Joanne Renaud, illustrator to the stars (ok, well, illustrator to us), has a question – whatever happened to Sue Wilson.
Have you heard of Sue Wilson, who wrote this great romance novel “Greenwood,” which has an Alan Rickman-esque Sheriff of Nottingham as the hero? Your review for “What a Scoundrel Wants” made me think of it again. The book was originally put up online on the now defunct St. Rose Press (it was an AOL Hometown page, and those were all shut down in October), and was such a hit that NovelBooks Inc decided to publish it in ‘03. But it was available only for a little over a year before NovelBooks died a horrible death in January ‘05, and “Greenwood” vanished into the ether. Luckily I bought an ebook of it before it disappeared, and I’ve been sharing it with friends, who all love it too. I would love to find some way of getting in touch with Sue Wilson, just to say I love her book and to see if she’s still writing, but it seems like she’s dropped off the face of the earth. The old archived St Rose Press page has an email address, and a vaguely written bio, but I’ve emailed her and apparently that email is also defunct.
The story of Robin Hood, only with the Sheriff of Nottingham as the hero? Whoa, dude. Even the Amazon.com page has a review written by the editor from NovelBooks, saying how mesmerizing the story is for the reader. But it seems the book itself is hard to find. Anyone know where Sue Wilson is, and whether she’s writing still?
I read this a few years ago, and it is brilliant. If anyone comes across any available copies, please let us know. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a great romantic tale featuring a less than noble but wonderfully human hero.
I would love to read it if anyone can find it. Even an ebook version would be good for me.
I wonder who has the rights to Ms. Wilson’s book at this point, and if her book is shopping for a new home.
Not sure if this is apropos, since it’s not about this book, but Ridley Scott is making a similar-sounding movie:
http://www.defamer.com.au/2008/07/trouble_in_nottingham_is_ridley_scotts_robin_hood_on_the_rocks-2.html
Or trying anyway, it sounds like. But the real news—to me—is that it might have Lambert Wilson in it! 😉
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0933727/
Ooh la la.
Dang, what a tease! I’d love to read this.
Wasn’t that Linnea Sinclair’s first publisher?
I agree, a great book. When NBI closed, I set up a loop for disaffected NBI writers, to help us all find new homes for our books and to keep in touch. A few went on to stellar success – Rowena Cherry and Linnea Sinclair are the two that come immediately to mind – but afaik Sue Wilson didn’t join the group and more or less dropped out of sight. I’ll post and see if I can find her for you.
Meantime, Karen Litman, a really good editor, is currently looking for work. When Penny (who owned NBI) did a runner she left a lot of people in the lurch, some great talent died with NBI.
A search for St Rose Press turned up an address and phone number in North Carolina.
http://local.yahoo.com/info-13235000-st-rose-press-charlotte
Not sure if it’s current, but I’m going to try calling.
Is it OK to add a “What’s happened to…?” question of my own, here? I hope so. Anyway, I’ve been wondering what’s happened to Monica Jackson. All I’m getting for her webpage is a blank screen, her blog just says “Error establishing a database connection” and she didn’t answer an email I sent her. Of course, it could just be my computer having problems, but I’m a bit worried.
Called the number, but there was no answer. It rolled over to a standard answering machine message. “Hello, no one is available to take your call. . .”
Probably not a valid business number any more.
Hey, I have a copy of that! I don’t remember who gave it to me, but it was the description of an “Alan Rickman-esque” sheriff that pulled me in.
I’m sorry to say I have heard no more about Ms. Wilson.
I found a Sue Wilson on Facebook, and she lists her location as “Nottingham.” I sent her a message saying that if she’s the gal who wrote Greenwood, people here are looking for her.
Thanks for the help, guys! I’d love to hear if you can find anything. I also emailed Marie Dillon, the publisher of the old St. Rose press page at silkwisper @ aol.com, and expressed condolences for how her page was shut down by AOL and hoped she’d remain active in the romance community. However, I haven’t heard back from her either.
Thanks so much, Esri- but I don’t think that the Sue Wilson on Facebook is the author. There’s actually a picture of her on the old St. Rose press page, courtesy of the Internet Archives. You have to scroll down a bit, but you can see a picture, the vaguely written bio and the defunct email address.
