Introduction
I must begin by giving kudos to Sara W. McBride for the clever way that she has braided these seven short stories in this collection in with her debut novel, (and I’m told that she is currently working on a companion wine tasting journal). While both of these books stand alone easily, they really should be consumed together. In the novel, Will Write for Wine, we see the story of how Alexis Lynn comes to write these stories, but we don’t get to actually see the stories. For that, you must read Stories I Stole From Lord Byron’s Bastard, which offers not only the stories, but the true inspiration behind them. After reading her delightful novel, and seeing Alexis’ digging up the background for the stories and seeing Manu’s reaction to reading them, one can’t help but be curious about the actual stories and want to read the collection. It’s brilliant!
Now let me turn things over to the author, Sara W. McBride, so she can share her inspiration for the story.
https://www.puckpublishing.com
Inspiration for “Devil’s Bridge”
Guest Post by author Sara W. McBride
What inspired the story, “The Devil’s Bridge?”
The moment I saw the sign “Ponte del Diavolo,” I knew I had to write a story. At the edge of the bridge sits Palazzo Priuli, home to several Doge Priulis and is now an elegant hotel (www.hotelpriuli.com) in the Castello area of Venice. I had already been researching the tragic death of Antonio Foscarini, and then I discovered that the doge—Basically the president of Venice—who had him executed lived in the palazzo at the edge of Devil’s Bridge. It’s not often that history simply hands me a story, but there it was, burning bright in the Lancet windows of a 14th century palazzo. Here’s the real history behind the Devil-possessed Doge Priuli and his most famous victim:
Antonio Foscarini, executed on April 22, 1622, was a Venetian ambassador to London (1611-1615) and is rumored to have had an affair with King James’ Queen, Anne of Denmark. He returned to Venice during a “Spy War” with Spain and was suspected of betraying Venetian secrets to Spanish officials. Someone who knew about his affair with the Queen of England might have seeded this rumor. Upon his arrival in Venice in December 1615, he was arrested and held prisoner for three years under Doge Bembo, who uncovered the Bedmar plot which would have permitted Spanish mercenaries to march on Venice. In the midst of the crisis, Bembo died—or was possibly assassinated by the Spanish—and Doge Nicolo Donato reigned for a mere 35 days before he died. I believe he was assassinated by the Spanish, but have found no clear evidence for such a claim.
I’m considering writing a novel on the Venice/Spain Spy War of 1615-1622 because it’s super fascinating and an interesting statement on what fear does to a governing body.
Antonio Priuli (1548-1623) was elected doge in 1618 and released Foscarini in order to monitor him and his activities. Priuli was a brutal doge who arrested hundreds of innocent Venetians suspected of plotting against Venice. Was he possessed by the devil? Probably not, but how Devil’s Bridge earned its name is a mystery, so I took license and speculated that the devil enjoyed his residence at the bridge’s end.
On April 8, 1622, Foscarini, then a Senator of Venice, was arrested and accused by the Council of Ten—basically the governing body of Venice, particularly over state security matters—of meeting with ministers of foreign powers and communicating the most intimate secrets of the Venetian Republic. The evidence was weak and Foscarini denied all charges, yet he was still condemned to a public execution for high treason. Why? The answer will never be known, so I had fun speculating that perhaps a guest of his, under her own volition or persuaded by a demonically possessed doge, provided false evidence to seal his fate.
By the end of 1622, Doge Priuli showed signs of illness. In January, 1623, the same Council of Ten revoked Foscarini’s guilty verdict—Whoops, they were wrong—and reinstated the family’s honor with a posthumous exoneration. His bust and tomb can be found in the Church of San Stae in Venice. There’s more on Foscarini’s final resting place in “The Masked Kiss,” another story in this collection.
