Dear Readers,
Just seven weeks from the launch of Book 7, and now the question is, what about t
he next book? As I mentioned on Facebook: I’m on the case. But …
First things first
Thank you to everyone who has joined us on the Holly Bell Facebook page, who has begun reading here, who has subscribed and my favourite of all, who has written to tell me of your enjoyment of the books.
Cornish Focus
As soon as Book 7 had had its send off and the post-launch bits and pieces were attended to, there was an urgent matter that needed my attention. As you know, all of the books are set partly in Cornwall and Book 6 almost entirely. The magical language in the series, Wicc’yeth, is formed from a mixture of Old English and … Cornish. This language outstrips English in its antiquity and has been undergoing a significant revival and modernisation in recent years. All of the main characters in the books are Cornish too.
Consequently, soon after I began writing the first book, I started studying Kernowek – the Cornish language, and am now taking my Grade III exams (there are three). As you might expect, no sooner had the confetti and streamers from the release of Book 7 settled than daily cramming commenced. For hours a day, I was beavering away at revision, imagining that once the exams were out of the way, then Book 8 would begin in earnest.
A Life of Its Own
But I have much less say in these matters than you might imagine. You may have heard or read these words before:
‘The sculpture is already complete within the marble block before I start my work. It is already there; I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
These words are, correctly or not, attributed to Michaelangelo at the unveiling of his celebrated statue of David. This monumental work was carved from a single block of marble, and now stands in pride of place in Accademia Gallery in Florence. Regardless of precisely what was intended by the remark or how it has been used or interpreted since, it resonates with me when it comes to the emergence of each new book.
Kitten Concept
Another way of looking at it is to think about a kitten. Everyone likes thinking about kittens, surely. From the point of conception, physical characteristics are determined, and to some extent, their genetics influence the trend of our personalities. But it is now set in stone whether the kitten will be ginger, tabby, white or … grey. Sleek, shaggy or … thick-furred. Blue, grey, green, brown or … citrine-eyed. I make reference here to Amanda’s grumpy familiar who, of course, arrived fully formed.
But I digress. It feels to me as though each book knows what it is going to be before I do. That may sound fanciful, but the experience of writing is more of the books forming themselves, like a pot on a wheel, under my hands guiding the clay, except they arrive in snippets or sections or ideas.
The moment of Creation and Early Stages
So when was the point of conception for Book 8? It was when I was writing Book 6. I knew where this new book was going to be set. And that’s all. During the writing of Book 7, I began to have vague ideas about the plot. Then came an epiphany. Daniel, our illustrator, sent me seven sketches for the cover of Book 7. One caught my eye, and I knew that it was going to be the cover for Book 8, or at least, that moment that he had so cleverly captured was going to be featured in the story. How? Well, that was a matter for the future.
A few weeks ago, while writing the Letter to my dear subscribers, suddenly the title came to me. I had various notions of parts of the book but no clear idea of how they would link together.
And then …
Pre-dawn, brain awake and popping with ideas, instead of turning to my Cornish books, for two hours, the plot for the new book formed itself in the cauldron of my imagination as I pattered it out on the keyboard, stopping to follow my lines of research. The day-star rose. By the time that sleepiness concluded my session, I had the bones of the plot laid down.
Since Tuesday at Dawn
From the following day until now, my brain has been in Cornish revision mode. My oral exam, at the time of writing, was looming large. There will be Cornish in the next book, as usual. The story may even take to that beautiful land in the Southwest of mainland Britain. The point is that all of the hours, months and even years of Cornish study feed into the writing process. It’s all part of the joyful ride that has brought new friends, new ideas, inspiration and new sources of pleasure my way.
Curious?
If you’d like to know more about how and why I came to learn the language and the process, if you put Cornish into the search bar, then the articles should come up.
If your curiosity about learning the language has been piqued, you can visit gocornish.com or drop me a line, and I will be delighted to help you.
That’s all for now. Be assured that I have things in store for you that I think you’ll enjoy. I’ll be back soon.
Meanwhile,
Happy reading.
