Maryann McFadden's Blog
November 20, 2023
THE CHRISTMAS STAR Backstory
The Christmas Star
As the holiday season approaches, one thing I so look forward to each year (besides decorating and reading Christmas books and watching Christmas movies) is seeing my beloved Christmas Star shining over my hometown.
Each December, since welcoming soldiers home from WWII, the star has been shining and has become a symbol of hope. Everyone in my small NJ town, nestled in a valley surrounded by small mountains, has a story about what the star means to them.
This Christmas, I want to share that with the world! We are so lucky to have this. It was during the lockdown of Covid that I saw the star shining in April during an evening walk and stopped, tears in my eyes!
It was a magical moment, the star somehow giving me hope that everything was going to be okay. And I knew it was time to finally finish this, as it was started a few years prior and pushed aside for another book to finish.
I hope you will take a chance and read this beautiful story of forgiveness, second chances, and finding love when you least expect it. I promise, you will love these characters, and you'll be surprised by the ending!
Wishing you all a beautiful and blessed holiday, whatever your religion.
Happy reading,
Maryann
As the holiday season approaches, one thing I so look forward to each year (besides decorating and reading Christmas books and watching Christmas movies) is seeing my beloved Christmas Star shining over my hometown.
Each December, since welcoming soldiers home from WWII, the star has been shining and has become a symbol of hope. Everyone in my small NJ town, nestled in a valley surrounded by small mountains, has a story about what the star means to them.
This Christmas, I want to share that with the world! We are so lucky to have this. It was during the lockdown of Covid that I saw the star shining in April during an evening walk and stopped, tears in my eyes!
It was a magical moment, the star somehow giving me hope that everything was going to be okay. And I knew it was time to finally finish this, as it was started a few years prior and pushed aside for another book to finish.
I hope you will take a chance and read this beautiful story of forgiveness, second chances, and finding love when you least expect it. I promise, you will love these characters, and you'll be surprised by the ending!
Wishing you all a beautiful and blessed holiday, whatever your religion.
Happy reading,
Maryann
November 29, 2022
THE BOOK LOVER
As we release the 10th Anniversary Edition of THE BOOK LOVER, I can only marvel at the changes in the book world over this time. E-books have overtaken print books in sales. Audible books are about to outsell those in the next year.
Everything I knew back then...has kind of gotten turned on its head. But it's not a bad thing. People will still read "real" books. But people will also be reading in many other forms.
As an author, I am just happy to have my books read, in any form.
For a peek at what's been labeled by booksellers the most honest story about the world of books, I hope you'll try THE BOOK LOVER. It is an American Booksellers Association "Indie Next Pick" that's all been called "A Feast for Book Lovers!"
So walk inside this little bookshop and fall in love with the bookseller and the writer, who pursue their dreams against all odds...and find their happy endings :)
Happy reading, Maryann
Everything I knew back then...has kind of gotten turned on its head. But it's not a bad thing. People will still read "real" books. But people will also be reading in many other forms.
As an author, I am just happy to have my books read, in any form.
For a peek at what's been labeled by booksellers the most honest story about the world of books, I hope you'll try THE BOOK LOVER. It is an American Booksellers Association "Indie Next Pick" that's all been called "A Feast for Book Lovers!"
So walk inside this little bookshop and fall in love with the bookseller and the writer, who pursue their dreams against all odds...and find their happy endings :)
Happy reading, Maryann
February 19, 2018
THE CEMETERY KEEPER'S WIFE
What happens when the line between the past and the present begins to blur…
Rachel Miller is on the cusp of a new life when she moves to Union Cemetery after marrying Adam, the 7th generation cemetery keeper. Though she’s known him only twelve weeks, his tender love seems like a miracle of fate after her years alone.
On her first walk through the lush and silent grounds of her new home, Rachel discovers a stunning monument to Tillie Smith, who died in 1886. Reading the words carved into the stone, “She Died in Defence of Her Honor,” Rachel is overcome by a powerful memory buried deep in her past.
A series of uncanny coincidences linked to Tillie Smith follows, setting Rachel on a journey that grows into an obsession: Why did the murder of a poor kitchen maid at the local seminary become a national sensation? Why were people in town trying to keep her from finding the truth? But most disturbing of all, why was Tillie reawakening a past Rachel chose to bury long ago? A past that could threaten her marriage.
The Cemetery Keeper’s Wife poignantly blends fact and fiction as two women scarred by shame, and separated by more than a century, reach across time to rewrite history.
Rachel Miller is on the cusp of a new life when she moves to Union Cemetery after marrying Adam, the 7th generation cemetery keeper. Though she’s known him only twelve weeks, his tender love seems like a miracle of fate after her years alone.
On her first walk through the lush and silent grounds of her new home, Rachel discovers a stunning monument to Tillie Smith, who died in 1886. Reading the words carved into the stone, “She Died in Defence of Her Honor,” Rachel is overcome by a powerful memory buried deep in her past.
A series of uncanny coincidences linked to Tillie Smith follows, setting Rachel on a journey that grows into an obsession: Why did the murder of a poor kitchen maid at the local seminary become a national sensation? Why were people in town trying to keep her from finding the truth? But most disturbing of all, why was Tillie reawakening a past Rachel chose to bury long ago? A past that could threaten her marriage.
The Cemetery Keeper’s Wife poignantly blends fact and fiction as two women scarred by shame, and separated by more than a century, reach across time to rewrite history.
April 11, 2012
Introducing THE BOOK LOVER
THE BOOK LOVER tells a story that hasn't been told before: how a novel begins in a writer's mind and goes through it's magical, often perilous, journey to finally make it onto a bookstore's shelf, and into your hands.
Of course there are wonderful characters: Ruth, who owns a store called The Book Lover, but who's been hiding in it from her past; and Lucy, a struggling writer who's holding on to her last dream, after everything in her life falls apart.
When Ruth discovers Lucy's book, the 2 women become close friends, sharing their innermost secrets and dreams. But when Lucy strikes up an unlikely friendship with Ruth's son, a wounded soldier, Ruth begins to question her judgement. And Lucy has no idea her life is about to fall apart again.
Here's a video interview about THE BOOK LOVER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b_yXl...
Of course there are wonderful characters: Ruth, who owns a store called The Book Lover, but who's been hiding in it from her past; and Lucy, a struggling writer who's holding on to her last dream, after everything in her life falls apart.
When Ruth discovers Lucy's book, the 2 women become close friends, sharing their innermost secrets and dreams. But when Lucy strikes up an unlikely friendship with Ruth's son, a wounded soldier, Ruth begins to question her judgement. And Lucy has no idea her life is about to fall apart again.
Here's a video interview about THE BOOK LOVER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b_yXl...
