Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Date with Death
WORK NOTES: under pseud Julia Chapman
PSEUDONYM(S): Chapman, Julia
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.jstagg.com/
CITY: Yorkshire, England
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
Lives in England and in France * https://us.macmillan.com/author/juliachapman/ * https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/julia-chapman/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Worked formerly as manager of an inn, a waitress, a bookseller, a pawnbroker and a teacher of English as a foreign language.
AVOCATIONS:Biking.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Julia Stagg, also known under her writing pseudonym, Julia Chapman, is an England-based writer. Stagg has lived in Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and France. She has worked as a bookseller, pawnbroker, waitress, and teacher of English as a Foreign Language. In 2004 she and her husband moved to the Ariège-Pyrenees region of France to run an inn. After six years they returned to their home in England. Stagg writes full-time and lives in Yorkshire Dales with her husband.
The French Postmistress
The French Postmistress, the third in the “Fogas Chronicles” series, tells the story of Véronique Estaque, a postmistress in a tiny commune of Fogas in the French Pyrenees. After the postoffice burns down, Véronique takes it upon herself to rally the townspeople to rebuild the building. She becomes frustrated when she is met again and again with barriers and difficulties. As the story progresses, it seems that there are forces at work that are intentionally keeping her from completing her goal of bringing the postal services back to Fogas.
While this is happening, the mayor of Fogas, Serge, is grieving the recent death of his wife, and seems to have lost interest in tending to the village’s politics. Whoever is preventing Véronique from rebuilding the postoffice appears to have an interest in keeping Serge in his grief and out of the political sphere. A contributor to Good Life France noted: “There is a dark side to the story which keeps the plot lively and intriguing, seething passions and tensions below the surface, and rich characters hold your attention from start to finish.”
Fete to Remember
In Fete to Remember, the fourth in the “Fogas Chronicles” series, the story is again focused on postmistress Véronique Estaque. The book opens in summertime in Fogas, with local farmer, Christian, perplexed as to how to approach Véronique, the woman with whom he has fallen in love. As the deputy of Fogas, Christian must help Fogas to have its needs met, which is particularly important in this time of change. There are rumors that a larger neighboring town is making plans to appropriate Fogas into its territory, something no resident of Fogas wants.
While Christian is attempting to figure out his love life and the fate of Fogas, other villagers are dealing with their own struggles. Josette, the local bar owner, is struggling with the recent loss of her husband. Véronique jumps in with emotional support and a friendship blossoms. A contributor to 23 Review Street wrote of Fete to Remember, “with its budding friendships, relationships and passion for their great little community, it was entraining and charming all at the same time.”
Date with Death
Date with Death, the first in the “Dales Detective” series, tells the story of recent divorcee Delilah Metcalfe. Lonely and dejected, Delilah is struggling to keep her web design and online dating businesses running. Despite two recent successful speed-dating events and a slowly growing market, Delilah may be forced to shut down the business.
To save money, she leases out office space. The new tenant is a man from her past, her deceased brother’s best friend, Samson O’Brien. Delilah’s brother, Ryan, died in combat in Afghanistan. Instead of attending his best friend’s funeral, Samson abruptly left Bruncliffe, moving to London. Fourteen years later, Delilah and her family still hold animosity toward Samson for this cold choice.
When Samson returns to Bruncliffe, Delilah’s remaining brothers, Ash and Will, refuse to speak to him. When they find out that Delilah’s office space will be rented by Samson, they stop speaking to her, as well. Delilah would prefer to not see Samson, but she allowed realtor Rick Procter to rent out the space, never expecting Samson could be the one to rent it.
Despite the hostility directed his way, Samson attempts to settle into Bruncliffe life. In the rented space, he opens a detective agency. Though Delilah is unhappy about Samson’s proximity, she is grateful for some income, and fully anticipates that his business will fail within a few months. It seems that her expectations will come true when Samson’s first case, the death of local Richard Hargreaves, is immediately concluded to be a clear suicide by officials.
However, when Samson begins investigating, the clues do not add up. Hargreaves did not have reason to commit suicide, particularly because he was just in the beginnings of a new, happy relationship, thanks to Delilah’s online dating service.
As Samson’s begins investigating more cases, he discovers a perplexing connection between Delilah’s dating business and the murders. Though Samson and Delilah would prefer to ignore one another, they must come together to uncover the murderer behind the growing dating-related deaths. A contributor to Publishers Weekly wrote, “gentle humor and an evocative sense of the Yorkshire Dales landscape compensate for an implausibly prolific killer with hackneyed motives.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2017, review of Date with Death.
Publishers Weekly, January 30, 2017, review of Date with Death, p. 179.
ONLINE
23 Review Street, http://www.23reviewstreet.com (September 8, 2014), Sophie Kate, review of A Fete To Remember.
Crime Time, http://www.crimetime.co.uk (February 8, 2017), review of Date With Death.
French Village Diaries, http://www.frenchvillagediaries.com (September 13, 2013), review of The French Postmistress.
