Her Own Revolution
Her Own Revolution: Château de Verzat Series by Debra Borchert
Guest Post + Book & Author Info + Rafflecopter Giveaway!Don’t miss any blog tour posts! Click the link here.Her Own Revolution
A Woman Forges a Treacherous Path to Save Hundreds from the Guillotine
If Geneviève Fouquier-Tinville had the same rights as a man, she wouldn’t have to dress like one, which she does to attend University—forbidden to women. By swearing her commitment to the revolution, she succeeds in convincing her father, the Public Prosecutor who condemns thousands to the guillotine, to hire her as a court clerk. But she intends to earn passage to join her lover, Henri, in America.
Tasked with copying lists of names scheduled for execution, she reads Louis LaGarde, a fallen noble whom she despises for having exposed her as a woman when they both attended University. Believing him innocent, she replaces his name with one already dead, saving his life. But she realizes that unless she forges a treacherous path, hundreds more will perish at her father’s hands.
When a Revolutionary hunts her down, she must accept LaGarde’s help, yet she denies her attraction to him out of loyalty to Henri. She fights for her life and the lives of those she’s come to love, but she must face the truth of her own heart.
Her Own Revolution: Château de Verzat Series
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Historical Romance
2nd in Series
Setting – Paris and a Loire Valley vineyard during the French Revolution
Le Vin Press (July 14, 2023)
Paperback : 422 pages
ISBN-10 : 0989454576
ISBN-13 : 978-0989454575
Digital Print length : 364 pages
ASIN : B0BYKFQGLG
Inspired by Mysteries
By Debra Borchert
If an author is lucky, sometimes a mystery falls into her lap. While researching the French Revolution, I requested to view monies used during the late 1700s at the Musée Carnavalet in Paris.
The numismatic curator, Monsieur Thierry Sarmant greeted me and led me to his office which was lined with shelves of drawers that were about three inches deep.
I explained that I wanted to view Louis d’ors, écux, livres, and assignants.
I sat on a couch with a coffee table before me.
He pulled out drawer after drawer and placed them before me.
I gasped in awe. The trays were filled with solid gold coins, Louis d’or, from 1786, complete with the profile of King Louis XVI and the Bourbon Crest. I swore they winked across the centuries at me.
After allowing me to photograph them, Monsieur Sarmant brought out more trays, these filled with silver coins: écux.
After regaining my composure, I asked, “How have so many valuable coins survived—and in mint condition?”
“Many people during the Revolution secreted money in walls, fireplaces, and under hearths when paper assignants were issued and rapidly became worthless. Coins continue to be discovered during renovations and are donated to museums,” he explained.
My mind churned with the delicious images of hoards of coins collecting cobwebs in attics, wine cellars, and secret rooms. When I researched the finding of old coins, Google delivered numerous stories. During the renovation of a house in Brittany, a pouch filled with coins from the reigns of French Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV, was discovered and sold at auction for one million euros.
A vineyard worker discovered a cache of coins tucked away in the rafters of an attic. As the building was owned by a champagne-producing company, and the coins were minted between 1851 and 1928, it is believed the money was payment for shipping champagne to the United States during Prohibition.
Another delicious mystery.
Researching clothing and accessories revealed the language of the fan. Women used their fans to entice, rebuff, admonish, tease, apologize, dismiss. They were most careful with the delicate fans and stored them in beautifully crafted box, works of art, themselves. But what was the message being conveyed when a woman left a fan open?
Beauty patches were worn by both men and women, and the positioning of a patch could indicate availability for a tête à tête. The shape of a patch could alert a lover to stay away as a spouse had returned.
Although not my intent, I discovered a treasure trove of ideas that could contribute to creating mystery throughout stories.
At Versailles, I visited the Orangery, a greenhouse where citrus trees grew. But I also came upon such an extravagance at a lowly château. Was the world so in love with lemons? Or were the lemons used not only for tartes but also espionage?
The purposes of objet d’art can vary if a gal uses her imagination. Tiny cloisonné containers seemed to accommodate matchsticks. But matches had not yet been invented at the time of the creation of the “souvenir boxes.” I suppose they could have been used to store treasured, yet very tiny, gifts. But I chose them for concealing love notes, and in another book, espionage messages disguised as love notes.
In touring châteaux, I discovered many ways to conceal secret compartments, drawers, shelves, staircases, rooms, doors, chutes, dungeons, tunnels, caves, and windows.
My research completed, my only remaining job was to incorporate these mysterious treasures in my stories. I promise my readers they will discover many mysteries in Her Own Legacy, Her Own Revolution and Her Own War.
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Debra Borchert, Author of Her Own Revolution
Debra’s debut novel, Her Own Legacy, is the first in a series that follows headstrong and independent women and the four-hundred loyal families who protect a Loire Valley château and vineyard, and its legacy of producing the finest wines in France during the French Revolution.
Her Own Revolution is the second book in the Château de Verzat series. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she weaves her knowledge of textiles and clothing design throughout her historical French fiction.
She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and standard poodle who is named after a fine French Champagne.
To stay caught up with Debra, click on the following links: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads.Visit all the Stops on the Tour!
August 14 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
August 15 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 15 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST
August 16 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 16 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
August 17 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
August 17 – The Mystery of Writing – AUTHOR GUEST POST
August 18 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
August 19 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 19 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
August 20 – Celticlady’s Reviews – RECIPE
August 20 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
August 21 – I’m Into Books – RECIPE
August 22 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
August 23 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
August 23 – My Reading Journey – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell
All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery
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