#TRAVEL WITH SERENA--TAKE A TRIP TO #LONDON WITH GUEST AUTHOR NICHOLE CHRISTOFF

Tower of London

Nichole Christoff is a writer, broadcaster, and military spouse who has worked on-air and behind the scenes producing and promoting content for radio, television news, and the public relations industry across the United States and Canada. Nichole’s first year in RWA, her first manuscript won the Golden Heart® for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements. Her second manuscript won the Helen McCloy-Mystery Writers of America Scholarship. Her second novel in the Jamie Sinclair series is The Kill Shot. Learn more about Nichole and her books at her website. 

Running on London Time

My protagonist, Jamie Sinclair, is a gal who gets around. In my latest release, The Kill Shot, my PI-turned-security-specialist gets roped into helping her tough-as-nails senator father on a matter, he says, is of national importance. At his insistence, Jamie hops aboard a plane to escort a diplomatic courier to that ancient city along the Thames, London. And the trouble starts as soon as she touches down at Heathrow.

When it came time to craft a setting for Jamie’s international exploits, I knew I had to look to London. For centuries, London has been a city of mystery and romance. The famous Tower of London, where King Henry VIII sent so many of his wives, was already four hundred years old by the time he commanded, “Off with her head!” But distant history isn’t the only kind that makes London great. Seventy short years ago, Londoners withstood the Blitz and the tyranny of a cruel regime by relying on their own British brand of pluck and courage. There’s something wonderful in that.

And whether you choose to tour the Tower or buy a pint in a pub for an elderly gent who looked out for others as a boy during the bombings, reminders of London’s rich past are everywhere. But here’s the best part about it: these reminders aren’t sealed up behind glass. They aren’t artifacts to be observed and forgotten. They’re part of today’s living, breathing London.

In this day and age, the old isn’t torn down to make way for the new. Londoners believe their fantastic past can make for a functional present. I wholeheartedly agree—and I love it! You can find evidence of this attitude everywhere you look in London, indoors and out, and in both private and public locations. Among my favorite public old-places-and-today’s-spaces are Wellington Arch, the Serpentine, and Ye Olde Chesire Cheese.

Wellington Arch
photo by Gt-man

Wellington Arch was built nearly two hundred years ago to commemorate Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon. Today, it boasts the stylish Quadriga Gallery which features ever-changing exhibitions. And what about that beautiful water feature, the Serpentine? Part lake and all river, it was built in 1730 in the middle of Hyde Park because a queen requested it. Instead of filling it in or plowing it under, Londoners of every stripe and situation can now be seen enjoying it on sunny afternoons.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
photo by Martin Addison

Even the rather touristy Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is a prime example of appreciating the old and embracing the new. Rebuilt after the Fire of London in 1666, this place has literally stood the test of time. Its foundation is even believed to date back to the 1200s. But if you want the sip the latest craft beers from Belgium or munch Kobe beef in your burger after a busy afternoon along Fleet Street—which can still boast of being home to many of London’s cutting-edge newspaper and book publishers—then the Cheese, with its pedigree and present, is for you!

All in all, I couldn’t resist sending Jamie to London in The Kill Shot. As she tracks the bad guys through Marylebone, Belgravia, Seven Sisters, Hampstead Heath, Covent Garden, and other sites that near and dear to me, she’s running on London time and I hope you’ll come along for the ride. Take a look at London’s history, mystery, and modernity through Jamie’s eyes—and through mine.

In the meantime, tell me about your travels. What’s your favorite city to visit? Why do you love it so?

The Kill Shot: A Jamie Sinclair Novel

In an explosive thriller for readers of Lee Child, Alex Berenson, and Brad Taylor, P.I. and security specialist Jamie Sinclair finds herself in a dangerous game of international cat-and-mouse.

