Have you ever needed an independent and honest assessment of the quality of your content? Bookvetter is a new literary community designed to provide authors with quality assessments that can be used to develop writers and identify exceptional content for the benefit of readers.

The process starts with anonymous author peer reviews in order to avoid review trading or review reprisals. The content of books is also matched with the reading interests of reviewers in a wide range of areas like profanity or levels of graphic content, as part of ensuring the content of books is fairly evaluated.

 All books will be reviewed and the authors provided with feedback that can used to improve their writing. Books that the author community identifies as being exceptional are considered Vetted Books and have the opportunity of being offered to the book review blogger community for additional review and promotion.

The focus of Bookvetter is to get authors back to writing and creating great content that readers will help market for free. Honest and unbiased reviews are a key part of making this possible. For those serious about writing better books and letting their content advertise itself, the Bookvetter Community offers an alternate path. 
Marc Brackett

     My shipment of print copies of my latest novel arrived recently, and I have been busy fulfilling the obligatory mailing of copies to winners of a contest I ran on Goodreads.com.
Much of my time between January 1 and now has been trying to promote this book, which brings me to the subject of this post: the difficulties of being a relatively unknown--did I say relatively?--author, and managing time between marketing my work, and actual writing. 
     I have learned through experience that word-of-mouth is the most effective way of promoting novels. That means social networking. One can spend endless hours doing this, which I also know from experience. There is no shortage of gurus ready to give you advice for a fee, but what I have seen of their advice is largely common sense. There comes a time when you just have to come to the conclusion that your best self-promotion is to keep producing good prose, and someone will eventually pay attention. Which brings me to the subject of what I'm writing now.  


     The new book returns my heroine of two other novels, Andy Blake, a Windsor Ontario detective who returns to her home in the north after twenty-five years on the job. The Ontario Provincial Police snag her to work in Sault Ste. Marie. For followers of Andy, I can tell you she will have problems in her relation with her love interest, Grant Stacey. You'll have to wait to see how, if at all, she comes to terms with the rift.
     Does this means I'm entering the realm of Mystery Series Writers? I don't know. I like Andy, and that probably gives you an answer.
     So, back to work on the new book. 
     I'll worry about selling the last one tomorrow or the next day!

I’m between guest bloggers, and I need to keep Throwing Stones current, so here are some of my musings that might only have a mild interest among fellow writers.

Truth be told, my day starts around 12:30 AM the night before. I rarely get to sleep before then, and find myself invariably planning what to write in the morning. Usually that entails trying to figure out how to get over and around a snag in the plot. Sometime this works. More than often, I fall asleep before an answer arrives.

I never seem to get started writing before 10AM. I read the paper, check my email, and goof around on my iPad before getting a piece of toast in me. That’s not to say I don’t rise early. The dog and cat see to that.

While I don’t have a set routine, a good day goes something like this:

I like to write in a spiral notebook, in cursive, in pencil. The Pentel 0.50 Twist-Erase is my favorite. Its eraser is really a good one, and believe me, I use it. I try to write a minimum of 500 words, in a day, and am elated when the muse visits letting me hit 800-1200 words. I then transfer this to the computer. By doing this I feel I’ve almost done a first revision, as whole paragraphs can get shifted around in the process. Besides, the words look different in printed form, and I’ll substitute verbiage in that second reading.

I don’t write every day, but I try. I think that’s important. I have a note above my computer that exhorts me to at least write something. Of course, those of us with obligations outside of our passion may have to miss a day.

I have other little reminders posted around, as well. SHOW, NOT TELL is one that reminds me not to get too wordy in my descriptions, but rather give the reader the opportunity to gather atmosphere, attitudes, feelings from the story, itself. Then there’s the P.O.V note staring me in the face chiding me to keep the dialogue in one character’s reference at a time.

The most important rule I try to follow comes from a quote by Pablo Picasso: “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.” That’s the most difficult one to keep of them all. We writers fall in love with our words, ones that the reader might not share as so important to the story. We love to expand on our favorite subjects to the point of boring our audience. Of that, I plead guilty, but a good editor will strip the manuscript of those shenanigans, if I don’t.

It’s not all fun. A block in forwarding the plot is frustrating. Conversely, nothing is more satisfying than to put my pencil down and realize I’ve just written four pages of dialogue.

At times like these, writing is effortless, a joy.

