Blog Tour Q&A with Tea Cooper, Author of The Woman in the Green Dress

Please join me in welcoming Tea Cooper to Let Them Read Books! I was thrilled to have the the chance to ask Tea a few questions about her newest release, The Woman in the Green Dress, and where she finds the inspiration for her novels. Read on and enter to win a paperback copy of The Woman in the Green Dress!

A cursed opal, a gnarled family tree, and a sinister woman in a green dress emerge in the aftermath of World War I.

After a whirlwind romance, London teashop waitress Fleur Richards can’t wait for her new husband, Hugh, to return from the Great War. But when word of his death arrives on Armistice Day, Fleur learns he has left her a sizable family fortune. Refusing to accept the inheritance, she heads to his beloved home country of Australia in search of the relatives who deserve it more.

In spite of her reluctance, she soon finds herself the sole owner of a remote farm and a dilapidated curio shop full of long-forgotten artifacts, remarkable preserved creatures, and a mystery that began more than sixty-five years ago. With the help of Kip, a repatriated soldier dealing with the sobering aftereffects of war, Fleur finds herself unable to resist pulling on the threads of the past. What she finds is a shocking story surrounding an opal and a woman in a green dress. . . a story that, nevertheless, offers hope and healing for the future.

This romantic mystery from award-winning Australian novelist Tea Cooper will keep readers guessing until the astonishing conclusion.

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | INDIEBOUND | KOBO

Hi Tea! Thank you so much for visiting Let Them Read Books!

Thank you so much for the invitation. It’s great to be here!

What inspired you to write The Woman in the Green Dress?

Without a doubt a book that was given to me by the local historian: A translation of Baron Charles von Hügel’s New Holland Journal, written during his visit to Australia from Austria between November 1833—October 1834. One section of it is devoted entirely to the Hunter Valley, the area where I live and set my stories. It was amazing to read his observations at the time. A line in the introduction of von Hügel’s journal sparked The Woman in the Green Dress. It said von Hügel’s journal had been transcribed by an amanuensis, a ghost writer. In a flight of fancy I dreamt up this character, Stefan von Richter, and the story began.

Did you get to go anywhere fun in the course of your research?

All of my books are set in the Hunter Valley of NSW, in Australia, an area bound by the Hunter, Hawkesbury and MacDonald rivers, and I spent a lot of time wandering the paths von Hügel took. Some you can drive today; others required a lot of hiking. I took several boat trips rediscovering the Hawkesbury River and the small riverside villages mentioned in the story and camped at Mogo Creek, where Della’s story begins. And of course I wandered the streets of Sydney. Many of the original buildings are still standing, but sadly Tost & Rohu’s shop on which I based The Curio Shop of Wonders is no more.

Did you learn anything in your research that surprised you?

I’ve been fascinated for some time by the prominent part women played in Sydney business in the nineteenth century. Jane Catharine Tost and, her daughter, Ada Jane Rohu, are two such women. They owned the taxidermy shop Tost & Rohu at 605 George Street, Sydney. Their customers included museums and scientific collectors as well as middle-class householders shopping for interior decor and fashion items. They won many awards for their work at International Exhibitions in London, Paris and New York.  Known as ‘the queerest shop in Australia’, their business supplied the Australian Museum with many important specimens and boasted ‘the largest collection of genuine Native Implements’.

Blog Tour Excerpt: Beyond the Moon by Catherine Taylor

BEYOND THE MOON BY CATHERINE TAYLOR
Publication Date: June 25, 2019
The Cameo Press Ltd
eBook & Paperback; 496 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction/Time Travel




Outlander meets Birdsong is this haunting debut timeslip novel, where a strange twist of fate connects a British soldier fighting in the First World War and a young woman living in modern-day England a century later.

*Shortlisted for the Eharmony/Orion Write Your Own Love Story Prize 2018/19

In 1916 1st Lieutenant Robert Lovett is a patient at Coldbrook Hall military hospital in Sussex, England. A gifted artist, he’s been wounded fighting in the Great War. Shell shocked and suffering from hysterical blindness he can no longer see his own face, let alone paint, and life seems increasingly hopeless.

A century later in 2017, medical student Louisa Casson has just lost her beloved grandmother – her only family. Heartbroken, she drowns her sorrows in alcohol on the South Downs cliffs – only to fall accidentally part-way down. Doctors fear she may have attempted suicide, and Louisa finds herself involuntarily admitted to Coldbrook Hall – now a psychiatric hospital, an unfriendly and chaotic place.

Then one day, while secretly exploring the old Victorian hospital’s ruined, abandoned wing, Louisa hears a voice calling for help, and stumbles across a dark, old-fashioned hospital room. Inside, lying on the floor, is a mysterious, sightless young man, who tells her he was hurt at the Battle of the Somme, a WW1 battle a century ago. And that his name is Lieutenant Robert Lovett…

Two people, two battles: one against the invading Germans on the battlefields of 1916 France, the other against a substandard, uncaring mental health facility in modern-day England. Two journeys begun a century apart, but somehow destined to coincide – and become one desperate struggle to be together.

Part WW1 historical fiction, part timeslip love story – and at the same time a meditation on the themes of war, mental illness, identity and art – Beyond The Moon sweeps the reader on an unforgettable journey through time. An intelligent read, perfect for book clubs.

For fans of Diana Gabaldon, Amy Harmon, Beatriz Williams, Kate Quinn, Kristin Hannah, Kate Morton, Susanna Kearsley and Paullina Simons.

AMAZON | INDIEBOUND

Praise:

“A poignant and stirring love story… Taylor’s accomplished, genre-bending book succeeds as a WW1 historical novel and a beguiling, time travel romance… The sharply written narrative deftly moves back and forth between the past and present.” — Kirkus Reviews

“A time travel romance, yet so much more than that. It is also an unflinching portrait of the horrors of war, and a look at the torturous extremes a human soul can endure. It is a sonnet to the transformative power of love, even as it is also a criticism of the futility and pointless destructiveness of war.” — Shaylin Gandhi, author of By The Light of Embers

Excerpt:

Coldbrook Hall Military Hospital, Sussex, England, August 1916

Footsteps, then a rap at the door. Lying in bed, Robert jumped. Was there really someone there or was he dreaming? He could barely tell any more if he was asleep or awake.

