After the success of her first collection, Where the Ocean Meets the Sky, Scottish writer Barbara Stevenson returns with her debut novel The Dalliances of Monsieur D'Haricot. And in true Barbara style, be prepared for anything and everything! Her humorous and observant style will take you on a fantastical French journey, with a light Steampunk flare.
We have worked with Barbara since the very beginning of Luna, publishing two of her short stories in our anthologies, Beyond Realities Vol I and II, then two non-fiction articles for our annual CfPs, and are now thrilled to publish her first novel. And so today we are delighted to share the fabulous cover art, once again done by one of Luna's favourite artists, BSFA shortlisted, Bede Rogerson. And isn't it just? I particularly love the crab... a very important character, may I add.
We are planning a release at Cymera, in June 2021 and as always I'll keep you posted.
Meantime, read on and find out more about the book!
About the Book:
Paris, 1930. Monsieur D’Haricot is a secret agent with a twitchy moustache.
Out of sight and mind, a community of refugees has been forced beneath the catacombs by centuries of persecution. They have built their own city, a replica of Paris, and developed advanced technologies and transport systems. With post-WWI Europe in turmoil, now is the time for them to resurface.
Monsieur D’Haricot has no problem with this, but a planned invasion is a different story altogether. He is, after all, duty-bound to protect France.
Faced with mistaken identities, split personalities, trickery, lies, downright lies, and repugnant bicycles, he will need to engage his complete repertoire of guile and espionage training to prevail. If that fails, well, at least he can rely on a little help from his friends: a sweet-toothed crab and an angel puppeteer.
The time is right for revolution, but the clock is not.
About the Author:
Barbara Stevenson has a background in veterinary medicine and subsequently, animals feature in many of her stories – some with outspoken things to say about humans. She studied creative writing as part of an Open University BA(Hons) degree and has had a novel and short stories published.
In 2014 her humorous sketch ‘Commonwealth Conundrum’, about Martians trying to join the Commonwealth, was performed in the Tron Theatre, Glasgow. In 2016 she won the Scottish Association of Writers’ Livingstone scholarship trophy and the Castles in the Air Trophy for a short story in the fantasy genre.
She lives in Orkney, where she finds inspiration for her writing.
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