If you are a writer, you know the likes and dislikes of a reviewer or editor can make or break the success of your book. 
How many of you have wondered why you didn't receive four or five stars for that year of loving effort?
Why did that danged editor make you take out that turn of phrase you thought so clever?

My guest is Joyce Gilmour, a professional editor/reviewer who has the credentials to let you know what goes on in that part of the business so vital to an author.





Barnes:  Joyce, welcome to THROWING STONES.

Gilmour:  Richard, first let me thank you for this opportunity to share about Editing TLC. I have appreciated getting to know you and have the opportunity to read and review two of your books: Luzon and Forgotten Roots.

B: Tell me about how long you’ve been doing this and how you got started. 

G: The way Editing TLC came about (six plus years ago) is due to the fact that I started running in to books that were in print, which contained too many mistakes. In today’s world of publishing, many people have skipped the process of copyediting (or have asked family members and/or friends to copyedit for them). Too many books are ending up in the marketplace before they are at their finest quality. As a book reviewer, I have come across numerous books that are going to print before they are the best that they can be, which to me is very sad. My feeling is that if we are asking people to pay for a book, whether it be e-book or print book, readers deserve to have a book which is as error free as possible.

B:  I learned about you through your work with the Military Writers Society of America. Do you review for other organizations? 

G: Besides reviewing for MWSA, I have reviewed several books for Book Sneeze, and have also been appointed as an Amazon Vine reviewer. The majority of books I’ve reviewed have been as a free-lance reviewer. I used to search for books to review, but in the last two years I’ve had more authors contacting me requesting reviews. The “problem” currently is that the editing end of my business is keeping me extremely busy and my “inbox” of books to review is overflowing.

B:  Do you specialize in particular genres? 

G:  No. One of the great things about my job is the variety of my reading and editing. It keeps life interesting!

B:  Do you write yourself? 

G:  Funny you should ask…ever since elementary school, for reasons I will not go into, I have never thought of myself as a writer. My thinking regarding writing was that an author must create a story “out of nothing,” due to the push for “creative writing” in school. However, thanks to several of my authors/clients I’ve discovered the joy of writing “from something,” and have realized the power of research and using personal experience to build my ideas. I’ve also figured out that being a book reviewer demands a form of writing, so I can say, yes, I am a writer. By attending MWSA conferences, several special people have come into my life who have been encouragers to me. I also wrote a column for MWSA’s Dispatches Magazine for a couple of years called “Connections,” in which I shared my connections with authors and introduced readers to their writing. At this point in time, I am so busy helping other people achieve their dreams that I don’t spend much time writing. I know that someday my children’s book (a combination fiction/nonfiction) will become a reality.

B:  There are editors, and reviewers. How do you handle doing both? 

G:  As I stated earlier, the book reviews are not getting enough attention these days. I do not charge anyone for a book review, so those are “gifted” to authors. I don’t believe in authors paying for book reviews; that is just my personal bias. At this point in time, I cannot take on any more reviews, as I am overloaded, and I’ve been telling people who are requesting that I cannot make any promises as to when I can get a review accomplished for them. (Children’s books might be the exception, as they don’t take as much time to read, and having been an elementary teacher, I am partial to them.) I believe that my editing clients’ work must come first. I usually have a “review” book going for times when I need a break from the intensity of copyediting. So, I guess I should say that beginning as a book reviewer, and having the courage to tell authors my opinion regarding their books, is part of what started to build up the editing end of my business. I have stories, though, of an author or two who took issue with my response…one who didn’t think anything of selling a book for $20 that was riddled with mistakes. Oh well…someone might buy one of his books, but I doubt they would make the same mistake twice.

B:  What are the most common problems you notice when reviewing manuscripts that need improvement? 

G:  What a question! One of the biggest problems, I guess, is getting some authors to realize that Word’s spelling and grammar checker is good, BUT not the answer to finalizing a book. It does not have a brain that connects with the content, and does not pick up on inconsistencies within the text. I haven’t tallied common errors… but every manuscript seems to come with its own set of issues. I’ve learned to keep a style sheet for each author, with words and “issues” so that the two of us remain on the same page, because sometimes it isn’t a matter of “right or wrong” but a choice an author makes, but that choice has to remain consistent throughout the manuscript. As in two manuscripts I just completed, the main characters’ names were spelled two ways…so one wasn’t “right” and the other “wrong,” but the author’s choice needed to be consistent. And one of those manuscripts had been “edited” by three people before it got to me. That is frustrating for authors…so it is important to find an editor that has a keen eye and cares deeply that your manuscript shows up to the public in its topnotch quality. Some people mean well, but that doesn’t mean they have the critical eye necessary for the job. People see the TLC in my business name and think it stands for tender loving care. Originally, that is what I wanted…to let clients know that I would handle their “baby” with tender loving care. The TLC stands for “Technical Literary Critique” (done with tender loving care…LOL!).