     There was a painful swell of yellow-grey light, and he felt his pupils contract. Ah, so he was definitely awake then. The light receded as the door closed behind whoever had come in. A doctor, by the sound of the brisk footfall and confident knock.

     ‘Good evening, Lieutenant,’ a man said. ‘How are we this evening?’

     ‘Much the same, sir. I’m sorry, who is this? I’m not awfully good at telling voices apart.’

     ‘It’s Major Hughes, the neurologist. You’ll find it remarkable how your other senses learn to compensate over time. Some sightless people even come to know when an object is close by, through some extraordinary sixth sense they develop. But of course, we hope things will improve for you before it comes to anything like that.’

     More footsteps – and another stab of pain as light spilled into his head again. He screwed his eyes shut. A nurse bade him good evening. He could hear the hiss of the gas lamp on the landing outside. He said, ‘Could you push the door to, please? I find the light painful.’

     ‘Come now, Mr Lovett, you must get used to the light again eventually,’ the doctor said. ‘How do you expect to regain your sight lying here in the dark? Don’t you want to recover?’

     ‘More than anything,’ Robert responded fiercely. ‘It’s the only thing I want, to get better and return to France, to my men.’

Spotlight: Unshelled: A Tale of the Nutcracker by M.J. Neary

Unshelled: A Tale of the Nutcracker

by M.J. Neary

April 6, 2019

Crossroad Press

Historical Fiction

eBook; 94 pages

West Germany, 1915.

Marie Stahl, a stoic combat nurse in her late twenties, unhindered by her own ailments, converts her family countryside estate into a convalescent home for soldiers slapped with the controversial diagnosis "shell shock". Her only helpers are two taciturn factory girls of Slavic descent. Marie's altruistic endeavor brings on the wrath of her embittered brother Fritz, a Sergeant-Major in the Germany army. Having lost a foot in the trenches, he considers these men traitors, deserving of execution, not sympathy. The one he detests most is Christoph Ahrens, an engineering student nicknamed "Nutcracker" for his unusually strong jaw.

Despite her morose disposition, Marie finds herself intrigued by the haunted youngster, who turns out to be a pupil of her godfather, Dr. Drosselmeyer, a physics lecturer at the University of Cologne and a military technology pioneer. As Marie and Christoph grow closer, he confides in her about his nightmares. The most horrifying images are not of his experiences in the trenches but of Germany's future—the old country they have been proud to serve will not exist twenty years later. As a woman of science, Marie rejects the notion of clairvoyance, although a part of her cannot help but wonder if there is some truth to his predictions.

In the meantime, the atmosphere at the convalescent home grows more hostile as the patients turn on each other and Marie begins to question her altruism.

Set against the violence and paranoia of the Great War, Unshelled is a gritty, sinister retelling of the Christmas classic.

Readers call it "a highly compelling read" and "a unique interpretation of the classic."

Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble  ~  Goodreads

About the Author:

A self-centered, only child of classical musicians, Marina Julia Neary spent her early years in Eastern Europe and came to the US at the age of thirteen. Her literary career revolves around depicting military and social disasters, from the Charge of the Light Brigade, to the Irish Famine, to the Easter Rising in Dublin, to the nuclear explosion in Chernobyl some thirty miles away from her home town. Notorious for her abrasive personality and politically incorrect views that make her a persona non grata in most polite circles, Neary explores human suffering through the prism of dark humor, believing that tragedy and comedy go hand in hand.

Blog Tour Guest Post: Royal Beauty Bright by Ryan Byrnes

Please join me in welcoming Ryan Byrnes to Let Them Read Books! Ryan is touring the blogosphere with his debut historical novel, Royal Beauty Bright. Ryan wrote this book in high school (!!!), and he's here today with a guest post about the inspiration for his novel, the Christmas truce of 1914. Read on and enter to win a copy of Royal Beauty Bright! And if you'd like to buy a copy, Ryan is donating all proceeds to the Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program. How cool is that?

After an autistic man ends up in the trenches of World War I, a nun-turned-journalist dances with treason to care for him, and a candy store clerk posing as Santa Claus risks everything to bring him home.

While in France, Luther meets Ethyl, an aspiring journalist who tries to expose his plight. As Christmas approaches, Luther sinks into despair and Ethyl is threatened with punishment.

Back home, Luther’s brother Jim enlists with the British Army Postal Service. His job, delivering sacks of Christmas gifts to the frontline soldiers, is a cover for his plan to rescue Luther. The plan is made even more difficult by three refugee girls convinced that Jim, with his bag of gifts, is Santa Claus.

Jim and Ethyl finally cross paths with Luther on Christmas Day, 1914, when they witness one of the most uplifting spectacles of nonviolence in history, when thousands of soldiers broke orders and refused to fire on each other during the Christmas Truce of 1914.

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

Peace on Earth (at least for the Holidays)

By Ryan Byrnes

105 Christmases ago, during one of the most destructive wars in history, the most dangerous thing a person could say was, “Sorry, General, we just don’t feel like fighting anymore.”

I find it ironic that hundreds of novels describe the fighting of WWI, yet only a few show us the ever-hopeful non-violence of WWI. It was a war where a soldier once sprinted into an enemy trench just to gift them a chocolate cake; it was a war where enemy soldiers disobeyed direct orders just to play soccer together; it was a war where opposing armies dropped their weapons for a month-long Christmas party.

So how come nobody tells these stories?

Non-violence is even more subversive, and yes, more dangerous, than the comforting narrative of good versus bad. Given the state of our world, we need these hopeful stories more than ever.
Hi. I’m the author, Ryan Byrnes, and I wrote this novel in high school. That’s me doing some research.

I was deeply moved to pick up a pen when I researched the hidden stories of WWI, realizing how much they apply to us in the 21st century. I read about the uncomfortably familiar refugee crisis of 1914, where thousands of families in Belgium fled the German soldiers, walking across entire countries while trying to create a sense of normalcy for their children, celebrating Christmas in tents in the French countryside. I read about candy-makers all over England banding together to send chocolates as holiday gifts to the troops because candy was the only trade they knew. I read about children who sold their Christmas tree ornaments as scrap metal to help the family. I read about a princess who sent two million brass boxes as Christmas presents to the troops. Luckily, I was able to obtain one of those brass boxes during my research. The 105-year-old artifact is pictured below.

