Jean M. Roberts's Blog, page 16

Author Interview: Mary Lay author of The Catching Up Series

 

Welcome Readers, to TheBook’s Delight. We continue our author interview series with Mary Lay, authorof the Catching Up series about an intrepid young woman finding herself in the1920s. Looks like lots of fun!

JMR-Welcome to theBooks Delight, Mary. Tell our readers where you live, what you do for fun andwhat does the perfect day look like?

ML- Hello Jeanie, andthanks for having me! I live in Cheltenham in the south of England, by myself. Forfun, gosh sometimes I wonder how I fit it all in – I love to travel,particularly on city breaks. I love steam trains, looking at and riding on them.The smell and the sounds remind me of my father. There are very few crafts thatI haven’t tried at least once; I always have three or four knitting and crochetprojects on the go at once. My other love is gardening; I am a RoyalHorticultural Society trained garden designer and have a passion for designingsmall spaces.

 My perfect day wouldstart with breakfast: bacon, eggs and strong tea. Then a trip to a small townsomewhere in the Cotswolds to have a wander and look at the architecture. Lunchin a pub, then perhaps calling in to a garden centre on the way home. Thatleaves plenty of time to work on one or more of my projects before an earlybedtime. I am easily pleased!

JMR-What’s yourfavorite historical time period? Why?

ML- I have always beenfascinated by the 1920s. Everything was new and fast-moving, so many advancesin technology, and although poverty was still widespread, those who had a smallincome could still afford housing, food, clothes and trips to the cinema ordancing. My grandmother was in service during the 20s, at Wantage Hall which ispart of the University of Reading, and she often spoke fondly of the girls sheworked with there. It was her mother who was the inspiration for my novella ‘AWoman Like That’.

JMR-Who is yourfavorite historical figure? Why? If you could ask them one question, what wouldit be?

ML- I have always beenfar more interested in social and cultural history than individuals who becamefamous. I would like to know more about the lives of the people who made thecountry function; the bricklayers, the railway men, the laundry workers,bakers, school teachers. If I could have half an hour with anyone who livedthrough the Great War, I would ask them to tell me about a typical day forthem.

JMR- How did you cometo be a writer of historical fiction?

ML- I have alwayswritten, but largely for my own enjoyment. Then during the pandemic, on my30-minute exercise walks, I began to think about the people who might havelived in the houses I passed, and the first novel in the Catching Up seriescame from those imaginings. I researched how one might publish work, queried afew agents and publishers, but ultimately decided to self-publish.

JMR- You describeyourself as a ‘magpie of learning’. How does this influence your writing?

ML- I really am! I loveto learn new things, formally and informally, when something catches myattention. If I need to do something, for example tiling the bathroom, I willlearn how to do it and then do it myself. I like to think I am observant, andthat helps to clothe the characters and places in my novels; understanding howsomething actually works, or how it was assembled gives a measure ofauthenticity to writing – this is important even in historical fiction.

JMR- Did you visitanyone of the places in your book? Where did you feel closest to yourcharacters?

ML- I do find it easierto write about places that I already know reasonably well and know some of thehistory of. Caroline’s story starts in Cheltenham where I currently live, butshe goes on to visit and live in various places that I also know well. I hadthought it would be difficult to write about somewhere that didn’t actuallyexist, but I’m giving it a go in my current project.

JMR-Mary, tell us aboutyour new series, Catching Up.

ML- Catching Up begins inthe final days of the Great War, with the death of Caroline’s older brother.The impact of his death causes Caroline to miss out on many of the activitiesthat a young woman in a middle-class family could expect to enjoy in thepost-war years. A church sermon brings Caroline to realise she is not honouringher brother’s memory by staying tied to the home, so she comes to anarrangement with her father for some funds and sets out to ‘catch up’ with herold school friends. She makes new friends along the way, some of whom showCaroline some aspects of life that she would never have otherwise known aboutor experienced. The series progresses through the 1920s and 30s as Caroline growsin confidence and her life takes some subtle twists and turns as she works hardto maintain her independence. 

Though there is someromantic content, there are also some difficult situations for Caroline to dealwith. The other characters are representative of the various types of peoplewho lived and worked in England at the time. An off-shoot of the Catching Upseries is a collection of short stories featuring some of the minor charactersin the series, called ‘The Previous Adventures of…’

JMR-What projects doyou have in the pipeline?

ML- I have recentlystarted to write a novel which could become another series, also set in the1920s but this time in a fictional county between Dorset and Devon in the southof England. This first novel is centred around an inn and the charactersinvolved with it and the production of pear perry (similar to cider). As I’mwriting it, I am having to be strict with the secondary characters that theymay have to wait to see their own tales in print!

JMR- Tell our readershow to find you on social media and the web.

ML- The easiest way isthrough my website marylaystories.com particularly if you are looking topurchase a book in person or would like a signed paperback copy. Alternatively,a search on Amazon will find me, and my novels are also available on KindleUnlimited. Plus all of the major social media channels as @marylaystoriesalthough Twitter is my preference.

JMR- What question wereyou hoping I’d ask but didn’t?

ML- I was hoping youwould mention the covers for the Catching Up series, so that I could say howwonderful my designer has been to produce them from my extremely basic PowerPoint slides! I work with John at Chandler Design Associates in Norfolk. Iwanted a style similar to the old railway posters of the era, but with a modernfeel, and of course, each one must have a train included. 

For the new project, Iwill be looking for a new designer, as these need a very different style. Ifany of your readers can recommend an artist, please do get in touch! 

JMR- Thank you, Mary,for stopping by for a great chat. Your series looks like so much fun! Readers,I have included a link to Mary’s books below. Be sure to check it out.

 

Author Interview with Heather McBriarty: Amid the Splintered Trees

 

Today, the Book’s Delight is happy to chat with Heather McBriarty,author of a WWI tale, Amid the Splintered Trees.

