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Romantic Fiction Bookshop : by John Morey

The Sign of the Rose

The Black Rose of Blaby

Rose: The Missing Years

Finding Rose

Classic storytelling from an author toned by the seasons; writing stories with the passion and freshness of a teenager.

The Sign of the Rose is where it all starts, tracing Rosalee and Sean - a young couple with Irish Romani origins - as they flee after the Potato Famine, settling first in Tavistock in their quest for lost family.

Adventure awaits - and threatens - in the shape of highwaymen, brigands and a French libertine as fortune eventually takes them to Leicester.

On the way they are joined by a Hanoverian stallion who becomes both guardian and saviour until the final end, in a not-so-typical mystical fashion.

The dramatic climax in Aylestone (then a village), with Glen Parva and Blaby as the backdrop, adds reality to the a romance story.

 

Embracing the historical and industrial changes of that era, the author breathes an authenticity into the otherwise fictitious characters and events.

Along with Rose: The Missing Years and Finding Rose, it is released as an e-book and quality easy to read paperback.

Read more here...

Sign of the Rose - by romantic novelist

The Black Rose of Blaby starts with a rites of passage journey for four teenage boys in the rural village south of Leicester.

They meet their 'first loves' in a derelict farm one fateful night - which proves to be fulfilling for three of them, but doubly significant for the fourth. Ending in loss.

Overlay all this with a classic story of true love threatened by family forces and the ravages of war.

It embraces the pre-war 1930's, the war years (but in Ireland) and on to the late 1960's where 'Rose; The Missing Years' and 'Finding Rose' take over. 

The locations are principally the village of Blaby but include Aylestone when it too was a rural village.

Romani life is also the background for main events and  characters - full of mystique and mysticism.

Woven into the story we have the country traditions prevalent in days gone by, the practices of farm life since disappeared in an industry dominated now by machinery and automation.

More about Blaby here....

Black Rose of Blaby - mystery and superstition mixed in this haunting come of age romance

Rose: The Missing Years.
Early events in Finding Rose are mirrored here, but from Rose's perspective.

Discover the challenges that faced Rose and the questions left unanswered for the later years during which John builds a new life in the West Country. 

 

There he struggles to find romance and fighting the pull of his lost first love.

We also learn the significance of Rose's relationship with fellow gypsy, Sean, against the issues and influences shaping the Romani life during a changing world in the 1960's and '70's.

The lead up to one dramatic event takes place in Blaby itself - above is The Bull's Head (right), opposite of which is the grocer, Worthingtons, next to the village cobbler, Mr Bellamy.

Most of this romantic story is set in the village of Blaby near Leicester, introducing historical and cultural events impacting the lives of local villagers and city life.

As a romantic 'New Adult' novel, without dystopian overtones, there is a tinge of the mystical in this build up to the full story depicted in 'Finding Rose'.

'Love should never be this hard' but life balances misfortune with good.

 

Read more here... 

Worthingtons Grocers and Bulls Head in B

Finding Rose begins with Rose and John's meeting as teenagers in a Romani camp in a 1960's village of Blaby, just south of Leicester.

The Ford on Mill Lane, Blaby where Rose shares her first moments with John

Like any love story, they form a union born out of folklore and nourished by Rose's Irish cultural background.

As their relationship develops it reaches a critical point  - transported to the West Country.

 

The story switches between Teignmouth, Plymouth, and St Ives in Cornwall - during which we follow John's rites of passage as his career progresses.

Circumstance cause Rose and John to take different directions.

Then, on one chance visit to Plymouth market, John has an unexpected shock... a new encounter with the gypsy love of his life, Rose.

 

This classic romance take a new turn with paranormal influences.

But what happened to Rose during the seven years they were apart?

That remains a mystery that unfolds in Rose: The Missing Years ...and still leaves further stories to be told.

Read more here...

The Ford - Mill Lane Blaby - scene of John and Rose's first hours together
Unresolved - a short romantic  story with a gentle twist

Unresolved? takes you on honeymoon with Eric and Maggie, to St Ives. Their bedroom door remains locked - to you - but you get to share events much more unexpected... 

and much less resolved.

Romantic comedy, drama plus a spooky tale on Dartmoor

Three Easy Pieces - short stories with a twist and a touch of romance - one comedic; one profound; one haunting and brooding.

Thought-provoking but easy to read in a session.

Read my shorts - poems and short stories to read in a session

Read My Shorts combines poems and short stories - plus a memoir of life growing up in a 1950's village in Leicestershire.

All aim to be thought-provoking and brief, making this an essential

travel companion.

Those Italian Girls entice two would-be lovers into a family mystery with dire consequences

Those Italian Girls are Gina, Giulia and Elena - with the English student Susie making four - and all looking for something. Romance plays a part as does a murder mystery - but the beautiful backdrop of Tuscany is the jewel.

You can click through from each book cover to an excerpt and more details...

Revisionist western with a softer romantic blend

Wild Hearts Roam Free

Three years into marriage, Eric and Maggie take off to Wyoming for adventures on a dude ranch, where they encounter wild mustang, bears, wolves, eagles - and the maverick, Cary Butler - and where Wild Hearts Roam Free.

Wild Hearts Come Home

Wild Hearts Come Home features a different young couple from 'Roam Free', but still with an ambitious pioneer spirit to explore the opportunities of the 'new wild west'. 

Both feature Lakota Sioux philosophies; both celebrate the 'revisionist western'.

< Revisionist westerns probably began to replace the standard Roy Rogers and Gene Autry model from the late 1960's on.

 

Soldier Blue and The Wild Bunch certainly kicked into touch the cozy view of the American West, alongside Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood.

Latterly, Yellowstone, the Longmire series and Lonesome Dove carry on the new traditions of 'realism' of storyline as well as portrayal of character and location.

The 'WILD HEARTS' series offers a softer approach celebrating 
Native American tradition.

Celebration of trees in verse

Wood-Spirit

* Who doesn't love trees? Who knows the stories behind each one?
* Fact, fiction, mystery and truth associated with our most common species.
* Free verse containing thoughts, speculation - and appreciation.

Imagine Rose singing - against scenes taken from each novel - free to listen

Each song below is written and performed by Milly Cutler. Available here kind permission Copyright 2020 Emily Cutler; all rights reserved; no unauthorised use or broadcasting.

Finding Rose - by romance novelist John
00:00 / 02:11

Rose is missing....who? Imagine the scene by the gypsy camp fire. Picking up her guitar, Rose starts to strum the first chords of a song she has written.

00:00 / 02:23

Rose is parted from John and takes her frustration out in song - from a scene in 'Rose The Missing Years'

00:00 / 01:19

Sean and Rose are experiencing issues in their relationship - during which Rose pours out her emotions. 

Rose The Missing Years by romantic novel
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