Guest Post: Where the Wild Cherries Grow by Laura Madeleine

Please join me in welcoming Laura Madeleine to Let Them Read Books! I'm thrilled to have Laura here today celebrating the hardcover release of Where the Wild Cherries Grow with a guest post about her inspiration for this novel of war, romance, and good food! Read on and enter to win a copy!

"I closed my eyes as I tried to pick apart every flavour, because nothing had ever tasted so good before. It was like tasting for the first time. Like discovering colour . . ."

In 1919, the cold sweep of the Norfolk fens only holds for Emeline Vane memories of her family, all killed in the war. Whispers in the village say she’s lost her mind as well as her family - and in a moment's madness she boards a train to France and runs from it all.

She keeps running until she reaches a tiny fishing village so far from home it might as well be the end of the world. Transfixed by the endless Mediterranean, Emeline is taken in by Maman and her nineteen-year-old son, and there she is offered a glimpse of a life so different to the one she used to know: golden-green olive oil drizzled over roasted tomatoes, mouth-wateringly smoky red spices, and hot, caramel sweetness.

But it's not just the intense, rich flavours that draw her to the village, and soon a forbidden love affair begins. One that is threatened by the whispers from home that blow in on the winds from the mountains . . .

How I Began to Write Where the Wild Cherries Grow

by Laura Madeleine

The decision to set Where the Wild Cherries Grow in French Catalonia came one day when I was idly looking over a map of France. After scanning the entire French-Italian region, I looked down towards the Pyrénées-Orientales and the French-Spanish border; an area I knew next to nothing about. There, I saw a tiny town. Cerbère.

The name immediately caught my attention, conjuring images of Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to the underworld in Greek mythology. As it turns out, the two names aren’t really related, but I loved the idea of a place that was also a concept, a physical destination and a gateway to another life.

The more I researched Cerbère, the more fascinated I became, and I knew I had to visit. But it was winter – the middle of January – and so I took off to a cottage in the wilds of Pembrokeshire, where I went for long, freezing walks over the moors and tried to imagine Emeline’s life in February 1919, on the wide, desolate marshes of East Anglia.

The fact that 2014 had marked the centenary of the start of World War 1 brought that period of history into sharper relief for me. Not the stiff-upper-lip, Rule Britannia of it all, or even necessarily the horror of the trenches. Rather, it made me think about the battles fought emotionally and internally by the people left behind, in parlours, kitchens and bedrooms all across Europe.

The character of Bill was a different story. From the moment I put pen to paper to write the first 1969 chapter, he burst into being and legged it off into the book. The fact he arrived so fully formed is because – essentially – he is my father. My dad was also a working class lad who struggled to find his place, before eventually setting off on his own, big adventure…

Blog Tour Review: Last Christmas in Paris by Heather Webb and Hazel Gaynor

From the Back Cover:

New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor has joined with Heather Webb to create this unforgettably romantic novel of the Great War.

August 1914. England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris.

But as history tells us, it all happened so differently…

Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how?—and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Through their letters, Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene?

Christmas 1968. With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished packet of letters in hand—determined to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one final letter is waiting for him…

My Thoughts:

As soon as I saw this book, I knew I was going to read it. Heather Webb and Hazel Gaynor are both terrific writers, and the timing was perfect as I've been on a World War I kick lately. However, it somehow escaped my notice that this is a book composed almost entirely of correspondence. I tend to stay away from epistolary novels, but I knew if any two writers could change my mind, it would be these two. (Check out my reviews of Becoming Josephine, Fall of Poppies, and The Cottingley Secret.)

I won't go much into plot because the blurb already does a good job of letting you know what the story is about, and I want to avoid spoilers. At its heart, it is a love story between two childhood friends who discover via their years of wartime correspondence that they have a deeper connection, but is it true love or a product of their circumstances?

I find myself wondering if real, honest love can flourish in times of war, or if we are all just grasping desperately to the slightest suggestion of it, like drowning men clinging to life.

This is not only a story about love, but a story of women emerging from pampered, sheltered lives to take positions that make a difference. Both Evie and her friend Alice, frustrated and feeling helpless as they learn of the ongoing devastation of war from afar, step out of their comfort zones and into roles traditionally held by men, opening their eyes to the realities of war and discovering their own inner strength in the process.

Blog Tour Review: The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

From the Back Cover:

The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home turns the clock back one hundred years to a time when two young girls from Cottingley, Yorkshire, convinced the world that they had done the impossible and photographed fairies in their garden. Now, in her newest novel, international bestseller Hazel Gaynor reimagines their story.

1917… It was inexplicable, impossible, but it had to be true—didn’t it? When two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley, England, claim to have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden, their parents are astonished. But when one of the great novelists of the time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, becomes convinced of the photographs’ authenticity, the girls become a national sensation, their discovery offering hope to those longing for something to believe in amid a world ravaged by war. Frances and Elsie will hide their secret for many decades. But Frances longs for the truth to be told.

One hundred years later… When Olivia Kavanagh finds an old manuscript in her late grandfather’s bookshop she becomes fascinated by the story it tells of two young girls who mystified the world. But it is the discovery of an old photograph that leads her to realize how the fairy girls’ lives intertwine with hers, connecting past to present, and blurring her understanding of what is real and what is imagined. As she begins to understand why a nation once believed in fairies, can Olivia find a way to believe in herself?

My Thoughts:

I had never heard of the Cottingley Fairies before I saw the description of this book, and after being blown away by Hazel Gaynor's short story "Hush" in one of my top reads of 2016, Fall of Poppies, I knew I wanted to read this book. Based on the true story of cousins Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright, and further infused with authenticity by the author's time spent with Frances's daughter, The Cottingley Secret is a hauntingly beautiful tale of childhood, friendship, magic, and finding the courage to start one's life over.

Dual timelines have become a favorite storytelling structure for me. I love how they connect events of the past to the present and show us how history still echoes through time, whether on a smaller scale for an individual or a family or on the broader scale of humanity as a whole. The Cottingley Secret moves back and forth between World War I and the years that followed and the present day, illuminating how two girls, with their claims of seeing fairies in England, gave hope to a country reeling from the horrors of war and the deaths of so many men, and whose story inspires Olivia Kavanagh, a woman in the 21st century, to rediscover who she is and seize the reins of her life's journey, in the process uncovering her own connection to the Cottingley Fairies.

