Reviews for An Independent Woman, a Victorian mystery romance, new on Amazon.

A charming blend of mystery and romance ... a book which will appeal to those who enjoy a sweet, clean romance, likeable characters and a perplexing mystery, writes Carol Cork on the review site Rakes and Rascals.   

The romance between Philomena and Hugh is beset by ...deceit, distrust, dark secrets and fiendish villains... heartwarming... an authentic, Victorian feel.
 
Unputdownable says Pippa Dunbar on Amazon.co.uk. An historical romance with a compelling mystery.

An Independent Woman is available for Kindle now from

Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
 

Paperback version from The Wild Rose Press and Amazon .com

Signed paperback (for UK readers only) from FrancesEvesham.com

Contact me if you'd like more information or want to leave a comment.

An Independent Woman
With nothing left from her childhood except a tiny portrait of a beautiful woman, some skill with a needle, and the knowledge of a dreadful secret, Philomena escapes her tormentor, Joseph, and the dank fogs of Victorian London, only for a train crash to interrupt her quest for independence and freedom.


Trapped between the upstairs and downstairs occupants of the great country house, Philomena hears whispers of the mysteries and lies that lurk in empty corridors and behind closed doors. Her rescuer, the dangerous, enigmatic Hugh, Lord Thatcham, wrestles with his own demons and makes Philomena’s heart race, but she must fight her passion for she can never marry.

Haunted by her past, Philomena’s only hope of happiness is to confront the evil forces that threaten to destroy her.

Extract
Her eyes were half closed. His lips brushed gently, soft and warm, over her mouth. For an endless moment she stayed quite still, beguiled by the spicy sharp taste of his lips. A charge electrified her body.

Then her head cleared. She gasped. Was she mad? This was Lord Thatcham and she was nothing but a penniless waif in his power. He meant to have his way with her, just as Joseph had tried to do.

She tore herself away from the embrace. “How dare you.” Her voice shook with fury. “How dare you treat me so?”

Lord Thatcham’s arms fell away. Blood drained from his countenance, leaving the dark eyes aglow in a white face. He said not a word.

An Independent Woman: how and why I write Victorian mystery romances

As part of the Writing Process blog hop, I’m writing a little about the way I write. The full post can be found on my Victorian blog.



My author friend Pat McDonald, kindly invited me to take part in this Writing Process blog hop. You can read her post on her Facebook page.

What am I working on?
Life is extra exciting at the Evesham’s just now, as we’re busy getting ready for the launch of my first novel,  An Independent Woman, a historical mystery romance, on 11 June 2014.

An Independent Woman

At Thatcham Hall, an English Great House, the fiery, determined Philomena leaps straight out of the frying pan into the fire. She's escaped the perils of 19th century London only to tumble into a whole new set of predicaments that force her to face an impossible dilemma... read more on my Victorian blog.

An Independent Woman: Cover Reveal

Soon to be published by the Wild Rose Press, my new Victorian mystery novel An Independent Woman has this amazing cover designed by the talented Debbie Taylor.

Future updates (and loads of lovely Victorian trivia) from my new blog

Follow my blog with Bloglovin or like me on my Facebook page to hear more.

A New Blogsite: My Letter to SpeechContacts Friends

Dear Friends,
After blogging here for  some years, I am moving to a new site at Frances Evesham's Blog. 

I'm thrilled that my Victorian Mystery Romance is due to be published later this year, by the lovely, friendly Wild Rose Press. As soon as I have a launch date for the novel, I'll let you know via the new site.

I am taking the content from the SpeechContacts site with me, and I hope very much that you'll come over and continue to read the new posts over there.

It's easy to follow the new site from the Home Page. There's a follow button at the top of the page.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook, and like my Facebook page. So much to do, and so little time!

I've enjoyed blogging on Blogger and talking to you all. I hope you'll enjoy my new site even more. If you'd like to leave a comment to tell me you've arrived safely, I'd be delighted.

Until then, thank you very much for reading.

See you soon,

Frances xxx

Frances Evesham's Blog. 

Somerset: Before the Floods

Extraverts Are People Too: Understanding Human Behaviour

This post can now be seen on the new Frances Evesham's Blog

Everyone wants to be an introvert. At least,that's how it seems from the explosion around the internet.

It’s all too easy to get dragged into the “Introvert: good. Extravert: bad.” confrontation. When you’ve suffered for years from people telling you to “get out more” while all the time your own preferences are telling you you’d rather be “in” with a good book, it’s a relief to find you’re not alone.

Not many of us perch neatly at one extreme of the introvert/extravert axis. I’m mostly an introvert, but sometimes I like to grab the limelight and give a presentation. I need to spend some time hiding, exhausted, in the bathroom afterwards, of course, so that no one talks to me. I get most of my energy from quiet thinking but sometime I just love a boost from other people. And the applause, of course. Who really hates applause?

It's not only an introvert that likes to walk in the peace of the rainforest. An extravert can love it too, and maybe wants to talk about it afterwards. If no one talked about their experience, how would we ever get to know about it? Word of mouth is a beautiful thing. For introverts, writing makes it possible to express our thoughts and feelings without the complication of other people, but how would we feel if no one ever read anything we wrote?

 

We’re a jumble of differences, understanding the world from our own, individual viewpoint and we all live somewhere along the introvert-extravert pole.

Psychological typing is much more subtle than the debate suggests. Drs Myers and Briggs Myers developed the Myers Briggs instrument, to look at a wide range of human behaviours. I heard that their research stemmed from wondering why they behaved alike while their spouses were so different. That makes sense to me. Have you ever wondered why your child, or your partner, or your relatives or friends can’t just “Be Like You?”

