RHYS BOWEN: First a little show and tell: we arrived back from Arizona to find that the ARCs of this year’s book had arrived. Isn’t the cover fantastic?
I am currently in the throes of writing my next stand alone, currently titled THE NAMING OF THE BIRDS.
When I am writing a book my thoughts keep drifting ahead to the next book I want to write.
This is especially true of the stand alone novels which are in such different times and places. I like to get a jump on the research in the months ahead of when I start to write so that I come to the project fully armed with the knowledge that I need and can also have a chance to revisit any place that might show up in the book.
My big problem is that I have far too many ideas. I could keep writing a book a year for the rest of my life and still leave a lot of stories unwritten. I keep a short list and when I’m about to decide which one to tackle next I come up with another, quite different, idea.
So I wanted to run some questions past you, my readers.
I have future book ideas set in very different locations:
1.Which would you choose to read:
Lake Como after WW2?
Australia in the early days of the colony?
Paris after WW1? (including a young woman who designs the first bras)
The Hippie overland bus to India in the 1960s?
The island of Jersey, a family saga over many years including WWII?
2. What attracts you to a book?
An older heroine?
A young heroine with some romance?
A mystery must be included?
Staying away from war stories?
3. What are some settings/locations you would always want to read about? And some you’d never read about?
I can see from the success of Mrs. Endicott that readers like the older heroine/female bonding part of the story.
I can see from the sales that the Tuscan Child and the Venice Sketchbook are my bestsellers. So Tuscany and Venice attract people. Why is that? Why does Vienna not hold the same pull as Venice? And what about Scotland, which is where this year’s book is set? Why is it popular ( at least I hope it's popular!) Where else?
I’d love to get your feedback. I don’t ever want to write about a place or a subject because it is IN, but I’d like to see which of my ideas immediately sparks interest with readers.
So do share your thoughts.
Ooo love the new cover! Isn't it such a thrill (and a relief) when it's something you like, and you're proud to see it out in the wild?
ReplyDeleteAnd gosh, I want to read about the woman who designs the first bras! Somehow, the aftermath of WWI feels less harrowing to me than WWII—humankind was recovering from the garden variety reasons for war, not the true evil and malevolence that came from WWII—so it appeals to (wimpy) me more as a historical period. Australia is interesting to me too, because it feels like a road less traveled!
As for the foreign locations, I've been told time and time again (usually as people are trying to keep from wrinkling their nose skeptically at books set in Japan) that "people in America like to read books about Americans" and if they can't be set in America too, the next best thing are books set in places their ancestors came from, or they have fond memories of visiting. That said, some of us LOVE to read about places we know little about, so bring it on!
When I was first writing children's books a librarian told me that kids want to read about a similar girl on their own street. Harry Potter dispelled that myth, didn't it?
DeleteYou're amazing Rhys! I like all of the ideas, but agree I'm less interested in war stories at this point. Will buy and read anything you write:) xo
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteRhys, I love the cover and can’t wait to read the next book. Scotland is one of my favourites places in the world.
ReplyDeleteAustralia is an other one of my favourites and the early days of the colony are so interesting .
An older protagonist has more experience and should offer more possibilities.
In the present troubled world, reading about war is not my first choice.
This being said, I am persuaded that the best choice for you is to write what appeals to you the more because I always enjoy your writing. It’s your imagination that I want on the page, not mine.
Well said, Danielle! I couldn't agree more.
DeleteI agree on that, Danielle. If the writer's heart is in the book, the story reads well.
DeleteRhys, I really enjoy all your fictions that have some historical reality included in them. This adds some real appeal to the fiction. I then like to look into that period of time or the location and find out the truth of what happened during those times and places. I've read all of your books and enjoy them very much. Thank you for your wonderful books.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Hava
DeleteRhys, I will read anything you write because your books are so well researched that I learn something new every time! I enjoy strong female characters. I’d love to read about the woman who designed the first bra. Paris always intrigues me. My favourite place in the world is Scotland because my father was born there and came on a ship to Canada with his mother when he was a boy.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover! I’m drawn to authors because of their writing not necessarily by the cover of their books. Please continue to put your heart and soul into your writing ❤️🤗
My hesitation with Paris is that so many books have been set there recently
DeleteAre there many neighborhoods in Paris?
