My review of 'The French Letter King' by Thea Horton

One novel you won't want to miss out on!!

When Tommy Horton arrived in the Industrial town of Merthyr Tydfil in 1900, little did he realise what lay in store for himself... 

A wheeler and dealer of his day, he set about to make his fortune, venturing into various deals, including pawn broking. After spending a period of time in prison, he eventually opened a rubber factory in the town to make ‘French Letters’, which as well as needed by the townsfolk, were in demand by the troops throughout the first and second world wars to combat sexual diseases.

Tom married and had an only son called, Ron. Both had a tempestuous relationship with one another, which is evident throughout this book. At times Tom could be controlling and manipulative toward his son, and Ron, although defiant on occasion, often buckled to the will of his father.

But the making of Ron is the love of a good woman called, Lorna.

This story is set against the back drop of the South Wales Valleys during a period in time when there was much hardship in the towns of Merthyr Tydfil, Tredegar and neighbouring valley towns.

This story will transport you back to an era when rationing came into force and black outs were the norm. Where families found it difficult to feed another mouth, so places like Tom’s rubber factory were a necessity. The women who worked there preferred to tell others they worked elsewhere. Indeed it was common place to tell people they worked at ‘The Butter Factory’. Such was the stigma of the day.

This is an excellent novel that not only brings to life the history and geography of Merthyr Tydfil during both world wars but weaved throughout it are two love stories: Tom’s relationship with his initially unappreciated wife and Ron’s relationship with Laura, the feisty ballroom dancer from Tredegar.

The characters in this novel leap out at you from off the page and this book will keep you reading long into the night. This is one novel you won’t want to miss out on!!

Available from:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/French-Letter-King-Thea-Horton-ebook/dp/B00KE8DSAC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402324526&sr=1-1&keywords=thea+horton

Author Interview

I'm being interviewed today at Clean Romance Reviews:

http://www.cleanromancereviews.com/2014/05/author-interview-lynette-rees.html

For one day only...Rebate at All Romance!

For just one day All Romance Books are offering a 50% rebate off some titles, including my book, 'Beneath a Sicilian Sun'.

Click here to purchase at reduced cost:

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-beneathasiciliansun-1466193-149.html

Cover Reveal - Beneath a Sicilian Sun by Lynette Rees

Cover Reveal - Beneath a Sicilian Sun by Lynette Rees

USA Today website!

My novel gets a mention on the USA Today website!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2014/04/04/hot-new-romance-novels-april-2014/7282763/

Author Interview

I'm being interviewed at 'Beach Bound Books' today.  Take a peek and leave a comment if you like!

http://www.beachboundbooks.com/4/post/2014/04/author-interview-lynette-rees.html

'Beneath a Sicilian Sun' is now available!

My novel, 'Beneath a Sicilian Sun' is now available from Amazon and Kobo.  There's a special offer on my publisher's website of 30 % off as it's Taliesin's first year anniversary!

http://www.taliesinpublishing.com/beneath-a-sicilian-sun-p41.php

Amazon UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beneath-Sicilian-Sun-Lynette-Rees-ebook/dp/B00JER6ZW2/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396459162&sr=1-2

Amazon US:

http://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Sicilian-Sun-Lynette-Rees-ebook/dp/B00JER6ZW2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396459216&sr=8-1&keywords=lynette+rees

Kobo:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/beneath-a-sicilian-sun

Purchase Book here!

The Sicilian's Proposition Excerpt

She wrapped her large beach towel around herself and came above deck to find Dante had already changed into a pair of white swimming trunks. She held her breath when she saw his tanned, trim body. He had a smattering of black hair on his chest and looked very muscular. His chest was broad, and she longed to run her fingers over its contours and lay her head on it. She inhaled, exhaled, and tried to keep her composure.

“Come on, Joanne,” he teased.“Drop the towel.” His chocolate brown eyes glinted devilishly.

She let her towel fall to the floor and watched as his eyes widened with desire.

“Mamma Mia. Why do you fear showing your body to me? You are beautiful…and that gold chain around your stomach, it makes you look very sexy…”

No one had ever called her sexy before, ever. Her mouth dry, she licked her lips.

“I haven’t let a man see me in a bikini for years, Dante. I’m not as slim as I used to be.”

“No, no, Joanne. To me you look fabulous. I love your curves. They suit you. A man needs somewhere comfortable to land.” He laughed, making her laugh too, and it helped to ease her heightened nerves. He pecked her on the cheek and then, much to her astonishment, he turned, walked to the side of the boat, climbed on the edge, and dived into the water, sending up a huge splash of sea spray.

