Editor. And now you live in Spain?
Merle. Since 2001, yes. And I immediately became fascinated by the possible Cordoba connection.
Like Kate in Silver and Time I found that in the early evening, after the tour buses had gone home,
the old town, or Juderia, became a mystical place, evocative of earlier times. I took that a bit deeper.
Editor. And your journey into the past had begun?
Merle. It became an obsession, yes. Although Kate in the book is not religious in any way, the story is
set in present-day Spain and in a Jewish Converso household in 15th century Cordoba.
Editor. So you're delving into turbulent times?
Merle. Kate has more than her fair share of problems, you could say!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Merle King's career has included drama school, tv and stage appearances, and teaching English and drama.
She had her own theatre-in-education company which toured Manchester schools. She received an MA from
Lancaster University in Theatre Studies and an MA in scriptwriting from Salford University. After
full-time teaching, she wrote plays, articles and short stories which she read on local radio and
which have appeared in magazines and newspapers.
Merle has lived in southern Spain since 2001. During that time, she has written for local magazines
and had one of her plays produced by THESPA. She has also written a book, This Gypsy Life, based on her
travels with partner Peter in a campervan round Europe. It has taken her a good five years to research,
write and complete Silver And Time. Whether her family does come from Cordoba is another story.
REVIEWS SILVER AND TIME
By Poppywoo (England)
Amazing new author, unputdownable!!!
I loved this book, I really couldn't put it down. A great story set in present day and 15th century Spain, with a mixture of mystery, paranormal activity, history and religion. This is
not the sort of book I would normally choose to read, it was recommended to me by a friend, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you're looking for a book which will intrigue and grip you from
the first chapter, and you like a bit of a mystery with tragedy thrown in, you should give this book a go.
William Beatty - Andalucia Life Magazine
Now and then there appears a first novel that is made all the more remarkable by refusing to fit easily into the convenient categories beloved by publishers and reviewers alike. Silver and Time
is such a book: at the same time an entertaining travel book, a taut historical thriller and a sensitively-treated tale of a young English woman haunted by the past.
The book works well in all its genres and deserves not to be seen merely as a work of fiction. Like many of the best historical romances, it has a central theme based securely in meticulously
researched fact, and fact of such staggering significance to those of us living in this country as well as to the Spanish people themselves, that it bears comparison with speculative fiction
dealing with subjects such as Kennedy's assassination or the forging of the Hitler diaries.
Just as the backdrop of modern Estepona is so accurately drawn, to a near-graphic quality, the chilling visits to 15th century Cordoba are defined by its odours: the smells of basil, ginger,
thyme and saffron, rosewater, sweat and sewage, but above all - by smoke. So powerful are heroine Kate's visions of this earlier Spain, that the odour of wood smoke becomes a warning metaphor
for danger.
It is a paradox of stories dealing with the supernatural that our willing suspension of disbelief is only successfully secured by the best possible crafting of the 'earthbound' bedrock of the
narrative - those detailed accounts of the familiar, day-to-day inconsequential events which win our credibility and so lead us to believe the unbelievable. Merle King has a superb ear for
producing authentic dialogue without letting it take over and turn a narrative into a mere script.
When I reached page 23, I knew this book would be an exciting read, and having now arrived at the last page, I wish I could read it all over again. Well recommended!
Book of the Week - R. Lambert - Sur in English: the newspaper for Southern Spain
Kate's peaceful stay in Andalucia is shattered by shadows from a past life that threaten to take her over. She has terrifying nightmares and strange time-slip episodes during the day.
The friends she makes in Estepona also seem to be entangled in the complex history of 15th century Cordoba and she fears they are planning to exploit her. Kate does not know who she can trust,
but comes to realise a silver candlestick may have unexpected significance. Merle King's well researched, first novel has many intriguing twists in the plot right up to the last chapter.
INFORMATION FOR SILVER AND TIME
AUTHOR Merle King
TITLE Silver and Time
ISBN 978 0 9562760 1 8
BIC CATEGORY FW HRAM9 VXPR HRJ
SELLING PRICE UK £8.99, Europe €10.90, US $18.00
PAGES NO. 407
BINDING STYLE Perfect bound
DIMENSION 204x128 mm
PUBLISHER Rudling House |
