Monday, September 12, 2022

The Soldier's Daughter released!

 



In The Soldier’s Daughter, Evie lives close to the made-up village of Lylston, which I located north of the real market town of Bingley and set between the higher villages of Micklethwaite and East Morton, leading up to the Ilkley Moor area. 

Like many towns in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Bingley prospered during the Industrial Revolution. The Bingley section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was completed in 1774, linking the town with Skipton, and Bradford via the Bradford Canal. The canal passes through the town centre and ascends the side of the valley via the Bingley Five Rise and Bingley Three Rise Locks. Several woollen and worsted mills were built and people migrated from the surrounding countryside to work in them. Alexander’s mill is located in the valley between the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire.

Map

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This map is what I used to set Lylston Village, Bellingham Hall and Alexander’s mill in comparison to where Bingley is situated. Evie’s home (and Mr Lund’s farm) is just north of Lylston village.

A riding track Evie would have used over the moors.

A picture containing grass, sky, outdoor, field

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A view from the moors overlooking the valley. Something Evie would have seen when she left her home.

A glimpse of Bingley in the valley.

 

In Victorian times, Bingley was a hive of industry and a main route through the Aire Valley. Below are two photos I used as inspiration for when Evie is in the town, especially when she secretly meets Hal down the lane beside the pub and Alexander sees her but she denies it when he confronts her.

 A horse and buggy on a street

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The Soldier's Daughter

Yorkshire 1860

With the heat of their beloved India far behind them, Evie Davenport and her widowed British Army officer father, are starting a new life in England. But Evie is struggling. With her dearest mother gone, Yorkshire with its cold, damp countryside and strict societal rules makes Evie feel suffocated and alone.
Her friendship with Sophie Bellingham, the gently reared daughter of a wealthy rail baron, is Evie’s only comfort. Until the arrival of local cotton mill owner, Alexander Lucas.
Newly returned from America, it is expected Alexander will marry and finally make England his home. And Sophie with her family connections and polite manners is the obvious choice.
But when Alexander meets Evie, a simmering passion ignites between them. Evie, with her rebellious spirit is like no other woman Alex has ever met, but to reject Sophie for Evie would cause a scandal and devastate everyone Evie loves.
Evie knows she must do her duty. But in doing so faces the unbearable future of being without the man she loves.

Available now on Amazon: http://getbook.at/thesoldiersdaughter

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Fantastic Review TO ENTICE A SPY a novella of intrigue and romance

 



Buy LINK

A Riveting Page Turner

Set in the time of the French Revolution, To Entice a Spy is cleverly written from the English point of view. The tightly written plot follows the exploits of the headstrong, resourceful English widowed Countess Eseld Trehearne and her childhood love Baron Robert Penhale as they both work separately and unbeknownst to one another to root out a French spy disguised as an English aristocrat intent on financially supporting the revolution in France by using ill begotten British funds. Experienced historical fiction author Diane Scott Lewis did her homework and it shows. She embeds readers in the story from the first page on with her remarkably in-depth descriptions of the times. Readers are swept into the story and become a part of it by experiencing the architecture, fashions, foods, drinks, smells, sights, social mores, and sounds of England in the 1790s. Lewis has penned a deftly plotted tale that weaves ribbons of mystery and romance into a historical event and makes it come alive. The tautly written story is driven by love, loss, trust, betrayal, family ties, and the inner strength one must summon to face adversity created by both human fallibility and fate. The story moves at a comfortable pace with flawed, but believable characters who drive the plot. Readers find themselves rooting for the protagonists from the beginning to the end of the tale. The characters evoke strong emotions in readers right from page one. This reader found herself wanting to hug Eseld and Robert on one page and throttle them on the next. Lewis creates a huge conflict with a backstory to keep readers turning the pages to see how it all turns out. Part romance, part mystery, part thriller, and a part second chance at love; To Entice a Spy will capture the imagination of readers who enjoy a passionate love story fueled by human frailty, intrigue, and suspense. This terrific book has more than earned the five-star rating this reader has given it.

~Susie Black~



Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund. 

To find out more about her novels, check out her Amazon page:

DianeScottLewis

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Lady Faith Takes a Leap is now available in Portugues.

 







Monday, July 25, 2022

99c Sale!

 

The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl is on sale for 99c on Amazon USA.

“The writing is vivid and gripping!”

Annabelle can’t hide forever from the wealthy Hartley family, but can she give up the baby she loves? #historicalfiction #historicalromance #Victorianromance #bestseller

Amazon: http://getbook.at/OrphanPeacockShawl




Friday, January 28, 2022

Historical diaries and journals

 

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I collect Victorian diaries and journals, written mainly by women who have arrived in Australia after leaving England, but also by women born in colonial Australia. These diaries are brilliant when I’m writing a story set in colonial Australia and they give me an insight to how they lived and what was happening in the world around them at that time. From their personal entries, we can learn what was important to them, their daily routine, their views and opinions. They can also lift some of those myths we in the modern world tend to think as true.

Below are some pages from a selected few of my diaries, which may show why I adore them so much.

This page is from The Letters of Rachel Henning. A genteel lady who left England and ventured to Colonial Australia to join her brother who was farming out there. It’s a fascinating account of her life and full of details about those times.

I also have a few diaries, or collections of letters written during the First World War, which is another favourite era for me to write.

Below is an example from the book, Unknown Warriors, The Letters of Kate Luard, RRC and BAR Nursing Sister in France 1914-1918.

Kate Luard is one of those unsung heroines of the war. A dedicated nursing sister who went to the front line to give aid to the wounded. Her letters are fascinating, harrowing, tragic but filled with such devotion and commitment.

Below is a page from The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. A lovely diary of a naturalist’s world in 1906 written by English lady, Edith Holden.

Get your copy of The Orphan in the Peacock shawl below:

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