She stood and peered overboard but couldn’t see him for a few seconds; her heart thudded. Where had he gone? Then there was a splash as he emerged and wiped the water out of his eyes, laughing and bobbing up and down in the water. 

“Come on in here, join me please, Joanne,” he urged. She hadn’t been expecting this at all.

Gingerly she sat on the side of the boat. “Will you help me into the water?” She bit her lip.

“Of course, amore mio. Jump to me, I will catch you.”

She closed her eyes and with blind faith threw herself into his arms. For a moment the combined weight made them dip under water and she began to panic a little. Then they were fully submerged, and eventually returned to the surface, bobbing up and down. There was a small ladder at the side of the boat she could cling to if she wanted to and that reassured her somehow. Who could fail to feel safe with Dante around?

“But…but…where are we?” she spluttered.

“Joanne, we are only just off the coastline of Sicily. Over there are the Aeolian Islands.” He pointed and she made out some dark shapes in the distance. “We shall have a little swim here, rest later, and eat too. Then I am going to sail the boat over to one of them. It’s called Lipari and it’s the largest island, it’s volcanic. The food there is out of this world.”

“You are full of surprises, Dante.”

“I know.” He smiled and drew her close to him, stroked her face, and then pressed his lips down on hers, stealing her breath away as his tongue danced with hers. “Like that you mean?” he asked, drawing away.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“And like this?” He wrapped his arms around her and untied her bikini top. She gasped at his cheek and watched as he spun it around his head and tossed it aboard the boat.

“What did you do that for?” She blinked several times.

“Because you have a beauty, Joanne, that needs to be admired.” He cupped a breast in his hand and lowered his head to suckle. She groaned as a tingle of desire coursed around her body. “Please do not worry, there is no one to see us here like this.”

He pushed her up against the boat; the water was so clear, so aquamarine and warmer than she thought, though that might have been because he had switched on her button of desire. There were some fish swimming down below in among the fronds and rocks. She gazed in awe.

“Yes, this is a good place to catch fish, Joanne. I have been scuba diving here. You should join me sometime.”

She laughed. “I think this is as much of the ocean I can stand, Dante. I’m not a strong swimmer.”

He ran a wet finger along her cheek. “Ah, you are frightened, I can see that, but you need not be when you are with me. I can teach you about so many things.”

She shivered; without a doubt, there were many things Dante Alphonso could teach her, not least of all love-making. He was her tutor and she was about to become a very willing student...

Available here in both Kindle and Paperback version:

Amazon Com: http://tinyurl.com/mot6rmc
Amazon UK: http://tinyurl.com/pl6n67m

Cover Reveal: Beneath a Sicilian Sun

Blurb for 'Beneath a Sicilian Sun':

Sparks ignite when love and lust collide beneath a Sicilian sun.

Journalist Joanne Smith encounters Sicilian millionaire Dante Alphonso while conducting an interview for Life Today magazine. Dante has been well known to the media for years, where constant scorn has been thrown upon the playboy lifestyle of his younger years. He detests that reputation as he would much prefer to be known for his charity work for The Children’s Hope and Dream Foundation, an organization he established to help terminally ill children achieve their wishes.

Dante has already had his fingers burned by bloodhound journalists, but takes a chance on Joanne, inviting her to his home country to visit his vineyard and meet the Alphonso Family. Things begin to sizzle between them under the Sicilian sun as Joanne embraces their lifestyle.

A thorn in the side for Joanne is Dante’s ex, Carla, a strong alpha female whose family owns a rival vineyard in the area. Carla betrayed Dante before, so trusting any woman is difficult for him.
However, Joanne has a secret she has kept from Dante, which is stopping her from growing close to him. The secret is revealed after he invites her on board his luxury yacht on the way to the island of Lipari.

Will their love for one another be strong enough to withstand the stormy seas that lie ahead? Or will it get washed up on the shore?

Release date: 3rd April 2014, Taliesin Publishing

Bringing the Writing Senses to Life in my Novel: Linguine Liparese

When I wrote my novel 'Beneath a Sicilian Sun', my intention was to evoke all the senses, to really bring them to the surface, so the reader got a flavour of Sicilian life. So the country's wine and food became a big part of the novel for me.