Doge Antonio Priuli died on August 12, 1623, but oddly, I am unable to locate his tomb. It’s usually pretty easy to find a doge’s tomb. I would have thought him to be buried in Santi Giovanni e Paolo (aka San Zanipolo), which houses tombs of 25 doges, but I haven’t found him there. The art and sculpture in this basilica-sized ediface is amazing! This behemoth church manages to hide on the North side of the Castello and is off the beaten tourist path, but you should definitely seek it out.
Two other Priuli doges, brothers Girolamo Priuli, 1486-1567, and Lorenzo Priuli, 1489-1559, are buried in San Salvador, but apparently there was no space remaining for their Priuli descendent, or perhaps the family just didn’t like Antonio.
Another source claims that the spy-hunting doge is buried alongside Marco Polo in the Church of San Lorenzo in the Castello district, but San Lorenzo has been closed for over a hundred years, only recently reopened, and I have not seen or read any evidence of the doge’s tomb being contained within. They couldn’t find Marco Polo either.
If you find the tomb of Venice’s 94th Doge, Antonio Priuli, please write to me at sara@puckpublishing.com. Otherwise, I’ll just have to assume he’s buried in the depths of the canal under Ponte del Diavolo.
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Stole-Lord-Byrons-Bastard-ebook/dp/B0B27TS5GL
My Review
Stories I Stole From Lord Byron’s Bastard
Stories I Stole From Lord Byron’s Bastard is a short story collection by Sara W. McBride which will tickle your sense of adventure and discovery, and perhaps, your funny bone. A companion to her debut novel, Will Write for Wine, these stories bring Venetian history to life with a personal touch of humor, adding in the missing details which historical archives and family histories only elude to. Each story is accompanied with the history and inspiration behind it, and it’s fun to see how McBride crafted in characters to transform legend to story.
Included are tales of an unsuspecting hero who gets the girl, in “The Masked Kiss”; an apprentice who betrays his master in the name of love in “Stealing Giorgione’s Mistress”; a bridge occupied by a demon, in “The Devil’s Bridge”; a nun who chooses life on a plague island over marriage in “Lazzaretto Vecchio: A Dowry for Saffron”; a smuggling operation gone awry in “The Secret Vault”; and a delightful tale of a young artist forced to masquerade as a male in order to ply her trade in “A Gentleman’s Portrait by a Pregnant Man”. But, I’d have to say my favorite story in this collection is “The Haunted Palazzo”, because I’ve always been a sucker for a good ghost story, and the mysterious specter and wet windowsill are certainly prime food for ghostly fodder.
Stories I Stole From Lord Byron’s Bastard is a collection of short historically inspired stories which are light and entertaining reads. Fun and enjoyable. I give it five quills.
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Book Review: There Will Be Consequences
Posted: June 6, 2022 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Historical Fiction, Review, Western | Tags: Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Kaye Lynne Booth, Loretta Miles Tollefson, There Will Be Consequences, Writing to be Read Leave a comment
There Will Be Consequences, by Loretta Miles Tollefson is a biographical historical novel which tells the story of 1837 New Mexico territory history from a biographical perspective, using multiple P.O.V.s. 1837-38 is a complicated period of New Mexico’s history, when rebellion broke out, which Tollefson has undertaken to portray, and she chose an effective way to illustrate all of the different perspectives. There Will Be Consequences tells the story of an historical conflict in which there were no winners.
Although I am familiar with Colorado’s history for this period, this book shows that there was a lot more going on on the western frontier than just cowboys and Indians, wagon trains and mining. This is not a tale of high adventure, but one of the backbone of this country just trying to survive, and it is filled with events that most will find astounding.
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/There-Will-Be-Consequences-Biographical/dp/1952026059
There Will Be Consequences is skillfully crafted to offer an inside look into the events of the 1837 rebellion and the resulting events. If you are familiar with this historical period and area, you’ll enjoy the thoughtful insights Tollefson offers through the different perspectives offered. If you’re not, you’ll find it all quite interesting. I give it five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth lives, works, and plays in the mountains of Colorado. With a dual emphasis M.F.A. in Creative Writing and a M.A. in Publishing, writing is more than a passion. It’s a way of life. She’s a multi-genre author, who finds inspiration from the nature around her, and her love of the old west, and other odd and quirky things which might surprise you.
