Book Reviews/A Writing Journey
After Lakshmi runs away from her abusive husband, she begins work as a henna artist in 1950s Jaipur. For years she struggles to survive, and gradually develops a reputation as the city’s best henna artist. But then her bedraggled husband arrives with her sister, Radha whom she has never known existed. She struggles to develop a bond with orphaned Radha, and to rid herself of a husband who demands money. Will he give her the divorce she wants, and will she be able to survive her mounting debts?
After Anne and Serey, a Cambodian refugee, meet in a Montreal jazz club, they are drawn to each other. But when Pol Pot’s reign of terror ends, Serey is compelled to return to Cambodia to find his family. When he doesn’t return, Anne follows and soon learns the depths of the tragedy and its after effects on the survivors.
In 1943 Laura works with the chief negotiator on German access to Swedish iron ore when her friend from university, Britta, is tortured and murdered. She tries to discover what happened, but soon her own apartment is burgled and blown up. Despite the danger, Laura seeks the help of her past university friends and later the secretary to the minister of foreign affairs to eke out what Britta had uncovered that caused her death.
This is a very different WW11 story. Sweden remained neutral although it was pressured from both Germany and the Allies. And while the book is fictional, it is based on facts about what was happening with both German soldiers passing through Sweden and its indigenous Sami people.
On a visit to New Zealand some years back, I took over one hundred photos in one day at an important setting in a historical fiction manuscript I was preparing. Many were of signs that I didn’t actually refer to once I began writing, but having all those photos allowed me to choose the best fit. For example, the photo above may seem insignificant, but it was a location two characters passed over. Without the photo I would have forgotten this tiny detail.
Continue reading “More on research”
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