My Sicilian friend Salvatore, who helped me with research for this book, [yes I always undertake some research, even if it's a contemporary romance], told me about this recipe.  Though he would use fresh red tuna instead of canned.  Sicilian red tuna is considered the best in the world and exported to Japan who apparently can it and sell it back to the country that sold it to them in the first place!  In one section of the story, there is a scene in a restaurant on the island of Lipari, where this dish is chosen and after that, things begin to steam up between the main characters, Dante and Joanne...

Linguine Liparese

Ingredients:

• 320 g linguine
• 100 g of tuna in oil 
• 80 g black olives
• 40 g capers
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 sprig of parsley
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Cook the linguine until it is al dente. Meanwhile, fry the following ingredients in a pan of  oil: crushed garlic, capers, olives, pitted and cut into pieces. Add a little 'water from the pasta, chopped parsley, a pinch of pepper, chopped tuna and mix. Drain the pasta, put it in a bowl and dress with the sauce.

A Writing Change is as Good as a Rest...

Lanzarote

A change of location is a good thing when you're writing. It can inspire you to craft, create and encounter new possibilities within your writing.

When I wrote my most recent novel, ‘Beneath a Sicilian Sun’,  I wasn't in Sicily where the majority of the novel takes place, but in Lanzarote which is one of the Canary Islands.

Actually, I'd started writing the novel the previous year while holidaying in Tenerife, another Canary Island. Did I tell you I love to go to the Canary Isles?

Anyhow, the settings in both locations were great. I'd get up in the morning in Tenerife, leaving my husband snoozing away in our hotel room and sit on a lounger near the poolside with a cool drink, my body slathered in sun protection lotion and a pair of shades slapped on my forehead, in case the sun came on too strong. When it rose high in the sky, so did I, and I'd head indoors having written about a thousand words or more.  I did that most days, so had quite a few thousand words under my belt and a good plot underway by the time I arrived back to a snowy white Wales that January.

I set that novel to one side for a time but then got inspired to pick up a pen and write again the following year.  This time it was an April time in Lanzarote and my husband and myself were sharing a villa with our grown children and their partners.  They all loved a good lie-in in the mornings, so I’d get up early and take my leather bound writing journal, pen and cup of coffee to sit at a table and umbrella near the poolside.  I’d get around an hour or more precious writing time to myself, so it all built up. 

We arrived back to a snowy Wales

Most of the book was written in Wales when the weather wasn’t so hot.  Where rain clouds are more prevalent than blue skies.  Yet, being previously in such warm surroundings gave me a feel for how Sicily would be under the sun.

Hearing people speaking in Spanish in the Canaries gave me an impression how it might have felt for Joanne, my heroine in the novel, when she heard people jabbering in a foreign tongue around her in Sicily.  In one scene, she feels like a round peg in a square hole and wonders why she bothers to stay there.

The villa in my novel seems similar to the one Dante lived in.  It even had its own pool and tiled floors.  Although as a multi millionaire, ours could have fitted into a corner of his no doubt.    A coincidence perhaps?  Or just my subconscious taking over and helping to fill in the dots?  That Sicilian villa though is the setting for a crucial life changing scene in the book and propels the reader into the hope that maybe true love will eventually conquer all.

When I began writing ‘Beneath a Sicilian Sun’ I hadn’t written a novel for a few years and wondered if I ever would again.  To be honest, I doubted it.  Would I have the patience to sit down and discipline myself? Not only that, risk submitting a novel anywhere again?  After all, rejection is never easy for any writer least of all when you fear you've lost your mo jo.  But when I proved to myself I could finish it, I also went on to complete another couple of half written novels and have since written a brand new one.  So I know I am capable and back in the groove.  I got kick started again by a Facebook writing group called ‘Merthyr Writes’ that a very good online friend suggested I start up.  The feedback and positive encouragement from members helped to inspire me to begin my writing career again. 

‘Beneath a Sicilian Sun’ is the novel that will hopefully re-launch my writing career.  I’m really grateful to this book and the fact I spent those holidays beneath a hot sun getting up to write early in the mornings, even if it didn’t happen to be Sicily, it certainly helped that the sun shone…

** Beneath a Sicilian Sun is due for release 14th April 2014 - Taliesin Publishing

Coming Soon...

My latest novel, 'Beneath a Sicilian Sun', will be released on the third of April. Can't wait. Looking forward to seeing the cover art which I'll post here when it arrives. Meanwhile, here's a photo of Lipari [which is the largest of the Aeolian islands off the coast of Sicily] to whet your appetite! It's where some of the steamy action takes place in this story. 

