I'm very proud and excited that Take Me has won second place in the public vote for The Age of Eric Contest! I was out of town with limited internet access when I found out, and couldn't wait to get home to write this and say thank you so much to all who read, reviewed and voted for this story.
Congratulations to the other winners as well as to all who entered. This is a very interesting collection of stories. The historical research involved added a challenge to the writing, but also made for some fascinating reading. Thank you to the hosts and judges for their time and hard work as well as to all the writers who entered the contest.
I loved writing Take Me. I knew that Eric would fit perfectly into this particular time and place. If the subject matter interests you as much as it does me, you should read some of the great books written about the Kenyan colonists of this era. A good place to start is to Google Happy Valley Set or Happy Valley murder. You can also Google Josslyn Hay, Idina Sackville, or Alice de Janze—some of the real inhabitants of Happy Valley.
The decadent lifestyle in Happy Valley resulted in quite a few early deaths due to overdoses, suicides and jealousy-fueled shootings. The most famous death was the murder of Josslyn Hay, the Earl of Erroll, in 1941. It is still unsolved and the subject of a book and film called White Mischief as well as a BBC television production called The Happy Valley.
I hope you enjoy learning about this fascinating group of people as much as I did.
Always yours,
Suki59
