A Season of Spells is the latest novel from Sylvia Izzo Hunter, the author of Lady of Magick. The story follows Sophie and Gray Marshall, who must save the Kingdom of Britain from a tide of dark magic. Despite the author’s previous trilogy, there is still room for expansion in the world. Sophie and her friends dream of rebuilding the college for a new generation of women scholars, but the school’s closure is met with resistance.
In the novel, Sophie tries to spark a connection between Roland and Lucia by enlisting them both in her latest scheme: reopening the mysterious and long-shuttered women’s college at Oxford. The story moves briskly through its twists and turns, with Hunter’s characters and setting feeling fully formed. The story is a compelling blend of fantasy, with the characters and setting feeling fully formed.
A Season of Spells is available in both ebook and print formats, with the Kindle Edition available for offline reading. The novel follows Sophie and Gray Marshall as they return to London, escorting the heiress of Alba to meet the British prince to whom she is betrothed. However, sparks fail to fly between the characters, and the novel ends with a strong conclusion that leaves room for further expansion.
A Season of Spells is published by Ace and has an eTextbook version available for download. The book is available in both digital and eTextbook formats, with the digital and eTextbook ISBNs being 9780698144675.
📹 Unseen Early 80’s Footage of Jimmy Savile Being A Perv
This footage was recorded by the BBC VT department but never meant to be seen by the public. It was part of a annual “Christmas …
Thing is, this was considered pretty normal behavior for men back when this was filmed. The walk-on music is called “The Stripper” (used as an accompaniment to a striptease) and the camera lingers on her backside, so it’s the entire interaction was set up to be between a lecherous man and a hot young woman. Savile was just doing what the audience and crew was expecting him to do. If this was all Savile did, he would have just been one of dozens of male entertainers who often behaved highly inappropriately around young women, in public. After all, you’ve seen this exact type of interaction played for laughs on The Benny Hill Show from that era dozens of times. Assuming this clip had aired after 9pm, nobody would have even phoned in to the BBC to complain. What makes Savile stand out from the crowd back then was the fact that he did this, and much much worse, with young children. FWIW: my sister said she always knew there was something creepy about Savile.
Its easy to look back at this with modern eyes . I was abused in the late 70s and early 80s as a young child here in ireland . There was no support or help for any victim of abuse . If you came forward It just was pushed under the rug . People tried to report jimmy savile both in hospitals and to the BBC . Nothing was done . That wasn’t unusual back then . I’m so so so glad things have changed
I wrote to Jim’ll fix it when I was 8 because I wanted to fly like superman but I never got a response. Years later, my mum passed away when I was 21 and when we were clearing out some stuff we found the letter I’d wrote in between some old photos. I asked my dad why she hadn’t sent it off like she said she had and bearing in mind this was before the allegations came out, my dad said ‘there was no way she’d have let you anywhere near Jimmy Saville’. I was still confused as to what he meant even at 21 but my parents knew the truth while I’d taken it all as old fashioned eccentricities. But everyone knew……everyone.
As an American, I’ve just found out in the past year or so about this horror story of a person. How appalling! It’s bad enough he was a kiddie diddler, but that he also abused handicapped and incapacitated victims is beyond atrocious. And the BBC being in on the coverup is just like, WTF??? I read they banned the Sweet’s song Turn it Down because it said “for God’s sake” in the lyrics. Is it just me or are their priorities just a teensy bit out of whack? Makes you hope there’s a special place in hell for him and his type!
If he popped up on our tv my late Mother would turn it off. She told me the reason why when I was about 10 (82/83) She told me how she & her friend used to pass his house on the way to work in & he was always out in the garden wearing tiny shorts. He often made lewd comments but after a few times he got a mouthful back. Turns out it was a regular habit of his & it didn’t matter how young the women were. He was reported numerous times for doing it & even after a neighbour’s schoolgirl daughter came home in tears, no action was ever taken. This took place around the late 60s…
It’s funny how those who grew up with this guy on their TV’s, found this guy creepy, while adults didn’t see, or suspect a f*cking thing. And, that’s because children are of pure and have non-perverted thoughts, while most adults have grown-up thoughts, so it’s hard for them to see past things they might consider harmless “adulting” or comedy. This is why parents need to always listen to their kids. Children see things that adults will always miss.