JMR-Welcome to the Books Delight, Heather. Tell our readers where youlive, what you do for fun and what does the perfect day look like?

HM- Hi, thanks for having me here! I live in Atlantic Canada, in ahistoric city by the sea. My passion – other than writing – is sailing, so forme a perfect day is spent on my boat, sailing and swimming, then finding asheltered cove for the night, where I can sit and read, and be rocked to sleepin my bunk. My boat is where I wrote much of my first book!

JMR-What’s your favorite historical time period? Why?

HM- When I was young, I was obsessed with ancient Egyptian history somuch so that I wanted to be an Egyptologist/archeologist. To be honest, I stilldo when I grow up (*she says as a 59-year-old*).  I used to write my English class notes inEgyptian hieroglyphics which drove my teacher crazy – not that it was anythingshe had to read. Then I became interested in and read a lot of Iron age/Romanera/dark ages/medieval English history. I love watching Time Team! However,five years ago, I “discovered” the First World War and that period has become apassion. It is the people involved and their experiences, rather than battlestrategy or weaponry.

JMR-Who is your favorite historical figure? Why? If you could ask themone question, what would it be?

HM- I think Hatshepsut, the queen/Pharoah of Egypt, stands the test oftime as my most admired (female!) historical figure. She was smart, strong anddid not let men tell her what she could do or how high she could rise. Shebroke a big glass ceiling! Honestly, I think I’d be too intimidated to ask heranything, but I am curious how she negotiated her way to the throne.

JMR- How did you come to be a writer of historical fiction?

HM- It began as a pre-teen while trying to write my own fictional story ofancient Egypt. I spent too many hours imagining what it would really belike to live in those times. I felt a need to walk through the lives, in thosepeople’s shoes – or sandals - to piece together what I had learned about thetime and make it real… if only on paper. That has not changed in theintervening decades. Frankly, historical fiction is what I love to read, so itonly seems the done thing that I write it.

JMR- Did you visit anyone of the places in your book? Where did you feelclosest to your characters?

HM- One of the locations in my novel is Halifax, Nova Scotia which Ihave visited many times. It is where my grandmother lived and experienced lifein 1914-1918. Just last November, I traveled to France and Belgium, to visitVimy Ridge, the Somme and the Ypres Salient. It was standing on the top of VimyRidge, looking down over the slopes the Canadians stormed up, imaging my maincharacter, Will, in their midst. He represents all those brave, scared,determined men who won the ridge that stormy Easter Monday in April 1917, theridge that the French and British tried and failed to take in two years offighting. It was hugely emotional.

JMR- Heather, tell us about your book, Amid the Splintered Trees.

HM- Amid is the story of two young lovers, Will and Emma, whowant the simplest things in life – marriage, children, a long life ofhappiness. Their biggest obstacle seems Emma’s determination to break intomedicine and become a doctor despite her gender. But 1914 has other plans andthey are torn apart by circumstances beyond their control, the most brutal andbloody war in history. Can they ever pull the pieces of their lives togetheragain? Can either of them survive the traumatic events of those four devastatingyears?

JMR- Your story was inspired by your grandmother. Can you tell us abouther and how she influenced this book?

HM- There is a little of both my grandparents in this book. Mygrandmother (before she met my grandfather) was in love with a classmate whofelt it his duty to serve at the Western Front. He was one of the FirstCanadian Contingent to go over in 1914. Sadly, he did not survive the war, eventhough his letters to her survive today. They make the bulk of my first book(non-fiction) and sparked my interest in WWI. She didn’t know, from one letterto the next, if he was still alive. He often mentioned how he longed to see heragain, to return to her if he “should be spared”. How emotionallydevastating would that have been? I wondered what if he had survived, howchanged would he have been when he came home? He was so afraid he wouldbe changed and not the person she had known.

My grandfather was a medical student in Halifax during the war and metmy grandmother after her young man’s death. He experienced the great Halifaxexplosion of December 1917 (the largest man-made explosion in history until Hiroshima)which killed and injured thousands, and spent the first three days after it inthe hospital helping treat the victims. He had a female classmate at the time,so I put Emma in her place. Yes, Grandad is obliquely mentioned in my book, andmy grandmother’s young man makes a cameo appearance.

JMR-What projects do you have in the pipeline?

HM- I’m working on a novel told from the point of view of a woman who,as a small child, loses her father to the fighting at Vimy Ridge. It is thestory of the impact at home and in the decades following, of those lost to thewar.

I have an idea for a sequel to Amid also inspired by my grandparent’slife in China in the first half of the 1920s where my father was born. Grandadwent as a medical missionary and there were several female doctors trying tobring health care to Chinese women, most of whom were sequestered and notallowed to see male doctors. It was a tumultuous period of Chinese history,between the fall of the Imperial family and the rise of Communism. Mygrandparents fled the warring in the interior of China in 1926, leavingeverything behind but their 4 small boys. And what if Will and Emma had a sonwho fought in WWII? Book 3!

 I also have notes for a tripletimeline book that involves Vikings, WWI and the present day… not at allcomplicated!

JMR- Tell our readers how to find you on social media and the web.

HM- I have a website – heathermcbriartyauthor.ca – where I have a blog,links to my books and social media, and my reviews for one of Canada’s biggestbook review sites. I am on Instagram, Twi… er, X, Threads and Bluesky under myname, and have a Facebook page, Somewhere in Flanders

JMR- What question were you hoping I’d ask but didn’t?

HM- Actually, you covered it all!

JMR- Thank you Heather for stopping by and for your wonderful interview. I love Time Team as well and watched all the shows! Readers, I've included a link for Heather's book below, be sure to check it out. 

Author Interview: Herbert Weins author of Love, Loss and Honor

 

Welcome to The Book's Delight. We are happy to chat with Herbert Weins, author of multiple historical fiction/time travel stories.  

