Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr Holly Bell (top 100 novels txt) 📖

to Judes Gerstein, my Canadian gem of an advance reader, for noticing issues and offering ideal solutions, to Katherine Otis for her invaluable fine-tooth-combed proof-reading of the manuscript, to David, Dana, Mary and other wonderful VIP Readers Group members for their supportive comments and suggestions, and to my dear friend, Katherine DeMoure-Aldrich, for round-the-world inspiration and feedback from wherever her travels take her. Thank you to Joe for his loyal support on Facebook. Thanks also to my mentor Tim Brown for always cheering me on all the way from Wales.

The Cornish language in this book would not have been possible without the assistance of my superb teacher, Kensa Broadhurst, and the abundant encouragement of the Cornish language community. Thank you to Tracy Olsen, Tracey Deborah and Steve Beazley for their indespensable help with the flora of Bodmin Moor. Also thanks to Louis Cazeau and Robert Woodhouse for their assistance in identifying the trees on the Great North Road up to the turn off to the real Sunken Madley.

Thanks are also due to the rector of St Mary the Virgin, Monken Hadley whose fund of information helped me to shape the village of ‘Sunken Madley’, and to Stephen Tatlow, the Director of Music there and the churchwardens for their kind welcome and delight at being fictionalised.

Praise and thanks go out to my outstandingly talented illustrator Daniel Becerril Ureña (Instagram: danbeu) for his beautiful book cover art.

Also due are thanks to Tanja Slijepčević of Books Go Social for her expert advice and unfailing assistance with spreading the word about both this book and the Amanda Cadabra series.

Thank you to all of those in the plural community, to the researchers and doctors who have shared their stories and cases, and to the unfailing kindness and infinite skill of Dr Anton Van Rhijn, Dr Tamara Magdalena Callea (posthumously), and Chris Perrin, to whom this book is dedicated.

Thank you, in fact, to all those without whose support this book would not have been possible.

Finally, in whatever dimension they are currently inhabiting, thanks go out to my cat who inspired Tempest, and to my grandfather and brother for Perran and Trelawney. Your magic endures.

About the Language Used in the Story

Please note that to enhance the reader’s experience of Amanda's world, this British-set story, by a British author, uses British English spelling, vocabulary, grammar and usage, and includes local and foreign accents, dialects and a magical language that vary from different versions of English as it is written and spoken in other parts of our wonderful, diverse world.

DID You Know?

Dissociative Identity Disorder is a real condition, arising specifically from childhood trauma before the age of around nine.

Lucy is based on the experiences of real systems, also known as multiples and plurals. My thanks go out to all of the multiples, doctors, nurses and therapists who have contributed to my understanding of D.I.D., and to all who, like Lucy, are happily multiple, adding to the infinite diversity of our wonderful world.

If you would like to know more about D.I.D., here are some helpful links:

https://solipsistful.weebly.com/faq.html

http://healthymultiplicity.com/

https://www.deviantart.com/tigrin/art/D-I-D-You-Know-58072489

https://morethanone.info/ - experience

https://thepluralassociation.org/

The Cornish Language

If reading this book has sparked you interest in Kernowek  — Cornish — here are some useful places to find out more:

gocornish.org

kesva.org

Questions for Reading Clubs

What did you like best about the book?

Which character did you like best? Is there one with whom you especially identified?

Whom would you like to know more about and why?

If you made a movie of the book, whom would you cast and in what parts? Have you chosen any recasting over the first three books in the series? Would you still have the same actress play, Amanda, for example, as you did in Book 1?

Did the book remind you of any others you have read, apart from the others in the series, either in the same or another genre?

Did you think the cover fitted the story? If not, how would you redesign it?

How unique is this story?

Which characters grew and changed over the course of this book, and over the series, and which remained the same?

What feelings did the book evoke?

What place in the book would you most like to visit, and why? Any additional ones to Books 1, 2, 3, 4 and/or 5?

Was the setting one that felt familiar or relatable to you? Why or why not? If you have read any of the first three books, how at home did you feel revisiting the locations?

What did you think of the continuity between the first book or Book 4 and this sequel?

Was the book the right length? If too long, what would you leave out? If too short, what would you add?

How well do you think the title conveyed what the book is about?

If you could ask Holly Bell just one question, what would it be?

How well do you think the author created the world of the story?

Which quotes or scenes did you like the best, and why?

Was the author just telling an entertaining story or trying as well to communicate any other ideas? If so, what do think they were?

Did the book change how you think or feel about any thing, person or place? Did it help you to understand someone or yourself better?

What do you think the characters will do after the end of the book? Would you want to read the sequel?

Glossary

As the story is set in an English village, and written by a British author, some spellings or words may be unfamiliar to some readers living in other parts of the English-speaking world. Please find here a list of terms used in the book. If you notice any that are missing, please let me know on hollybell@amandacadabra.com so the can be included in a future edition.

British English

American English

Spelling