Reviews - a celebration

It's time to look over some of the reviews we've received over the past year or so. Here we go, Lindsay first:

I found out only late about a four-star review for A Knight's Captive from Lauren Calder at Affaire de Coeur, which gave me a lift. After a plot summary, it ends:

'Good solid writing and a steady paced tale draw the reader into the story. Ms. Townsend has a talent for entertainment and a flair for telling tales of knights in shining armor.'





A couple more encouraging reviews came in for A Knight's Captive - one from Single Titles (who also did an interview with me) and one from Manic Readers.

I also had a B for Blue Gold from Dear Author.

It's a while since Flavia's Secret came out, so I was delighted to find this in the November issue of Romantic Times:

'The ancient locale that is now modern Bath lends a vivid backdrop to a tender love story surrounded by mystery, danger and deceit. Readers will appreciate Townsend's thorough research and fluid style. Well-written secondary characters complement the action.'

- Donna M. Brown

The full review is here.

I was thrilled with this 4.5 Red Roses review for my historical romance, Bronze Lightning! Here's what Linda Sole said: (Thank you, Linda!)

"This is a remarkable book in that it takes you back in time. It is well written so that you get a glimpse of the world at that time and it gives you a wonderful mystery as to who is behind the attacks and keeps you guessing as to what will happen next. The many twists and turns keep you engrossed as you try to figure out who is behind all the mishaps that keep happening. I give this one 4-1/2 Red Roses."

http://www.lindsaytownsend.net


And now Linda Banche:



Here are my reviews for Lady of the Stars, my Regency time travel and a 2010 EPIC EBook Competition finalist in Science Fiction Romance.

4 stars from Romantic Times Book Reviews: (contains spoilers)
"This is a quick read and a delightful short romance. The time-travel aspect is well done, and the characters are nicely fleshed out. The ending brings everything to a comfortable and relatively believable conclusion."

4 1/2 books from Long and Short Reviews (LASR): (contains spoilers) "Lady of the Stars is a very good story that makes one wonder "what if?". I thoroughly enjoyed this first story by Ms. Banche and look forward to her next release. I just know I'll love it as much as I did Lady of the Stars."

Now for my reviews for Pumpkinnapper, my Regency Halloween comedy.

5 Wings from Classic Romance Revival Reviews:
"From its amusing, explosive opening in Lindsell, England in 1816, Linda Banche’s delicious Pumpkinnapper kept me enthralled."

LASR 4 ½ Books: "It's a Regency era All Hallows Eve tale full of hilarity, a dashing hero and a darling heroine, a nuisance of a goose and possibly a spirit or two. What's not to like?"

Blurbs and excerpts here: http://www.lindabanche.com

Deadlier than the male?

There is a good deal of wish-fulfilment in my heroines. Firstly their characters tend to be far braver, more patient, generous and caring than I am. Secondly, in their roles they often 'act out' roles I would love to try myself. My heroines are opera singers, wildlife photographers, healers, scribes, princesses, expert seamstresses, bull-leapers, and metal-smiths. Life may be tough but they are resilient and intelligent. They may doubt and self-question, but I try to make them full of life. Vitality is attractive where rampant self-pity can quickly become tiresome in a character in a story.

I throw challenges in the way of my womenfolk. In my historical romances they may struggle with their position in society - Flavia, in Flavia's Secret is a slave, Sarmatia, in Bronze Lightning is a bull-leaper who is growing old for the dangerous ritual, Sunniva in A Knight's Captive is bullied by her father and brothers and, as a woman in 1066, she has limited options.

That is something I always try to bring out in my historicals: women, even princesses, were more tied by biology than modern women are. In a pre-pill or effective contraception era, then a woman could become pregnant each time she made love. If she earns her living as a tumbler, then if she is pregnant she might starve. Society in many ages has been anti-women: the medieval age saw women as prone to evil and devilish desires.

My women are not super-women. They are normal, with the hopes and yearnings that are theirs. I hope to make them appealing and loveable so my readers with follow them on their hero journey, as they strive to achieve their goals.

One heroine of mine who is a little larger-than-life is Bride, the metal-smith and warrior from my ancient world historical romance, Bronze Lightning. She is tall, strong as a man, skilled in bronze-making and fighting. (She came into my mind many years ago, pre-Xena Warrior Princess, with whom she shares many skills!)

Alyson, my learned, clever heroine from A Knight's Vow, is always curious. Flavia has two deadly secrets, either of which could cost her her life. Lydia needs to escape an impossible situation and a loveless marriage in Escape to Love. Corinna is faced with a terrible choice in my forthcoming Silk and Steel.

Another heroine who is not to be crossed is my golden Egyptian princess from 'Blue Gold'. Here's an excerpt from Blue Gold, showing my amoral heroine - anti-heroine - in action:

Hunting bored Ahhotpe, but since Zoser—the Pyramid, as she’d nicknamed him—had been commanded to attend Sekenenre, she had been obliged to inveigle an invitation for herself. It would be entirely predictable of Zoser to try to advance his position and fix himself firmly in his father’s favor. That she was determined to prevent. She would discredit the Pyramid and his fat cow of a mother forever.

Ahhotpe glanced at the wax manikin before smoothing down the papyrus sheet with her gold burnisher and reaching for her palette. As a pastime she enjoyed writing. The hieratic script, precise and beautiful, flowed from her pen.

“Ahhotpe to her father’s mother, Tetisheri, in life, prosperity and health.” Formal greetings over, Ahhotpe indulged a little gossip. “The Pyramid’s mother is here, of course, waddling into Sekenenre’s tent with a lotus flower stuck behind one ear, like a great white duck in a reed bed. She looks quite a meal for a crocodile.”

Leaving it at that, Ahhotpe passed onto other matters, details concerning the state of her clothes in these humid marshes, and lavish praise of her father’s hunting prowess. She was fond of grandmother, and tried to show the old lady her gentlest side, the side she kept for dependents and servants.

Ahhotpe shot a second glance at the wax figure posted just inside the doorway of her tent. Noon was not the most propitious time for magic, but the midday heat ensured that her people were resting and that consequently she would be unobserved. When she saw the shaft of sun chink through the closed tent flaps and strike the figure, the young woman laid aside her letter.

She had fashioned it well, rolling and mashing the wax between her fingers, infecting it with her hatred, until a startling likeness formed. That same narrow forehead and wide jaw, the bull neck and broad chest, the wider hips and massive legs: the Pyramid in miniature, three fingers high. Ahhotpe smiled as she settled cross-legged before the model. It was, she thought, the closest she might ever come willingly to Zoser. Invoking the proper forms, she thrust the first small copper pin deep into the manikin’s heart.

I had a lot of fun writing Ahhotpe!

Best wishes, Lindsay