JMR-Welcome to theBooks Delight, Herbert. Tell our readers where you live, what you do for funand what does the perfect day look like?

HW- Living in scenicNorth Idaho, you can’t help but become an outdoor person. In high school, Ilived and worked on a ranch. Later, to pay for college, I worked in sawmillsuntil I was drafted in to the military. After mustering out, I continued in thetimber industry. With that kind of background, I can’t imagine not hunting,fishing, snowmobiling, and exploring every mountain top or narrow canyon. Theperfect day is sitting on a silent mountain peak absorbing the view.

JMR-What’s yourfavorite historical time period? Why?

HW- The period from theAmerican Civil War through the end of WWII. It was a time when the whole worldendured accelerated social and political change. Empires were lost, newcountries formed, and social hierarchies restructured. 

JMR-Who is yourfavorite historical figure? Why? If you could ask them one question, what wouldit be?

HW-Theodore Roosevelt.He hobnobbed with the elite but thrived while acquiring blisters beside workingclass Joes. Once, he came to North Idaho for a grizzly bear hunting expedition.He and his crew had to spend the night along the shore of Lake Pend Oreille inthe little railroad stop of Sandpoint. The boarding house was full but theproprietor allowed Teddy to sleep in the bed of a supposedly out of town long-termrenter. In the middle of the night, the other man returned. Instead of pulling rankand announcing “I am a celebrity”, Teddy just scooted over and shared the bed.Question: Did the other guy snore?

JMR- How did you cometo be a writer of historical fiction?

HW- Listening torelatives reminisce while growing up, I was intrigued. While researching theirstories, I discovered that there were NO clean hands in history. 

JMR- Did you visitanyone of the places in your book? Where did you feel closest to yourcharacters?

HW- I’ve either livedin, or near, all of the North American settings. While in the military, Ivisited nearby but never made it into Antwerp.

JMR- Herbert, tell usabout your book, Love, Loss, and Honor.

HW- The series centersaround making mistakes then learning to live - or die - with the consequences. Thefirst book is based on actual 16th century events. Every person,whose complete name was used, existed except for the blacksmith and the prisonguard. I even featured quotes from the women’s documented letters to lovedones. I chose the heroine because, unlike the other women, only her first nameis known. I wrote the 16th century portion 1st then builtthe modern-day portions around it.
     The modern MC’s name, Karen MaryWilliams, is derived from the 16th century woman’s name, Mariken. Inmodern day, Karen is driven but self-centered. Even though she tries to do theright thing, she makes bad decisions at the most crucial times.
     My time travel is different thanmost people imagine. You have to die. Then, your soul travels and occupies thebody of someone who doesn’t want theirs anymore.
   In the 2nd book of theseries, while already dealing with PTSD over her past trauma, Karen becomes awar widow. Mariken’s 16th century blacksmith love interest travelsto modern times and wanders around the Pacific Northwest trying to make senseof things 440 years in his future.
    The 3rd book centersaround Karen’s son, Bill. A week before high school graduation, he makes a hugeerror and breaks his longtime girlfriend’s heart. The ensuing emotional journeyfor both involves ranching, Mediterranean crime lords, Long Island artgalleries, Hutterite colonies and yes, even a tad bit of time traveling pastcharacters.

JMR-What projects doyou have in the pipeline?

HW- I’m a third of theway through the fourth installment of the series. After that, I’m planning andanthology of short stories.

JMR- Tell our readershow to find you on social media and the web.

HW- Website: herbwiens.wordpress.com  
Twitter: Herbert Wiens, Author @HerbWiensAuthor   
Facebook: Herbert Wiens, Author. 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbertwiens...

JMR- What question wereyou hoping I’d ask but didn’t?

HW- Now, please tell us about your other series,They Have Conquered, and how it deals with an extended Mennonite family inRussian Revolution era Ukraine. (hahaha)

JMR- Thank you, Herbert, for stopping by and sharing  your books with us! Reeaders, I have included a link to Love, Loss and Honor below. 

 

Author Interview: Kathryn Barnett author of Three Sisters

 

Welcome Readers to the Book's Delight. We are happy to have another installment in our author interview series. Today we are chatting with Kathryn Barnett, author of Three Sisters.

JMR-Welcome to the Books Delight, Kathryn. Tell our readers where you live, what you do for fun and what does the perfect day look like?

KB- I live in Hampshire, England. I enjoy going for coffee and cake at my local coffee shop. A perfect day to me is writing with a coffee at hand, going for a walk in nature (at my local lakes) and meeting up with friends is a bonus. 

JMR-What’s your favorite historical time period? Why? 

KB- I like the Edwardian and First World War period because so many new inventions were coming out and for women they were able to undertake work and travel that a few years previous was unthinkable. 

JMR-Who is your favorite historical figure? Why? If you could ask them one question, what would it be?

KB- Queen Elizabeth the First. She was such a strong woman ruling England at a time when women had few rights. She led the way for future queens. I would ask her from where did she gather her inner strength. 

JMR- You are a trained homeopathic practitioner. How did you come to be a writer of historical fiction, and what influence does your profession have on your writing, if any?

KB-I started with my debut novel, Trust Me On This One, Emily writing about the Thalidomide scandal of the 1950s and 1960s incorporating homeopathy into the story led me to follow suit with my subsequent novels. 

JMR- Did you visit anyone of the places in your book? Where did you feel closest to your characters?

KB- I am very familiar with Lymington the setting of my novel; Three Sisters. I felt closest to my characters around the quayside there and the sea generally inspires my writing. 

JMR- Katheryn, tell us about your new book, Three Sisters. 

KB- It is a coming-of-age story of three girls becoming women in Edwardian England just as the Great War looms. Each girl very different in personality faces an a life-changing challenge, an impending marriage, her feelings for her best friend, and chronic illness. The war forces them to face these challenges head on and also make a decision about their future. 

JMR-What projects do you have in the pipeline?