DeleteLake Como - because I have an Italian friend from high school who is from there. The Magic Bus! My sister took it from Europe to India in the 70s. I love older heroines and mysteries.
ReplyDeleteDid your sister keep a journal from her trip? I'd dearly love to see it. I have personally traveled much of that route but not the part across what is now Iran.
DeleteI will ask her, but I don't think so. I still remember some of her stories about traversing Afghanistan, and how the bus driver would slip a customs official a bottle of whiskey to ease border crossings! She took trains all over India and found people so helpful.
DeleteEdith, did your friend take pictures while she was visiting lake como?
DeleteShe grew up there and still lives there. I'm sure she has pictures.
DeleteAlso joining the less-war contingent.
ReplyDeleteI do love reading about places that I have been/am going to. But before I started traveling internationally, I read plenty of books set in Britain. I guess that was familiar enough from history (plus it was “proper” literature) that I didn’t think twice about it.
I love Scotland and think there must be something happening at a DNA level when I am there. My husband and I felt sure we had been to Edinburgh multiple times, but we were only there once prior to my trip a couple of months ago.
I think so many of us with Celtic heritage must be drawn to a former homeland. My daughter's friend was drawn to Wales from a very young age, even though no apparent ancestor came from there.
DeleteRhys, like other commenters, I love the new cover and read all of your books. I think that you have a special talent for including a romantic element in your stories, so definitely keep doing that. Mrs. Endicott was not a "romance" but the romance in it was deeply satisfying. The age of your heroine, to me, is less important than her character. That book quickly became my favorite of your stand alones.
ReplyDeleteYou asked why Italy is a more desirable setting than Vienna. Austria was Nazi territory at heart, Italy not so much. I think your stories that touch on the great wars are spectacular. You have insight into those eras that other authors are guessing at. The bra maker of Paris could be a pretty uplifting story (heh, heh) but a tale set in Lake Como would be great to read, too. Whatever you decide! As long as I can see the pages, I am here for it.
When bras were given as gifts in my family, they were typically accompanied with a note saying “to uphold the family tradition “
DeleteWhat an interesting comment, Judy. The Nazi taint associated with Vienna. Interesting.
DeleteI believe the portrayal of the city of Vienna is usually very dark. Definitely also associated with Nazi Germany in a lot of American movies.
DeleteAmazing--a riches of great ideas! I love the cover, although I'm a little sorry you had to change the title, Castle in the Glen is more generic than (I can't remember exactly) Sea to Skye.
ReplyDeleteFor question 1, I would read any of them. My top choice would be the early days of Australia, because I don't know very much about it. Question 2--All would be okay, although I am glad to read about older heroines and loved Mrs. Endicott. I do like war stories. Question 3--I would always want to read about Scotland and Yorkshire particularly, and the UK in general. I'm more partial to Europe than Asia, but I would like to broaden my perspective. I have a Japanese mystery on my to read pile.
I'm sorry about the title too! The teenage algorithm experts at Amazon said I'd already used a title with the word Sky in it and thus readers would get them mixed up. I don't believe so as the covers are so different..
DeleteYour readers are way smarter than the algorithm experts!
DeleteI thought of the Scottish tv series MONARCH OF THE GLEN when I saw the title.
DeleteLike everyone else, I love your books and read them all no matter where they're set. As to your questions, give me a hippie bus any day and a book set in India feels fresh to me. I'm really enjoying the wave of books with older heroines (probably due to being one myself). Your plots are always strong so I don't need a mystery element in a non-series book. A bit of romance is always nice. I adore Scotland and am delighted to see that your upcoming book is set there, and the cover is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laurie! The problem is that we are the elite readers. Would Mrs Average want to read about Hiippies going to India? Or early Australia? And why haven't you written a book about an adorable foal yet?
DeleteI actually think Mrs. Average would enjoy reading about something different and interesting (like your hippies) and I also love Australia as a setting, early or otherwise. There are so many war, pre-war, and post-war books out now that I would think readers would relish a change. As for the foals, since I'm still writing only series books, I'm a little more constrained in what I can do, although I did manage to fit a few horses into a recent entry in my Peg and Rose series.
