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A Synopsis for Ravensmere

A Synopsis for Ravensmere

In 1830 England, 18-year-old Geneva Everson is plotting her escape from an untenable homelife when she discovers she has a father—and a very wealthy one. Why had her mother lied all these years? Why would an honorable gentleman throw a pregnant young bride into the streets? And if the heavenly Father Geneva once trusted has abandoned her, why should she now trust an earthly father?

Geneva begins her search for answers by accepting an invitation to Ravensmere, her father estate. She struggles to forgive her newfound father for his cruelty to her mother and her own nightmarish childhood. Along with her internal battles, Geneva finds herself caught between the landed gentry and the deep poverty of local farm labourers. She faces labor protests, riots, and a violent attack. Meanwhile, as her friendship with a kind and godly gentleman deepens, her cousin, the displaced heir, attempts to court her with charm and flattery. Now Geneva has to contend with the heart-rending choices of who to trust, who to love, and how to forgive.

But these matters pale in comparison to the real secrets of Ravensmere lying deep within the manor, and Geneva’s discoveries that lead to far more horrifying questions. Suddenly on the run and fearing for her life, she finds herself compelled to trust in God whom she thought had abandoned her. And now, with dangerous secrets on her heels, Geneva Everson must go where no genteel lady would dare.

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As you view the charm and romance of this historic manor house, imagine Geneva—a young woman of the working class, inexperienced and nervous as she arrives at Ravensmere and greets her unwelcoming family for the first time

A Synopsis for Ravensmere

Athelhampton House

Not once did my father ever regret his decision in immigrating to Canada. However, as I grew up he often reminisced about his love for England. Not surprisingly, his passion for the “Green and Pleasant Land” rubbed off on me. As a result, I’ve had five trips to England to visit relatives and to soak up the pastoral landscape with its rich history in every town and quaint village.

Twice, I was privileged to visit one of the finest 15th Century Tudor Manors in the United Kingdom. Athelhampton House in rural Dorset has architectural details of the medieval times, several wings added over the centuries, and extensive gardens with fountains, statues, and topiaries. Interestingly, a legend had stated that a tunnel ran southward from the manor to the woods beyond. Despite investigations, the tunnel’s entrance has never been found.

This manor “transported” to the south west coast of Dorset, became the template for Ravensmere. Having been there myself, I could visualize my characters walking the halls and living their lives in the chosen year of 1830.

George Loveless, farm labourer, struggling on starvation wages statue

“But why 1830?” you may ask. The answer lies in the museum located a mile and a half from the manor. Every story needs a good sub-plot. I found mine at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum. It presents the harrowing tale of six grossly underpaid farm labourers seeking higher wages from their employers. But when their leader George Loveless formed an agricultural union to achieve this end, George and his five comrades were arrested. Tried in a court of law, they were sentenced to seven years Transportation to Australia. This statue portraying the suffering of George Loveless is featured at the museum.

In the years leading up to these events, desperate labourers took action through protests and violence culminating in the Swing Riots of 1830. Against this colourful backdrop, my protagonist, Geneva Everson steps into a world of contrasts — wealth and poverty, greed and compassion.

But Geneva must deal with far more than the social unrest of the agricultural revolution. Before long, information concerning her forefathers compels her to investigate dark secrets of corruption and betrayal. When accompanied with the help and guidance from the man she loves, Geneva experiences adventure and intrigue while learning the importance of forgiveness and trust in the living God of the Bible.

After the Tolpuddle Martyrs were shipped to Australia, the public responded with outrage and petitions to the government demanding their pardon and release. This video describes the dramatic events of this important time in England’s history.

An Excerpt from Ravensmere

An Excerpt from Ravensmere

A tense conversation with Geneva’s father uncovers the root of her bitterness.

Coughing again, Adam dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. “There’s more, Geneva. Something that I deeply regret. A fortnight after Elizabeth’s departure, I received a letter from her. I assumed she was begging to return. Reconciliation was out of the question, so I threw the letter unopened into the fire. I received two more letters at later dates. I threw those in the fire as well. Now I can’t help but wonder if those letters were informing me of her pregnancy. I’m sorry, Geneva. If I had known, I would have done the right thing by bringing her back.”