Good Life France, https://www.thegoodlifefrance.com (October 3, 2017), review of A Fete to Remember; review of The French Postmistress.
Kings River Life, http://kingsriverlife.com (April 29, 2017), Cynthia Chow, review of Date with Death.
Novelicious, http://www.novelicious.com (April 20, 2015), Zarina de Ruiter, review of A Fete to Remember.
Writing. ie, https://www.writing.ie (October 3, 2017), Aoife Roantree, review of The Parisian’s Return.*
Cursed from a young age with itchy feet, Julia has lived in Japan, Australia, the UK, the USA and more recently, France. She has worked as a waitress, a 'check-out chick', a bookseller, a pawnbroker and as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language.
In 2004, tempted by a love of cycling and a passion for mountains, she moved to the gorgeous Ariège-Pyrenees region of France to run a small auberge with her husband where she was able to add chambermaid, receptionist, cleaner and chef to her CV all in one go.
When not writing or running the business, Julia spent her time out in the mountains, walking the paths and the ridges that provide the beautiful setting for the Fogas novels or riding her bike through the small hamlets and villages that are a vital part of her books.
She currently divides her time between the Ariège and the Yorkshire Dales and for a short while at least, those feet have stopped itching.
Under Julia Stagg
Series
Fogas Chronicles
1. l'Auberge (2011)
2. The Parisian's Return (2012)
3. The French Postmistress (2013)
4. A Fete to Remember (2014)
5. Last Chance in the Pyrenees (2015)
A Christmas Wedding (2014)
JULIA CHAPMAN is the pseudonym of Julia Stagg
Series
Dales Detective Mystery
1. Date with Death (2017)
2. Date with Malice (2017)
3. Date with Mystery (2018)
JULIA CHAPMAN is the pseudonym of Julia Stagg. Julia currently lives in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales in the north of England. When not writing, she spends her time out in the hills, running on the fells that provide the beautiful setting for the Dales Detective novels, or riding her bike through the small hamlets and villages that are a vital part of her books.
Julia Stagg lived in the Ariège-Pyrenees region of France for six years where she ran a small auberge and tried to convince the French that the British can cook. Having done her bit for Anglo-Gallic gastronomic relations, she now divides her time between the Yorkshire Dales and the Pyrenees. You can find out more on her website www.jstagg.com or on Facebook www.facebook.com/staggjulia and follow her on Twitter @juliastagg.
Julia Chapman is the pseudonym of Julia Stagg, author of the Fogas Chronicles set in the French Pyrenees.
Born in England, Julia has a wanderlust that has kept her moving. She has followed her restless feet to Japan, Australia, the USA and France. She spent the majority of that time as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language but also dabbled in bookselling, pawnbroking and waitressing. She also ran an auberge in the French Pyrenees for six years with her husband.
Having spent many years wandering, she is now glad to call the Yorkshire Dales in the north of England home, its distinctive landscape and way of life providing the setting for her latest series of novels, the Dales Detective.
Born with a wanderlust that keeps her moving, Julia Stagg has followed her restless feet to Japan, Australia, the USA and France. She has spent the majority of her time as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language but has also dabbled in bookselling, pawnbroking, waitressing and was once 'checkout-chick' of the month at a supermarket in South Australia.
In 2004, a love of cycling and the mountains, combined with a strange desire to take on a business she knew nothing about, saw her move to the Ariège-Pyrenees region of France with her husband. For the next six years they ran a small Auberge and restaurant, learnt French the hard way and discovered that they could spend lots of time together without killing each other. Over the years running the Auberge, the inhabitants of Fogas began to shape themselves in her mind. While Julia was hanging out yet another load of washing, Annie Estaque would lean over and rasp in her ear, warning about a change in the weather. While she was frantically trying to prepare food for twenty, Christian Dupuy would be in the background grumbling about his mother's inability to produce a meal for two. And as she served pastis to tourists at the bar, Mayor Serge Papon would be watching with a sharp eye as he drained his own glass of the opaque liquid.
Before long their stories began to take form and in between hectic summer seasons, Julia managed to sneak the time to get them down on paper. And in doing so, the commune of Fogas came to life, inhabited by people who are purely fictional but dominated by a stunning landscape that is grounded in fact.
For more information about Julia Stagg and her books, visit www.jstagg.com or follow Julia on Twitter @juliastagg.
Interview with Julia Stagg, author
Written by French Book Worm in Book Reviews And Interviews
Julia Stagg has lived in Japan, Australia, the UK, the USA and now divides her time between France and the UK. She has worked as a waitress, a ‘check-out chick’, a bookseller, a pawnbroker and as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language.
In 2004, tempted by a love of cycling and a passion for mountains, she moved to the gorgeous Ariège-Pyrenees region of France to run a small auberge with her husband where she was able to add chambermaid, receptionist, cleaner and chef to her CV all in one go.
Here she added another title to her list of achievements – best selling author. Her books tell the story of the lives, loves and machinations of the inhabitants of the small commune of Fogas in Ariège-Pyrenees. Whilst the village is fictional it is very much based on the beautiful towns and hamlets that Julia explores in her lovely French region.