I used to do the biographies for the NBI site (we were all coralled into doing something!) and here’s what I have for Sue Wilson:
“Some years ago, a child appeared in a small town in southeastern North Carolina. The child, a female, was placed there either by aliens or fairies—the true culprits have yet to reveal themselves—and so the child grew up always imagining and envisioning other worlds, ones that were perhaps closer to her true home. She led an enchanted childhood with other like-minded souls who populated her neighborhood, girls who read and wrote stories, who played make-believe and put on plays for profits that were quickly given over to the ice cream man. She grew up with a love of history and art, and acquired a university education, despite attempts to double-major in candle making and protest marches.
Still, it wasn’t until she had two children that she began to write in earnest. Articles in newsletters gave way to short fiction that found homes in science fiction/fantasy fanzines. This pleased her no end, as it gave her a good excuse to travel to conventions and play dress-up. One day her son dragged her under protest to see a movie about Robin Hood, which made her realize she was not only part alien (or part fae), but also most certainly displaced in time and truly belonged in the Middle Ages. She began writing…and writing…and writing. See what a book-fed imagination, a love of costuming, and a history degree can do?”
Sadly, there is no email address. Usually our bios included a contact link, but not this one. She didn’t have a website listed, either.
By dint of the handy-dandy Wayback Machine at Archive.org, I was able to read the book myself, and daaamn I’m hooked. St. Rose put the whole thing up for a month in 2000 and took it down again afterwards (except for the first six chapters, for sampling reasons). I’m not done it yet, but I fully expect to be by tomorrow morning. I just can’t stop! Aah, the hawt!Alan Rickmans, they dance in my head.
Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for Teh Internets. *burns incense at portable shrine*
Hey Lynne, thanks for digging that up! Here’s the bio from the St. Rose page. Her email was ladyofthewood @ msn.com, but it hasn’t worked for a while.
“Okay, my secret’s out. I prefer the villain-or at least a hero dark enough to chill one’s blood, when he isn’t busy heating it. I like romance, true, but I like it with a dash of danger, a little mystery, and a relationship that evolves despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I don’t like things easy; I prefer a challenge. Enter the Sheriff of Nottingham, who dared me to look beneath the Robin Hood legend for an untold story and create a world-his world-where nothing is quite as it seems or as truthful as legend has made it.
“Greenwood is my first novel, but not the first thing I’ve written. I got my start in the world of science fiction/fantasy zines, writing short stories for kindly editors who coaxed me to loose my imagination, trade self-doubt for bold exploration, and curb my use of ellipses. Since I could never quite pull off a story without some element of romance, I eventually found myself in Carolina Romance Writers, a local chapter of Romance Writers of America, where I learned to merge technique with instinct and come up with a story and style of my own. Fellow writers in critique groups taught me to apply merciless slash and burn tactics to my prose while nurturing me with support and encouragement. Friends, some of whom I have never even met save through mail or the Internet, gave me advice and applause in exactly the write proportions. And, as always, my favorite authors continued to educate and entertain me with their own stories. But, in the end, I would never have accomplished the first paragraph had I not been given a fleeting glimpse of “my” Sheriff beneath the superb portrayal of that character by Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Night after night, I met this character at the keyboard, enamored of the opportunity to spend time in his delightfully sinister presence while I molded him into a man who could be not only villain, but hero as well.
“For those who like to know a little bit about the person whose words they’re reading, I will tell you that I am probably not that different from any other beginning writer. In one life, I am a single mother of a son and daughter, guardian of two cats, and I work in the counseling division of a not-for-profit human services agency. In another life, I am a dreamer who spins tales, sees images, and hears dialogue (often complete with musical scoring!) In both, I am a lover of nature, of peace, of home and family. I am rarely without a pencil in my hand, whether jotting down ideas, journaling, sketching, or doing the Sunday crossword. I enjoy history, especially early Britain and the medieval period, costuming, and role-playing. I like walking on the beach, thunderstorms on a Sunday afternoon, laughing at ribald jokes with crazy friends, and deluding myself that one day my house will be clean and well-organized.