Putting Those Pesky Edits to Bed

As an author, the absolute worse part of the writing process for me is the edits.  Not so much the editing and revision before I submit my novel to the publisher but the rounds of edits after the book is accepted for publication.

Too often we’re precious about our words because we think a sentence sounds great as it is but what we’re doing in effect is adding superfluous words.  I was going to add a ‘just’ to that last sentence but it wasn’t necessary!  See what I mean?

This is written assuming you’ve gone right through your story to check for any plot errors and inconsistencies first, the plot is tight, there are no obstacles that stop it flowing from A to B and you’ve spell checked, then these are the other things you need to watch out for.

So before you even think of submitting your work anywhere contemplate the following, as it will save more work with your editor in the long run:

1.  Omit useless words and phrases like ‘just’, ‘felt’, too many ‘that’s, ‘so’s, ‘exact replica’, ‘attach together’, ‘added bonus’ etc.  They add nothing to your work and are often used as fillers.  

2.  Watch out for overuse of modifiers.  These lessen the impact of your prose.  Words to watch out for are: obviously, positively, utterly, probably, quite, simply, really, etc.  To strengthen the sentence leave them out.  For example, “She was utterly beautiful” might sound fine but “She was beautiful” is stronger.  There are occasions when you might need to use them but use sparingly is the best rule of thumb.

3.  Are you telling and not showing?  ‘Showing’ is to demonstrate emotions, actions and dialogue via the story, bringing it to life.  ‘Telling’ is doing what it says, the story is lifeless.  Here’s an example.  Telling: She looked very angry and wanted him to leave the house. Showing: Her heart beat a tattoo as she gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists at her side.  “Get out of here now!”  She pointed toward the door.

4.  Have you repeated yourself too much?  This can slow down the story and makes it monotonous as the reader thinks: “I’ve already read that once!”  Ensure you delete any repetitive words and phrases.  I once read a novel by a best-selling author that used the same phrase in one sentence.  It was: “She rolled her eyes!”  She rolled her eyes and then she rolled her eyes some more?

5.  Why use lots of words when a couple of words will do?  Some authors love using grandiose words and phrases.  They think flowery language will impress the reader.  Unfortunately, all that happens is the reader gives up reading as it slows the book down to a snail’s pace.  Who wants to read a book with a dictionary by their side?

6.  There is a thought that it’s possible to edit about 20 % out of a manuscript and it will still be readable.  That’s one fifth, a sizable amount.  An editor requested I remove 4000 words from one novel and it made for a tighter read in the end.

7.  Avoid clichéd writing.  A cliché is a well-known saying that has slipped into our everyday vocabulary.  For example, ‘He had an axe to grind’, ‘She was worth her weight in gold’.  If I write something like those examples I try to find an original way to say the same thing instead when it comes to the edit.

8.  Avoid passive voice. In sentences written in passive voice, the subject receives the action expressed in the verb; the subject is acted upon.  An example of this is: 'We were invited by our friends to their wedding'.  To make it active voice, change it to: ‘Our friends invited us to their wedding.’

9.  Check your tenses.  It’s easy to slip into the wrong tense, sometimes past to present and vice versa. 

10.  When in doubt delete.  Don’t become so attached to your work that you can’t delete.  If I’m stuck on a paragraph and I try rearranging the words and it still doesn’t work, I often delete the sentence so the paragraph makes sense.  Sometimes less is more.

Interview with Crime Novelist: Thea M. Hartley

Thea M Hartley ( Phillips) was born and bred in the valley town of Merthyr Tydfil. She had three children by the age of 20, and entered university when the children were older, gaining a degree in Psychology, Masters in Women's Studies and Diploma in Psychotherapy. 

Thea was a Psychology and Counselling Lecturer for 30 years, and worked for a cancer charity, before retiring earlier due to an eye condition which causes blindness. This led her to her following a lifelong dream to write a book, and, encouraged by an online writing forum called, "Merthyr Writes", set about producing a biography of her grandfather called "The French Letter King".  At the forum she also gave aid to other would-be authors.  Thea's book was recently published and is available from Amazon online in hardback, paperback and Kindle version.

Where did the idea for your new novel, ‘No Refuge’ come from?

The idea came from the stories I had heard from women in refuges for escape from domestic violence.

What’s the book about?

The book is about domestic violence, sexual addiction and deviance and about not judging people by stereotypes. It’s set in a Welsh Valley town called, Merthyr Tydfil, where I was born.

How much plotting do you do before beginning writing a book?