I came across Saville in the 90s after he’d been exposed as a weirdo. He’d been shoved off mainstream media and ended his days on pub crawls around Scarborough. I watched him from a distance and he’d try to get free drinks off anyone who recognised him. And walking back to my hotel there he was again, peering over the railings above a steep cliff smoking a cigar. Just wish I’d pushed him over.
My younger sister and I were quite familiar with his kind when we were kids (they seemed generally to be here, there and everywhere back in those wild and free times — a few of them frequented our parents’ boozy parties). So whenever we saw Jimmy on TOTP etc, we’d look at each other and nod our secret nod: Yep, he was definitely ONE OF THEM. When, many years later, the world became shocked at the revelation, we just shrugged and thought, well come on, who didn’t really know about this?
He got away with all sorts of shit for decades then checked out just a few years before it all came to light. In the meantime, he hid in plain sight with moments like this that masqueraded as humour but in fact, very much fed his perversion. He must have laughed so much at how easy it was for him to con the world and pull this off. Cunning to the end, right down to the timing of his very timely departure. He certainly played a fucking blinder.
I don’t like Jimmy Savile and do think he’s disgusting… but in this clip the girl came strutting out in a skimpy outfit with a huge smirk on her face. I think it’s safe to say she knew what this was and put her self in this situation anyway. I have zero sympathy for women who do this and then cry abuse later for the attention.
Thing is as a kid, I could tell that ‘there was nothing quite right about him’ although I never guessed back then what the nefarious things he was up to. I could tell on Jim’ll Fix It that he just couldn’t relate to people in a proper and decent manner even as a TV host ‘putting on an act; something was kind of ‘missing’ or ‘hidden’ – he was more concerned at making funny jibes during conversations to make himself look funny rather than actually talking TO the kids or their parents on the show but he did it like a creepy old uncle. Anyhow I found Jim’ll Fix It to be boring and awkward and I often quickly switched websites to look for something else to watch. Rolf Harris was also one far more difficult to detect, I spotted nothing untoward with him.
The thing is this kind of behaviour was deeply entrenched in the time period. The fact that the cameraman pans down to include the legs and short skirt of the woman as she bends over just shows that – it was borderline normal. Everything was normalised, so much that despicable behaviour could be fairly easily hidden in plain sight and written off as banter.
While I live in Ireland I never thought too much about saville – watched a few Jim ill fix it episodes but too childish for me – for me Hawaii Five O and Kojak was where it was at but I did often wonder at why he wore such revealing garments at various events which were just totally inappropriate and looked really gaudy. But as said below look at Benny Hill programmes / Are you being served etc. Sexist or homophobic jokes were not objected to back then but I had no idea Saville was a sex offender just as I suspect most people did not know. We had the same problem over here with catholic priests and the clergy management and police protecting them and ignoring complaints.
She’s like a blonde version of a high school teacher I recall as a kid who would rock up to teach Australian history, geography or social studies or some such thing nobody paid any attention to. She would then turn around, go to the blackboard to draw some history time line and reach up so her mini skirt rode even higher, to reveal her stocking tops and suspenders and all the boys would suddenly get very interested, as the girls all wondered how they could get the sort of attention she got and what she had that they lacked…. Then she’d turn and face the class I her skinny knitted tight fitted sleeveless polo neck top fashionable back then (but not for modest, decent women…) and say “So, did you all get that and why we are so priveleged as Australians to live in such a great free country with there is plenty for all to share…”. Boys would put their hand up and ask her to please explain it again, the time line bit….She would then turn around to reach up to her time line diagram, higher up the blackboard than it needed to be, necessitating her stretching (for added sexual appeal effect ???) and repeat the whole stocking tops and suspenders reveal show as her mini skirt rode up. The bell ringing to signal end of her lesson was a worry for the boys who kept clutching the crotches, as if hiding something in that area…. The girls all wondered why the boys were behaving so queer. Then the headmaster strode by, full of power authority. They all feared and dreaded him. He noticed some odd behaviour.
