Monday, September 05, 2011

What is Sally Nicoll reading?

The current featured contributor at Writers Read: Sally Nicoll, author of Bets and the City and The Power Behind the Throne.

Her entry begins:
The Moment – Douglas Kennedy

I was going through a statutory phase of teenage angst when the thought first occurred to me: If it weren’t for Hitler, I’d be German. Which is to say my mother came to Britain as a childhood refugee from Nazi Germany, leaving behind her own family.

There must have been a moment when my grandparents decided to protect their daughter by exiling her to a foreign country. In that moment of decision, the whole course of my mother’s life was irrevocably changed – and my own destiny was forged.

Happily, my grandparents survived the War, and I have vivid memories of visiting them while the Berlin Wall was an everyday reality. To a child, ignorant of Cold War politics, the East was grey yet fascinating, and the Wall an object of curiosity. As for the stern soldiers with their guns and greatcoats, they just made me shiver.

As I grew older, I began to understand the significance of the flowers and wooden crosses placed at intervals along the Wall. I became an avid reader of Len Deighton and John Le Carre. On the night when Berlin became – almost out of the blue – a united city once again, I...[read on]
About The Power Behind the Throne:
The reign of Queen Elizabeth II is finally drawing to a close. American student Jack Hollander is the one man who can stop Prince Charles from fulfilling his destiny. Sally Nicoll’s debut novel combines meticulous research with high octane thrills.
Among the praise for The Power Behind the Throne:
"[A] rollicking thriller.... Perfect if you’re having London withdrawal symptoms now that “the wedding” is over. Or if you’re fed up with the whole thing and want to speculate on what those sorts of people get up to when their backs are to the wall…"
--Beverly Swerling
Visit Sally Nicoll's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

Writers Read: Sally Nicoll.

--Marshal Zeringue