Why I Write

In this episode of  featuring Astraea Press author I have the pleasure of having Stephy Smith as my guest.

Why I Write

Hi Y’all, I’m Stephy Smith and I want to share why I write with y’all.

When I first started writing four years ago, I did it to relieve stress and entertain my friends. I never thought of becoming a published author. My goal wasn’t to win a Pulitzer, number one on any chart or any other award.

After my friends read some of my work, they told me I needed to submit to a publisher. My thoughts were ‘yea right’ and I rolled it over in my mind for two years before I got up enough courage to send the first manuscript in. I received a nice rejection letter telling me what I needed to change. The main thing at the time was head hopping. Did you know you cannot have three different points of views in the same paragraph! Even though the editor finished the story and loved it, she asked me to fix it and resubmit. (I’m still working on this one.)

I had no idea how to fix it. So, I kept writing and entered a contest where Lizzie and the Rebel took Honorable Mention. I pulled that baby out and edited, edited, edited until I was ready to toss it in the trash bin. Then something happened.

One of the groups had a ‘pitch day’. I had no idea what was to come or how to pitch for that matter. At this point, I wanted to know how I could improve my stories so I pitched. To my surprise, Stephanie Taylor, with Astraea Press asked for a full submission. If you could’ve seen this fifty plus grandma acting as if her Prince Charming had finally arrived and was going to pass her by, had to chase him down and jump on the back of his white steed it was me.

The next thing I knew, I was signing a contract. This was the beginning of a wonderful year with Astraea Press.

At the time of this writing, I have six published books and would like to say ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ Astraea Press. Without Stephanie Taylor and all of the wonderful editors, cover artist and fantastic authors, we wouldn’t be where we are today. I’m proud to be a part of this team.

Book Soundtracks

Continuing on with the series of Astraea Press authors, today I’ve got Jillian Jenkins talking about how a music can be associated with a book or characters.

The Soundtrack:

Here are some songs that made my “Book Soundtrack”. Some have to do with a specific character, while others a certain moment or theme. The score would be a darker, new age, kind of feel too it, possibly done by Delerium of Juno Reactor. The other half of it represents the high school, young adult, aspects of the story and is more pop/dance in genre, which matches the story since the characters like to go out and do that often. Enjoy!

The Heroine (Cheyene’s Song):

“Flowers Become Screens” – Delerium – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OibJ4F7xZJY

The Antagonist (Denver’s Song):

“Pretty When you Cry” – VAST (explicit lyrics) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNkm-U3oRJY

The Ambiance (Score, Setting, Mood):

“Terra Firma” – Delerium – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKUxE8UE7S0

“Silence” – Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5S8yU9e8Mg

“Conga Fury” – Juno Reactor – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q4GGxDjTUQ

“Furious Angels” – Rob Dougan – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wdf3_YtwL8

The Romance (All pairings, not going to spoil it sorry!):

“Chemicals React” – Aly and AJ – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgU3aLaJa-s

“Uninvited” – Alanis Morissette – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvgi7P97lu0

“Say OK” – Vanessa Hudgens – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjOEFMDC2P4

“Kings and Queens” – Luna Halo – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no9wMzzqWR4

“Love Me, Love Me” – Big Time Rush – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjgc2wl_-a0

The Song That Plays When Everything Bad Happens:

“Lie to Me” – RED – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YegliDIdWtg

Buy Links for AGENDAS

http://www.amazon.com/Vala-Agendas-ebook/dp/B005WNXJRG

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vala-jf-jenkins/1106742651

http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662250&mode=product&product=5907223

St. Valentine and His day

Continuing with my series featuring Astraea Press authors, today I’ve got Leah Sanders as my guest. She will give us a few, possible unknown, facts about the saint and talk about her new release.

Thank you, Lindsay, for inviting me to join you today to share about my new release, Sacred Ring, a young adult adventure story about three kids who go on a quest to find the Sacred Ring of Saint Valentine.

With Valentine’s Day coming tomorrow, I thought a bit of Saint Valentine trivia was in order:

Did you know Saint Valentine was the name of fourteen different martyrs who died in Rome?

Did you know the saint in question was believed to be martyred around A.D. 270?