I do no plotting as such. I think up an idea and go with it. The plot evolves as I write and my subconscious takes over.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done in the name of research?

I've researched strange sexual practices and asked people in the sex industry about their experiences.

Where do you get your ideas for your characters from and did you have a favourite in ‘No Refuge’?

My ideas for characters are subconscious mixes of people from real life. No one person, more a composite of characters. My favourite character in,"No Refuge" was Vince. He’s quite a complex character which makes the reader wonder if he’s a good guy or a bad guy.  You’ll have to read the book to find out which one he is!

Will ‘No Refuge’ be part of a series or a stand-alone novel?

"No refuge" is a stand-alone novel, although I suppose it could have a sequel.

Which crime writer would you compare your writing style to?

I would compare my writing style with Val McDermid or Peter James, but essentially my own.

What advice would you pass on to new writers that you wish someone would have told you when you were starting out?

The advice I would pass to new writers is not to give up trying to publish your book …even though it’s very difficult, I would tell them that if they have a passion for writing, and find it a delight not a chore to write ...then keep at it! However, if they find it difficult, and a chore ...then to reconsider their choice of career!  For myself, writing is as essential as breathing. 

What are you working on at present?

I’m working on "Tooth and Claw" the 4th Psychological mystery Thriller featuring Psychologist, Resa James.

Where can people purchase ‘No Refuge’ from?

No Refuge can be purchased from Amazon.co.uk

Kindle Version:

http://tinyurl.com/potyd88

Paperback Version:

http://tinyurl.com/qfgjqzk

New Year Bucket List

I’m not going to make any New Year’s Resolutions for 2014, instead I’m going to make a ‘New Year Bucket List’ of things I’d like to achieve during the year.

Top of my list is ‘Friendships’

I intend to cultivate those that mean most to me, the people who take time to be in my life and whose encouragement and loving support motivate me.  But I shall once again cut out those who keep letting me down.  There have been several of those lately and my motto is: “Three Strikes and you’re out!”  I’m all for giving people second chances but not third and fourth ones.

Other things I’d like to achieve are:

** To keep writing and submitting my novels and short stories

** Finish the third book of my trilogy for Knox Robinson Publishing in the ‘Winds of Change’ series, entitled ‘Blue Skies’

** To promote my published work and myself as an author more

** To take up any challenges offered to me, it’s good to get shaken out of our comfort zones now and again!

** Embrace change.  Although it’s a scary thing, change can be positive

** Let go of things I have no control over and change those things that need changing

** Fear can be a positive emotion.  I’m going to try to do something that scares me every now and again

** Walk away from any people or situations that cause me grief

** Take each new day as it comes…

** Maintain my sense of self and my inner peace

27.12.13

Using the Skeletons from My Family History to Plot a Novel [Part Two]

William Harman

William Harman, one of my ancestors,  led an interesting life becoming one of the first pioneer Mormons in Merthyr Tydfil, my home town.

Dan Jones

He emigrated to Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States in 1871 where he took a second wife, Jane Davies, who was also a native of Merthyr Tydfil.  He had emigrated to the crucible of the Church of the Latter Day Saints.

[Mormon Church].  Preachers like Dan Jones who made many converts in Merthyr often encouraged people to move to Utah.  The Church was keen to utilise the mining skills of the Welsh Brethren in Salt Lake City.

Jane Davies and children

As this was William's second marriage, I wondered what had become of his first wife?  Who was she and where was she?

By searching at the Mormon Church web site, which is excellent, by the way.  I was able to locate an ancestral file of the Harman family.

https://familysearch.org/

It was recorded that William had indeed married twice:

1.  Ann Jones from Cardigan Wales.  The marriage took place in
Merthyr Tydfil on September, 9th 1843.

2.  Jane Davies.  The marriage took place in Salt Lake City Utah on
21st of October, 1876.

So William had married 2 women, 33  years apart. He was 23 years old when he married Ann Jones and 56 when he married Jane.

Was his second marriage as I had suspected a bigamist marriage?  It looks as if he remarried without divorcing his first wife. This was confirmed by Eira Smith a relative from the same Lewis Harman line as myself.

I found this web site which says he came to Utah without his first wife when she refused to join the LDS church.  There's a photograph of him here too:

http://fqo.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/william-harman.html

William's wife, Jane [Note, she is named here as 'Martha Jane']:

http://fqo.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/martha-jane-davies-1843-1909.html

On 31st July, 1879, eight years after emigrating, William and Jane had a daughter called Gwendolyn.  See here:

http://fqo.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/gwendolyn-harman.html

The couple went on to have two other children besides Gwendolyn, Richard and Mary Annie.