B:  What would be your advice to a writer submitting his/her work to you for: editing? 

G:  Handing over your “baby” to an editor is not easy for most authors. They have poured their heart and soul into their work, and having someone question parts of their book is not easy. A handful of my clients find the editing process a fun one, but most would probably think it is quite tedious. I prefer clients who want to have an active part in the editing process. It truly needs to be a team effort. Authors need to realize that it takes time and effort BEYOND the creative end of writing a book to get the book to the end result. Too often authors think the editing process should happen in a short amount of time. Probably relative to the writing of a book, it is a short process, but it is one that shouldn’t involve shortcuts.  review? People wanting a review must realize that they will get an honest review of how I feel the book was written, and I will make comments regarding copy editing if there are issues. I can’t endorse a book that isn’t topnotch quality...I have a reputation to uphold and I can’t be giving four or five star reviews to people who might have wonderful content, but whose book is not top quality in the editing department. Books are expensive these days, and people deserve the best when they are spending money to read…besides, as I taught to third graders for thirty-six years, one must always consider his/her audience. Writing that is only going to be seen by the author does not need to be topnotch, but if we are going to put our work on display, that is a different story.

B:  How can writers contact you for your services? 

G:  Writers can email me at [email protected] They can also check out my references, along with my book reviews and books that I’ve edited on my website at www.editingtlc.com It is certainly where interested folks can go to get the upshot of Editing TLC.

G:  Thanks again, Richard, for the opportunity to share about my business. I hope your readers feel free to contact me regarding any questions they might have regarding Editing TLC.

B:  Thank you for these great insights.

     Recently, one of my fellow writers at Wings Press blogged about how she got started writing, and lamented that she did not begin earlier in life. I can relate to that last sentiment.  I got to thinking about my start, and how chancy it was that writing ever took hold. 
     When I retired I vowed not to sit around the house. In my work I played a lot of "business golf" and was a decent player, so I thought this was a great chance to lower my handicap. It soon became clear that what I thought I'd love became a burden. I lost interest in the game. 
     I did my share of volunteer tutoring at the Charlotte Men's Shelter, The Mecklenberg (NC) Jail, and the Gaston County (NC) Literacy Center. It was all rewarding.
     The woodworking bug bit me hard. Got into that to the tune of some serious bucks, and made some nice things, including a coffee table and end table that presently grace our living room. I still enjoy the hobby.
     Concurrently I took a night class at the local university just to keep the old noggin sharp. I took the only thing available that looked interesting for an ex science major, "The History of the English Language."  Sounds dull, but it wasn't. After that, what next? A short story writing class was available and, on a lark, I took it. I think I wrote one or two stories for the class...and did okay, at least I thought they were.
    The next term a class in play writing was available. The guy teaching it was a playwright that our community theater produced one season. I got to know him pretty well. In fact we became good friends, and he asked me to join his writing group. 
     And here is where things changed. I trotted out my short stories. Having serious writers critique your work can be intimidating, or exhilarating. In my case it was the latter. Positive or negative, I didn't care...someone was paying attention to my creative self.
     An Idea I had for another short story was deemed too complicated. I was urged to make it into a novel. "A book?? Me??" 
     It never occurred to me that I had one in me. But I tried, and wrote a manuscript full of every error and pitfall known to literature. After 100,000 words, the story was told, an epic tale of WWII. I put the manuscript out to the publishing world to relish, expecting great things. Of course they didn't come for a long time. Not until Someone at Wings saw something in it they liked well enough to turn me over to a great editor who rapped my knuckles with re-write after re-write. What a great learning experience. And the resulting product was a book I am proud of.
     Since then, I have not taught a class. Nor have I done anything of real substance in the workshop. Writing is the last thing I think of at night and the first thing in the morning. If that isn't a reason to live, don't know what is.
    

There is a well to which a writer can visit. He needs that resource to make his descriptions vivid, his emotions real, his dialogue believable. The well can be filled with life experiences, his reading, formal education, or simply an inquisitive mind. We've all read prose that tells the story, but does not inspire when the well is too shallow.
This week, my guest is Kev Richardson, a man with a very deep well, indeed. I'll let him tell you about it, himself.  

