After Loving Modigliani,

Linda Lappin

is back on Tour

October 14-November 14

with

Katherine’s Wish

(Historical fiction/fictional biography)

Officially released in 2008,
now re released in 2021
250 pages
Wordcraft of Oregon

Goodreads

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Buy it here:
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Also available from the publisher / on Amazon

   

Finalist, ForeWord Book of the Year Award in fiction,
IPPY Gold medal in historical fiction,
honorable mention Hoffer Awards, honorable mention Paris Book Festival,
finalist Next Generation Indie Awards.

A radio play adaptation of Katherine’s Wish is forthcoming.

READ AN EXCERPT

PARIS, October 1922
Paris was soon behind them. Katherine sat very still and withdrawn, her eyes fixed on the window as the train rattled past the shabby little houses of the banlieu with their gray cabbage plots brightened here and there by yellow bursts of chrysanthemums, then on across charred fields where peasants were burning off the wheat stubble. In the
173
distance up ahead lay the forest of Fontainebleau, a dark streak on the horizon.
On the seat beside her lay a pair of dove gray gloves and a wilted bouquet of cyclamen Ida had insisted on buying for her from a beggar girl at the Gare du Lyon. At her feet, her leather valise containing only the essentials for an overnight trip. Her hat box and steamer trunk had been left behind at the Select Hotel for she had been invited to spend only one night in Fontainebleau at G. I.Gurdjieff’s Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man. If Mr. Gurdjieff accepted her as a pupil and allowed her to stay, she would send Ida back to Paris early in the morning to fetch her trunk and other belongings. The question was: would he say yes, and would he let her stay for as long as three months? That ought to be enough, she thought, though enough for what exactly, she was not sure.
Ida sat across from her, looking distraught, puzzling over a handful of coins, counting and recounting francs and sous. This journey, like so many others, would have been impossible without her assistance, and Katherine knew she should be grateful, yet Ida’s every awkward gesture, every little blunder jarred her nerves. She watched Ida fumbling in her pockets, pulling out more change. The train jolted. A five franc piece tumbled from her hand, rolled across the floor, and slipped, before their eyes, into a niche beneath a seat where it was now quite irretrievable.
“O Katie! Look what I’ve done! That was just what we needed for our cab fare.”
Katherine shrugged and said nothing. Her dependence on Ida was one of those chains from which, she hoped, she would soon be freed.
A ray of sun flashed on the gleaming brass name plate of her valise. Katherine stared at the engraved letters KMM, for Katherine Mansfield Murry. That was not the name printed on the passport she carried in the vest pocket of her overcoat, which was her real name, Kathleen Beauchamp Murry. But those were only two of a multitude: Kathleen, Katherine, Kath. Katie. Katya, Yekaterina, Kass, Kissienka, K.M., Tig She had a host of names ready for any occasion and each one conjured up a different woman. Lately she had begun to wonder, which, if any, of these characters was the real I? Your name is legion, Ouspensky had said. Who was she really? Only a nameless pair of eyes, she often thought, absorbing the world into a pitiless gaze. To this thought she had returned often over the last few weeks: I have been a camera, a mere mechanical observer. At times it seemed to her she could even detach herself from her own body, as it jerked and coughed like a mechanical doll, while another eye looked down upon her from above, gilding all with a light from elsewhere. Was that perhaps the inner light of Self Gurdjieff promised to awaken?
Now the train skirted a dense wood. It was a golden autumn afternoon. The woods were full of people out walking on pathways thickly carpeted with dead leaves. A fellow roaming with two ginger-colored hunting dogs waved at the train as it passed.
When does a journey really begin, thought Katherine, as the man with the dogs met her eyes, then slid away in the window. It was a little like falling in love or running into debt. The beginning is so subtle you may not notice, then suddenly there you are hurtling into the distance on a train. And there’s no turning back until you reach the end of the line, until you have gone all the way through with it, burning your bridges if need be, and leaving everything tidy in case you never make it back.

