The fortunes of Olivia Richmond by Louise Davidson.
After a terrible tragedy, governess Julia Pearlie finds herself with no job, home, or references. When she’s offered a position as companion to Miss Olivia Richmond, her luck appears to be turning. But Mistcoate House is full of secrets.
I did enjoy this book. I did like Julie. I wasn't sure about Mrs Hayes. I did like Olivia. I do hope there is more to come. 5*.
Blurb.
After a terrible tragedy, governess Julia Pearlie finds herself with no job, home, or references. When she’s offered a position as companion to Miss Olivia Richmond, her luck appears to be turning. But Mistcoate House is full of secrets.
Olivia has a sinister reputation. The locals call her the Mistcoate Witch, thanks to her tarot readings, and her insistence that she can speak to the dead. Her father, Dr Richmond, believes this to be girlish fantasy and is looking to Julia to put a stop to it.
Determined to prove herself and shake off her own murky history, Julia sets to work trying to help Olivia become a proper young lady. However, as she becomes a fixture at Mistcoate, it is soon clear that there may be more to Olivia’s stories than Dr Richmond would have Julia believe – not least because somehow, Olivia seems to know something of the darkness that Julia desperately hoped she had left behind.
As the danger grows, and the winter chill wraps around the dark woods surrounding Mistcoate, Julia will have to fight to uncover the truth, escape her past – and save herself.
Format – Kindle
Publisher – Moonflower Books
Publication Date – 26 Oct. 2023
Genre – Ghost Horror
Author – Louise Davidson.
how do you get started on writing?
I like to sort out all the physical wants first. I have a tea or a water, I’m warm enough, I have music on – I basically give myself no excuse to get up again. Then it’s the mental needs. I use a notepad and pen because they’re more portable and there’s less distraction (i.e. no internet) and then I start writing. The first five minutes are allowed to be whatever I want – so I have parts of my first draft that say ‘I can’t remember where I was going here but…’ – but once I’ve found my rhythm I can keep going all day. I use the advice of Neil Gaiman and Anne Lamott. Neil Gaiman says that he gives himself permission to do writing or nothing so that’s what I do and then Anne Lamott suggests breaking drafts down into little scenes and writing that scene. When I feel uninspired, I pick a scene and start writing and that gets me on the road to creativity.
how do the characters come in?
Loudly, usually. I’ve often said that I get my ideas like seeing a movie trailer in my head. It’s all just vignettes of the characters, snippets of dialogue and a general mood. But the first thing I hear is the voices – I hear the characters talking and everything is built up from what their voices sound like and what they say.
how do you find the settings for the book?
A lot of it is dictated by genre and memory. Being a gothic writer, my settings usually need a degree of menace and isolation so I like to think of how I can do that in a new way. I lived in Norfolk for three years while I was at university and knew I wanted to set the book there. I had seen Blickling Hall at one point was really taken with the grounds and the dark majesty of the place so I wanted something that had that feel but was also a family home. I did some research into National Trust houses until I came across the one where I suddenly thought, ‘That’s it! That’s the house!’ The village of Fellwick though is based on Hillsborough, a small town outside Belfast where I lived for a time after university.
do you have a set time when writing?
Yes and no. I’m a full-time teacher so there are pinch points towards the end of term or half term where there is too much happening for me to write every day, but I do try to dedicate an hour after I get home from school to write. I’m also a step-mum and my stepson and I now have a routine where we both get up on a Saturday morning, make a cup of tea together and then he will watch a movie on Netflix or play the Switch for a little bit while I write. It’s one of the best parts of my week.
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