 I have some exciting news about the three GUARDIANS OF THE CROWN BOOKS but for the moment they will be temporarily unavailable.
Alison  I am ashamed to admit that I am a little behind in my Christmas baking. Prior to Covid lockdowns, Christmas is pretty much the only time of the year when I do bake (oh the calories!) and I love it because a day spent in the kitchen with the smell of cakes and mince pies wafting through the house, marks a connection with the women of my family back through the ages. With four grandchildren of my own, I now share this joy of family and connection with them... a happy, messy day of turning my tiny kitchen into bedlam to produce gingerbread men and iced biscuits and there is a little part of me that hopes that one day my grandchildren will stand in their own kitchens and experience that joy of food and family connections spanning the generations. My mother’s family came from the border country of Lancashire and Yorkshire (the Pendle witch country) and the women were formidable. According to Grandmother Brown (my great grandmother) if domestic work wasn’t finished by lunchtime then you were an idle housekeeper. My heavens, she’d be turning in the grave to see my standard of housekeeping! Sundays were for the Lord and woe betide my mother if she wore a dress without sleeves or picked up anything other than the “good book” on the Lord’s Day of Rest! And then there was my Aunty Etty (Hetty a dimunitive of Henrietta), one of an overwhelming number of elderly great aunts we routinely met on visits to the UK Aunty Etty enjoyed the reputation of being the best cook in the family and she was, as you can probably imagine, a round, sweet natured old lady.On the last occasion I saw her I had reached the grand old age of twenty one. She looked me up and down and the following conversation ensued. “How old art thou?” “Err, twenty one, Aunty Etty.” “Twenty one! Twenty one and not married! Aren’t there any decent boys in Australia?” This this year I would like to share “Aunty Etty’s mince pies” (which were legendary!). No one quite made them like Aunty Etty, even my Mum! I have to confess to tweaking the recipe slightly, so along with Grandmother Brown, poor Aunty Etty is now probably spinning in her grave at my sacrilege! ENJOY... AUNTY ETTY’S MINCE PIES 8 oz (250gr) plain flour 1 tsp baking powder 4 oz (125gr) sugar 4 oz (125gr) butter I beaten egg ¼ tsp mixed spice 1 tsp lemon rind • Sieve flour and add sugar • Rub in butter until mixture resembles bread crumbs • Make into dough with egg • Wrap in cling film and rest in fridge ½ hr and then turn on to floured board and proceed as for ordinary pastry. • Makes about 12 pies using one jar of fruit mince (of course, Aunty Etty made her own fruit mince!)  The Brown family c1914... Aunty Etty is second from the left in the front row. My grandfather, Frank, is standing to the left of his eldest brother Bateman (in uniform) who was killed in Mesopotamia during WW1. When another boy was born after Bateman's death, he was given his elder brother's name.  If you are in the mood for some Christmas reading, look for my short regency novella, A CHRISTMAS LOVE REDEEMED.
February 1816: Fabien, Comte de Mont Clair, once a highly decorated officer of the exiled Napoleon, cuts a dashing swathe through a London society ball, his eyes only for the glittering ladies of the ‘ton’. His heart jolts at the sight of a woman sitting in a shadowed corner. Not just any woman, but one he would have once given the world for. For Hannah, Lady Trevan, catering to the spoiled darlings of the ton as a humble chaperone is nothing compared to the pain she suffered at the hands of her late husband. Alone and impoverished, she is a person of no consequence but once, a long time ago, she sacrificed her world for the dashing Comte de Mont Clair. Now all she can do is hope that he may glance her way… I am so happy that this little 'phoenix' story has found its place in the sun. I say 'phoenix' because it seems to had multiple reincarnations - beginning as a short story (A PERSON OF NO CONSQUENCE) and expanded into a novella for a Christmas anthology (TWELVE ROGUES OF CHRISTMAS) as NINE YEARS 'TIL CHRISTMAS. And now here it is, standing by itself with a gorgeous new cover... my little regency Christmas romance... A CHRISTMAS LOVE REDEEMED - a second chance at love story with a touch of Cinderella! It is release day and you will find it as an ebook only at all your favourite ebook retailers. A CHRISTMAS LOVE REDEEMED February 1816: Fabien, Comte de Mont Clair, once a highly decorated officer of the exiled Napoleon, cuts a dashing swathe through a London society ball, his eyes only for the glittering ladies of the ‘ton’. His heart jolts at the sight of a woman sitting in a shadowed corner. Not just any woman, but one he would have once given the world for.
For Hannah, Lady Trevan, catering to the spoiled darlings of the ton as a humble chaperone is nothing compared to the pain she suffered at the hands of her late husband. Alone and impoverished, she is a person of no consequence but once, a long time ago, she sacrificed her world for the dashing Comte de Mont Clair. Now all she can do is hope that he may glance her way…  Everybody deserves a second chance to find love... even books... and I am delighted to announce that LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR (a #regencyromance AND #historicalmystery) is going to be relaunched on 1 September in print, audio and digital. The text has been refreshed and revised and the cover is simply gorgeous. Sebastian Alder's sudden elevation from penniless army captain to Viscount Somerton is the stuff of fairy tales, but the cold reality of an inherited estate in wretched condition leaves him little time for fantasy, and the memory of his wife's brutal death haunts his every moment. When he learns of the mysterious circumstances of his cousin's demise, he must also look for a potential murderer ... surely not Isabel, his cousin's ladylike widow? Isabel, Lady Somerton, is desperate to bury the memory of her unhappy marriage by founding the charity school she has always dreamed of. Her hopes are shattered from beyond the grave when she is left not only penniless but once more bound to the whims of a Somerton ... although perhaps the new Lord Somerton is a man she can trust ... or even care for? Suspicion could tear them apart ... honesty and courage may pull them together. The current digital version is still available but the print book can be pre-ordered HERE... and stay tuned for news of the audio book (Have I said how much I love audiobooks?).  THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER was released the day before my home town of Melbourne went into a HARD lockdown. that lasted from 9 July until the end of October. During that time we couldn't venture further than 5km from our home and then only to visit the supermarket (1 person per household) or exercise for 1 hour a day and there was a nightly curfew of 8pm. Masks were worn from the moment you stepped out of the door.* Of course all the shops had to close and although bookshops, like Jeffreys Books (where my son works) kept going with a 'click and collect' system, I did not see THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER on a shelf in a store until November, so she had a vexed start to life! So to discover this week that THE GOLDMINER'S SISTER has been nominated BY READERS for no less than three Award categories in the 2020 Australian Romance Readers Awards, is special in so many ways.
It makes no difference to me if I do or don't take home a final award. To know my orphan book (like my orphan heroine!) has been read and loved by readers around the country, means everything to me. Thank you ARRA and thank you readers. The full award nominees can be read HERE. (*It is a matter of record that the lockdown had the desired effect and we saw off what was threatening to be a massive Covid outbreak but at huge personal effort from every member of our community.)  |
Alison StuartAlison writes historical romances and short stories set in England and Australia and across different periods of history. FREE BOOKS and READSClick HERE for details! Archives
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