Belated Thanks to Dan Poynter’s Global Ebook Awards

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Anne Rouen

Multi-award winning World War II Historical Fiction.

I can categorically state that 2018 has been one of the hardest year of my life because, not only did I lose one of my dearest friends, my darling Dad passed away in August. The Global Ebook awards were announced on the day of his funeral. Suffice it to say that I was in no condition to appreciate them as I ought to have done.

On our journey through life we all suffer loss. All of us lose our parents unless we die young, so I know there are a lot of people who know how I feel. Your Dad is one of the two people who gave you life, nurtured and protected you until adulthood (and afterwards, as well). You have never known life without him – until now; and it is hard.

The year began badly, with a phone call from my friend, Diane, who started me on my road to publishing the Master of Illusion series. Without her inspiration and encouragement, I would never have had the courage to even publish one book, let alone four. It was with great grief I learned that she was only expected to live a few weeks.

Guardian Angel (fourth and final book of the Master of Illusion Series) was in the process of being published and I could not delay it. I hated the thought that it was due to come out at about the same time as her life was ending. I managed to change the dedication and I thank God that she lived long enough to read how much I owed to her help and support. I am a little comforted that wherever Guardian Angel goes, her name will go with it.

So, belatedly, I would like to thank the judges and administrators of the Dan Poynter 2018 Global Ebook Awards for presenting Guardian Angel with, not one, but two awards: Silver for best Historical Literary Fiction – Modern; and Bronze for Best Ebook Cover, for which I congratulate my exceptionally talented editor and designer, Felicity Matthews of Web Etch Design and Editing. I love all the covers she has designed for me and I am thrilled that her work has now received recognition.

This makes a total of four Global Ebook Awards won by the series since 2014 and once again I would like to thank the judges and administrators for their hard work and dedication to literature. It is a fitting tribute to their founder, the late Dan Poynter.

To anyone who has suffered loss, this year, I extend my sincere sympathy. I wish all my readers, friends and followers Peace and Joy at Christmas and I hope that 2019 is a much brighter year for us all.

Guardian Angel – A Dream Fulfilled.

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Anne Rouen

Guardian Angel by Anne Rouen

A big HELLO to all my lovely readers! Finally, an announcement I have been dying to make!

I am proud and excited to be able to tell you that Guardian Angel, the fourth book of my Master of Illusion series is ready to be launched on Valentine’s Day.

Thanks to all the hard work of my wonderful editor and web designer it is already available for pre-order with the major on-line book sellers. You can find it here.

I regard this book as the fulfillment of a dream; a dream that began in 2013 with the publishing of my debut novel, Master of Illusion Bk I. The dream continued with the achievement of Global ebook awards for books I and III and is now fulfilled in the publishing of Book IV. Guardian Angel was intended to be the final book in the series. But – you never know … my characters do have a way of organising things for themselves! It can be read as a stand-alone book but still fulfills my dream of publishing a series.

Guardian Angel tells the story of Nicolas de Beaulieu, the son of Angelique, my heroine in Angel of Song; a sunny-tempered, beautiful child. Though born to wealth and privilege, he grows up facing the kind of challenges that would sideline most of us. As he matures and finds love, the biggest challenge of all raises its monstrous head.

The novel is about how (with a little extra spiritual help), he finds the inner strength to face and overcome his fears and foes.

I do hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it and I would love you to tell me what you think.

Once again, I must thank my editor for all her dedication and fantastic work in editing, designing and publishing Guardian Angel. Thank you. I couldn’t do it without you. And I must also thank my dear friend to whom I have dedicated this book for her encouragement and support over the years. And, of course, to you, my dear readers, who make it all so worthwhile with your wonderful feedback, I thank you for your positive comments and awesome reviews.

The More Things Change …

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Anne Rouen

Old Postcard – WWI Era

Another year has just sped by, with its fair share of joy, sadness and inspiration, leaving me little time to catch my breath. It hardly seems possible that, a whole twelve months later, I am wondering exactly the same thing about the year that has just gone. Where? And how quickly!

One hundred years ago, my grandfather was preparing to face the worst year of his life on the Western Front, not believing that he would survive; little knowing that it was to end in an Allied victory.

Now, a century later, with my father approaching his 90^th birthday, the world has developed amazingly. Although, some would say, not for the better.

Looking, with misgiving, at the attitudes of our leaders; tensions simmering in odd little corners of the globe, with threats and posturing uncannily similar to those of pre-WWI, I realize there is one constant in our ever-changing world – human nature.

The old adage: The more things change, the more they stay the same, is just as apt now as it ever was.

I might have said that my New Year’s resolution was to have no resolutions, but I do have two. One is to publish Book IV, Guardian Angel, which will complete my Master of Illusion series. And the second is to finish the two novels I have been working on all year. The first will be accomplished very soon. For the second, I am taking inspiration as it comes. (Refer to adage, as above.)

Today, as we stand on the brink of the unknown; a bright, untrammeled new year waiting to be ushered in; I take this opportunity to wish all my readers a safe, happy, exciting and inspirational 2018.

Postcards From the Front

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Anne Rouen

Beautiful embroidered postcards from France – WWI. Photo courtesy Felicity Matthews.

Making lace and silk-embroidered postcards and souvenirs for homesick Australian soldiers became a cottage industry for many Frenchwomen during the long, hard years of World War One.

The examples sent home by my grandfather are exquisite – cards decorated with fine hand-made lace and colourful silk embroidery. Some were in the form of envelopes on the front of the card in which could be placed tiny cards, smaller than today’s business cards, with printed messages such as Merry Christmas; To my dear Wife; To my darling Son; etc.