Jamie Sinclair’s father has never asked her for a favor in her life. The former two-star general turned senator is more in the habit of giving his only child orders. So when he requests Jamie’s expertise as a security specialist, she can’t refuse—even though it means slamming the brakes on her burgeoning relationship with military police office Adam Barrett. Just like that, Jamie hops aboard a flight to London with a U.S. State Department courier carrying a diplomatic pouch in an iron grip.

Jamie doesn’t have to wait long to put her unique skills to good use. When she and the courier are jumped by goons outside the Heathrow terminal, Jamie fights them off—but the incident puts her on high alert. Someone’s willing to kill for the contents of the bag. Then a would-be assassin opens fire in crowded Covent Garden, and Jamie is stunned to spot a familiar face: Adam Barrett, who saved her life with a single shot and calmly slips away. Jamie’s head—and her heart—tell her that something is very wrong. But she’s come way too far to turn back now.

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TRAVEL WITH SERENA--GUEST AUTHOR P.A. (PAM) DEVOE

P.A. De Voe in front of Musée national de Préhistoire, in Les Ezyies-de-Tayac, France 

P.A. (Pam) De Voe is a cultural anthropologist, which accounts for her being an incorrigible magpie for collecting seemingly irrelevant information. Her first cozy mystery, A Tangled Yarn, was published in 2013. She’s written a series of short crime stories set in Ming Dynasty, China, which have been published in ezines and anthologies, and her historical adventure/mystery YA trilogy will be published this year. Learn more about Pam and her writing at her website.

Authors are often asked where their story ideas come from. In honesty, they come from everywhere. My debut cozy mystery, A Tangled Yarn, involved spinning and knitting, two of my hobbies. In 2014 I started writing a series of crime short stories about a magistrate who lived in China’s Ming Dynasty; in 2015 my YA adventure/mystery trilogy, set in 1380 China will come out. The Chinese historical themes come from my particular passion for Chinese history and culture. But ideas come from unexpected places, too, such as traveling experiences.

View of Vézère Valley from town of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac

Recently, my husband and I drove from Paris to Les Ezyies-de-Tayac in southern France’s beautiful Vézère Valley. The area is lined by soaring white cliffs.

We wanted to see the Paleolithic cave art, which has a staggering timeline: 30,000 - 12,000 years ago—a period of at least 18,000 years. Compare the longevity of these cultural traditions to the age of our country, or even the concept of democracy, which goes back to 507 BC Athens, Greece.

St. Cirq cave site outside Les Eyzies-de-Tayac with historic troglodytic houses built into limestone cliffs 

What really captured me, however, was the stunning beauty of the art. I’d seen pictures, of course, but that was nothing compared to actually seeing a polychrome bison on the wall. The obvious sense of perspective was humbling. These prehistoric artists understood how to achieve the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface (sorry, no pictures, we couldn’t take any in the caves) and how to carve realistic figures as three-dimensional sculptures or in base relief.

Bison head, limestone in Musee d’Archeologie Nationale, St. Germain-en-Laye, just outside Paris

I was intrigued by the art and the early modern humans who produced such art. Questions popped into my head: Who were these early people, really? How did they live? What did they believe? How did they pass on information?  So many questions. I wrote down story ideas constantly.

Venus of Brassempouy (AKA Lady with the hood), mammoth ivory,25,000 years ago,

in Musee d’Archeologie Nationale, St Germain-en-Laye, just outside Paris

Did this mean I immediately started writing Paleolithic tales?  No. I am committed to my writing schedule, which means historical Ming Dynasty and contemporary stories right now. However, I have my notes, and I very well may write short stories or a novel based on my trip to Les Eyzies-de-Tayac.

Ideas come from everywhere, including our travel experiences.

A Tangled Yarn

When Shannon McClain and the Purls of Hope visit the alpaca and llama farm of Luke and Selena Barlow, little do they know that the twisted path of the next few days will lead them from their peaceful small town of Apple Grove, Oregon, straight to the brink of disaster.

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