Thursday Throwback: The Other Side of The Bridge

This was the first historical timeslip I did, and I really enjoyed researching the setting of Greece in WW2, and in particular the involvement of the British SOE in the Greek Resistance. In present day, newly separated Ava Lancet moves to her grandmother's farmhouse in a small village in the mountains of Greece and discovers the mystery surrounding her grandmother's life... and how her grandmother's courage can teach her to face up to things in her own life.

I'm revisiting it today because it has been refreshed with the older cover, one I've always liked. What do you think? You can buy it here.

Tuesday Treasure: Gillian Bradshaw

I have only a few go-to authors, the auto-buy, read-when-I'm--in-a-funk type authors, and Gillian Bradshaw is at the very top of that list. She writes mainly historical novels set in the ancient Roman world, although she has also done a duet set in the English Civil War, as well as a series about King Arthur. She's also written a few books set in the Byzantine period. She hasn't written anything in a few years, which is sad, but her books are worth reading more than once, and I've read my favourites several times. Her novels are, for me, the perfect mix of historical research, interesting characters, intriguing conflict, and with a little romance thrown in.

If you're new to Gillian Bradshaw, I recommend Render unto Caesar, which is about a Greek collecting a debt from a Roman and is a kind of thriller; The Sand Reckoner, which is about the mathematician Archimedes and has a little romance; or, for something a little different, The Bearkeeper's Daughter, which is about the Empress Theodora in a Byzantine-era Constantinople.

Some of her books are on Kindle, but others are, unfortunately, only available through used book sellers. Still, they are well worth hunting down!

Reflections on the Pub

The other night I went to our local with a friend and as usual came across several people I know inside, making it a bit of a cheerful gauntlet to run as you chat to everyone before you get to sit down with your drink. The pub in our village is somewhat of a community centre; people gather for meals, for drinks, even for school meetings. The Village School Association has long held its meetings for parents and teachers in the pub, most people with a pint in hand. Very civilised, I say.

I don't go to the pub very often; at most every three months or so. The last time I went I was waiting outside for my friend when a dear lady walked by with her dogs and, eyes twinkling, said "The vicar's wife standing outside the pub! That's one for the books!"

Another time I managed to go to the pub without seeing anyone I knew inside; my friend and I had a nice chat and the next morning, on the school run, a different friend came toward me, finger wagging. "You were seen in the pub last night!" I stared at her, flummoxed. "Who saw me?" I demanded. It turned out I'd missed the person who knew me sitting in the corner. News travels amazingly fast in a village like ours. I've barely thought something myself before someone else seems to know.

In my novel Rainy Day Sisters, set in the fictional village of Hartley-by-the-Sea, I've named the pub The Hangman's Noose and it is modelled on the pub in our village, but with a more atmospheric name! I did an Internet search of some of the most interesting pubs in England and here is a selection:

The Signal Box in Cleethorpes, which is in an actual signal box, and at 8' by 8' is the smallest pub in England:

Then there's The Crooked House in Dudley, which is indeed quite crooked:

Some other pubs with interesting names are: Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, The Blind Beggar, Dirty Dick's, Bag O'Nails, The Bird and Baby (also known as The Eagle and Child, in Oxford), The Dirty Habit and, here's an oxymoron, The Jolly Taxpayer.

In the village where we're moving to, our local will be called The Shaven Crown, which is a reference to a monk's tonsure from days of old. It looks quite spacious and comfy (we've been there for lunch) with vaulted ceilings and open fires. But I'll miss the cozy, crazy warmth of our current local, and the fact that when I go in everyone (almost) knows my name.