This one is a bit edgy for me because it’s my first proper try at a contemporary story so I tried to write something I knew about – life in a small town – with a profession I knew a bit about – working in a small cash-strapped museum.
It was sheer self indulgence to make the love interest a heavy plant operator because I do love the big machines. In the archaeological world those huge scary things can be used with considerable finesse. They are also appealing on their own account – all that power!
It’s also an edgy release day because the book is supposed to be the first of a series set in the fictional town of Pemberland which, if it existed, would be just off the A465 and alongside the River Monnow about where Ewyas Harold is now.
So, a big new project that’ll keep me going for a good few years, I should think. Book 2, Close Shave, is about half written!
Available today from Manifold Press
THE BONES OF OUR FATHERS
Blurb:
“The bones of our fathers cannot lie.”
Malcolm Bright, brand new museum curator in a small Welsh Border town, is a little lonely until – acting as emergency archaeological consultant on a new housing development – he crosses the path of Rob Escley, aka Dirty Rob, who makes Mal’s earth move in more ways than one.
Then Rob discovers something wonderful, and together they must combat greedy developers and a treasure hunter determined to get his hands on the find. Are desperate measures justified to save the bones of our fathers? Will Dirty Rob live up to his reputation? Do museum curators really do it meticulously?
Answers must be found for the sake of Mal’s future, his happiness and his heart.
Stiles Langberry leaves England under the dark cloud of blackmail.
He resettles in America with a new name, becoming a Pinkerton Agent.
His new employer sends him undercover to a brothel that serves homosexual men, where prostitutes are being murdered. In the course of his investigation, he becomes involved with Paul, one of the prostitutes. Complicating matters, one of the suspects draws Stiles like no man before him. Stiles knows he must stop the killer before he strikes again.
Book One Synopsis
HOME ON THE RANGE
Pinkerton Agent Stiles Long is sent to the Circle W Ranch to uncover who is killing the ranch’s cattle. In order to discover the truth about the goings on at the ranch, Stiles has to prove to the ranchers he’s more than a good-looking city slicker.
Savage Beare, the head ranch foreman, is far from happy that Stiles is there to check things out. He has secrets of his own.
Stiles finds Savage incredibly good-looking, but cold and aloof.
He’s also a suspect. One of many.
When Stiles’ best friend and partner, Lizzie Ferguson, is kidnapped things begin to shake apart.
Stiles doesn’t trust anyone and he needs to find Lizzie before it’s too late.
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STILES LANGBERRY HAD thought his world was perfect. He was considered handsome by most women and men. His father had graciously left him a very tidy sum upon his death, to do with as he pleased. His position of constable at Scotland Yard was one he enjoyed, mostly because he didn’t have to work for a living. And most importantly of all, he had the perfect discreet lover in the winsome Viscount Harold Crosby. Life was good, until…
Several months ago, the first letter had come. A blackmailer’s letter. It was descriptive, citing times and places he and Harry had enjoyed each other’s company. He ignored it. He told Harry to ignore the one he received as well. But Viscount Crosby turned out to be a coward wrapped up in a beautiful package.
Harry paid the requested amount and, by doing so, admitted his relationship with Stiles and opened the door to more letters. They came more frequently, demanding larger and larger sums of money.
Stiles refused to pay the demands and, since Harry was filling the filthy blackmailer’s pockets, the fiend had left him somewhat alone. That is, until poor Harry offed himself and the vile beast’s money stream dried up.
He still refused to pay, and shortly the letters stopped as suddenly as they had begun. Stiles hoped that whoever the blackmailer was, he’d given up or, more than likely, switched to some other poor sod for his pennies. He soon found out that wasn’t the case.
Book Trailer
About the author
CJ BATY lives in southwest Ohio with her very patient husband and two encouraging children. Her heart however, lives in the mountains of Tennessee where she hopes to retire some day. The mountains have always provided her with inspiration and a soothing balm to the stresses of everyday life.
The dream of writing her own stories started in high school but was left on the back burner of life until her son introduced her to Fan Fiction and encouraged her to give it a try. She found that her passion for telling a story was still there and writing them down to share with others was much more thrilling than she had ever expected.
One thing she has learned from life and she is often heard to say is, “You are never too old to follow your dream!”
Throughout Saving Crofton Hall I drop in a few hints alluding to some of the earls who have come between Anthony Redbourn, the 1st Earl, from The Crofton Chronicles, and Benjamin Redbourn, the current (16th) Earl of Crofton.
I thought it might be nice to give little history into one of the Ben’s predecessors, so I present Percival Redbourn as if he had his own Wikipedia entry.
~~~
Percival Anthony Richard Redbourn 6th Earl of Crofton, from 1760 to 1790, member of the British nobility
Born: 4th April 1730, England
Died: 9th October 1790
Children: Thomas Redbourn, 7th Earl of Crofton, Ann Hadlay (Duchess of Carroway),
Siblings: Lady Helen Walshington
Spouse: Elizabeth Redbourn
Other notable relationships: Rumours persisted around Rupert Listely, 3rd Earl of Berry and Sir Phillip Gilman, naval captain.
Parents: Frances Redbourn 5th Earl of Crofton, Lady Jane Killen
Education: Harrow School. Trinity College, Cambridge
Memorable fact: Won ‘The Duchess’ a painting by Gainsborough in a drinking games, but hated the painting and hung in a guest bedroom where he housed his least favourite guests
~~~ Saving Crofton Hall
Blurb:
Benjamin Redbourn, Earl of Crofton, has no intention of giving up his beloved ancestral home without a fight. Faced with his mother’s gambling debts, forgery, and the possibility of foreclosure by the bank, Ben vows to make Crofton Hall pay for herself. But opening an Elizabethan manor house to the public isn’t a one man job. With time running out, Ben needs help—and fast.
Ashley Niven has experience managing events, and he also loves history. Being in charge of opening Crofton Hall is a dream come true. As he works with Ben to prepare the house as a venue for lavish weddings and receptions, Ashley finds himself drawn not just to the charm of the house but to the dashing Earl of Crofton. Even if Ashley can look past Ben’s playboy reputation, he fears an affair could prove too much of a distraction.
But Crofton Hall has many secrets, and something hidden for over four hundred years is about to change all their lives.
Highly enjoyable update in the affairs of the Redbourne family as the current Earl, Benjamin, does whatever he has to in order to keep the great house in his own hands. up to and including – the horror – opening it to the public!
And so his troubles deepen, because Ben, dubbed the Playboy Earl by the red tops, has no idea how to go about it. Luckily his sister has and calls in her pal Ashley, an earnest young man with experience in the commercial heritage field. Playboy Earl and earnest bespectacled history geek have to negotiate all the pitfalls of the heritage business while fending off threats both from without and, even worse, from within. As the saying goes “you can choose your friends”!
I enjoyed this book as a romance and as a quirky comedy of manners but it was the detail of how to make a great private house into a public venue that amused me most. Health and Safety, Fire Regulations, portion sizes, business plans – been there, torn my hair out. Great stuff and I can’t wait for the next instalment.
Author Bio
Rebecca Cohen is a Brit abroad. Having swapped the Thames for the Rhine, she has left London behind and now lives with her husband and son in Basel, Switzerland. She can often be found with a pen in one hand and a cup of Darjeeling in the other.
Elin Gregory 