Did you know holiday commemorating Saint Valentine was first instituted in A.D. 496?

Saint Valentine plays a historical role in Sacred Ring, his story and the legends surrounding his death are a large part of the foundation of the story. The real stimulus of the plot, however, is the characters: Kynan, Michael and Brianna. They make it what it is and drive the story through to the end.

Characters are real.

Ask any avid reader. Better yet, ask almost any teenage girl if Edward is real, and I promise you they will first jump up and down in excitement; second, clap their hands with glee, and third scream, “Oh my gosh, he is gorgeous! I’m so going to marry him!”

Is he real?

Absolutely not.

But try explaining that to a room full of middle school girls, and you may just get scalped.

What makes characters so real and loveable in a story? How do you develop a character that is so real, so amazing, so memorable that people wish it were actually true?

It isn’t always easy, but writers have to think about all the time. How would my hero react in this situation? Is this going to make the heroine angry? Sad? Happy? Will readers be able to identify with what this person is going through? Or will they hate him and want to cause him physical pain?

A good character is one developed enough for readers to identify with. I like to write flawed characters, people who seem normal to the reader but have redeeming qualities. You can tell when you’ve developed your character well when readers have emotional reactions to them. Love him or hate him. The point is, you need to find a character you know you can easily write about, name that character, and then begin to build him.

What are his defining features? Eye color? Achilles’ heel? Personality traits? Etc.

The characters in Sacred Ring feel real to me. And don’t laugh, but one of my middle school students looks and acts so much like Brianna, I’ve actually called her by that name on more than one occasion. You kind of get attached after spending so much time with your characters. Hopefully you will like them as much as I do.

Cover Blurb:

Nothing in Kynan Murphy’s life is going right. His grades are horrible, he’s always in trouble, and the girl he likes doesn’t know he exists. But things go from bad to worse when his parents tell him they have decided to split up. Angry and confused, he wants nothing more than to lash out against the world. The closest thing he can find, however, is the Saint Valentine shrine during a school field trip. Armed with some fireworks and encouraged by his best friend, Michael Connell, he’s all set to vent his frustration with life.

His best laid plans fail when a mysterious priest confronts him, sharing an ancient secret about a hidden ring with special powers. Kynan believes the answer to all his problems and the only way to fix his parents’ broken marriage is to find the ring — a task he won’t be able to accomplish on his own.

It was easy enough to convince his friend Michael to join him, but the irritating Brianna Collins insists on tagging along. Fortunately, her knack for language and interest in history is a valuable asset in the search. Their quest leads them to the northern coast and into dangerous territory where, in spite of their good intentions, they may lose their own lives.

 

 

Amazon Buy Link

Barnes and Noble Buy Link

 

Horror goes Pre-Teen with Samantha Combs

My fabulous friend Lindsay is awesome for giving me this post time.  Today is Friday, February 10^th, and it’s a very exciting day for me.  I’m releasing a new book.  I’ve done that before, (it’s always cool!) but today even more so because I’m venturing into a new genre…..horror.  Not only that, horror for the middle grade.  I’ve never done horror, or anything for that matter, for this age group before.  And I have a close, personal relationship with it because my oldest son will be one in the next blink of an eye.  It’s an interesting story how this story came about.

I had written Spellbound, my YA paranormal opening to what will be a three book series, mostly as an answer to my youngest daughter.  She had a mad passion for a certain vampire and I wanted to give her a role model, less inhuman and more, um, available.  When I finished it, my son wanted to know if I could write a book he liked.  He apologized, but shyly admitted witches weren’t his thing.  What do you want Momma to write about, honey?  Can you write something I can read? he asked.  Like what?  I like Goosebumps, he said.  Okay, let me see what I can do.  I didn’t promise anything, just hoped the Muse would make an appearance.

She did.  In a most unusual way.  Son had a bad day at school and he and another kid got detention.  That was pretty much all it took.  Muse grabbed me by the hair, dragged me to the computer, and the story took only a week to bang out.  The rest is ATYPICAL of how it should go.  I submitted it to a publishing company that was less than a month away from imploding.  Senior staff walked among rumors of owner fraud, which shortly became far less than a rumor.  That staff created a brand new publishing company and I, along with many, patiently waited out a horribly long and difficult period until our books, held captive and nearly hostage by the closing publisher, became our own again.

