Laura Freeman's Blog, page 17

Scandal’s Promise

Scandal’s Promise by Pamela Gibson 2020 Regency

Gibson gives us a lovely twist on a common plot line in a Regency romance. Normally a young woman is compromised and forced to marry a man. In this Andrew Marcus Quigley, a future earl, is engaged to Emily, his childhood friend and true love but at a house party, Lord Woodley gets him drunk and he finds himself in his room with Lady Caroline Woodley whose mother and a friend happen to pass by and overhear her screams.

His pious father forces him to elope with Caroline instead of believing he’s been tricked into marrying her. He refuses to bed her and leaves for the military. Caroline dies in childbirth eight months later.

This is a unique twist on a old plot and adds the layer of forgiveness. Emily has been wronged publicly by Andrew. Will she forgive him? He’s been given a son he knows isn’t his biologically but legally. What will he do?

Emily has remained a spinster, still in love with Andrew, but refusing to be a fool. When he returns she is determined not to give her heart to him, but he lives next door to her estate, and they run into each other. His grandfather drops his son, George, who is six, on his doorstep. George tells Emily the boy is not his, but she reminds him he is an innocent and needs him.

When someone kidnaps the boy, the tension ramps up. Add Andrews addiction to laudanum, and the plot becomes more complex. Andrew has to forgive himself before he can move forward.

A writer needs to think of ways to keep two lovers apart while they are attracted to one another. A simple misunderstanding isn’t enough in today’s novels. The characters have to dig deeper into what is important to them and possibly change to win someone’s love. A child is often used to bring two people together but should not be the only reason two people decide to wed.

The characters have best friends or a loving aunt to share their worries with and obtain advice. This helps to convey different beliefs and solutions to problems. Give your main characters friends and relatives to deal with, both good and bad.

Also, Andrew begins to receive cryptic messages before George is kidnapped. The story has already shown the “gun” and Gibson fires it. If you introduce a character or weapon in the beginning of a story, you need to use it later on.

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#Regency #romance #Gibson

Riverboat Temptation

Riverboat Temptation by Gwen Cleary 1992 Kensington Publishing

In 1857 Nash Foster is on the deck with prostitute Dolly when three lawmen come to arrest him. They want to force him to marry Jennifer, Markus Kiplinger’s daughter. He was supposed to receive the boat in exchange of squiring her about New York, but when Markus announced their engagement, he balked and flees with his partner Barth McGraw and Dolly, who tells Marcus  they are heading to the territory of Oregon.

In 1857 Columbia Baranoff and her uncle Titus own the Columbia paddlewheeler. She wants to be the first female pilot. Upon arrival in Oregon, Nash beats the Columbia to the dock and shipment. Columbia is furious. He announces that Dolly is his wife. Titus knows it’s a lie and asks Dolly to help get Columbia and Nash together.

Most of the story has Nash and Columbia clashing wills. She disguises herself as a boy to find out what his plans are with her enemy Villamoore, who wants to have all the trade on the river for himself while he plots to become the leader of the southern rebellion.

Nash orders Columbia, his cabin boy, to give him a bath. Her forthright questions and observations make for comical discussions. Dolly helps her dress for a party at Villamoore, but the dress catches fire and Nash has to put it out. They have sex, but Columbia feels guilty because she doesn’t want to come between Nash and his wife Dolly. He tells her they are getting a divorce instead of the truth.

When her boat is blown up and Titus is hurt, he asks her to choose between Nash and Barth as a husband, who both court her even though it is evident Nash doesn’t like the idea of sharing Columbia like the other women in his past. But doesn’t this mean he thinks of her as a possession? I’m not a fan of Alpha males, but they are the bread and butter of romances.

The hardest part for a writer is to cause pain and heartache to the characters you’ve created. Alpha males usually don’t suffer more than realizing they love the heroine and aren’t satisfied with bedding every female on the planet. Nash beds Columbia without thinking about marriage and uses lies and manipulations to avoid it. The sad part is Columbia is the one honest person in the story, and you want her to be happy. This makes her a good heroine to root for. The problem is as the heroine, she has to suffer and goes through a plethora of emotions before she can be happy which is represented by marriage. Do alpha males make good husbands?

