“Ambitious . . . themes of family, friendship, and personal integrity shine.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A highly engaging journey of connection and transformation and an innovative read for this present age.” —Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor author of One Crazy Summer
Welcome to The Vale, a world that grows by the power of imagination
A magical new phenomenon from the New York Times bestselling author and executive producer of the Loveboat, Taipei series (adapted to the Netflix film Love in Taipei).
Thirteen-year-old Bran Joseph Lee has spent half his life building the Vale, an immersive, AI-generated, virtual-reality environment using technology created by his inventor parents. It’s a lush fantasy world complete with a Blue Forest, a Castle, and adventures with his mushroom-obsessed Elf named Gnomly—a much better place to spend his days compared to his real life, where his parents have suffered through the failed launches of one invention after another.
Bran wants nothing more than to see his Elves come fully to life, a hope that seems on the brink of reality when he enters the Vale in a multi-million-dollar competition to fund its further development. But instead, things in the Vale begin to go wrong: The sunlight is fading. A beautiful girl appears from nowhere. A wizard is stealing from the Vale’s inhabitants. And the strangest part of all is that none of this is the young inventor’s doing.
Can Bran and Gnomly uncover the truth of what is happening before both their worlds are destroyed?
Look out for The Vale—Origins, the short film prequel to The Vale starring three-time Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, coming to film festivals and screenings near you!
“Exposes both the wonder of AI and its pitfalls, and the elastic boundary between. Storytelling at its best!”
—Kathi Appelt, National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honor author of The Underneath
The Vale
THE REVIEW
At 13, Bran Joseph Lee is a computer coding whiz kid inventor of the AI generated game, The Vale, a game world of fantasy with castles and, of course as every 13 year old gamer needs, a mushroom loving elf named Gnomly.
Sounds good so far. It’s the good part of Bran’s life as the real world is much different. He and his family find themselves living in dire straits with little to eat and Bran, with The Vale, is their last hope as he enters the came into a competition.
Bran begins to notice The Vale is changing, and not by his design and he must find out why and save The Vale before it’s too late.
In addition to Gnomly, Bran comes across an evil wizard and a mysterious girl. You can imagine what happens to a boy who spends all of his time programming comes face to face with a girl in his virtual world. No, not that. But he does experience emotions and feelings in The Vale.
The book is not all about the game, it’s also about the real world of Bran. How the real life situations he’s in are handled, along with his time in the game as a back and forth kind of thing, but it’s well done and more connected than you might think, but then shouldn’t it be connected?
As I find with many books that need to establish a world, The Vale starts out a little slow, but then you find you’re moving along faster than you think.
I would let a middle school student and up read the book.
Abigail Hing Wen is a tech leader, filmmaker and the New York Times best selling author of Loveboat, Taipei and companion novels Loveboat Reunion and Loveboat Forever. She executive produced the Paramount+ book-to-film adaptation LOVE IN TAIPEI, a romantic comedy starring Ashley Liao and Ross Butler now out on Netflix August 9, 2024.
Her debut middle grade novel, The Vale, launches September 16. It’s short film prequel, The Vale — Origins, stars 3x Tony Award winner Lea Salonga and is Abigail’s directorial debut.
Her fourth young adult novel, Kisses, Codes and Conspiracies is an Amazon Editor’s Pick and Amazon Best Book of the Month.
Abigail holds a BA from Harvard, where she took coursework in film, ethnic studies and government. She also holds a JD from Columbia and MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. In her career in tech, she has negotiated multibillion dollar deals on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, worked in venture capital and hosted Intel’s Artificial Intelligence podcast. She and her work have been profiled in Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, NBC News, Forbes, Fortune, Cosmopolitan, Bloomberg, Google Talk, People en Espanol and the World Journal, among others.
Abigail lives with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area. She enjoys long walks, and hanging out with friends and family. She loves music and dances to it when no one is watching.
For fans of Georgia Hunter’s We Were the Lucky Ones and Anita Abriel’s The Light After the War comes a historical narrative about the lives of Jewish immigrants in the early twentieth century and one woman’s journey through adversity toward personal freedom.
At an early age, Gitel questions the expected roles of women in society and in Judaism. Born in Belorussia and brought to the US in 1911 as a child, she leads a life constrained by her religious Jewish parents. Forbidden from going to college and pushed into finding a husband, she marries Shmuel, an Orthodox Jewish pharmacist whose left-wing politics she admires. They plan to work together in a neighborhood pharmacy in Chicago—but when the Great Depression hits and their bank closes, their hopes are shattered.
In the years that follow, Shmuel’s questionable decisions, his poor health, and his bad luck plague their marriage and leave them constantly in financial distress. Gitel dreams of going back to school to become a teacher once their one daughter reaches high school, but an unexpected pregnancy quashes that aspiration as well. And when, later, a massive stroke leaves Shmuel disabled, Gitel is challenged to combine caring for him, being the breadwinner at a time when women face salary discrimination, and being present for their second daughter.
Offering an illuminating look at Jewish immigrant life in early-1900s America, Gitel’s Freedom is a compelling tale of women’s resourcefulness and resilience in the face of limiting and often oppressive expectations.
Gitel’s Freedom
THE REVIEW
The change in Rayzel’s life from the moment she leaves Berisov, Belarus to South Bend, Indiana has more of an impact than Rayzel or anyone probably realizes. Not just in her life but also in that of her daughter and granddaughters to come.
What does a mother who doesn’t speak English, and basically refuses to learn to do so, which isolates her from the community around her, do in raising her daughter in a strange land? She keeps Gitel on a short leash, although that, to some extent, seems to be the implied way for observant Jews of the time. The sons have way more freedom than Gitel ever has.
I’ve read some reviews of Gitel’s Freedom that miss many of the book’s points and even misinterpret the meaning of others. This is an unfair treatment of the author and her creation. Believe me, if I didn’t like the book or didn’t believe what I’m saying, I wouldn’t mention it.
Themes throughout the book are shared by Gitel and her daughters in some form: fighting for their educational freedoms, and fighting for their social freedoms. The differences come from their situations and the decades they occur in. They all have obstacles but all know if you want something, you have to figure out how to reach the goal. You keep going. Faye and Ilana, Gitel’s daughters, learn that from their mother, even if they don’t immediately realize it at the time. They all face similar problems but due to their situations growing up, and situations in the moment of the problems, they all deal with them differently.
Gitel and Faye internalize their emotional responses, while Ilana, who was born much later and was partly raised by her sister Faye who was an American girl by this time, tends to express or at least show her displeasure more openly.
