Abduction - Riches to Rags Tale

 

THE ABDUCTION OF EMILY BYRNE

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On sale this November - AVAILABLE ON KINDLE - $0.99/£0.77

A very good read. A splendid attempt from a first time ... A very good read. A splendid attempt from a first time author. I hope that will be more to follow. ~ Review by Peter Brocklehurst

Guest article by Christine Power

Prize-winning writer, Christine Power, has written a “riches to rags” tale. Against the backdrop of the fever and fanaticism of the Canadian gold rush, arrives a widow in black; the duplicitous Mrs Angelica Thomas, mastermind of a gang which deals in sex-trafficking, ransom and murder.

A very well-written tale with a terrific cast of characters in a setting that is evocative of life in the frenzied gold rush.

It is 1858 and the flotsam and jetsam of the world as well as canny entrepreneurs are drawn to New Caledonia, soon to be called, British Columbia. They are enthralled by the rumours that gold nuggets may be “plucked from the Fraser River by hand.”

Emily Byrne, a spoilt and privileged young Englishwoman, is also newly arrived in the primitive colony. After a violent row with her father, and determined to make him sorry, she stows away on a sternwheeler carrying “brides” to lonely prospectors in the remote gold fields.

AVAILABLE ON KINDLE - $0.99/£0.77

Love-struck Emily decides to follow the handsome but deceitful Royal Engineer, Lieutenant Jamie Ryder who has been posted upriver. Believing his pledges of love, she is certain that he will marry and protect her.

Emily’s naivety and obstinate nature lead her into many disastrous escapades as she ventures deeper into the rugged wilderness which is inhabited by the indigenous Indians and by desperate and avaricious fortune seekers.

Crossing her path at each point of the trail is the widow with offers of help and friendship.
On her hazardous journey through the spectacular but remote and rugged wilderness, she is taken under the wing of Rosie, an Irish girl fleeing the Irish famine and befriended by an escaped black slave. However, she repeatedly spurns the attempts of the half-breed Red who tries to warn her of danger.

Emily ignores his counsel at her peril.

See EXCERPT in previous posting.
 

THE ABDUCTION OF EMILY BYRNE

UK  USA  CDN  AU

The Abduction of Emily Byrne

Get your copy on Amazon!

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Excerpt: (Kindle Locations 117-157)

PROLOGUE

DESOLATION BAY HARRISON LAKE BRITISH COLUMBIA 1861

Desperation drove the young woman on. She stumbled over rocks and boulders alongside the torrential waters crashing down the creek. She fought her way through tangled bushes and scrambled over waist-thick roots of ancient hemlocks.

Despite the pounding of her heart - so loud it seemed to be reverberating in her head – she could hear the clattering of stones as he pursued her.

Reaching the tree line, she tried to recall that day, more than a year ago, when he had hauled her out of the wooden canoe and her blindfold had slipped; tried to remember the path taken when he dragged her up through the brush.

Taking a chance; half-running, half-sliding down through the rain-soaked forest, then through wild brambles and dark green salal, she fled towards to the bay.

Her breathing came in shorter, tighter gasps.

When she reached the beach, the shingle shifted beneath her feet. She could not see the canoe. Now unsure, she shook her head in despair; her shoulders sagged in defeat.

Perhaps he had moored it elsewhere.

She ran down to the water’s edge where her feet slewed on decaying salmon carcasses. In the dark, she had not seen the torn guts leaking red-orange spawn. She lost her balance and fell. Disgusted by the slime on her hands and the foul smell of rotting fish, she pushed herself back up.

Hearing the clattering pebbles, she knew he too had reached the beach. He was gaining on her.

She must keep moving; but which way?

Then the clouds in the dark sky parted. The moon’s brilliance exposed the bay in a cruel, cold light.

Now she saw it; half-hidden in the shadow of a dogwood tree. She could just make out the movement of the canoe as it gently rocked in the breeze, the water slap-slapping against its sides.

He was not far behind her now; so near she could hear his heavy breathing.

She staggered towards her only chance. On reaching the craft after a few more slippery yards and with one last lunge, she grabbed the rope that tethered the canoe to the dead branches of an old tree. As it slid free from the slip knot, she stepped forward into the shock of icy cold. Splashing knee-high into the glacier-fed water, she pushed the canoe ahead; out into the dark and questionable safety of the bay.

Aware of the suicidal nature of her only chance of escape, she hesitated. Was she heading for a watery grave?

Then a shaft of moonlight struck the water and, there, clearly visible in the shallow, translucent water, was the body of a man she recognized; the whites of his dead eyes looking straight up at her.

She knew she had no other option: she pushed the canoe out into the bay.

THE ABDUCTION OF EMILY BYRNE

Get your copy on Amazon!

UK USA CDN AU

Carrying brides to lonely prospectors

THE ABDUCTION OF EMILY BYRNE

Prize-winning writer, Christine Power,

has written a “riches to rags” tale.

Leigh Russell, (author of the popular DI Geraldine Steel Series) commented: "A very well-written novel," ... "...has a terrific cast of characters," ... "Excellent scene setting - so evocative of those times..."

I love novels with historical facts woven in. Learned something new today! I did not know that British Columbia in Canada was once known as ‘New Caledonia’. Maybe I was taught this in school and maybe not. The name New Caledonia is still used in British Columbia today in official and commercial names.

Now….are you ready for a  suspense thriller?

Book Description:

Against the backdrop of the fever and fanaticism of the Canadian gold rush, arrives a widow in black; the duplicitous Mrs. Angelica Thomas, mastermind of a gang which deals in sex-trafficking, ransom and murder.

This is a very well-written tale with a terrific cast of characters in a setting that is evocative of life in the frenzied gold rush.

It is 1858 and the flotsam and jetsam of the world as well as canny entrepreneurs are drawn to New Caledonia, soon to be called, British Columbia. They are enthralled by the rumours that gold nuggets may be “plucked from the Fraser River by hand.”

Emily Byrne, a spoilt and privileged young Englishwoman, is also newly arrived in the primitive colony. After a violent row with her father, and determined to make him sorry, she stows away on a sternwheeler carrying “brides” to lonely prospectors in the remote gold fields.

Lovestruck Emily decides to follow the handsome but deceitful Royal Engineer, Lieutenant Jamie Ryder who has been posted upriver. Believing his pledges of love, she is certain that he will marry and protect her.

Emily’s naivety and obstinate nature lead her into many disastrous escapades as she ventures deeper into the rugged wilderness which is inhabited by the indigenous Indians and by desperate and avaricious fortune seekers.

Crossing her path at each point of the trail is the widow with offers of help and friendship.

On her hazardous journey through the spectacular but remote and rugged wilderness, she is taken under the wing of Rosie, an Irish girl fleeing the Irish famine and befriended by an escaped black slave. However, she repeatedly spurns the attempts of the half-breed Red who tries to warn her of danger.

Emily ignores his counsel at her peril.
 

THE ABDUCTION OF EMILY BYRNE

Get your copy on Amazon!

UK   USA   CDN   AU