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
Available on Amazon
Paperback, Kindle
and Large Print
Dear Readers,
The new book in the series, number 7, Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree, was duly christened, released from its moorings and slid down the slipway into open water last Sunday. It now flies its cozy paranormal mystery flag high, thanks to everyone who has so kindly reviewed, bought or downloaded it so far.
How Did it Go?
It went well, especially considering that the occasion landed on Mother’s Day when most people who might have been online were busy with family. Why release it on that day, then? Because I had promised to bring out the book in March, and the 27th was the last one on the shelf.
Nevertheless, the new book has more sales than any of its predecessors on their launch days. The free offer of Book 6, Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr, had some 2,800 downloads which I’d say is respectable. Out of that number, hopefully, a goodly percentage will stay with the series and continue the voyage with us.
And Now, Your Gift
This is for you. My thank you for your support in all its wondrous forms. Your name may be mentioned here, but the point is that if you’re reading this, then you are definitely included. I hope that you like it. It comes from the heart.
Next Time?
I will be back, possibly with a new collection of photos I have mentally entitled ‘Spring Comes To Sunken Madley’. A new project beckons. One that I have essayed in the past, but this time there is a better possibility of success than ever before. We shall see. I hope to bring you news in due course. In the meantime, if you’d like to keep in touch, you can find my email in the Contact section or find me mainly on Facebook. I’m always joyfully moved to hear from you..
Happy Spring (or Autumn depending),
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
Available on Amazon
Paperback, Kindle
and Large Print
Dear Reader,
It’s Here!
You can find the new sequel in the Amanda Cadabra cozy mystery series on Amazon from today. Yes, it’s a sequel (Book 7) but it’s also a standalone, so you can jump in with Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree. The Kindle edition is at a 20% discount today.
A Double Launch
If you prefer your books touchy feely, as I do, for the first time (drumroll …) simultaneously with the ebook, the paperback edition is launching too today! You can find it here:
Viewbook.at/AC7-paperback
Free
Plus, free today and tomorrow from Amazon, you can download the previous volume, Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr. This story is set in Cornwall and is also a standalone.
It would be superb if you could also spread the word and share the coziness.
Movie Time
Now here is the launch video, for your entertainment.
Back next time with news of how it went today and a little thank you present for all your support.
Happy reading,
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
Available on Amazon
Paperback, Kindle
and Large Print
Dear Reader,
The Launch Date is Confirmed
The official release of of Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree, will be on Sunday, 27th March. With just 3 days to go, here is the penultimate revelation: Chapter 1, laid bare below.
What Does Chapter 1 Mean?
There is something special about having written the first chapter of a novel. It isn’t usually the first part of a new book that I write, you see. The opening scene or paragraphs may come to me early on in the process, but the rest of the chapter could take its time. However, when it is in place, the collection of notes – scenes, dialogue, even a complete chapter here and there – suddenly, in my mind, becomes ‘The Book’. There is the feeling of acceleration and the certainty that it will, at some point, go forth into the world of dear readers, fully formed.
As so, it is about to happen. What can you expect on Sunday?
Sunday’s Line-up
The brand new Book 7 Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree, the standalone sequel, will be available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback.
The Kindle edition will be available, for a limited time, at a 20% discount.
Book 6, Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr, will be free to download for the day and Monday.
Oh, and of course, there will be a launch display video for your entertainment.
For You
Finally, I would like to thank you for your patience. Almost immediately after Book 6 was published, some of you loyal readers were asking for the next in the series. Now, I am delighted to say that the new book’s release into your hands is just hours away.
Until Sunday, I leave you with this. Just scroll down and you will be transported to the world of Sunken Madley with:
It was difficult to make out what it was. The fog was being compounded by smoke from a nearby garden bonfire. Amanda ventured closer. Oh … just a sack of old leaves, wasn’t it? Probably from last autumn. Strange though. It wasn’t like Irene to be untidy.