KB- I have a 1950s multicultural romance coming out next year, also book two in my Three Sisters serial. 

JMR- Tell our readers how to find you on social media and the web. 

KB- Instagram 

Instagram.com/kittibarnett3

Twitter 

twitter.com/kittibarnett3

Facebook 

facebook.com/kittibarnett13Emily

Threads

threads.net/kittibarnett3 

JMR- What question were you hoping I’d ask but didn’t?

KB-What inspires your writing? Wanting to understand more about humankind. What does it mean to be human in a certain period of time, if our lives took a certain path. 

JMR-Thank you, Kathryn for dropping by and sharing your book with us. Readers, I've include a link to Amazon, if your interested in reading more abbout this lovely story.

Author Interview: Alina Adams author of My Mother's Secret

 

Today, The Book's Delight is thrilled to chat with Alina Adams, author of My Mother's Secret!

JMR-Welcometo the Books Delight, Alina. Tell our readers where you live, what you do forfun and what does the perfect day look like?

AA- Thank you so muchfor having me! I currently live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New YorkCity. A typical day involves me juggling my three different jobs: I write abouteducation in NYC and help parents find the best fit schools fortheir children. I write for a soap opera website where I not only critique theshows on the air, but have written my own serial about the early days ofserials. And, of course, I write my books, promote my books, and think aboutwhat books I am going to write next. I should be embarrassed to admit - but I’mnot - that I love all three of my jobs so much that getting the chance to doall three of them is my idea of fun!

JMR-What’syour favorite historical time period? Why?

AA- Now, see, this istricky. I am a Jewish woman, my husband is African-American, and our threechildren are biracial. When it comes to a favorite historical period, we alwaysask, where, exactly, would a family like ours fit in? The answer is… not a lotof times and places, that’s for sure. (And I refuse to time travel without myfamily. They’d never forgive me.) So when it comes to my favorite time periodto live in, I’d have to go with here and now. (We know what we all would havebeen put through in the past, and we have no idea what’s looming ahead in thefuture.) However, my favorite historical time period to write about, thesetting for my past two novels, is the Soviet Union in the 1930s and 1940s, as,while most people know what was going on in Western Europe at the time (forobvious reasons), very few know what was happening simultaneously in EasternEurope.

JMR-Whois your favorite historical figure? Why? If you could ask them one question,what would it be?

AA- Well, I don’t knowif he’s my favorite historical figure, but my husband and I are intrigued bysecond US president, John Adams. We’d love to know how he managed to be“unpleasant and disliked,” and still get so much done!

JMR-You’ve had a varied career in soap operas and figure skating. How did you cometo be a writer of historical fiction?

AA- Write what youknow, right? I worked as a writer, producer and researcher in the figureskating departments of ABC Sports, ESPN, NBC and Lifetime. So I wrote murdermysteries set in that world. I worked for the soap operas, “As the World Turns”and “Guiding Light,” so I wrote tie-in books for those shows. I was born in theSoviet Union, as were my parents and grandparents. So I wrote “The NestingDolls” and “My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region” toshare all the stories I’d heard growing up.

JMR-You don’t just write historical fiction. You have also written books about SoapOperas and Figure Skating murder mysteries. Where do you get your ideas from?What’s your favorite genre to write?

AA- My favorite genreis family sagas. I love following a character from birth to adulthood, and Ilove seeing how one generation’s experience influences the other. (My Gen Zkids call that “inherited trauma.” I call if “life.”) Historical fiction obviouslylends itself to such a multi-generation approach, but so do mysteries, wherethe crimes of today are often influenced by the events of the past. And soapsare all about families and their traumas!

JMR-Did you visit anyone of the places in your book? Where did you feel closest toyour characters?

AA- In “My Mother’sSecret: A Noel of the Jewish Autonomous Region,” the lead characters, Lena andher mother, Regina, travel back to the Soviet Union in 1988, right at thebeginning of glasnost, when it became possible for former Soviet citizens tovisit their countries of origin - without an excessive amount of fear that theywouldn’t be allowed to leave again (just a reasonable amount of fear). That issomething my mother and I did, as well. We went to Moscow and Odessa in 1988,and some of the things that happen to Regina and Lena happened to us!

JMR-Alina, tell us about your latest book, MyMother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region.

AA- In the 1930s, thatgreat friend of the Jews, Josef Stalin, decided that, after 1000s of years, hewould be the one to finally give the Jews a homeland of their own. Under hisauspices and rule, of course. Birobidzhan is located on the border of Russiaand China, and over 10,000 people from not just the USSR, not just EasternEurope, not just Western Europe, but from South and even North Americaimmigrated there in the 1930s, hoping to build an independent Jewish state.What happened there was a microcosm of Stalin’s many repressive policies,including the random arrests, the forced confessions, the starvation, and thepolice state which defined the rest of the country until his death in the1950s.

JMR-Whatprojects do you have in the pipeline?

AA- Oh, I’m alwaysworking on something! There is the serial I mentioned earlier, about the womanwho basically invented the soap-opera genre - which I manage to tie into theWorld Youth Festival held in Moscow in 1957, when Stalin’s successor,Khrushchev, wanted to show the world how open and free the USSR now was. Thereis also a manuscript which starts in Rumanian-occupied Odessa during World WarII, goes through the 1970s Soviet refusenik movement, and into today’s Russianoligarchs and the war in Ukraine.

JMR-You once wrote a book live on-line! What a crazy idea! What did you learn fromthat experience?

AA- I learned thatwriting sex scenes when you can see the icon that someone is watching you do itis hard!

JMR-Tell our readers how to find you on social media and the web.

AA- I am on Facebookas: Alina Sivorinovsky Wickham, I am on Instagram as: @IamAlinaAdams, I am onthe app that is no longer a bird as @IamAlinaAdams, and my website is,www.AlinaAdams.com.

JMR-What question were you hoping I’d ask but didn’t?

