The Spirit of Ecstasy

Spirit of Ecstasy  - A Novel by Carolyn Charles

Writers Club Press    ISBN  0-595-09536-4    Price $14.95   £12.85

   in USA         in UK

A unique novel, since this is a romance - based on computer dating - written from the point of view of the man as well as the heroine!  Richard Vance is a nuclear physicist from South Africa. He visits Britain to deliver nuclear secrets regarding weapon-grade uranium to the West -- and one of his computer dates seems to know more about highly-enriched uranium than meets the eye!  Richard has three computer dates, and he finds himself suitably mis-matched!  (Much of the novel is set near Scammadale Loch, a tranquil Scottish glen near Oban.  Want to visit the Glen? Click here!)
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CLICK HERE TO READ A SAMPLE FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER.

The Spirit of Ecstasy can be purchased from the following on-line bookstores:

The following review of Spirit of Ecstasy appeared in The Eildon Tree, Special Fiction Issue 6, p.6:

This romantic thriller was co-authored by husband and wife team, Charles and Carolyn Muller of Jedburgh, hence the name Carolyn Charles. It centres on the computer dating intrigues (and mis-matches) of a South African nuclear physicist, Richard Vance.

The reader is drawn into the story immediately, and we learn the perks of computer dating from a female (Jackie) and male (Richard) point-of-view. At turns whimsical, humorous and romantic, we are propelled from London to Wales to Scotland , with time spent in Yorkshire in a fast-paced novel, switching from Richard to Jackie’s misfortunes in computer matchmaking. Only near the end do we learn that something more sinister has been lurking beneath the surface of this dating game.

The protagonist, Richard, is an appealing, if somewhat bumptious, lovelorn academic, who spills a lot of wine and snogs a lot, unaware of the dangers closing in on him. One or two incidents challenge the reader’s credulity and the Austrian and Scots accents are a bit dodgy, but on the whole, this team have produced a commendable and solid novel in the romantic/thriller genre. The couple run a hotel in Jedburgh, but have also found the time to produce a unique publishing venture for other writers.

Information on their work can be obtained from:

Tom Bryan: The Eildon Tree, Special Fiction Issue 6 (August 2001).

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