Another few steps, No … She stood stock-still, the mist clinging to her skin. Amanda looked up at the branch above her … then down at the form beneath. The rope attached to it lay there like a pale dead snake. … Surely not … not this. … not here …
***
The day began promisingly. Amanda awoke naturally after a full night’s sleep to the song of the blackbird; there’d been some hazy dream or other. One of the downsides of being a back-sleeper was that she often surfaced to find a cat on her stomach. And not just any cat. Tempest, her familiar, was thick-furred in a collection of storm greys, citrine-eyed and constitutionally disgruntled.
Tempest, sensing his human was stirring, moved up to her chest and pushed his head out from under the quilt. Amanda smiled blearily, rubbing one blue eye, and stroked his head.
‘Good morning, Tempest.’
He stared at her meaningfully.
‘Yes, I know,’ she acknowledged tolerantly, ‘Breakfast. I must get up anyway. I have magic practice.’
Forty minutes later found Amanda, clad in green boiler suit and trainers, mouse-brown hair in a messy plait, kneeling on the floor of her furniture restoration workshop. But not yet engaged in restoration. She was instead screwing spare antique bow handles next to the four edges of an old flat-surfaced door. Observing Amanda, with a mixture of ennui and amusement, was Tempest.
‘There,’ she pronounced optimistically, ‘that should do it. First, a test run.’
‘Aerevel ynentel,’ she pronounced, and the door rose gently into the air until she halted its progress with ‘sessiblin’ and landed it with ‘sedaasig.’ This was Amanda’s particular gift, inherited through Perran, her grandfather, from the Cadabras. Since his elopement with Senara, née Cardiubarn, of the nefarious neighbouring witch-clan, he had been, ostensibly, estranged from his family. Yet, he had never regretted the union with his beloved Senara.
Of course, as far as the village was concerned, the couple were now, in what the ‘transitioned’ regarded as vulgar parlance: dead. They were, in fact, enjoying a somewhat different plane of existence, from which they made frequent visits either spontaneously or at Amanda’s request.
However, currently she and Tempest were the sole occupants of the workshop. It was here, where Perran had taught all, or at least, most of what he knew to Amanda, to whom he had bequeathed it together with the Vauxhall Astra. The vehicle was in British racing green, and along each side bore the legend in gold script: Cadabra Furniture Restoration and Repairs.
His granddaughter was presently regarding the door on the floor with satisfaction coupled with a degree of hesitation.
‘Good,’ she pronounced. ‘And now ….’
Amanda took a deep breath and stepped onto the door, sat down, and took hold of each of the two handles on the long sides. She focused and issued the command,
‘Aerevel ynentel.’ Amanda opened her eyes wide at the strange sensation of rising off the floor, inch by inch. Distracted, she lost her concentration, the surface tilted wildly, and she cried out instinctively,
‘Grandpa! Help me!’
Instantly a tall, silver-haired man appeared and, smiling, steadied her with a gesture and landed the door.
‘Oh, thank you,’ said Amanda with relief, putting a hand to her chest. Then, as a shocking thought occurred to her, she added, ‘Grandpa, did you put a spell on me?’ Casting magic on humans was absolutely vetoed. It had got her, and even the village of Sunken Madley, into far too much trouble in the past.
‘No, bian,’ Perran Cadabra assured Amanda, addressing her by his pet name for her, Cornish for ‘baby’, ‘just the board and the air around you.’ Calmed by his soft accent, hailing from the far south-west of the British Isles, and unfailingly kindly manner, she sighed,
‘Ah.’ Now, her tell was clear to see. In the presence of magic, the tiny brown islands in the sea of her blue eyes expanded into continents. Her close-work glasses helped to hide it, but anyone who knew what to look for could observe the singular effect.
‘All right?’ asked Grandpa. ‘Ready to try again? Just an inch or two off the ground this time.’
‘Yes … I don’t have all that long to practice, by the way.’
‘I know,’ replied Grandpa, nodding. ‘You’re meeting the inspector at a quarter past nine to give him the official Sunken Madley tour.’
‘That’s right. Ok, I’m ready. Back on the horse. Or, should I say … door?’