She has short stories featured in the following anthologies: The Collapsar Directive (“If You’re Happy and You Know It”); Relationship Add Vice (“The Devil Made Her Do It”); Nightmareland (“The Haunting in Carol’s Woods”); Whispers of the Past (“The Woman in the Water”); Spirits of the West (“Don’t Eat the Pickled Eggs”); and Where Spirits Linger (“The People Upstairs”). Her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets, and her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, are both available in both digital and print editions at most of your favorite book distributors.
When not writing, she keeps up her author’s blog, Writing to be Read, where she posts reflections on her own writing, author interviews and book reviews, along with writing tips and inspirational posts from fellow writers. In addition to creating her own very small publishing house in WordCrafter Press, she offers quality author services, such as editing, social media & book promotion, and online writing courses through WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services. As well as serving as judge for the Western Writers of America and sitting on the editorial team for Western State Colorado University and WordFire Press for the Gilded Glass anthology and editing Weird Tales: The Best of the Early Years 1926-27, under Kevin J. Anderson & Jonathan Maberry.
In her spare time, she is bird watching, or gardening, or just soaking up some of that Colorado sunshine.
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Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, as a sampling of her works just for joining.
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Review: Bats, Bandits & Buggies
Posted: December 13, 2021 Filed under: Book Review, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Review | Tags: Bats Bandits & Buggies, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction, Nancy Oswald, Ruby and MAude Adventures, Writing to be Read 5 Comments
Bats, Bandits & Buggies, by Nancy Oswald was the light, entertaining read I needed after two months of serious short story selection for two separate anthology collections. A thoroughly enjoyable read, this book is a nonstop adventure that is sure to put a smile on the face of readers of all ages, not unlike the other books in her Ruby and Maude Adventure series, featuring a young girl named Ruby and her ice cream loving donkey, Maude.
In the first book of the series, Rescue in Poverty Gulch, Ruby and Maude come to Cripple Creek, Colorado in the 1800’s, but over the series the cast of characters has grown to include a cat named Trouble and a young donkey named Willie, and they’ve all moved down the mountain to Colorado Springs. But, trouble always seems to find Ruby and her friends in a whirlwind of seemingly unrelated events, which somehow leads to danger.
In Bats, Bandits & Buggies, Ruby and Maude set out to go into business offering buggy rides around Colorado Springs. But, when Ruby tries to help her friend Roy earn the money to pay his aunt for a book that was ruined, she finds herself with an uninvited partner. As Ruby trains Maude to pull the buggy and set forth on their new business venture, odd occurrences lead her to believe that something strange is going on in Colorado Springs. First, someone abducted her cat, Trouble, while Ruby was napping; then there’s the string of recent robberies in which the bandits leave the store with the stolen merchandise and mysteriously disappear; and then there’s Roy’s peculiar aunt, who seems to be taking advantage of her young nephew, and alternates her mood faster than you can blink your eye. Ruby isn’t sure what is really going on, but she’s determined to find out.
If you want to know more, you’ll have to buy this delightful book, for you won’t find spoilers here. But I will say that Bats, Bandits & Buggies is a purely fun read, all the way through. The pacing is wonderful, carrying the reader pleasantly moving along through the story, and the characters are delightful. I give it five quills.
