FIELDS OF GRACE  bittersweet romance set in 30s London's glittering theatreland http://bit.ly/WWFOG 

 CATCH THE MOON, MARY the story of a musical genius who attracts the attention of a desperate fallen angel http://amazon.com/dp/1700193538

Fields of Grace
PaulH

4.0 out of 5 stars  A tale of romance, London pre-war Theatre, Paris and Sydney

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2019

Wendy Waters returns to writing from the brilliant “Catch the Moon, Mary” to her second novel “Fields of Grace”.
“Fields of Grace” is a romantic story unfolding over four generations from before the second world war. It travels from Devon to London to Paris to Berlin and to Sydney.

There is a continuing maturity to the writing and the dialogue in this book and is a tribute to the author’s love of the theatre, the places featured in this tale and to her characters.

I could never be described as of a romantic disposition, but I enjoyed the story of a profound and deep love between the two main characters, infused as it was by a remarkable time in the history of London theatre and of the time leading up to the start of the war. Some well-known and less well-known actual characters are woven into the tale - a difficult, and I think a courageous thing to do in a novel - believable and well-handled by the author.

I read this in two sittings, broken only by the need to read another book for a book club, and thoroughly recommend it.

I look forward to the next tale from Ms Waters.

What a talent! The Antipodean Susskind! Superbly crafted prose in which every single word is 'in its proper place' - to quote Mary Granger, Catch The Moon, Mary's unlikely heroine. Wendy Waters' prose is breath-taking and shines like a Bulgari bracelet, each sentence perfectly merging into the next. Rarely has a first novel been so perfect in its intent, its spirit and its craft. One reads Mary Granger's adventures with the criminal yet well intended Angel Gabriel with a sense of intellectual jubilation. It is thrilling, full of suspense, entertaining, witty, and at times roaringly funny. - Isabelle Vallin-Thorpe, former speechwriter to the Hon Gareth Evans, Australia's former minister for Foreign Affairs Original and scintillating, tantalising and thought-provoking. Is the angel real? You bet he is! A novel about the transforming powers of music and beauty. Wendy Waters' words shimmer off the page. - Hazel Phillips OAM, Gold Logie Winner, author of Black River, Bright Star Weaves a singular spell, mesmerising the reader on several levels like a fugue. Wendy Waters and her characters believe deeply in the transformative power of music which pours lyrically from her sentences. - Joshua Rosenblum, composer, conductor, music critic A rare and ingenious glimpse into the real and the surreal. Waters interfaces these twin realities with ease and dexterity...A brave and unique journey. - Gerry Taylor-Wood, international lecturer on Esoteric Sciences and author of The Journey to a Sacred Well Wendy Waters writes with an angel's quill. - Anthony O'Neill, author of Scheherazade, The Lamplighter, Empire of Eternity A consummate tale of magical realism... richly satisfying and redemptive. - Scott Hastie, writer & poet, author of Meditations and Angel Voices A scintillating tale of the devastating choice between art and love. - Anne Eston, writer, director and filmmaker, Los Angeles A beguiling fantasy, original and unexpected, with glorious prose that drips like honey. - Donald Macdonald, writer and director of Letter to Larry and Caravan An incredible insight into the fragile nature of humanity and angels... a dark and disturbing world leading to a beautiful clearing where love, fragility and spirituality are revealed in crystal clarity. Sentences of pure gold take us on a magical journey. - Nigel Lewis, lighting designer Beautifully haunting, achingly lovely.​ ​Poetic simplicity within the prose and ​a story​ ​which unfolds with so much tenderness and grace.​ - Simon Egerton, theatre director​, writer and ​composer/MD Waters composes an extraordinary tale that intertwines a Faustian pact between a musical child-prodigy and a beguiling angel with the themes of family, love, and the transcendent powers of art. Waters' style is lyrical, captivating, and rich, flowing melodiously through the original structure that comprises musical compositions and rhythms rather than conventional chapters. continue reading review → - Marija Spirkovska, MSc graduate of the University of Edinburgh