Welcome to Abbey Mead / August 2019 / Letter13
Dear Friends of Abbey Mead,
The Lady’s Prayer can be pre-ordered NOW as an ebook on Amazon.com. for delivery on August 7th !!!
Here is the so verra lovely COVER:
William really, really, really likes this cover!
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The Lady’s Prayer Back Cover:
With one breathless and unforgettable embrace, William and Anne finally disclosed their love for one another. Now they face an uncertain future. The Viscount Westmeare holds all the cards and this dealer demands to be obeyed.
But William and Anne confront a more immediate and lethal problem. In1813, the Indian countryside is ablaze as danger, destruction, and even death loom beyond the shelter of their remote fortress.
The terror of kidnap, warfare, and shipwreck threaten their very lives. Will they survive the perils that lie ahead?
Through it all, William whispers to his beloved Anne, “I will love ye, lass, as long as I have breath.”
Through it all, the lady’s prayer echoes over space and time: “Send him home, send him home.”
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PLEASE NOTE: there is some glitch with Amazon. Search for the ebook with either ‘Audrey Abbott’ or ‘Abbey Mead.’ Searching by title does NOT work at this time. Verra frustrating! If you have any issues, email me at audreyabbottauthor@gmail.com .
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Upcoming Book Event:
August 8 / Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh / West End Branch / Book Ends Book Club discussion of The Lady’s Desire / 11:00 AM / I will be there with a tray of Mrs. Clarke’s Raspberry Tarts! / If you would like to attend, just arrive. No need to call the library. I checked with the library staff and ALL are welcome/ Location: 47 Wabash Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15220 / 412-921-1717 / I love the name of their Book Club!
Come and meet others who are enjoying the journey of our star-crossed lovers, William and Anne. If you know of a local Book Club where the members would enjoy discussing a different kind of Romance perhaps you might suggest The Lady’s Desire and/or The Lady’s Prayer.
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And now for something completely different…
Want to learn more about Smuggling? Read on…
Smuggling…
It was dangerous. It was illegal. It was profitable.
In a previous newsletter, I briefly mentioned Smuggling in Surrey, England. Smuggling or shipwreck salvage was a common activity in the 1700’s and 1800’s in England. It was an activity that Lord Westmeare relished and directed.
With Kent to the east and Sussex to the south, Surrey (on map of England in red) does not touch on any main body of water and certainly not the English Channel. Yet on stormy nights, local Surrey men would travel south from Surrey into and through Sussex to wait along the Channel shore to see if any ships would flounder and, if so, then reap the rewards of anything of value that might wash ashore...
Can you imagine the waves crashing on the beach? The bitter winds battering the men and their mounts as they huddle together while icy rain slashes at their shivering bodies? Waiting to see if any ship crashes onto the rocks or sinks under the relentless waves of the English Channel…
This was risky work, but the smugglers were armed and tough. Returning to Surrey along rough, hidden lanes through tangled and dense woods, they carried their ill-gotten loot back to their chalk caves and secret lairs. Besides chests of jewels and money, and kegs of liquor, they were also known to transport yards of fine silk wrapped around their bodies.
So smuggling was a very real activity. Some of the kegs would be deposited at local taverns and other locations to keep anyone from being too curious or reporting the incident to local law enforcement.
No one talked about it, but everyone knew that it went on…even in some cases…the local vicar! Hmmmm… Did Anne’s father, the Rev. Tuttle, know about this as well?
More on the hazards of Smuggling next month…
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I like to suggest other local authors. This month, I recommend…
Kathryn Bashaar ( http://www.kathrynbashaar.com ) writes historical fiction. I suggest The Saint’s Mistress. This fascinating book carries you back to the 4th century AD in North Africa. There the author sets her vivid narrative amidst the backdrop of rising Christianity and the waning power of the Roman Empire as barbarians threaten and eventually invade.
Before he was a Saint, young Augustine was the child of a wealthy, privileged aristocratic family in North Africa. In the book, he meets and falls in love with Leona, a young peasant girl, with whom he has a son. But Augustine’s formidable mother does not approve. She has higher aspirations for her own gifted son.
Augustine eventually becomes a pillar of the early Christian church. But what happens to Augustine and Leona and their child as the Roman world they know begins to crumble and ultimately collapse?
Steeped in rich detail, The Saint’s Mistress carries the reader to a most unusual place and time, with characters you will not soon forget.
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Wishing you well and happy reading, I am as always, Audrey
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FUN DATES IN AUGUST:
August 2 / International Beer Day – First Friday in August / All right !!!
August 4 / National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day / Did you know? The chocolate chip cookie was invented in 1938 by Ruth Graves Wakefield from Massachusetts. Her husband ran the Toll House Inn, resulting in her delightful creation being called “Toll House” cookies. Nestle’s bought the rights to the name, and the rest is history!
August 7 / The Lady’s Prayer / Release date for Book 2 in the Abbey Mead series. It will be delivered to your device as an ebook!!! You can pre-order the ebook NOW on Amazon.com.
FYI… Remember to search Amazon under ‘Audrey Abbott’ or ‘Abbey Mead.’
Release date for the paperback version will be announced later.
August 8 / Book Ends Book Club discussion of The Lady’s Desire / Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh / West End / 11:00 AM // FYI: this charming branch was the third Carnegie Library built in Pittsburgh / it opened in 1899 / the West End Branch was known for its early attention to children and children’s literature / you are invited to attend this Book Club gathering…
August 9 / Book Lover’s Day / I hope you are curled up in a cool cozy corner, sipping your favorite refreshing beverage while reading the newly released The Lady’s Prayer on your device. Of course, for many of us, every day is Book Lover’s Day!
August 21 / National Senior Citizens Day / How sweet! / I have many retired friends who celebrate this every day!
August 31 / International Bacon Day / Today’s Motto: Everything tastes better with bacon!