Vicky Adin's Blog

Continuing the theme of my previous blogs on historical research for my current novel, I discovered that 1852 was a quite a significant year. Did you know that Arthur Wellesley (né Wesley) was twice Prime Minister of England and was given a state funeral at the insistence of Queen Victoria? Do you know who he was better known as – this man of Anglo-Irish heritage from a noble but indebted family? He was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army in 1787 and quickly rose through the ranks, earning himself the nickname ‘The Iron Duke’. He was 83 at his death on 14 September 1852. He was better known as the Duke of Wellington. Wellington was an important identity in Victorian England. His death created intense interest and huge outpourings of grief, as people remembered his deeds – and what, if any, involvement they or their families had had with the great man. Over a two-day period in early November some 9000 local people queued on the Walmer beach to file past the coffin inside the castle. His death also inspired several creative endeavours. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote an Ode to the Duke that was generally not considered one […]

I’d reached the point in my current WIP that required a bit of historical background. As usual, I became distracted and ended up running down rabbit holes checking out details that may or may not end up in the final novel about Sarah, The Victualler. Typical really. But that’s the way things run in my brain. Until I came across Charles Dickens, and inspiration set in. I thought I had a fairly reasonable knowledge of Dickens work, but it seems not. I knew, for example that some of his works were serialised. I hadn’t realised how many. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers published in 1836, was released in twenty monthly instalments over a period of nineteen months (the final two chapters appeared as a ‘double issue’).  Consider them akin to the modern-day weekly sit-coms and drama series with cliff-hanger endings that drew the reader in so they would purchase the next chapter. A clever marketing ploy, and gave Dickens the chance to modify the characters or outcomes in the next chapter according to the feedback. The cost? One shilling per instalment, at a time when books sold for around 31 shillings and 6 pence. His last novel, following the […]

It’s spring, and the garden is full of promise and hope. Summer is coming, and our caravan is beckoning. What more can you want? If you are like me, you want books. Lots of books. Long weekends, summer sunshine and escapes away all call for books. Get in quick … The Art of Secretsseries ON SALE NOW… ONLY 99C EACH And did you see the new badge Elinor is wearing? That’s the latest B.R.A.G Medallion. I’ve been jumping up and down with joy since the certificate arrived. It’s such an honour to be chosen by readers to qualify for a BRAG Medallion, so that’s why I’m celebrating and that’s why you get the reward for being loyal readers. As I sit at my window watching the sun glinting on the water as tide fill the estuary, I am inspired by the women I write about. The women who fought for what they believed in, the ones who kept the family together through the harshest of times, and those who suffered at the hands of men and struggled to cope with losing yet another child. Another book has been started. It’s very early days with only a few thousand words actually […]

It doesn’t matter when we celebrate, only that we do. Genealogy is all about family: discovering your ethnic branch, your indigenous roots, your European connections and the names of your ancestors. Family is what ties people together. If you don’t like secrets, those surprise ooh and ahh moments, then family history probably isn’t for you, but to me, the best part of family history research is being a nosy-parker sleuth. It’s such fun. Why don’t you start today – check our the branch nearest to you? Before DNA testing, one’s name was your identity, even if shortened. Each had its own meaning and history. The paternal line was the important one. Paternal surname’s were passed down through generations of sons, while the female line often became lost – except our ancestors were more clever than that. Hence, the trend of naming the first son after the father, the first daughter after the mother, the second son after one grandfather and the second daughter after a grandmother, and so on. It’s a trick worth knowing as the patterns vary from country to country. It can get rather confusing though, especially if it’s carried on for several generations without including a middle […]

Women today have much to be grateful for, thanks to the endeavours of women like Kate Sheppard who led the New Zealand Suffrage movement, and Amey Daldy, a major character in Lucy, book 3 of The Art of Secrets series who co-ordinated the women of Auckland. Without these women standing up for their rights, women today would not have the many rights they do. While several small states, colonies, islands and territories allowed some women to vote prior (mostly spinsters and widows who owned property in their own right) many of these rights were also later rescinded and were not universal. New Zealand was the first country to grant universal suffrage to all women over the age of twenty-one, regardless of their status, on this day in 1893. What is surprising and somewhat concerning is how long it took the world to catch up with New Zealand. In this timeline of countries, some of which still do not fully grant women the franchise or limit the criteria and their ability to vote, you can see what a struggle it has been, and remains to be. In the Australian colony of Victoria, women were unintentionally enfranchised by the Electoral Act (1863), and proceeded […]