You can see the change from how Rayzel was upon arrival in South Bend in 1911 to how Ilana ends up being in Chicago in the 1960s, through the four women of the story.
Ilana ends up becoming that girl of freedom that Gitel wanted to be when she was young, but only through Gitel’s trials and with the aid of Gitel’s first-born American girl, Faye. Faye the Bridge, I’ll call her.
The story is honest in showing that not everyone is perfect, that no one is. Even if raised to accept and be one way, you aren’t always like that inside, even if portraying acceptance on the outside. It shows the realistic impact strife can take on even the most optimistic person. How even Gitel can allow her husband’s thoughts of their situation to seep in, even if it’s only a momentary thought. How strife can change someone, unexpectedly, for the good.
We get to see the honesty of the women’s feelings about their situations. The frustrations are mostly kept internal. But children will be children, and teen girls will be teen girls. And we get to see how each of the generations thinks from their points of view.
I can relate to Gitel in that I’m now my mother’s caregiver. It’s not something I ever expected to be. We aren’t that close but I’m the only child and it’s my responsibility to take care of her, even if that means I’m now an hour away from my own family, who I maybe get to see once a month for about four years now. I get her frustrations, her disappointments, and her wanting freedoms, and a break from the weight of it all. And I can understand her eventual feelings at the end. It’s not awful, as some believe it to be. It’s something that she has slowly seen coming for years, and been dealing with for all of that time.
Other things I really enjoyed about the book are the historical aspects. Very accurate ones. As many of you may know, I have my degree in History Education and have continued researching and reading history over the course of 30+ years. I’ve been doing ancestry research for a few years now. Yankel’s coming to America and the four years it takes to establish a living and earn enough to pay for passage for seven family members is exactly right. You can look at the family stories and the passenger lists of arrivals. My own family arrived in the 1600s and 1700s to America and much the same thing happened. The men came. Established a life. Then sent for the rest of the family.
I enjoyed the history of the lead-up to the first election of FDR, the optimism, the aftermath, the good, and the letdowns. The social justice aspects of the stories of Gitel and her children were a nice addition. Showing the organizations and how they worked in a relatable story form helped easily put them into perspective and into action. The slow progress of race relations leading to integration.
Reading some reviews for the book, I’ve noticed reactions to Gitel and her friend Sophie’s closeness and Gitel’s reactions to the comfort she feels from Sophie. To me, it seems appropriate for the story and puts some aspects of the story in better perspective. It actually, for me, might explain a lot if I want to interpret it one way over another.
The writing style of Gitel’s Freedom is easy to read and isn’t trying to be more than it needs to be. In fact, I think the language and structure starts off simpler and slowly advances along with the family’s time in America and their assimilation and actually being Americans. There is somewhat of an urgency or franticness, I think, to the way Frayzel thinks, less so with Gitel, although even though she doesn’t realize it there is still her mother’s influence on some of her thinking and reactions, and by the time of Faye and Ilana, they’re American girls… for good or bad. It all makes sense.
In all, I think this book is a good read to observe the way the members of a family progress through time from one generation’s place in time and views, to another’s.
IRIS MITLIN LAV grew up in the liberal Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. She went on to earn an MBA from George Washington University and an AB from the University of Chicago, and to enjoy a long career of public policy analysis and management, with an emphasis on improving policies for low- and moderate-income families. She also taught public finance at Johns Hopkins University and George Mason University, and in 1999 received the Steven D. Gold award for contributions to state and local fiscal policy, an award jointly given by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Tax Association. Her first novel, “A Wife in Bangkok,” was published in 2020 by She Writes Press. “Gitel’s Freedom” is her second novel. Lav and her husband now live in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with Mango, their goldendoodle, and grandchildren nearby. Learn more about her life and work at: www.irismitlinlav.com
For fans of Georgia Hunter’s We Were the Lucky Ones and Anita Abriel’s The Light After the War comes a historical narrative about the lives of Jewish immigrants in the early twentieth century and one woman’s journey through adversity toward personal freedom.
At an early age, Gitel questions the expected roles of women in society and in Judaism. Born in Belorussia and brought to the US in 1911 as a child, she leads a life constrained by her religious Jewish parents. Forbidden from going to college and pushed into finding a husband, she marries Shmuel, an Orthodox Jewish pharmacist whose left-wing politics she admires. They plan to work together in a neighborhood pharmacy in Chicago—but when the Great Depression hits and their bank closes, their hopes are shattered.
In the years that follow, Shmuel’s questionable decisions, his poor health, and his bad luck plague their marriage and leave them constantly in financial distress. Gitel dreams of going back to school to become a teacher once their one daughter reaches high school, but an unexpected pregnancy quashes that aspiration as well. And when, later, a massive stroke leaves Shmuel disabled, Gitel is challenged to combine caring for him, being the breadwinner at a time when women face salary discrimination, and being present for their second daughter.
Offering an illuminating look at Jewish immigrant life in early-1900s America, Gitel’s Freedom is a compelling tale of women’s resourcefulness and resilience in the face of limiting and often oppressive expectations.
IRIS MITLIN LAV grew up in the liberal Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. She went on to earn an MBA from George Washington University and an AB from the University of Chicago, and to enjoy a long career of public policy analysis and management, with an emphasis on improving policies for low- and moderate-income families. She also taught public finance at Johns Hopkins University and George Mason University, and in 1999 received the Steven D. Gold award for contributions to state and local fiscal policy, an award jointly given by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Tax Association. Her first novel, “A Wife in Bangkok,” was published in 2020 by She Writes Press.“Gitel’s Freedom” is her second novel. Lav and her husband now live in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with Mango, their goldendoodle, and grandchildren nearby. Learn more about her life and work at:www.irismitlinlav.com
Synopsis:
How well do you really know the people you encounter every day? Award-winning author Robert Steven Goldstein’s gripping psychological thriller “Golda’s Hutch” (March 11, 2025, Deft Heft Books) explores what we hide from the world versus what we reveal, the lengths we’ll go to keep our secrets buried—and the unpredictable steps we take when our innermost lives are threatened.
Craig Schumacher is not your typical executive. With a gentle spirit and a morning ritual that includes serene meditation alongside his cherished rabbit, Golda, Craig values connection over competition. Yet, beneath his calm, polished exterior lies a secret he’s worked hard to keep hidden—one that could change everything.
Enter Byron Dorn—Craig’s employee and chaos incarnate. Crude, impulsive, and driven by envy, Byron is elated when he and his wife stumble upon information that he believes could unravel Craig’s life. But when Byron ropes another couple into his schemes, things become a lot more complicated.