AA- I always like tospread the love to other authors, so I was hoping you’d ask about whichpost-Soviet books readers who enjoyed “The Nesting Dolls” and “My Mother’sSecret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region” should check out next.

And I have an answerfor you! My teen daughter and I have a YouTube channel reviewing post-Sovietfiction (how else could I get my kid to talk to me?) which should help you findyour next read at: https://www.youtube.com/@IamAlinaAdams/videos.

Thank you for thisinterview, it was lots of fun!

 JMR- Thank you, Alina for stopping by for this fun chat. Readers, I've include a link to Alina's book below! Be sure to check it out.

Author Interview: Ellen Alpsten author of Tsarina

 

Today we area excited to talk with author Ellen Alpsten about herself, writing, history and her books.

Aboutthe Author:

Ellenwas born and raised in the Kenyan highlands, where her father worked as aVeterinary Surgeon. Once a month, the local cinema showed a Bollywood movie andtheir magic was inspiring: while her elder brothers attended boarding school,she dressed up their many pets (cats, dogs, chicken, geese, a stroppy Polopony, a wounded Serval cat and at times a baby crocodile) and forced them tolisten to her stories.

Afterher very mediocre A-levels Ellen moved to Paris and studied at the 'Institutd'Etudes Politiques de Paris', where she won the Grande Ecole’s short storycompetition with her novella ‘Meeting Mr. Gandhi’. Following her MSc in PPE,she moved to London and worked first as a TV-Producer and then as a News-Anchorfor Bloomberg TV London, doing gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV. Herdownstairs neighbour thought Ellen worked as an escort as she cantered down thestairs at any godforsaken hour. She also started to write in earnest, everyday, after work, a nap, and a run.

Today,she works as an author and as a journalist for international publications suchas the German 'FAZ', Vogue, Standpoint, and CN Traveller. Ellen also runsCreative Writing for charities like ‘Refugee Action’, showing how writing helpsto overcome trauma, and lectures in the MA Programme of St. Mary’s University.She lives in Richmond with her Swedish entrepreneur husband, her three sons,and Honey, a moody fox red Labrador-Lady.

Herdebut novel ‘Tsarina' and its sequel 'The Tsarina's Daughter' – both -published by Bloomsbury – were widely translated and shortlisted for numerousawards.

Ellenis represented by Caroline Michel and is writing her next Historical Fictionseries. Once more, she has fallen for one of history’s hidden heroines – staytuned! 

 

JMR-Welcome to the Books Delight, Ellen.Tell our readers where you live, what you do for fun and what does the perfectday look like?

EA- Thanks so much for having me! Ilive in Petersham, a village in Richmond upon Thames and part of London. Wecross the meadows, where Belted Galloways graze – sometimes we smack their bottomswith my son’s school satchel to get past – while the red London double-deckerbus drive by in a distance. Never before in my 22 years in this great andunique city did I feel so settled. Petersham resembles to Marie Antoinette’s‘Hameau’ in Versailles, but that is its charm: lots of crazy characters doingtheir thing! My fun is all about creation – I love coaxing tropical plants fromEnglish earth, trying new recipes or different art techniques. My perfect day wouldbe either waking in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower, seeing anexhibition, lunch, walking around and meeting friends from drinks and dinner;or being roused before sunset for a game drive in the Kenyan Masai Mara – scaldinghot morning tea with milk and sugar and then long, hot hours in a shaky jeep. Allbones hurt when you return to camp, and already the grass is singing with heat.But never will you be closer to God’s creation, and each minute fills your heartand soul for months on end.

JMR-What’s your favorite historicaltime period? Why?

EA- I love moments of great change: neverlet a good crisis go to waste. It’s in these periods that the best storiesemerge – such as the Renaissance following the Middle Ages, and the Baroque, justbefore Kant’s Enlightenment catapulted us into modernity. My current projectcharts the end of a world and beginning of a new era.

JMR-Who is your favorite historicalfigure? Why? If you could ask them one question, what would it be?

EA-Good Cinderella stories areunbeatable, so I’d say Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Curie, and my ‘Tsarina’. HOWdo you rise from lowly, skinny, and lonely cadet in a Marseille militaryacademy to Emperor of France, writing the Code Civil and laying the groundworkof the Europe we have today. HOW do you emigrate from Poland as a destituteyoung woman in the late 1800s, study Physics in Paris, overcome all odds,discover radioactivity, and receive two Nobel prizes? HOW does an illiterateserf become Empress of the world’s largest and wealthiest realm, and the firstwoman to ever rule Russia? My question to them: how can we bottle thatstrength, resilience, and ambition? 

JMR- How did you come to be a writer ofhistorical fiction?

EA- Upon my return from Kenya, I hadvery lonely teenage years and found refuge in the library. I’d literally fill awashing basket with books every week, but only remember reading the greatoeuvres of historical fiction. This genre offers a triple E of education,entertainment, and escapism – ‘Angelique’, ‘Forever Amber’, Sinuhe theEgyptian, ‘I, Claudius’ and ‘Child of the Morning’. How magical to revive thepast, seeing it through the prism of our modern days? Mind you, my firstatrocious novel, which thankfully is lost, was fantasy with elements of crime.

JMR - You were born and raised inKenya, studied in Paris, and now live in England; how has this shaped you as awriter?

EA- I am very lucky for this, but it’salso not always easy – carving out a belonging. It has made me porous, soakingup stories. Growing up in the Kenyan highlands was magical – we had no TV, butmy godmother sent me book parcels -mostly Astrid Lindgren, whose ‘The BrothersLionheart’ still make me ugly cry – and once a month, we saw a movie, mostlyfantastically colorful Bollywood productions. Both have shaped my love for BIGstories, that hopefully touch my reader deeply. Moving to Paris was a secondeducation – I was a wild child when I arrived. As a student, I worked for aFrench bestselling writer, Benoite Groult. Her top tip: Be serious about yourwriting! I came to London for my first job, earning very little money andknowing even less people. Every evening, I wrote for real, honing my craft –the English are the BEST storytellers! - with the goal of being a publishedauthor. Life as a writer is a puzzle, and there are still so many piecesmissing. Let’s see what comes next…

JMR- Did you visit anyone of the placesin your book? Where did you feel closest to your characters?

