And this is the view from our old street. See how close the forest is? Back when we lived there, there was only one row of houses along the street and there were fields directly behind the gardens.
The next picture shows St. Margaretha's, one of the Catholic churches in Waldkirch (I do believe that it gets a mention in Castle of the Wolf). The inside is decorated in the Baroque style -- no wonder then that I've never liked the more puristic church in my current hometown. :)
Next, the market square (that one, too, gets a mention in Castle!). Apart from that ugly, blinking pharmacy's sign on the right, it hasn't changed much.
The Bayer-Sepple (a restaurant) still exists ...
... as does the "Herrebeck", a bakery.
And when you turn around, there is still this, of course:
In June I will attend another conference in Freiburg. Naturally, I will return to Waldkirch and will indulge in another trip down memory lane. :)
As to my writing life, I'm happily (or not so happily) working on my next novel, The-Book-after-the-First-Publication, which, people keep telling me, is the most difficult book to write. (So this certainly gives me something else to worry about!) The story is again a historical romance, set in 1827 (I needed steamships on the Rhine, and there weren't any before 1827). Cissy, my poor heroine, got stuck on that steamship on the Rhine for weeks on end because her author was having panic attacks and suffering from severe bouts of insecurity and self-doubt. In the end, I decided to go for the "patchwork approach" and depart from the linear way of writing. So, while she still hasn't reached that deuced castle in the Black Forest yet, she has at least had some fun in the bedroom! Yeah! *G*
Sandra is an excellent writer. I love her sense of detail, her unusual settings, especially her use of dark, broody landscapes with their hint of fey and madness.
This is a lovely spin on the classic “Beauty and the Beast” kind of tale. Lovers of myths and fairy tales will find many references here that add an extra dimension to the story. To say that Fenris is a tortured hero is understating things considerably. He has a decent reason, unlike many other heroes of this type. And Celia is a great character. She is innocent in many ways, but she is also intelligent and strong-willed. When life offers her a chance and a challenge, she does not back down from it. The story has a wonderfully gothic feel with a touch of the paranormal. I’m hoping to see many more books from this very talented author.
On Tuesday, the day before the RWA conference started, I dragged Kris Alice to a nearby mall (and a very lovely mall it was!) (even though most shops were somewhat above our budget). OF COURSE I had checked there was a bookstore in the mall or nearby, thus we ended up in a huge Barnes&Noble. And OF COURSE we had to march to the romance section and check whether they had CASTLE.
"Ooooh!" I wailed, standing in front of the shelf with the Ss. "They don't have it!" (Accompanied by sad-little-puppy face.)
Kris gave a grunt, reached up, and -- "Don't they?"
"Oh," I said. Then beamed at her, "Look! They've got TWO copies! TWO!!!"
A this point Kris started to do some reorganization on the shelf (which was easily do-able since the books weren't tightly packed at all), while I searched for my camera in my handbag.
"I need to take a picture!"
Sigh.
"And another one!"
"Sandy."
"And another one!"
"Sandy."
"And --"
"SANDY!"
And thus I was cruelly dragged away from the two copies of my book. Just imagine how much fun it would have been to spend the rest of the day in front of that shelf and be on the look-out for potential readers!! I'm sure the two books felt totally and horribly lonely when I was forced to leave. They probably even cried...
* This is a somewhat embellished account of the events of Tuesday, 10 July 2007.
Schwab’s storytelling also has tight turns that drop the reader like a rollercoaster from merry heights of whimsical happiness for Cissy into plunges of holy shit terror and uncertain fear - which make it bloody hard to put the damn book down. The mix of nefarious characters, mystery, intrigue, and deep, churning sexual attraction don’t help either when you might be trying to get something else done.
Celia Fussell thought she was doomed to life as a poor spinster, when she unexpectedly inherited a castle in Germany -- with one condition: She must marry the son of the former owner within four months. When she arrives, she discovers a few other things her lawyer failed to mention. Not only is her new home a gloomy, rumored-to-be-cursed ruin, but the son of the former owner doesn't seem to want to turn the castle over to her.
In "Castle of the Wolf," Sandra Schwab's nuanced characters, detailed setting and writing seasoned with a soupcon of tart wit blend together to create a magical, fairy-tale, Regency historical romance.
"Castle of The Wolf was an enjoyable read from beginning to end. The setting being in Germany made for a nice, refreshing change from the typical English surroundings. Ms. Schwab does a wonderful job with descriptive details throughout the whole story. Celia comes across as a very strongwilled woman who gets very creative in her attempts to bring brightness into her husband's dark world. Fenris is a dynamic character and the touch of paranormal surrounding him makes him even more intriguing. Celia will not back down from her husband's dark side and both help the other put the past behind each other. This story is a treat and highly recommended to those wanting an entertaining, captivating read."