When the new publishing company, I am proud to say is Musa Publishing (www.musapublishing.com) opened their submissions, I sent in The Detention Demon to the same editor who had accepted it before, Celina Summers, now the Head Editor at Musa.  I was thrilled, for a second time, when it was accepted.  And for the really good news, I was fast-tracked.  Because my manuscript had been fully edited before (by the rock-star- cool Erica Mills) it only needed a little tweaking.

The cover artist also exceeded my expectations.  Thank you Kelley Shorten!  So, this Friday I am unveiling a project that is probably the closest to my heart thus far.  This little manuscript refused to die.  The other publishing company tried to kill it, and like the Little Engine That Could, it kept on chugging up the hill.  Please take a read and let me know a couple things.  Did you like it?  Do you think your kid will?  I wrote it for a boy I know and love, and for the many other kids who need just that one book to hook them on the reading habit for life.  I hope The Detention Demon is that one book.

About the Author:  Samantha Combs is the Global Ebook Award-winning author of Spellbound, and book two in the series, Everspell.  An additional YA ghost story, Ghostly is her third publication, as well as a short horror story collection, Teeth and Talons, A Horror Anthology, her fourth.  She writes for Astraea Press and Musa Publishing and for the sheer love of it.  Following the release of The Detention Demon, her fifth published book, look for Waterdancer, a new YA paranormal from Musa Publishing coming in September of 2012.

A raggedy group of delinquents, thrown together by circumstance, get the opportunity to prove if rumors about the detention teacher being less than human are true and discover it doesn’t take years of friendship to bond together and overcome evil.

Wayne is a Junior High school boy who just got detention for fighting in school to protect his longtime best friend, Gumby.  But recently, there have been stories about detention.  Kids have mysteriously disappeared, creating creepy rumors about detention class. Now, Wayne finds himself trapped in there with school bully Bubba Dugan.  Keeping his distance from Bubba won’t be Wayne’s only problem.  In fact, those rumors about the detention teacher don’t seem like stories at all.

With his best friend Gumby, a crew of delinquents and a surprising late addition, a pretty cheerleader harboring a secret crush, Wayne and his group of misfits will have to band together to outwit the detention teacher.  He’s protected his best friend from harm his whole life…..but, can he protect him and everyone else against something that might not even be human?

CONNECT WITH ME!

Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samantha-Combs-Fan-Page/205186202866933

Email:  samanthacombswrites@gmail.com

Blog: http://www.samanthacombswrites.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/samanthacombs1

WRITE, PUBLISH, AND BE INFORMED!

Romance in the Aegean Sea

Today  I’ve got Patricia Kiyono as my Astraea Press guest. So let’s give her a warm welcome as she talks about her newest story.

I am so excited about my third novella, which is now available at Astraea Press, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.  It takes place in Greece, on the beautiful island of Paros. I had the pleasure of staying on this island during the summer of 2008 and was fascinated by the beauty as well as the history of the country. My friend and I shopped in tiny shops lining ancient stone streets, and soaked in the sunshine on pristine white beaches. We listened to traditional Greek music and enjoyed tasty dishes prepared with fresh vegetables and savory spices. And then I came home and started writing.

This story is a bit of a departure for me. I’ve always loved both contemporary and historical fiction but this story takes place in the present and has a character who “lives” in the past. She studies it through the artifacts she uncovers. Francie is an archaeologist who looks for items left behind by the people in ancient civilizations.

Sometimes I wonder what people in the future will find from our lives. What will they derive about us?  If my home were to be uncovered by future archaeologists, would they understand anything about our way of life, our goals, our habits? In my house there are lots of books and magazines. There are lots of CDs and a few DVDs. Right now I have tons of fabric and assorted craft projects. And pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. They’re in frames and scrapbooks, and I’ve got boxes of them that I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to doing something with. What kind of conclusion would they draw about me?

I’m hoping that future generations will find that I’m a romantic at heart and a family centered person who has more ambition than time.

