Revenge is Sweeter than Flowing Honey

Crissy Rock

Description

The trussed up body of a priest is discovered in a fashionable apartment block in Manhattan. It looks like a sex act gone wrong and of course the Catholic Church is only too keen to cover up the details.What they don't know is that it's the work of a female serial killer who is convinced that the voices urging her on are from a different era.The killer targets the clergymen, acting out the exact methods of torture used on the accused women from centuries gone by. She wants to terrorise the Catholic Church the way it terrorised Europe for over three hundred years.Cardinal Barberini is the right hand man to the Pope and he knows only too well that the Papa's life is in danger. But he does not need a retired policeman and a third rate journalist to tell him that, nor does he need them to interfere. He has a very capable death squad on the trail of the killer and they are getting closer. Now he may need to deploy a second team to deal with the odd couple who know far too much about the church past and present...

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 26 juin 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783333387
• Langue: English

Extrait

Title Page
REVENGE IS SWEETER THAN FLOWING HONEY
by
Crissy Rock
with
Ken Scott



Publisher Information
This digital edition published in 2014 by
Oak Tree Press
www.oaktreepress.co.uk
An imprint of
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
Copyright © 2014 Crissy Rock and Ken Scott
The rights of Crissy Rock and Ken Scott to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.



Quote
Sweet is revenge- especially to women
- Lord Byron




Information
The Malleus Maleficarum meaning “Hammer of the Witches” in Latin is a treatise on the prosecution of witches written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer a German Catholic Clergyman.
Witchcraft had been denied by the church in earlier centuries and they had specifically outlawed the old practice of witch burning since witchcraft was originally viewed by many early medieval Christians as a pagan superstition
However by the 15 th century, belief in witches was once again openly accepted in European society. Persecution of witches became more brutal following the publication of the Malleus , with witchcraft being accepted as a real and dangerous phenomenon
The main purpose of the book was to prove that witchcraft exists and to discredit those who expressed skepticism. It also claimed that witches were more often women than men, and it’s purpose was to educate magistrates and officials on the procedures that could find them out and convict them. It offered a step-by-step guide to the conduct of a witch trial, how to initiate the process and how to interrogate and torture the accused.