EA- My husband is Swedish, so I knowhow the extreme nature in the Baltics influences peoples’ characters 😊.TSARINA is as contrasting as the Russian Soul itself, casually combiningseemingly insurmountable contrasts: callouscruelty and overwhelming empathy; overt hostility towards all things foreign,yet selfless hospitality to strangers; freezing, interminable winters - zima–, and the summers’ long white nights. We visited St. Petersburg once I hadfinished the first draft, and fell under the city’s spell. There, TSARINA iseverywhere. She grows up in an izba, a rickety hut – such as thefirst house of their new city that Peter and her shared – but dies in a Palace,surrounded by unimaginable splendor. She suffers every humiliation imaginablebut finds a new home in the Tsar’s heart. You get her ‘can-do’ spirit in thiscity of breathtaking beauty that was raised from a fly-infested, fever-riddenmarshland.

JMR- Ellen, tell us about your books, Tsarinaand The Tsarina’s Daughter.

EA-I call them my ‘RomanovRollercoaster’: the first books ever about theunique century of female reign in a Russia, a country dominated by a brutalpatriarchy.

 “Tsarina” tells the extraordinarystory of Catherine I. of Russia – NOT Catherine the Great – who rose from serfto Empress, while the country morphed from backward nation to the beginnings ofa modern superpower. It’s the most extraordinary rags-to-riches tale - sex,passion, love, power, and ruthlessness - but also the story of the birth ofmodern Russia. It tells of a rising Empire in turmoil and change, of themadness of war, the reckless brutality of monarchy set against the colourfulbackdrop of the wild and passionate world of 18th century Russia,where nothing is as abundant and worthless as human life. Her daughterElizabeth lived the opposite of her mother’s life, falling from riches to rags,before she rises from rags to Romanov. At her father’s death, Russia is a limbo,caught between the past and the future. Masks fall, friends turn foe, and everystep might lead my heroine into an abyss. But then, an incredible love storymakes her who she always was, even if she faces a heartbreaking choice to surviveand triumph.

 

JMR-What projects do you have in thepipeline?

EA- My terrific agent Caroline Michelis about to offer my next Historical Fiction series -  for my current girl, we go 1000 years back,building a bridge from myth to modernity and witnessing the hour 0 of Europe.She survives a lethal conflict between old and new faith, before a sheerimpossible love story makes her create greatness. It’s once more the firstnovel about this woman, who’s by chance an ancestress of my husband.  It was a privilege piecing her storytogether.  All in all, I have my next sixbooks mapped out.

JMR- Tell our readers how to find youon social media and the web. (include links)

EA- Find me on Twitter as https://twitter.com/EAlpsten_Author,on Instagram as https://www.instagram.com/ellenalpsten_author/ and also on LinkedIn as https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellen-alp... am dabbling with TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@ealpsten_author, where I have FOUR followers 😊.Will you be my fifth one? We live and we learn…

JMR- What question were you hoping I’dask but didn’t?

EA- Ha! That’s a dangerous one. I can talk about mygirls until the cows come home. So, here we go: How did you discover ‘Tsarina’ and howcome her extraordinary story was overlooked so far? 

 

Marta’s rise from the illiterate,illegitimate serf to first ever reigning Empress ofRussia, which morphed from backward country tosuperpower – fascinated me ever sincereading a book called ‘Germans and Russians’, when aged 13. It charts themillennial hate-love of these two people. When I had maturedenough to be an author, I was stunned to see that there was nothing about her: no thesis, no biography, no novel.  I believe I was destined tofind her, a bit like Howard Carter ‘discovered’ Tut Ankh Amun. If ‘my’Catherine’s reign was brief – two peaceful and prosperous years, anexception in the Russian history – she continued Peter the Great’s strive fordiscovery and improvement. His death left his realm stuck mid-reform, settlinginto a fragile peace with its belligerent neighbours, its government at themercy of foreign fortune-hunters. Her final act was to finance Bering’s ships,allowing the explorer the quest for his eponymous strait.  Not theworst thing to be remembered for… 

 

THANK YOU!!!

 JMR-Thank you, Ellen, for stopping buy. Readers, I've included a buy link for Ellen's book, Tsarina's Daughter below.

Here is some praise for Ellen's books:
Alpsten's colourful narrative does full justice to her extraordinary career ― Sunday Times

With its sprawling canvas and huge cast...it's an entertaining romp through the endless intrigue, violence and debauchery of court life.' ― Mail on Sunday

The extraordinary life of Catherine I of Russia is brought to life in Alpsten's colourful novel. ― Sunday Times, Summer Picks
An epic cloaked in ice and snow, and technicolor on page ― 'La Stampa' Italy
A beast of a book and not for the faint of heart - glorious. ― Daily Express
This is the ultimate Cinderella story of an illiterate peasant girl who becomes the empress of Russia. It makes Game of Thrones look like a nursery rhyme. ― Daisy Goodwin

As detailed as the jewels and enamel inlay on the creations of Faberge...[a] crisp, elegant fictional account of history, woven with emotion and brio.' ― Adriana Trigiani

Luscious...Alpsten has clearly done some brilliant research. It reads like Game of Thrones without the dragons. ― Natasha Pulley

[Alpsten] recounts this remarkable woman's colourful life and times. ― Count Nikolai Tolstoy
Tsarina should come with a health warning - once you start, you cannot stop! ―Hannah Rothschild

Review: Cape Wrath by Ted Olson

 

Cape Wrath by Ted Olson

Published: September 2023

Publisher: Story Road LLC

Genre: Historical Thriller

Available: ebook, paperback

Pages: 300

The Short Story: A dual time historical mystery with a dash of ghostly romance

My Review:

Actress Andrea Sinclair and Thomas McCallister, decorated naval officer turned lighthouse keeper, are in love. But Andrea loves the theater and Thomas seems determined to remain at the remote Cape Wrath lighthouse where he meets a brutal end. Years later, his American nephew Evan joins forces with Mary, an investigative reporter, to solve the mystery of Thomas’ death and the mysterious presence that haunts the abandoned lighthouse.