Because Craig isn’t the only one with a secret. And as the stakes rise, everyone will have to decide what they’re willing to sacrifice to get what they want—and when they’re willing to walk away.
Set against the dynamic backdrop of San Francisco, this gripping psychological novel weaves a complex tapestry of deception, envy, desire, politics, and power.
“A scintillating take on marital and workplace dramas with compelling characters and devilish surprises…Goldstein’s precise, elegant prose cleverly takes its time revealing his characters’ secret desires, building suspense for fun to come…when readers are alone with each character’s thoughts, the author serves up something delicious.” —Kirkus Reviews
“All the ways we hide our secrets from each other—and from ourselves—are on display in Robert Steven Goldstein’s latest and extremely entertaining novel, Golda’s Hutch. Moving between America’s cutthroat corporate boardrooms to kink-play in San Francisco’s BDSM world to mysticism as embodied by a titular, yoga-practicing rabbit, this delicate balancing act reveals, layer by layer, a thrilling and thought-provoking exploration of human nature and the boundaries of self-discovery. Goldstein’s prose elegantly entwines psychological tension, dark humor, and an unapologetically raw examination of human desires to create an unforgettable reading experience. For fans of psychological drama and literary fiction, Golda’s Hutch is an intelligent, compelling, and at times humorous narrative that is both thought-provoking and insightful. Highly recommended.” —Madeleine Ivy, author of The Witchhammer
“Set in San Francisco, Golda’s Hutch explores the world of corporate machinations through the eyes of Craig Schumacher—an executive who puts the feelings of his employees over cold calculation and the hard-ass bottom line. Craig is also negotiating the risky shoals of his marriage to Shoshana, a professional dominatrix—while he desperately seeks a way to rechannel his penchant for sexual submission into a more sustainable lifestyle. Featuring a host of unique and well-developed characters, Golda’s Hutch gives the reader an eye-opening peek into a wide range of subjects, from the virtues of daily morning yoga practice and vegetarianism (replete with an impressive array of menu items) to the finer points of mortuary science and, of course, BDSM. A riveting page-turner that goes with white meat, red meat, or no meat at all.”
—Tom Szollosi, screenwriter for Star Trek: Voyager, Three O’Clock High, and The Incredible Hulk; author of the books The Space He Filled and The Last Master Outlaw; and professor of screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University.
Robert is the author of five novels. His first, The Swami Deheftner, about problems that ensue when ancient magic and mysticism manifest in the twenty-first century, developed a small cult following in India. His second novel, Enemy Queen, a sexual comedy of manners set in a North Carolina college town, was a finalist in the category of cross genre fiction for the International Book Awards. Robert’s third novel, Cat’s Whisker, probes the perceived rift between science and spirituality; it was longlisted for the prestigious Chanticleer International 2021 SOMERSET Book Award for Literary and Contemporary Fiction. His fourth novel, Will’s Surreal Period, about the peripatetic machinations of a dysfunctional family, was longlisted for the Chanticleer International 2022 SOMERSET Book Award for Literary and Contemporary Fiction.
Golda’s Hutch is Robert’s fifth novel. He and his wife Sandy live in San Francisco; over their thirty-six years together, they’ve shared their home with an array of dogs, cats, rabbits, turtles, and parrots, each of whom has displayed a unique personality, startling intelligence, and a profound capacity for love. Robert has practiced yoga, meditation, and vegetarianism for over fifty years. Find out more about him at his website.
Step into a vast universe teeming with life, romance, heroism, and treachery as experienced and seen through the eyes of Gayle Zimmon. ‘Zim’, a young woman successful in war but naive to the machinations of the greater universe, returns from combat to confront genetically engineered humans and discover that she was sent to war not to win but to die.
While fighting the Aldrakin, Zim learns of a prophecy foretelling that the “Starflower,” her military call sign, will bloom “in the dark of the darkest night” but never know peace. Not one to accept ancient prophecy, after securing victory, she hopes to rekindle her romance with Mac and return to the peaceful life they left on the frontier.
But she is a major player in a galaxy-spanning intrigue she barely understands. Forces alien and cybernetic hold the stakes and align on both sides. Between dodging assassins, hostile planets, deadly robots, mystical aliens, and ancient relics, she must decide whether to continue running from her prophesied destiny-or try to live up to it.
Science Fiction has unlimited possibilities for imagination and metaphor. It taps imagination well beyond other genres. It also challenges the writer to create realistic, unknown worlds.
There are many sci fi books out there. What makes yours different?
To my mind, SF is about dreaming the impossible dream. If we do that, nothing is beyond us. Much SF today is simplistic, pessimistic, and dystopian, i.e., unworthy of creative minds seeking to fly.
Which authors inspired you to write?
The old SF masters from H.G. Well to Arthur C. Clarke to Larry Niven, Phillip K. Dick, and Frank Herbert
How did you do research for your book?
I feel I’ve been researching my book all my life: wide experiences, meeting characters, reading everything, making contacts to touch base with, e.g., scientists and engineers, SF&F writers, medical techs, officers and enlisted from all the military services.
Which was the hardest character to write? The easiest?
My main character Zim was the hardest. I know and love her very much, so testing and hurting her brought me to tears a few times.
The easiest was probably Abramyan, the character I love to hate.
How are you similar to or different from your lead character?
My lead character manifests many of my daughter’s confrontational traits, my wife too, which may be why I instantly loved her. We are all in sync.
If you could put yourself as a character in your book, who would you be?
Probably Roland ‘Mac’ Mackenzie—loyal, intelligent, fearless, humble, Zim’s love from childhood.
In your book you make a reference to The Prophecy. How did you come up with this idea?
The Prophecy is central to the plot, as it was in DUNE, but here it is a much more personal and threatening experience. I have a feeling we all live prophetic lives and, like Zim, may wish to escape them.
If your book were made into a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?
A lot of Irish instrumentals match the mood. I listen to them when I write. Think the movie Last of the Mohicans with Daniel Day-Lewis.
In one sentence, what was the road to publishing like?
Agents want something completely original just like what they last read and with a well-established market, i.e., no risks. Originality may be a hard sell.
Where do you write?
I have a writing loft and a wide-screen station beside a picture window overlooking the Rockfish Valley. Away from my station, I may take notes but do no serious writing.
In today’s tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop. Have you ever written parts of your book on paper?
I understand that pen-and-paper writing draws differently on the mind than typing on a computer. That seems to be the case with me. If I’m having a problem with a scene or character, switching to my paper tablet takes care of the problem. Usually in seconds.
What is your next project?
