Headstrong actress Marie Howard has the world at her feet. But all this is due to change – dramatically!
It is 1919 and as Charles Brodie’s leading lady headstrong actress Marie Howard has the world at her feet. But all this is due to change – in ways she could never have imagined.
A sudden marriage tears Marie far from her London audiences and the man she loves, plunging her into catastrophic dramas that at times she doubts she can survive. As she’s drawn relentlessly into the horrors of her husband’s family, her gilded life as an actress finally dims to a barely perceptible flicker.
Fate, however, is not finished with her yet. After enduring heartbreak amidst the turbulence in Europe of Hitler’s rise to power and rebelling against the forces that have tied her to a place she hates, Marie is given a chance to escape. This she takes – finding, in war-torn London, infinitely more than she had dreamed of finding.
Excerpt
Marie Howard could hardly breathe for excitement. She sat next to Nell in a corner of the Green Room while the debate raged on the morning’s furore.
A rapt expression on her compelling face, she clasped her hands tightly in her lap thinking back to that scandalous moment when Dolly Martin stormed from the stage threatening never to return. Of all the times to do such a thing, Dolly had done it during dress rehearsal, with OLIVER TWIST just hours from opening – and she was the Tavistock’s leading lady!
Marie marvelled at Dolly’s nerve but squirmed at the memory of the words hurled at Charles Brodie before she walked out, leaving everyone in the lurch. Even if Dolly returned, to Marie’s mind she did not deserve to go on tonight.
There was someone who did deserve to go on as Nancy and who would put her heart and soul into the part. Marie felt feverish and her eyes burned with the turmoil she was stifling as she tried to follow Pa’s advice. She could almost hear his dear, gentle voice advising her above all else to be circumspect. As she pictured Pa, Marie sighed. Now, though, was no time to think of him or of how he had died. It was essential to stay in the present and abreast of events.
Marie took a deliberate deep breath and directed her gaze round the rather shabby room furnished for the cast to relax in. From its faded blue velvet curtains and well-worn matching chair-covers to the threadbare purplish carpet, the room’s shabbiness was all part of the essential backstage atmosphere. It was when she went she went on-stage and became the person she was playing that the magic set in. There was no other magic like it.
So, try as she might, Marie could not begin to comprehend Dolly’s action. Whatever the provocation, no actor should put a play at risk. The play was everything, the performer nothing by comparison. It was not even as if Mr Brodie had been especially provoking. As actor/manager he reigned supreme in his theater and was surely entitled to issue directives as he saw fit. A leading lady was not meant to challenge him. Who did Dolly think she was, walking out with a First Night imminent and the Company under-rehearsed? Being famous did not entitle her to behave so selfishly. Fame was no excuse for unreliability. Marie suddenly smiled. It was high time Mr Brodie replaced Dolly with someone more reliable.
Professional Reviews
Recommended
I have always enjoyed family sagas and this one kept me riveted as it has some really dark characters and bizarre plot twists! It also has a great love story at it's center. Recommended!
Good Story
This book really moves along - gave an interesting insight into the lives and times of the protagonists. I was not prepared to like it as much as I did, given that I don't read romance novels. But this one transcended the genre - guess I should be more open-minded and try a few more!
The Foreigner
I could not put this fascinating book down, I just had to read and read and read a bit more. It was absolutely spellbinding and written in such amazing details following the characters beautifully throughout the story. A must to read.
Blending Southern Gothic mystery romance, fantasy, theater, dance, music, and flashes of humor, tells the story of a pair of lovers in two separate time periods who find themselves battling an evil fifty years apart.
I wrote this novel several years ago, I self published and never had it to sell. I have decided to rewrite it and hope to get it published within a few months for people to be able to buy. I had a few copies and gave them to a few family members and
Psychic wiccan Deja Hamilton pulls shapeshifter Lincoln McCabe from the lake, and the two form an alliance against the covetous older brother who wants Lincoln dead.