“As a new author, I am hungry for feedback, so I welcome your comments on Greenwood. I hope you enjoy your stay there as much as I did. “To the trees!”
There’s a lead! Does anyone remember her from Carolina Romance Writers?
Yo – unfortunate_slip…so happy to meet another mendicant of the Flying Spaghetti Monster…we thought we were the only ones…Thanks for the link, I have downloaded it and plan to read tomorrow.
social95 – not quite that old, but am social..:)
For unfortunate_slip above, did you find that there were a handful of pages that the Internet Archive didn’t have? I’m still getting ‘not in archive’ errors when I try to get hold of Chapter 24 🙁
I have read the blurb on Amazon. AND NOW I MUST OWN IT!
The reversal of the hero/villain in the Robin Hood legend reminds me of Gayle Feyrer’s great “The Thief’s Mistress”. In that book a tortured Marian has an affair with an even more tortured Guy of Gisbourne, who is not the hero but is nonetheless deeply compelling, sexy, and heartstoppingly sad. I loved that book, but Feyrer is another of those who have dropped off the face of the earth. I did once correspond with her via e-mail, and she was quite gracious, but she said that having failed to set the publishing world on fire under either the Feyrer or Taylor Chase names, she didn’t hold out much hope for another writing contract. Curses!
I can get the first 6 chapters and no more, darnit. I haven’t been so excited about a concept for a romance in AGES.
: (
Actually, all you have to do is is change the page number in the address. So instead of:
http://web.archive.org/web/20051214142925/members.aol.com/booksence/Page26.html
You make it Page27:
http://web.archive.org/web/20051214142925/members.aol.com/booksence/Page27.html
The just hit the “continue” links at the bottom of the page from there out!
And a big ol’ THANK YOU to unfortunate_slip! Totally loving it so far!
Eunice- thank you so much. Some days it turns out that I am internet-stupid, this is one of them…
Oh, and the above posted url page number change fix worked for the “page not found” error I came across in chapter 5, so if you get those you might want to try it.
Glad to see my efforts were so useful! I also had some trouble with Chapter 5, Eunice, but luckily I also found this page, which is a directory listing of all the pages of the book. It seems as though someone made a coding error, but the second part of Chapter 5 is here. The book really is all there, but you have to fiddle around a little.
I can’t get chapters 24 or 30 to behave. So frustrating! Darn internet.
I’ve been able to pick up both the entire chapter 5 and chapter 30 (page 217 & page 218 from unfortunate_slip‘s link above), but still not chapter 24. If anyone could tell me what URLs they found or didn’t find 24 at, I’d be most grateful.
Ah, sweet success! Just stumbled across Chapter 24 here. :D. It’s weird—I think because of the coding errors and occasional changes in the page numbering and whatnot, the internet archive has a bunch of them at different dates. The link above ending in ‘ambur36’ in particular is a good link to examine the different date buckets for, if you haven’t found the chapter you’re looking for yet.
I still can’t get Chapter 30 to behave! I get what I think is half of it, but when I try the tricks Eunice and unfortunate_slip have done, I can’t get to the rest of it. I keep getting “failed connection” or “not in archive.” 🙁
Azure, try these links for chapter 30:
First half of Chapter 30
Second half of Chapter 30
Azure, try this link for the second halfchapter 30: Second half of Chapter 30
Hi
Could someone please link the first page. unfortunate_slip ‘s link shows up as failed connection no matter how many times I refresh.
From comparing the “booksence” version and the “ambur36” version, I think the booksence page has both parts of Chapter 30 together on Page68.html. The “Chapter 30 continued” link seems to be unnecessary. I think…..
If anyone has a few minutes, could they put another set of eyes on it for the folks that are having difficulty? Mine are going wonky from trying to sort it out and keep all the page numbers straight.
I’ve gone through all the pages I could find and put them in some sort of order. Some of them are accessible via more than one url. There’s only one I haven’t been able to locate, and that’s the second half of Chapter 24.