Hazel Gaynor is receiving many accolades for her writing, and I can see why. Her prose is just gorgeous. Her descriptions lush and pensive and transporting. Her portrayal of human nature emotional and sympathetic. I was in tears throughout the final chapter. There were a few sections of the story that dragged a bit for me, and I would have liked a firmer resolution to Olivia's romantic subplot, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The quieter pacing and character-driven plot may not appeal to all readers, but for those who appreciate a beautifully written story that highlights a lesser-known chapter in history while providing an in-depth study of the human experience, The Cottingley Secret is a must-read.

My Rating:  4.5 Stars out of 5

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Cottingley Secret is on a blog tour!

View the tour schedule ~ Add it to your shelves on Goodreads

Visit Hazel Gaynor's website

Blog Tour Guest Post: The Silent Land by David Dunham

Please join me in welcoming David Dunham to Let Them Read Books! David is touring the blogosphere with his debut historical fiction novel, The Silent Land, and he's here today with a guest post about his methods for writing this story of love and grief in World War I England. Read on and check out the other stops on the tour!

Rebecca Lawrence reached a count of sixty in her head and slid her finger into the back pages of her mother’s diary. Mistaking the diary for a book granted her innocence the first time she’d opened it. She had no argument for innocence now.

Just when Rebecca Lawrence believed joy had come into her life, she learns the truth about how her mother died years before. Marriage to her first love and motherhood pulls her back from resentment, only for the First World War to threaten her peace when her husband is sent to fight.

When she discovers another lie which could fracture her world, she is faced with the choice of ignoring it, or letting the scars of the past corrupt her.

Set between 1903 and 1919, The Silent Land explores the complexities of love and the pursuit of truth in grief. The inspirational purity of the heroine will draw readers in, demonstrating how strength can be found at times when it would have seemed inconceivable.

The Silent Land explores the different shades of grief – the loss of a mother through assisted suicide, the loss of a father through a heart attack, and the loss of a husband through conflict. Comparable to works by Colm Tóibín and Sebastian Faulks, this is a moving and eloquently written tale of the overwhelming struggle faced by women left at home during the war.

“A poignant tale through a woman’s viewpoint that won’t scare the horses or male readers with an especially effective second half.” – the bookbag.co.uk

“I loved the story… makes you appreciate life and what you have.” – Mojomums.co.uk

“A detailed story that shows what happens when there are dreadful and terrible secrets within a family and how the shadow of the great and terrible Great War was a long a dark one.” – thatsbooks.blogspot.co.nz

Amazon UK | WH Smith | Waterstone’s | Whitcoulls

The Ironing Board Desk and the Fountain Pen

by David Dunham

I admit, I’ve done it. In the early days, that is: the searching for novelists’ daily word counts. I felt dirty doing it, ashamed even, ashamed that I was comparing myself to others and matching my own average to that of the masters. And then I stopped, not through sudden disinterest, but because it was futile.

My environment for writing The Silent Land was different to others’. At times, it was ideal in that it was quiet, I had an antique desk and there was a kettle close by. At other times, not so, in that my office was the laundry room at the back of the house where the noise from the building site was not as violent as at the front, and my desk was an ironing board, and there was no kettle, just an iron. And then there was the method. The Silent Land is set in the early 20th century, and so I was to write as if I was in the early 20th century myself - with paper and pen. A good pen, mind you, not a Biro or one of those in the stationery aisle of the supermarket, a proper pen, one that had a nib with a crest, a sleek barrel and required cartridges (I prefer long, not short) that when changing deposits ink on your fingertip and gives you a little buzz as you push it down and you feel the subtle click. Me and my fountain pen. Best of friends, workmates, allies, and my means to an end: a handwritten first draft of my debut novel, all written on the finest of paper.

Blog Tour Q&A with M.K. Tod, Author of Time and Regret

Please join me in welcoming M.K. Tod back to Let Them Read Books! M.K. is touring the blogosphere with her new release, Time and Regret. (Check out her guest post when she was touring with her debut novel, Unravelled.) I had the honor of offering M.K. some early editorial assistance on this dual-timeline novel about a young officer in the Great War and the mystery he leaves behind for his granddaughter, and she's here today answering my questions about World War I, writing historical fiction, and where she draws inspiration. Read on and enter to win a copy of Time and Regret!

When Grace Hansen finds a box belonging to her beloved grandfather, she has no idea it holds the key to his past—and to long-buried family secrets. In the box are his World War I diaries and a cryptic note addressed to her. Determined to solve her grandfather’s puzzle, Grace follows his diary entries across towns and battle sites in northern France, where she becomes increasingly drawn to a charming French man—and suddenly aware that someone is following her…

Through her grandfather’s vivid writing and Grace’s own travels, a picture emerges of a man very unlike the one who raised her: one who watched countless friends and loved ones die horrifically in battle; one who lived a life of regret. But her grandfather wasn’t the only one harboring secrets, and the more Grace learns about her family, the less she thinks she can trust them.

Hi M.K.! Thank you so much for visiting Let Them Read Books!

All three of your novels have focused on World War I. What about that conflict inspires you to write about it?

Throughout my school days, I was never a student of history, and so I was startled to find researching WWI such a fascinating exercise. That fascination was soon followed by anger, sorrow, and bewilderment—anger at the incredible ineptitude of military and political leaders and sorrow for what soldiers and everyday citizens had to endure. My bewilderment centered on questions of humanity. Why did soldiers put up with unspeakable conditions for so long? How could leaders use such appalling measures as poison gas? How could parents bear the loss of more than one son? How could officers send their men "over the top" time after time when they knew death would greet so many? I shake my head even now. These novels are my tribute to those who fought, those who died, and those who endured.

In Time and Regret, Grace uses her grandfather's diaries to trace his journey and uncover family secrets. Did you have a real-life inspiration for her grandfather, Martin?