With three books in the series (L’Auberge, The Parisian’s Return and The French Postmistress) and a fourth on the way, Julia has established herself as a much loved author and French Book Worm was thrilled to ask her some questions…
At school I was terrible at …
French!! I really didn’t take to it and much preferred staring out of the window – a bit like my character Chloé in the Fogas Chronicles. I’ve made up for it since then – I hope.
I started writing when / because…
I don’t remember a time when I didn’t write. I kept a diary from a very young age – detailing an odd mixture of arguments with my sisters, football scores and books I was reading. I like to think I’ve progressed since then.
The hardest part of writing a novel is…
For me it’s the isolation. While I’m happy to be alone, I have always worked with the public – waitressing, retail, teaching, running an auberge – and on occasions I really miss that buzz of people. So now, when I need a dose of society, I take myself off to the nearest town, sit in a coffee shop and write away while watching the world go by.
I work best when…
Ooo – difficult question. Work can be ideas generation, plot development, the trickiness of transferring an amazing vision into words or even the sheer mechanics of editing. So it’s hard to say. But I know that I often have my best ideas when I’m running or hiking – it’s as though getting away from my desk cuts through all the clutter and releases me somehow.
If I wasn’t a writer I would…
Be an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher. It’s what I did before running the auberge and I would be more than happy to return to it should the Fates decide that my books no longer sell. Hopefully it won’t come to that though!
If you could have dinner with a famous French person – living or dead, who would it be?
I’m tempted to say Sébastien Chabal, the long-haired lock for the French rugby team whose tenacity always impressed me. But he’s alive and I still have a chance of meeting him in real life – however infinitesimal – so I’m going to say Pierre Curie. But only on the condition that he brings his wife, who was Polish. I read a short story about Marie Curie in one of my mother’s annuals when I was a kid and I’ve been fascinated by her ever since.
If you were to cook for that person – what would you cook?
It ought to be a microwave dinner – ha ha! – but actually, I’d make Marie Curie a cassoulet because she always looks like she needs feeding up. I’d use the finest haricots from Pamiers, confit de canard and sausages from Toulouse. I wouldn’t dare use tomatoes for fear of incurring the wrath of René Piquemal from Fogas who is particular about his culinary heritage.
Desert Island book – if you could only take three books to a deserted island what would they be?
Sorry – I can’t answer that one. I would just refuse to go. I balked at being restricted to three books as a kid in the library and can’t bear the thought of it now.
My guiltiest pleasure is…
Being an author. I wake up enthused. I work happily. And I still can’t believe I’m fortunate enough to make a living doing something I totally enjoy.
Red or white wine?
Red. Although on a hot day in the Pyrenees, a glass of chilled white goes down a treat.
If Steven Spielberg sees this interview on The Good Life France website and decides to make it into a film who would he get to play the parts of Mayor Serge Papon and Véronique the post mistress?!
Hmmmm…tricky. Serge Papon needs to be crafty with a twinkle of devilment and he’s got to have a way with the ladies. I’m leaning towards Jean Reno even though he’s still a bit young for the part.
As for Véronique, it’s not an easy one to cast as so many of the actresses her age are waif thin and fragile. Mademoiselle Estaque is far from that! So someone with personality, a full figure and amazing shoulders. Because Christian Dupuy is fairly besotted by her shoulders.
When Steven Spielberg’s film The French Postmistress hits the silver screen – how do you think your French friends and neighbours would react to your fame?
I don’t think it would change them one iota! They’re a very down to earth bunch – which is part of the appeal of the area.
What are you working on now?
I have just submitted book four of the Fogas Chronicles – keep an eye on my Facebook page for details of the title coming soon. And I will now start on the fifth book – time really has flown in the company of the good people of Fogas!