Blurb for Aegean Intrigue:

Someone has been stealing priceless Greek artifacts and it’s Alex Leonidis’ job to uncover the thief. His prime suspect is beautiful archaeological graduate student, Francie Vasileiou. His plan is to join in an archaeological dig and catch her in the act. All he has to do is keep his mind on his job, and not on the way his lovely suspect warms his heart. He’s learned the hard way not to trust fragile-looking women who seem to need his help.

Francie wants to get her PhD and become an archaeologist, like her famous father. The sudden invitation to participate in a dig on the beautiful Greek island of Paros is a wonderful opportunity. She has no time for distractions like Alex, the handsome Project Director. Experience has taught her to stay clear of handsome, charismatic Greek men. On the shores of the Aegean Sea, Alex and Francie work together, searching for treasures from Greece’s past. While pursuing their goals, they discover some of the truths they had believed to be carved in stone may have been flawed.

Buy links:

Astraea Press:

Amazon:

Barnes and Noble:

 

A Valentine Story-the making of it

Today is the start of a series of blogs featuring authors from Astraea Press. Twice a week, Monday and Wednesday, I’ll be featuring an author on a topic of their choice. Today, to start the series I have my dear friend Meg Mims.

The Key to Love

Valentine’s Day will be upon us soon, with the message that love never fails… to stir us into buying chocolate, at least! And after skirting contemporary romance for years, I have to confess that I answered the “siren call” to write a novella with the theme of love for February.

 The Key to Love is out this month by Astraea Press, my second book, and I had a blast writing it! While I’m a historical writer at heart, with a deep love of research, I discovered that writing a modern setting also takes research. What cars do the heroine and hero drive? Google that. What special dress will the heroine wear on a date? Google that. And what about where the hero’s office might be located, or his business? Thank goodness for Google!

Back up to Thanksgiving/pre-Christmas, when that call went out for Valentine’s Day novellas. Valentine’s Day? My head was firmly into wrapping, cards, the tree, etc. But being a collage artist, the inspiration for The Key to Love came when I was finishing a clock-themed piece. What if my heroine found a piece of metal and used it in her collage? And later realized someone had lost it? That spurred me on to name my heroine, hero and some minor characters. So right after Christmas, for the first time ever, I started writing. Cold.

Without a character sketch, without a plot arc, without any clue of the setting, I wrote down what popped in my head. I kept writing, on and on, until my ideas ran dry. Now, this is not my usual style of writing. I have never been a “pantser” – which is writing by the seat of your pants. I’m a total “plotter” – which means I spend several weeks (usually) lining up the “pieces” before the game even begins. The plot map/outline/setting plus the characters and everything relevant to their lives – birthdays, Chinese and Astrological signs, backgrounds from birth order to quirks and hobbies, their looks (celebrity photos are great for this), you name it.

Not this time. Granted, I knew I wasn’t writing a full novel. But there’s only so much “pantsing” you can do. So once the well ran dry, I had to think. What’s the best thing to do while thinking? Cleaning house, especially vacuuming. That soothing sound got the wheels in my brain rolling again, and I was back on the racetrack and running. I admit, the deadline helped. But I did have to backtrack and come up with a “hook” because the beginning fell flat. And I had holes to “plug” and scenes to re-order. Once I “finished” the novella, it still didn’t have that “polished” feel to it. I set it aside, took another art class, and let the cows chew their cuds in my brain’s pasture. I needed conflict – what was there didn’t seem strong enough.

And so, my heroine Jennette Jacobson had to deal with a family crisis as well as her personal dilemma – what should she do about the piece of metal she found? Will the hero, Steve Harmon, convince her that it really is important to him? And in researching the cars they drive, the clothes they wear and other items, I noticed a theme – the color red. Very fitting for Valentine’s Day!

While researching my story’s timeline, I ran across a major fact that totally sailed over my head like a snowball in a winter fight. The infamous Midwest’s Groundhog Day blizzard of 2011! Oh my. Some things you just have to use. And it fit perfectly. Enjoy reading The Key to Love!

Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Astraea Press

Sherry Gloag talks about interesting research

The trouble with research… is getting sidetracked by an unexpected link that takes you zooming off to pastures new.