DeleteRhys, I love the cover of “The Castle in the Glen” and am SO looking forward to reading it!
ReplyDeleteNow that I’m older I prefer older main characters, although that doesn’t stop me reading about women in theirs 30s and 40s.
I love reading books set in Australia, and the women who designed the first bra, with Paris as the backdrop Ooh La-La. And now that I’ve seen a wee bit of Scotland, and have Clan MacKenzie in my lineage Scotland is always wonderful. I also like books set in Japan.
Thank you!
DeleteIt is always a good day to find out a Rhys Bowen book is on its way! Scotland is a mysterious and ancient place, with lots of near-mythological cachet swirling around among its mists. Just thinking the word evokes a sense of mystery.
ReplyDeleteAs for your questions, I am always drawn to stories set in Australia, a hippie bus in India sounds amazing, older heroines are more intriguing these days, and didn't you tell us in the writing class that every novel is a mystery?
I am currently reading a novel set in India and Manhattan, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sonny, and enjoying the vast cultural differences highlighted. I will probably never get to any part of India, so reading about it is my armchair travel. Regarding the appeal of Vienna, that's a good question, and I can't think of a single novel set there. The only Austrian city I have been to is Innsbruck, which is really beautiful, so maybe I don't know what I was missing to skip Vienna. Maybe it's time to write about it and share what makes it special?
Karen, I have Sonia and Sonny, but have only managed about twenty pages. Maybe when I finish my book I will really tackle it.
DeleteVienna is such a lovely city, and so civilized too. I stayed with a family there when I was 14 and went to school with their daughter. I've been back several times and the food is amazing. And the opera/music.
DeleteMy responses appear to be a little out of sync with earlier commenters, although I do share their interest in hearing about the woman who designed the first bra. Honestly, all the locations would interest me but the top three for me would be (in order) Lake Como after WWII, Paris after WWI and the island of Jersey. For what attracts me to a book probably the most relevant answer is anything written by Rhys Bowen, though I want to add a note that I have no objection to WWI or WWII settings and I think your earlier books with war-related stories have been very good. As to the final question, I enjoy reading about many places, but for non-Western countries I have had better luck with authors who are originally from those cultures than from Western writers setting stories there. There is just a difference in how the book feels.
ReplyDeleteOn a quick different note, I miss seeing Joan's comment at the top of the list. I hope all is well with her -- it feels wrong when she's not the first commenter, or at least in the first few!
Good point. Joan, we hope you are well! And I don't think I could do justice to a book set in Japan or China unless I lived there for a year or so and my protagonist was an outsider.
DeleteLooks like Joan is well. I saw her comment earlier this morning then it disappeared!
DeleteA family friend lived in China after the Russian Revolution. Her family was White Russian. Supported the last Tsar and his family. She married an American who was also a Socialist and always supported the workers. Very kind people. I met them when I was a child. I remember my parents telling me about her family leaving Russia during the Russian revolution and living in China.
Great cover. I'd be interested in reading about Australia in the early days - not just because I think it's a fabulous location, but the history interests me. I'm finally reading The Rose Arbor now.
ReplyDeleteI'm less interested in the age of the protagonist than the story.
I lived in Australia. So many good stories waiting to be told
DeleteRhys, When I enjoy a writer's work, I enjoy exploring the entire writer's oeuvre. For me, the attraction of your books does include setting and characters, but the real reason I read your books is that I enjoy the characters and stories you create regardless of physical or historical setting. In my opinion, that's the mark of an outstanding writer, i.e., that your writing is strong enough to entice me to follow you wherever you go.
ReplyDeleteThat is very kind Thank you.
DeleteIn order of preference:
ReplyDelete1.Which would you choose to read:
Australia in the early days of the colony?
The island of Jersey, a family saga over many years including WWII?
Paris after WW1? (including a young woman who designs the first bras)
The Hippie overland bus to India in the 1960s?
Lake Como after WW2?
2. What attracts you to a book?
An older heroine?