Although my own grandfather inspired the character Edward Jamieson in Unravelled and Lies Told in Silence, I had no particular individual in mind when crafting Martin Devlin. Instead, he was inspired by the letters and diaries I’ve read during my research—a sort of everyman soldier who leads men to the best of his efforts—and endures to the best of his ability. I think of him as consciously deciding to rebuild his life after the war has left him personally decimated. It takes much bravery to do so.

Blog Tour Review: Secrets of Nanreath Hall by Alix Rickloff

From the Back Cover:

This incredible debut historical novel—in the tradition of Beatriz Williams and Jennifer Robson—tells the fascinating story of a young mother who flees her home on the rocky cliffs of Cornwall and the daughter who finds her way back, seeking answers.

Cornwall, 1940. Back in England after the harrowing evacuation at Dunkirk, WWII Red Cross nurse Anna Trenowyth is shocked to learn her adoptive parents Graham and Prue Handley have been killed in an air raid. She desperately needs their advice as she’s been assigned to the military hospital that has set up camp inside her biological mother’s childhood home—Nanreath Hall. Anna was just six-years-old when her mother, Lady Katherine Trenowyth, died. All she has left are vague memories that tease her with clues she can’t unravel. Anna’s assignment to Nanreath Hall could be the chance for her to finally become acquainted with the family she’s never known—and to unbury the truth and secrets surrounding her past.

Cornwall, 1913. In the luxury of pre-WWI England, Lady Katherine Trenowyth is expected to do nothing more than make a smart marriage and have a respectable life. When Simon Halliday, a bohemian painter, enters her world, Katherine begins to question the future that was so carefully laid out for her. Her choices begin to lead her away from the stability of her home and family toward a wild existence of life, art, and love. But as everything begins to fall apart, Katherine finds herself destitute and alone.

As Anna is drawn into her newfound family’s lives and their tangled loyalties, she discovers herself at the center of old heartbreaks and unbearable tragedies, leaving her to decide if the secrets of the past are too dangerous to unearth…and if the family she’s discovered is one she can keep.

My Thoughts:

Kitty Trenowyth, the pampered daughter of a wealthy earl, yearns to choose her own future, to explore her artistic talents, to experience more than her sheltered life has so far allowed. When her father commissions an artist to paint her portrait, he brings with him Simon Halliday, a handsome assistant who awakens both physical desire and a desire to prove to herself and her family that she can make it on her own. But life in the real world turns out to be far harder than Kitty ever expected. She valiantly attempts to make the most of it, but with the outbreak of World War One, she suddenly finds herself alone and with child, with nowhere to go.

Twenty-five years later, Kitty's daughter, Anna, is searching for answers. A nurse posted to the Trenowyth family estate at Nanreath Hall, which has been turned into a hospital for soldiers too ill or badly wounded to return to the front, Anna hopes to learn more about the mother she barely remembers and the father she never met. But her arrival is not welcomed by her cold and bitter aunt and her crippled, drunken cousin, who are suspicious of her motivations. And though Anna diligently tends to the wounded, she is nursing wounds of her own, both physical and mental. As the war slogs on, Anna and her newfound family form tenuous bonds under the strain of hardship and suffering, but their descriptions of her parents don't match up with the ideal of them she's carried in her heart. With the help of a dashing airman who refuses to let Anna push him away, she unravels the mystery surrounding her birth, but the truth may be more than she's prepared to handle.

Spotlight: The Secret Language of Stones by M.J. Rose

The Secret Language of Stones by M.J. Rose

Publication Date: July 19, 2016

Atria Books

Hardcover & eBook; 320 Pages

Series: The Daughters of La Lune, Book Two

Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy

As World War I rages and the Romanov dynasty reaches its sudden, brutal end, a young jewelry maker discovers love, passion, and her own healing powers in this rich and romantic ghost story, the perfect follow-up to M.J. Rose’s “brilliantly crafted” (Providence Journal) novel The Witch of Painted Sorrows.

Nestled within Paris’s historic Palais Royal is a jewelry store unlike any other. La Fantasie Russie is owned by Pavel Orloff, protégé to the famous Faberge, and is known by the city’s fashion elite as the place to find the rarest of gemstones and the most unique designs. But war has transformed Paris from a city of style and romance to a place of fear and mourning. In the summer of 1918, places where lovers used to walk, widows now wander alone.

So it is from La Fantasie Russie’s workshop that young, ambitious Opaline Duplessi now spends her time making trench watches for soldiers at the front, as well as mourning jewelry for the mothers, wives, and lovers of those who have fallen. People say that Opaline’s creations are magical. But magic is a word Opaline would rather not use. The concept is too closely associated with her mother Sandrine, who practices the dark arts passed down from their ancestor La Lune, one of sixteenth century Paris’s most famous courtesans.

But Opaline does have a rare gift even she can’t deny, a form of lithomancy that allows her to translate the energy emanating from stones. Certain gemstones, combined with a personal item, such as a lock of hair, enable her to receive messages from beyond the grave. In her mind, she is no mystic, but merely a messenger, giving voice to soldiers who died before they were able to properly express themselves to loved ones. Until one day, one of these fallen soldiers communicates a message—directly to her.

So begins a dangerous journey that will take Opaline into the darkest corners of wartime Paris and across the English Channel, where the exiled Romanov dowager empress is waiting to discover the fate of her family. Full of romance, seduction, and a love so powerful it reaches beyond the grave, The Secret Language of Stones is yet another “spellbindingly haunting” (Suspense magazine), “entrancing read that will long be savored” (Library Journal, starred review).

“A spellbinding ghost story that communicates the power of love and redemption through Rose's extraordinary, magical lens.” (Alyson Richman, internationally bestselling author of The Lost Wife)

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About the Author

M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed.

She is the author of more than a dozen novels, the co-president and founding board member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz.com. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Visit her online at MJRose.com.

Connect with M.J. Rose on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads.

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Guest Post: A Front Page Affair by Radha Vatsal

Please join me in welcoming Radha Vatsal to Let Them Read Books! Radha is busy promoting her debut historical mystery, A Front Page Affair, first in a series starring intrepid journalist Kitty Weeks. This book has been on my radar for a while now, and it is getting rave reviews. I am thrilled to have Radha here today with a guest post about her inspiration for Kitty. Read on and enter to win a copy of A Front Page Affair!