Other items he sent home were embroidered silk stocking covers; delicate handkerchiefs; silk-painted pillow shams and antimacassars fringed with wide lace borders that gave them an appearance of luxury. One very special cushion cover had a painting of buildings on fire and was entitled, The Burning of Arras. Obviously a commemoration of one of the great tragedies of the war.

The fine hand-made lace, the sheen of the silk and the painting of these artefacts is magnificent and the fact that they are still in existence today, as bright and beautiful as ever, is a testament to both the quality of the materials and the work of these wonderful and talented Frenchwomen of the Great War.

Letter From The Front

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Anne Rouen

Letter from France 1918 with original envelope. Photo credit: thanks to Felicity Matthews.

Whilst going through some old family papers and photographs I stumbled upon a small wooden box and in it found a real treasure: a letter, dated July 6^th 1918, from my grandfather in France to my grandmother in Australia. It was dog-eared, the ink faded and the paper thin and fragile after ninety-nine years and obviously many readings. So I decided to transcribe it, eager for insight into the mind of a man writing from his camp on the Western Front, after years in a war zone, separated by time and distance from his loved ones. And as I worked, it was as if his voice reached out over almost a century and spoke to me.

I found it very sad because it is obvious that at this point in the war, my grandfather believed that one of his brothers had been killed and that he himself would most likely not survive to come home. He was not in a very positive state of mind and also felt the need to go into battle and avenge his brother’s death.

It is interesting to note that this was at the height of the escalation of World War I because the Germans had come back from the Eastern Front after the surrender of Russia and were concentrating their might against the Allies on the Western Front. No wonder he felt that it was never going to end!

I also found it a point of interest that the United States Army clearly looked after their men a lot better than did the British. So, good on you, Uncle Sam!

Here is the letter, faithfully transcribed, except for a few personal items that can have no meaning for anybody but the writer and recipient:

France

July 6^th 1918

Dear Violet,

Just a short note in answer to your three letters I received yesterday and the snapshots of Ernie (21/2 year old son).

They are very nice. He does look well in those photos. He ought to be good company for you. I wish I was back. I would take him everywhere. You say he is a hard case and my word he looks it.

It was a great day here on the fourth of this month. The Bakers that were here, the Yanks I mean, did not work at all that day. No matter what Holiday we never get a day off.

I could go out every night here but it don’t suit me. I have made my promises to you and I will keep them. There (is) only one I will break and that is staying with the Bakers. I am only waiting for a letter from Len (brother) and then I will put in my transfer to the 19^th Battalion. I think poor old Ern (brother) has been killed and I must get even for it. I have not heard from him for over three months. I am going to write to Headquarters today about him.

This place gets terrible monotonous. No wonder people go mad here. We have sent two men home mad.

I got those two snapshots of Ernie, the dear little fellow. He is a fine Boy but I don’t suppose I will have the luck to see him again. I don’t think this war is ever going to end. It seems to be getting worse instead of better.

I wrote to you last week asking you to send 5 pounds to the Bank in London. I expect to be going on leave in about two month’s time. 5 will be plenty. I am not drawing any money here at all so you can see I never go out of the camp. I am sick of this place.

Well, Dear, I will close with the best love and kisses to yourself and Ernie

Yours lovingly,

Jack

Fortunately, things improved for my grandfather after he went on leave in September. To his great joy and relief he found his brother Ern recovering from serious shrapnel wounds in a hospital in England. His transfer to the 19^th never did eventuate, perhaps because he found his brother alive; was needed at his field bakery; or because the war ended a short time later (11 November 1918). However it was, he was still the Temporary Sergeant in charge of his bakery on Armistice Day and until they went home in 1919.

A Muse on Character

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Anne Rouen

Queen Desideria of Sweden – image courtesy of Wikipedia

As with many in our language, the word character can be interpreted in several ways and mean different things to different people.

For example: It may be used to describe someone with a distinctive individuality and/or eccentric personality.

Or it may be used to define the quality of a person’s moral fibre; the essence of an individual’s psychological make-up. People requiring a reference would naturally be hoping to be spoken of as being of good or strong character rather than bad or weak.

To a calligrapher or scribe it may mean one of a set of symbols used in a language.

To a writer it means a person or personality portrayed in a novel or drama. And in this case, developing a set of believable characters is everything. No time or energy is too much to spend on this essential building block.

However, the character of some of them, as in real life, can leave much to be desired.

Even one word can be enough to bring a character to life: Machiavellian, wolfish, foxy, warhorse, porcine, ox-like: all conjure up images that need no clarification.

Phrases such as the lift of an eyebrow, the quirk of a lip: all help to paint a picture of character (the character of the character, so to speak).

In real life there are people so evil that it takes your breath away and people so heroic and self-sacrificing that it is equally hard to comprehend. But most of us and our fictional characters fit somewhere along the spectrum of these two extremes: slightly flawed but lovable, just the same.

There are many such fictional characters and one I will always have a soft spot for is the Earl of St. Erth created by Georgette Heyer in her Regency romance The Quiet Gentleman.

Amongst the real characters of history, I am especially drawn to the gentle, tragic Earl of Derwentwater, whose only crime was loyalty; and vibrant and loving Katherine Swynford, both brought to life with amazing clarity by Anya Seton in her novels Devil Water and Katherine respectively.

Recently, I reread Désirée by Annemarie Selenko, the story of a real life heroine: Désirée Clary, the daughter of a wealthy merchant who was loved by two of the most important statesmen of her day, finally becoming a queen: Desideria of Sweden.

She must have had plenty of character to have attracted the interest of an Emperor and a great General whom a country invited to be its King; and if you look at her portrait above you can see that she has it in spades.

Character and character: the one so forgettable without the other.