I haven’t actually read all the pages all the way through, so it might be that although they have a particular chapter number at the top of the page, they have a different content.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve got. I apologise if the urls come out scrambled. There isn’t a preview function:
Chapter 1
http://web.archive.org/web/20010728091845/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page39.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20000609081721/members.aol.com/booksence/Page17.html
Chapter 1 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20010803003807/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page38.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20021212040600/members.aol.com/Booksence/Page18.html
Chapter 2
http://web.archive.org/web/20010731114338/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page41.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20000618233826/members.aol.com/Booksence/Page19.html
Chapter 2 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20010730082103/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page40.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910053113/members.aol.com/booksence/Page80.html
Chapter 3
http://web.archive.org/web/20021022084211/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page43.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20000619031037/members.aol.com/Booksence/Page20.html
Chapter 3 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20021016231926/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page42.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910053234/members.aol.com/booksence/Page81.html
Chapter 4
http://web.archive.org/web/20021212014244/members.aol.com/Booksence/Page21.html
Chapter 4 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20010823220317/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page44.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030523005607/members.aol.com/Booksence/Page22.html
Chapter 5
http://web.archive.org/web/20010901152458/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page47.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030525015137/members.aol.com/Booksence/Page23.html
Chapter 5 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20021016233241/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page46.html
Chapter 6
http://web.archive.org/web/20010901211401/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page49.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040528121747/members.aol.com/booksence/Page25.html
Chapter 6 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20021016234537/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page48.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20051214142925/members.aol.com/booksence/Page26.html
Chapter 7
http://web.archive.org/web/20021016235423/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page53.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030223051458/members.aol.com/booksence/Page27.html
Chapter 7 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20010903085837/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page52.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909085325/members.aol.com/booksence/Page28.html
Chapter 8
http://web.archive.org/web/20010903203430/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page55.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030504214017/members.aol.com/booksence/Page29.html
Chapter 8 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20020619190643/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page54.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909034102/members.aol.com/booksence/Page30.html
Chapter 9
http://web.archive.org/web/20010904024848/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page57.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030504203453/members.aol.com/booksence/Page31.html
Chapter 9 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20020619193109/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page56.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909034137/members.aol.com/booksence/Page32.html
Chapter 10
http://web.archive.org/web/20020621220054/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page59.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030223052032/members.aol.com/booksence/Page33.html
Chapter 10 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909034146/members.aol.com/booksence/Page34.html
Chapter 11
http://web.archive.org/web/20030507041637/members.aol.com/booksence/Page35.html
Chapter 11 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909034115/members.aol.com/booksence/Page74.html
Chapter 12
http://web.archive.org/web/20020623235709/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page63.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030504192543/members.aol.com/booksence/Page36.html
Chapter 12 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909034309/members.aol.com/booksence/Page37.html
Chapter 13
http://web.archive.org/web/20020625121616/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page65.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030504195922/members.aol.com/booksence/Page38.html
Chapter 13 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909034625/members.aol.com/booksence/Page39.html
Chapter 14
http://web.archive.org/web/20030504193553/members.aol.com/booksence/Page40.html
Chapter 14 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20020625115039/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page66.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909034718/members.aol.com/booksence/Page41.html
Chapter 15
http://web.archive.org/web/20020626214511/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page69.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20051214144628/members.aol.com/booksence/Page42.html
Chapter 15 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910054142/members.aol.com/booksence/Page43.html
Chapter 16
http://web.archive.org/web/20020626170812/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page71.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030504193207/members.aol.com/booksence/Page44.html
Chapter 16 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20020626171653/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page70.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909033706/members.aol.com/booksence/Page45.html
Chapter 17
http://web.archive.org/web/20020628234736/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page73.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030523011058/members.aol.com/booksence/Page46.html
