Shining a bright New Release Book Spotlight on Ghost Encounters by Helen Hollick and Kathy Hollick #GhostStories #NorthDevon #NewRelease

 

Ghost Encounters:

The Lingering Spirits of North Devon

by Helen Hollick, with Kathy Hollick

*New Release Book Spotlight*

Everyone assumes that ghosts are hostile.
Actually, most of them are not.

You either believe in ghosts or you don’t. It depends on whether you’ve encountered something supernatural or not. But when you share a home with several companionable spirits, or discover benign ghosts in public places who appear as real as any living person, scepticism is abandoned and the myth that ghosts are to be feared is realised as nonsense.

It is a matter for individual consideration whether you believe in ghosts or not, but for those who have the gift to see, hear or be aware of people from the past, meeting with them in today’s environment can generate a connection to years gone by.

Kathy and Helen Hollick have come across several such departed souls in and around North Devon and at their 18th-century home, which they share with several ‘past residents’.

In Ghost Encounters: The Lingering Spirits Of North Devon, mother and daughter share their personal experiences, dispelling the belief that spirits are to be feared.

Ghost Encounters will fascinate all who enjoy this beautiful region of rural South-West England, as well as interest those who wish to discover more about its history... and a few of its ghosts.

(Includes a bonus of two short stories and photographs connected to North Devon.)

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Ghost Encounters is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Helen Hollick

Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen might not see ghosts herself, but her nautical adventure series, and some of her short stories, skilfully blend the past with the supernatural, inviting readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between the living and the dead blur.

In addition to her historical fiction, Helen has written several short stories, further exploring themes of historical adventure or the supernatural with her signature style. Whether dealing with the echoes of the past or the weight of lost souls, her stories are as compelling as they are convincing. Through her work, she invites readers into a world where the past never truly lets us go.

Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was published in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today best-seller.

Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant.

Helen, husband Ron and daughter Kathy moved from London to Devon in January 2013 after a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden and orchard, fending off the geese, helping with the horses and, when she gets a moment, writing the next book...

Connect with Helen:

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Kathy Hollick

Helen & Kathy

Diagnosed as severely dyslexic when she was ten, Helen pulled Kathy out of school at fifteen to concentrate on everything equine.

When not encountering friendly ghosts, Kathy's passion is horses and mental well-being. She started riding at the age of three, had her own Welsh pony at thirteen, and discovered showjumping soon after. Kathy now runs her own Taw River Equine Events, and coaches riders of any age or experience, specialising in positive mindset and overcoming confidence issues via her Centre10 accreditation and Emotional Freedom Technique training. EFT, or ‘tapping’, uses the body’s pressure points to aid calm relaxation and to promote gentle healing around emotional, mental or physical issues.

Kathy lives with her farmer partner, Andrew, in their flat adjoining the main farmhouse. She regularly competes at affiliated British Showjumping, and rides side-saddle (‘aside’) when she has the opportunity. She produces her own horses, several from home-bred foals.

She also has a fun diploma in Dragons and Dragon Energy, which was something amusing to study during the Covid lockdown.

Connect with Kathy:

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Historical Fiction Author Eleanor Swift-Hook shines a Spotlight on Judith Leyster, an almost forgotten 17th-century Portraitist #HistoricalFiction #WomenInHistory

 

The Fugitive’s Sword

Lord’s Learning

by Eleanor Swift-Hook

Autumn 1624

Europe is deeply embroiled in what will become the Thirty Years' War.

A young Philip Lord, once favoured at King James' court, has vanished without a trace, under the shadow of treason.

Outside the besieged city of Breda, Captain Matthew Rider faces the brutal reality of wintering his cavalry in the siege lines, until he crosses paths with Filippo Schiavono, a young man whose courage and skill could change everything.

Kate, Lady Catherine de Bouqulement, arrives in London prepared to navigate the dangerous politics of King James' court to ensure troops are sent to her mistress, the exiled Queen of Bohemia.

Within Breda’s walls, a foundling named Jorrit unwittingly stumbles into a lethal conspiracy when Schiavono hires him, supposedly to help sell smuggled tobacco. But Schiavono’s plans go awry and they are compelled to flee the city, only to be captured at sea.