New York City, 1915

The Lusitania has just been sunk, and headlines about a shooting at J.P. Morgan's mansion and the Great War are splashed across the front page of every newspaper. Capability "Kitty" Weeks would love nothing more than to report on the news of the day, but she's stuck writing about fashion and society gossip over on the Ladies' Page―until a man is murdered at a high society picnic on her beat.

Determined to prove her worth as a journalist, Kitty finds herself plunged into the midst of a wartime conspiracy that threatens to derail the United States' attempt to remain neutral―and to disrupt the privileged life she has always known.

Radha Vatsal's A Front Page Affair is the first book in highly anticipated series featuring rising journalism star Kitty Weeks.

How Early Hollywood Heroines Inspired Kitty Weeks

by Radha Vatsal

Capability “Kitty” Weeks, the protagonist of A Front Page Affair, was inspired by the action-film heroines of the 1910s.  During the 1910s, actresses like Pearl White, Helen Holmes, Kathlyn Williams, and many others acted in thrilling serial films with titles like The Perils of Pauline, The Exploits of Elaine, The Hazards of Helen, Lightning Raider, The Perils of Our Girl Reporters.  The characters they played in these films were athletic, brave, and resourceful.  They brandished guns, chased villains, and fought “bad guys” on top of moving trains.  And this was all before women had the vote—when women wore their long hair in buns and ankle-length skirts!

The 1910s were an incredible decade for women—professionally, culturally, and politically—they won the right to vote in 1920.  In the mid-20s and after, the number of women in professional fields actually declined and didn’t go back up again until the 1970s.

I wanted to write a story set in this amazing era, with a young woman protagonist at its center, solving mysteries and taking action ala Pearl White and her comrades.  Journalism seemed like an ideal profession for her because it would allow her to go out and about in the world and ask questions—a rarity for women in those days.

Review: At the Edge of Summer by Jessica Brockmole

From the Back Cover:

The acclaimed author of Letters from Skye returns with an extraordinary story of a friendship born of proximity but boundless in the face of separation and war.

Luc Crépet is accustomed to his mother’s bringing wounded creatures to their idyllic château in the French countryside, where healing comes naturally amid the lush wildflowers and crumbling stone walls. Yet his maman’s newest project is the most surprising: a fifteen-year-old Scottish girl grieving over her parents’ fate. A curious child with an artistic soul, Clare Ross finds solace in her connection to Luc, and she in turn inspires him in ways he never thought possible. Then, just as suddenly as Clare arrives, she is gone, whisked away by her grandfather to the farthest reaches of the globe. Devastated by her departure, Luc begins to write letters to Clare—and, even as she moves from Portugal to Africa and beyond, the memory of the summer they shared keeps her grounded.

Years later, in the wake of World War I, Clare, now an artist, returns to France to help create facial prostheses for wounded soldiers. One of the wary veterans who comes to the studio seems familiar, and as his mask takes shape beneath her fingers, she recognizes Luc. But is this soldier, made bitter by battle and betrayal, the same boy who once wrote her wistful letters from Paris? After war and so many years apart, can Clare and Luc recapture how they felt at the edge of that long-ago summer?

Bringing to life two unforgettable characters and the rich historical period they inhabit, Jessica Brockmole shows how love and forgiveness can redeem us.

My Thoughts:

I read Jessica Brockmole's contribution to the anthology Fall of Poppies earlier this year, and her story, "Something Worth Landing For," was one of my favorites. Another story in the collection introduced me to Anna Coleman Ladd and her Paris studio for disfigured soldiers, so when I saw Jessica's new book featured the studio, I wanted to read it even more.

The story begins in 1911 when fifteen-year-old Clare Ross is whisked away to a crumbling French chateau after the death of her father. The Crepets and the Rosses are longtime friends, though as Clare will learn, that relationship has not been without its troubles, and most of them are due to her mother, who abandoned Clare and her father years earlier. Feeling lost and unloved, and assaulted by the colors and lifestyle so different than Scotland, she wonders if she'll ever find a place where she belongs. But things start looking up when the Crepets' son, Luc, comes home from school. The two form a fast friendship and spend a summer exploring the countryside around them, exploring their artistic abilities--since both come from a family of artists, this comes naturally--and exploring the uncharted waters of first love. But their idyllic summer cannot last as outside influences encroach, and eventually Clare's globe-trotting grandfather arrives to take charge of his ward, and she leaves France, and Luc, behind.

Blog Tour Review: Fall of Poppies

From the Back Cover:

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh
month . . .

November 11, 1918. After four long, dark years of fighting, the Great War ends at last, and the world is forever changed. For soldiers, loved ones, and survivors, the years ahead stretch with new promise, even as their hearts are marked by all those who have been lost.

As families come back together, lovers reunite, and strangers take solace in each other, everyone has a story to tell.

In this moving, unforgettable collection, nine top historical fiction authors share stories of love, strength, and renewal as hope takes root in a fall of poppies.

Featuring: Jessica Brockmole, Hazel Gaynor, Evangeline Holland, Marci Jefferson, Kate Kerrigan, Jennifer Robson, Heather Webb, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig

My Thoughts:

A young Belgian patriot discovers the German patient she begrudgingly cares for isn't at all what he seems. Wartime lovers reunite decades later to discover they were kept apart by misunderstandings. A young Red Cross volunteer finds first love with a disfigured soldier only to be cruelly separated from him. A dancer struggles to survive and imagine a future in Paris after losing everyone she loved to the war. A timid airman makes a hasty promise to a stranger and finds a new reason to survive the war. A grieving widow vows revenge on the Germans who took so much from her. A disillusioned American airman finally finds a reason to leave Paris nearly two years after the war's end. A British soldier stationed in Dublin to quell the uprising falls in love with an Irish girl. And an English midwife desperately fights for the life of a newborn while her sons fights for his life on a French battlefield.

This is an excellent collection of short stories by nine talented historical fiction authors. While the stories are not interconnected, they do all share a common theme, the Armistice, and these stories really capture the conflicting emotions that the end of the war brings. Of course, there is joy and celebration but also a sense of uncertainty. Is it really over? What comes next? What do we do now? What was it all for? How do we go on as before when none of us will ever be the same?