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Bats-Bandits-Buggies-Maude-Adventure/dp/1737754800
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Kaye Lynne Booth offers honest reviews in exchange for a copy of the book. If you have a book you would like a review for, contact her at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Growing bookworms: The importance of historical fiction for kids
Posted: May 12, 2021 Filed under: Books, Children's Books, Fiction, Growing Bookworms, Historical Fiction, Reading | Tags: #Reading #Childrensfiction, Growing Bookworms, Historical Fiction, Reading, Robbie Cheadle, Writing to be Read 55 Comments
When I was in high school, history was an unpopular subject. It was so unpopular, in fact, that when the time came for the Grade 9’s to chose their subjects for Grade’s 10 to 12, the school paired history with typing, home economics and business economics so that the girls who chose this less academic combination were compelled to take history. This was how I ended up in a history class with mainly girls who hated the subject. I loved history and I took it through choice. My other subjects were maths, accountancy, and science. In South Africa, English and Afrikaans were compulsory subjects at the time.
I never really understood why my peers didn’t like history as it was a subject always loved. I’ve said it here before, however, that I was a very wide reader from a very young age and I read a lot of books set in the past. Among my favourite books by a South African author, were the collections of short stories by Herman Charles Bosman. This is what Wikipedia has to say about Herman Charles Bosman:
Herman Charles Bosman (5 February 1905 – 14 October 1951) is widely regarded as South Africa’s greatest short-story writer. He studied the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain and developed a style emphasizing the use of satire. His English-language works utilize primarily Afrikaner characters and highlight the many contradictions in Afrikaner society during the first half of the twentieth century.
On reflection, I realised that I have acquired a love of history because all the books I had read allowed me to include the facts and dates I learned into the fascinating backdrop I had acquired of life at the time. I could visualise the homes, lives, and loves of the Afrikaner people I learned about during the sections on the Great Trek and the Boers wars though my reading of Charles Bosman’s works. I also read books by South African Boer War veteran, Deneys Reitz.
My learning of international history including the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution (including the Luddite uprisings), and the Tudor period were coloured by my reading of certain books, in particular, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, and Shirley and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I found it easy to remember my history because I entwined it with my understanding of life at the times as presented by these great novels.
I was delighted when I discovered that history is a popular subject at the college for boys my sons both attend. Gregory chose to take history to matric (along with IT, maths, advanced maths and science which shows that its mixes well with any subject combination) and Michael looks set to follow in his footsteps.
I am bowled over by their history curriculum and the amazing why they learn about the past through source documents, cartoons, and many other interactive and interesting modes compared to my school days of rote learning. My sons are also taught history from the perspective of how historical events have influenced the present which makes this subject a lot more useful. It helps them to see how people’s actions and reactions have set the path for the future and resulted in both the good and bad in society we see today.
I believe it is vital for kids to understand history in an expansive and wide context so that they can value the freedoms and benefits their forefathers fought and die to leave as their legacy. For example, what young girl would not value her vote if she knew about the suffering and hardships of the suffragettes who paved the way for the achievement of this equality for women.
I wonder how many British children know that compulsory education for children aged 5 to 14 years was only introduced in 1918. How many American children know that compulsory education laws were only passed by 1900 and then only in 32 states, with the other states following by 1930. 1930! That’s less than 100 years ago.
Modern children are so fortunate to have an education and the opportunities for self improvement that come with it. It isn’t equal for all yet, but there are lots of people who believe passionately in educating children and who work really hard to implement change and improvements in education.
Understanding and learning about real people in a historical context makes their passions, sufferings and beliefs so much more compelling. It is difficult to hold on to prejudice if you’ve read novels like I am David by Anne Holm, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, and Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Patton.
Historical books also teach children interesting information about how people survived in the past. I’ve always remembered the chapter from Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder when Pa cleaned his gun and made bullets. There is also a chapter about how Ma made butter and coloured it yellow. Little House on the Prairie has a scene when Ma is helping Pa build their new log cabin and a log falls on her foot. The difficulties and dangers of life on the frontier were illustrated; there was no help to be had for an injury or if the family fell ill.
I learned a lot about the limitations of medical knowledge in the mid to late 1800s through my reading of the What Katy Did series by Susan Coolidge. I will never forget Katy falling out of the swing or Amy contracting, and nearly dying from, Roman fever. Such scenes induce great feelings of empathy and compassion in the reader.
