One Sweet Moment by Maggie Craig

One Sweet Moment is much more than a romantic novel set in 1820s Edinburgh. It is also a window into the lives of the poor and rich members of society in this city of two halves. When troubled orphan Kate meets upper-class university medical student Andrew, their lives will never be the same again. But will their love be strong enough to survive the class divide?

An accomplished historian and novelist, Maggie Craig brings to life the dreadful living conditions within the vaults beneath the South Bridge and takes the reader on a thrilling journey to the past. I thoroughly recommend One Sweet Moment.

I asked Maggie the following questions:

Do the vaults still exist in present day Edinburgh?

Oh yes, and there are several sets of them. My story is set in the South Bridge vaults, which run at right angles back from Edinburgh's Royal Mile, under the street we now call South Bridge. A couple of tour companies will show you around these dark and atmospheric spaces and there are one or two pubs where you can experience a section of the vaults.

The fictional Pearl Fisher in One Sweet Moment has its real counterpart in Bannerman's pub in the Cowgate, a popular student howff. Go in there and you can see the vaults and the foot of the underground close which features in the book.

How much research did you have to do for this novel?

Quite a lot; time-consuming but not difficult. I absolutely love the research. I spent time in the vaults getting the lie of the land and imagining the story, looked up the original plans for South Bridge and contemporary accounts of the Great Fire of Edinburgh of 1824 in Edinburgh Central Library, read John Prebble's The King's Jaunt for so many wonderful details of King George IV's visit to Edinburgh in 1822, a pivotal event for what you might call Scotland's public image.

One particular aspect of the research I enjoyed for this book was looking up the newspapers of the time. You can get so much period detail from the adverts, whether they're telling you about a shop on South Bridge Street way back when called The Gilded Balloon, or that a cargo of melons has just been landed at Leith from Holland, or that the dressmakers are recommending gold or silver lama [and that's how they spelled it] for your new gown for the royal visit.

I was surprised to find your hero using the F-word in 1820. Was that deliberate?

Well, the F-word was certainly in use at that time. It has a long if not illustrious history. Robert Burns used it in his bawdy verse and it appears in Francis Grose's 18th century dictionary, The Vulgar Tongue. Richard has to mind his ps and qs at home so when he's outwith that rather polite domestic sphere, he tends to let rip. I didn't consciously make that decision, the earthy language of the book is just how the story told itself.

Language is an important strand in the book. There's a scene where Richard apologizes to Kate for using a much milder swear word in front of her and she snorts in derision. As a girl who works in an oyster cellar, she hears foul language every hour of the day but she's touched by his apology, it shows that despite the social gulf between them, he sees her as a young lady, worthy of his respect. The foul language her uncle uses towards her, in contrast, shows that horrible man's contempt for her.

Did you have any problems with the publisher allowing some Scottish dialogue?

No, this is really funny. One Sweet Moment is published by a London house and they were all for the use of Scots. The use of Scots versus Scottish English and Standard English is something I enjoyed very much while I was writing.

I should say that the book isn't written in Scots but some characters are quite broad in their speech although not difficult for a non-Scot to understand, I don't think. I always do my best to make things clear from the narrative context or by how another character replies. I love Scots, it has wonderfully descriptive words whose Standard English equivalents sometimes just don't sound vibrant enough to Scottish ears!

Other characters do what many Scots do. Having a guid Scots tongue in your heid is a compliment but the ability to switch registers and adjust according to the situation and to whom you're talking is inbuilt. Again, it's another strand of the book, that as Kate and Richard get to know one another they start adopting each other's words and turns of phrase and I had a lot of fun with this.

Are you writing any other novels in this period?

At the moment I've gone back in time to Edinburgh of the 1740s, writing a novel set in the run-up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745. I'm spending some time in 1820s Scotland in my current non-fiction WIP, looking at the Radical Rising of 1820. It was a fascinating time, hovering on the cusp of the modern world but carrying so much of the baggage - and colour - of the older one.

Thanks a lot for those brilliant answers, Maggie. You’ve given us some great insight into the novel and its setting, as well as useful research hints.

Maggie Craig is an accomplished author of Scottish historical fiction and well-researched non-fiction. Find out more about Maggie and her other books on her website. All her books are available on Amazon.

Happy Christmas and Flair for Words

Wishing a very happy Christmas to one and all, whatever you are doing over the festive period. Stay warm and safe, and take care if you have to travel through snow or ice.

I thought I’d leave you details of a splendid little writing publication that some of you might want to check out. Flair for Words is run by Cass and Janie Jackson - they might be familiar to readers of Writers’ Forum as they have a regular column there.