LISTEN TO AN EXCERPT

COME BACK ON OCTOBER 20
for enthusiastic reviews!

Alison Morton

on Tour

October 12-November 12

with

Double Identity

(Thriller)

 Release date: 1/7/2021
338 pages
Pulcheria Press

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Buy it here:
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Also available in all these places
(paperback or ebook)

   

Q & A

Alison Morton tells us some intriguing background about Double Identity, the French military and working undercover

You are the author of a successful alternate history series of thrillers, the Roma Nova series. Your espionage thriller Double Identity is your first contemporary release. What prompted/inspired the shift?

Ha! I put most of it down to historical fiction writer Conn Iggulden when he was reading INSURRECTIO for me. He gave me a lovely endorsement, but also commented, ‘You clearly have the knack for fast plotting tension. I kept coming back to see what happened next.’ He suggested I recast one of my alternative Roma Novan heroines as an agent for a contemporary European organisation in the ‘real world’ (whatever that is) and run the story as a crime thriller. Who could resist such a challenge? Double Identity is the result.

But I also wanted to write a character with strong roots in France where I live. Making my heroine a dual national brings additional layers of interest and internal conflict.

The best part? Getting to know and write about new, complex characters, throwing conflict and obstacles at them then watching them develop!

Your female protagonist, Mel des Pittones, is an intelligence analyst with the French special forces. You did six years’ military service in the UK and that background shows in how well Mel is portrayed. What elements of your experience would you like/are able to share that you brought to the character? How do you think military service is different for women?

My time in uniform was some time ago, but even though parts were hard personally and professionally – the North German plain is a very cold place in winter – the camaraderie and sense of joint purpose outweigh hardships. Yes, you train hard, you become exhausted; military life can be very demanding. But the social life is something to treasure. The biggest lesson? You learn to become self-reliant and at the same time a ‘giver’ rather than a ‘taker’.

Things have changed since my time. I worked in a mixed unit where both men and women were weapons-trained and armed. Although there was sexism, women did give it back. These days, it’s a great deal more equal, but as in my time the only measure is your competence to do the job. However, in such a high testosterone environment, some unfortunate attitudes do linger.

Let’s talk about research. Is there anything you found that was of particular interest that you did not include in the novel?

The key to research is knowing that you have to know. Writing on blithely leads to errors. Do you really know how somebody is taken into custody in different countries? In DOUBLE IDENTITY, the thriller, military and location research presented no real problems. The French Army basically has the same mission – the defence of the nation and protection of the country’s interests – and that sense of camaraderie.  However, the internal training and organisation is different such as possible direct entry as a non-commissioned officer. An interesting factoid: their uniform was designed by Pierre Balmain!

Being deep undercover and assuming another identity must, in real life, be incredibly challenging. What do you think makes for a good espionage agent? How big is the mismatch between the public perception of spying and the reality?

Haha! The key is compartmentalising. In your real life you are Person A; undercover, you are Person B. Of course, keeping as close to the reality of Person A’s life in personal habits is a good idea as there is less room to make mistakes. However, that’s not always possible. The stress of such divergence comes out later, but one way of dealing with it is to always look forwards, never back. I’d say a sharp eye, enquiring mind, ability to make connections in the jigsaw of an investigation, good people skills and the ability to persist are key qualities.

A lot of ‘spying’ is quite boring and mundane; surveillance, analysing reports, gathering intelligence by hard slog, watching CCTV until your eyes bleed, preparing situation papers and developing investigation strategies. Validating and testing intelligence from multiple sources often starts with time at the desk. Sometimes, you go out in the field, but it’s not all running around all day like James Bond.

What’s next for Mel des Pittones? What’s next for Alison Morton?

In the next book, Double Pursuit, Mel is pursuing a lead in Rome, but she’s backfooted as there are so many loose ends to her investigation. Pursuing them takes her on a dangerous journey into her own past, threatening her future happiness, and to the beautiful, fierce and unyielding Sahel region of Africa where she swore she’d never return. Double Pursuit is out on 19 October 2021.

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