Blog Tour Review: Mademoiselle Chanel by C.W. Gortner

From the Back Cover:

For readers of The Paris Wife and Z comes a vivid novel full of drama, passion, tragedy, and beauty that stunningly imagines the life of iconic fashion designer Coco Chanel—the ambitious, gifted laundrywoman’s daughter who revolutionized fashion, built an international empire, and become one of the most influential and controversial figures of the twentieth century

Born into rural poverty, Gabrielle Chanel and her siblings are sent to orphanage after their mother’s death. The sisters nurture Gabrielle’s exceptional sewing skills, a talent that will propel the willful young woman into a life far removed from the drudgery of her childhood.

Transforming herself into Coco—a seamstress and sometime torch singer—the petite brunette burns with ambition, an incandescence that draws a wealthy gentleman who will become the love of her life. She immerses herself in his world of money and luxury, discovering a freedom that sparks her creativity. But it is only when her lover takes her to Paris that Coco discovers her destiny. 

Rejecting the frilly, corseted silhouette of the past, her sleek, minimalist styles reflect the youthful ease and confidence of the 1920s modern woman. As Coco’s reputation spreads, her couturier business explodes, taking her into rarefied society circles and bohemian salons. But her fame and fortune cannot save her from heartbreak as the years pass. And when Paris falls to the Nazis, Coco is forced to make choices that will haunt her. 

An enthralling novel of an extraordinary woman who created the life she desired, Mademoiselle Chanel explores the inner world of a woman of staggering ambition whose strength, passion and artistic vision would become her trademark.

My Thoughts:

I am not a fashionista, and I didn't know anything about Coco Chanel before reading this. But I am a fan of women who shape their own destinies and leave their mark on the world in the process, and C.W.'s novels have yet to let me down, so this one immediately went on my wishlist. I was not disappointed! This novel is a tour de force, much like the woman at its heart, and I think it's Gortner's best book yet.

I'm glad I did not read any reviews before reading this book because, looking through some of them now, I see that some major plot points that hit me pretty hard would have been spoiled for me. So if you're like me and don't know anything about her life either, and if you like to be taken unaware by a great story, be careful as you browse reviews. This one will be relatively spoiler free. If you are familiar with Coco's story, I think you'll find Gortner's interpretation to be balanced and well researched, vibrant with the essence of this legendary woman.

Blog Tour Guest Post from Sherryl Caulfield, Author of Seldom Come By

Please join me in welcoming author Sherryl Caulfield to Let Them Read Books! Sherryl is touring the blogosphere with the first book in her Iceberg Trilogy, Seldom Come By, and today she joins us to discuss this historical romance set in Newfoundland on the eve of WWI. Read on to learn more about the icebergs that inspire Sherryl and her heroine, Rebecca, and enter to win one of five autographed copies of Seldom Come By!






Many people are surprised to discover my novel is set in Newfoundland, a harsh climate on the edge of the Atlantic, frozen and wind-pummelled for many months of the year. In 1914, two years after the sinking of the Titanic, Newfoundland was once again in the news after two nautical accidents claimed the lives of 251 sealers. The place should almost come with its own warning sign. It doesn’t strike you as a romantic place of grandeur or intrigue or conflict in the traditional sense. Yet it is and it was. For off the coast of Newfoundland are icebergs – treacherous icebergs, yes – but magnificent icebergs all the same – white towering peaks piercing the skyline, aqua blue meltwater trailing down glittering sides, mythical creatures revealed in icy magnitude.

For me, and my soon to be fifteen-year-old heroine, Rebecca Crowe, icebergs represent something magical; a sign of lightness in the darkness, a sign of hope and endless possibilities. For Rebecca icebergs are the most exciting spectacle in the months of monotony and mediocrity that mark her year. In the spring of 1914, Rebecca, who lives and breathes longing, is looking out to sea, yearning for an iceberg, multiple icebergs, when she discovers a shipwrecked sailor and her world is never the same again.

Nineteen-year-old Samuel Dalton, near death, with his blonde straggly hair and his out-of-this-world smile and his far-flung experiences and talk of nude Rodin sculptures and the teal waters of the Caribbean, is like no one Rebecca has ever imagined, let alone met. The summer Samuel stays with them, recovering from his misadventure at sea, ignoring requests from his brother, Matthew, to come home to Toronto, is the most exciting summer of Rebecca’s life. And then war breaks out.

Review: The Deepest Night by Shana Abe

From the Back Cover:

It’s 1915, and sixteen-year-old Lora Jones is finishing up her first year as a charity student at Iverson, a prestigious, gothic boarding school on England’s southern coast. While she’s always felt different from everyone around her, now she finally knows why: She is a drákon, a rare, enchanted being with astonishing magical abilities.

As war hits Britain’s shores, and Lora reels from an unimaginable loss, she finds that her powers come with grave and dangerous responsibilities. At the request of Armand Louis, the darkly mysterious boy whose father owns Iverson, Lora will spend her summer at his lavish estate. To help the war effort—and to keep Lora by his side—Armand turns his home into a military hospital, where Lora will serve as a nurse. For Armand is inescapably drawn to her—bound to her by heart-deep secrets and a supernatural connection that runs thicker than blood.

Yet while Lora tries to sort out her own feelings toward Armand, fate offers an unexpected surprise. Lora discovers there is another drákon, a prisoner of war being held in Germany. And that only she, with her newly honed Gifts, will be able to rescue him.

With Armand, Lora will cross enemy lines on an incredible mission—one that could bond her to Armand forever, or irrevocably tear them apart.

Beautifully written, deeply romantic, and filled with daring adventure and magic, The Deepest Night is a mesmerizing novel of the enduring pull of destiny, and the eternal strength of love.

My Thoughts:

A worthy follow-up to The Sweetest Dark (click to read my review), which was haunting and absolutely fantastic. The sequel picks up right where we left off, after Lora has experienced devastating heartbreak, but has also learned that she is not alone in the world; there is another drakon. From the ashes of tragedy, a true friendship is born between Lora and Armand, the handsome, privileged marquess who shares her secret and would share much more if she'd let him. Working together to aid the war effort at home, Lora finds a purpose in which to channel her grief as a nurse while Armand finds solace in being able to stay close to Lora. But a new determination binds them as true partners when they discover that Armand's brother is being held as a prisoner of war and they may be his only chance for rescue.