***
The somewhat wayward village of Sunken Madley, to which Detective Inspector Thomas Trelawney of the Devon and Cornwall Police was now assigned, lay 13 miles to the north of the Houses of Parliament, and three miles south of the border of Hertfordshire. Its roots in the rural landscape, from which it had grown over a period of 800 years, were still in evidence to those who cared to look. It was embraced by ancient orchards and the sheltering Madley Wood. The village was a long way in every sense from the Cornish coastal town where Trelawney had been born and bred.
The inspector was a study in unobtrusiveness, in classic, well-cut grey suit and quiet, self-patterned matching tie. His short, light-brown hair was neither styled in a dated manner nor at the edge of current fashion. His features were pleasant, he was well-spoken, accentless, his manner mild and courteous. The sort of man, Amanda had often thought, one did not notice, until one really noticed.
Trelawney looked at his watch. He decided that he had sufficient time to make a diversion to The Corner Shop for a snack pack of almonds. There’d been a toaster crisis at his mother’s – which had been the school-holidays home of his youth after his parents’ divorce – and breakfast had turned into a rather vague affair.
His arrival at the nerve centre of the village coincided with the approach of Dennis Hanley-Page, a septuagenarian whose exuberant progress through life was entirely uninterrupted by the passing of the years.
Dennis was at that moment manifesting his eclectic musical taste. The final few bars of Rock the Casbah by The Clash echoed down the street, followed by the opening of Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5, as Dennis approached at 70 miles per hour. A red Triumph Spitfire, Dennis’s latest acquisition as proprietor of Vintage Vehicles, raced into view. The village had somehow managed to maintain a legacy speed limit from either the 1930’s or 70’s. Trelawney was simply grateful that he was not there to police the traffic, and entered The Corner Shop, while Dennis parked and secured his car.
Ding! The door heralded the inspector’s entrance.
‘Pen hates therapists,’ Joan the postlady was saying to Mrs Sharma, proprietor, and Sylvia, the hi-vis-vest-clad octogenarian lollipop lady. She was but recently arrived at the establishment from her labours of safely ushering the school children across the road. This duty she performed with the aid of her round stop sign on a long pole, hence her job title.
‘Hello, Inspector,’ they chorused in warm welcome. Joan brought him up to speed.
‘We’re talking about the new renter of the Sharma’s shop at the end of the High Street here. And I was about to say as no one could hate our new therapist. He’s a sweetie.’
‘Oh I know,’ enjoined Sylvia. ‘That would be like hating … Mother Theresa.’
‘Or Stephen Fry,’ returned Joan.
Ding! went the shop door.
‘Or Dolly Parton,’ chimed in Dennis, debonairly sweeping off his tweed cap. ‘Everyone likes Dolly Parton.’
‘We know you do,’ returned Sylvia with a grin, after they had greeted him.
‘Well,’ commented Joan, ‘my Jim says what with my hair and my curves, that I’m a tall, size 16 ringer for Dolly, bless ‘im.’
‘You’ve got a good man there, Joan,’ Sylvia remarked.
‘Oh, I have, I have. You know, when we was courting, and I mighta told you this story before …’
Trelawney was aware of the time and his appointment with his landlady-to-be and his new partner Miss Cadabra. However, he was even more conscious of his new status in the village, with its upgrade from ‘Honorary Village’ to ‘Village’. He had been warned that Sunken Madley was not like his Cornish home town of Parhayle, and they would have their own pace.
This was the last place he’d expected to end up and the last business he’d ever imagined he’d be embroiled in. Detective Inspector Thomas Trelawney had regarded magic as a lot of mumbo jumbo and himself as a modern man, living in a modern world, solving modern, and also admittedly age-old, crimes, with the aid of modern techniques.
And then …
To be continued in Chapter 2
I hope that you enjoyed that. See you on Sunday.
