Saturday 7 March 2015

Update on New Release and the joys of a Collaborative Anthology



This is a collection of Georgian and Regency novellas, and all written with a charitable aim in mind, which means all the royalties will go to a chosen charity.
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The actual getting together  for a collaborative working relationship is just the first stage in finding like-minded people, more especially when the participants are from all around the globe and not one member of the group has met the other in person. Trust is a major factor, but as the group slowly bond so mutual support from within builds, and almost every aspect of the process becomes enjoyable as the project proceeds. 
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In the early stages of our anthology characters came to light and names were cross-referenced, and thereby namesakes cropping up in different storylines saved the anthology from falling foul to the unmentionable of a Lady Jane Marchment in one story, and a Miss Jane Whitcombe stepping out in another story. Admittedly Jane is a common enough name for the eras depicted, but two Jane's in the same anthology . . . Well, simply put, we were not at home to Mr Cockup.    
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As always in writing stories, blood was sweated, tears were almost shed, laughter arose from amusing quips, and we came through with  a Sensual blend of Chocolate, Romance, Murder and Mystery at "Masqueraders".

The background setting is the beautiful City of Bath, famous for its Roman Spa, its Abbey, its Pump Room; Assembly Rooms, and Sally Lunn’s bun shop. The city itself has been made famous within the literary world by the likes of Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, and other authors of Georgian and Regency historical novels. Thus Bath is renowned as a place for intrigue and romance, but few readers will have stepped across the threshold of Masqueraders’, a notorious and fashionable Chocolate House, that existed within the city from 1700 to the latter part of the reign of William IV. What happened to it thereafter, no one knows, for sure. Nor does anyone know why Sally Lunn’s bun shop disappeared in the mid 1700s  and remained undiscovered for decades until renovation work and the old ovens were rediscovered behind panelling in the 20th century.

So it could be said, essence of chocolate drifting on the ether denotes where the seemingly mystical Masqueraders’ once existed, and it is that spiritual essence that has brought authors together from around the globe, to pen a delightful collection of Georgian & Regency romances, that are, all, in some way, linked to The Chocolate House. We sincerely hope you will enjoy the individual stories, and be assured all the royalties earned will be donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London.

The stories:
A Rose by Any Other – Giselle Marks.
A Fatal Connection – Elizabeth Bailey
The Runaway Duchess – Francine Howarth
Death at the Chocolate House – Susan Ruth
A-Pig-in-a-Poke – Jessica Schira
A Little Chocolate in the Morning – David W. Wilkin.

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