Coffee Pot Book Tour: Discovery by Barbara Greig

July 27, 2021

Coffee Pot Book Tour: Discovery by Barbara Greig

The Details

Book Title: Discovery

Author: Barbara Greig

Publication Date: 28^th June 2020

Publisher: Matador (imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd)

Page Length: 336 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

The Blurb

Discovery: An epic tale of love, loss and courage When Elizabeth Gharsia’s headstrong nephew, Gabriel, joins Samuel Champlain’s 1608 expedition to establish a settlement at Quebec, he soon becomes embroiled in a complicated tribal conflict. As months turn into years, Gabriel appears lost to his family.

Meanwhile at home in France the death of her father, Luis, adds to Elizabeth’s anguish. Devastated by her loss, she struggles to make sense of his final words. Could her mother’s journals, found hidden among Luis’s possessions, provide the key to the mystery?

The arrival of Pedro Torres disrupts Elizabeth’s world even further. Rescued from starvation on the streets of Marseille by her brother, Pedro is a victim of the brutal expulsion of his people from Spain. Initially antagonistic, will Elizabeth come to appreciate Pedro’s qualities and to understand the complexity of her family?

The Author

Barbara Greig was born in Sunderland and lived in Roker until her family moved to Teesdale. An avid reader, she also discovered the joy of history at an early age. A last-minute change of heart, in the sixth form, caused her to alter her university application form. Instead of English, Barbara read Modern and Ancient History at Sheffield University. It was a decision she never regretted.

Barbara worked for twenty years in sixth form colleges, teaching History and Classical Civilisation. Eventually, although enjoying a role in management, she found there was less time for teaching and historical study. A change of focus was required. With her children having flown the nest, she was able to pursue her love of writing and story-telling. She has a passion for hiking, and dancing, the perfect antidotes to long hours of historical research and writing, as well as for travel and, wherever possible, she walks in the footsteps of her characters.

Discovery is Barbara’s second novel. Her debut novel Secret Lives was published in 2016 (Sacristy Press).

The Excerpt

Ch 10 Extract from DISCOVERY (Greig)

A medley of sounds and smells assaulted Gabriel’s senses as he entered the longhouse, his eyes taking some time to adjust to the dark smoky interior. He followed Matwau’s mother closely as she made her way towards the central hearth, skirting around the other occupants they passed as they slowly progressed. He was aware of, rather than saw, separate living spaces on either side of the fires where the activity of living had recommenced after the excitement of the afternoon.

By the time they halted, after a good twenty paces, Gabriel could see that the central aisle was about three paces wide. He turned slightly and looked over his shoulder, past Matwau. The line of fires behind him was about the same length as that in front of him. Shafts of sunlight pooled onto the beaten earth; the skin coverings drawn back from the ventilation holes to maximise the light. Due to her status, Matwau’s mother occupied the chamber nearest the central hearth. She lifted the hide covering, which would afford them some privacy, and invited Matwau and Gabriel to sit.

Bringing them bowls of thick corn soup, flavoured with fish, the old woman fussed over the two young men with as much care as any devoted mother. They ate heartily, enjoying the novelty of warm food after weeks of being on the move. She watched them avidly for some time, before addressing Gabriel. Leaning over, she prodded his chest with one of her thin fingers and then tapped her own chest. “Sheauga.”

Matwau answered for him. “Gabriel.”

She repeated the name several times, rolling the unfamiliar syllables around her mouth. Speaking her thoughts, she asked, “What does it mean?”

Her son was about to explain that the white man did not use names as they did, when a figure silently slipped into the chamber. Gabriel did not notice, as he had turned his attention to the small loaves of bread Sheauga had placed between them. Freshly baked, the bread appeared to contain a mixture of dried fruit and nuts. He took a loaf, pulled it apart, and was about to take a bite. A voice, soft and musical, cut through his concentration. “Man Unknown.”

Oheo chuckled as the white man’s head jerked up. The piece of bread in his hand forgotten, he bit down on his own tongue and then tried, unsuccessfully, not to wince. Her grandmother’s eyes flashed, a warning even Oheo dared not ignore. She steadied her merriment and appraised the young white man. He appeared to be of a similar age to her uncle, who had miraculously returned after being missing for as long as she could remember. She had missed the clamour of the men’s arrival as she had been bathing in the river following her time in the menstrual hut. Her sister, Aarushi, had sought her out, full of the news, and had urged her to make haste. It was such an unusual occurrence for a new man to be taken into her family unit, even more so as he was to take her grandmother’s husband’s place, that Oheo rushed her ablutions and ran to the longhouse, leaving Aarushi struggling to catch up.

Oheo was disappointed. She had expected the white man to be more fascinating. The man eating her grandmother’s soup bore no resemblance to the white men of her imagination. Iroquois traders, who had travelled further east, had returned with tales of men with eyes the colour of the summer sky, yet the man before her returned her scrutiny with eyes as black as her own. There was also no evidence of the corn-coloured hair as his, under the bear grease, appeared as dark as that of any Mohawk brave. Her disenchantment made her sharp.

“Do not be too comfortable, Man Unknown.”

Gabriel failed to understand but there was no mistaking the hostility of her tone. He turned to Matwau for clarification, who spoke more slowly. “Before the tribe adopts you, you need to prove your valour to the women.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, a gesture which did not go unnoticed by Oheo. This white man who was not a white man, for even his skin was darker than she expected, was far too confident, in her opinion. She fixed him with a haughty stare. “You have to endure the trial if you are to be worthy of the Mohawk.”