Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Talking with author Faye Hall

Mistress of Purity – real or pure fiction?

It was a romance unlike any other.  Two people joined together in passions and the allure of love only to be torn apart by the cruelty of reality, forcing each other to always admire each other from afar.  Only on the briefest occasions were they able to succumb to their unquenchable passions, indulging in barely more than a touch of their skin before each was forced to return to the reality that had become their life.  They lived this way for years before finally love conquered all and they were finally able to find their solace in the welcoming arms of each other.
This is the story of Mistress of Purity…and of Faye Hall.
As a young woman I met and fell in love with a young man that only the best of us could dream to find.  We had a very passionate love affair before the cruelty of the world around us tore us from each other.
As the years passed us by our paths did still occasionally cross, but always it was all too brief and each time we were forced to return to the reality of our own lives.  Years passed before finally we were again given our chance at romance, and though we were constantly hindered by the ghosts of our past, we held together stronger than ever before and finally we came out the other side of darkness with each other and with our children.
I began to pen the tale that would become Mistress of Purity when I was still at High School in Australia.  But it wasn’t until many years later, when the passionate turmoil of my own life had come to a head that I finally had the courage to finish the story the way I’d always dreamed it should be and send it to a publisher.
The background setting for this very personal story of mine is the beautiful and historic township of Sarina, Queensland, a place that is still very close to my heart to this day.  The historical allure of this town captivated me so much that I couldn’t help but wonder of similar romantic struggles our ancestors must have gone through in this place…struggles myself and my love would have gone through had we lived back then.
From this mere curiosity a whole journey into the past happened.
I needed to know everything there was to know about the history of this town I visited so often as a child.  I searched historical records from the local library and on the internet eager to find anything that could give me a look into the lives of the people who settled in Sarina during the late 1800’s.  My heart soared when finally I glimpsed faded photos of hotels that were no longer standing, and estate houses and cattle stations and farms long since destroyed.  But with the good must also come the bad.  Tears filled my eyes as I read through the struggles these English settlers went through when they first come to Northern Australia.  There were so many people that gave their all only to pack their bags and move on when finally the township began to falter.  It was the heartache of these strangers that pushed me to want to set Mistress of Purity not in the splendour of the growth of the township, but rather in the turmoil that remained when crops began to fail and families were forced to move on.  From my own experience at love I found that it was in these most traumatic times that we cling to the ones we love the most.
My two main characters, Prue Bennitt and Gareth Malloy, both strong willed individuals, were also born out of the image of my younger self and the man I fell in love with.  But in true fictitious style, they are also blessed with having to survive through many more conflicts than even we had to endure.  That said, the emotions, along with the passions and the verbal exchanges that partake page after page between these two are more than just faded memories from my youth.
They are my history.
There is far more truth than fiction in this emotion driven piece of fiction, each word being written more from memory rather than from the creative panel of the mind.  Laced together are personal attractions, conflict and heartache.  These are then surrounded by the beauty of history and proven struggles that were needed upon the settlements of the townships of Northern Australia. Stringing together every heartfelt emotion are also many realistic mysteries about the characters heritage and shocking ties between each other’s families.
This is my story, and from this - the historical beauty of my home and my own journey of heartache to romance - Mistress of Purity was born.



Mistress of Purity by Faye Hall
Red Sage Publishing

Prue had seen something the night her father was murdered, something that would forever change her life...
She had seen something that would continue to haunt her and follow her wherever she went.
When she had married the Earl of Malloy, Prue had hoped to be able to hide under his name and at his out of town estate.
What she had not thought was to become his son's MISTRESS OF PURITY.
Gareth had sworn never to return to his father's estate, not to the life he had once thought to have there.
He had hoped that the man he had grown in to was no longer hoping to find the love of a woman he knew could not possibly exist.
What Gareth had not wanted was to find his comfort in the arms of his father's young wife... a woman he knew was hiding far more than just one secret from him...
Teaser Excerpt:
  
“Prue, I’m Jack Malloy’s only known child and heir, there was no other who could inherit the Malloy estate.  I’m curious though to know why you told me all the earl’s possessions were left to me, Prue.  You were his wife, madam; you shared his bed even if it were for such a short time, what was it he left to you?”
Prue quickly darted her eyes down to where her fingers were again fidgeting with the rings on her fingers.
“Your father only asked that I be allowed to stay living here so I might remain safe from any who might wish me harm.”
Gareth was still .  “I still don’t understand, Prue.  Why should my father insist in his will that I take you under my charge at this estate instead of at my own?”
Prue slowly raised her eyes up.  “Your father’s will is several months old, Gareth.  He wished for me to stay living here because he knew of the dangers that would fall on the estate and all who lived here should I leave.  The earl just thought he was doing what was best for both the estate and me.”
Gareth quickly approached Prue, his annoyance obvious at her continued avoidance to answer his question.  Stopping in front of her, he gripped the top of her arms painfully with his palms.
“Damn it, Prue.  Will you just tell me what was written in my father’s will?  What exactly is it he has left to me?”
Taking on a confident stance, Prue made sure her stare didn’t falter from Gareth’s intimidating one.
“You’ve been left the Malloy estate house and all its surrounding properties with the aggreeance the current servants remain in your employ. You have the small amount of money from your father’s accounts, and…”
“And what, Prue?” he asked impatiently, his hands shaking her softly when her words drifted off.
Prue let out a short shaky breath, her eyes never faltering from his.
“And you’ve been left me, Gareth.”

Buy links

About the Author and where to find her

Faye Hall's passion driven, mystery filled books are set in small townships of North Queensland, Australia during the late 1800's.

Each of her novels bring something symbolically Australian to her readers, from Aboriginal herbal remedies, to certain gemstones naturally only found in this part of the world.

Each of her books tell of a passionate connection between the hero and heroine, surrounded and threatened by deceit, scandal, theft and sometimes even murder.

These romances swerve from the traditional romances as Faye aims to give her readers so much more intrigue, whilst also revealing the hidden histories of rural townships of
North Queensland.

Faye finds her inspiration from the histories of not only the township she grew up in, but the many surrounding it. She also bases most of her characters on people she has met in her life.


Faye was able to live her own passion driven romance, marrying the love of her life after a whirlwind romance in 2013. Together they are raising their 9 children in a remote country town in northern
Queensland, Australia.




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