Geneva swallowed hard, unable to move an inch as she digested her father’s horrifying confession. In her mind’s eye, she could see the letters bursting into flames and shriveling up into ashes, sealing the fate of mother and unborn child. She wanted to turn back the hands of time. She wanted to scream and lash out. She wanted to weep, but her anger wouldn’t allow it.
“How could you do that?” she burst out. “You were responsible for her. You have no idea what she went through. How she suffered. Did you just erase her from your mind as if she never existed?”
“Of course not,” Adam countered. “I loved your mother. I didn’t want to expose her to the publicity and humiliation of divorce, and certainly I had no plans for remarriage myself. So I devised a plan. I asked Mr. Bradshaw to send a letter to Alex Brigham with false news that Elizabeth’s husband had died and had left her a jointure in his will. If he would provide her with protection and a comfortable home, then he would receive the jointure as compensation. Alex replied without delay. He was happy to open his home to his sister.”
“Happy?” Geneva’s anger boiled into furious speech. “Uncle Alex wasn’t happy to take my mother in. He was just happy to get the money. I doubt Mother knew about this agreement, and I’m glad for her sake. It’s easy to guess what he did with the money. That year she moved in is when he bought property in a better part of town where his business would flourish. He earned a good income from his pawnshop, but he was too miserly to spend it. He dismissed his paid housekeeper and forced her to work like a South Indies slave!
“After she died, I had to take over. If I made a mistake, he beat me with his belt. Sometimes he made me sit for hours with the coal scuttle turned over my head. My worst ordeal was when he locked me in the storage closet. Maybe he really didn’t know there was a rat behind the boxes. Either way, he went off to the pawnshop, where he couldn’t hear my cries of terror.”
Surging to her feet, Geneva pushed her hair back from her forehead. “See this scar? It’s a testimony to his drunken violence. He struck me. When I fell over, my head hit the corner of the cast-iron stove.”
Adam swayed in his chair, a hand rising to his brow as if he were dizzy. “Believe me, Geneva, if I had known of your suffering, I would have come to your rescue. I’m so sorry! Please forgive me.”
A scarlet flush crept over Geneva’s cheeks. “After what I’ve been through, why should I forgive you? I could have grown up in this manor house with sisters and brothers, stability, and privilege. You stole my first eighteen years and ruined the life of my innocent mother. Don’t ask me to forgive you. It will never happen!”

Spinning around on her heel, Geneva marched out the room and down the hall to the privacy of her bedroom.

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A Refreshing Walk Along Dallas Road

A Refreshing Walk Along Dallas Road

Dallas Road Marilyn Perks Stories

I am not alone in choosing Dallas Road on Victoria’s waterfront as my preferred place for exercise and fresh air. One of the houses in the above photo displays a small monument in the front garden. The aptly composed words by Ian Haysom expresses the sentiments of thousands who have passed by.

The popular Dallas Road Waterfront Trail stretches from Ross Bay to Holland Point. Wind and kite surfers provide entertainment all year round. And anyone who loves nature can enjoy bright yellow gorse in winter and wild Nootka roses in summer. Even the gardens at Buckingham Palace cannot boast such a sweet smelling rose.

When I was writing my novel, I often left the computer and went for walks along this path to reflect on the scenes I had been working on that day. I imagined heated character conversations, and felt their emotions quite literally. I conjured up descriptions of hollow-eyed children in squalid cottages. The landed gentry feasting at banquet tables. A candlelit bedroom with soft wisps of steam rising from a hip bath. And a cold, damp forest where the incessant cawing of ravens silenced the twitter of chickadees. But the biggest challenge was brainstorming for ideas to advance the plot, to raise the stakes, and to make my protagonist face her demons once and for all.

After such deep musings, I would return to the reality of my surroundings. Benches overlooking the sea encourage people to sit for a chat. I like hearing about their lives, and sharing a bit about mine. But best of all, I love to tell the old story of John 3:16.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

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Glorifying God In All We Do

Glorifying God In All We Do

Glorifying God in everything may seem fanatical or extreme to some readers. Yet Scripture reveals that this is the whole purpose of human existence. The universal question answered. Why am I here?