I promised my readers a trilogy and am almost finished with the second book, Agent of Blue Star. Beyond that, I have two first-draft novels on hold: The Looalee and Facing Nabua.
What is the last great book you’ve read?
I read a lot of nonfiction to help understand human and inhuman societies as well as technology. In SF, Edward Lerner’s book InterstellarNet Enigma had a fascinating premise about human development. A very creative, SF thriller.
I am a husband, father, storyteller, and a Christian. I’m also a writer, an intelligence analyst, and a contrarian. My wife and I live with two large dogs in a mountain chalet in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
I hold a BA and an MA in History from George Mason and George Washington University, respectively. In 40+ years with the CIA, I worked at every level from watch office and tactical operations to sensor development and informing national policy. Re-missioned from intelligence, I’m inclined to write science fiction.
I began storytelling at scout and church camp in my youth, recounting ghost stories or local lore around the campfire. These days, my restive characters want to tell their own stories. We often quarrel. When my wife sides with them, you know who wins.
Frank and Naomi Wolff were happily married in 1908. She was a Kansas farmgirl; he was a railroad engineer. She was excited to embark upon her role as wife and mother with a hardworking man, and in their early years together they made a life in thriving Ogden, Utah. Despite Frank’s almost-constant absence for his job riding the rails, which left pretty Naomi to raise their children virtually alone, their romantic relationship begat fourteen offspring in eighteen years. Like other lower-middle-class women, Naomi’s life was consumed with caring for her brood, who became helpers as soon as they could fold a diaper—and who, by and by, were required to attend the school of hard knocks as much as public schools. Affection and struggle endured within the family, crowded into a humble house. Despite the respite of occasional family train trips across the plains, the marriage ultimately faced exceptional challenges, just before the Depression era began.
Based on a true story, A Wolff in the Family is a riveting saga of prejudice, passion, and revenge, perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds. What mysterious scandals led a father to abandon the youngest of his children—and for the elder siblings to keep their shame secret for eighty years?
“A Wolff in the Family is immediately immersive, and readers will be drawn into the hardships and small joys of the Wolff family. Falk-Allen’s vivid prose and realistic characters tell an intriguing story about social norms, gender roles, and ultimately, love. Fast and absorbing, it will keep you up long into the night.”—Michelle Cox, author of The Fallen Woman’s Daughter and the Inspector Howard series
You have only a few moments to tell someone what your book is about, in two sentences tell them what your book is about and make them want to read it?
This is a historical novel of passion, prejudice, revenge and forgiveness, based on actual scandals in my mother’s family of origin, taking place in western states in the early 1900’s.
Why did you need to write this story?
When I heard the few basic facts of the story from an aunt, my jaw dropped. I thought later in that week, this is a story that has to be told, and over several years I researched the story and the time in which it happened, and eventually began fleshing it out with conjectured scenes and conversations.
With A Wolff in the Family being so personal, were there ever moments of hesitation in what to and what not to share?
To some extent, yes, I had to pause and think how I wanted to portray some of my aunts and uncles, and how my cousins might view my interpretation of their parents. I left out some things that are controversial, partly because one aunt told me they happened to my grandmother and a cousin told me they actually happened to one of my aunts! I knew that this was a hot button issue, with some relatives insisting it couldn’t even be true, and it wasn’t germane to the essence of the story I wanted to tell. I also decided not to use the family’s real surname, but I did use many actual first names and some that were similar, so that I wouldn’t confuse myself. This was a huge family so there are a lot of names to keep straight (never fear; there’s a list of characters and what family position they have in the front of the book). There is also another family that was involved, and I changed their last name so that if any of that family reads the book, they will not feel threatened by what they might consider slander. It’s not, of course, partly because I know some of what I’ve said is factual, but also because I made up so much of it—nearly all the scenarios and conversations—so that it truly is fiction.
What will connect the reader to the story and make them want to keep reading the story?
I hope that they will sympathize with the difficulties women faced in their domestic and married lives in the early twentieth century; that they will be fond of some of the characters and want to know what transpires with them, and that they will not be expecting some of what happens and even be shocked at some people’s actions, and read on to find out how it all resolves! Additionally, I think knowing the novel is based on a true story will have readers want to follow the characters throughout the saga of about thirty years of experiences and challenges.
I’ve done and still do research into my own family ancestry and I know such research brings with it some surprises. What good surprises have you come across? (One example from my own research is that my 7th great-grandfather donated the land that Princeton and its first buildings were built on.)
Related to A Wolff in the Family, I learned that one of my aunts was somewhat of a hero to her siblings; I spoke with her about circumstances in her family of origin when she was in her 90’s and near the end of her life, and she didn’t mention the very defiant and heroic thing she did. On my dad’s side, one of my great-great-great grandfathers started a military academy in Kentucky. Although this wasn’t something I necessarily felt “puffed up” about, the fact that he had done something so prominent made it easy to find information about his/my family and what happened in their lives before and after this event. I also learned that although he was in the Confederacy in the Civil War, his sister’s husband financed the Union side! And the family still kept in touch although were on two sides of the Mason-Dixon line, both geographically and philosophically. Then, the southerners moved back to the north after the War, and they aided the slaves they formerly had held by assisting them in procuring and owning their own homes. That salved the wound of knowing my dad’s ancestors held slaves a little bit, that my ancestors did get the deeds to property set up for the former slaves, so that there could not be disputed titles. So that was good news amidst regrettable and shameful knowledge.
How long did it take to complete A Wolff in the Family?(I ask because I know when writing and researching for historical fiction and you want it to be as period accurate as possible you can fall into rabbit holes for hours learning about things that will never end up in the book.)
Ha ha! Oh yes, that is so true about researching. Gosh, I started doing the family research in the early 2000’s, but I had two other books I wanted to write, so I put off the historical research and things like census records and the details of what life was like in Utah, Wyoming, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma from 1918 through the 1940’s until about 2022. Then I delved into it full force and finished the very last final, copy edited, proofread (both of those processes several times over!) in July of 2024. So I suppose you could say it took me two and a half years to actually write it, including the detailed research. I do not write every single day, however. I have a life, and I’m a polio survivor, so I have to take care of myself and avoid fatigue as much as I can.
Did you have difficulty deciding your book was ready to publish?
Interesting question. I think most authors would work on each book until they die and have never published it if they could be supported while doing so. I’m kind of kidding, but there are always things you wish you’d added or taken out.
I found an old letter yesterday that an aunt wrote to me in 2007 which had some details in it I could have used, and I had an “oh darn” moment. But those things would have led the story in a different direction… and I’m not sure her memory was accurate any longer when she was ninety. I was also motivated by my age: I’m seventy-six, and I wanted this book to be out in the world well before I was eighty. Deadlines, promotion and marketing are not the easy part of writing a book, and can sometimes be stressful (even though much of that can also be fun), and I didn’t want to be worrying about deadlines at eighty!