It is for all these compelling reasons that I wrote While the Bombs Fell, a fictionalised biography of my mom’s life as a young girl growing up in a small English town during World War II. I wanted to capture and preserve her memories of life for ordinary people living through this extraordinary time so that others, children in particular, could read it and remember how life was during that time.
What are your thoughts about historical fiction for both children and adults? Do you see value in learning about history in through a good story?
About Robbie Cheadle
Robbie Cheadle is a children’s author and poet.
The Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie has also published books for older children which incorporate recipes that are relevant to the storylines.
Robbie writes a monthly series for https://writingtoberead.com called Growing Bookworms. This series discusses different topics relating to the benefits of reading to children.
Robbie has a blog, https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/ where she shares book reviews, recipes, author interviews, and poetry.
Find Robbie Cheadle
Blog: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Blog: robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com
Twitter: BakeandWrite
Instagram: Robbie Cheadle – Instagram
Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books
Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “Growing Bookworms” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress.
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Day #5 wraps up the 2021 WordCrafter “A Ghost and His Gold” Book Blog Tour
Posted: April 24, 2021 Filed under: Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Books, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: A Ghost and His Gold, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Paranormal Historical, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 5 Comments
This week we’ve had a wonderful tour for the paranormal historical novel, A Ghost and His Gold, by Roberta Eaton Cheadle. The author of this wonderful book prepared a guest post, including an extract, for each stop, and we also had two beaming reviews and a fun and entertaining author profile.
If you missed any of the stops, you can find the links below. You can still stop by and learn more about this exceptional work of literature. We’d love to see you there.
Day 1 brought us a glimpse of the inspiration and history behind this fascinating story and my review of the book, here on Writing to be Read.
Day 2 introduced us to one of the author’s favorite characters, Peiter Van Zyl, a Boer commando, who represents one aspect of the history portrayed in this cleverly crafted tale. It is on Writing to be Read, as well, (due to technical difficulties on Patty’s World, but I’m told she’ll be posting something special on her new blog site on Wednesday, so be watching for that).
Day 3 brought us a delicious recipe for a traditional South African dish, which is eaten by the characters in the story, showing historical accuracy and impecable research by Cheadle, on Jessica Bakker’s.
Day 4 offers insight into one of the historical figures referenced in the story, and a wonderful author profile, created from an interview with Barbara Spencer on Pictures from the Kitchen Window.
Day 5 finished off the tour with some historical background for the story’s setting and a review by Victoria Zigler on Zigler’s News.
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A Ghost and his Gold – Roberta Eaton Cheadle -Book Tour – Day 3
Posted: April 21, 2021 Filed under: Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Historical Fiction, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: A Ghost and His Gold, Historical Fiction, Paranormal Historical, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Leave a commentFor Day #3 of the WordCrafter “A Ghost and His Gold” Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Jessica Bakkers’ blog site, and author Roberta Eaton Cheadle is explaining how to prepare one of the traditional Dutch dishes that her characters share in her book. Both educational and mouth watering, this post may make your tummy rumble and your reading list grow. Come and join us.
I am lucky enough to bring to you, not only a new paranormal history book from Roberta Eaton Cheadle, but also a description of one of the historically accurate meals enjoyed by the folks in “A Ghost and his Gold”…something that sounds delicious, even if I can’t pronounce it! Enjoy and celebrate the tour with Roberta, and check out details below for a great give away offer!!
A Ghost and His Gold Give Away
Each stop on this five-day book blog tour will offer the opportunity to win a $10 Amazon gift voucher. (*Winners must be able to retrieve Amazon US gift vouchers.) Author Roberta Eaton Cheadle will also give away 2 paperback copies of A Ghost and His Gold. All you have to do to enter is drop by each tour stop and leave a comment!