Good character interaction and dialogue
A mystery must be included? – maybe, maybe not
A young heroine with some romance? - no
Staying away from war stories? I like war stories.
3. What are some settings/locations you would always want to read about? And some you’d never read about? Food and culture – of various eras. How small things affect us. Details that I have never heard about – the bomb shelters in the tube lines, the deafness in the Royal family, things that we can relate to. Several titles that you may have read: the Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan – set in WW2 but involved women and food, Kate Thompson’s The Little Wartime Library – again WW2, but revolves around life and library in tube station (based on real events). Equally her books on the Islands. The Potato Society Letters – again war, but in a different and more personable setting.
I also love books between an older relative and their family and how things have changed over time. My grandparents were born at the turn of the 1900’s. Their legacy still follows on in the quirks of all us, so between revolving around the history through the ages, it is fun to see just how their lives reflect in ours. I am about to tell the 9yr old granddaughter and her mother about the what would be called folk art picture that hangs in the bathroom wall. It is a whimsical house, path, flowers, child all done in scrap applique. The story goes that when my father was young (born in 1923, so about 1936 when he would have been a teen maybe) he and my uncle sat opposite each other at the dining room table. Apparently chocolate pudding was the dessert, and for some reason they were flicking it off their spoon at each other – I have no idea how they were getting away with it! Anyway, Uncle Ralph ducked and my father flicked the pudding and it went over his shoulder and plop on the wallpaper – never to be erased. It just would not come off, and for some reason, they did not wallpaper. Along comes the next generation and we are once again eating in the dining room and the stain is still there. I questioned the why of it. On hearing the story, I decided to make a picture to cover it, and did so to give it to the grandparents for Christmas. It was hung on the wall, covered the stain, and hence became a family heirloom. The picture moved from Gran’s house to my bathroom.The story will be passed down – whether they keep the picture another generation, one will never know. Maybe you could write a book about family trivia, set it around cleaning out a home and tracing the ephemeral stories behind things. Call it Family Heirloom.
Margo, that is one of the beauties of having a family still in one place. So many people move and the wonderful stories get lost over time. And in books it's these little details that make stories real! Thank you for sharing.
DeleteCannot wait to read this, Rhys! As for locations… I agree, it’s intriguing how some places instantly are compelling and others not as much. My favorite would be Oxford.
ReplyDeleteAnd you can never go wrong with Lake Como.
I think you can’t go wrong! You have unerringly good judgment.
It's just that Adriana did Lake Como recently.. although not much of her book is actually set there.
DeleteHank, I would love a story set at Oxford since I lived and studied there.
DeleteOh, gosh, true, Rhys. (proving the point...:-))
DeleteHere is another story – subject. I am helping the grandchild sell Girl Guide cookies (no guides in our area). She is a something as we are no longer allowed to call thes Brownies – Spark maybe, but it is the same just under another name. I was a Guide. My father was a Scout and a leader. He would tell us stories of lighting beacons all along the coast of Nova Scotia to herald and celebrate the end of the war. He said you could see their fire, and then the fire in Gabarus, and then just the glow of the next one as the line moved down the province. In some of the historical scenes and stories of the late Queen Elizabeth, there is talk of this same thing happening in Britian.
ReplyDeleteFrom all this drivel, I get story ideas of a) Lord and Lady Baden Powell and their lives with children, b) children and societies in the war, c) Royalty and their small as in not royal event activities in the war, and d) even up to the various youth activities either organized or not and what they did in the war.
I look on it, as for those of us who are old enough to be able to either remember it, or remember those who had stories told first hand about it; it is our responsibility to tell them before the history is lost.
Back to boxing...
That image of the beacons reminds me of the Lord of the Rings. So evocative!
DeleteYes, me, too!
Deleteoooh, what good fodder!
DeleteHere is a bit of deaf history for you. The lady who started the Girl Guides in England was Deaf. I think Baden Powell who started the Boy Scouts? May have been hard of hearing?
DeleteI would be most interested in the hippie bus to India because I know nothing about it and second choice would be Australia because I know little about the early days. I, too, prefer to stay away from war stories these days although I have enjoyed several in the past. I do prefer women protagonists but any age is fine as long as she acts responsibly (as your characters do). I have enjoyed every book of yours that I have read and am looking forward to The Castle in the Glen. (Barbara C.)