By the time I got through perhaps the tenth or twelfth read-through and proofread, I accepted that it was as good as it was gonna get, and I am 99% satisfied with it! I’m sure when I am reading through it again, I’ll have those “shoulda” thoughts. It’s like a child, it will never be perfect, but it’s your best effort at guiding, and you love her for what she is. Art is allowed to have a flaw here and there; it’s created by humans. All that said, I think it’s a very good story and that it reads well. Some people have been blown away by it and I find that people who’ve read it sometimes come back to me with questions about the characters in real life. That’s one of the signs of a good book!
What has the family reaction been to your book?(Whenever I write something and I use elements of the family in it, which we all kind of do if we want to make our characters authentic, I do wonder what will happen when/if they read it.)
I can’t answer that yet! None of them have read it! And you can bet I’m a little nervous about that.
My husband has read it and he thinks it’s terrific, but it’s not about his family, of course. One of my cousins’ wives has ordered it and I know she’s anticipating getting the skinny on his father’s family, except that she does know it is just based on a true story and full of my conjecture.
My cousin had told me that he didn’t know much at all about this story when I told him the basics. He said he’d only been told that his dad didn’t like to talk about it and felt critical of his mother.
Some of the siblings sided with their father, and some with their mother. They both made controversial choices which affected the whole family! My mother kept all of it a secret and hadn’t told either myself or my sister about any of the scandals before she died. I always say she should have worked for the CIA.
So we’ll see. I may get some praise, and I may get some blowback.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to convert family history to fiction?
I found it to be easier to have a structure and set up a chronological outline based on what I knew were facts, and then fill in what I thought could have happened to substantiate the outcomes. Some people like to just start writing and see where their imagination takes them. It depends upon whether you have a lot of facts, as I did (and whether you choose to use them, since you’re writing fiction, after all) or whether you just have a snippet of a story that inspires you to create something bigger out of it.
When I was working on this book, I would ask myself, “Why would she have done this? What would she have been likely to say when he did that? What would it look like to others when this character made this choice?” As a woman, I know how I’d feel if my husband behaved the way I know my grandfather did. So I drew on my own emotional experience to some degree. I may have idealized “Naomi,” but I felt that if she had lived fifty years later, her choices would have been more acceptable to society, and conversely, my grandfather’s choices would have been considered terrible if not even illegal two generations later.
There is one vignette where my mother tied a flannel around her head to try to flatten a bump on her nose. That really happened. She had told me that a friend came by to walk to school with her, which was serendipitous, because she couldn’t get the flannel off her head! I imagined all that would have happened, including her siblings making fun of her; it was a clear image in my mind, like a movie. So if a writer can imagine how something could possibly have happened and see it as if it were happening on a screen in front of them, I think they can write up a family history piece in a creative way which turns it into fiction.
I feel that in my case, the facts were so stunning that I didn’t have to over-dramatize to make it a riveting story.
Oh, I think it’s also very important that you set things up in a way that the reader will be as surprised, inspired or motivated as you were when you heard the story. That can mean starting slow and developing the characters as I did, or using a teaser early on to make people wonder what’s going to happen. I started in the middle of the story with the first chapter, when my grandfather had just taken his youngest children to an orphanage. Then in the next chapter I tell the reader we’re going back eleven years to explain why this happened, with subsequent chapters following a straight chronology. There are lots of ways to set up a story so that you’re leading the reader toward the surprise, the humor, the inspiring point you want to make or whatever is the bundle of juiciness at the center of your story.
What is your next project idea?
After the dust settles with launching this book and I get through the whirlwind of the holidays, I want to write a series of short stories about my father’s ancestors, starting with when the four Allen brothers left Ireland in 1793 to sail to the US and start a new life here, up in Maryland. I’ve been to the home they owned, in southeastern Ireland, for two hundred years (some of the family stayed there until the early 1900’s) so I have some visual background for this story, plus I know they grew flax and that people came from around the countryside to use their mill. So that’s enough to get started. I know that this sounds suspiciously like a book, but I’m telling myself that writing a series of short stories will be less ambitious than a book! It will also be challenging to make a complete story in a shorter length, so I look forward to learning to do that.
FRANCINE FALK-ALLEN: was born in Los Angeles and has lived nearly all of her life in northern California. She had polio in 1951, and has lived her life as a disabled person making an effort to be a “normie.”
Falk-Allen was originally an art major and later completed her BA in Managerial Accounting, running her own business for over thirty years. She has always sought creative outlets, such as painting, singing, and writing. She began doing extensive family genealogy research in 1999, and has traced both her maternal and paternal ancestors back to the 1600s.
Her first book, “Not a Poster Child: Living Well with a Disability,” won gold and silver awards and was on several best books lists in 2018 and 2019, including Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2018, PopSugar and BuzzFeed, and was nominated to 25 Women Making a Difference in 2019 by Conversations Magazine.
Her second book, “No Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper,” received a Kirkus star, given to “books of exceptional merit” by Kirkus Reviews, and was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of August 2021. “No Spring Chicken” was also a finalist in Foreword Reviews’ Indie Awards in 2021.
Her third book, “A Wolff in the Family” is a riveting early twentieth century saga set in the western United States and based on scandalous family history.
Francine spends a significant amount of time managing the effects of post-polio. She facilitates a polio survivors’ group as well as a writing group, and volunteers on her town’s Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Committee. She loves the outdoors, swimming, gardening, movies, well-written literature, being with friends and sharing British tea and a little champagne now and then. She resides in San Rafael, California, with her husband. Learn more at: https://francinefalk-allen.com
Rachel Jackson’s idyllic life takes a dramatic turn when she discovers a woman’s scarf in her politician husband’s computer bag. But in an election year, seeking answers to questions of infidelity is not an option. When her mother gives her a family heirloom, a travel trunk owned by an ancestor, she finds a distraction. As she immerses herself in its contents, she discovers a woman whose life is vastly different from her own. Or is it? Determined to dispel the notion that her ancestor Marit was insane, Rachel sets out to unveil her unknown story. In the interwoven narratives of these two women, who are bound by blood and a shared struggle, The Blue Trunk is a poignant exploration of identity, love, and unwavering strength.
Imagine you have only a brief minute to tell someone what your book is about. Can you tell us, in two sentences, what your book is about and make us want to read it?