She stood her ground for so long but man he was so brazen, he just awkwardly waited and waited until she finally gave in. It was all about control and power for him. Seen him do this kinda thing in so many clips. Everyone knew he was a pervert even back then. That’s why she didn’t want to do it initially.
Agree with Chris Bloodknot. Agree he was maybe odd, but criminal and odd are two different things. I saw a picture of Saville with these funny glasses on. It looked odd, but maybe that had to with his looks. He was not the type Roger Moore type of look. Thankss for the post. The wokes want to take over. The articles stated he inquired in his leisure time in the local morgues about recently deceased people and even trespassed to … have sexual encounters with corpses. He also inquired at hospitals about new patients, but preferably lethally ill children to molest them at night. And then next day, as if nothing happened he dressed for Top of the Pops, right? Oh boy. Who falls for this? Most people. That’s why I suggest a new article, but I am of course just jesting, in which Saville was actually also a satanist. He sacrificed children and ate their hearts all in his basement. Next day, he took a shower dressed up and was ready to go to work. There will be people, who will believe it. And if one tells them that’s rubbish they accuse you of protecting pedophiles and one is againt women etc. With so many wokes around the UK is saddly, finished.
He’s not being a perv at all – she’s very attractive, and 99% of normal men would agree. It’s pathetic how all these commenters are suddenly wise after the event – ooh yes, my nan always said he was a perv – FFS, these idiots so anxious to dissociate themselves from him make me puke, and I can’t help wondering whether they’re trying to deny something dark in their own soul …
A former Broadmoor nurse told investigators: “Savile was saying that they used to put bodies together, male and female, and he also said that they took photographs and that he got involved in some of the photographs … I was a little bit upset because I had no concept, in those days, of necrophilia”
It was a different world back then…and why dress a female assistant in attire that is a bit too revealing/provocative…plus a camera viewing the back of her thighs? (no doubt hoping for an “upskirt” moment?). Of course this was not broadcast and is an out-take for the late 70s Christmas tapes produced by VT editors for staff who worked for the BBC and ITV (who made their own tapes, independent of each other). Ultimately, other genuine (and staged) out-takes would then feature on shows like “It’ll be alright on the night” and this encouraged the public to make their own tapes for shows like “You’ve been framed”. One other thing: JS “got away” with a lot, as he was frequently taking part in charity events, raising money for worthy causes (such as Stoke Mandeville and Leeds General Infirmary hospitals) . This made for “good TV” (in the view of the BBC management) and hence JS was able to hide his evil side 🙁 He was also single all his life and he always played lip service to his mother who he called the “Duchess”.
Saville was able to be blatant here because it fitted in with a million other things that were on TV at the time.The 70s and 80s were very much the era of the dirty old man, whether in comedy (through the likes of Sid James and Benny Hill), or in reality. Look at how young teenage girls like Samantha Fox were treated on page 3. As late as 1994, the Sunday Sport ran a “countdown” showing a 15 year old girl taking items of clothing off so they could show her topless at 16. The law wasn’t changed until years later. The phrase “if there’s grass on the wicket, let’s play cricket” I’m afraid was all too common back then. The bottom line is that people were all too willing to turn a blind eye back then. If the kids got abused it was their fault for being stupid or “slack”.
You couldn’t draw a more stereotypical perv than Savile – always struck me as an utter creep and how he got away with his behaviour for as long as he did is an appalling reflection on his employers. On a lighter note the girl in the article looks like Alison Bell, one of Benny Hill’s angels, and she was a stunner
Euw. Euw Euw Euw. And I SO wanted to be on Jim’ll Fix It as a kid in the 70s though but because he could fix it for me To drive a train not to meet the weirdo. I reckon I had a lucky escape. I did want to write in and you wonder if one’s parents non-reaction did suggest an unspoken “ermm no. Don’t go there”.
