As time passes we seem to understand events better.... Historical perspectives ...
FROM THIS DAY IN HISTORY DECEMBER 29 1890
U.S. Army massacres Indians at Wounded Knee
On this day in 1890, in the final chapter of America’s long Indian wars, the U.S. Cavalry kills 146 Sioux at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Throughout 1890, the U.S. government worried about the increasing influence at Pine Ridge of the Ghost Dance spiritual movement, which taught that Indians had been defeated and confined to reservations because they had angered the gods by abandoning their traditional customs. Many Sioux believed that if they practiced the Ghost Dance and rejected the ways of the white man, the gods would create the world anew and destroy all non-believers, including non-Indians. On December 15, 1890, reservation police tried to arrest Sitting Bull, the famous Sioux chief, who they mistakenly believed was a Ghost Dancer, and killed him in the process, increasing the tensions at Pine Ridge.
David Lawlor’sA TIMEFOR TRAITORShas it all. Liam Mannion and his fiancée Kate are part of the IRA
at a time during a truce that is not welcome by all. I absolutely loved this
book. It reads like a fabulous Jack Higgins novel; with its own voice and a bit
more history which I personally find makes this book that much better than a
Higgins.
I
learned few things Prime Minister Lloyd George and Irish leader Michael Collins
that I did not know. I love that, when a
book entertains me and also piques my curiosity about historical figures to the
point that I even lookup thing or two and find that it was historically accurate.
I
learned a few words as the book is in British English from the vernacular of
the era, which pulled me right in as a reader. The book begins in 1921 and
takes the reader between London and Ireland for a full year. The narrative
flows with ease and surprises abound. Once the traitors are revealed it makes
perfect sense; but some of them I was truly surprised and did not see it
coming.
It has
romance, action and adventure. The characters are deep, as a reader you feel
their emotions and root for the good guys; which is of course always a matter
of perspective.
The
setting, the characters, the era the turmoil are a perfect backdrop to weave in
traitors and this book does it beautifully. I wish I had more than five stars;
this book is a most worthwhile read.
I
believe that the story conveyed so much without having to use explicit violence
and no explicit sex, while still making it all very real and believable. This
book keeps you entertained and on your toes to the very last line.
It's 1921, and LIAM MANNION is embroiled in the murky world of informers and spies; the IRA has announced a truce, and the British and Irish leaderships are taking their first tentative steps toward signing a treaty.
Liam and his fiancee, KATE, are tasked with finding republican rotten apples, some of whom are intent on foiling the fledgling peace talks. For Kate, the Brigade Intelligence Officer, that means asking awkward questions of trusted allies – questions that reveal a traitor. For Liam, it means travelling to London and collaborating with the British police to find a killer.
As the search unfolds, a devastating revelation from Liam's past will make the hunt more personal--and deadly--than even he could imagine.
DAVID LAWLOR is an Associate Editor of The Herald newspaper in Ireland, David has written three historical fiction novels, Tan, The Golden Grave an A Time of Traitors, set in the 1920s during the Irish War of Independence and following the character Liam Mannion.
The way I view my writing projects is this: I see myself, standing on the shoulders of me (the way I was at the end of last project), standing on the shoulders of me (the way I was at the end of the project before that.) With every new book, I bring all the experience I have gained and take my new project to a higher place. So the newest release--The Music of Us--is based on a lot of research, the way I always do for my historical fiction books, but this time it is the first book that can be classified as romance.
What happened, you ask? What made me change course into a new genre? Well, too things: First, I always enjoy stretching the envelope of what I do, just like in my art, where I do bronze sculptures, oil paintings, watercolors, mixed media, paper engineering and anything beyond that... And second, I was compelled by my characters: coming out of a previous book in my Sill Life with Memories series, they demanded that I take them back to WWII, when their love story began.
The story starts and ends with reflection, looking back into the past. Let me share an excerpt with you.
So much has happened since the time we met, the time of our happiness. So many twists and turns during years of war and years of peace. We made promises to each other, promises that were bigger than what we could keep, which made us rise to our better selves, striving to fulfill them.
It also made for a lifelong struggle. She started out as a rising star, and I—a soldier. Her aspirations were different from mine, so we had to learn how to bridge our differences.