The origins of potjiekos and a recipe:
The Dutch hutspot came into existence…
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Welcome to the WordCrafter “A Ghost and His Gold” Book Blog Tour & My Review
Posted: April 19, 2021 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: A Ghost and His Gold, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Paranormal Historical, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, South African History, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 47 Comments
Today is Day #1 of the WordCrafter A Ghost and His Gold Book Blog Tour with an interesting guest post by author Roberta Eaton Cheadle explaining how she came to write this wonderful paranormal historical novel. I hope you will join us at each of the tour stops because this tour has a great giveaway! Each stop on this five-day book blog tour will offer the opportunity to win a $10 Amazon gift voucher. (*Winners must be able to retrieve Amazon US gift vouchers.) Author Roberta Eaton Cheadle will also give away 2 paperback copies of A Ghost and His Gold. All you have to do to enter is drop by each tour stop and leave a comment!
And now, please welcome Roberta Eaton Cheadle as she introduces us to A Ghost and His Gold.
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How A Ghost and His Gold came to be written
A Ghost and His Gold started as a simple short story idea. I was reading up on Ouma Smuts, the wife of Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts who served as the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 to 1924 and from 1939 to 1948, when I came across an interesting ghost story involving their house.
Ouma Smuts lived with her husband and their children in a house in Irene near Pretoria, the capital of the previous Boer South African Republic (Transvaal). The house is now a museum which I have visited many times. The original tin roofed house is quite spooky with each room featuring a scene frozen in time. Jars of Ouma Smuts’ home-made preserves and pickles are still on the shelf in the pantry. There is an open book on the table in Jan Smut’s former library, a wonderful room which is lined with books from floor to ceiling.
Photo credit: https://showme.co.za/tourism/smuts-house-museum-irene-market-centurion/
It was during one of my tours of this museum that I first heard that the second-best bedroom, off the dining room, is purported to be haunted. The idea of a ghost interested me, and I decided to research it further.
The story goes that the farm ‘Doornkloof’ was originally owned by a Boer family. Their house was built on the same spot that Smuts eventually put up his house in 1909. The previous owner had fled one night during the 2nd Anglo Boer War when it became clear that the Bristish forces were marching on Pretoria and his farm was in the way. Not wanting his family to end up in a concentration camp, he buried his valuables including £30 000 worth of gold and left hurriedly, never to return. There is no word on what happened to the farmer, but it is said that his spirit still lingers in the house on his old farm.
The story of the ghostly farmer who is said to haunt the Smuts’ family home was so intriguing, I decided it needed to be told. Of course, any story about South African history is never going to stay short so it grew.
After a few months of research and writing, it was a novella of 30 000 words. At that point I sent it to my developmental editor, Esther Chilton for her review and feedback. Esther loved the story and came back with some wonderful comments that set me off on the road to further developing this story.
The history of South Africa is complex and involves more than one point of view, specifically that of the British, the Boers, and the native Africans. As I researched more about the time when the ghostly farmer lived, I discovered that the Boer and British perspectives on the Second Anglo Boer War conflict and vary. I also discovered that there is little recorded history about the involvement of the native Africans in this war.
To accommodate these different points of view and to provide a reader with a holistic overview of this war, its causes, circumstances, emotions, and the role it played in setting the stage for the future of South Africa, I decided to introduce three ghosts: Robert, the British soldier in Mafeking during the siege, Pieter, the Boer and my depiction of the “ghostly farmer”, and Estelle, Pieter’s daughter from a previous marriage to an Englishwoman.
The lack of recorded history made the inclusion of the native African perspective more difficult, but I introduced a few supporting characters who told their side of this story based on the information I managed to glean from hearsay, a thesis I discovered about the native African concentration camps, and other non-fiction and fictional works set in this period.
I hope I have done all three perspectives justice and achieved my goals of providing insight into the psychology of this terrible war.
The history is wrapped up in a paranormal tale which involves a modern couple and exposes their history and personal career mistakes which are, in many ways, a repeat of the past.