The one good thing about this predator if, there were any was how it raised the awareness and thereafter helped the victims.. I was abused by 9 elders, i was aged 14 and obviously it changed my life for ever.. I came out about my year long physical, mental and sexual abuse years before the Saville story hit the headlines and i’ve noticed how it’s accepted more so now, less shame etc.. Every finger and toe i have were each broken at least once along with burns by branding and of course the sexual abuse which i will spare you.. The only good to emerge from my experiences is that now i make a real effort to help others in whatever way i can.. Sadly though, the memories never seem to fade … NOODLES
In 1975 the BBC gave paedophile, rapist and necrophile Jimmy Savile his own TV series in which he was a magical, Father Christmas figure, making kiddies (and some adults) dreams come true. Needless to say, the format was his idea. What did he do to deserve this privileged role? He wasn’t liked by children – or anyone else. Far from being a national treasure, he was a national embarrassment. We’ve since learned Savile engineered some of the ‘Fixes’ on that show to access victims.
There is a “national treasure” who has written shamelessly and very publicly about his attraction to little boys’ bottoms and continues to appear on our screens. Presumably we’ll get the same disingenuous comments from the Beeb et al should he eventually be incarcerated. Staggering. Absolutely staggering.
What gets me. Everyone got so very angry and still are to a point about Saville and others. Yet none of those against the BBC never made a stand by boycotting the BBC. They still paid their Television licences and still watched the BBC programmes. I do not watch television. Nor do I listen to radio. I do not watch the news either. As most of the news is scaremongers lies that nearly all believe and is so depressing too.
I remember seeing a film of Jimmy holding a hand puppet of a bird? There was a group of young 12-13 year olds playing musical instruments? Jimmy walked into the room with the puppet and was smiling, he then went behind one girl and I swear he began groping her with the puppet. She nervously smiled but kept playing. Even as a kid, I knew there was something bizarre/weird about it.
They rewarded this guys “charitable work” by LITERALLY giving him keys to the hospital that allowed him and his grubby mates access to the wards 24/7. Wards that were full of vulnerable kids often with learning disabilities or physical handicaps There was a time in the UK in the 1970’s when the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) received official tax-payer funding for their “research” Sad but true
About 1975 or so, I was perusal Saturday evening TV waiting for Dr. Who (that was, to my mind about the only thing worth perusal, the rest being safe dull family TV of the generally middle-class tripe type, including Jimmy Savile’s Jim’ll Fix it!) and Savile was there on the screen plugging a new show or something. He had a barely teenage girl pressed onto his chest while a hand, with a huge bling ring, massaged her bare upper arm, pressing it hard, while he looked into the camera with those dead shark-like predatory unblinking eyes. I said, “he’s a dirty old man”, my Mum simply said “yes”. Normally she would have told me to be quiet or I didn’t know what the adult world was about, that she didn’t made me realise I had fallen on something that I had recognised as ‘odd’ and ‘disturbing’. From that point on I sort of knew he was ‘up to something’ unsavoury. I thought he was a simple groper; it turned out that he was far worse, a rapist, paedophile and necrophiliac, and possibly even a murderer!
British tv was pervy back in the 70’s, uk politicians sexually abusing kids in care, getting away with it because of their wealth, they control the courts, Jimmy saville protected by the police, the monarchy, saville friends with Margaret Thatcher, uk establishment corrupt and filthy even today, BBC vile aswell. Poor British kids the hell they went through, and are still going through, justice for melanie shaw from Nottingham, look how Nottingham council and police are trying to silence her,
why wasn’t he dealt with in those days? why didn’t people come forward? cos he made sure he knew enough about others to take them down if they dared stepping on his toes. Don’t forget that in those days, for example, (and despite homosexuality becoming legal), the acceptance of homosexuality was still negligible, (as can still be seen today to a certain extent). JS would have acquainted himself with all the intricacies of the private lives of his “mates”! He knew their vices and knew how he could damage them and they knew it too! So they keep stumm and trivialise his activities by thinking everyone is doing whatever was going on knowingly and completely at free will! He would have been mixing with all sorts from politicians, lawyers, GPs, members of the police force, bankers, celebrities and royalty. The knowledge he had was his personal insurance policy!
Growing up I assumed he was some kind of weirdo but only to the extent like I thought the likes of Kenneth Williams or Cliff Richard were, in that I sensed they couldn’t make relationships…he often joked and made innuendos about girls/ladies etc but you never ever saw him with a girlfriend or wife…for years I wrongly assumed him to be a closet virgin