Author Ted Olson has crafted a complex dual time story with a cadre of interesting characters. Neither Andrea, daughter of a rich man nor Thomas, a man full of unspoken secrets, are who we think they are. Mary thinks she’s writing a story about Cape Wrath until she comes face-to-face with a ghostly apparition. Evan, whose mother was Thomas’ sister, is looking for answers about his family, little does he know what he’s in for. 

I enjoyed the setting: the far north of Scotland, wild and rugged. I felt the loneliness of the lighthouse, the beauty of a summer day, the strength of a winter storm. The characters were complicated, slowly revealing who they are. The mystery of Thomas’ past was interesting and kept me guessing. I was a little bit disappointed at the ending but I think that was my own fault as I wanted more from the story. 

Not a ghost story in the traditional sense, this solid story should satisfy readers who enjoy a moody setting, a bit of the supernatural and a good mystery. 

I rate this book 4 ½ stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Blitz and Giveaway: Porter and Midge Paws and Playtime by Jennie Chen and Giselle Nevada

 

PORTER & MIDGE: PAWS AND PLAYTIME byJennie Chen and Giselle Nevada

Children's Picture Book / Pet Care / Dog TrainingSeries: Porter and Midge seriesPublisher: Raise the Woof Press LLCPage Count: 32 pagesPublication date: December 12, 2023

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Discover the enchanting world of Porter and Midge: Paws and Playtime - a rhyming children's book that follows the heartwarming bond between two furry friends, Mastiff Porter and Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Midge, and their devoted companions, CJ and Lora.
On a sunny day, CJ's thoughtful idea sets the stage for a joyful exploration of new ways to make Porter and Midge's days even brighter.
Through rhythmic verses, follow their journey as they uncover imaginative games, canine enrichment activities, and thrilling dog sports, all while strengthening their unbreakable connection.
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Giselle Nevada has owned several mastiffs, acquired both from reputable breeders and via rescue. Fostering rescued mastiffs and helping them work through their issues led to a keen interest in socialization as a means of preventing future issues. She loves working with her dogs and has dabbled in carting, conformation, agility, rally, trick dog, nose work, and many other canine sports. Her puppy Porter is a testament to early socialization - he has achieved many performance dog titles and has done commercial work. He also has a role in a movie called Match Me If You Can directed by Marian Yeager.


Jennie Chen is a homesick Austinite who founded Keep Austin Dog Friendly. Over the last 20 years, Jennie has owned Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and Lowchen. She has earned numerous titles in conformation, competitive obedience, rally, herding, animal assisted therapy, and more. She is passionate about the relationship people build with their beloved canines, and she has been an advocate for people living with disabilities who need a service dog to live independently. She is active in various dog clubs and can be seen on AKC.TV from time to time.

WEBSITE  ◆   FACEBOOK  ◆   INSTAGRAM

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Blog Tour: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles by The Underground Authors

 

 

THE MAGNOLIA BLUFFCRIME CHRONICLESSeasons 1 & 2byThe Underground Authors
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Each stand-alone book in this multi-author crime novel series is set in the fictitious, beautiful little Texas Hill Country town of Magnolia Bluff. Each author writes in their preferred sub-genre to allow readers to experience humor, dark dilemmas, suspense, romance, thrills, and spills — told through good storytelling that will keep readers awake past their bedtime, trying to find out whodunit.
Season three of The Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles begins in January 2024. Stay tuned.
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BORN AND BRED TEXAN

BOOK INFO

Born andBred Texan by Jinx Schwartz

Women’sDetective Fiction / Cozy Animal Mystery

December20, 2022

258 pages

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Blue Bonet, widowed and in mourning, returns to MagnoliaBluff in her home state of Texas. Her grandmother had bequeathed an old lakehouse to her, and she cherishes childhood memories there. She arrives at thelake and finds the house she remembers as being grand, is now in disrepair.

She tackles the repairs, and is determined to make a newlife for herself,

It seems like an uphill battle.

A rollercoaster of ups and down conspire to destroy herdream, and she begins to wonder if you really can't go home again.

 

Born and BredTexan by Jinx Schwartz Book Nine in the Magnolia Bluffs Series 

The ShortStory: A little bit mystery; A little bit romance, a whole lotta fun! 

After the deathof her husband, Blue Bonet Austin returns to Magnolia Bluffs, the family seatand site of holiday and family get-togethers. Blue spent a year in MagnoliaBluffs as a teenager, attending the high school her senior year and made a fewclose friends, but left for college in Paris, France. Now, she’s inherited hergrandmother’s lakefront property, which comes with many happy memories. She’sfinancially well off and without children so she throws herself into renovatingthe old house. An abandoned dog adopts her and becomes a faithful friend. Herhandyman is a wizard and there is nothing he can’t do. Everything is looking gooduntil it isn’t. A dead body and a field of bones throw a ringer in her plans asthe local cops and the FBI descend on Blue’s tranquil home. With the help ofher high school friend and lawyer, Gloria, Blue contends with law enforcement,a nosy local reporter, a murderer and a potential suitor. 

I reallyenjoyed this well-written book. The author captures the laid back feel of the Texas Hill Country. The characters arevivid, and have enough quirks to make it a fun engaging read. The pace is fast and aided by the author's dry sense of humor and quick wit. Thestory has a little bit of everything: mystery, friendship, nostalgia andromance. Born and Bred Texan is part of the Magnolia Bluffs Series,eighteen books set in Magnolia Bluffs by different authors. 