If Schiavono is unable to prove his loyalty and ruthlessness to a savage Dunkirker privateer captain, both he and Jorrit will face certain death.

Meanwhile, in London, Kate is forced to fight her own battle against those seeking to coerce her into their schemes and finds herself trapped in a terrifying and deadly power struggle.

Driven by violence, treachery, and the sea's merciless tides, their fates collide.

A Lodestar of the Golden Age

Judith Leyster - Self Portrait c.1630

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Self-portrait_by_Judith_Leyster.jpg

One of the reasons I love setting my books in the 17th century is that the art of the time was prolific and almost photographic. Each painting becomes a window into that lost past. The scenes of everyday life bring the period vividly to life in a way that previous eras never really were, as most paintings in earlier times were formal depictions of events, allegories, or portraits commissioned by the wealthy. One nation in particular led the way in this glorious artistic revolution: the Dutch Republic, where we speak of the flowering as a golden age. 

Another feature of the Dutch at this time was their attitude to women. Visiting Englishmen commented on how strange it was to see women out drinking with their friends or stopping to talk to men much as equals. There were even two forms of marriage possible for women, the more traditional sort that gave all over to her husband and a kind that allowed her to keep her own wealth, manage her own property and run her own business.

So it is not so surprising to find women were also professional artists.

Judith Leyster A Game of Tric Trac

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judith_Leyster_A_Game_of_Tric_Trac.jpg

One such was Judith Leyster. Her surname means ‘lodestar’ or what we would call the Pole Star today and she signed her paintings JL and with a star.

Being born in 1609 would have meant she was the same age as Philip Lord who is the main character in my book The Fugitive’s Sword, and whilst he began his mercenary career in the pages of that book, she was training as an artist, most likely with Frans Pietersz de Grebber in Haarlem. From their similarity in style she also probably worked with Franz Hals. 

Judith was clearly very talented even in her teens, and by the time she was twenty-four she had been accepted as a full member of Haarlem’s guild of artists. Her self-portrait is wonderfully informal and vibrant, looking out at the viewer as if in welcome, her ruff clearly in the way of her work but there to show her status. It might well have been the piece she painted to gain admission to the guild. Within two years she was running her own studio and had three apprentices training under her.

It is possible that she turned to art professionally after her family suffered bankruptcy, but it is hard to imagine anyone with her precocious talent not wanting to become an artist, especially in a time and place where that was such an exciting thing to be.

Head of a Child - Judith Leyster

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judith_Leyster_Head_of_a_Child.jpg 

What I love about her work is that it is always full of warmth and life. There is almost always humour in it, indeed she frequently painted people laughing and clearly enjoying themselves. Not for Judith the stiff and formal. Her people move and invite you to join them. Most of her paintings also have a moral message in them as was expected in such artworks at the time, but it is usually worked into the overall composition in a subtle manner.

In her lifetime she was a successful artist, recognised by her fellow artists as a woman of great talent, and a professional colleague. Tragically, after she died, she fell victim to the misogyny of the era. She married in 1636 to one Jan Miense Molenaer who was also an artist, and they had shared a studio. Because of that, after her death many of her paintings were falsely ascribed to him and others came to be considered the work of Frans Hals. Indeed, Hals’ signature was painted over hers on at least one. Judith Leyster was all but forgotten.

The Carousing Couple - Judith Leyster

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judith_Leyster_-_Carousing_Couple_-_WGA12954.jpg

Fortunately, in 1893 the Louvre acquired that supposed Hals painting which we now know as the Carousing Couple. Examining the painting, they discovered Hals’ signature was false and restored it to Judith. Since then, her work has gained in recognition and the Lodestar has taken her rightful place in the glittering galaxy of her Golden Age peers.

(c) Eleanor Swift-Hook

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This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Eleanor Swift-Hook

Eleanor Swift-Hook enjoys the mysteries of history and fell in love with the early Stuart era at university when she re-enacted battles and living history events with the English Civil War Society. Since then, she has had an ongoing fascination with the social, military and political events that unfolded during the Thirty Years’ War and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

The Soldier's Stand, book two in Lord's Learning and the sequel to The Fugitive's Sword, is now available here.

Eleanor lives in County Durham and loves writing stories woven into the historical backdrop of those dramatic times.

Connect with Eleanor:

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