Capcir Spring kindle novel - character profiles number 2: John

John is

• forty something years old
• a Roman Catholic priest
• A Jesuit
• who has very human failings 
• is in a remote area of France to think about his vocation
• has been working at a church based counselling centre in the inner city
• is a trained and accredited counsellor
• left catholic school for seminary and has been in the church all his life
• is at a crisis point in his life
• is perceptive and open yet embarassed about his own recent history

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Character studies number one - Mary

Mary

• Mary is the heroine.
• She is researching the Cathars in the French Pyranean mountains for her academic career. 
• Since the end of her marriage she has devoted herself to historical research and wants to be a professor.
• She is in her 30s, blond, intelligent and many consider her stunningly attractive. 
• She is very sensitive to atmospheres and has a lively imagination. 
• Mary has given up on relationships after the failure of her marriage in a painful and violent way.
• She has seen the church at work from the inside and is suspicious of the motives and actions of the clergy. 
• A single minded determination to become someone known in her own right for her own achievements is deeply embedded in her psyche
• This novel describes how, whilst pursuing her academic goals, her world is turned upside down and the possibility of another future emerges.
• It is a novel which contains intrigue, crime, romance, mystery in a beautiful setting and with a credible historical background based on recent research.
  

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Capcir Spring the Kindle novel

Mary had her life all planned out. A summer in the French mountains researching the Cathars would be the launch pad for a prestigious academic career.

She was confident that she had had rebuilt her life after the traumatic and violent end to her marriage. But in these peaceful Pyrenean mountains the bloody persecution of the Cathars by the inquisition haunts her dreams. This is made worse when her nightmares mix this violent history with flashbacks to her own painful past.

In this state she discovers a plan that would damage her recently discovered heritage site. There are a group of people who don't want her research to be made public.

John is also staying in the same mountains to escape the painful memories of his failure and loss.

Can these two scarred people help each other and protect the archaeological remains? Who amongst the bizarre range of people that they meet can be trusted? And will they discover the happiness that they have each been seeking for a long time?

Jean de Beurre knows the Capcir plateau well and writes a tightly paced story of mystery and intrigue, tinged with the hope of love. 

You can get a copy of this novel for your Amazon Kindle "by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Capcir in winter

The lovely old village of Les Angles in Capcir in winter.....

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Iglesiettes

Les Iglesiettes, the place in the hills where in Jean de Beurre's novel "Capcir Spring" Mary discovers Cathar remains really exists

Ruins of an old village near Les Angles. The red building in the back is an old church.

This photo was taken by Adam Fowler on April 8, 2010 in Les Angles, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, using a Canon EOS 500D. It is available to share on Flickr.

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Kindle free books

Capcir Spring has been included by Jean de Beurre in a book giveaway tomorrow (Friday, 13 April 2012).  The group of authors involved will be offering over 70 books free on the Kindle Store at Amazon.com.  All of the books can be found at:  

Book bonanza freebies for kindle....

Where is Capcir?

Capcir is in France near the border with Spain and Andorra

It is a part of the Pyrenees high in the mountains....

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

The novel "Capcir Spring" will be available for free on Amazon for your Kindle on Friday 13th April 2012.

A chance to read my novel without it costing you anything!

Best wishes

Jean de Beurre

In this novel of about 70,000 words, set in contemporary France, Jean de Beurre brings together insights from psychology, history and theology in a romantic adventure.

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Please note the following important information from Amazon:

Free promotions will start at approximately 12:00 AM Pacific Standard Time on the date specified. Depending on system latencies, it may take a few minutes to several hours for the free promotion to start.

Free promotions will end at approximately 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on the date specified. Depending on system latencies, it may take a few minutes to several hours for the free promotion to end.

Jean de Beurre

Some interesting facts about Jean de Beurre.

Jean de Beurre:

• lives in central Scotland
• writes fiction 
• finished Capcir Spring in 2005 and it was first published by Lulu in 2006. The kindle edition came out in 2012
• has also published a book of short stories
• is working on a new novel set in Glasgow
• is married with grown up children
• is a Christian (liberal - middle of the road)
• enjoys travel and photography
• studied both urbanism and theology at post grad level at University (at different times)
• has worked in the voluntary sector for over 20 years
• enjoys cycling
• sung in the musical "The Music Man" in 2011
• is on the board of an environmental charity
• was the editor of a fellowship journal for over 10 years
• has written numerous articles and book reviews for magazines and newspapers
• likes the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Special Offer

The novel "Capcir Spring" will be available for free on Amazon for your Kindle on Friday 13th April 2012.

A chance to read my novel without it costing you anything!

Best wishes

Jean de Beurre

In this novel of about 70,000 words, set in contemporary France, Jean de Beurre brings together insights from psychology, history and theology in a romantic adventure.

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Please note the following important information from Amazon:

Free promotions will start at approximately 12:00 AM Pacific Standard Time on the date specified. Depending on system latencies, it may take a few minutes to several hours for the free promotion to start.