Some of our memories are full of joy. I bring them gently into mind. Others swoop out of nowhere to startle me.
And of all these moments, the ones that are dearest, most precious to me come from the very beginning. The first time I saw her. The first letter she wrote to me. Our first date. First kiss. The first time I made love to her.
And through it all, a great yearning.
My novel is one of 12 full-length novels written by bestselling, multiple award winning, USA Today and NY Times authors. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by so much talent, and to enjoy the creative collaboration to produce this boxed set.
My thanks to the ever generous Catalina for inviting
me to share some of the behind the scenes action to my latest book Tales from
the Garden.
Catalina often sends me links on Facebook to cat videos
as she knows that I am suffering currently from a lack of four legged
companions. So, I thought that I would reveal a little more about one of the
characters who does not usually live in the garden, but by the side of my
fireplace.
‘Felis silvestris catus was
descended from the royal cats of ancient Egypt and had wandered into this
garden in Spain many years ago.He said
little but when he did speak it was always profound and the words valuable.’
In fact Felis had a very different beginning. He was a
gift one Christmas from our dog Sam to my mother. I had seen the cat in a shop
window and was at the time aiming to buy an extra present for Mollie so that
she had plenty to open on the day. At ninety at the time she was very keen on Christmas
and loved the whole concept of cards and gifts.
She loved her black cat and it sat in pride of place
by the side of her gas fire until she died five years later and she always
referred to it as Sam's cat. I brought him back to Spain with me and he sits by
my own fireplace very happily.
Felis only has a fleeting role in the tales in this
collection but I will be taking him with us when we move back to Ireland and
hope to give him a more pivotal role in the next book.
This collection of fairy stories was my surprise book
of the year and I am so delighted with the response to its release.
Tales from the Garden is a collection of fairy stories
and 80 illustrations, for children of all ages, from five to ninety-five that
will change the way you look at your garden forever.
The tales reveal the secrets that are hidden beneath
hedges and trees and you will discover what really happens at night as you
sleep unaware in your bed. Stone statues and those hidden worlds within the
earth are about to share their stories.
There are wicked witches, mischievous dwarves who also
spend too much in the sneezeweed patch. Dragons, handsome fairy princes and
wayward ladies of the court. The garden is a magic sanctuary and those in danger
find their way through the gates to find protection.
The guardians who have kept this sanctuary safe for
over fifty years will allow you to peek behind the scenes of this magical
place. They will take you on a journey through time and expand your horizons as
they transport you to the land of fairies, butterflies and lost souls who have
found a home here.
Sally Cronin spent a number of years in each of the
following industries – Retail, Advertising and Telecommunications, Radio &
Television; and has taken a great deal of inspiration from each.
She has written short stories and poetry since a very
young age and contributed to media in the UK and Spain. In 1996 Sally began
studying nutrition to inspire her to lose 150 lbs and her first book, Size
Matters published in 2001, told the story of that journey back to health.
This was followed by another seven books across a number of genres including
health, humour and romance. These include Just Food For Health, Size
Matters, Just an Odd Job Girl, Sam, A Shaggy Dog Story, Flights of Fancy
anthology, Turning Back the Clock and Media Training.
For the last two years Sally has written a daily blog
covering the subjects close to her heart including writing, health and music:
Smorgasbord Invitation – Variety is the Spice of Life. You can link to it from
here: smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com.
A Decent Woman is historical, folkloric, transformative book. The storyline is clever and smart, simply put a fabulous story. Where there is suffering, poverty and hardship with beautiful writing the book sheds light and hope. The writing is indeed so beautiful that I found myself re-reading some sentences because they impacted me so. In the face of suffering friends support each other in a most loving way.
The book addresses hard subjects and I fact checked, this is an impressively researched piece, weaving in the historical data makes the story real and palpable. I found particularly interesting how clever the wide variety of characters who ranged in such a wide spectrum of the socio-economic strata developed; Complex characters full of depth that allowed for the story to surprise me as a reader.
The folklore both from the Caribbean and Africa was fascinating. I felt it gave added depth to the characters, especially Ana. The secrets of her past unravel in a clever way; this book is well written, clever and as with fantastic fiction very believable.
I have only visited Puerto Rico once years ago, this book made me long to make the next visit soon targeting history and folklore.
