Authorpreneur Dashboard – Rachel Ledge
The Red Ribbon
Literature & Fiction
Chanticleer CLUE Awards Grand Prize Winner. London 1773. Julia Ridler struggles to adjust to life after witnessing the wrenching demise of her closest friend inexplicably strangled by the man she loved. She returns home after the heart-breaking ordeal to find her headstrong sister intent on marrying for passion, despite all the warnings. When Julia’s friend beckons from the grave, nothing will prepare her for the frightening discovery of what really happened that night, and why... In the tradition of Daphne du Maurier comes this riveting debut with gripping prose and romantic elements. Set in the atmospheric backdrop of eighteenth century England, The Red Ribbon is a suspenseful triumph about enduring love, bitter betrayal and the unbreakable bond between two sisters.
Book Bubbles from The Red Ribbon
A Reluctant Hero Returns
More ink has been spilled on what drives a character than I could possibly hope to summarize here. Suffice to say, as a writer, it's satisfying to discover what motivates a character into doing (or not doing) something important. Here we have a banished British hero wanting to return home, but faces certain death upon arrival should he try. With the American War of Independence looming, he discovers there might be a slim chance after all...
Trying For Justice
The late eighteenth century was a surprisingly advanced society. Here our heroine, Julia, is trying to reprogram an automaton called "The Writer" to write an accusatory note and bring justice to a murderer, who escaped the attentions of the Tyburn Hanging Tree. Automata are fascinating little machines that were originally built by a Swiss watchmaker Pierre Droz in an attempt to showcase his time pieces. With the beauty of fiction, they also served as an important plot point for this book.
John Drake: The Blinder
This is an exchange between our heroine, Julia Ridler, and a very dangerous criminal who was hired by her husband to "curb her flighty ways" while abroad on business. After a tense start, and with the help of some whiskey, he loosens up and divulges his past. Soon, Julia discovers that being a criminal doesn't necessarily make someone a bad person, indeed, she finds the blurred lines between friend and foe might work in her favor.
