European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Books pulitzer novel could be Start of something twins by Roxanne pulitzer random House $13.95 Tom Blackburn Roxanne pulitzer has been called a lot of things. How about a novelist Quot her recently published Book a a twins is her second Book and first novel she wrote it All herself a in longhand. Her first Book was a the prize pulitzer a in which she told her Side of the marriage to Herbert a a Peter pulitzer that ended in the divorce trial the whole world watched. She had help from professional writer Kathy Maxa. There arc stories in the Book Industry of unacknowledged ghosts writing books for famous people but pulitzer says she wrote a a twins by herself working with Villard books editor Peter Gethers. She has a first novelist s usual anxieties. A a in a not pretending to be a great author a she admits. A you do what you have to do to  the suggestion that one thing she could do was write a novel came from her publisher. A i wrote some of the chapters of the prize pulitzer a a she says a and i was offered this contract for a  pulitzer watchers May expect a a twins to be a continuation in fiction of a the prize pulitzer when they Sec that its about twins who Are children of a Messy Palm Beach fla., divorce. The suspicion won t hold up. The pulitzer twins Are boys 12 years old now. The twins in a a twins Are adult women one of them married with twins of her own when the Book begins. The villain a social climbing Wheeler dealer turned out to be so villainous a manipulative Power mad oversexed and incestuous a that the author herself says a if there were a Man like that none of us would be  some scenes in a a twins Are based on her life pulitzer says but not having to aim for factual accuracy she could Deal More frankly with the emotions involved. A a a the prize pulitzer was the truth a she says a but it was the truth with a Wall. I had to protect a part of my life. There were some scenes from the heart i just  do in biography. I think you can go a bit deeper into emotions with  she says her first draft concentrated on the twins. Gethers said it needed More scenes of their earlier lives and their parents to show readers the roots of their problems including the fact they both love the same Man. He and pulitzer worked out the novels final form a chapters that alternate Between past and present. She a not sure it worked. A we went Back and Forth on How to do it a she admits. A a in a still not sure about what we finally decided but in a too close to  a line on the last Page suggests the Story could continue in a sequel but pulitzer says she wants to get some distance before deciding. She wants to do another Book first the synopsis she is working on has a new cast of characters. Roxanne pulitzer is congratulated by writer Michael Musto at a party announcing the release of her novel. And she is not ready to Call writing her career. A a we la see How this one goes a she said cautiously. Cox news service. The Book is available at stars and stripes , dark tale Worth the journey dark Angel by Sally Beauman Bantam books 786 pp., $14.95 Ron Mckinney Sally Beaumann a second novel a dark Angel Quot takes you twisting and stumbling into the dark labyrinth of an English family a Empire. Although the storyline and scattered chronology is puzzling the Book is an engaging character study of How one tormented soul can wreak havoc on a family that feels obliged to accept her As one of its own. The novel outlines the troubled life of Constance Shawcross an internationally famous Interior designer. While much of the Book is seen through the eyes of Young innocent Victoria Cavendish Constance manages to convolute the already confusing events of the past that led to her fall from Grace with the Cave dishes. Constance weaves her Way into the Cavendish clan after her father is mysteriously killed in an Accident on the family estate in England in what Constance is convinced was murder. She grows from a Cool aloof 10-year-old into a captivating teen Ager whose sexual penchant Bor Sally Beauman Der on the perverse. Infidelity a not limited to Constance a is a major part of this 786-Page Saga spanning almost 60 years. Constance ingratiate herself to the quartet of Cavendish Brothers during her teen age years until she marries the very Rich and much older banker Montague Stem. Her character never wavers in this plot a she remains a cunning antagonist who is at her Best pitting people against each other on her behalf. The entire Book is devoted to Victoria trying to understand constances vicious attacks on any form of love aside from platonic. The Beautiful Constance spends her life plotting and scheming against the people closest to her a the four Cavendish Brothers her husband and in later years Victoria. And for what it is Likely that Constance is trying to control the one element a love a that had totally devastated her As a child at a time when she was powerless and naive. As a result she spends the rest of her life making cruel retribution for the pain she had endured herself. In Constance Shawcross Beauman has masterfully created the consummate villain a woman with the destructive Power of cancer in the name of love. While Reading Beaumann a novel can be like putting together a Puzzle with one third of the pieces missing the characters Are interesting to follow and make up for a plot that is As confusing As the main character is schizophrenic. Take in a few pages of a dark Angel Quot and Constance May be alluring enough to take you on an adventure of the heart and soul that will carry you through to the unsurprising Climax of this hefty novel. Even so just getting to know Constance Shawcross makes it Well Worth the venture. Ron Mckinney is a stars and stripes staff writer. The Book will be available at stars and stripes bookstores. Page 8 c sunday september 9.1990