Guess who’s
back!!!!!
One of my
favorite authors is telling us about her newest cozy mystery. Her main
character is a very cool guy. You’ll like him.
Angela has
been a guest before, a few times actually, and if you missed it, please go HERE.
I know you’ll
enjoy Angela’s stories.
Read on!
Angela Wren is an actor
and director at a theatre in Yorkshire, UK. An avid reader, she has always
loved stories of any description. She writes the Jacques Forêt crime novels set
in France and is a contributing author to the Miss Moonshine anthologies
produced by Authors on the Edge and the Dark anthologies produced by her
publisher, Darkstroke Books. Her short stories vary between romance,
memoir, mystery and historical. Angela has had two one-act plays recorded
for local radio.
Working Title: Mazargues (Jacques Forêt Mystery #6)
Synopsis: With his
private investigation business in a slump, Jacques Forêt rashly accepts a
commission to find a missing painting.
The mysterious owner of the artwork remains in the background, and
Jacques and his partner, Didier Duclos, are left to piece together the life of
the artist and the provenance of the painting.
Jacques’ unrelenting search leads him to discover a network of
secrecy and lies – and a dead body. Who
is the victim? And who is the killer?
A difficult case that takes
Jacques into the dark, and sometimes money-laundered, world of art.
The Story Behind the Story: I’ve always been interested in art.
I actually grew up in a household with artists. Both my brothers could draw and paint and so
could my dad. Me? I have a keen eye for colour and design but
that’s about it. I don’t seem to have
the required gene. So, I’ve made up for
the deficit by visiting art galleries whenever I could. My particular interests are the Renaissance -
because that period saw the then revolutionary introduction of perspective -
and the Impressionists and some more modern artists such as Georgia O’Keefe.
About five years ago, when I realised I had more than just the first four
Jacques Forêt
stories to tell, I came across an article in the newspaper about the theft,
over one weekend, of some precious artworks. That set me thinking. How did the thieves do that? How did they get round the alarm system? For weeks afterwards my brain just would not
stop circling that issue. The customary
notes were made in a number of my many notebooks and, although I had no idea of
what the story would be, I knew there was a book in there somewhere.
Come forward to 2020 and the pandemic hits.
Being confined, as we all were, gave me the opportunity to indulge in my
love of art from the comfort of my own library/home office. I signed up for all sorts of lectures
online. And I was so glad I did.
#Mazargues is not just a crime story involving art it’s also about the life
and work of an artist. Yes, my story is
something that developed in my imagination, but creating the life and body of
work of my imaginary artist really stretched the brain. How could I have my central character Jacques
discuss the case with his colleague Didier, if I didn’t have any clear idea of
the actual picture that they had been commissioned to find?
That meant research. A lot of it,
but it was a fascinating journey. I
looked up the Impressionists. Monet,
Renoir, Matisse I already had some books
about, but others, Pissarro, Morisot, Caillebotte, Singer Sargent, Hopper,
Merrit Chase and Sisley, were complete strangers to me. Whilst not all of those artists get a mention
in the text, examination of their work enabled me to invent some works of art
that I hope come across to the reader as credible.
So, it is William Merrit Chase’s work Child
on a Garden Path that provided the inspiration for one of the pictures
that comes up during the investigation.
Similarly, the missing painting of the investigation is based on At the Seaside
also by Chase.
For the portraiture mentioned in my story I used some of John Singer
Sargent’s work as my models. The
monochrome portrait that Jacques spends time gazing at is actually an amalgam
of two of Sargent’s paintings - Madame Pailleron
and Madame Gautreau. I took specific elements from each actual
portrait in order to create the one that Jacques comes across in his research.
Similarly with the other pictures that are mentioned. They are either amalgams of real land- or
seascapes or they are complete fictions based on an actual sketch or panel by
one of the artists mentioned.
It would have been wonderful to be able to illustrate this post with the
works that are named in the book. Sadly,
the best I can do is to tell you to click the link behind the title of each of
the paintings above. It won’t take you
on the amazing journey of research that I encountered, but it might give you a
hint about how enjoyable my search was.
Website: http://www.angelawren.co.uk/
A question for you before you go, Angela:
What is your favorite part of writing and the part you enjoy the least?
I guess I love all of it, really. The thinking, the working out what the story is, or is not. The planning, the actual writing - although there are times when that becomes a bit tiresome. It usually means that I need to take a break for a few hours or a few days or so, and then come back with a fresh mind and eye. I think the most difficult bit is editing. And note I said ‘difficult’ and not the ‘least enjoyable’. I find self-editing requires constant sustained concentration and that often makes me very tired. But it is an essential part of the process so I just have to go with it.
Thanks for being our guest once more,
Angela. Looking forward to reading about Jacque’s
latest adventure.
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Thank you, dear Readers & Visitors.
Tell us what’s on your mind.
Leave us a comment.
Don't forget: Iron Spear 1941
Coming in December
Have a look HERE.
Thanks for including me on your blog again, Allan. I hope your readers enjoy the post.
ReplyDeleteYou're always welcome here, Angela.
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