Date with Death: A Dales Detective Mystery
264.5 (Jan. 30, 2017): p179.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Date with Death: A Dales Detective Mystery
Julia Chapman. Minotaur, $25.99 (384p)
ISBN 978-1-250-10936-1
This series launch from Chapman, a pseudonym for Julia Stagg (the Fogas Chronicles), delivers an engaging twist on the lonely-hearts killer motif. Since her divorce, Delilah Metcalfe has struggled to keep her web design and online dating businesses afloat in rural Bruncliffe, Yorkshire. After she leases out an office space, she learns that her new tenant is Samson O'Brien, her deceased brother's best friend, who abruptly left Bruncliffe for London years ago. Despite animosity from Delilah and other locals, who view his sudden return with suspicion, Samson opens a detective agency, and his first client leads him to a series of seemingly accidental deaths connected to Delilah's speed-dating events. Gentle humor and an evocative sense of the Yorkshire Dales landscape compensate for an implausibly prolific killer with hackneyed motives. Chapman barely hints at the potential for romance between Samson and Delilah, and their developing friendship and suggestions of coming scandals in Bruncliffe should leave readers eager for the sequel. Agent: Oli Munson, A.M. Heath (U.K.). (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Date with Death: A Dales Detective Mystery." Publishers Weekly, 30 Jan. 2017, p. 179. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA480195169&it=r&asid=e3c3b20091aab89d5ade0d9620f68d6e. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A480195169
Chapman, Julia: DATE WITH DEATH
(Feb. 15, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Chapman, Julia DATE WITH DEATH Minotaur (Adult Fiction) $25.99 4, 4 ISBN: 978-1-250-10936-1
A prodigal son returns to the Yorkshire Dales to thwart a murderer.Almost no one greets Samson O'Brien with pleasure when he roars back into Bruncliffe on his vintage motorcycle. Least of all members of the Metcalfe family, who are still angry with Samson for not showing up at the funeral when their brother Ryan was killed in action in Afghanistan. Not only won't Ash and Will Metcalfe speak to Samson, but they turn their backs on their sister, Delilah, who allows realtor Rick Procter to let out the first floor of her shop only to discover that her new tenant is the pariah himself. Not that Delilah can afford to turn away a source of potential income. Her business, the Dales Dating Agency, is solidly in the red despite a growing clientele and two successful speed-dating events. Besides, Delilah suspects that Samson's detective agency will fold within months, especially after he learns that his first case is the death of Richard Hargreaves, a case closed instantly by the authorities as an obvious suicide. But as Samson begins his investigation, he finds that Hargreaves had no reason to kill himself. In fact, he had every prospect of starting a new relationship thanks to Delilah's service. Now Delilah not only has to suffer Samson's presence on her premises: she has to help her nemesis find out who could have wanted to kill one of her clients. An engaging cast of characters and a cleverly clued puzzle move Chapman's debut to the top of the English village murder list.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Chapman, Julia: DATE WITH DEATH." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA480922003&it=r&asid=9fbfb540a252cefee855be48aff6ee9b. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A480922003
The French Postmistress by Julia Stagg
Written by French Book Worm in Book Reviews And Interviews
The French Postmistress is the third book in a series about the commune of Fogas in the French Pyrenees by acclaimed author Julia Stagg
I have not read any of the previous books but it didn’t matter, I picked up the story and characters easily but it definitely left me wanting to read the books that came before!
The French Postmistress is the story of Véronique Estaque, postmistress in a tiny commune where the post office has burned down. She tries valiantly to have the post office rebuilt but there are sinister outside influences that conspire against her. Those same powers are also aiming to affect life for other residents in the tight knit community including the Mayor who is suffering from a lack of joie de vivre after losing his wife.
Julia Stagg writes with affection and experience for a part of France she knows well having moved from the UK to the gorgeous Ariège-Pyrenees region of France to run a small auberge with her husband. It’s easy to imagine the forests, the mountains and the beautiful landscape which she describes with flair. The deft plot of the book unweaves effortlessly and you are drawn into the day to day lives of those in the book as secrets and lies unfold. There is a dark side to the story which keeps the plot lively and intriguing, seething passions and tensions below the surface, and rich characters hold your attention from start to finish.
This is a story of love lost, love unrequited and love gained. It is also the story of a typical French village in the Pyrenees but with some extraordinary goings on! Bears reintroduced into the wild by the Government, the arrival of a talk dark handsome stranger and an opportunity afforded by the Tour de France. Politics, villains, hunting and a bull called Sarko – the book is a rich story skilfully interwoven and you’ll be left wanting more!
It all adds up to pure escapism, fun, drama, romance and a very French tale with a twist in its … tail.
One to read on the beach, on the bus or in bed…
Book review: A Fete to Remember by Julia Stagg
Written by French Book Worm in Book Reviews And Interviews
If you are a fan of the delightful Julia Stagg’s Fogas Chronicles – you will love the latest in the series. If you are new to Fogas, a make-believe place in the south of France, then you’re in for a treat!
Julia Stagg lived and worked in France running an auberge in the gorgeous mountainous area known as Ariège-Pyrenees. A land of caves and castles, vast forests and dramatic landscapes, a place of beauty and mystery where it often feels as though time has stood still.
Julia has perfectly captured the spirit of this beautiful area with Fogas, a little French commune. Her story of everyday life for the inhabitants is heart-warming and hugely entertaining.
Following on from her best-selling books L’Auberge, The Parisian’s Return and The French Postmistress, A Fete to Remember follows the stories of the main characters in this little town that is the subject of dastardly deeds by the ruling elite of the neighbouring town.
Throughout the long hot French summer, a romance simmers as it did in the previous book in the series between brooding hunky farmer Christian and postmistress Veronique. Will they, won’t they? Will Christian pluck up courage to woo his true love? Will Fabian be able to find the right time to propose to Stephanie? Will Pascal’s wife find out just what a rat he is – or does she already know? Fogas may disappear forever and lose its identity if it is merged with its bigger neighbour. We’ve been kept on tenterhooks for a while now by Julia with some of these threads – you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens, I’m not going to spoil it for you!
