I am happy to be bringing you Joseph Barnaby today. I have a great author post for you all about the setting of Madeira and a Giveaway. For details how to enter, look at the end of this post.
Stand by your beliefs – even if it means going to the end of
the Earth
By standing up for his principles to save the life of a
prize racehorse, farrier Joseph Barnaby loses everything. Now, a personal
vendetta has become too deep to fight and he escapes to the island of Madeira
where he finds work on a small farm at the foot of a cliff, only accessible by
boat. The balmy climate and never-ending supply of exotic fruit, vegetables and
honey make it sound like paradise but, for Joseph, it’s the ideal place to hide
from the world. Can the inhabitants of Quinta da Esperança, who have more grit
in them than the pebbled beach that fronts the property, help Joseph find his
self-worth again? And can he escape the danger that draws ever nearer?
Today, I am welcoming Susan Roebuck to the blog to talk about choosing Madeira as the setting for her book.
Susan:
Many thanks for hosting me on your blog today and I’m so happy that it coincides with the launch of my new novel, Joseph Barnaby, which is set on the Portuguese Island of Madeira.
You asked me why I set the novel there.
First of all, a little introduction to Madeira. It’s a Portuguese archipelago – that’s right, an archipelago – made up of four islands: Porto Santo, Madeira, the Deserta Islands, and the Ilhas Selvagems (Wild Islands).
Madeira is the largest but Porto Santo was discovered first in early 15th century (thank you Henry the Navigator). It’s a 90 minute plane journey from Lisbon and almost at the end of your journey, when the plane’s descending, the captain might tell you to look out of the left window to see Porto Santo. That usually results in a rush of passengers from the right side heading over to the left to get a glimpse of the small island with it’s one kilometre stretch of beautiful golden sandy beach. I’m always amazed the plane doesn’t tip over, but the captain knows his stuff for three seconds later he tells everyone to go to their seat and buckle up as the plane is landing. And it does, wind conditions permitting, with a thump like landing on an aircraft carrier.
What a difference to the island of Porto Santo such a short distance away! Madeira is volcanic, its beaches black and pebbly and mostly inaccessible, and very mountainous. It’s a beautiful, temperate island hosting a plethora of fascinating plants and wildlife and home to one of the world’s last laurisilva forests.
Why did I set Joseph Barnaby there? My husband was born on the island and we visit it often. Joseph (the main character) has reached the end of his tether and cannot face the world any more. He needs to get away to the far end of the world. And what better place? One of the pebbly beaches that is only accessible by boat. It’s called a fajã which is a flat area of land at the bottom of a steep escarpment or cliff. Often formed on the islands of Madeira and the Azores from volcanic lava flow before it was stopped by the ocean. Joseph’s fajã is just wide and long enough to be farmed.
This is the view that Sofia, niece of the farmer on the fajã, sees when she looks down on it from far above:
“…the farm stretched to the rocky grey-pebbled beach where the white veil of surf broke on the grey and black shoreline of the Fajã. Her uncle’s Quinta dos Françeses sat at sea-level where he farmed two acres of vineyards, an acre of banana trees and another two of fruit trees and bushes, not including the vegetable patches, goats, chickens and a donkey. The red-roofed farmhouse had been built on a small hillock, the highest point of the Fajã, at the far western end surrounded by a verdant array of overhanging passion-fruit creepers and a vegetable garden. Next to the farmhouse was the washhouse, then the farm-worker’s cottage. Behind them were the fruit orchards, and the wine-cellar barn. Next in line was the toolshed, flanked by another fruit orchard. And there, at the far western end, sheltered from the sea by a black stone wall, were her beehives.”
And here is Joseph Barnaby sitting quietly on a rock on his first day:
“Joe threw his banana skin into the waves as they lapped the beach. For such an isolated place, it was full of noise: waves breaking on the shore, leaves rustling in the wind, cicadas creaking their back legs off, birds twittering and calling to one another in the fruit trees before bedding down, and wailing gulls that only seemed to come out in the evening and at night, and which, he’d been told when he’d asked in the bar in Ponta Estreita, nested high up in the cliffs. They sounded like a baby crying.”
What better place to hide away from the world?
An uninhabited fajã
About the Author
I was born and educated in the UK (I am British!) but now
live in Portugal. I've been an English teacher for many years with the British Council and also the Portuguese civil service where I developed e-learning courses.
My first love is, of course, my husband, my second writing,
and my third painting. And now I have time to be able to indulge in all three.
My debut novel, "Perfect Score" was published by Mundania Press on Sept 21, 2010 and the paperback launched on May 11 2011. It
was a finalist in the 2012 EPIC e-book Awards in the Mainstream Category.
My second novel is a dark thriller/fantasy called
"Hewhay Hall". It won an EPPIE award in the 2013 EPIC (Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition) e-Book Awards in the Horror Category.
Next comes "Rising Tide", published in 2015. Set
in Portugal, published by Mundania Press. It is set in a tiny fishing village that the world, and most of Portugal, has forgotten. Read about the wonders of the ocean and see if Piper from Norfolk UK and Leo from Alaska, USA, can find what they're searching for in the little village of Luminosa.
"Forest Dancer" was published on 20th February
2018 by CrookedCat Books. This is novel number 2 set in Portugal but this time in the forests outside Lisbon, Portugal. Instead of the sea (as in Rising Tide), now find out about the wonders of the forest and whether classical ballerina, Flora, can find what she's searching for in the small village of Aurora.
On 5th October 2018 CrookedCat Books published
my newest novel. "Joseph Barnaby" , another
Romance/suspense which is set on the island of Madeira.
Follow the rest of the tour!
Giveaway
To be in with a chance of winning just follow the link below:
1st prize an Amazon book token (£10) ,
2nd prize - 2 x signed paperbacks of Joseph Barnaby
3rd prize - 2 x ebooks of Joseph Barnaby
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box
below. The winner will be selected at
random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter
and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right
to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the
competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with
third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed
to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after
which time I will delete the data. I am
not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
Thank you for hosting me !
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