“The Blue Trunk” follows the lives of two resilient women, separated by a century but connected by blood, as they each navigate abandonment and betrayal. This novel takes readers on a poignant exploration of identity, family drama, and love as a privileged politician’s wife uncovers what happened to her supposedly insane great-great aunt.
Why did you need to write this story?
My mother was in possession of a blue travel trunk that had been used by my great-great aunt when she immigrated from Norway to Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Marit’s name was written in perfect calligraphy on the trunk. I always loved the name so when my daughter was born, I mentioned to my mother that I planned to name her “Marit.” My mother responded with horror: “No, you can’t do that. She was insane.” While I should have been dissuaded, the insanity label only increased my interest in this woman. Years later, I joined a genealogy website to research her, but couldn’t find any information (but for her birth in Norway). It was odd because I found quite a bit of information on my great-great grandmother who had immigrated with her. I also had an autograph book Marit signed in 1889 in Blair, WI, so I knew she did indeed arrive in Wisconsin.
I then decided to research insane asylums to see if I could find any records of her. Again, I hit a dead end. I discovered while asylum populations were counted in the census, individual patients weren’t necessarily identified. In fact, I couldn’t find any archival records of the asylum I expect she would have been in residence. I also was unable to find a death certificate for her.
Then I discovered the asylum cemetery in my hometown. I spent my first 18 years living in that town and never knew of the existence of the Old Orchard Cemetery, aka the Cemetery of the unknown. The cemetery is now nestled in the middle of a subdivision, a plaque greets anyone who visits: “This cemetery is the final place for residents of the former Eau Claire County Asylum, County Home and County Poor Farm. . . As you walk among these unassuming gravestones, you will see that some only have names, no birth or death dates, and some are unknown. Many of the older gravestones memorialize persons who spent their entire adult lives in the county asylum.”
Unable to find my great-great aunt’s name, I sadly concluded that she likely spent her entire life in the asylum and is probably buried in an unknown grave.
It was then that I knew I had to write a book to reclaim Marit’s life.
With “The Blue Trunk” being so personal, were there ever moments of hesitation in what to and what not to share?
Interestingly, I didn’t hesitate when I was writing it. I guess that was because only a few trusted people in my writing group were reading my work. But as I finished and realized I was going to actually put this out into the world, I did face moments of fear (translate–terror).
I’m not certain, since this is only my first novel, but it seems to me that all writing, fiction and otherwise, is personal. Writers have a personal slant on what they are writing just as readers have a personal spin on what they read. A lot of Rachel’s story is personal to me and writing that was both healing and hard.
In some ways, I threw my ancestors under the bus for what they did to their sister, but that is what was done in those times (unfortunately). I was too young, obviously, to know Marit’s siblings, but I knew her nieces and nephews and they were a pretentious lot, filled with a desire to impress others. I expect the existence of a troubled family member (whatever her trouble might have been) was simply not acceptable. I’ve read a bit about generational trauma and I hope that writing a book about some of the things that might have been done to Marit will help stop that cycle.
What will connect the reader to the story and make them want to keep reading it?
My goal was to have some kind of tension/suspense in each chapter. I hope that the reader becomes engaged in the story as it unfolds dramatically.
I also hope they connect with the characters. Marit and Rachel are, I think, interesting in their own right and face challenges many women (and perhaps men) can relate to. Marit’s struggles keep us hanging in there cheering for her to finally find some peace. Rachel’s dilemma is one many current day women can understand–being torn between personal identity and commitments to partner and family.
There are other characters in the book I grew to love: Blake, James, Rose, and a minor character Aiden. All of them are human and each one has some quirks that make them even more human and relatable.
I’ve read that Blake became a different character than you intended. How was it letting the character dictate where he wanted to go and what he wanted to be?
I just loved what happened to Blake. I’m not entirely sure how it happened, but at some point I knew I didn’t want him to be a stereotypic toxic male. His life situation was complicated as well and he was, to a certain extent, a victim of that. I was joyful (can’t think of a better word) when I realized how I could approach him and write about his coming to terms with his identity. I loved writing the sometimes sweet interactions between him and Rachel and how she later begins to open up to a different Blake than she had previously known.
With gender identity being at the forefront of many societal issues, what steps did you take to represent the characters in the book in authentic ways?
I play a bit with gender identity throughout the book, but I identify as she/her which has been consistent my entire life. However, I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and I have known some of the struggles.
I thought long and hard about whether or not writing a trans character was wise. I didn’t want to appropriate someone else’s story. I ultimately decided to err on the side of taking the risk because I believe strongly that misunderstandings are prevalent when it comes to gender identity. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that I wanted people to like, perhaps love, my character before they find that they are trans. I wanted to create some cognitive dissonance in readers so that they might be more open to revisiting preconceived notions.
In terms of research, I did some interviews to ensure that my details were accurate. I also spoke with an expert on the marginalization of less represented groups. I interviewed a trans couple who remained married after one partner transitioned. I am hopeful that I handled the issue sensitively and accurately.
Did you have difficulty deciding your book was ready to publish?
Yes, is it done yet? I’m actually a bit terrified to pick it up again because I know I’ll start re-writing it as I read.
Ultimately, the editor told me it was done. It’s good to have an outsider impose boundaries on a project.
What was your go-to escape when you needed to be reenergized during the writing process for “The Blue Trunk”?
Walk my dog. Swim laps. Bake cookies. Be in nature. All clear the clutter so I can tap into my creative self again.
What has writing “The Blue Trunk” done for you on a personal level?
I still have a bit of imposter syndrome hanging in the background. When people are impressed that I wrote a novel, I’m like “ya, well,” even though I do know it is an accomplishment.
As I mentioned before, writing Rachel’s story was healing for me. I lost my sister when I was six and never had a chance to completely resolve the issue with my mother as Rachel is able to do with Rose. The scene on the hike in Sedona was very healing for me as I wished I could have had that conversation with my mother.
I now know I can write a novel and that is exciting. I was not a good creative writer when I started, but I’ve improved (thanks to a lot of help from my writing colleagues and my teacher at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis).
I also discovered I love, love, love writing fiction. Crafting the story, creating characters, putting words on paper. I love all of it. I’m even starting to love editing!
Most of all, I am happy to have reclaimed Marit’s life. It is mostly fiction, of course, but those who read my book will now know that a century ago there was a woman named Marit Sletmo. What is your next project idea?
I have two ideas.
I plan to write about my aunt who was in the Women’s Air Corp during WWII. The WACs were amazing women and their story needs to be told.