Kev Richardson, historian, novelist, biographer…

Why did an Australian retire in Thailand?
It’s a question often asked. I had taken early retirement and being alone, sold up my Melbourne home, moving to my Gold Coast ‘weekender’. My plan was simple; live life surfing in the sun while writing my country’s convict history. At my writing club, the editor of our local paper, learning of my considerable business travels, soon had me writing a weekly travel column. He introduced me to a London agent who bought travel articles for resale to Airline Magazines across the world.

“Wow!” At sixty-one, I went back to school to earn a Journalist ticket, then for three months in each of the next eight years, travelled abroad with camera and tape-recorder. For each next three months I wrote articles for airline magazines, leaving six months of summer to write novels and beach-bum. Retirement was great!

When my London agent died, so did that routine, yet I had a mountain of exciting notes to turn into novels. My literary agent urged me to take leave of absence from all commitments, to go somewhere quiet to ‘just write’. I was ready for a two-year sojourn and chose Thailand because living was so cheap. I rented a furnished nine-room Thai house for $265 a  month!

 In the Himalayan foothills, the tempo of life was bewitchingly calm and I began realising many benefits were embedded in Asian culture. On reaching retiring age at ‘home’, I harboured a sense of being considered a nuisance by not only the country’s administration, but by its youth. In Asia, the older one becomes, the more respect and admiration is given you from the very young, through teenage to adulthood. I found it a welcome surprise.

On going ‘home’ after a year, to see how much my grandchildren had grown, and they had, of course, I again felt, out of doors, ostracised. I missed Chiang Mai! And one can write anywhere! Especially in a land where I pay no taxes! I sold my home and car and paid out the mortgage on my son’s house. I visited them on two more occasions, but now, they visit me!

Having recorded copious notes while travelling from the south to north of Africa, through the Middle East, absolutely devouring Europe for which I’d always yearned to see every square inch, through the South Sea islands and South America from north to south, I experienced wonderful adventures—each to become a basis for travel-adventure novels.

Today, at the birth of my eighteenth happy year in Thailand, I continue writing. My two most recent novels have been awarded by my reviewing company, Ten Stars out of Five! – their first ever awards over 5 Stars, so my head is in the clouds! In January 2014, my twentieth novel is to be released, and on 1st March, my twenty-first.

I can assure readers, that ‘retirement in Thailand’ is a truly wonderful time of life!

Read synopses, awards and reviews of my works at www.kev-richardson.com.

 

Getting the Picture on Breast Cancer
By Cheryl Norman

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. As a breast cancer survivor, I do my part to encourage women to take responsibility for their health.

By now you know the drill. Eat a healthy diet, get regular exercise, get an annual mammogram, and perform monthly BSEs (Breast Self-Examinations). Mammograms can save lives. The recommended age for one’s baseline mammy was 40 when I had my first. Later it was raised to 50. Now there’s talk of lowering the age to 30. My dear friend Bobbie was just 38 years old when she died from breast cancer. Brenda’s sister was 32. Waiting until 40 to start mammography didn’t help either woman. Would earlier mammograms have mattered?

But I caution you about mammograms. They aren’t enough. Three years ago, I had my annual mammogram and it was clean. I was dismissed with a “see you next year.” But my high school health instructor instilled in us impressionable teenage girls the need to monitor our bodies. Monthly BSEs familiarized us with what felt normal so we’d know when something didn’t. Fortunately, I took her advice to heart and made monthly BSEs a habit.

Two months after my clean mammogram, I found a suspicious lump during my routine monthly BSE. I had a biopsy and immediate surgery for what turned out to be a fast-growing form of breast cancer. I shudder to think how things would’ve turned out if I had waited ten months for the next mammogram. Now I’m 3½ years without a recurrence. My oncologists told me I was a smart woman not to depend solely on mammography.

In my romantic suspense novel REBUILD MY WORLD, the hero’s mother ignores symptoms until it’s too late. By the time she’s diagnosed with cancer, she’s waited too long. Fear, inconvenience, family responsibilities, and any number of factors cause women to postpone screenings and doctor appointments. You’ll hear arguments that women don’t receive the same level of medical attention as men. That’s no excuse. Make noise. Be heard!