Happy reading,
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
Available on Amazon
Paperback, Kindle
and Large Print
Dear Readers,
Here Goes The Fifth Veil
As I wrote to you last time, the process of bringing out a new novel is a dance, The Dance of the Seven Veils. With the news that the new book is in the offing, the title reveal, the partial and then the full cover reveals, the first four have wafted to the floor. And now, for the fifth, the trailer:
On Location With The Trailer
I hope that you enjoyed the film. Some of it was shot especially for such an event, including the footage at the beginning, which was recorded in the picturesque village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire. On the Inspiration page, you can see some photographs from there. The video was shot from opposite the church, which dates from the 13th century and looks over the spacious village green. The final village scene was captured in another Hertfordshire village: Letchworth Common. For the rest of the trailer, I have several talented photographers to thank, who are credited at the end of the video.
If you are curious about my process for creating these trailers, you can read about it here: making movies
The Sixth Veil
Next time, a little peep inside the book: Chapter 1 of Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree, right here. And now I must be off, to prepare for The Seventh Veil, the launch video.
Happy Spring,
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
Available on Amazon
Paperback, Kindle
and Large Print
Dear Readers,
The Curtains Part
The cover of Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree is revealed!
Who Dunnit?
All credit must go to our esteemed and talented illustrator and visual developer, Daniel Becerril Ureña. Daniel has travelled the world, enhancing his skills as an artist, bringing to the Amanda Cadabra series a blend of drama and cosiness that is a perfect fit. All of the books have had the full Ureña treatment except for Book 3. Hence, a new cover for Amanda Cadabra and The Flawless Plan is a treat anticipated for this year.
How does a new cover come into being? you may ask. If you’d like to discover the process, I described it in exciting detail when the last sequel, Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr, was in the making: Cover Magic.
I would love to know your reactions to the look of the new book. Please let me know, in the comments, on Facebook or, my favourite, by email.
The Seven Veils
I like to think of the emergence of each new story as a dance. Not just any dance: the Dance of the Seven Veils during which they are dropped one by one. The first falls when the announcement comes that a new book is in the making. The second is cast off with the title reveal, which was two weeks ago. In the last Letter to Readers, veil number three was let fall with the partial cover reveal. Today, the fourth veil is relinquished as the cover is displayed for your enjoyment. Next week, the fifth veil is lifted for the trailer. After that, the penultimate covering is drawn off as the first chapter is laid out here. Finally, the last veil flutters to the ground: the launch.
Next
The fifth veil. Heypressto, the publisher of the Amanda Cadabra series, under the aegis of Chartreuse, will be bringing you the trailer video for Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree.
Happy Mid-March,
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
Available on Amazon
Paperback, Kindle
and Large Print
Dear Readers,
A Veil is Dropped
This week it’s time for the partial cover reveal of Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree.
What to Expect: Three Bonuses
Over the coming days, not necessarily just on Sunday, there will be a string of reveals: the full cover, the trailer and the first chapter, leading up to launch day.
There will be three special events for this release. First, we are working on releasing the paperback on the same day as the ebook.
Second, one of the books in the series will be free on the day of the launch.
Third, there will be a 20% discount for a limited period on the new book.
Spring Comes To Sunken Madley
Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree begins almost the day of the release, at this time of year. At the end of the previous book, Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr, the village, Amanda and Trelawney, enjoyed the Spring Equinox Ball. Join them as they move through the end of the month and April towards the May Day Ball. Here is a visual reminder of our village at this time of year to be going on with.
Happy Spring!
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
Available on Amazon
Paperback, Kindle
and Large Print
Dear Readers,
The Unveiling
Here it is at last. The day has come. This is where it begins: the run-up to the launch. And the title of Book 7 in the Amanda Cadabra Cozy Paranormal Mystery Series is …
What next?
Today I got the new pass of the cover illustration from Daniel. It’s a final tweak away from being The One. So next stop is the partial cover reveal.
The manuscript is back from Kim, our diligent and intuitive editor, and from our superb team of VIP Readers who have read and checked the book for any amendments. My sincere thanks go out to each of you who have kindly given your time and attention to helping polish the new book to a gleaming shine.
Now it’s time to make those adjustments so that it will be as near perfect fit as possible for both you valued existing cozy readers and new ones yet to join us.
News to come: the surprise I have in mind for Launch Day.
Back soon.
Happy End of Winter (or Summer, depending)
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
Available on Amazon
Paperback, Kindle
and Large Print
Dear Readers,
The New Sequel?