More book reviews can be found at www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#Romance #Historical #Cleary

A Girl Puzzle

A Girl Puzzle: A Story of Nellie Bly by Kate Brailwaite 2019

As a journalist, I have always been interested in Nellie Bly. She wanted to write news stories that could bring about change instead of stories about fashion or food. I know the feeling of being assigned “fluff” instead of the hard hitting news. I had stories taken from me and given to men even in the twenty-first century. And the feeling of helplessness and needing a job were used to silence any protest.

Brailwaite tells the story in two parallel narratives. One is in 1887 when Nellie comes to New York to work for a major newspaper and proposes entering Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum. She is bold and jumps in without thinking or making arrangements to get out of the asylum. Thankfully, the publishers at the paper take her seriously and retrieve her after ten harrowing days.

The other narrative takes place in 1919 and the final days of her life. It shows her cause to help the children and her work up to her death. This part is told through Beatrice, one of three secretaries who works for her. The past is told through Bly’s own writings that Beatrice types up.

Based on writings by Bly and others, this story gives an excellent look at Nellie Bly, her life growing up, her choices, and her conflicting goals. She wanted to be wealthy and have nice clothes, but she also wanted to help the poor, the insane, and others who had struggled through life like she had with only her wits and determination to succeed.

The story is easy to read unlike some biographies and provides references for the reader if they want to know more about Bly. I recommend this for anyone who wants to know more about women in history and the challenges they faced.

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#historical #NellieBly #journalism #BlackwellIsland

Murder on Peachtree Street

Murder on Peachtree Street by Patricia Houck Sprinkle 1993 A Worldwide Mystery

This is an early book in the Sheila Travis Mystery series. Sheila is the widow of an American ambassador, who lived in his shadow as she helped his career. She has been a widow for about a year and is director of international relations for a Japanese company that owns the Galaxia Encyclopedia Company.

Dean Anderson, world traveler and writer, now works for Galaxia and knew Sheila when they were both in Japan. His staff is working on ideas for a television series in which he would star. He is dating movie star Raven, but the company is in Atlanta where his bitter ex-wife Laura Anderson and their two children, Neal and Bayard, struggle to reconnect to their father.

Sheila visits Galaxia and meets the staff with rivals Jonah and Craig, Veronica, Porter and an old classmate, Elise. Each character is diverse enough to keep separate. Sheila’s Aunt Mary likes reading detective novels and has dragged Sheila into a couple of investigations. When the handyman, Woody, finds Anderson at his desk, shot from an apparent suicide, Sheila uses her connections to view the crime scene and convinces Lt. Green to treat it as a possible murder.

Sheila is given Dean’s office as she learns more about the staff and family, who have possible motives for murder. A well-dressed receptionist disappears, a convict who threatened Dean a day before his death, a book of photographs from the Vietnam War, missing trophies, and the feud between Laura and Raven give the reader plenty of motives and suspects.

A confession almost ends the investigation, but Sheila realizes a missing piece of the puzzle and sets a trap for the real killer.

This is an interesting way to create an amateur detective. Sheila is reluctant to get involved but it is Aunt Mary who keeps dragging her into the investigation. Sheila tries to keep a low profile but someone keeps blowing her cover. The author also provides humor with scatterbrain Elise.

If you’re looking for a cozy mystery series, give this one a try.

More book reviews are available at www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#Mystery #Sprinkle

To Save a Savage Scot

To Save a Savage Scot by Tamara Gill 2018 Historical

Mixed genres are popular and this romance, historical, time traveler story combines all three in a seamless story. Although I figured out how it would end early on, I enjoyed the journey to the inevitable ending and so will others.

Kenzie Jacobs is related to the Macleod clan in Scotland where her cousin, Richard, is laird. She owns castle Druiminn where in 1605 Gwen Macleod and her brother Aeden Macleod lived with his wife Abby Cross who time traveled from the 21st century with Kenzie’s help.