ReplyDeleteMy one problem is that you guys are the elite readers. Would Mrs. Average reader want to tackle a bus to India? I'd love to write about it. I've been all over India several times.
DeleteLake Como sounds great, also early Australia and Jersey. I enjoy older heroines because I relate to them now but it’s fun to read about younger characters too. Mystery is always good, without intense suspense or violence. Love your books and looking forward to reading the next one.
ReplyDeleteI agree that at this present time I want to stay away from violence and darkness.
DeleteLove the cover!
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I’ve ever seen a book set in a hippy bus in 1960’s India - but I’d love too! Throw in an older heroine and a little mystery and I’m sold!
Me, too, Robin. I’d love to sit with that world for awhile. Paula B here.
DeleteIt does appeal to me, I have to say.
DeleteI would read any of those! I agree with the person who said the best book for you to write next is the one that most appeals to you. As the writer, that is where you will do your best work. Despite our current times, I am still interested in reading WWI and WWII era books. I am working on my own books in that era and am still fascinated by that history. (I also think it is a useful way to understand how we have ended up where we currently are, and perhaps how to move forward; although, I do empathize with and understand readers who would rather have more of an escape from our current troubles.) But as others have said, if you write it, I'll read it!
ReplyDeleteAudra, this is exactly why I wrote my first WWII books... I saw the first warning signs and wanted to remind people!
DeleteRhys, I love the cover and love your stand-alones. I think I'd be more interested in an Australian story that comes after colonization. My dad was among the first American soldiers shipped out to fight in the Pacific during WWII and their first stop was Australia. What was life like for ordinary Australians during this period? And I admit to passing by stories set in Paris--seems like there's been a glut. There are certainly many untold stories yet to be told set in Paris, I'm just looking for something else. I know someone who is from Brazil, German ancestry. I have a feeling there's something dark in that ancestry, given the timing of immigration. Beautiful young granddaughter moves to Miami, models, marries well, the family history (Uncle Otto's factory, the gold watch in a safe) glossy and well-polished. I'd like to see more exotic locales, don't mind WWI and WWII, and enjoy older female protagonists with some romance. But any age, as long as the story is well-told. One of my favorite books was originally published as YA--a teenager in Burma (now Myanmar) after WWII--the countryside, life in a village, the political climate all interwoven.
ReplyDeleteThat Brazil/German connection story would make a great book.
DeleteWhat was the book, Flora?
DeleteDeborah, the book is INCIDENT AT BADAMYA by Dorothy Gilman. I love her stand-alone books as well as the Mrs. Pollifax series.
DeleteFlora, I'll have to look up Incident at Badamya. I'm interested in the area of Burma/Myanmar. The United States actually still refers to the country as Burma, except in some circumstances where using Myanmar as a diplomatic courtesy. I loved Amy Tan's Saving Fish from Drowning set in what was then still Burma. It's one of my favorite books, although Tan takes liberty with the history in her novel, so it bears looking up certain events.
DeleteOoo, delicious to consider . . . Strong Older heroine, friendships, not set during war time, and definitely a mystery. African camera safari. Lisbon. Sweden. No politics. And anything you set your pen to.
ReplyDeleteMy one bucket list regret is that I haven't been on a safari in Africa. Now my back would not enjoy it, I fear.
DeleteA feast of Rhys Bowen stories! Since you have a delightful young woman protagonist in Georgie - long may she thrive - I like your older women in the stand-alones as another perspective from which to view the world. As to where you take us, I'm always happy to be along for the ride, although I relish your vivid settings in Europe. Since you know Australia so well personally, I'd love to see how you incorporate it into a novel. You bring your own imagination and knowledge to every setting you choose!
ReplyDeleteThank you. See you soon!
DeleteSusan said what I was thinking. Rhys, I can read anything you write. I always love the characters in your books except for the villains.
DeleteSo many choices! I would enjoy stories set on the Isle of Jersey and Paris post-WW1. Mystery, family secrets, romance--all good. The age of the heroine is not important as long as her brain is mature. I will read about any setting as long as the story is engaging.