I will tell you though that when I read the first sentence of A Fete to Remember I was shocked! A key character seems to have met his demise – will he join the ghost of Jacques the former innkeeper? I’m certainly not going to ruin the surprise by telling you! Watching the goings on from his place by the fireside of the bar his widow now runs, able to see what the living can’t, Jacques fears for the future of his former friends, family and neighbours in his beloved Fogas. A missing child, heated politics, evil adversaries, love and romance, loss and coming to terms with it, new life – all overlaid with Julia’s fabulous descriptions of life in a gorgeous village in rural France.
A Fete to Remember by Julia Stagg – uplifting, entertaining, witty and a rollicking great read!
Monday, 8 September 2014
Review of A Fete To Remember by Julia Stagg
A Fete To Remember #4
By Julia Stagg
Publication Date: 25th July 2014, 368 pages
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre: Women's Fiction, Romance
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me a copy of the book to review.
Note: I am sorry it is late, I haven't been very well.
Amazon UK / Amazon US
It's summertime in the French Pyrenees and the mountain commune of Fogas is en fete. But Christian Dupuy has no time for the frivolity of les vacances. For a start, he's just been struck by the arrows of l'amour and doesn't have a clue how to approach the woman who's stolen his heart.
Then there is the not-so-small matter of local politics. With moves afoot to wipe his community from the map, Christian has to enter the fray once more to save the place that he cherishes.
In the midst of a sweltering heatwave and with the residents of Fogas at each other's throats over their future, the lovesick and embattled deputy mayor must decide if all really is fair in love and war.
A Fete To Remember is the perfect book to read this summer, it combines community, love, friendship and dedication all together to make this fantastic book that I could help but fall in love with. It was also so nice to see how a community can pull together no matter the differences they have, to fight for their community and history.
There is so much happening in Fogas this summer, the fete and the issues with the commune are just to name a couple. Being the deputy of Fogas Christian is trying to be the voice of reason but everytime the Postmistress is near him, he can't help long to tell her his feelings. Whilst he isn't good at speaking his feelings, he is good at conveying the communities wishes and helping out friends who need someone to listen or help give a hand. Although, with the pressing issue of the commune, his feelings have had to take the back seat for a while.
With the changing community, not much stays the same for long, combining the bar and the post office was perfect, not just for Veronique but also for Josette. With the lose of losing her husband, a extra hand in the bar is a great help, and so is the company. I love the friendship that these two have, it is so lovely to read about.
Fabian and Stephanie have been dating for a while, so when he decides it is time to propose, he isn't prepared for all the distractions and things that get in the way. Although, Stephanie has other things on her mind, her daughter seems to have hit her teenager years well before she is meant to with her challenging behaviour, Stephanie has no idea what has gotten into her daughter.
There is also the nearly ex-husband she longs to forget to add to the pressure and the sudden reappearance from someone who she has history with, makes her life even more confusing and complicated that it already was.
There are so many entraining characters throughout the book, that you can't help but want to know more about them. From Rene, Bernard, Serge, Fatima, Paul and Lorna, I loved see their characters fill the pages of the book as they were all so different yet special in their own way.
One of my favourite parts of the book was when it was focused on Jacques, who still lives on in the bar looking over his wife and the residents of the community. He sees things that people wouldn't and his way of communicating with Josette and also Chloe is such unique thing to read about.
The book was full of old characters and new characters that added excitement to the storyline, from the mystery blog to Christian singing to the Bull who had escape his field, I laughed with the characters, got excited about the events that happened throughout the book and then felt sad at the end as it was over. I simply can't wait for the next book in the Fogas Chronicles.
A Fete To Remember is a great, light read that has just the right of drama and romance that it leave you wanting more at the end of each chapter. With its budding friendships, relationships and passion for their great little community, it was entraining and charming all at the same time.
If I had to sum this book up in three words, they would be Beautiful, Entertaining and Fantastic.
The Parisian’s Return by Julia Stagg
Article by Aoife Roantree, Hughes and Hughes, Dundrum ©.
Posted in Book Reviews | Women's Fiction.
Second-time author Julia Stagg revisits the Ariégois village of Fogas in this highly-enjoyable and well-written romance.Stéphanie has a good life in a picturesque village in the French Pyrenees. She’s full of her plans to open an organic garden centre, and she has a budding romance with another organic gardener. Her daughter Chloé is a self-taught gymnast who drops in for chats with the ghost of the dead owner of the village shop and bar.
They are joined by an amazing cast of crazy characters – Fabian is a burned-out banker who has moved home to see if he can modernise the village shop, half of which has been bequeathed to him upon the death of his uncle Jacques. His aunt Josette resists his changes strongly at first, but it soon becomes clear that some of his ideas are definitely going to improve things. An English couple, Lorna and Paul, shocked all the locals when they took over the local hotel and actually managed to impress the fussy local epicures with their cuisine.
When a mysterious man is seen hanging around the village and worrying incidents start to take place, the whole community really pull together to help each other out. Everyone has their own special skills – whether that is with a gun or shimmying up drainpipes – which are called on in the defense both of the village itself and particularly of Stéphanie and Chloé.