They embark on a dangerous mission to retrieve him, sneaking across the Channel, through war-torn countryside, and into a primeval forest where there are still people who remember the stories of the drakon. But even as they both begin to embrace their true selves, terrible choices must be made, and the biggest revelation of all will have far-reaching consequences when they finally reach Armand's brother. And throughout it all, a truly beautiful, achingly bittersweet love story unfolds, though it will always be tempered by the bonds of the past and the threats of the future. Written just as lushly and with nearly as much emotional depth, The Deepest Night is a sublimely satisfying sequel, and I am anxiously awaiting the conclusion of this mystical, ethereal series.

My Rating:  4.5 Stars out of 5

**Please Note: This review references an advance copy received from the publisher through the Amazon Vine program. These are my honest and unbiased opinions, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Spotlight: Spy Island by Sophie Schiller

Please join Sophie Schiller as she tours the blogosphere with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours with her historical fiction novel, Spy Island, from September 15-26. Read on for more info about the book, the tour schedule full of reviews, interviews, and giveaways, and a chance to win your own copy of Spy Island!

Publication Date: January 16, 2013
CreateSpace
Formats: eBook, Paperback




A forbidden friendship that blossoms into love is at the heart of this colorful historical novel.

Abigail Maduro arrives in the Danish West Indies on 1916 to live with her Aunt Esther, a bad tempered spinster, and her houseful of eccentric servants. Despite the island’s veneer of tranquility, St. Thomas is a hotbed of German spies who use their Hamburg-America steamers to aid the Kaiser’s war effort.

When a mysterious stranger suddenly appears in town, Abigail is drawn into the conflict. In the scholarly Erich Seibold, she finds the friendship and love she has been craving, even after she learns that Erich is really a deserter from a German U-boat. But their idyllic interlude comes to a crashing halt when the island’s German consul also discovers Erich’s identity, and blackmails him into committing sabotage. After a melee involving the Danish governor, Erich is thrown into prison, forcing Abigail to risk everything to save him. Action and adventure abound in this colorful historical novel that brings to life a fading West Indian sugar colony in the last days of Danish rule.

Praise for Spy Island

“Spy Island is an exciting adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I love being immersed in the world of the Caribbean during World War I, I felt like I was looking into a snapshot of the past. This book is full of adventure, exciting twists, just when I thought I had the plot figured out, it would change again. The descriptions, the characters, and the plot of this story all weave together into a tight package of fun that you do not want to miss.” The Howling Turtle Book Reviews

“Spy Island is a fun, fast read for any fan of historical fiction and adventure stories.” Lynne Hinkey, author of Marina Melee

Blog Tour Guest Post: This is How I'd Love You by Hazel Woods

Please join me in welcoming author Hazel Woods to Let Them Read Books! Hazel is touring the blogosphere with her debut historical fiction novel, This Is How I'd Love You, a story of love and loss during World War I. This book is generating a lot of buzz, and I can't wait to read it! Hazel is here today with a guest post of how her great-grandparents' love letters inspired This Is How I'd Love You, and she's brought along a copy to give away! Read on for your chance to win!


Book Description:

As the Great War rages, an independent young woman struggles to sustain love—and life—through the power of words. It’s 1917 and America is on the brink of World War I. After Hensley Dench’s father is forced to resign from the New York Times for his anti-war writings, she finds herself expelled from the life she loves and the future she thought she would have. Instead, Hensley is transplanted to New Mexico, where her father has taken a job overseeing a gold mine. Driven by loneliness, Hensley hijacks her father’s correspondence with Charles Reid, a young American medic with whom her father plays chess via post. Hensley secretly begins her own exchange with Charles, but looming tragedy threatens them both, and—when everything turns against them—will their words be enough to beat the odds?

The Letters

by Hazel Woods

I’ve been surrounded by the myth of the letters for almost as long as I can remember.  Love letters between my great-grandparents, people I’d never met, but whose legacy I unknowingly carried.  First, they were kept in a trunk in the garage, awaiting my mother’s empty nest years.  She’d wax on occasionally about her grandparents—Margaret, the elegant, engaging, fashionable, eccentric wife to Edward, the family radical, a newspaperman turned gold mine manager turned lawyer.  Eventually, on my weekly long distance phone call home from college, I was told they were finally being transcribed, from the looping black ink on yellowed paper into a tidy Microsoft Word document.  Someday I hope somebody reads them, my mother told me wistfully.  It blurred in with the rest of her wistfulness and I rolled my eyes in my dorm room, even as I sat down to pen a letter to my own long-distance love, who would one day become my husband.  Ah, irony.

Blog Tour Guest Post: Researching Historical Fiction "Just in Time" by Carol Bodensteiner, Author of Go Away Home

Please join me in welcoming author Carol Bodensteiner to Let Them Read Books! Carol is touring the blogosphere with her historical fiction debut, Go Away Home, a moving coming-of-age story set in America's heartland before, during, and after World War I. I was privileged to work with Carol in an editorial capacity on her road to publication, and I designed the book's cover! Read on to see how Carol learned to balance research with writing--a problem that plagues many writers of historical fiction, and enter to win a copy of Go Away Home!

Fact to fiction - Researching historical fiction “Just in Time”

As a reader, historical fiction entices me because I learn about a different place and time. I admire the author’s ability to choose just the right details to transport me to another era without bogging me down in details that are nice but not necessary.

As a first-time writer of historical fiction, my challenge was knowing what details I’d need. At the outset of writing Go Away Home, I knew my general story line and made extensive lists of things I’d need to know about the WWI era – clothing styles, farming methods, camera types, remedies for the flu, prevalence of cars, road construction, types of buggies. The list went on and on.  Then I set about finding resources to learn about each of these – trips to the historical society, interviews with subject matter experts, Internet searches that lasted for hours.

The research process itself became a passion. I loved it.

Eventually, however, I realized that while endlessly fascinating, the research was keeping me from actually writing. The research was uncovering a wealth of information that while interesting would probably never make it into my novel.

As a career public relations professional, I always subscribed to the belief that I needed to know ten times more about a subject than I finally wrote, yet the path I was on was becoming ridiculous. In that moment I fully embraced a writing mantra I now live by: Reading isn’t writing. Thinking isn’t writing. Research isn’t writing. Only writing is writing.