The world is wonderful because we can’t all be like you. Or like me.

So, let’s not get sucked into thinking that only one type of person can think deeply or truly care about others or understand complex ideas.

Let’s spend more time trying to understand what makes other people the way they are.  Let’s try to walk a mile in their moccasins.

An Independent Woman: Coming Soon

Soon to be published by the Wild Rose Press, my new Victorian mystery novel An Independent Woman has this amazing cover designed by the talented Debbie Taylor.

Future updates (and loads of lovely Victorian trivia) from my new blog

Follow my blog with Bloglovin or like me on my Facebook page to hear more.

The Wrong Toothbrush: Your Communication Kit

Yesterday I used my husband’s toothbrush.

It was an accident, honest, guv. You see, we share one toothbrush base and have different coloured rings on our brushes to distinguish each one. Trust me, it’s the kind of thing you do when you’ve been married for 33 years.

I have yellow, he has red. It's a simple system that's worked well up until yesterday.

Yesterday, he changed his brush for a new one. His new brush has a blue ring.

So, why did I take his blue brush instead of my yellow one?

Communication with myself

It was all the fault of communication, but not his communication with me. After all, my toothbrush ring is still yellow. He had not touched it. There was no reason why he should mention he had changed his own brush. 

Unfortunately, the language of the subconscious monologue that runs in my head gave me a mixed message.

In my mind, I distinguished my toothbrush ring not as “YELLOW”, but as “NOT RED.” Instead of using a positive description, I had a negative idea floating in my mind.

I grabbed the toothbrush with a ring that was "NOT RED", and used it. What I missed was that there was now a choice of two "NOT RED" brushes. I had a 50-50 chance of getting it right and I chose the wrong option.

After I finished brushing my teeth I put the brush back on its little holder and realised my mistake. I noticed the ring was blue. That was a head-scratching moment.

“Blue.” I thought, perhaps a little slowly. “We don’t have a blue toothbrush.” Then, light dawned on me.

At least it was my husband’s toothbrush. It would have been much worse if it had belonged to a stranger.

So take care with negatives, even with the words you use to yourself. In fact, avoid negatives altogether if possible. Here's more about the horrid effects of negative language.

Negatives are unreliable and confusing and they bring you down with a bump. Think positive.

From now on, my toothbrush ring is YELLOW. Have you got that, brain? YELLOW.

PS I confessed and yes, we are still talking, thanks.

Does Your Boss Care What You Wear? Nonverbal Communication: Your Communication Kit

We talk to connect with people. We make energetic and loudly meaningful noises from the moment we’re born. Most of our communication, though, involves more than words. Many people find it easier and more meaningful to communicate visually than through their other senses.

For most of us, the way we make sense of the world is mostly visual. Our visual input is huge. We watch films and video games for entertainment, go to the theatre or sports events, decorate our houses and buy clothes, our eyes constantly open for the way things look. Beauty calms us and makes us happy.

Even our language is full of visual references. We talk or write about having bright ideas and may describe the experience of being let down as “seeing someone in their true colours.”   

Painters, sculptors and filmmakers, fashion (and kitchen) designers, interior decorators and gardeners all rely heavily on our love of visual stimulation. Even writers provide their work on the page.

Connect visually

Since sight is so important to us, it makes sense to watch out for ways to increase our connection with each other through visual means.

Nonverbal communication tells us more about meaning than the words we choose. Mehrabian found that over 80% of communication about emotive subjects came through body language, gesture, facial expression and posture, so it pays to think about the way you ( and others) use body language.Don't fall into the traps set by clever salesmen!

All of us, even (or especially) children are amazingly quick to recognize when your body language is different from the words you say. That’s why they complain when you keep glancing at your iPad. They know you’re not really giving them your attention.

How to spot a “looker.”

A looker may gesture constantly and speak quickly as though she’s describing a film. Maybe her eyes turn upwards up as she talks, as she accesses her visual memory. She pays attention to her clothes and hair and likes her house decorated beautifully.

Seven ways to communicate with lookers.

•  Take care that your nonverbal signals match the mood of what you say. Smile when you’re angry and you look false. It’s almost impossible to completely fake your body language, unless you’re a brilliant actor, so don’t try.
• Think happy thoughts about the person as you talk. If you tell yourself you like them (or just their shoes or hat) the warm thought will come through in your expression. Your eyes will crinkle, just so, and your lips relax. (NB muscles of mouth). If your mind is full of fury, you may find yourself pointing, folding your arms or standing too close. You just can’t manage all those little give-away signs at once.
• Use verbal imagery to a looker. Talk about being on the same page with them, tell them to watch out for a bright idea you’re about to explain. Ask them to let you paint the picture.

•  At work, they may prefer an email approach to a phone call. But, take care with your emails: they can be a minefield of misunderstanding. Read every one over at least twice before you hit the “send” button.

•  Check your appearance, especially if your boss is a looker. A hem that’s falling down, baby sick on your shoulder, a skirt that’s too tight: she’ll spot them all.
  

•  Describe things with pictures and diagrams and put them in writing. Verbal directions may be too confusing. Write things down whenever you can.

•  Use colour carefully. Red is energetic, but it can look aggressive. Blue is relaxed but can seem cold. Yellow looks bright and cheerful, especially in winter, but too much can tire the eyes. Use colour to match the mood you want to convey.