I highly recommend this fun book to readers who enjoy a bit of mystery, romance and stories about strong women.

I rate this book: 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐stars!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

USA TODAY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR, Jinx Schwartz, has written twenty books, including book 15 in her Hetta Coffey series. A ninth-generation Texan, Jinx has lived and worked all over the globe.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS & AUTHOR PAGES

https://www.jinxschwartz.com

https://www.facebook.com/public/Jinx-Schwartz

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jinx-Schwartz/author/B004GZ5MO4

 

 

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!THREE WINNERS:1st: $25 Amazon gift card2nd & 3rd: eBook bundles of first 18 books in the series(US only; ends midnight, CST, 12/8/23)
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Boys' Mom Reads

10 Million Ways to Die

Review

11/27/23

Reading by Moonlight

Death Wears a Crimson Hat

Review

11/27/23

Hall Ways

Series Spotlight

 

11/28/23

The Plain-Spoken Pen

Death in the Absence of Rain

Review

11/28/23

StoreyBook Reviews

Eulogy in Black and White

Review

11/28/23

LSBBT Blog

Series Spotlight

 

11/29/23

Forgotten Winds

The Great Peanut Butter Conspiracy

Review

11/29/23

Carpe Diem Chronicles

Only the Good Die Young

Spotlight

11/29/23

It's Not All Gravy

When Bad Things Happen to Good Mice

Review

11/30/23

Rox Burkey Blog

You Won’t Know How...or When

Review

12/01/23

StoreyBook Reviews

The Flower Enigma

Review

12/01/23

Writing and Music

The Killer Enigma

Review

12/02/23

Reading by Moonlight

Men Lying Dead in a Field

Review

12/02/23

The Clueless Gent

The Shine from a Girl in the Lake

Review

12/03/23

Jennie Reads

The Dewey Decimal Dilemma

Review

12/03/23

Forgotten Winds

The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma

Review

12/04/23

Chapter Break Blog

Justice

Spotlight

12/04/23

The Plain-Spoken Pen

Bye Baby Bye

Review

12/05/23

Shelf Life Blog

Texas Summers are Murder

Sneak Peek

12/05/23

The Book's Delight

Born and Bred Texan

Review

12/06/23

It's Not All Gravy

Who Killed Lilly Paine?

Review

12/07/23

Reading by Moonlight

Second Chances

Review

12/08/23

The Page Unbound

A Chance of a Ghost

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Book Blog and Review: The Third Dawn by Thomas J. Nichols

 

THE THIRD DAWN: FROM BETHLEHEM TO GOLGOTHA by Thomas J. Nichols
Inspirational Religious Fiction / Historical FictionPublisher: Nicholson BooksPage Count: 212 pagesPublication Date: September 14, 2023Updated version with new dialogue and more detailed descriptions
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Nichols turns his award-winning writing career to the greatest mystery of all time in The Third Dawn: From Bethlehem to Golgotha.
Accompanied by His lifelong friend, Nur, the young Jesus ventures throughout the towns and villages of Israel, Palestine, and across the sea to the port city of Ephesus. With Nur always at His side, Jesus experiences the joys and hardships of humanity—Jews and gentiles, rich and poor, believers and nonbelievers, freemen and slaves.
Nichols’s gifted storytelling brings forth this unique perspective on the life of the Messiah, providing a rare insight into His personal joys and suffering. The reader will experience the emotions of His power and authority when, on a mountaintop above Capernaum, He pronounces the future, and a spectacular miracle occurs in the city below.
The Third Dawn was initially published in 2011 but is now updated with new dialogue and more detailed settings.
CLICK TO PURCHASE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you to authorThomas Nichols for a review copy.  

The Short Story:Beautifully told story of the life of Jesus. 

As we rush pell melltoward the Christmas season, it's good to take time to reflect on the reasonChristians celebrate December 25th. A great way to do this would be a readof The Third Dawn. This is a beautiful accounting of the life ofJesus. Author Nichols pulls the basic story of Jesus from the biblical accountsbut fleshes out the narrative in this fictional account. The family of Mary andJoseph come to life. A new addition to the well-known story is the boy, Nur.Nur, an orphan, is adopted by Joseph and Mary just prior to the birth of theirson. Nur is special, God speaks to him, gives his directions and seems to havesent him to help the family, especially Mary. The journey of Jesus and Nur toEphesus is especially interesting as Jesus prepares to begin his ministry. Hestates, "No one accepts a prophet in his own land." 

The story of Mary,mother of Jesus, is told with reverent tenderness as she guides the new Apostlesin their life after the death of her son. Her constant companion is Athena,wife of a Greek ship captain who crossed paths with and was inspired by Jesus on his journey.  

Nichols gives hisreaders a taste for life in Jesus' time, the first century AD. Describing thelives, living conditions, customs and social norms, of the people who inhabitedthe Holy Land. 

A beautiful story, welltold, the faith of the author shines through his work. I recommend this book topeople of faith, or readers interested in knowing more about what life mighthave been like in biblical times. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thomas J. (Tom) Nichols’s law enforcement career ranged from patrol, detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Chief, and Chief of Police. spanning the era of the growth of the Mexican drug cartels and war on drugs. He has written seven novels and three short stories with themes of the border wars, espionage, international intrigue, and the supernatural.
Tom's latest work is The Third Dawn, an inspirational retelling of the early life of Jesus galvanized by his devotion to local and international church affairs. His ideas were brought to life while traveling with Gwen, his wife who also serves as his editor, to experience of the Holy Land—the Church of the Nativity, the Holy Sepulcher, The Annunciation, the Mount of Olives, the River Jordan, Capernaum, Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee, Jericho, and Ephesus.
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