Beneath Black Clouds and White by Virginia Crow

Please welcome Virginia Crow author of Beneath Black Clouds and White

Virginia Crow will be awarding a paperback copy of Beneath Black Clouds and White (International Giveaway) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Beneath Black Clouds and White

by Virginia Crow

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Historical Fiction

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE: The book will be on sale for $0.99.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

INTERVIEW:

2. How did you come up with ideas for your books?
   I read old manuscripts, letters and transcriptions for fun. Add in the fact that I’m something of a conspiracy theorist, and the result is a bubbling plot, based entirely on the truth of the absence of history. That probably doesn’t make a lot of sense, so here’s an example:

When I was researching for my degree I found out about a soldier who had been killed in an ambush after escaping from a POW camp. Only, no one knew him well enough to identify him, so chances are it wasn’t him at all.  As the eldest son he’d been set to inherit the family estate, but the day he supposedly died was also his younger brother’s coming-of-age. My metaphorical pen (I tend to use a keyboard these days!) started twitching in my hand.  Had his brother arranged for his death?  Had he feigned his death so his brother could inherit? Who was it that was killed in the ambush?  The strange truth of it is, weird stories arise from peculiar truths.  So, I let history and my own over-imagining do all the work for me!

4. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

I’m an horrendous hoarder!  I collect old things and can’t bear to part with them. Subsequently, I’ve accumulated a whole array of “old things” (they’re not all quiteantiques).  It was lovely to be able to share some of these artefacts, books, letters – the oldest of which dated back to 1664 – at an event I was part of.  They’ve certainly been an inspiration, even if it was just to reference a handwriting style of a letter.

5. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
   With the publishing of Beneath Black Clouds and White, I’m halfway through the books I’ve written with these characters. There are two more books to come, the first covering the years 1815-1823 and the second covering the (much smaller!) time period of 1854-1855. I hope I can keep up with the pattern I’ve established with the first two books and have them released two years apart.  This gives me and my editor time to go through them without having to frantically rush.

In terms of other writing, I have a novel ready to be serialized this year, I’m just waiting for the publishing times to be finalised.  It’s still rooted in history, but this time it’s historical fantasy, a mash up of my two favourite genres!

7. If you were the casting director for the film version of your novel, who would play your leading roles?

This is a really fascinating question.  I’ve always imagined Henry Fotherby to look very much like Richard Armitage and sometimes, when I’m writing him, I can hear him speaking just like him.  But then, as the editor was going through Beneath Black Clouds and White, she read one line and said: “Has Dr Fotherby got black hair?  I always imagined him to be blond.”  Determined to prove my point, I returned to the manuscript for Day’s Dying Gloryto show her that he was meant to be dark, but it never specified the colour of his hair.  Wow! Here was a character who was unique to the reader’s perception.  At her request I got rid of the line about his black hair so that the reader could imagine him however their wanted, but I’ll always know he was meant to look like Richard Armitage!

9. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?
   I write for my family. I always have done. They are very nice and give my great feedback.  That’s not to say they always like my writing, but I come from a family of incredibly gifted writers, so any feedback they give me I trust to be worth reviewing.  We’d talked in the past abut sending books away but the drive had fizzled out.  But with Days Dying Glory, my sister kept telling me I should send it away.  I sent it to a couple of places before that age-old fear of “I’ll be dead before this gets published” began to seep in.  We decided we’d skip the middleman and stopped with agents. Instead, we established our own independent publishing company CROWVUS.  We’re a real family business – it’s fantastic!
10. Do you have any hobbies and does the knowledge you’ve gained from these carry over into your characters or the plot of your books?

Several!  Aside from my obsession with all old things, I also try and set my characters up with things I can relate to.  So the sisters in Days Dying Gloryplay croquet, and in Beneath Black Clouds and Whitethey get a spaniel puppy.  I try not to make these things major parts of the story.  I find writing them on the periphery makes the characters stronger and the plot less forced.

13. Do you have an all time favorite book?
    Probably The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. The original book has everything you could ask for in a novel, strong characters, unexpected twists and turns, love, dark pasts, and a whole lot of swords!

