On Friday I introduced news of my forthcoming novel.
Thank you to so many of you who liked my new venture, and to everyone who took the time to send in an answer. My competition asked you to guess in which ‘surprising’ wartime country the book is set. The ‘surprising’ thing for me was that no-one guessed it absolutely correctly! I told you that my previous three wartime books were set in Germany, France and Poland, and that the new main setting is different. Some of your answers included Russia, South Africa, Austria etc. So, because my new novel begins in Vienna before heading across to a different continent, it’s only fair that I award the prize to the person who guessed Austria.
Thank you to so many of you who liked my new venture, and to everyone who took the time to send in an answer. My competition asked you to guess in which ‘surprising’ wartime country the book is set. The ‘surprising’ thing for me was that no-one guessed it absolutely correctly! I told you that my previous three wartime books were set in Germany, France and Poland, and that the new main setting is different. Some of your answers included Russia, South Africa, Austria etc. So, because my new novel begins in Vienna before heading across to a different continent, it’s only fair that I award the prize to the person who guessed Austria.
Congratulations therefore go to: Graham Stone! A prize will be winging its way to you shortly.
But where does the story head to next? All will be revealed very soon when the novel, title and cover will be published. To whet your appetite, below is an exclusive opening section, set in Vienna.
Enjoy!
Vienna
1935
Fragrant smoke lingered above their heads in the tiny Viennese coffee house in Philharmoniker Straße. Warm air ebbed and flowed in synchrony with their laughter, hovering expectantly for that final crescendo. Sporadically, enticing aromas wafted over from the bäckerei bakehouse at the rear, tempting customers to order just one more divine pastry. This evening, Café Grünberger was crowded with the demi-monde, enjoying the company of fellow theatre-goers before the evening performance of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte at the opera house across the street. Harassed waiters bobbed between the tables, laden trays of delicious viennoiserie and coffee liqueurs held expertly aloft. Whether the order was for Sacher-Torte mit Schlagobers (whipped cream), Gebäckene Mäuser yeast dumplings with yogourt or even Sacher-Ganselebertorte, which was a speciality goose-liver tart with elderberry and apricot on a bed of hazelnuts, the customer was always right……
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