This really enjoyable romance is much more than the sum of its characters and parts, the location is the trump card which elevates the whole novel to another level altogether.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Book Review of The French Postmistress by Julia Stagg
The French Postmistress by Julia Stagg
Friday 13th maybe an unlucky day for some, but it is a lucky one for you as I’m taking you to the mountains. Yesterday saw the paperback release of The French Postmistress by Julia Stagg, the third book in her series set in the fictional village of Fogas in the French Pyrenees. I am a teeny, tiny bit of a HUGE Julia Stagg fan, so was very excited to get my hands on a copy of this book and return to the mountain village I feel I know so well. Julia lived in the Pyrenees region that she writes about for many years and you can feel her obvious love for the area in her writing.
In The French Postmistress the focus shifts to Véronique, the postmistress, and her frustration at the speed the reopening of the village post office is moving at. She is full of ideas to keep the service at the heart of the community, but is anyone there to listen and support her? Fogas is, as usual, a busy little place and with the controversial government plans to reintroduce bears to the mountains things in the community get even more heated and divided than normal. All the characters we have met in the two previous books are back, plus a few new ones to throw some spice and spanners into village life. The Mayor, Serge, is still grieving for his wife and seems to have lost interest in village politics, but maybe there is someone who can put the fire back in his belly. There is also a special guest appearance by The Tour de France that provides the villagers with a welcome distraction.
It was so good to be back in Fogas, the twists and turns of the mountain roads felt familiar, Julia’s scenery descriptions bring the pages to life and her little village community has truly captured me. Her writing is such that at many times this summer something I’ve seen or somewhere I’ve been has triggered my brain into transporting me to Fogas and wondering (as you do with friends you meet on holiday) what everyone is getting up to at the moment. I can’t wait for book number four that rumour has will be out sometime next year. If you like books set in rural France you will love following the life of the villagers in Fogas.
You can read my review of Julia's first two books L’Auberge, here and The Parisian’s Return, here and see my interview with her here. You can also find her website here or follow her on Facebook, and Twitter.
Julia's books are published by Hodder and Stoughton and available in ebook and paperback format. Links to Amazon.co.uk below.
Monday, 20 April 2015
Review – A Fête to Remember by Julia Stagg
Reviewed by Zarina de Ruiter
The small commune of Fogas in the French Pyrenees is a source of unexpected romance, rebellious children, buried secrets and most of all plenty of drama. From the villagers' own escapades to local politicians putting the small town at risk as a proposed merger with a neighbouring village could lead to Fogas being absorbed completely and losing its own identity.
I've been putting off writing this review, which is never a good sign. As soon as I opened the pages I realised this novel was part of a larger series, none of which I had read prior to this one. It didn't necessarily follow one particular storyline explored in a previous instalment, but I did feel that I was missing important background information from the characters, which for the first few chapters made it hard to differentiate between the wealth of people mentioned and understand all their underlying connections and relationships.
Furthermore, because there were so many characters, there wasn't one protagonist the story focused on – unless we count Fogas itself – which not only made it a struggle to keep them all apart, but it also didn't provide much space for characterisation and relatability. This made it near impossible to sympathise with what the characters were going through and this lack of connection I felt led to me almost not finishing the novel. After all, if I don't care what they get up to next or how the story ends, what it the incentive for me to keep reading until the final page?
While the descriptive writing made this also quite a slow novel to digest, it did create an excellent sense of place. I really felt myself being transported to the French Pyrenees and despite having never had a particular desire to visit, author Julia Stagg made the village sound so charming that I instantly wanted to pack my bags and travel down to a picturesque little town in the French mountains and perhaps even get the opportunity to witness an authentic fête.
If you're already familiar with Julia Stagg's The Fogas Chronicles and would like to know more about the villagers and their lives, then A Fête to Remember will no doubt be right up your alley. But if Fogas is as of yet unfamiliar territory then perhaps the fourth novel in the series isn't the best place to start reading about the rural French town.
4/10
Date With Death – Julia Chapman On Her Descent Into Crime
Feb 8, 2017
Everyone keeps asking how I fell into a life of crime. My previous fiction, set in the bucolic French Pyrenees, couldn’t really be categorised as criminal in intent. Although there was quite a bit of lawbreaking and villainy – but that’s French politics for you. So how did the shift come about?
Sheep. Lots of them outside my window in the Yorkshire Dales. I was editing the last novel in my Fogas Chronicles and was idly distracted by the coming and goings of the farmers in the fields surrounding my house. They’d drive up, load a waggon full of sheep and drive off. Without anyone challenging them. It set me thinking. About crime. About stealing sheep.
It’s a serious problem in this area. Although typical urban crimes are rare, there’s a fair amount of rustling – of stock, machinery and even hay. I once had an entire conversation with my bank manager about how she’d had all her hay stolen the night before. It was far more fascinating than discussing mortgage rates.