ReplyDeleteI also love family secrets, family interactions.
DeleteRHYS: The cover of your new novel is gorgeous! All of your ideas look wonderful! Of all your ideas, the Paris after the First World War grabbed my attention. I would like to read about how your heroine recovered from the War. Was she a nurse at the Front? Ambulance driver? Was she British or French? The hippie travelling in India and the Australia stories will be a big change from your British, Irish and European stories.
ReplyDeleteAnd these days I like reading about older heroines. I also like some mystery too. I do not understand that comment about politics. I never thought your stories had politics in them. All I know is your stories grab my attention and always a joy to read!
Regarding locations, I would love to see the Cotswolds or Scottish highlands or Wales or Ireland. Maybe one of the Nordic countries? Many of us love France and Italy. Spain is iffy since Spain was under Franco for a long time. If it is before Guernica, then perhaps Spain before or after the first World War?
Setting: I love the idea of the heroine living in a storybook cottage setting. I thought of the Cotswolds with their beautiful villages. It could be an old castle in Europe. Will there be a library in your story?
The new book gives you all the Scottish highlands you could want!
DeleteLove the Scottish highlands despite my crying when our tour drove past the site of Culloden on the anniversary of the battle. I look forward to reading your book.
DeleteRhys, the cover is gorgeous!! I cannot wait to read it!! As for new book topics, I am the dissenter on Australia. That just doesn't push any buttons for me--maybe the history is too similar to Texas and the settling of the American west? But I LOVE the hippie bus in India, and obviously it is a location and a history that is close to your heart. I like all the other ideas, even Vienna, and I don't mind war connections, although I think the periods after the wars are really interesting. Jersey sounds especially intriguing.
ReplyDeleteHeroine can be any age, although as Susan said, you have a young protagonist in Geogie (and Molly!) and I've found the older heroines very compelling. A little mystery and/or romance are welcome, but not necessary. I will read anything you write!!
I apologize if someone has mentioned this but, speaking of a "hippie bus in India" I just read Rick Steves' (the European travel guy on PBS) recently published book titled "ON THE HIPPIE TRAIL", about his trip from Istabul to Kathmandu when he was in his early 20's. It is a fascinating look at what the middle east, India, Tibet were like back in the mid 1970's. The Hippie Trail was a real thing that stopped in 1978 with the fall of the Shah in Iran.
DeleteI would read the Lake Como or Paris books because they are after war. I have read so many war time books that they are getting stale, but not as much seems to be written for the aftermath periods.
ReplyDeleteI like books set in all parts of the UK. I have a special draw to Italy.
Australia Australa Australia. . . or Australia
ReplyDelete1. The hippie bus because I had never heard of it before I started today’s blog. And from the other choices, I like the idea of a family saga best because I love those kinds of stories and haven’t read one in a long time.
ReplyDelete2. You’ve called us Elite Readers. I think we should also be recognized as probably mostly older women, too. That is why so many of us are choosing an older woman heroine. (We like to recognize ourselves in the characters, don’t we?) Beyond that, romance and mystery are nice, but certainly not essential. And the war stories I like are the triumph of good over evil, not the end-of-the-world fear type we’re going through.
3. I haven’t read a lot of books set in Australia or India, for that matter. Scotland sounds so beautiful so that’s appealing. Other than the Guernsey Potato, etc. book, I haven’t read anything set on Guernsey, Jersey or even the Hebrides (except for Ann Cleeves’ books, of course). Somehow the idea of an island setting that isn’t tropical is mysterious and appealing to me.
Like everyone else, Rhys, I think your new book cover is beautiful. Thank you for asking our opinions. — Pat S
I like heroines between, say, 35 and 50, and I'm always glad to have a little romance, which makes me happy (well, assuming it works out!) I think Jersey after WWII (or at any time) would be interesting; I've never been there, and I find it fascinating that it has a mix of French and German cultures, plus the influence of its occupation by Germany. Oh yes, Rhys, lots of fun to see your new cover. I like it.
ReplyDeleteAren't the Gerald Durrell books set on Jersey? Because I think that's where he created his famous zoo, ushering in the basis of today's modern zoos. There's another about a bookshop in Jersey, also during WWII, if I remember correctly.
