Shadow Of the Gypsy by Shelly Frome
Publisher: Boutique of Quality Books (May 3, 2022)
Category: Amateur Sleuths, Crime Thriller, Love Story
Description: Shadow Of the Gypsy by Shelly Frome
A nemesis out of the past suddenly returns, forcing Josh Bartlett to come to terms with his true identity.
Josh Bartlett had figured all the angles, changed his name, holed up as a small-town features writer in the seclusion of the Blue Ridge. Only a few weeks more and he’d begin anew, return to the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut and Molly (if she’d have him) and, at long last, live a normal life. After all, it was a matter of record that Zharko had been deported well over a year ago.
The shadowy form Josh had glimpsed yesterday at the lake was only that—a hazy shadow under the eaves of the activities building. It stood to reason his old nemesis was still ensconced overseas in Bucharest or thereabouts well out of the way. And no matter where he was, he wouldn’t travel thousands of miles to track Josh down. Surely that couldn’t be, not now, not after all this.
Guest post by Shelly Frome on creating her fictional gypsy character
Story
and the Advent of the Gypsy
by
Shelly Frome
In creating fiction, there
is a longstanding issue over writing what you know or fabricating a plot and
filling in the blanks with a little research. By the same token, there’s also a
disagreement over character driven action and sheer narrative. But the actual
process in search of something sustaining and meaningful can’t be distilled to
any surefire approach. As a case in point, you really can’t go on until you
understand the special world you find yourself in.
For instance, Shadow of the Gypsy began with a sense
of refuge in a small town in the Blue Ridge of North Carolina. There was also a
debt I seem to have incurred as a very small child which I never understood,
William Faulkner’s dictum that the past is never past, and a fanciful image of a recurring nightmare stemming from a
plunging dagger. When the image became more intriguing along with the notion of
an early childhood trauma, the need for a shadowy figure became more pressing.
Admittedly, only an
incurable storyteller would be faced with the need for someone foreign and
volatile; the time-worn cliché headstrong, unscrupulous band of travelers and
wild women with dangling earrings, juxtaposed against the actual Romany people
who want to assimilate into society. Thus in order to propel this tale, Zharko
Vadja had to become the gypsy, not a gypsy. A rogue gypsy, if you will,
with his special backstory and quirks, a nefarious outlook and aim, a jaded scheme
that wouldn’t quit. He would have to earn his role as a nemesis.
After a great deal of
research, he began to come alive for me when, imaginatively, he scrawled his
response on his lawyer’s coffee table book of Romany life:
Oh,
for sure, Novac, you think I going to settle down, sweet Romany life, grow
crops, start business? Forget what I know from old country, corruption, paying
protection money? Parasites (good word
no?) living off workers? Shell companies and shell bank accounts? As much or
more corruption here in U.S. lousy government I hear. As bad or much worse
everywhere you go—payoffs under table or what have you got. Race is to the
swift so I hear. Winners and losers, zero sum game. This is what I know.
From
this moment on I could give Zharko free rein as the tale truly started to
become self-generating.
My comments on Shadow of the Gypsy :
Written in the traditional style of crime fiction, the novel slowly reveals the story behind Josh's past, which he thought he had left behind when he changed his name and began working at a small town newspaper in the Blue Ridge mountains. But normal life escapes Josh when a gypsy from his past shows up to demand a favor, or else....
The action is paced in this crime fiction, with some suspense but a more relaxing read than a thriller. Zharko, the gypsy in question, is unusual, perhaps a bit stereotypical, even though the author describes him as a rogue gypsy. His character as described and developed fits well into the role of villain.
An enjoyable crime novel.
Thanks to Virtual Author Book Tours and Teddy Rose for a review copy of this book and for the invitation to tour. Visit the site for other reviews on this book tour.
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