Chapter 17 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20020629001441/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page72.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909034844/members.aol.com/booksence/Page47.html
Chapter 18
http://web.archive.org/web/20020628232828/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page75.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030524021107/members.aol.com/booksence/Page48.html
Chapter 18 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20020628234247/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page74.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909034908/members.aol.com/booksence/Page49.html
Chapter 19
http://web.archive.org/web/20030525021427/members.aol.com/booksence/Page50.html
Chapter 19 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055032/members.aol.com/booksence/Page51.html
Chapter 20
http://web.archive.org/web/20030526005055/members.aol.com/booksence/Page52.html
Chapter 20 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055211/members.aol.com/booksence/Page53.html
Chapter 21
http://web.archive.org/web/20030526220649/members.aol.com/booksence/Page54.html
Chapter 21 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055255/members.aol.com/booksence/Page75.html
Chapter 22
http://web.archive.org/web/20030528004549/members.aol.com/booksence/Page55.html
Chapter 22 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055315/members.aol.com/booksence/Page56.html
Chapter 23
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055348/members.aol.com/booksence/Page57.html
Chapter 23 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055345/members.aol.com/booksence/Page76.html
Chapter 24
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055235/members.aol.com/booksence/Page58.html
MISSING
Chapter 25
http://web.archive.org/web/20020630182711/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page89.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055342/members.aol.com/booksence/Page60.html
Chapter 25 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20020630182823/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page88.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055523/members.aol.com/booksence/Page77.html
Chapter 26
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055408/members.aol.com/booksence/Page61.html
Chapter 26 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20020630183255/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page90.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055624/members.aol.com/booksence/Page62.html
Chapter 27
http://web.archive.org/web/20020701155610/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page93.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055638/members.aol.com/booksence/Page63.html
Chapter 27 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055651/members.aol.com/booksence/Page78.html
Chapter 28
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055650/members.aol.com/booksence/Page64.html
Chapter 28 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055737/members.aol.com/booksence/Page65.html
Chapter 29
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055732/members.aol.com/booksence/Page66.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20050914123804/members.aol.com/booksence/Page89.html
Chapter 29 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055755/members.aol.com/booksence/Page67.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20050913182751/members.aol.com/booksence/Page90.html
Chapter 30
http://web.archive.org/web/20011026112448/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page217.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055606/members.aol.com/booksence/Page68.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20001017235008/members.aol.com/booksence/Page87.html
Chapter 30 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20011028211452/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page218.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20050914123756/members.aol.com/booksence/Page88.html
Chapter 31
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909033922/members.aol.com/booksence/Page70.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20050914123723/members.aol.com/booksence/Page85.html
Chapter 31 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20011028211453/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page222.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20001215162000/members.aol.com/booksence/Page71.html
Chapter 32
http://web.archive.org/web/20010802180407/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page225.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909033847/members.aol.com/booksence/Page72.html
Chapter 32 cont
http://web.archive.org/web/20011028023210/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page226.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040910055941/members.aol.com/booksence/Page79.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20050914123715/members.aol.com/booksence/Page84.html
Epilogue
http://web.archive.org/web/20011026112639/members.aol.com/ambur36/Page229.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040909034007/members.aol.com/booksence/Page73.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20050914123659/members.aol.com/booksence/Page82.html
The spamfilter word, appropriately enough, is data93, and it does indeed feel that way.
I couldn’t resist the challenge of trying to compile a list of the chapters. I’ve sent a message with all the links in it, and it should turn up at some point, after it’s gone through the spam filter. I’m still missing the second half of Chapter 24.
Here the last fourth of chapter 24 (no luck yet finding the third section out of 4)
http://web.archive.org/web/20010709232706/members.aol.com/whisperslit/Page196.html
How would I download the whole thing?
Wait a sec, there are third sections? I didn’t even notice that amidst my downloading, and I haven’t started on the book yet. If anyone’s missing more odd bits like that, pretty please to be speaking up.
Oh, and Laura above? Fantastic work. Would you mind if I borrow your list of links and stick them on my blog or something like that? Seeing as I have all or most of the files now, I wish there was a better way to share them than linking to the Internet Archive, but I think we’re all dancing madly on the legality line as it is.
It’s a pity Ms. Wilson hasn’t been found or alerted so far. I’m a book collector and hoarder even when I don’t have time to read, and the idea of getting hold of an incomplete one bothers me no end, especially when the author’s probably not profiting by it at all.
PS: Sorry for all of the separate comments I’ve been making! No sooner do I hit Submit than another idea creeps up on me 😛