Do you use social media? How often and for what purpose? I’d love to know. I’m a Facebook user but after I was hacked last year, I’ve lost confidence and haven’t used it as much. Now I’m questioning what difference it makes if I use it or not. What would you do in my shoes? While my Facebook account was restored, my Instagram account remains blocked – not that I was in any way spontaneous enough to use it at its best – and I’ve found Twitter (now X) too toxic for my taste (especially now). So how do you – the readers – get to hear about indie authors like me? How do you discover new-to-you books? If you’re not sure, there are several ways: Indie Books releases a regular catalogue that goes to libraries, bookshops and schools amongst other outlets. Readers can also buy direct from Writers Plot Bookshop, an online independent bookstore, and Flaxroots provides reviews on selected New Zealand books to help you decide. Beyond that, you can find other links and some recommended authors on my website. You can also find me on Pinterest and LinkedIn. And of course, you can always request books from […]

Kate Sheppard would be turning in her grave if she’d been listening to some of the chatter I’ve heard recently. And so would Lucy, (from The Art of Secrets series) the fervent young suffragist who, alongside thousands of other women, fought for their right to vote – and succeeded – in 1893: one hundred and thirty years ago on 19 September. Long before any other nation. It would seem that the gloomy, grey, wet weather that has dogged us for so long (in Auckland at least) is having a negative effect. I hear how dispirited people are, how disgruntled they are with things going on around them, and how disillusioned they feel. I can understand that – sunshine lifts the spirits and makes us feel more positive and alive. It’s clearly time for a good dose of it, and soon. What concerns me is the disillusionment. I can’t tell you how many times recently I’ve heard a version of statements like: “I don’t know who to vote for this election. They are all as bad as one another. I don’t think I’ll bother.” That last phrase – I don’t think I’ll bother – is what concerns me most. To me, […]

Part of the fun of being an author is the feedback we receive. While they are welcomed with open arms, I don’t only mean the star ratings that appear on Amazon or the reviews that go them or even those on Goodreads, but the spontaneous and enthusiastic ones that arrive in the inbox. Not only are they a thrill, they are also a spur to keep writing. My readers are mostly women ­(and the men they share my books with who enjoy the history). They are often older with more leisure time available, who enjoy learning and are well-travelled, and like to delve into their family’s past. Or those who are from large families and understand the intricacies and bond between siblings through the generations. I liken it to the days when we take our vintage car out. Every time we stop, people approach us to share their memories of when they (or their father) once owned a similar model. We hear some interesting stories. One time, a small grey haired women was looking at the back seat, she turned to us with a wide smile and cheekily said, “You can, you know. I remember it well.” She left us […]

Our progression north was bringing us closer to an exciting point where travel, genealogy and storytelling collided. Along the way, we made a brief stop at Rockhampton, visiting their botanical gardens and zoo and took in the views from the top of Mt Archer, but Townsville drew me onwards. We drove past vast swathes of sugar cane with their feather ‘arrow’ tops (similar to Austroderia toetoe), making short stops in Sarina, Bowen, and Ayr – sugar cane towns with endless criss-crossing narrow gauge tracks for the cane trains, numerous mills, gorgeous beaches, and the Lucinda Jetty some six kilometres long. In between we visited Airlie Beach, a beachside resort with shade-covered open-air pools from toddler to adult size, parks, cafés, restaurants, and shops offering any number of ways to be entertained and the chance to see the Great Barrier Reef. And no – before you ask – we did not see any cane toads or snakes or spiders or any other such like creepy crawlies ( well, I didn’t. The OH said he saw a Huntsman in the door well of the motorhome as he got out for the final time at the depot. We quickly made our escape). Eventually, […]

The first week disappeared in a flash. Despite a day of grey skies and an afternoon of rain, that was the last. We were not to see rain again for fifteen days. A record! It took us a couple of days to understand the idiosyncrasies of the motorhome, including the difficulty of finding parking and learning to avoid shopping centre carparks, but we quickly ironed out any First World Problems with Girl Guide Solutions, like stuffing a pillow inside a carryon bag to put my feet on as the seat was too high for me, and mopping up a small leak. Driving through Auckland fog a day or so ago, I was reminded of the sea mist we came across at Hervey Bay. The day had become sunnier as we headed north from the Sunshine Coast, and we were beginning to feel like we’d landed in summer in the middle of winter. On the way, we stopped off at Maryborough – the town where PL Travers (Helen Lyndon Goff) was born in 1899. Every September they hold the Mary Poppins Festival and, like many thousands of others, we had to have our photo taken next to the statue of Mary […]