One of the things I most like about them, and their bi-monthly publication, is their positive attitude to writing and being published. They are also well-published realists, but I’ve always believed in being positive and I love their whole philosophy. Their strap-line is “You’ve got to have a dream” Yes! They provide much help to make that dream come true.

Check out Flair for Words – perhaps it will ignite your creative spark next year.

Have a wonderful Christmas,
Rosemary

The Figurehead by Bill Kirton

Set in Aberdeen in 1840, The Figurehead is a novel I have no hesitation in recommending. The sights, sounds and people of the period are brought to life by an accomplished author. Beginning with a suspicious death, the plot involves a whodunit and why, the carving of a figurehead for the new ship, the social differences between ordinary people and the gentry, and a tentative love story. All with the background of sea-faring, Victorian Aberdeen.

Although all the characterisation is well done, I was impressed by Bill Kirton’s handling of the female characters, especially the heroine, Helen, who is determined to fight some of the restrictions imposed upon women in that period.

I asked Bill the following questions:

The carving of the figurehead is lovingly depicted. Is that one of your own passions?

Yes. In fact, as part of my research for the book, I joined a carving class and made a couple of figureheads of my own, just to try to sense what John Grant felt as he created his figures. Carving’s still a hobby.

I also joined the crew of the Christian Radich for a trip from Oslo to Leith and even got to steer her under sail. It was magical.

Which character did you most enjoy writing?

That’s easy, but it’s a toss-up between two – both women – Helen and Jessie. They’re from different social classes but similar in many ways – mainly through the strength they show in a patriarchal society. In the end, it has to be Helen because she’s less willing to accept the reduced role society expected of women then.

The novel obviously involved much research. How easy, or difficult, was it?

Not difficult at all. I’ve already mentioned the practical aspects of it. In terms of documents and so on, I found an ordnance survey map of Aberdeen in the library. It was dated 1840 so that decided the time frame and I started reading the local papers for the time. Fascinating, absorbing stuff – the adverts, the trials, the offers of emigration – it gives a real feel for the city at that period.

Then there were the books about building ships, the fact that the Scottish Maid, launched exactly 100 years before my own birthday – to the day – had the first ever ‘clipper bow’. And Aberdeen today, with obvious reservations, isn’t so different architecturally, from the Aberdeen of 1840. Archibald Simpson was at his height then.

Are you writing more novels in that period?

I have several different projects and completed books and stories with publishers at the moment, as well as a probable commission for another non-fiction book for Pearson, but when things settle down, I’m looking forward to writing a sequel to The Figurehead. For a start, John and Helen need to sort out their relationship and, more importantly, Helen is anxious to get involved in her father’s business. She has some revolutionary ideas about passenger arrangements on the transatlantic voyages. Then there’s the visit of a theatre troupe and the solution to the mystery of the killing of John’s fiancée. Isn’t it fun being a writer?

Thanks a lot for the excellent answers, Bill. I’m looking forward to reading more about Helen and John – and I did wonder what had happened to John’s fiancée!

Bill Kirton is a well-published writer of crime novels, academic non-fiction, drama and children’s stories. Find out more about him on his Website, and at his Living and Writing Blog. The Figurehead is available as a paperback and a Kindle e-book from Amazon.

Christmas Film Review Competition

Here's an interesting, quirky competition from Best for Film - Write Christmas. The brief is to write a film review of the greatest Christmas film never made!

Unleash your creativity and send your fantastic/funny/brilliant imaginative film review in by 24th December 2010.

Rosemary

Christmassy Films for Cold Winter Days

I like to watch a TV programme or film while ironing – it makes it much less of a chore. Since the snow and ice have kept me in more than usual, I had no excuse not to get a pile of ironing done. Since there was nothing decent on TV, I watched my old DVD of ‘Little Women’ – the one with Winona Ryder as Jo, Susan Sarandon as the mother and a young Kirsten Dunst as Amy.

A brilliant choice for a cold, snow-white afternoon! Apart from the fact the story takes place around Christmas, with beautiful winter scenery, it’s such a ‘feel good’ film that my eyes were watering (and not from the cold) even before Beth’s sad demise. I’ve always loved the book and film versions but I was struck again by the very distinct characters of the girls, and the way the mother (and author of course) acknowledges how tough it was for women in those days.

I’m sure many of you must have favourite films for this time of year and I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘It’s a Wonderful Life ‘is among them.

Keep warm and safe,
Rosemary