TEMPLE OF THE GRAIL - a Novel

'This first-time author is set to make her mark!' Sydney  Morning Herald.'Historical Fiction at its Best.' Courier MailA Critically Acclaimed Best Seller, both in Australia and internationally, where it was translated into four languages, Temple of the Grail is a philosophical Tour de Force for history buffs and fans of the Medieval detective genre. Heresy, Hypocrisy, Murder... France, 1254 High on a mountain in the Pyrenees, the monastery of St Lazarus is a forbidding place. Behind its ramparts and battlements heretical acts are said to take place and there is the rumour of a secret - a secret so dangerous that its keepers will kill to keep it hidden.At the end of a bitter winter, a delegation headed by the ambitious Inquisitor Rainiero Sacconi arrives to investigate the monks of St Lazarus. Andre a Templar and his young scribe, Christian, have been sent by the King of France to oversee the investigation. But when monks begin to die in gruesome circumstances, Andre and Christian, with the antichrist at their heels and the inquisitor watching their every step, try to unravel the secret of St Lazarus and find themselves drawn into a fight, not only for their lives, but also for their souls.ReviewSydney  Morning Herald.'This first-time author is set to make her mark!'The Blurb - Magazine for Australian Arts and Entertainment'Not only did I find this book tantalising, engaging and thought provoking - it allowed me the rare indulgence of reading something I was not going to rush through, finish and quickly move onto something else. I read parts of the novel again and felt very comfortable with all the characters and issues mentioned. It even made me investigate some topics of interest and allow my own knowledge to grow. I was extremely impressed with this secret little gem of a book, and I know anyone looking to read something dense with emotion, imagery and imagination will not be let down.'Goodreads'Finally! A well written, thoughtful murder mystery! Monks, murders, knights, inquisitors and a cracker ending!'Brisbane Courier Mail'Historic Fiction at its best.'From the AuthorAUTHOR INTERVIEW:Who is your target audience?AK: I write books that I would read myself and I like complex mysteries, multi layered thrillers that are textured; books that need your full attention. My goal is to engage the reader and to have him or her participate in the imaginative process. I also love playing around with language and usually try to tailor it to the era of my story. So, I guess this means that those who are after a fast read don't usually 'get' my books. I suppose I write for people who like milieu and atmosphere, who love language and historical mysteries tinged with the supernatural and religious.What do you hope your readers will get out of your books?AK: I hope that at the end of reading my books my readers will have questions about the world we live in, about history and what we consider truth and fiction, because they have been given a different perspective.Is there more coming?AK: I am writing the fifth book in the series right now, making my Quartet  a Quintet: Ghost Club and the Devil's Alphabet is a story set in London in 1888 around two real historical characters George Albert Smith (the father of UK Cinema) and Douglas Blackburn (who invented short hand). They were both entertainers on the Brighton stage and are involved with mesmerism and hypnotism. They become entangled in a web of intrigue surrounding the death of a mutual friend when they stumbled unwittingly on a strange club that appears to be involved in the Jack the Ripper Murders. I'm having a lot of fun writing it!What makes your books unique/outstanding?AK: They are a series but they can be read in any order because they are only loosely woven together and so each book can stand alone. They interconnect like puzzle pieces. What is your writing process?AK: I work a 10 hour day. I have a rough sketch of what I'm going to write, the themes and characters and the plot and then I just write. After that I do a lot of editing and I end up with a multitude of drafts which eventually I hone into a book. I guess my books are narrative driven and that means I'm often surprised to find out things about my characters that I didn't know! How do you cope with criticism?AK: Well, that is very hard because we all love our work to be loved, but in truth it is unavoidable and it is even something you should be proud of! Yes! As writer we create concepts that may not fit with the concepts already living in the readers for various reasons. What writers should keep in mind is that if writing is to develop as an art then popularity can't be the focus. Writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Herman Hesse were ahead of their times and some of their books were terribly unpopular until the readers caught up with their work and then they were touted as geniuses. The truth is by the time a book becomes popular and is praised universally it is already outdated. That isn't to say that popularity isn't a great byproduct and a consolation! But it should not be the main focus of writing in my view. When I see a criticism that is very emotive, I realise that at least I have touched something in that person because I have been frustrated with a book myself, which many years later I have picked up and have found life changing! It is all in the standpoint. In fact, my favourite quote, given to me recently by a friend is from Lessing's introduction to "The Golden Notebook": Remember that the book which bores you when you are twenty or thirty will open doors for you when you are forty or fifty." I do believe that to be true. If a book bores you in your 40s and 50s you might have to wait until your next life! :)