I also want to write about Molly Brown, socialite, philanthropist, feminist, politician. She spent her adult life in Colorado, where I live, and so I am close to the many adventures she had here. She frequented the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park (The Shining), so I may have to read more Steven King and experiment with some psychological suspense.
I’ll write both. I’m just not sure which one will be first.
Ann E. Lowry’s journey into the realm of storytelling was foretold by a Sedona psychic in 2001. That prophecy became a reality two decades later when Ann discovered a family heirloom, a travel trunk from Norway, which sparked the genesis of her debut novel, “The Blue Trunk.”
A writer her entire life, Ann holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Minnesota. Her career has been dedicated to teaching and helping others navigate communication and resolve conflicts. Ann is fascinated by the dynamics of relationships, discord, and the intricacies of the human condition. Ann successfully completed the Loft Literary Center’s Novel Writing Intensive course in 2022.
Alongside her passion for fiction, she has contributed to academic journals, penned thought-provoking opinion pieces, crafted engaging content for online platforms, and provided insights on the federal management of disasters.
When Ann isn’t immersed in the world of writing, she finds solace in the pool or the lake. She cherishes playful moments with her rescue-turned-therapy dog, Loki, and also enjoys reading, golfing, and indulging in the art of cookie and bread baking. Fly fishing is her newest hobby. Most of all, she savors precious time with her family.
Ann and her spouse, Karen, and fur child, Loki, live in Timnath, Colorado, where they enjoy the beauty of nature daily. Learn more about Ann at: www.annlowry.com
How do you begin again when the past threatens to drown you?
In the throes of an unraveling marriage, New Yorker Marina Maržić returns to her native Croatian island where she helps her father with his struggling cheese factory, Sirana. Forced to confront her divided Croatian-American identity and her past as a refugee from the former Yugoslavia, Marina moves in with her parents on Pag and starts a new life working at Sirana. As she gradually settles back into a place that was once home, her life becomes inextricably intertwined with their island’s cheese. When her past with the son of a rival cheesemaker stokes further unrest on their divided island, she must find a way to save Sirana—and in the process, learn to belong on her own terms.
Exploring underlying cultural and ethnic tensions in a complex region mired in centuries of war and turmoil, The Cheesemaker’s Daughter takes us through the year before Croatia joins the European Union. On the dramatic moonscape island of Pag, we are transported to strikingly barren vistas, medieval towns, and the mesmerizing Adriatic Sea, providing a rare window into a tight-knit community with strong family ties in a corner of the world where divisions are both real and imagined. Asking questions central to identity and the meaning of home, this richly drawn story reckons with how we survive inherited and personal traumas, and what it means to heal and reinvent oneself in the face of life’s challenges.
What first interested me in reviewing The Cheesemaker’s Daughter, Kristin Vukovic’s debut novel, is the Serbian and Croatian history course I took at University back in the early 90s. Of course, I also like cheese.
What did I like?
I enjoyed exploring history from the very start as Marina drove onto the island of Pag and the Fortica fortress. She describes not only sites and structures but how the islands’ features dictated divides in the people. I especially liked how Vukovic explains things like how the structure of Sarina, the family cheese making factory, helped save the family during a time of war.
Vukovic’s visual descriptions of the island of Pag, and from the beginning, Fortica, the small fortress seen from the Pag Bridge, and other locations had me doing a search to enhance the experience further. Using Google Maps, as I crossed Pag Bridge and spotted Fortica. With technology, you at least can see the world if you can’t travel. As a historian and old building enthusiast, I couldn’t resist searching. Sensory experiences spark Marina’s memories, such as the sounds of the creaking door of Sarina and the smell of the cheese factory.
Marina’s struggles may seem an odd thing to note as a ‘like’, but I can connect with some aspects. Dealing with others’ expectations and being apart from your upbringing and culture can be tough. Vukovic understands the importance of both failures and successes in adulthood. And I believe that helps the connection to the story as well.
A book benefits from a female protagonist, particularly when she is the sought-after help, like Marina here. The help needed? Marina’s father must go through the drudgery of paperwork before Croatia enters the EU and compete with another local cheesemaker on the island. Who else to call on but his marketing daughter?
The story is not always happy, just so you are aware. You may not like every moment. But you will like the book. And it’s likely you’ll have learned something about yourself or even someone close to you and what they deal with. Sometimes you just don’t get it until someone else tells you like it is.
Kristin Vuković has written for the New York Times, BBC Travel, Travel + Leisure, Coastal Living, Virtuoso, The Magazine, Hemispheres, the Daily Beast, AFAR, Connecticut Review, and Public Books, among others. An early excerpt of her novel was longlisted for the Cosmonauts Avenue Inaugural Fiction Prize. She was named a “40 Under 40” honoree by the National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation, and received a Zlatna Penkala (Golden Pen) award for her writing about Croatia. Kristin holds a BA in literature and writing and an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and was Editor-in-Chief of Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art. She grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota and currently resides in New York City with her husband and daughter.
Henry Manero wants to grow up. But growing up is seldom the same as moving on. In this poetic and at times philosophical coming-of-age novel, Henry must learn to navigate his inherited guilt and trauma alongside several generations of dispirited loners-among them his absent father, suffering mother, three wild cousins, and bumbling stepfather. When Henry befriends an elderly man, Josef, whose sagaciousness presents new possibilities in life, he wonders if he can escape the trappings of his small town, and of his own mind. Will Henry achieve a newfound sense of self with the help of Josef, or is Josef yet another false star in a constellation of malevolent men with which Henry is surrounded?
Combining the lyricism of Justin Torres’ We the Animals with the kaleidoscopic visions of boyhood in David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green, Matthew Daddona’s debut novel The Longitude of Grief is a tender rumination on the familial bonds that entangle and entrance us all.
Praise
“A mesmerizing read. In The Longitude of Grief, Matthew Daddona traces the complex connections among a boy, his family, and his community. This dark coming-of-age tale explores the ebb and flow of intimacies and betrayals in a small town over the course of the years. A debut rich with melancholy beauty and emotional acumen.”
–Helen Phillips, author of The Need
“A multi-generational coming-of-age story beautifully crafted with language and setting that evoke Tom Drury or Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. The poetry pulls us in and the finely drawn array of characters keeps us glued to the page until the very end.”
—Bethany Ball, author of The Pessimists
“A lush, sweeping, intergenerational novel that fearlessly takes you into the many conflicting rooms of the human soul.”
—Simon Van Booy, bestselling author of Sipsworth
Want something that will help your really get into the mood of the book? Go to LargeHeartedBoy.com for Matthew Daddona’s playlist for his novel “The Longitude of Grief”.
