Join us for this tour from
Feb 1
to Feb 12, 2021!
Book Details:
Book Title: The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives by Tim Darcy
Ellis
Category: Adult Fiction (18 yrs +), 246
pages
Genre:
Literary fiction, historical fiction, religious historical fiction
Publisher: Tellwell
Release date: 2020
Format available for review: print, and ebook (mobi file (for Kindle)
Will send print books out: USA and Canada
Tour dates: Feb 1 to Feb 12, 2021
Content Rating:
PG-13 + M. Includes some f-words, religious profanities, and mature themes
(addiction, adultery)
"A fast-paced and richly engaging story about an intriguing historical
figure... Ellis writes all of this with marvellous gusto that's more
reminiscent of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (2009) than of a more traditional
Tudor novel."
- Kirkus (starred review)
"In this beautifully detailed, thrilling historical novel, author Tim
Ellis brings back to life the largely forgotten Juan Luis Lives, a Spanish
Jew and leading Renaissance humanist...This enthralling story is sure to
please lovers of high drama, international intrigue, momentous history and
psychological thrillers."
- Blueink (starred review)
"With its clear portrayal of inner conflict, The Secret Diaries of Juan
Luis Vives is a provocative, multicolored historical novel that examines
hidden faith... Ellis's intricate biographical novel approaches the
Spanish scholar and Renaissance humanist through absorbing journal
entries."
- Foreword Clarion
"A fast-moving, highly enjoyable historical drama, which features one of
Western civilization's most interesting men during the dazzling age of the
Renaissance. Ellis draws his characters so wonderfully, and none is better
than the lead. The smart, charming, and earnest humanist is depicted as
the embodiment of a better world to come."
- Indiereader Review
Book Description:
The Secret Diaries Of Juan Luis Vives chronicles the epoch-making adventures
of Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives. The novel begins as Vives writes in
self-imposed exile in Bruges, Spanish Netherlands in 1522. He is on the run
from the Spanish Inquisition which has devastated his Jewish family in
Valencia. Later, Thomas More invites Vives to the English court to tutor
princess Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. The plot
reaches its climax as Vives navigates the murky world of English politics
during the reign of King Henry VIII, ever trying to negotiate an escape from
Spain for his family, and for the Jewish people. The early modern period in
Europe was a time of incredible instability. Economic depressions were the
norm in Northern Italy, the Holy Roman Empire, and large swaths of England and
France. Wars were endemic, with power politics and religion playing leading
roles in massive bloodletting. Despite the darkness, great men and women of
courage and intellectual curiosity also defined the age as one of scientific
discovery, humanism, and scholarship. One of the great titans of the early
modern period was Spanish scholar Juan Luis Vives. In the novel, Vives is the
embodiment of the cosmopolitanism of the intellectual elite during the
Renaissance. As a secret follower of Judaism, and thus a major outlaw
according to the thinking of his own Catholic monarch, Vives walks a swaying
tightrope. He was a genius and a philosopher who had a lot to say (he has
since been dubbed 'The Godfather of Psychoanalysis,' Zilboorg 1941, and the
'Father of Psychology,' Watson, 1915), however, if he speaks too loudly not
only his survival but that of his entire people hangs in the balance. Along
the way, the reader is given close up and intimate and unique views of
well-known figures such as Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Sir
Thomas More and his devoted daughter, Margaret Roper.
Buy the Book:
Amazon
~
B&N
Add to
Goodreads
Guest Post
My life as a writer is where I express and enjoy my interests.
Of course, the literary world is far bigger than me, and in it, I can lose
myself in my passions of history, philosophy, religion, and nature of
consciousness. Writing is something that has to happen; if it doesn't nothing
else in my life works.
I am not a full-time writer, yet. I balance
my life running a wellness practice with my writing, roughly spending half the
working week in each pursuit. My writing days start with a pre-dawn to dawn walk
with the dog, breakfast and meditation, and then the creative flow can begin.
By late morning the muse has deserted me, but I can spend the afternoon and
evening on technical elements and historical research.
I write copiously, freehand, in notepads and on scraps of paper.
I use doodles, arrows and colours to highlight relationships and plot. Those
notes don't always make sense at first, but the process clarifies my thinking
and helps build and create the dynamics. It is as if the subconscious needs to
speak first, unfettered and unedited. I'll then put those random jottings
together. I have a process of editing and re-reading, proof-reading, and an
army of candid beta readers.
I wrote The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives in
the first person because I enjoy the process of getting inside the minds of
great men. I have always written, and I crafted my art with poetry, which I now
see was practice for my novel writing.
I read historical fiction sparingly as I do not want to
plagiarise unwittingly. I only read Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel 2009) after
completing a couple of drafts of The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives.
I think it is essential though, to be aware of the major writers in the genre
and I have great respect for Mantel, as well as William Follett, CJ Sansom and
Geraldine Brooks.
My great passion at present is in reading historical non-fiction
and the history of philosophy. I recently read Sarah Bakewell's 'At The
existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails' (2016), and
I loved it. It is about Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir's life and
adventures, amongst others. I enjoy detailed history with a twist, and I have
just finished Simon Schama's incredible tome Belonging: The Story of the
Jews 1492–1900 (2017).
Growing up, I inherited the four weighty, leather-backed volumes
of 'Hutchinson's Illustrated Story of the British Nations,' written
between the two world wars. The images, from the stone age through to the end
of the First World War were so vivid, and it gave me an indelible blueprint of
the epochs of British history. I lingered over the Tudors and Stuarts, so full
of passion, plot and treachery. I lost myself in the wandering of what life was
like for the ordinary people during that period, and what life was like for
immigrant and minority communities.
After standard English children's fiction such as Enid Blyton
(much criticised but much loved), I read classics such as The Lord
of the Rings (JRR Tolkein, 1955) and the War of
the Worlds (HG Wells, 1898). I studied the Greek classics at
university, and although I loved Euripides, I swore that EV Rieu's 1950
translation of Homer's The Iliad would be my desert
island book. After studying the great European writers such as Dickens, Hardy,
Chekhov and Zola, I found relief in American Literature such as Harper
Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird (1961) and JD Salinger's The
Catcher in the Rye (1949). There was a clarity and a crispness
about those books that felt new to me. With my newfound obsession with
twentieth-century American fiction, I then read and studied Maya Angelou, Alice
Walker and Toni Morrison.
As a writer, we have much to achieve with The
Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives this year. I
was thrilled to get national press coverage in the UK and BBC Radio interviews.
I am working closely with my agent, Laurie Blum Guest, preparing my Sephardic
trilogy - of which Vives is the first part - for consideration to major
publishers. We are also presenting the manuscripts for French and Spanish
translation rights. The audiobook, read by the incredible award-winning Peter
Noble is due to be released in February 2021. It is an exciting time!
Meet the Author:
Tim Darcy Ellis (BA BSc, MHSc) is a writer, physiotherapy
business owner and formerly a professional archaeologist. Tim studied
Archaeology at the University of York (BA Hons 1988) and as a professional
archaeologist, worked on sites throughout England and Wales. He held posts
at the Museum of London and the British Museum's medieval galleries. Tim is
currently Managing Director and Principal Physiotherapist of Excel
Physiotherapy and Wellness. He qualified as a physiotherapist at the
University of East London in 1998. He moved to Sydney in 2000 where he
completed his master's degree in 2002. Tim is chief writer of Excel Life
magazine: writing and teaching extensively on health and wellness and
specializing in the treatment of complex hip and pelvic pain.
Tour Schedule:
Enter the Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.