ReplyDeleteHis later books are. The early ones are Corfu
DeleteI work at a public library and the way publishing divides readers into elite readers and average readers makes me crazy. You have my sympathy for having to deal with that nonsense. Louise Penny's books have some of the longest hold lists of any author and publishing seems to think she appeals to the elite. What I hear over and over from the people publishing considers average readers is "I just want a good story." You always tell a good story. If your publisher thinks not enough average readers pick up your books that's a discovery problem - they need to discover your books.
ReplyDeleteOkay . . . I posted this first thing this morning, and it seems to have vanished. So here it is again :
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your books, Rhys, no matter where or when they are set . . . [and I love that cover!]
The island of Jersey sounds quite interesting . . . I enjoy mysteries [but they're not essential to my enjoying a book] . . . I don't think there is any place that I would never read about; I enjoy visiting places where I have never been, so both Venice and Vienna appeal to me as does Scotland . . . . wartime stories are always interesting because they reveal how "ordinary" people managed in a time of great strife . . . .
We are so glad to find out you are well and safe, Joan!
DeleteThank you . . . 😊
DeleteFor me it’s the people, not the time or the place, that makes the book worth reading. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteRhys, back to the bus to India and the elite readers, and this not may not make much sense as I am too tired and hungry to care and have just had a Covid shot, BUT, if you are an elite writer (and you are) and if you have a following (and you do), I would think it would offer you the opportunity to write a book on any subject, and therefore introduce people to things they have not read of before – so bring on India, and Australia, and anything else that is a part of your history and repertoire. If people like you do not take us out of our familiar circle, who will?
ReplyDeleteI agree. I tend to read things all over the map but the world is divided in to those who have travelled and those who haven't. And for the latter India or anywhere else for that matter is so far beyond their comprehension that they won't tackle it.
DeleteOh gosh, Rhys, all the places you write about are interesting. You bring out mystery and secrets of them in your stories. I'm really looking forward to The Castle in the Glen set in Scotland. I've pre-ordered it for my Kindle, as I will be in the capital of Crete (Heraklion, Greece) the day it comes out. I love having your new book join me on my trip. I might have to later buy a paperback or hardback because the cover is indeed beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOf the locations you mentioned, Rhys, I would be interested in Paris after WWI and the woman who invented the bra and in Australia in its early days. I have Jane Harper to thank for my interest in Australia. I tend to like more mature characters, with some life experiences under their belts, probably late 30s and up.
You'll love Heraklion, Kathy. Knossos was amazing.
DeleteSo interesting, your questions, Rhys, and the responses! I confess the setting (time/place) matters less to me than the characters and their dynamics. And I try to avoid books in which children are victims or characters are drunks. I'm sure we all have our no-go zones, and I'm always grateful for a heads-up.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Hallie. My no-go zones are too much darkness or violence at the moment.
DeleteRhys: Gorgeous cover!
ReplyDeleteTried to preorder The Castle in the Glen. Only book I could find was the secret of the glen by Barbara Cartland???? I will ask book passage if I can preorder your book.
ReplyDeleteI think it's up on Amazon for pre-order now.
DeleteLove the cover, Rhys! How thrilling. Also, I vote for the Hippie in the overland bus in the 1960's! I'm not particular about a heroine's age, I do like a mystery or a quest, and always enjoy females bonding or a romance or both.
ReplyDeleteI read and enjoy everything you publish, Rhys. Since I was a lingerie buyer I would love the WWI story. The hippie bus in India sounds intriguing but so do the others. I also like pets especially cats.
ReplyDeleteRhys love the hippie bus. Love it!!
ReplyDeleteHave you read "On The Hippy Trail" by Rick Steves
I'd like to read Lake Como any time
ReplyDeleteParis any time
The island of Jersey during or after WWII
The stories, a strong sense of place and well developed characters are the things that I'm looking for. Age doesn't matter. I love mysteries. I'm always interested in reading about England and European countries. I love Mrs. Endicott and will check out your other stand alone books. I really love Italy, maybe because I haven't made it to Italy yet.