Independent authors publishing together
What is it about old letters that come to light later that is so appealing to our imagination? In our age of instant communication via email and social media, letter-writing is a rare practice. Why write someone a letter when you can Skype them instead? But for people a century ago, no other means of staying in contact existed. A letter was a personal thing, even if it took some time for it to arrive or for a reply to come back.
Continue reading “The Power of Letters”
In our continuing series of weekly blog posts, Ocelot author Vanessa Couchman tells us about her research process.
For all historical novelists, research is a vital part of the writing process. Since I took a degree in history, I enjoy the research part enormously. The danger for me is getting so carried away with the research that it threatens to take over the writing!
Continue reading “Going Back in Time: Creating a Sense of Place in Fiction”
Huge excitement here at Ocelot Press as The Ghostly Father, Sue Barnard’s wonderful rewriting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, is launched in audiobook format! This is the first – but certainly not the last – of the Ocelot list to become an audiobook, and more will follow soon.
In the meantime, you can now listen to The Ghostly Father in the car, on the train, while you’re doing household or gardening tasks, or even in the bath (but be careful not to drop it in the water!). The possibilities are endless.
Think you know the world’s most famous love story? Think again. The alternative version of Romeo and Juliet, The Ghostly Father, is now in #audiobook format. @OcelotPress
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If you haven’t already come across this lovely story, here’s the description:
Think you know the world’s most famous love story? Think again. What if the story of Romeo and Juliet really happened – but not quite in the way we’ve all been told?
This part-prequel, part-sequel to the original tale, told from the point of view of the Friar, tells how an ancient Italian manuscript reveals secrets and lies which have remained hidden for hundreds of years, and casts new doubts on the official story of Shakespeare’s famous star-crossed lovers.
If you love the Romeo and Juliet story but are disappointed with the way it ended, this is the book for you.
The Ghostly Father has two narrators: Danielle Cohen, a rising star in the audiobook narration world, who can master an amazing range of accents; and Philip Rose, a voice actor with long experience in voice-overs and audiobook narration.
You have a treat in store!
Ocelot author Cathie Dunn’s latest novel is out today and is available in ebook and paperback formats from Amazon.
This dual timeline historical romance is set in the present-day Languedoc region in southern France and in its predecessor, Septimania, in the 8th century. Cathie lives in that area of France and has been able to do a lot of research in situ. Read on for more details of the story.
A tale of love, death and redemption…
AD 2018
Languedoc, south-west France
Madeleine Winters must live in her late mother’s old stone house in south-west France for one hear before she can claim her inheritance – and sell it! Reluctantly leaving her life in England, she begins to renovate the house. But she’s not prepared for all the discoveries…
Is it her imagination when she hears a woman’s voice? Or when the ground shakes?
When ancient human bones belonging to a female are found beneath the kitchen floor, the mystery deepens. How did the woman end up buried, without a sarcophagus and all alone, in that particular spot in the Cabardès hills?
And why were her bones broken?
AD 777
Septimania, on the western coast of the Mediterranean Sea
17-year-old Nanthild attends Charlemagne’s court with her father, where she is introduced to Bellon of Carcassonne. Unimpressed by the blustering young warrior, Nanthild is shocked when Charlemagne and her father arrange their wedding as a gesture of ensuring Bellon’s support in the king’s conquest of the volatile southern region of Septimania.
Despite his Visigoth origins, Bellon is installed as Count of Carcassonne, and he soon has to face challenges to Frankish rule that often keep him away from home – and his family.
Bellon’s absences make it easy for Nanthild to keep her calling as a healer and wise-woman from him, and she continues to visit those in need of her help.
But dangers lurk on her journey…
Readers of Kate Mosse and Barbara Erskine might enjoy the story of Love Lost in Time.
Today is an exciting day for us here at Ocelot Press, since we’re adding another wonderful title to our stable of historical fiction reads. The Raided Heart, Jennifer C. Wilson’s 15th-century historical romance, set in the Scottish Borders, is published today. It’s available on Amazon Kindle and in paperback.
Read on to get a glimpse of the story:
Continue reading “Jennifer C. Wilson’s ‘The Raided Heart’ launches today!”
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