So there is crime here in these idyllic hills. But it’s very different to that experienced by our metropolitan cousins. Which set me thinking. How frustrating would it be for a law enforcement officer relocating to the area from the rush and buzz of policing in London? Throw in a disciplinary hearing hanging over him, a suspension and a dark past, and Samson O’Brien is bound to throw the small town of Bruncliffe into disarray. Especially as he’s one of theirs, having left the place fourteen years before under a black cloud. Now he’s back. And he’s set up a detective agency.
Ironically, the first crime committed is by him. Through deception, he manages to rent offices in the building owned by Delilah Metcalfe, part of the Metcalfe clan who have no time for O’Brien and his wayward past. What’s worse, the building now houses both the Dales Detective Agency and Delilah’s already established Dales Dating Agency. It’s a situation that’s destined to cause confusion. And that’s even before the cases start piling up for Bruncliffe’s only private detective.
So there you have it, the beginning of my new life as a crime writer. On the cusp of publication of Date with Death, the first book in the Dales Detective Series, I’m currently editing the second and writing the third and I still have plenty of ideas for wrongdoing in the wonderful Yorkshire Dales – not all of them involving sheep!
Date with Death by Julia Chapman, the first in the Dales Detective Series, is published by Pan on March 9th 2017
Date with Death By Julia Chapman: Review/Giveaway/Interview
IN THE April 29 ISSUE
FROM THE 2017 Articles,
andCynthia Chow,
andMysteryrat's Maze SECTIONS
by Cynthia Chow
This week we have a review of Date with Death by Julia Chapman along with an interesting interview with Julia. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Date with Death. We also have a link to order it from Amazon, and from an indie bookstore where a portion goes to help support KRL.
Date with Death: A Dales Detective Mystery by Julia Chapman
Review by Cynthia Chow
It was sadly ironic that just as Delilah Metcalfe launched the online Dales Dating Agency, her marriage collapsed and her husband filed for divorce. A former website designer, Delilah’s mortgage and flailing businesses have her sinking towards insolvency and in danger of losing it all. A sympathetic bank manager, her Uncle Wooly, grants Delilah the grace period of six months to prove that DDA’s new speed-dating events are the ticket to new clients and a profitable business. Delilah is certain that even in tiny Bruncliffe, England, lonely villagers are more than ready to find true their love.
It’s that claustrophobic nature of the Yorkshire Dales village that has Samson O’Brien reluctant to return home after fourteen years away. While awaiting the results of an inquiry may endanger either his job or his life at risk, Samson has come to Bruncliffe to open the Dales Detective Agency. Delilah has never forgiven him leaving and not returning even for the funeral of Ryan Metcalfe, her brother and Samson’s best friend. So it’s a true twist of the knife when Delilah discovers that not only he is Samson leasing the office space out of her building, but that his business shares the same initials as hers. At first, the need for rental payments forces her to share space with the Black Sheep of Bruncliffe, whose drunkard of a father had him fleeing the town and its bad memories in the first place. What has Delilah reluctantly bartering for his services is the growing fear that a number of her clients have been dying by very unnatural means. It leads to the very uncomfortable, but highly in demand, detective becoming Delilah’s latest client in order to determine if she has a femme fatale in her midst.
This novel takes its time examining the lives of the Bruncliffe villagers, and it is time well spent. Delilah’s prickly exterior hides her fear of failure, as the demise of her marriage has made her particularly sensitive to the possible loss of her business. Delilah and Samson both face challenges in forging identities independent of their families and Bruncliffe’s preconceptions. Delilah lost who she was when she entered her marriage, while Samson is facing neighbors who judge him based on his family and a life he tried to escape. The serious topics are balanced by the entertaining exploits of village dating life, as even the most conservative residents have the ability to surprise. The mystery of whether someone is picking off the lovelorn is slowly played out through this consistently satisfying novel that has its share of dry humor and wry observations. This debut series adds a modern twist on the traditional, English village mystery.
Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).
Interview With Julia Chapman:
KRL: How long have you been writing?
Julia: I was given a diary when I was five, simply because my two older sisters got one so I couldn’t be left out. I filled it with scribbles and doodles. And got the writing bug. I’ve kept diaries and written poetry or fiction ever since.
KRL: When did your first novel come out? What was it called? Can you tell us a little about it?
Julia: My first novel, L’Auberge, was published in 2011 under the name Julia Stagg. It’s the first in the Fogas Chronicles, a series of five books based around a small village community in the French Pyrenees, full of laughter, local politics, and of course, love! The series was published in the UK and translated and published across Europe and South America.
KRL: Have you always written mysteries/suspense? If not what else have you written?
Julia: Date with Death is the first time I’ve turned my hand to crime! Although my Fogas Chronicles, as mentioned above, do have a mysterious element to them. I’m really enjoying this new twist in my writing life.
Julia Chapman
KRL: What brought you to choose the setting and characters in your latest book/series?
Julia: I moved to the Yorkshire Dales in 2010, a beautiful part of northern England with fells (hills) and dales (valleys) and lots of sheep! It was crying out to be the backdrop of a series, and the humour that is always present in my books made me turn to gentle mysteries rather than hard-boiled thrillers. And the Dales Detective Series was born.