Bottom Line: Take responsibility for your health, and I’m not just addressing women. Men get cancer, too, even breast cancer. If something isn’t normal or just seems “off,” visit your doctor and have it checked. If you aren’t satisfied with your doctor’s level of attention, change doctors. Delay in treatment can mean the difference in life and death. Truly. I’m not being dramatic.

And if you do have cancer, don’t despair. There are many of us survivors around to support and encourage you. Get treatment immediately. The earlier cancer is detected, the better your chances of beating it.

As for my hero’s mother in REBUILD MY WORLD, well. . .she has other reasons for not seeking treatment. She’s harboring a thirty-year old secret that threatens the happiness of her son and the woman he loves. If you like murder mysteries, romance, and complex family drama, give REBUILD MY WORLD a read. It’s available in both print and e-book versions. Visit cherylnorman.com for more information.

You can learn more about Cheryl's writing by clicking / tapping on her new book.

First, many thanks for all the folks who signed on to read Katherine Pym's interesting take on researching for her novels.

Next week I'm hosting a mystery writer, Cheryl Norman. October is Breast Cancer awareness month, and Cheryl's next book has a character who is dealing with it. Cheryl has some strong ideas on the subject she will share.

Back to the subject of this post:
I have been telling folks my next book will be self-published. Well, it ain't so...at least for this time around. The big advantage, as I see it, for a relatively unknown writer to self-publish is that you make more on every book. At my point in my writing (as well as in my life) I am not too concerned about getting rich.
Wings ePress has done a good job  for me, producing a good product, both electronic and soft cover. I scoped out all the costs involved in a self-pub. Frankly, I don't know how Wings does it for just the set-up fee they charge if the author wants his/her book in print.
So there it is. Big talker has to eat a little crow.

My  guest blogger is someone who I have admired for the thoroughness of her research when writing an historical novel.    Introducing Katherine Pym.
Katherine, like many "HF" writers has chosen a niche for much of her work. Read her blog, and see just how small that niche is. She's become an expert on the subject!


Justice Prevails

by

Katherine Pym

I like to write historical novels, and my era of choice is 17th century London. Fact is often more compelling than fiction, and research brings to the author/reader unique human interest stories.

Due to the large amount of current events during the 1660’s, my intention is to write a novel per year until 1666 when old London burned to the ground. So far, I’ve had success writing stories each year from 1660 to 1662.

True London (approximately one square mile) resided within the old wall. Everything outside was its suburbs, such as the theatre district near Drury Lane, Covent Garden, the London Bridge, and London Pool where tall ships were outfitted to sail the high seas. Across the bridge to Southwark and Bankside where the brothels were, the Clink Prison, Bear baiting, and the old Globe, none of these were considered London.

This blog will be unruly, and for much of it, unkind. But culled from research, it is all true.  

My latest release (London 1662) titled Of Carrion Feathers dealt with espionage against the king, primarily from the discontents who survived the transition between Cromwell’s Protectorate and King Charles II’s Restoration.

My work in progress (London 1663), is about health, science, and medicine. As you can imagine, studies were raw and primitive, and unpleasant to its victims. To determine how blood, heart, and lungs worked together, the Royal Society primarily dissected dogs. The Chirurgery (Surgery) Guild used hanged felons to find their answers. (Note: The hue and cry against exhuming bodies for study—as in Tale of Two Cities--took place in later centuries.)

Hopefully, a family member wouldn’t be subjected to hanging, then dissection, but if he were…

When a man committed a crime in Covent Garden, he was not in London, but Middlesex County. He’d be dragged to Hicks Hall, and there undergo a grilling by the Grand Jury. If the crime was serious enough, he’d be transferred to London, Newgate Prison (built in the 12th century), and be tried at the Old Bailey.

The area of Newgate and Old Bailey permeated with the stink of man at his worst. Over the centuries, prisoners found a kink in the walls, and a few breakouts occurred. In the 1630’s, that was corrected, and by the 1660’s, the prison was near impregnable. After the fire of 1666, it burned to the ground. The fire was so hot, stones shot from buildings like grenades that exploded at impact. Surprisingly, very few in London died during the Great Fire.

But I digress…

The 17th century justice system gave little leeway to the accused. Most of the time, the perpetrator was hanged, and there was little he could do.  If the crime was murder, there were no defense lawyers. The indicted person was on his own to show the judges, jurors, and witnesses that he was innocent.

The more notorious the crime, the more spectators jammed into the Old Bailey. It was up to the witnesses to show what the accused did. It often ended up in a shouting match between the prisoner, the victim or loved ones of the victim, and their witnesses.