The other day, while browsing a new site, I came across an article about numerology and the impact it has on your life.

Is it possible that numbers can, like the pull of the moon, have an impact on circumstances surrounding you and your life?

That led me to wondering whether the same influence impacts on the names of our novels, so— now well and truly distracted from the original purpose of my research, I hit Google and came up with this site http://www.paulsadowski.com/ and had a wonderful time, my original intent well and truly forgotten.

First I put in Sherry Gloag…no you really don’t want to know…

…but I was impressed enough to scroll down again  to ‘What your name means’ again and entered the title of my latest release, From Now Until Forever, the first book in a series of four, published in December by Astraea Press in December 2011.

Melanie Babcot is Prince Liam’s security guard… Prince Liam seeks personal freedom and finds it and his destiny in the arms of his protector.

This is what the numerology site came up with-
Your number is: 8
The characteristics of #8 are: Practical endeavors, status oriented, power-seeking, high-material goals.
The expression or destiny for #8:
Your Expression is represented by the number 8. The 8 Expression is well-equipped in a managerial sense. You have outstanding organizational and administrative capabilities. You have the potential for considerable achievement in business or other powerful positions. You can expect to receive the financial and material rewards. You have the skill and abilities to establish or operate a business with great efficiency…
Your Soul Urge number is: 4
A Soul Urge number of 4 means:

… You are responsible, reliable and in the final analysis, practical. Highly analytical, you can see your way through all sorts of situations and generally have a clear understanding of the issues. You are a very honest, sincere, and conscientious individual.

The negative side of the 4 is rigid, stubborn and somewhat narrow-minded. There is a tendency to hide feelings…
Your Inner Dream number is: 4
An Inner Dream number of 4 means:
You dream of being a very solid citizen that people can depend upon. You strive for organization and predictable order. You want to be recognized as a person with a plan and the discipline to make that plan work like clockwork.

I then decided to add the title of the upcoming release of my Valentine story, His Chosen Bride, the second book in the Gasquet Princes series, also to be published by Astraea Press.

In this book Henri, heir, to his father’s throne, meets Monica Latimer, an empath a teacher and runs a riding school for disabled children and teaches them how to overcome –even temporally- their disabilities, While Henri is prepared to marry a bride chosen by his parents, until he meets Monica

And the site cam e up with -
Your number is: 3
The characteristics of #3 are: Expression, verbalization, socialization, the arts, the joy of living. The expression or destiny for #3:
An Expression of 3 produces a quest for destiny with words along a variety of lines that may include writing, speaking, singing, acting or teaching; our entertainers, writers, litigators, teachers, salesmen, and composers.
Your Soul Urge number is: 7
A Soul Urge number of 7 means:
With a number 7 Soul Urge you are very fond of … retreating to periods of being alone and away from the disruptions of the outer world. You like to dream and develop you idealistic understandings, to study and analyze, to gain knowledge and wisdom.
The negative traits of the 7 include becoming too much the introvert and isolated from others.
Your Inner Dream number is: 5
An Inner Dream number of 5 means:
You dream of being totally free and unrestrained by responsibility. You see yourself conversing and mingling with the natives in many nations, living for adventure and life experiences. You imagine what you might accomplished.
This describes my heroine, Monica, to a ‘T’.  She has some BIG decisions to make before the end of His Chosen Bride.

Utterly intrigued by now, I decided to follow these with my debut novel The Brat, published by The Wild Rose Press in October 2010and have to say I was blown away with the content.

The Brat is family orientated.  Family influences, past and present feature heavily throughout The Brat and the numerology interpretation gives pause for thought.

Here is some of it and it is surprisingly accurate.
Your number is: 11 The number 11 is the first of the master numbers. It is associated with idealistic concepts… Your thinking is long term, and you are able to grasp the far-reaching effects of actions and plans. You are disappointed by the short-sighted views of many of your contemporaries. You are deeply concerned and supportive of art, music, or of beauty in any form.
A Soul Urge number of 6 means:
With a number 6 Soul Urge, you would like to be appreciated for your ability to handle responsibility. Your home and family are likely to be a strong focus for you, perhaps the strongest focus of your life.
The person with too much 6 energy often finds that people tend to take advantage of this very giving spirit. You may tend to repress your own needs so that you can cater to the demands from others. At times, there may be a tendency in this, for becoming over-loaded with such demands, and as a result become resentful.

