Gédéon

Welcome to an instructive journey that promises to ignite your curiosity about aspirations and conflicts in a period of history that you may know little about. As we gear up for the upcoming A to Z Blogging Challenge in April, I am unveiling the theme that will guide us through a month of discovery and…

‘Games’ by Patrick Oberholzer is a remarkable book – remarkable in its oversized format, remarkable in its dramatic design, and particularly remarkable in its message. It is also a very instructive book. It makes us aware of the traumatic experiences of many Afghans refugees who arrive in comfortable Western Europe. “We speak of ‘games’ to refer…

My research for ‘Greet Suzon for me’ included studying the following documents and online resources. Reference works Novels Websites

Louis XIV considered a person who possessed a Bible to be a traitor, a member of a rival church. Bitter persecution of Protestant believers spread throughout France. To avoid discovery, a Huguenot woman often hid her micro Bible in her hair bun or chignon.

An extract from ‘Greet Suzon for me’ “I’m sure you miss your papa, Sophie.” “Yes. Mummy’s taking me to him.” “That’s right.” I looked at Antoinette. “How did you get separated? Can you tell me what happened?” She hung her head, sniffing and nodding for some moments. Then she looked up, breathing in gasps. “Those…

A chapter from ‘Greet Suzon for me’ This draft of chapter 22 contains some drama, a style of prose I’m not good at. I’d appreciate any feedback – harsh or complimentary – to help me improve it.

In the sixteenth century, France witnessed decades of strife between the established Catholic Church and the new Huguenot believers, followers of John Calvin’s Protestant doctrine. These culminated in a series of massacres in many parts of the country. The most horrible became known as the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572, at which thousands of…

Before The Storm 1685 by Paul C. R. Monk – an object lesson in creative historical fiction writing This free novella covers the same dramatic events as my work-in-progress, Gédéon. In my opinion, Paul C. R. Monk has not only written a captivating prequel to his trilogy, The Huguenot Chronicles but presents a masterpiece in regard…

How do refugee families settle in their adopted country? Recently the BBC published a moving report about nine-year-old Rouaa from a Syrian refugee family. They had fled their home after a chemical attack and lived for several years in a camp in Lebanon. Now the UK has granted them asylum. For several years, I have…