Jurors were picked to serve for the season, 12 from London and 12 from Middlesex County. The judges preferred jurors who knew each other and had served before. It was a smoother business that way.

When the accused stood at the dock ready to receive sentence, the judge would ask, “What have you to say,” to avoid death by execution, “according to the law?”

At this moment, while the prisoner stood at the bar, his brain functions stopped by the fact he would soon die, the executioner would slip a little rope in the form of a noose around the accused’s thumb. He’d then slowly close the noose.

How would he respond to that? The poor fellow must have gaped, and in shock, he more than likely could not utter a word.

Once convicted of a crime and the verdict was death by hanging, most prisoners ended up at Tyburn Tree, and would be executed with several others.

Tyburn was once a village in Middlesex County. What made Tyburn gallows unique was the way it was constructed, ‘a wooden triangle supported by three legs.’ Quite a few felons could be hanged at a time. It was a marvelous sport for the people.

Public executions were entertainment.  Crowds gathered en masse to watch these events. The village of Tyburn profited by large hangings. They set up food and drink stalls, erected bleachers so that good folk could see clearly. They brought their children, and baskets of food.  They picnicked and laughed.

England’s justice system would not allow a guilty person to escape his sentence. Stories of interest:

One fellow condemned to be hanged found a way to escape as he was brought to the gallows. When the bailiffs hauled the poor fellow to the ‘tree’, his legs shackled, the condemned man jerked out of the way. The crowd impeded the gaolers from catching him. He ran down a hill and jumped into a river, the weight of the shackles pulling him down. He drowned.

Not content to have the prisoner die before being properly hanged, he was hauled limp and wet back to the gallows, and there hanged with the other prisoners. (They did this during the French Revolution, too. Not hanged - guillotined.)

Enter Oliver Cromwell who was very dead when executed for treason.   

When King Charles II returned from exile in May 1660, he brought back a few things. One – a French tradition – put women on stage. Another, he sought revenge for the regicide of his father, King Charles I. 

Charles II did not want to execute every regicide, but the men around him did. They were determined to show the world what rogues and rascals the regicides were for killing Charles, the father. After several executions, and when new names were recommended, Charles, the son, waved his hand in dismissal. He was tired of death.  

He did, however, accept revenge on the head of Oliver Cromwell. 

Excerpt from Of Carrion Feathers by KPym: “The Protector died of an illness on a stormy night in September of 1658.  Wind blew and rain pelted the earth.  With his son incapable to lead the people, Cromwell’s death left an appalling void.  Those who remained in the Commonwealth tucked their heads into their bolsters, and shivered under the calamity of a terrible loss.  They begged the Lord God to deliver them from the shocking death of their loved one. 

Finally, with nothing else for it, God not returning their Saint to a now beleaguered people, the country gathered in great pomp and ceremony to give the Protector a proper fare-thee-well.  His doctors had embalmed him and filled his coffin with spices.  After a long ceremony of viewing his effigy with infinite prayers and speeches, Cromwell was enshrined in Westminster Abbey amongst dead kings and queens of the realm. 

When the new king returned, Charles II could not forgive the men who tried to kill him and succeeded in killing his father.  The king ordered Cromwell to be disinterred from his shrine.  They yanked him from the grave to endure a rigorous execution. 

Along with other regicides, Cromwell was hanged at Tyburn.  After several strokes of the axe through fabric of the shroud, he was beheaded, his body cast in a hole beneath Tyburn gallows.  They stuck his head on a pike for the whole world to see at Westminster Hall.”  It remained there for twenty or thirty years before it was spirited away on another dark and dreary night...” 

Life in the 17th century could be brutal, but people then were as we are today. They tried to live their lives, learn from their mistakes, and when they died, make peace with their Maker. Sometimes, the harsh hand of justice got in their way, and the end was less than kind. Today, we have appeals, and felons in prisons live fairly well. If they’re condemned to die, they live much longer than in the 17th century. Science and research continues with rats and mice, hopefully, not dogs, but human bodies are still dissected for research…

For more works on London 17th century, please see amazon for Of Carrion Feathers, or her other novels:

USA: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=katherine+pym

In UK, you must search separately, but for Of Carrion Feathers:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Of-Carrion-Feathers-ebook/dp/B008B73N6C

Also see her blog: http://novelsbykatherinepym.blogspot.com/