Next I entered the title on my second full-length novel, Duty Calls, published by Black Opal Books, in February 2011. This is about the consequences of turning your back on love in favour of duty, and whether by letting love into your life, duty becomes a gift rather than a burden.
Before I share a little of what the site came up with, I have to say the accuracy ‘seriously spooked’ me
Your number is: 9
The characteristics of #9 are: Humanitarian, giving nature, selflessness, obligations, creative expression.
The expression or destiny for #9:
The expression that you exhibit is represented by the number 9. Your talents center in humanistic interests and approaches. You like to help others as you were intended to be the ‘big brother or big sister’ type. You operate best when you follow your feelings and sense of compassion, and allow yourself to be sensitive to the needs of others. You work well with people, and have the potential to inspire.
Undeveloped or ignored, the negative side of the 9 expression can be very selfish and self-centered. If you do not actively involve yourself with work that benefits others, you may tend to express just the opposite characteristics.
Your Soul Urge number is: 4
A Soul Urge number of 4 means:
With the Soul Urge or Motivation number of 4 you are likely to strive for a stable life. You tend to follow a rather orderly pattern and systematic approach in your endeavors. You have an inner desire to serve others in a methodical and diligent manner. You want to be in solid, conventional, and well-regulated activities, and you are somewhat disturbed by innovation and erratic or sudden changes.

Thoroughly disconcerted by the accuracy so far, I finally entered the title for my Valentine novella in 2011, The Wrong Target, published by eTreasures in January 2011.

This is about business tycoon Ryan Thomas who, based on wrong information, insists on the dismissal of Tina Blackberry, headmistress of a prestigious private girls’ school and the journey they take – with cupid’s interference- before they reach their HEA.
Your number is: 1
The characteristics of #1 are: Initiating action, pioneering, leading, independent, attaining, individual.
The expression or destiny for #1:
A number 1 Expression denotes the skilled executive with keen administrative capabilities. You must develop the capacity to be a fine leader, sales executive, or promoter. You have the tools to become an original person with a creative approach to problem solving, and a penchant for initiating action. Someone may have to follow behind you to handle the details, but you know how to get things going and make things happen. You have a good mind and the ability to use it for your advancement.
Your Soul Urge number is: 8
A Soul Urge number of 8 means:
With an 8 soul urge, you have a natural flair for big business and the challenges imposed by the commercial world. Power, status and success are very important to you. You have strong urges to supervise, organize and lead.
Your Inner Dream number is: 11
An Inner Dream number of 11 means:
You dream of casting the light of illumination; of being the true idealist. You secretly believe there is more to life than we can know or prove…

As I said at the beginning, the trouble with research is… the temptation to give into distractions!

Multi-published author, Sherry Gloag is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk, England.  She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs “thinking time” and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel.  While out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by.

Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, reading and cheerfully admits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office.  She also finds crystal craft work therapeutic.

Blurb

For Prince Liam, families meant bad news, unwanted commitments, and the loss of his personal freedom.  Love spawned white picket fences, slippers at the hearth with a wife and kids making demands, so why did those images disappear when he met Melanie Babcot?

Melanie Babcot fought hard to escape the horrors of her youth and vowed to remain single and free, so when paid to protect Prince Liam from insurgents why did her personal pledge fly out the window?

 ****

EXCERPT:
Liam Fitzwilliam Gasquet stared in amazement at the blooming patch of red milliseconds before the pain exploded in his arm. Some trigger-happy idiot had fired in his direction. Indignation didn’t have time to take root before another bullet kicked the dust at his feet.
Not ‘trigger-happy’.
Intentional.
The rebels had found the fourth and youngest son of Jean-Phillipe Gasquet, ruler of the tiny kingdom adjacent to the Swiss border. When had they discovered his whereabouts?
With a reluctant sigh, he faced the truth of it. They hadn’t ‘found’ him at all. They’d followed him.