KRL: Would you tell us a little about the setting and main character for your most recent book?
Julia: The setting is the small town of Bruncliffe, based on the very real town of Settle in the Yorkshire Dales. It’s nestled amongst the hills, a former centre of the wool trade, and it’s populated by people who are direct and call life as they see it. Samson O’Brien, born in Bruncliffe but having left under a black cloud fourteen years ago, has returned to set up a detective agency. But he isn’t about to get a warm welcome from the locals who view him as a reprobate or from his neighbour in business, Delilah Metcalfe. Until people start dying…
KRL: Do you write to entertain or is there something more you want the readers to take away from your work?
Julia: I was raised in a family that told stories, with Irish parents who knew the art of telling a tale. Writing them down has simply been an extension of that, so I guess entertainment plays a key part. But I also write because I have to. The urge to get ideas on a page is something that drives me even now.
KRL: Do you have a schedule for writing or just write whenever you can?
Julia: I try to keep to a schedule, working week days as much as possible. But when a book starts to roll like a train down a track, then I write all hours. I’ve also been known to scribble when on holiday if an idea strikes me. I never travel without pencil and paper!
KRL: Do you outline? If not, do you have some other interesting way that you keep track of what’s going on, or what needs to happen in your book when you are writing it?
Julia: Hmmmm. I’m not sure I have an idea of what’s going to happen when I start! I know the ending. The beginning is usually simple enough to plot. But the middle tends to take care of itself as the plot develops. So my outlines are very basic at the beginning and become more and more detailed as they go on.
With a series like the Dales Detective, I tend to keep two big notepads with moveable dividers that contain everything pertaining to the series. One is a rough pad, where I write when on the move or sketch out rough plot lines. The other is a record of characters, place names, back stories, etc. They are the first things I would save in a fire. After my husband, of course!
KRL: If you had your ideal, what time of day would you prefer to write?
Julia: In the morning. I like to get my work started early then if the words are flowing and I’m happy with what I’ve written, I head into the dales on my bicycle or go for a run over the fells. All in the name of research!
KRL: What kind of research do you do?
Julia: For Date with Death alone I’ve visited a breeder of Weimaraners, talked to members of the local police force, run ten miles across the hills, spent several days on farms in lambing season and eaten a lot of Yorkshire tealoaf (no hardship!). For the Fogas Chronicles, I used to read the French political laws in French, which was difficult, and even passed an afternoon with a tarot reader… Research is essential but luckily I really enjoy it.
KRL: Did you find it difficult to get published in the beginning?
Julia: Actually I was very lucky in finding an agent who then managed to get a publisher almost straight away. That said, I do have a novel set in Japan that is languishing in a drawer out of sight…!
KRL: Do you have a great rejection/critique or acceptance story you’d like to share?
Julia: I always compare trying to get published to the Aesop’s fable of the father, his son, and their donkey… On their walk to market, the father and son get ridiculed for not riding the donkey; when the father rides it, he’s criticised for making his son walk; when the son gets on the donkey, he’s told off for not letting his father ride. In the end, so confused by all the different points of view, they carry the donkey.
What has this got to do with getting published? Simply that you will get lots of contrasting opinions about your work, and you have to be mature enough as a writer to know which ones you want to take. Don’t be coerced into changing things so much that you end up carrying the donkey!
KRL: Do you have any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?
Julia: Practice. As with any skill, writing needs practice. And be honest with yourself. Honesty is one of the best attributes for a writer. It saves you wasting a lot of time on something that really isn’t up to scratch!
KRL: Do you have a most interesting book signing story—in a bookstore or other venue?
Julia: So far, so normal… although tomorrow I am going to a bookstore in northern England to host a Crime and Cake event. I think that will be very interesting!
KRL: What are some of your future writing goals?
Julia: Ah! Lots! I think Samson O’Brien and Delilah Metcalfe have a lot of life in them, so I’m hoping the Dales Detective series will be a long one. I also have ideas for some romantic comedies and a couple of thrillers, and I’d like to go back to the Pyrenees someday and pen a few more Fogas books… And that’s just for starters!
KRL: Do you have any writing heroes?
Julia: So many. But it was Laura Ingalls Wilder who caught my imagination as a child and made me want to create stories that kept others as gripped as I was by her wonderful novels.
KRL: What do you read?
Julia: Everything. I love thrillers, mysteries, literary fiction, biographies… There’s very little I don’t read.
KRL: What are you favorite TV shows or movies?
Julia: I don’t watch much TV—probably a remnant of having grown up without one. But I am a sports fan, so I do watch important events like the Olympics, the football World Cup, and when I lived in the USA, the World Series! As for the movies, I’m a secret fan of action films but also have a soft spot for French cinema.
KRL: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
Julia: People are always fascinated when they find out I speak Japanese.
KRL: Is there anything you would like to add?
Julia: Come and say hello to me on social media. Writing is a lonely occupation, and it’s always a joy to interact with readers!
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To enter to win a copy of Date With Death, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “date,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen May 6, 2017. US residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.
Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section.