Posts tagged ‘servant’s tale’

After an almost interminable wait, The Novice’s Tale and The Servant’s Tale are both available as e-books in the United States! They can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the iBookstore, Kobo, and the like!

Unlike the other e-books I’ve announced here on the site, these are being offered from my publisher. That means I don’t control the price and I don’t know if they’re being sold with DRM or not. If you have any problems, please let me know. But you might also be better served contacting Berkley directly about these titles.

UNHOLY PASSIONS AND DEMONIC DEATH...

In the fair autumn of Our Lord’s grace 1431, the nuns of England’s St. Frideswide’s prepare for the simply ceremonies in which the saintly novice Thomasine will take her holy vows. But their quiet lives of beauty and prayer are thrown into chaos by the merciless arrival of Lady Ermentrude Fenner and her retinue of lusty men, sinful women, and baying hounds. The hard-drinking dowager even keeps a pet monkey for her amusement. She demands wine, a feast…

And her niece, the angelic Thomasine.

The lady desires to enrich herself and her reputation by arranging a marriage for the devout novice. She cares nothing for the panic and despair she leaves behind her.

But all her cruel and cunning schemes are brought to a sudden end with strange and most unnatural murder. As suspicious eyes turn on the pious Thomasine, it falls to Sister Frevisse, hosteler of the priory and amateur detective, to unravel the webs of unholy passion and dark intrigue that entangle the novice and prove her innocence… or condemn her.

The Christmas season brings strange guests to the medieval nunnery of St. Frideswide’s when a troupe of penniless players comes knocking at the gate. They bear with them the badly mangled body of a villager, swearing they found the drunken fool lying in a ditch. But Meg, the victim’s wife and a scullery maid of the cloister, thinks there are far fouler deeds afoot.

As the players rehearse for the nativity, ancient scandals lick at their heels and dark desperation haunts Meg’s steps as she finds cruel feudal laws threatening to strip away the lands that would support both her and her sons in the wake of her husband’s death.

Dame Frevisse must thrust herself between these violent feuds, awakening dreams of her youth that she had believed long buried. Her very faith may be threatened, but Frevisse knows she must unravel a path to true salvation… before false raptures of lust bring ruination upon them all.

Twenty years ago this summer my first novel – The Novice’s Tale – was published (and is still in print as I write this).

But (must there always be a but?) twenty years ago this year I was also given my first diagnosis of breast cancer.

I’m afraid that the latter considerably took the edge off the former. Instead of gearing up for the excitement of my first novel’s debut, I was recovering from major surgery. A summer that should have been bright with success was shadowed instead with pain and fear. Besides that, I was already dealing with the break-up of my marriage, and by the end of the year I had helped my mother close down her own home in another state and gone house-hunting here in Minneapolis for a place we could live together – her to watch over me as I recovered, me to watch over her in her increasing old age – and hopefully make a home for my young sons.

All in all, emotionally and physically, 1992 was not a great year.

Happily, The Servant’s Talewas finished before the cancer-crisis started, but working on The Outlaw’s Tale was a struggle. Still, young sons, aged mother, and the need to make a living are great inspiration to get out of bed and to work in the mornings. And since then – to the good – book has followed book. Unfortunately – and to the bad – I’ve fought through multiple rounds of cancer, one after another. Of that, on the supposition that my experiences in the cancer dance may be of use to someone, over the next few days I’m going to talk about my experiences.

But more of that another time. Because this is also a time of celebration, and to that end, over the next few days, I’m going to be previewing The Novice’s Tale here on my website one chapter at a time. If you’ve never spent time with our dear Dame Frevisse, I hope you’ll seize the opportunity to make her acquaintance.

Of course, if you and Dame Frevisse are already old friends, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to join me in going back to the beginning. It’s been a long journey. And it’s not over yet.

My understanding is that you don’t actually need to live in the UK, France, Germany, or Italy in order to purchase the books from those sites. However, since I don’t control the e-book rights for these titles in America or Canada, you can’t purchase them there. (I wish that wasn’t the case, but it’s out of my control.)

So if you’re a Joliffe fan who’s wondering what the fuss is — or if you know anyone who loves historical fiction or a good mystery — now’s a great time to make Dame Frevisse’s acquaintance.

If you’ve living in the UK, Germany, France, or anywhere outside of the United States or Canada, The Servant’s Tale is now available for the Kindle! It can also be read on any iPad, Android, Windows PC, Mac, or Blackberry device using the free Kindle Reading Apps for those platforms.

As with The Novice’s Tale, I don’t know when an e-book for The Servant’s Tale will be made available in the United States or Canada because I don’t control those rights. I’ve got my fingers crossed that the publisher will make it happen soon, though. Unfortunately, this also prevents me from offering The Servant’s Tale through other booksellers like Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. But The Servant’s Tale — like the other novels and short stories I control the rights to — is offered through Amazon without DRM, making it easy to convert to whatever formats you like best.

THE PLAY’S THE THING, TO CATCH THE CONSCIENCE OF A KILLER…

The Christmas season brings strange guests to the medieval nunnery of St. Frideswide’s when a troupe of penniless players comes knocking at the gate. They bear with them the badly mangled body of a villager, swearing they found the drunken fool lying in a ditch. But Meg, the victim’s wife and a scullery maid of the cloister, thinks there are far fouler deeds afoot.

As the players rehearse for the nativity, ancient scandals lick at their heels and dark desperation haunts Meg’s steps as she finds cruel feudal laws threatening to strip away the lands that would support both her and her sons in the wake of her husband’s death.

Dame Frevisse must thrust herself between these violent feuds, awakening dreams of her youth that she had believed long buried. Her very faith may be threatened, but Frevisse knows she must unravel a path to true salvation… before false raptures of lust bring ruination upon them all.

“This mystery is so rich with place and time that they become characters in the story. Dame Frevisse is a stalwart, appealing sleuth and the cold, dark priory and the squalor of Medieval England are fascinating backdrops.” – New Orleans Times-Picayune

“The writing is seamless… The atmosphere of the book is cold and blustery, danger afield. A well-steeped sense of history prevails… They make this novel more than a mystery, but a wonderful historical dark tapestry. We are transported back to the 14th century. One of the 10 best mystery novels of 1993.” – Minneapolis Star Tribune

“I look forward to more murders at St. Frideswide.” – The Mystery Review

“Frazer never falters in this magnificent historical… This is a perfect mystery: It’s flawless.” – Drood Review of Mystery

NOMINATED FOR THE 1994 EDGAR AWARD

As most of you probably already know, The Servant’s Tale is also the first appearance of Joliffe! The story takes place six months before the events of A Play of Isaac. (For a more detailed view of how the two series weave together — including the short stories! — check out the master chronology.)