I hear you ask. Quite rightly too.
Please excuse the brief hibernation. I hope you enjoyed Valentine’s Day, which I also like to call Friends’ Day. Meanwhile, my love for you, my readers, and Amanda Cadabra is undiminished. But actions speak louder than words, so what have I been doing about bringing you the new sequel?
Words and Art
At the end of last month, I finished the manuscript, and it went out to Kim, our esteemed editor. Next, the front and back matter was edited: the British-American English glossary was updated, and a new plan and a new map were created. This version of the manuscript was sent to the VIP Reader Group (beta readers). That same weekend, a summary of the story went to Daniel Becerril Ureña, our talented cover illustrator.
At this point, I always fondly imagine that I can put my feet up, draw breath, and relax. The train is in the shed. The coal needs to be delivered. The engine needs to checked and tested. In other words, it is at this very moment that I realise how much I need to do to prepare for the launch.
Pretty as Pictures
There is a series of Letters to Readers to come. And they all need spectacular images. So, I have been creating: the title reveal, the partial cover reveal, and the cover reveal. Next, the trailer video needs to be conjured.
All of these projects require many hours of research to find the perfect video clips and images. Images have to be edited into slides. Some of the clips have been shot by Chartreuse or me. They have to be carefully chosen. The video project has to be compiled, sequenced, timed, edited, and transitions and titles added. What remains to be done? The opening, closing, credits and music.
The All-important … Cover
The initial sketches arrived from Daniel: seven possible covers. I made a shortlist of three, and he did more work on them to help me decide. As soon as I saw that next wave, the choice of The One was clear. Since then, Daniel has created further layers, and with each of those, I am able to see what tweaks are needed. This morning I sent back what could be the last list. We are now close to the final version.
The cover illustration, once completed, can then be slotted into the video, and, naturally, the cover reveals.
Greasing the Wheels
Meanwhile, there are technical blips to be sorted out that require hours of consultation, but it’s a pleasure to work with dedicated, professional people. The website has to be bright and shiny for any who like to visit and browse the trailers, other videos, first chapters, maps, quizzes, glossaries, Wicc’Yeth dictionary, free prequel or past Letters to Readers.
It’s tremendously absorbing and creative fun. It does, however, take time and patience (especially technical malarkey!). Nevertheless, all of these projects are rewarding in various ways.
The Latest
The manuscript came back from Kim the day before yesterday. I savour going through her notes. Most of the treasured VIP readers have sent back their notes for me. It is a great joy to touch base with all of you, by the way, and I will be creating a special thank you.
Launch then?
We are now around three weeks from launch, give or take a week or two at the most. I like to allow plenty of room for manoeuvre at this stage so that the process remains enjoyable for everyone involved.
The closer we get to pulling all of the threads together, the more specific I can be. And I like to add a little surprise, which I’m working on. However, the train is out of the shed and stands at the platform. The coal wagon is piled high. The engine is firing up.
In the Waiting Room
Here is something new to be going on with. The paperback for Book 2 now has its new cover, and here it is. You can only see this here unless you acquire the actual book. (Personally, I prefer actual tangible volumes that I can hold and mark and love and put on my shelf. I have some that I think of as my oldest friends.)
Can you see what Daniel has so cleverly created? The scene on the front shows a devastated old pub. The back cover rewinds time to when it was pristine. I was charmed when I saw this for the first time.
The next Letter to you, hopefully, next weekend, will be announcing the title of the new sequel. The whistle is about to blow.
Happy February,
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
Available on Amazon
Paperback, Kindle
and Large Print
Dear Readers,
Today I take a brief break for editing Book 7 in the Amanda Cadabra series to bring you the finale of my 2021 search for the cozy village (which I intend to take up again this spring). Having found the apple of the my dreams, I went in search of lunch at a 16th century hostelry in nearby Standstead Abbotts.
Why there?