Kenzie has just bought the burnt ruins of Castle Ross and wants to restore it to its former glory. She plans to timetravel to visit Gwen and research what Castle Ross looked like. She also wants to uncover the mystery of what happened to the laird of Castle Ross, Ben, and his infant son.

When she arrives, Gwen, who knows all about time travel, greets her warmly. Then a drunken Ben arrives at their doorstep. He’s been in mourning for his wife, Aline, who died in childbirth. He no longer wants to marry and risk another wife dying but is attracted to Kenzie. She plans to return to her time but is pulled toward Ben. Kenzie must deal with the knowledge of Ben’s death and whether to tell him he will die soon.

Gill throws in other obstacles with Aline’s sister showing up and wanting Ben to marry her. Aline’s brother wants revenge, and a group of mercenaries try to kill Ben. Gill provides plenty of action and soul searching as the two lovers decide what is important to them.

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#romance #history #highlander #timetravel #Gill

Murder in the Charleston Manner

Murder in the Charleston Manner by Patricia Houck Sprinkle 1993 A Worldwide Mystery

This is the author’s second book in the Sheila Travis Mystery series. Aunt Mary, who has ties to everyone, sends her niece, Sheila Travis, on a “vacation” when she receives a letter about mysterious accidents at Wimberly House from her childhood friend, Dolly.

Sheila is introduced to a group of relatives, neighbors and friends who become suspects when nurse Francine, who has been asked by Dolly to write a family history, is found in the cottage behind Wimberly House, dead. It appears she has fallen from a stool and struck her head.

In cozy mystery fashion, Sheila finds Francine when she fails to keep an appointment with Marion, Dolly’s older sister and owner of an antique store. On the top shelf in the cottage is a bag of stolen silver and the family Bible, which was stolen the night before. The police are quick to rule it an accident but discover she died of asphyxiation. Sheila searches for the truth on her own.

Many of the accidents were directed at Marion, and she tells Sheila she was pushed down the stairs when she injured her wrist. Marion also owns land that a developer wants to purchase, but she refuses to sell. Francine’s brother has a criminal record and was staying secretly with her at the cottage. This provides plenty of motives and suspects in the mystery.

The danger increases when a character takes over the research of the family history and is found dead in the garden. Sheila also discovers the previous accidental death of a doctor was a murder.

Sheila calls Mary and reviews the case with her. This is a common way to summarize the clues and suspects before the big reveal. Mary also reveals secrets in the family history that set up the climax. One of the group is poisoned, and Shiela is kidnapped before the final reveal.

Sprinkle uses the setting of Charleston well with descriptions of the homes and historical sites. This is important in any story, and a writer needs to ground the story in a place that feels familiar to the reader. A family tree or list of characters would have been helpful. There were a lot of people introduced in a group. Sprinkle did develop the main ones, but the minor ones were lost in the crowd.

The poisoning of a character didn’t seem logical because the drink would have smelled funny. Also for someone who has murdered three people without remorse, leaving someone alive locked in an abandoned cottage seems odd. She could have staged another “accident” easily. Even in a cozy, the heroine should be in immediate danger and save herself.

More book reviews are available at www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#Mystery #Sprinkle

Adding romance in romance novels

I’ve read quite a few romance novels lately that substitute erotica scenes for romance. Even my publisher has commented on how romance is missing from recent submissions. Authors are describing sex in detail sometimes at the beginning, middle, or end of the story. Although sometimes the romance is developed, I finished one book where it made no sense for the couple to go to bed.

In “Impending Love and Promise” the characters are young but have been through traumatic experiences. Jules is being stalked by a killer who has mistaken her for her older sister and wants revenge. Roe was an orderly at Gettysburg and then learned the surgery skills of a doctor on the battlefields but was so traumatized by the experience he no longer wants to practice medicine. By helping each other, they grow closer together but must make life-changing choices if the romance is to survive.

Because of their youth and connections to the family, they do not have sex in the story. It wasn’t right for this couple, but the romance is there with looks, conversations, trust and other things necessary for a relationship to grow and become strong.

Think about the great romances and what is needed in a romance story. I’m going to list a few.