Good Omens is a close second.  I can dip in and out of that book anytime!

14. Have you started your next project? If so, can you share a little bit about your book?

The next book in this saga is quite different.  It begins as victory is declared at Waterloo and covers an eight-year period, but it has a slight speculative supernatural element to it.  I’m hoping it will be making an appearance in April 2021 – at the moment it’s only a very vague first draft!

15. Who is your favorite actor and actress?

Tough question!  I’ve got to be honest, I get a certain buzz watching Russell Crowe in films – even if he does spell our last name wrong!  I tell all my pupils that he’s my cousin, but I’m pretty sure they know it’s not true!

18. Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like to write a series.
    I love it! This was never meant to be a series of books, but once I’d finished writing Day’s Dying GloryI spent a lot of time beginning writings which led nowhere.I can’t remember now who it was that told me I should write more with these characters, but whoever it was I love them for it.  Letting go of them had been very difficult.  After all, they had been in my life for years.  Beneath Black Clouds and Whitewas not actually the next book I wrote about the family, but it was logically the next book to publish. Day’s Dying Glorydidn’t have a “closed” ending exactly, but it certainly had an “open” backstory.  None of the four books were written in the right order.  Instead of:

First-Second-Third-Fourth

it was:

Second-Fourth-First-Third

Chronology had gone out of the window, but all the blanks were filled in, even if it was only in such a way that the reader had to decide the most likely option!

BLURB:

Accompanied by his wife to Flanders, Josiah Tenterchilt meets a man who could not be more different from him: an apprentice surgeon named Henry Fotherby. As these two men pursue their own actions, fate and the careful connivance of a mysterious individual will push them together for the rest of their lives.

But it is a tumultuous time, and the French revolutionaries are not the only ones who pose a threat. The two gentlemen must find their place in a world where the constraints of social class are inescapable, and ‘slavery or abolition’ are the words on everyone’s lips.

Beneath Black Clouds and White is the prequel to Day’s Dying Glory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

“Henry, you saved so many lives, but some men are beyond curing.”

“No, it was not that.” He turned to face his uncle once more. “He was court martialled and shot.”

“Good lord, Henry,” he said quickly. “Whatever for?”

“Insubordination.”

“And you defended him?” His uncle scowled up at him and shook his head. “Do you want the revolution here in England? King George may struggle with himself but that is no reason to guillotine him.”

“I defended him because he was wronged,” Fotherby replied, as calmly as he could. “He was not able to consider his actions.”

“You cannot do it, Henry.”

“Do what?”

“Bring that into Wanderford Hall.”

“What do you mean?” Fotherby whispered, staring at the man before him.

“I tolerated your engagement to a woman of no birth and no money. I accepted her and her father into this house. But you cannot take the daughter of such a man and make her the mistress of Wanderford Hall.”

“It is not your house to tell me what I can and cannot do. I say that Miss Simmons shall be a fine mistress of Wanderford Hall. How can you judge a woman on the actions of her father? I should not care to think that I were judged on your actions simply because I am your nephew.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Virginia grew up in Orkney, using the breath-taking scenery to fuel her imagination and the writing fire within her. Her favourite genres to write are fantasy and historical fiction, sometimes mixing the two together such as her soon-to-be-serialised books “Caledon”. She enjoys swashbuckling stories such as the Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and is still waiting for a screen adaption that lives up to the film!

When she’s not writing, Virginia is a music teacher in Caithness. She believes wholeheartedly in the power of music, especially as a tool of inspiration. She also helps out with the John o’ Groats Book Festival which has just celebrated its 2nd year. Hopefully they’ll be plenty more to come!

Book Trailer (Beneath Black Clouds and White)

Website

www.stompermcewan.com

(Publisher) www.crowvus.com

Twitter

@DaysDyingGlory

Amazon Book Link

Smashwords

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/StomperMcEwan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Virginia Crow will be awarding a paperback copy of Beneath Black Clouds and White (International Giveaway) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3051