Richard Harman

William Harman died of pneumonia on December the 31st 1900 aged 80
in Salt Lake City, Utah.  He had come a long way from his native
South Wales, and took, what I think was a brave decision to leave the town of his birth and his family behind.  He put his faith before finance as he could have been very wealthy indeed if he had taken his rich uncle’s request to be his sole heir if he’d given up the Mormon faith but his faith was far more important to him.

Before I started to research my family tree, I had no  idea there
were any Mormon connections, despite there being a church in our
town.  Eira Smith, who is sadly now deceased, told me that a lot of our family are still living
in Salt Lake City and Staten Island, New York.

One thing I have discovered about the Harman family is that they were a hardy bunch.  Many of them lived well into their 80's.  My great grandmother, Mary Harman was 87 years old when she died in 1978.

Useful Links:

1.  How Green Was My Valley? -- The Welsh: Surnames and
Migrations

http://www.genealogymagazine.com/welsh.html

2.  IMPERIAL ZION: THE BRITISH OCCUPATION OF ZION
Peoples of Utah
By Frederick S. Buchanan

http://historytogo.utah.gov/people/ethnic_cultures/the_peoples_of_utah/imperialzion.html

3.  The Contribution of Wales to the United States of America

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/USA.html

** Note, the surname Harman is written as Harmon on certain links.  I believe the correct family spelling of the name was Harman.

Using the Skeletons from My Family History to Plot a Novel [Part One]

I never realised when I started out tracing my family tree back in 1998 where it might lead to.  I hardly expected to find branches of my family in the US or that my genealogical research would turn into a fictional historical novel entitled, 'Black Diamonds'.

It all began with a chat to a friend who had started to trace her family tree.  I went along to the local library and met the librarian/historian there, Carolyn Jacob, who when I told her I was tracing the ‘Harman Line’, got very excited and told me there was an elderly lady at the Merthyr branch of the Glamorgan Family History Society, who had been tracing the same line for years.

It turned out after a quick phone call that this lady was belonging to me and we were from the same branch of the tree.  I ended up leaving the library with a photocopy of my family tree the lady had left there [with her permission] and a couple of photo copied chapters of local history books that contained information about my ancestors.  One was a chapter about Mormonism in Merthyr Tydfil and the other, a chapter about a very wealthy and prominent member of the community.

The site of the old Three Salmons Inn

The one in particular which was of interest to me at the time was,  Edmund Harman, who was classed as ‘A Gentleman of the Town, living off his own means’.  He was my 4 X great grandfather's brother who owned many properties in the area, including, The Three Salmons Inn, The Globe Inn, The Cross Keys Inn, The White Hart Inn in Cardiff several properties on Gillar Street,  shares in the Gas Works and the Taff Vale Railway to name but a few.  He regularly went hunting with the gentleman of the Court House which later became part of, The Merthyr Labour Club.

Edmund Harman who drowned in canal

With all my research, information given to me and attendance at various historical lectures, I was able to paint a vivid picture in my mind of what life was like during the 1800s in my home town.

There is a massive connection with my family and Mormonism, though I am not a Mormon myself.  I recently discovered that my 3 x great grandfather, Lewis Harman was excommunicated from the Church due to drunkenness.  This is something that seems to have passed down the line as his son, [also Edmund Harman] fell into the Glamorganshire Canal and drowned after getting drunk.

William Harman Mormon Pioneer

Other skeletons in the family closet have included, the bigamous marriage of William Harman, Lewis’s brother.  He was a pioneer in Merthyr Tydfil preaching about his faith on the streets.  He emigrated to Great Salt Lake, leaving his wife behind in Merthyr, as she refused to convert.  He remarried whilst out there and established a new family.

He was also involved in the building of the beautiful Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake.

Mormon Tabernacle Church

I come from a mining background, both my grandfathers were miners and so were a lot of my ancestors. My novel, ‘Black Diamonds’, contains elements of people living and working in that environment and emigration from Merthyr Tydfil to Utah during the 19th century.

An interesting fact is that rich Edmund Harman offered to leave all his money to his nephew William but William refused saying his Mormon faith was more important than any money! The S.S. Nevada, the ship that William sailed on from Liverpool to New York in 1871 to begin a new life in Utah...





Read part two here:

http://nettiesramblings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/using-skeletons-from-my-family-history_20.html