The gaze: this is when the man and woman lock gazes on one another and know that this person is special. They can’t take their eyes off them. In “Sleepless in Seattle” there is hardly any interaction between the main characters, but there is a long gaze when Meg’s character is standing on the side of the street and Tom’s character sees her. They gaze at one another and can only say “hello.”

A Meet Cute: This is the initial meeting between the couple and make it memorable. They should make an impression on each other and want to meet again.

Flirting: the characters need to talk to one another and there should be an element of flirting even if the initial meeting is a disaster. This is where a writer can shine as they develop witty dialogue that conveys deeper feelings beneath the innocent or not-so-innocent words exchanged between the lead characters. In “How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days” the characters reduce their initial flirting to a single word or phrase before she rides off with him, but the attraction is highly charged between them.

Non-sexual touching: A kiss was the most sex in an Austen novel, and hand touching, dancing, lifting someone in or out of a carriage, a stroke on the arm, or a hand on the waist become ways of communicating wanting someone. Anticipation is a big part of romance. Don’t rush your characters to bed.

Communication: Talking about dreams or values is another way to connect the characters. Show what they have in common. What will make them a happy and fulfilling couple? Show what makes each one the perfect partner, and let each character discover that link. Romance has a moment where the person realizes this is the one. Let your characters experience that moment.

Overcoming a difference or obstacle: In “You’ve Got Mail” Tom’s character put’s Meg’s character out of business. Is the romance doomed? No. Tom’s character works hard to mend their relationship by offering friendship and then posing the all important question about whether she can forgive him. It makes her love deeper by looking past the wrong done to her and looking toward a future together.

Act of kindness: Who doesn’t like someone to take care of them, especially if hurt or sick. Either character can play nurse or rescuer. It also helps if there is a risk factor to save the other person. Sacrifice demonstrates love.

Treatment of others: Whose heart hasn’t been softened by a man playing with a baby or child? Or someone helping an elderly person. Have your couple witness the other in an adorable situation that melts their heart.

Think of your favorite romance stories. What scene stands out as the defining moment for the romance?

More writing suggestions and book reviews are available at http://www.authorfreeman.wordpress.dom

#romance #writing

Delta Moonfire

Delta Moonfire by Linda Windsor 1992 Kensington Publishing

This story has a lot of things going on in it with a Pygmalion theme of an older man turning a street urchin into a lady, secret identities, a lost inheritance, and an act of revenge. With so much going on, the story loses its focus even though the author ties everything up at the nail-biting end.

Erin Devereau is the daughter of Giselle Asante Devereau. Her husband Jacques was in a duel, accused of firing first, and joined the war and never returned home. Giselle had to work for saloon and brothel owner Horsley. She runs his business but has to accept his unwanted advances to protect Erin from him. She became ill and has been in New Orleans for six months, leaving Erin in the slums of Natchez-Under-The-Hill.

Dressed as a boy, Erin and her friend Cready earn money by playing the shell game. Cready picks the pocket of wealthy Jackson Tyler, who owns the Delta Moon, which he won from Horsley. Giselle once saved him from a beating at the saloon, and she has made him guardian of Erin. He breaks the news to Erin that Giselle is dead and takes her aboard the Delta Moon. Always dreaming about owning a paddle boat, Erin wants to learn everything there is about the boat. He hires a tutor, Sturgis, who keeps touching Erin secretly. He’d s a sleaze, and I had to wonder shy Erin didn’t tell on him or that others never noticed his behavior.

Jackson uses soap in her mouth to break Erin of swearing and buys some dresses for her. His partner, John Davenport, takes an interest in the necklace her mother gave her. When they reach New Orleans, Erin looks up her family. Aunt Lydia tries not to identify her but her elderly mother, Marie, thinks she is Giselle. Erin and Marie work out a plan to travel on the Delta Moon. She secretly makes Erin her heir before boarding and sends the will to Jackson’s home, Retreat.

Someone plants missing jewelry and silverware in Erin’s room to set her up as a thief. Horsley arrives claiming Giselle made him guardian of Erin. When her grandmother dies, John disappears. A body is found that Jackson identifies through Erin’s locket he had taken.

