Monday, December 31, 2018

"Bear No Malice"

Clarissa Harwood holds a PhD in English Literature with a specialization in Nineteenth-Century British Literature.

In addition to being a proud member of the Historical Novel Society, she is a part-time university instructor and full-time grammar nerd who loves to explain the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses.

She lives in London, Ontario.

Harwood applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Bear No Malice, and reported the following:
On page 69 of Bear No Malice, my Anglican minister protagonist, Tom, is having a rare personal conversation with his new friend, Simon. (Simon and his sister Miranda rescued Tom from a wood in the Surrey countryside after Tom was beaten and left for dead by unknown assailants.) Tom is deeply grateful to the siblings for saving his life and intrigued by their mysterious past, but his own secrets make him reluctant to open up. The secret that’s uppermost in his mind here is his affair with Julia, a married woman, but he has many others.

This scene shows the growing trust between Tom and Simon, whose artist sister Miranda becomes more important to Tom than he can imagine at this moment. His friendship with the siblings will be tested, and he will need to overcome both personal and professional obstacles, before he can learn to really trust anyone.
Visit Clarissa Harwood's website.

The Page 69 Test: Impossible Saints.

--Marshal Zeringue