Vintage Murder – Love Amongst the Terrorists
William S. Shepard is a retired diplomat whose diplomatic career included tours as Consul or Political Officer at our Embassies in Singapore, Saigon, Budapest and Athens. He then served as Consul General in Bordeaux. Bill now lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The author of the Robbie Cutler diplomatic mystery series (www.diplomaticmysteries.com), he enjoys writing and lecturing, and Maryland crabs fresh from the Chesapeake Bay.
“Write about what you know,” is advice given every writer, and it is good advice. I took it when I wrote the first book in my series of Diplomatic Mysteries, Vintage Murder (http:tinyurl.com/3unnas5). It is set largely in Bordeaux, where I lived for several years, and in Paris. There is therefore an interesting backdrop, but one with which I am personally quite familiar.
Not everything in this storied region is positive, not by a longshot. Although the Bordeaux vineyards are real, so, unfortunately, are the activities of the Basque ETA, a terrorist organization whose stated purpose is Basque nationhood.
My idea was to combine these elements. What if the ETA were to revive, motivated by the desire to be a real player, with large sums of money at their disposal rather than the small amounts of “taxes” which they extort from local Basque businessmen? All of a sudden a troublesome group would become a major threat to a world famous region. To have any chance of success (specifically, liberating the hundreds of their members in 
prison) they would need a great deal of money and weapons. And there, in Bordeaux, just a few hours away from the coastline, are world famous vineyards, some bottles of which sell for enormous prices. It would be a tempting blackmail prospect.
My American diplomat, Robbie Cutler, is the Consul at the same mission where I served. But when he is contacted by a wine estate owner who claims that he is being blackmailed, the action takes an official turn for Cutler. Add to that the sign painted on the door of the American Consulate General, “Death to the American Consul,” signed by the ETA!
Cutler has that rare quality that Napoleon is said to have demanded of his generals – he is lucky! And luck is presented in the person of the beautiful Sylvie Marceau, a features newspaper writer for the local regional newspaper, Sudouest. He is logical, and she is intuitive. She also discovers the first wine estate owner to be murdered by the ETA!
Robbie and Sylvie ramble through the most famous vineyards of Bordeaux, in St. Emilion, Pomerol, and the Médoc, where they attend a reception at storied Château Margaux. Their detection becomes a love story, and on a visit to Bordeaux, Robbie’s sister Evalyn tells her brother that now he is the lucky one – Sylvie is far too good for the likes of him! Their love story is deepened by the adventures that they share.
Since this is the first book of a series, Robbie Cutler and Sylvie Marceau become continuing characters, as do several of their diplomatic colleagues. I’ll leave it to you to discover whether they become engaged in the sequel, Murder On The Danube.
Shepard’s Guide to Mastering French Wines
My years in Bordeaux also led me to a second career in wine writing, as the Wine Editor of the travel group, French Wine Explorers. My latest column, published last month, concerns the wonderful 2009 Beaujolais vintage. (http://tinyurl.com/3exy47g).
My Kindle book on French wines, revised and enlarged for this 2011 edition, introduces you to the wines and wine regions of France. With dozens of hyperlinks, the reader can click back and forth between the book and the actual websites of the great regions of Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy. The 2009 and 2010 vintages are assessed, and there are many tips on quality wines that are reasonable priced. For the cost of a single glass of wine, here is your well-researched guide to the pleasures of French wines. Read this, and you’ll wonder why you ever relied on a point score rather than your own good taste!
September 27, 2011
Posted in: Guest Blogs
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7 Responses
Lots to learn here. I love books that teach you something, as well as entertain you.
Carol
Many thanks for the chance to appear. It is a very well tended blogsite, surely a most popular one. I appreciate the opportunity, and look forward to more dioplomatic mystery readers! Look forward to answering any comments if need be.
It’s always a real pleasure to have you here—you’ve intrigued me with this description—and I hope you’ll come back
Thanks for the kind words, Lelia. Be glad to fit your schedule – I plan to have two new Kindle books out by early November.
VeVVery interesting. Your background for writing intriguing ficfiction is excellent.
GGGreat interview! I’m working my way toward MURDER ON THE DADANUBE as fast as I can. The Danube, from Vienna to BeBelgrade, was one of my favorit travel experiences.
PpPat Browning
AuAuthor of ABSINTHE OF MALICE, a small-town cozy
Sorry about the double letters. That 3/50 project ad got in the way.
My name is NOT PpPat Browning and my e-mail only has one b — browning.pat@gmail.com
Sorry about that!
Pat (one P) Browning
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