Celeste Connally--Dream Holiday in Cambridge with a Writing Deadline

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I adored the first book in my pal Celeste Connally's Lady Petra Inquires series, ACT LIKE A LADY, THINK LIKE A LORD, set in Regency England, and I have been eagerly awaiting book #2, ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND TREACHERY, which released yesterday! Unfortunately, I'm going to have to wait a few more days, as I ordered a signed copy from the wonderful Murder by the Book in Houston. Patience, patience...

And now, learning about Celeste's writing retreat as she was finishing the book, I am positively pea green with envy. I think all of us, writers or not, will be, too! (And isn't this cover absolutely delicious??)

Dream Holiday in Cambridge with a Writing Deadline

By Celeste Connally

 

In nearly every movie that romanticizes being an author, there’s almost always a scene of the author writing in some lovely locale. Whether it be a serene cabin in the country, a bright and lovely beach house, or a fancy hotel in some fabulous city, the author in question always gets to write somewhere pretty and oh-so inspiring. I know it’s both rarely the truth and glamorized all for effect, but I can’t deny that I’ve fallen for the romantic idea of it every single time.

Only this past summer, I actually got to fulfill that writerly dream. I not only had an incredible trip to the UK that was part holiday and part research, but I was on deadline while there with edits for my new Lady Petra Inquires mystery, All’s Fair in Love and Treachery.

Since my books are set in England—Regency-era England, that is, and specifically 1815—taking a trip across the pond was a dream in and of itself. I’ve been an anglophile practically since birth, and it took me a very long time to even take my first trip, so every one thereafter is nothing short of an amazing moment in my life.

And for my deadline, I decided to stay in one of the towns I’ve always wanted to see, even if it wasn’t featured in my book (at least, not yet). And the town I chose was Cambridge.

Located in the county of Cambridgeshire, and situated about 55 miles north of London, Cambridge is home to the University of Cambridge, which has been a place of higher matriculation since 1209. And anyone who’s read any classic British mysteries or watched any British television has heard of it just as much as its rival, the University of Oxford.

While I was there, I stayed in The Graduate Cambridge, a charming hotel right on the River Cam, and happily took in all the delights. I saw people out on the punt boats every day, just like you see whenever Cambridge or Oxford is ever featured on screen. I didn’t get to take a ride on a punt this time around, but just watching them slowly go by was quite enjoyable and relaxing in and of itself.

 

The city, with all its beautiful colleges and buildings, was very walkable. There was a market in the city center every day with all types of food to try. And there was at least three incredible gelato shops, and some of the best Thai food I’ve ever had. I also had a drink at the famous RAF Bar in The Eagle, a famous pub frequented by American and British pilots during World War II. The ceiling of the RAF Bar is still covered in graffiti, where the airmen wrote their names and squadron numbers. As I was there on June 6^th, 2024, the 80^th anniversary of the D-Day landings, I had a drink and gave a toast to the brave men and women who fought against tyranny.

 

 

Amusingly, there are even cows that roam loose in the city at certain times of the year. They’re used as bovine lawnmowers in various places and so used to mingling with the crowds of tourists by the river that not even children shrieking with happiness or a group of slightly tipsy college kids laughing uproariously as they walked along the river’s edge seemed to bother them.

 

Every day I was there was a delight—even if it never warmed higher than around 65 degrees despite it being June—and I felt incredibly lucky to be there, and work there.

Admittedly, I didn’t get nearly enough time to explore because my first duty was to my book, and to my deadline. Thus, I spent a lot of time glancing out my hotel-room window and watching others enjoying themselves as they walked along the river, and reminding myself to get back to work. I was able to take a couple of walks a day, but I never allowed myself to go too far so that I could return to my room and go through more of my pass pages.

 

It was both every bit as wonderful to be on deadline in a beautiful, charming, new place as it was difficult—but only in keeping my concentration on my task! Which means I will not complain even one bit.

  

I’d love to go back to Cambridge and do a few of the things I didn’t get to the first time, including taking a trip to the village of Grantchester next door to see where the PBS series is filmed (and where James Runcie’s books on which the series is based are set). But all in all, being on deadline in the middle of a dream holiday just made my experience even better.

DEBS: I have finished a couple of books in England, but nowhere nearly as glamorous as a hotel on the river Cam! And you all know how much I love Cambridge--I am green, I'm telling you! I'm only sorry that Celeste didn't manage to have tea at The Orchard in Grantchester, which I think is still my very favorite Cambridge experience. But the weather would have had to cooperate!

Here's more about Celeste:

Celeste Connally is an Agatha Award nominee and a former freelance writer and editor who writes historical mysteries with a feminist spin set in Regency-era England. She delights in giving her mysteries a good dose of romance and a few research facts she hopes you’ll find as interesting as she does. Passionate about history and slightly obsessed with period dramas, what Celeste loves most is reading and writing about women who don’t always do as they are told. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook at @celesteconnallyauthor, and at celesteconnally.com.

And here's more about ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND TREACHERY:

21 June, 1815. London may be cheering the news of Napoleon’s surrender at Waterloo, but Lady Petra Forsyth has little to celebrate after discovering that the death of her viscount fiancé three years earlier was no accident. Instead, it was murder, and the man responsible is her handsome, half-Scottish secret paramour Duncan Shawcross—yet the scoundrel has disappeared, leaving only a confusing riddle about long-forgotten memories in his wake.

So what’s a lady to do when she can’t hunt down her traitorous lover? She concentrates on a royal assignment instead. Queen Charlotte has tasked Petra with attending an event at the Asylum for Female Orphans and making inquiries surrounding the death of the orphanage’s matron. What’s more, there may be a link between the matron’s death and a group of radicals with ties to the aristocracy, as evidenced by an intercepted letter.

Then, Petra overhears a nefarious conversation with two other men about a plot to topple the monarchy, set to take place during three days of celebrations currently gripping London.

As the clock counts down and London’s streets teem with revelers, Petra’s nerves are fraying as her past and present collide. Yet while all’s fair in love and war, she can never surrender, especially when more orphaned girls may be in trouble. And to save their lives, the monarchy itself, and even her own heart, Lady Petra must face her fears with the strength of an army of soldiers and fight with the heart of a queen.

DEBS: Dear Reds and Readers, what would you choose as the perfect writing retreat? (If you are not a writer, imagine that you are!)

The first thing that popped into my mind was the Surrey cottage in the film THE HOLIDAY. Too bad the exterior was only a stage set!