When Winston Churchill gave the victory sign after England won the Second World War, the sign was quickly adopted by many individuals around the world to show solidarity with a particular group or movement. This photograph, with the palm of the hand facing outward is the proper victory sign. However, I have seen many people on television and in newspapers making what they think is the victory sign, and instead are making a rude gesture. Palm of the hand facing an audience is a victory sign - back of the hand facing the audience is an insult!
Over the past 15 years, I’ve published eight books on travel, local history and historical fiction. Several years ago, after speaking with family members in England, a name popped up that I hadn’t heard in ages. It was the dreaded name of Sawney Bean, a wicked and despicable Scottish folklore character from the 1600s. After researching Sawney and his clan, (the BBC did a documentary and tried to locate his cave) the inklings of a story began forming. The first book of what has become a trilogy, Forbidden describes Catherine MacDonald, who becomes a nun after being left by her mother at a priory. After an unusual encounter with a young woman she undertakes a journey to Scotland where she discovers what really happened to her mother, and the horrifying life she endured just to stay alive.
In the second book, Damaged, Catherine tries valiantly to restore her respectability but is thwarted at every turn. Tainted by her mother’s legacy, she is shunned by the church, and by many of her friends. Unhappy and disillusioned with her life, she decides to embark on a journey to the New World.
The final book, Expectations, will be published in the fall of 2014.
When Winston Churchill gave the victory sign after England won the Second World War, the sign was quickly adopted by many individuals around the world to show solidarity with a particular group or movement. This photograph, with the palm of the hand facing outward is the proper victory sign. However, I have seen many people on television and in newspapers making what they think is the victory sign, and instead are making a rude gesture. Palm of the hand facing an audience is a victory sign - back of the hand facing the audience is an insult!
