Falling Down, London Town

For the new year, three new Izzy titles have been released. One, Desert Girl, is the fourth installment in my Elodie Fontaine series. Another, 3 Elodie Fontaine Mysteries,  is a compilation of the first three books in the series—at a whopping savings—so here's a chance to get them all now.

The the third book,, London, Falling, is the one I want to discuss here because it is one that I have been thinking about for a very long time and am very proud of. And it is very different from my other books.

First of all, it is historical in that it takes place 50 years ago, in the hippie era. Second, it takes place in London, with brief stops in Paris and Venice. And third, it is not a mystery. No characters from any of my other books appear in London, Falling.

It is the story of Dawn Blackwell, daughter of the British Home Secretary, who wanders into the dark dens of the hippie scene, trying to find--well, she doesn't know quite what. In a London coffeehouse called The Rat's Nest she meets characters like Syd the Bass Player, Reefer John, The Skunk, Mr. Dark, Tristan the Jamaican, and various other waifs and tatterdemalions who live primarily on the street. But Dawn soon becomes obsessed with a mysterious young woman called Callie, who seems as much out of place at The Rat's Nest as is Dawn herself.

And like Dawn, Callie is a member of the so-called ruling class. Callie's desire to integrate herself into the hippie culture while trying to educate its members into finding purposes for their dire lives both puzzles and infuriates Dawn. Yet her attraction for the woman grows.

Remember that during this time the Vietnam War was raging and protests were flaring up in France, followed closely by the Kent State killings and other university protests in the U.S. Young people like Dawn were rebelling, not necessarily because they wanted to or because they had anything real to believe in, but because society was pushing them that way.

The 1960s shaped much of the way we live today. In fact, without that era, we would still be trapped in a world that despised homosexuals, paid women half of what men made, and discriminated fiercely against people of color.

Since that time, and especially in the last 3 years, society has split; half of us wants to go forward into universal acceptance, the other half wants to ban the existence of most people that do not think--or look--like them. It was interesting for me to delve into this world and find out--partially at least--where we came from.

Remember that all of my books except the "boxed sets" are available in both ebook and paperback. The ebooks can be read for free if you are a member of Kindle Unlimited.