Free promotions will end at approximately 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on the date specified. Depending on system latencies, it may take a few minutes to several hours for the free promotion to end.

Capcir Spring - The opening pages - Start to read here

Chapter One

Thesmall settlement, nestling in a wide clearing on the floor of thehigh valley, was silent after the last activities of the day. Thestockade gates were shut and there was no movement in or around thethatched wooden huts inside the boundary of the heavy timber fencing.All was still except for an isolated spiral of smoke drifting up fromthe glowing cinders of an outdoor earth hearth. The last daylight wassinking above the outline of the distant mountain peaks and the sky,which moments before had been red was turning slowly through purpleto blue black.

Anowl hooted twice and was almost immediately answered by another fromthe other side of the valley. And then there was fire. Fire wasapproaching the stockade from up the valley and down. At first therewere just a few torches but all the while their number expanded intoa mighty army of individual flames that together brought a flickeringorange glow to the leaves of the overhanging trees and even to thenight sky itself. From among the mass of torches flaming missilesflew through the night air and almost immediately the roof of one andthen another of the thatched huts was alight.

Asudden anguished cry ripped through the darkness as the sleepingvillagers were harshly shocked out of their slumbers. More screamsfilled the night air as people of all ages were kicked awake and ranat first in blind confusion but then, lemming like, together, to findsanctuary in the chapel, the one stone building of the settlement, atthe centre of the stockade. The noise and light and fire seemed tobe coming at them from all sides. The gates had been broken down andthe fiery torches were inside. They were moving closer, advancingslowly, setting aflame all that was in their pathway. Where wassafety now? The chapel was crammed full of frightened, tremblingbodies. The air was heavy with the smell of fire and sweat and fear.

Itoo followed the crowds and headed for the chapel. It already seemedfull. I could hardly get in. As one of the last to arrive I wasstanding in the doorway. I could feel the press of bodies coweringbehind me but I was facing outwards. The chapel was too small. Therewere too many people and it was too late to bar the door. They werealmost upon us. In the torchlight the approaching faces were grossand distorted. I could see that they were full of rage and hatred.

ThenI saw James. There could be no mistake. The same familiar outlines,the gangling gait, the prominent forehead and weak chin. Thetorchlight deepened the shadows under his sunken eyes giving his facea menacing quality. He was at the front of the crowd. It was Jameswho was leading them on and they were chanting in unison. He wasleading the rhythmic chant. I didn't understand the words but Isensed a pure hatred tinged with fear. His face was distorted in anviolent grimace of blood lust that I had seen once before. Theiranger bit into my flesh as physical pain. In his right hand was asword. Slowly, with small steps and in time with the chanting theymoved ever closer.

Angrymen with torches and swords and spears and staves were beside him anda mass of hate filled faces were crowding behind. Their advanceinched forward step by step. The cowering mass behind me in thechapel was now screaming. Voices of young and old united in acrescendo of terror, prayer, supplication and fear. And then theywere at the door, a few yards from my face. One from the advancingthrong threw a flaming torch over my head and it sailed over me intothe crowded chapel. I was conscious of a strong pressure from behindas those inside moved to avoid the fiery missile. Bodies pressedagainst trembling bodies and I was being pushed inevitably towardsthe enemy. I was being forced forwards. I was being forced to movecloser and closer to the raw hatred and the swords and the fire andthe certainty of death. Oh God! No! No!

*****

Thescream pierced the silence of the Pyrenean mountain valley. It was asultry day in early May. The sky was a cloudless blue, typical ofthat region of France. John was hot. He had been walking for severalhours and though it was not long since his lunch break, he was againlooking for somewhere out of the glaring sun to rest. He was amblinggently down a track that wound into a little wide floored clearing inthe valley with some ancient stone ruins. Then there was a scream. Itwas a sound he remembered vividly. It started quite softly almost asa low pitched, half stifled murmur but it gradually grew louderuntil a high pitched whine flooded the lightly wooded valley andechoed round the rocks and hills above............................... 

In this novel of about 70,000 words, set in contemporary France, Jean de Beurre brings together insights from psychology, history and theology in a romantic adventure.

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Capcir Spring is now on Kindle

This romantic adventure, set in the French Pyrenees is now available as a download from Kindle.

Mary thought she had left her past behind as she starts exploring Cathar remains in the Pyreneen mountains as part of her post doctoral research. Her nightmares not only relive the painful persecution of local people by the Inquisition but are also mixed up with flashbacks to more recent events in her life. When Mary discovers a plan to destroy the heritage site that she has discovered, she joins forces with John to protect the mountains. Unknown to her John too is trying to escape from a painful past in the quiet, out of season French ski resort. In the conservation battle they join forces with an eccentric group of new age travellers. Both Mary and John have to overcome their personal demons and so rediscover what is really important in their lives.

In this novel of about 70,000 words, set in contemporary France, Jean de Beurre brings together insights from psychology, history and theology in a romantic adventure.

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you