Fiction meets fact: could France’s political problems be solved with a monarchy?

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Crowns with flag (1).jpgThis week I’m featuring the third book in my steamy suspense romance- ‘CROWNS’. It’s a story full of FRENCH flavor. Although I’m British, a lot of my life is in France. The English Channel is only a few miles across but it’s a huge gap in terms of tradition and attitude. France has a wild culture of street politics, strikes and direct action. They have a bloody history of revolution. My lovely neighbours like to joke about us Brits bowing and scraping our queen, princes, dukes and the like. Officially, the French have no need or affection for Royals. That’s if you just take their words at face value……

Scratch the surface and you’ll find the newspapers and mags in France are full of features on, you guessed….. the princes and princesses of Europe. They can’t get enough of the outfits/gossip/pageantry of the real life royal soap opera. I believe they’re secretly jealous. Several admit to wishing that there was still a monarchy in France. Of course, they would have no real power (just like our British royals) – but would be there as a spectacle to provide ceremony and a sense of national unity. I’ve often wondered how a country like France could go about reinstating a royal family in modern times? I mean what is a celebrity after all but an uncrowned “Special One”?

Well, a couple of years ago I let my imagination fly free and came up with CROWNS. It’s still my usual blend of female-cop action adventure and steamy passion…. but with a fantasy French finale!

Rather scarily, many of the predictions I make in the book have recently come true… a president comes to power and makes changes that enrage the people (Emmanuel Macron?). The recent ‘Gilets Jaunes’ (they wear yellow hi-viz fluorescent jackets) protesting across the country who correspond eerily with a political movement I call ‘The Patriotic Front”. Watch out for the ambiguous sexy Martine La Plume, their leader. There are several real-life living claimants to the French throne…. descendants of the original French Bourbon royals, via cousins/marriage and all sorts. A handsome guy from Maryland is the true descendant of King Charles the First of England and his French queen. When the crowd get behind him, history as always writes its own future in struggle and passion. It’s an all action romantic tale but maybe it says a lot about the way we are and just maybe points a way to bringing unity to a divided society. You’ll have to read my book to find out just how things might end up in France in the not too distant future.

‘Crowns’ available in print on Amazon worldwide and as an e-book on my website and at most e-book retailers here.   (Hint: for best prices, always buy direct from the author.)

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Queen Launches Love Bleeds Blue

The champagne smashed into the bow. A vessel riveted together with 104,000 words slipped away to begin its life away from me. Even the Queen was in tears but only because of the onion in her after-party Cheddar sandwich. What do you mean Fake News? You just don’t believe I’d give Her Majesty a cheese sandwich do you?

Much of history is the concoction and revelation of fake news. The English Popish Plot of 1678, the arson of the Reichstag in 1933 and the 2011 European Union ruling on straight bananas spring to my mind. Not only was much of these stories untrue, they were also influential. And there my friends is where Love Bleed Blue offers its tiny voice in the debate.  The above video features my police consultant, the English poet Oscar Sparrow. He seems plausible enough to me! He’s what I call a deadpan of mass deception.

kindle fire no backgroundIt’s only going to cost you 99 cents/99p to grab your copy AND until April 24th you can click the link in the back to claim your sweepstake chance to win a 7 inch Kindle Fire tablet. It’s out there guys! Now it’s over to you.PP3 LBB 24 Apr small

Emma Thinx:  Walk towards the light, don’t throw a shadow on the future.

Brexit Blues and Royals

 

Francois, William and Kate

President and Royals pose with the French Olympic fencing team. Photo credit express.co.uk.

Suddenly everyone is pushing buttons. Theresa May has hit the big Brexit button. World out there – ready or not here we come; or go; or sort of  wander about. So far I’ve not been taken as a hostage by the French government in case we don’t pay the 60 billion euros exit paperwork handling fee. (Pesky lawyers). Not sure who pays my fare if I get deported.

Why worry?  I’m about to press the launch button on Love Bleeds Blue and if everything goes as planned the royalties would soon get me out of jail.

In the meantime I wrote a modest feature for Impkater magazine. I felt rather humbled to be in such a publication. They’ve got some real scholars and experts I can tell you. I don’t know what to think until I’ve read these guys.  Anyway William and Kate – yes the royals – were doing a pre-Brexit Britfest in France. Republican or Royalist you can’t help loving all the glitter and pomp. The French did away with their chance to have shows like this so William and Kate are just showing them what they’ll miss if they’re unfriendly to us. If they don’t give us back our ball they sure won’t be getting any glass slippers from us.  AND we’re perfectly capable of making our own cheese to go with Californian wine so my suffering would be manageable.

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French Royal Crest. (Wikimedia)

Very often French people whisper to me that they want to bring back the Royals and do away with politicians all together. Now – remember where you heard it first…….Come on now – you didn’t expect Donald or Brexit did you?

 

Emma Thinx:  Good neighbours make good fences. Bad neighbours make good fencers.