14th March 2020 and it looks like the world’s heading for lockdown. Who’d have thought it? So far, the year 2020’s been written by Stephen King - and you know what that means. A gristly end. Apocalypse now. Of course, there have been many serious issues in the past, including world wars, but how ever bad they were, we understood what was happening back then. Mad men being murderously stupid yet again. As a writer, I understood enough about WWII to write about the build up and its effects in Germany, France and Poland (click image icons on the right).
But COVID-19 is a very different threat. A virus, an invisible death machine targeting the old and the frail. I can just about remember the notorious Asian flu in the ‘50s but in those days few people travelled regularly around the world, so virus clusters tended to stay put in certain areas. Those who got it and recovered, built up valuable immunity in their own communities. But COVID-19 is new, so not only has there been no time to boost our own individual white blood corpuscles, we’ve all been busy jetting around the globe during the unknown incubation period and merrily spreading the early germs via plane, tube and cruise ship air con facilities!
Whatever happens in the future, let’s hope someone other than Stephen King writes the epilogue...
- Callum Manning at 13 has been mercilessly taunted on Instagram by pupils for his online book reviews. However I was pleased to see that, after his sister tweeted about the incident, fellow authors have written many messages of support for him. Before the astronomical success of the Harry Potter books, reading by young people had slumped. But in the years after, reading of books like that has risen again. When I started writing The Violinist’s Apprentice, I wanted to follow in JKR’s success in writing an exciting series that the whole family would want to read. So, the stats below, taken today from the US Amazon site for The Violinist’s Apprentice, may be just a small step on the road but encouraging nonetheless. What ever your age, have you read my novel yet? Just click on the cover icon. Thank you!
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
- #637 in Historical Fantasy Fiction
- #170 in Historical Italian Fiction
- #542 in Historical Scottish Fiction
Parents of teens often bemoan: every book, TV drama and film these days is full of gratuitous violence and explicit sex. Where can you find an exciting novel with adventurous, historical scenes, innocent first love, lyrical descriptions of far-flung places but with no violence?
Let’s start the trend. 7 novels, 7 countries, 7 missing artefacts, one professor desperate to cure global warming. Transport yourself, first to Italy.
Exclusive. Here’s the latest professional Press Release, produced by PRforBooks. What do you think?
The Violinist’s Apprentice: Magic, Time Travel & Music Collide – in a Thrilling Timeslip Novel Hailed “Fascinating”
Isabella Mancini’s ‘The Violinist’s Apprentice’ forms part of an unforgettable seven-book series, as a naive young woman slips from the 21st Century to 17th Century Italy. Romance begins to blossom, but a tragic incident tears her between her growing feelings and the need to return to the present day to save her brother’s life. Few novels contain such a cocktail of themes including global warming, romance, magic and the ability to timeslip. One critic wrote, “…a fascinating original novel, laced with rich historical detail and 21st-century issues.”
Contact:
The author:
Email:olgaswan@hotmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
United Kingdom – It’s impossible to pigeon-hole Isabella Mancini’s latest novel into any single genre. It’s a fusion of fantasy, historical fiction, romance and a very real look at some of the present day’s most pressing issues.
It’s no wonder, then, that ‘The Violinist’s Apprentice’ has rapidly achieved such critical acclaim – as one young, impressionable woman transcends time, finds love and risks having to forfeit it all.
Synopsis:
A dark journey through time.
On a group trip to Rome, musician Clementina is whirled back in time to 17th century Italy.
Amidst court intrigue and creaking carriages, Italy becomes a chiaroscuro backdrop to her growing feelings for young violin-maker Antonio Stradivari. They kiss under an orange tree, and she persuades him to help a poor young boy from the nearby orphanage.
But people begin to notice just how ‘strange’ the young woman at the artist’s side is. She must be a witch!
Meanwhile, in present-day Scotland, her brother suffers a life-threatening accident, and in an icy corner of the Arctic, a professor frets about global warming.
Can Clementina find a way to return to the 21st century?
“The story is definitely dark, raw and poses many uncomfortable questions to the reader,” explains the author. “This was all part of my masterplan to pen something that can stand as totally unique in the marketplace, and weave so many genres into a narrative that still makes sense. As mentioned, this is one of seven volumes – with each set in a different location around the world.”
Continuing, “It’s tough to write something that allows fantasy to stand directly alongside real-world societal issues, but I suppose I am one of the few brave enough to explore it. Reviews have been incredibly positive!”