Stanstead Abbotts (also spelled Stanstead Abbott) bears the distinction of having been recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 – a sort of survey of the taxable resources and power bases of the country of that time. The village was called Stanstede, and the Abbotts was added probably because it passed to the abbots of what is now Waltham Cross. Its main claim to historical fame is that, apparently, it was given to Anne Boleyn, second unfortunate queen of Tudor king Henry VIII.
There I found a splendid 16th-century pub with a kindly and knowledgeable host. He showed me around, explaining that the building began life as a monastery in 1538. Thereafter, it morphed into a coaching inn and finally The Red Lion pub. You’ll find a lot of Red Lion pubs on these shores. Why?
Red Lions?
There are two schools of thought: one is that it was an emblem on the coat of arms of the house of Lancaster (more of them next week!), which was a major player in the fortunes of these isles. The second is that it dates back to when James IV of Scotland became James I of England in 1603 after the death of Elizabeth I. The story is that, on his triumphant procession into London, he commanded that the Scottish heraldic symbol of the red lion be displayed on all public buildings, including necessarily, inns and taverns. To date, there are 547 Red Lion pubs in the UK.
In just such a setting, with aged beams above and a large brick fireplace warming the room, you would expect to find Amanda Cadabra and Detective Inspector Trelawney discussing murder and lunch. The Sunken Madley pub, of similar antiquity, is, of course, The Sinner’s Rue. The Christmas Ball of Book 2 in the series, Amanda Cadabra and The Cellar of Secrets, is set in the function room above.
A What?
But back to the Red Lion. The restaurant within the pub is the warmly named Amico Amici, and, from their tempting menu, I ordered lasagne. While I waited, my host brought some historical papers relating to the sale of the pub as it changed from owner to owner. On the yellowing formal documents of sale, written in a fine italic hand, were details of everything a new buyer would find on the premises. My favourite was the mention of a ‘beer pulling engine’. A mystery! Enthralled, I enquired of my host what this might import. It’s what we’d call a tap, the large vertical handle you see on a bar that staff pull to allow the amber nectar to flow into the waiting flagon below.
Bidding farewell to the friendly manager and staff, I set out from The Red Lion. There was one more stop to make. To the 13th century.
St James
There is a mention of a priest of the village in the Domesday Book, and the original church of St James is thought to have been Saxon. The present structure is primarily 18th century, but there are parts hundreds of years older, so I made sure to photograph the good bits for you.
This porch is 15th century, and the doorway inside is 13th century. As you pass under the small wooden roof and place your hand on the stone as you enter the church, all at once you are united with the hundreds, if not thousands of feet that have trod the same surface, of hands that have touched that same place: worshippers, penitents, crafters, builders, theology and arts students, and, like me, simple tourists who admire architecture and have a love of history. And of course, who are in search of inspiration for a notable feature of Amanda Cadabra’s village: Sunken Madley’s St Ursula-without-Barnet, which is also a medieval church.
The Cozy Mystery Connection
In the nave, I found the strangest pews I’d ever seen. These, I learned from the guidebook, are called box pews. That’s
right, they are literally boxed in with high wooden partitions. Here we have another link to the Amanda Cadabra series. These are shown in an engraving by the artist William Hogarth, namesake of our very own former Chief Inspector Hogarth of the Devon and Cornwall police and Thomas Trelawney’s boss.
You can see the pews in the second of William Hogarth’s series of Industry and Idleness here. The idea was to give the parishioners privacy. Back in the more austere days of the 14th century, there was nowhere to sit in churches. After that, wealthier parishioners got their own seating, in their own private pews, nicely enclosed and even including a table and fireplace! (And affording an opportunity for a covert nap) This did no favours to the organisation of the interior space of the church. So the ecclesiastical establishment gave in and had ordered rows of pews built with a central aisle for symmetry and a, no doubt symbolic, path to the altar.
To Come
Finally, the last photograph taken, I returned to the car and took the road south to what was once the kingdom of Middlesex, and home. The summer, astronomically speaking, was over, but there will be more field trips and photoshoots to come. Not only that, but there are developments with the new book, the seventh in the Amanda Cadabra series, to share with you.
More of that, next time.
Happy reading,
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
Available on Amazon
Paperback, Kindle
and Large Print
