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Ever daydream about being kidnapped?
You’re swept away by a total stranger to a romantic place, leaving behind those
dirty dishes, your new puppy throwing up on your best decorative rug, and the insurmountable
to-do list. Where would you like to be taken?
France? Paris, perhaps? Chenonceau Castle has always been my
dream. About ten years ago, after watching an episode of the Travel Channel featuring
three castles in the Loire Valley, Chambord, Cheverny, and Chenonceau, I was
hooked. My husband entered the family room reading a newspaper when I pointed
to the TV. “We’re going there.” And so we did. All three royal residences were magnificent,
but there was something extra special about Chenonceau.
Perhaps it was the imposing gray white structure with blue
turreted roofs, or the rose colored bedroom with its canopied bed and carved
fireplace, maybe it was the manicured gardens, or best yet how the waters of
the River Cher flowed underneath the castle. The “Chambre de Secrets”, rumored
to be Catherine de Medici’s secret hiding place for poisons, true or not, peaked
my writer’s imagination.
In my newest novel, SHADOWS ACROSS TIME, my strong-willed
heroine, present day antique dealer Danielle deForet, is tricked into completing
an appraisal on a rare French piece, when her client, a sinister wizard, whisks
her back to 16th century France and you guessed it, Chenonceau.
Danielle is held captive in a room resembling the rose bedroom awaiting her dismal
fate as a crucial link in a spell for the queen. The wizard selects a brave young
knight, Sir Aidan, to guard her. A most handsome knight, Aidan and Danielle soon
fall in love and he plans a risky escape.
Chenonceau is known as the “Chateau de Dames”, because three
strong women contributed to its longevity. Built in 1513 by Katherine Briconnet,
King Henry II purchased it after her death from her son and gifted the castle
to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. (Why is it always the mistress?) She added
the arched bridge that crossed the river as well as the gardens that still
surround the structure. To her misfortune, she made the castle so beautiful
that when the king died, Catherine de Medici, his widow with the alleged poison
room, desired to own the chateau forcing Diane out. Madame Dupin later
protected Chenonceau from being destroyed during the French Revolution. With
all these formidable women in mind, I knew Danielle had to be just as strong and
just as resolute if she hoped to foil the powerful wizard’s plan.
My heroine is beautiful, smart, and determined. The more I imagined
her story, the more I knew Chenonceau was the perfect backdrop. I visualized Danielle
traveling up the exterior staircase, visiting the opulent throne room, and meeting
the wizard in a fictionalized version of the poison room. She was brave as she walked
in disguise eager to escape off the arched bridge to meet her lover on
horseback. Their swashbuckling adventure, the journey of their lives through
the thick forests to be sheltered by resisters, begins here.
Now, it’s your turn. Danielle,
and Aidan, along with a sinister wizard and cunning gypsy seer await your visit
to Chenonceau in SHADOWS ACROSS TIME available in print and e-book.
Romance That
Transcends Time