Jackson and Erin are at each other’s throats with their stubbornness, but they are attracted to each other. Jackson plans to turn her into a lady and find a husband for her. He doesn’t believe her when she accuses a man of cheating at cards and puts her in danger more than once because he won’t trust her. She tries to solve her own problems with Horsley and gets into deeper trouble. The danger increases as the past catches up with the characters in the story.

This is a romance where the two characters never court one another. Jackson makes Erin unhappy but never suffers for it. When something bad happens, it needs to be balanced by more than a few lines excusing the behavior, angry words, or emotional torment. Too often Alpha males escape unscathed with a few moments of worry, and they always win the girl no matter how badly they’ve treated her. I’d like to see them try a little harder, especially in this one.

More book reviews can be found at www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#Romance #Historical #Windsor

The Fressingfield Witch

The Fressingfield Witch by Jacqueline Beard 2017 mystery

This was listed as a thriller but since the killer was unknown, I consider it a mystery. Private Investigator Lawrence Harpham is hired by the church to investigate strange deaths attributed to witchcraft by several of the residents in Fressingfield in 1890 when science is stressed and not superstition. Plenty of characters are introduced who could be the suspect, and the reader follows Lawrence as he interviews and researches the past for answers.

The research takes him into church records dating back to 1639 and follows the misfortunes of Faith Mills, the first witch of Fressingfield. These passages reveal candidly the challenges faced by a woman. Faith was married to a merchant but when he fell on hard times, he killed himself. Left with four children, she moved in with a relative in Fressingfield. Her young daughter is raped, and the wife of her attacker accuses her of bewitching her husband. From there, the hysteria grows and when witch hunters come to town, Faith and her eldest daughter are accused of witchcraft.

Beard shows how the malicious lies and helplessness to defend against the rich and powerful make victims of the innocent. Faith is tortured and forced to confess to protect her children. I found the past history more interesting than the 1890 hysteria, but it is easy to see how the loudest voices prevail.

Lawrence is threatened and his life endangered but he survives. There are more books with him, and one of the characters from this book becomes his partner. I was surprised so I won’t say who it is.

This is a good example of how to weave a story of the historic past into the present and tie it to the current story. Time travel stories try to do the same thing, but in this one, no one travels through time or is a real witch.

More reviews can be found at http://www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#mystery #thriller #historical #witchcraft

While Other People Sleep

While Other People Sleep by Marcia Muller 1998 Warner Books Edition Mystery

A woman is impersonating Sharon McCone and causing all sorts of problems. Her boyfriend Hy is away on a secret mission while she battles two parallel cases. Ted Smalley is acting secretive, and his boyfriend bookseller Neal Osborn hires Sharon to find out why.

In the meantime someone has taken an interest in her plane. Her house has been searched and credit card numbers and family phone numbers copied by her imposter. On top of that, the imposter has cloned her phone and has been deleting the much anticipated phone calls from Hy.

Sharon begins asking the police and security experts in her life for help and avoids arrest for coins her imposter has stolen. She doesn’t confide with her co-workers until Ted comes clean about his problem, too proud to ask for help.

Muller tackles the problem of hate crimes in 1998. Ted and Neal are being harassed for being gay. They discover who the culprit is and tape him confronting Neal with the hate crime. That leads to court orders to stay away from them.

The identity theft is real for nearly everyone in our modern world of technology. I’ve had someone charge something on my credit card, and try to minimize the exposure of sensitive materials, but all it takes is one time of letting your guard down.

Sharon begins to find out more about her thief, a disturbed woman with a troubled past. It is similar to a more modern problem of cyber bullying. This woman tries to ruin Sharon’s reputation. Who hasn’t had a troll attack on social media?

Writers need to write about modern problems. Each story has a different viewpoint to explore. 2020 has provided writers with a lot of ideas for stories from a pandemic to police brutality and a youth movement to change the way things are done in the police departments, courthouses, and in government. Even a lighthearted story can contain a social statement but don’t be heavy handed. Just get the reader thinking.

More book reviews are available at www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#Mystery #Muller