Today is my stop for THE VIOLINIST'S APPRENTICE by Isabella Mancini released by Darkstroke Books on January 5th 2020. I have an extract below and an amazing giveaway.
The Violinist’s Apprentice
A dark journey through time.
It’s on a group trip to Rome that something terrifying and mysterious happens, whirling musical Clementina back in time to 17th century Italy. Amidst court intrigue and creaking carriages, Rome becomes a chiaroscuro backdrop to her growing feelings for young violin-maker Antonio Stradivari. But soon he discovers that Clementina is not all she appears. She must surely be a witch. How can she return to the 21st century again? Meanwhile, in an icy corner of the Arctic, a professor plots.
The story is centered around Clementina "Tina" who travels to Italy from Scotland in a school trip to visit one of the seven wonders of the world, the amazing Roman Colosseum. While there, Tina was taken back through time and meets the one and only Antonio Stradivari and becomes his apprentice in 17th century Rome. His professor Mr. Verdigris has given her a task to return and bring back a violin from that time. It seems that Tina was not the only one to have returned back from time as Mr. Verdigris is collecting seven artifacts and the violin was the second, as the first were the Dead Sea Scrolls. The artifacts related to the current issue of what is happening in the Antarctic where sea levels were rising and could cause global catastrophe.
I enjoyed this entertaining read that involved present day story with a time slip element. A bit of magical realism that connects to our present day issues of global warming. The story does lead to a start of a series covering the other modern wonders of the world, that would hopefully lead to helping with the issue of global warming by collecting these artifacts from the past.
The story was creative and had a fun and entertaining time-slip element. I recommend this read for those who enjoy reading about two timelines with some magical realism.
Purchase Links:
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Violinists-Apprentice-Isabella-Mancini-ebook/dp/B0811Y35MV
US - https://www.amazon.com/Violinists-Apprentice-Isabella-Mancini-ebook/dp/B0811Y35MV
Author Bio –
Previous books by Olga Swan:
An Englishwoman in America
From Paradis to Perdition
Pensioners in Paradis
The Mazurek Express
Lamplight
Vichyssoise
3rd Degree Murder
Social Media Links –
Twitter: @IsabellaManci10.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ManciniIsabella1
Facebook Group: Books, Music and the Past
Amazon page for Isabella Mancini: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Isabella-Mancini/e/B08127KJJW/
Amazon page for Olga Swan:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B013IBD4PU
Giveaway to Win a signed paperback of An Englishwoman in America (Open INT)
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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PLEASE ENJOY THIS EXCERPT:
Antonio cast his beautiful dark eyes over the distant forests and dreamed of the day when he could put all his ideas into practice. Every night he went over in his mind exactly how he would do it. He had finally resolved that after carefully collecting his precious spruce, willow and maple woods, he would treat them with his own special concoction of borax, sodium with potassium silicate, plus his own secret varnish composed of Arabic gum, honey and egg white.
Some wise men had told him that as temperatures had dipped down over the last fifty years or so, the cooler air had caused stunting and slower tree growth with unusually dense wood. He was convinced that this would improve the quality of his very own violins.
That night, as he lay back on his narrow bed, he closed his eyes, his slim white arms clasped behind his head.
Yes, one day soon, the name Antonio Stradivari will be famous! he mused to himself. Yes, people will come from far and wide – maybe from all over Italy – to buy and play my violins.
And there and then he decided that, although he was Italian, he would inscribe his violins with Latin slogans. His violins would therefore become known as Antonius Stradivarius violins, or merely Stradivarius violins, rather than Stradivari violins.
He smiled to himself at his own foolishness. He was still only sixteen, but he could dream couldn’t he?
The next day, his mentor Nicolo Amati bade his young apprentice a fond farewell, throwing his mighty arms around the slim boy, almost crushing him to his immense chest. ‘Remember what I have said, boy,’ he admonished Antonio. ‘You must take care of the wood. Unless the wood is perfect, the instrument will not play well.’
‘Yes, Nicolo,’ replied Antonio meekly, secretly wishing his mentor would go so that he could begin his new preparations. He was anxious to make a start as soon as possible, his mind feverish with thoughts of how he could construct the most magnificent violin in the world.
‘Ciao Nicolo,’ he shouted as the big bear of a man walked swiftly down the street, disappearing around the far corner, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
Already Antonio had decided that he would make the 'f'-holes on the top of his own violins slightly offset, rather than the standard symmetrical way. He had thought long and hard after hearing Nicolo play his own instruments. Antonio was sure that by offsetting the ‘f’-holes his way, would make the violin sound sweeter. Yes, that’s what he would do. He was determined that the Stradivari violin would be like no other violin in the whole of Italy.
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