Relevant extracts from A Ghost and His Gold
The Blurb
After Tom and Michelle Cleveland move into their recently built, modern townhouse, their housewarming party is disrupted when a drunken game with an Ouija board goes wrong and summonses a sinister poltergeist, Estelle, who died in 1904.
Estelle makes her presence known in a series of terrifying events, culminating in her attacking Tom in his sleep with a knife. But, Estelle isn’t alone. Who are the shadows lurking in the background – one in an old-fashioned slouch hat and the other, a soldier, carrying a rifle?
After discovering their house has been built on the site of one of the original farms in Irene, Michelle becomes convinced that the answer to her horrifying visions lies in the past. She must unravel the stories of the three phantoms’ lives, and the circumstances surrounding their untimely deaths during the Second Anglo Boer War, in order to understand how they are tied together and why they are trapped in the world of ghosts between life and death. As the reasons behind Estelle’s malevolent behaviour towards Tom unfold, Michelle’s marriage comes under severe pressure and both their lives are threatened.
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Purchase links:
TSL Publications (paperback)
https://tslbooks.uk/product/a-ghost-and-his-gold-roberta-eaton-cheadle/
Lulu.com (ebook and paperback)
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Gold-Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/dp/1913294943
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About Roberta Eaton Cheadle
I am a South African writer specialising in historical, paranormal and horror novels and short stories. I am an avid reader in these genres and my writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, the Bronte sisters, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
I was educated at the University of South Africa where I achieved a Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1996 and a Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1997. I was admitted as a member of The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2000.
I have worked in corporate finance from 2001 until the present date and have written seven publications relating to investing in Africa. I have won several awards over my twenty year career in the category of Transactional Support Services.
I have been published a number of anthologies and have two published YA books, While the Bombs Fell and Through the Nethergate. I have recently published my first adult novel called A Ghost and His Gold which is partly set in South Africa during the Second Anglo Boer War.
Other books by Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Through the Nethergate
Margaret, a girl born with second sight, has the unique ability to bring ghosts trapped between Heaven and Hell back to life. When her parents die suddenly, she goes to live with her beloved grandfather, but the cellar of her grandfather’s ancient inn is haunted by an evil spirit of its own.
In the town of Bungay, a black dog wanders the streets, enslaving the ghosts of those who have died unnatural deaths. When Margaret arrives, these phantoms congregate at the inn, hoping she can free them from the clutches of Hugh Bigod, the 12th century ghost who has drawn them away from Heaven’s White Light in his canine guise.
With the help of her grandfather and the spirits she has befriended, Margaret sets out to defeat Hugh Bigod, only to discover he wants to use her for his own ends – to take over Hell itself.
Follow Roberta Eaton Cheadle at:
Website
https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Blog
https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19631306.Roberta_Eaton_Cheadle
https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites/?modal=admin_todo_tour
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My Review of
A Ghost and His Gold
A Ghost and His Gold, by Roberta Eaton Cheadle is a cleverly crafted story that takes three lives from the past and converges their stories within the main story, which takes place in the present. Characters with depth drive this paranormal historical novel.
When Michelle and her husband, Tom, move into a new home, her future seems to be full of promise. But strange occurances soon lead Michelle to believe that her new home is haunted, and what’s more, Tom’s life may be in danger. In her efforts to unravel the mystery of what is going on in her new home, details in the lives of three ghosts, from the time of the second Anglo Boer War, are revealed: A British soldier named Robert, a Boer commando named Peiter, and a young girl named Estelle, who harbors anger and vengence against both Tom and Michelle.
As Michelle struggles to unravel the mystery of these ghosts and how they are connected to each other and to her new home, she uncovers a mystery in her own life, one that threatens to tear her marraige apart. Can she learn the truth and find a way to help them all before the vengeful poltergeist takes Tom’s life?
Cheadle has done her homework, and the South African history related within is quite educational as well as entertaining. Readers will be riveted to their seats as the tale of each ghost is revealed, with each of their stories being equally captivating. I give A Ghost and His Gold five quills.
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