In the Bible, the Apostles Peter and Paul spoke on this issue:
I Peter 4:11 — If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
I Corinthians 10:31 — Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

But how can sinners separated from God accomplish this command, or have any desire to do so? Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross made it possible. Through repentance/faith in Jesus, we are forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God. The barrier comes down. We have fellowship with God. We rejoice in his amazing grace. The indwelling Holy Spirit enables us to glorify God out of gratitude for what Christ had done.

In what ways can I glorify God? After we have trusted in Christ, we follow his command to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbour as ourself (Matthew22: 27-40). Obedience isn’t popular these days. Yet when we obey God’s commands, we prove our faith in him and receive abundant blessings (1 John 2:4-5). Glorifying God means surrendering ourselves to him as a living sacrifice, ready to do his will, eager to serve according to our abilities (Romans 12:1). Prayer and Bible study honours God. It demonstrates how we value our personal relationship with him, and our trust that Scripture is the inspired word of God given for our instruction and comfort (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

But as believers, we still retain our sinful nature until the day God takes us home. Speaking personally, the barrier to glorifying God can be my pride—the tendency to serve God in the arm of my flesh and for my own vain glory. Unless I’m abiding in Christ and walking in the Spirit, these can things happen. The result can be loss of rewards to lay at Jesus feet. (See 1 Corinthians 3:12-13 and 2 Corinthians 5:10).

I’m just a sinner saved by grace, a child of God under the workmanship of my Creator (Ephesians 2:10). Please join me in this wonderful journey of bringing glory and honour to our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

The Blessings of Isaiah Chapter 55

The Blessings of Isaiah Chapter 55

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This is one of my favourite chapters in the Bible. Combined with the previous chapter, the Prophet Isaiah illustrates the Servant’s work of redemption for not only Israel, but all of humankind.

In the opening three verses, we find a friendly invitation to receive salvation, pictured as refreshing water and sustaining bread. There is no price tag. It is a free gift, paid by Christ who died for our sins that we could be forgiven. Why waste money and effort on temporal things of no lasting value? How amazed I was to discover that God’s mercy had been poured out freely for me, and anyone willing to come by simple faith.

My home isn’t far from Ross Bay Cemetery (pictured above). Opened 150 years ago, this twenty-seven acre graveyard is the resting place of many prominent and ordinary citizens of Victoria, BC. I’ve often stopped to contemplate and appreciate their lives. But even more so, I regard the cemetery as a lovely park with stately trees and clipped grass providing habitat for squirrels, tiny lizards, nesting crows, and white-tailed deer.
As I walk along the pathways of this arboreal landscape, I know it is reasonable for God to say in verse three and six, “incline your ear and come unto me” and “seek ye the Lord while he may be found.” Through the beauty and harmony of his creation, his existence is an unmistakable reality. The Lord’s holy attributes, intelligence, and power are clearly visible from the dew drops on a single blade of grass to the towering Coulter Pines with giant, egg-shaped cones.
Isaiah reassures us in verse seven that God pardons those who confess their sins committed in thought and deed. But for those who stumble at the offence of the cross, God lovingly imparts truth that his ways and thoughts are far above ours, just as the heavens are far above the earth.

Throughout the autumn months, I often encounter cemetery workers in their bright orange overalls. Without warning, a quiet afternoon can be cut short with the steady drone of their powered leaf blowers—a necessary tool for ongoing maintenance. After a summer, with virtually no rain, brittle pine needles and cones carpet the parched ground. Grey squirrels scamper over gravestones and up trees. And leaves of yellow, orange, and gold lie ankle-deep upon the ground—perfect for shuffling and kicking with every step.

In verse ten and eleven of this chapter, Isaiah uses the natural world to illustrate the dependability of his word. Soon, this cemetery will be drenched with an atmospheric river, typical of our west coast weather as winter approaches. Rain from heaven is a great blessing as it nourishes the earth in seed time and harvest. In the same way, God’s word accomplishes much in the lives of those who yield with open hearts.

As the verses of this chapter come to a close, I see a beautiful picture of Christ’s future kingdom on earth. The thorns and briars of life will no longer exist. Instead, joy and peace will reign supreme—mountains breaking forth into singing, and the trees of the field clapping their hands. Come soon, Lord Jesus!