Set in Matamoros, this exciting romance explores the events
that led to the formation of Texas. Filled with real and fictional characters,
the basic outline of the story remains faithful to the historical record. The
provisional government was rife with tension. Land speculation or “Matamoros
fever” resulted in some land titles to be sold illegally.
While there’s no record of a double agent, like the
nefarious Chaparral Fox, the provisional government had many factions and
dissenters. James Fannin’s decision to capture the port of Matamoros divided
the Texas army, weakening the forces at the Alamo.
Against the brewing unrest in Tejas y Coahuila, many
strong-willed characters come into conflict with each other. Rafaela, who was
raised in England, learns that she must marry a man she loathes, Paladin. Her
father arranged for her to marry Paladin, a Baron, for his title. In return,
the Baron would receive a dowry and the ability to pay off debts. The dark brooding Baron clearly prefers the
Fiona, the feisty Irish woman hired to become Rafaela’s companion.
Fiona, wonderfully delineated by Bonds, is the kind of humorous,
hard scrabble character that is a joy to discover. Deprived of many things in
childhood, Fiona determines to get her due. Gutsy and determined, she will not
back down to Paladin who claims ownership to the same rich parcel of land that
she does.
Rafaela appear altogether different, yet in many ways, she
is similar to Fiona. She wants a home more than riches; she desires true love
and not an arranged marriage to a dilettante. Though Rafaela tries to resist the
charms of Niall, Paladin’s friend, she finds herself inevitably drawn to the
penniless Irish Traveler.
What makes this novel exciting is the expert pacing. In scene after scene, these characters risk
everything for a chance at true love and happiness. In one of the most pivotal scenes, Fiona,
with Rafaela’s help, turns her carriage around, as a bridge goes up in flames.
By choosing to turn her carriage around, she’s throwing in her lot with Paladin
and the revolutionaries. The plight of the mismatched lovers is not dissimilar
to the plight of the ragtag Texas army that defies the odds.
MacFarlane takes words that were dropped from children's dictionaries and creates poetic anagrams. Words like acorn, adder, bluebell, bramble, conker, fern, heather were replaced with technological terms e.g. "cut and paste."
Conker, the shiny dark nut encased within the green spiky fruit, was used in children's games throughout the British isles. The horse chestnut or "conker" has an odd shape and would be hard to duplicate. Thus, MacFarlane's anagram includes the question, "Cabinet-maker, could you craft me a conker? He decided that neither Cabinet-maker nor King nor engineer could make one.
He calls a dandelion a little "sun-of-the-grass," and a kingfisher a "colour-giver, fire-bringer, flame-flicker, river's quiver."
All of these descriptions are worked beautifully into an anagram stanzas and illustrated with oversized images by Jackie Morris. For "starling," he writes,
Should green-as-moss be mixed with
blue-of-steel be mixed with gleam-of-gold
you'd still fall short by far of the--
Tar-bright oil-slick sheen and
gloss of starling wing.
And if you sampled sneaker-squeaks
and car alarms and phone ringtones
you'd still come nowhere near the --
Rooftop riprap street-smart
hip-hop of starling song.
Let shade clasp coal clasp pitch
clasp storm clasp witch,
they'd still be pale beside the --
In-the-dead-of-night-black, cave-black,
head-cocked, fight-back gleam of starling eye.
Northern lights teaching shoaling fish teaching
swarming flies teaching clouding ink
would never learn the --
Ghostly swirling surging whirling melting
murmuration of starling flock.
The Lost Words is a visual and verbal treat.
What makes a good opening page to a novel?
Some really good reminders in Episode #39.
Stacey Swann believes the voice draws readers in and makes readers want to keep listening. The opening gives some sense of who the character is and who they want.
The opening page is a little like a "first date." The first page tells the readers whether the character is someone they want to spend time with.
They also discuss "psychic distance."
In Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation, odd details give a creeping, subtle feeling that something's not right.
The novel does a great job cultivating mystery.
https://soundcloud.com/writersleagueoftexas
(Episode 39)