Indeed, critics love the book. Lynn Pool comments, “My favourite aspect of this time-slip novel is when the story's based in Rome, simply because the plot's self-contained. The tentative relationship between Antonio and Tina and their innocent first love attraction highlight how differently such meetings were conducted in times gone by. Therefore, seeing 21st-century Tina through Antonio's 17th-century eyes is delightful.”
Jessica Belmont adds, “The Violinist’s Apprentice is a really interesting concept. I haven’t read a time slip novel in quite a bit of time and this was a good one to get me back in the genre. Isabella Mancini manages to take a lot of information and make it easy to follow.”
‘The Violinist’s Apprentice’, from Dark Stroke Books, is available now:
Amazon - https://amzn.to/2OsBVCc
About the Author:
Isabella Mancini, published by Dark Stroke Books, is the alter ego of prolific author Olga Swan (published by Crooked Cat Books.)
For many years she and her husband lived in S.W. France with their French rescue dog Bruno, before returning to the West Midlands. She has a BA Hons (Open) in the Humanities.
Blog: olgaswan.blogspot.com
Twitter: @isabellamanci10
Instagram: authormancini
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ManciniIsabella1/
The Violinist’s Apprentice: Magic, Time Travel & Music Collide – in a Thrilling Timeslip Novel Hailed “Fascinating”
Isabella Mancini’s ‘The Violinist’s Apprentice’ forms part of an unforgettable seven-book series, as a naive young woman slips from the 21st Century to 17th Century Italy. Romance begins to blossom, but a tragic incident tears her between her growing feelings and the need to return to the present day to save her brother’s life. Few novels contain such a cocktail of themes including global warming, romance, magic and the ability to timeslip. One critic wrote, “…a fascinating original novel, laced with rich historical detail and 21st-century issues.”
Contact:
The author:
Email:olgaswan@hotmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
United Kingdom – It’s impossible to pigeon-hole Isabella Mancini’s latest novel into any single genre. It’s a fusion of fantasy, historical fiction, romance and a very real look at some of the present day’s most pressing issues.
It’s no wonder, then, that ‘The Violinist’s Apprentice’ has rapidly achieved such critical acclaim – as one young, impressionable woman transcends time, finds love and risks having to forfeit it all.
Synopsis:
A dark journey through time.
On a group trip to Rome, musician Clementina is whirled back in time to 17th century Italy.
Amidst court intrigue and creaking carriages, Italy becomes a chiaroscuro backdrop to her growing feelings for young violin-maker Antonio Stradivari. They kiss under an orange tree, and she persuades him to help a poor young boy from the nearby orphanage.
But people begin to notice just how ‘strange’ the young woman at the artist’s side is. She must be a witch!
Meanwhile, in present-day Scotland, her brother suffers a life-threatening accident, and in an icy corner of the Arctic, a professor frets about global warming.
Can Clementina find a way to return to the 21st century?
“The story is definitely dark, raw and poses many uncomfortable questions to the reader,” explains the author. “This was all part of my masterplan to pen something that can stand as totally unique in the marketplace, and weave so many genres into a narrative that still makes sense. As mentioned, this is one of seven volumes – with each set in a different location around the world.”
Continuing, “It’s tough to write something that allows fantasy to stand directly alongside real-world societal issues, but I suppose I am one of the few brave enough to explore it. Reviews have been incredibly positive!”
Indeed, critics love the book. Lynn Pool comments, “My favourite aspect of this time-slip novel is when the story's based in Rome, simply because the plot's self-contained. The tentative relationship between Antonio and Tina and their innocent first love attraction highlight how differently such meetings were conducted in times gone by. Therefore, seeing 21st-century Tina through Antonio's 17th-century eyes is delightful.”
Jessica Belmont adds, “The Violinist’s Apprentice is a really interesting concept. I haven’t read a time slip novel in quite a bit of time and this was a good one to get me back in the genre. Isabella Mancini manages to take a lot of information and make it easy to follow.”
‘The Violinist’s Apprentice’, from Dark Stroke Books, is available now:
Amazon - https://amzn.to/2OsBVCc
About the Author:
Isabella Mancini, published by Dark Stroke Books, is the alter ego of prolific author Olga Swan (published by Crooked Cat Books.)
For many years she and her husband lived in S.W. France with their French rescue dog Bruno, before returning to the West Midlands. She has a BA Hons (Open) in the Humanities.
Blog: olgaswan.blogspot.com
Twitter: @isabellamanci10
Instagram: authormancini
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ManciniIsabella1/
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