Foreword
I have once again teamed up with my good friend and mentor Ken Scott on this, my first attempt at a novel. My God! First an autobiography and now a bloody novel, what would those teachers be saying right now? Crissy Rock the author and now Crissy Rock the novelist!
I’ll be honest with you; this was not an easy project to complete. When I worked with Scotty on my first book it was difficult. I was a total novice and at times I struggled to bring my demons to the surface or at least to a level where I was able to transfer those painful words on paper. He coaxed me gently at times and put a foot up my arse when I needed it but the words were always there, deep inside me, yes, but they were always there in my head and I knew they needed to come out.
So when they did come out everything flowed and although at times we shed many tears and I felt like throwing in the towel, I knew the book was taking shape and more importantly that there were enough words in my head to make up the word count the publishers were looking for.
Writing a novel is a somewhat different concept because the words are not there, they have to be dreamt up, created, the plot constructed and the characters invented. This was something very new to me, especially when it came to the characters and in particular the heroine Samantha Kerr.
I once read somewhere, ‘write about what you know.’ So that’s what I tried to do. Sam had to come from Liverpool where else? I decided to build a little of my character within her and tried to get inside her head wondering what I/she would do when faced with impossible decisions. So I gave her a chequered past and a multitude of problems, but at the same time I wanted to make her strong enough to face up to those problems and not let it affect her life too much and of course I gave her a determination to overcome anything her enemies threw at her.
I’ll be honest, I nearly gave up several times, wondering wtf I was doing trying to compete with the likes of Patricia Cornwell and Lynda La Plante, but Scotty was always there and finished several chapters when things just weren’t happening for me, they call it writers block.
I’ll happily admit that this book is as much his as it is mine and he deserves an enormous amount of credit for lifting me mentally and bodily over the finishing line, he is truly special to work with.
I enjoyed the journey with Scotty again, but I’m not sure my career as a novelist is cast in stone. You, the reader will determine that with how successful this book becomes and I will read the reviews with interest.
I enjoyed the plot construction and being able to kill people at the stroke of a pen (just kidding) and for those of you who don’t know, I am in fact a witch myself so I felt comfortable with the subject matter and have a good knowledge of what it is I was writing about.
One of the most rewarding aspects of constructing a novel is the research needed to progress the plot. I couldn’t quite believe some of the things I discovered about the mediaeval witch hunts and the inquisitions or how much many of our modern churches still disrespect and yes, even despise the female form even to this day.
At times I felt the plot was a one woman mission to bash the Catholic Church but that was not my intention and that concerned me a bit because when writing a novel it’s easy to confuse fiction with fact, if that makes sense?
I was brought up a Catholic as a small girl and experienced a particular horrific incident at the hands of an evil sadistic nun and those of you who read my first book will understand why I am now a lapsed member of my church. But I am also sensible enough to realise that there are bad apples in every barrel and most of the employees of all churches worldwide are genuine, decent people with no other agenda than to help the poor and their fellow human beings.
And having said all that, we mustn’t turn our back on history or ignore it, and if I have offended anyone by bringing up that dark period then so be it but it’s not Crissy Rock’s fault because that history is all there to read and explore at the touch of a button and there are literally dozens of books that give a concise history of the mediaeval inquisitions orchestrated by the church.
It’s a fascinating, but at times a disturbing subject to read up on and to be able to construct a fiction novel incorporating this material was once again a rewarding experience. I’m improving as a writer I know that, but still don’t feel comfortable enough to be let off on my own. Does that make sense? I need a ghostwriter and in Scotty I feel I have found a good one because his overwhelming concern is to improve me as an author and make sure I learn my craft. If you haven’t read my first book you may not know that I am dyslexic and couldn’t read or write until I was in my early thirty’s. My spelling is crap, my grammar shocking and my sentence construction not perfect. I have another problem in that I write as I speak, with a dialect that is not spoken in correct English and it is more difficult to pull a chapter together than someone who was educated at Eton or Harrow and talks proper!
But I have a great mentor and spellcheck and a built in thesaurus and a dictionary and an editor who is truly educated (not like me and Scotty) and I know that if I have determination and belief in myself and I can dream and keep stimulating my imagination then anything can happen.
I learn new words every day; I sit at the computer and find if I right click on a word it brings up synonyms. They are words of a similar meaning and more often than not I replace my word with one of the computers and I feel good that I can cheat this way.
With the technology at our fingertips these days there has never been a better time to write your own book. I’d love to think my two books have stimulated just one person to sit in front of a keyboard and give it a go, and if you feel you need a little help then why not drop Scotty a line and I’m sure he will look at what it is you have to say.
Enjoy my debut novel, I’ll be watching for those reviews.
Crissy xx



One
But (and this is remarkable) when on the next day the other witch had at first been exposed to the very gentlest questions, being suspended hardly clear of the ground by her thumbs, after she had been set quite free, she disclosed the whole matter without the slightest discrepancy from what the other had told. MM.
The priest bowed his head as he knelt. He spoke as if there were tears in his eyes but they were strangely dry.
“Father I have committed a grave sin, forgive me. Your mysterious ways are indeed strange to me for you made me the way you did and guided me from childhood in my quest to join your order. I have no one but you to confess to for I dare not disclose my actions to a living soul. I am sorry to burden you Father but have no alternative but to turn to prayer. Hear me Father and forgive me for I repent and I plead with you to hold the child’s tongue.”
The priest gazed skywards and crossed his chest.
“I have thought about taking my life Father but I know I must carry on your good work until I am no longer able to do so. I beg for a sign Father, a sign that you wish me to continue your work, a sign that you understand and I promise I will sin no more. I know not what this sign will be or in what shape or form you will deliver it but I have faith in you for you have created me the way I am. I have respect and love for you and I dedicate my life and know