Matthew Daddona is a writer and editor from New York whose fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have been published in outlets such as The New York Times, Outside, Fast Company, UPROXX, Amtrak’s The National, Guernica, Tin House, Slice Magazine, and Grammy. His debut poetry collection, House of Sound, was published by Trail to Table Press in 2020. Matthew is the recipient of an Academy of American Poets prize for poetry, was a runner-up in The Blue Earth Review’s 2017 flash fiction contest, and was longlisted in River Styx’ 2021 flash fiction contest. His debut novel, The Longitude of Grief, will be published by Wandering Aengus Press in 2024. He has received grants and fellowships from Craigardan (Elizabethtown, NY), NES (Skagaströnd, Iceland) and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts (Nebraska City, NE). He is currently working on his second novel and a collection of short stories. For EVEN MORE visit MatthewDaddon.com/about-Matthew.
It’s 1654 in Provence, France and Philippe du Chevalerie, youngest son of Guillaume and Laure, the Duke and Duchess of Chevalerie is knocked off his feet when a beauty from his past once again enters his life, just as he is about to go on a mission for his father.
Alexandra De Voix fled years ago from humiliation at the hands of a young Philippe to become the famous Lady Guide of France. Only her loyalty to her mother’s best friend, Laure, could ever bring her back into his presence.
Now the two must put their past behind them and work together to save the kingdom, but can they stay focused on their mission without someone getting hurt?
Will the Duke need to send in his heir Michel or call in from the see his middle son Serge to help?
My blurb for Taken by His Sword by Florence A. Bliss, a historical romance set in mid 17th Century France.
I must admit that I enjoy a good historical romance. I’ve read more than a hundred. Okay, I’ve read that many of the genre, but not all were ‘good’, but as long as I was entertained then they were not a waste of time.
Why I like Taken by His Sword:
I have to say that in a lot of historical romances I get frustrated by some of the cat and mouse games and the this-person-misunderstands-that-person type of thing, almost like a formulaic Hallmark Movie (yes, I even watch those). Very overplayed plot devices, but then I suppose if you read a lot, you see it a lot. Author Florence A. Bliss avoids that, although there is just enough to not let it be an easy go for Philippe, a young man people see as a typical wealthy, handsome, self-entitled, and egotistical son of a Duke. And not so easy for Alex who is an inexperienced woman of the world. Yeah, I know, ‘inexperienced’ and ‘woman of the world’ don’t seem to go together.
Philippe doesn’t come across that way during the story as it is told from his point of view as well as Alex’s. I’m not always a fan of the dual points of view from one chapter to the next, but this time it makes sense to do so.
The romance/relationship between the two protagonists is only one part of the story. The two must work together to discover who has been burning farms around Provence before it escalates and peace is lost. Philippe leads his men to join with Etienne, the Marquis du Ponce, to capture and bring the guilty to justice. The guilty that might be more powerful than Philippe thought.
Alex proves more valuable than some thought she would be. And eventually comes face to face with her most hated enemy.
Philippe proves he’s more than a pretty face who is a skilled swordsman.
What I may not have liked as much:
There is one point in the story where I think the reader is supposed to know more than they have been told. It pulled me out of the story for a moment because I had to think, “Did I miss something?” But I don’t think it takes away from the story itself.
I want to say up front the book is not laced with profanity like some can be. It’s not a bodice ripper, at least I don’t think Alex’s bodice gets ripped. If you are someone who just likes your read as if you were sitting in a pew at church, then the words you might not like appear less than 20 times in the 264 pages. If the F word is all you would count as profanity, it’s only used 3 times.
For word usage and profanity, although I don’t like using it in my own writing, there are environments, situations, and people that words are used for and by that are just real. And if you go too far the other way, then it’s fake. You can get around it, but for the F word here, it is used as an exclamation once, and it makes you blink. You’re like, “Well that got my attention. That definitely told me what that person thought at that moment.”
The other two times the F word is used, I have to say, made a point. I think the message intended by the character might only be delivered with this word.
Using words and phrases so little gives them impact when they are used. The author did this well.
What would I have wanted more or less of:
I can’t really think of anything I would want more of in this story, it was pretty complete.
You may have noticed Philippe has two older brothers, Michel and Serge. The series is called Swords of Chevalerie. Yes, ladies, the Duke and Duchess have two more sons who are single and ready to… get married?
He took her innocence…She took his honor. But when danger unhinges their world, someone will have to fall on their sword.
The lust. The betrayal. The love. Sometimes the hardest battle…is seducing your enemy.
Alexandra wants one thing: to train with her sword, never mind the outraged public. But when the achingly handsome Monsieur Philippe kisses her, she finds herself willing to give up her heart and even her blade to be with him. That is, until she learns Philippe took another woman to bed after giving Alexandra her first kiss. Shattered and humiliated, Alexandra is done with etiquette. She’s done with skirts and ruffles. And men. Now, five years later, she’s a mercenary, known for her quick wits, expert blade, and dedication to protecting the people she guides through the uncharted forests of Provence. And if, by chance, she ever sees Philippe again, she’ll have no problem knocking that seductive smile right off his goddamned face.
Philippe never forgot the tender kiss he and Alexandra shared, and he never forgave himself for acting so badly. Years later, when he finds himself tracking a mysterious band of foes, the mercenary hired to lead him is none other than the enticing girl he unwittingly destroyed. But Alexandra is a woman now, a breathtaking and dangerous woman. Though he must balance his mounting desire for her with his duty to tame the venomous nest of criminals, Philippe soon realizes that winning Alexandra’s affection will mean he must strip his pride, lay his title on the line, and fight harder than ever before. And if dodging a few of her punches means he can maybe get another taste of her, then this adventure might be more explosive than he ever expected.
Taken by His Sword
Get Taken by His Sword (Swords of Chevalerie Book 1) at Amazon.
I have a soft spot for historical romance because those were my first romance books. I like the added social constraints of historicals, but I have some ideas for contemporary and sci-fi romances as well.
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
I’ll be walking along and suddenly BOOM–story idea. Sometimes it will come from an interaction I see between two people. An exchange I hear, a portrait, a dream. For Taken by His Sword, I had a very vivid dream of a girl holding a sword while everyone around her was wearing fancy, historical clothes. I’m an introverted people watcher so I’m constantly imagining stories involving the strangers I see. Be careful about catching my eye–I might write about you one day…
How did you do research for your book?
Since my book is historical I spent a lot of time reading about French culture, history, and sword fighting in the 1600s. The nice thing about doing a historical is that there isn’t anyone alive that can confirm or deny what I say. If I have some obscure question (did they eat at parties? What type of feather did they use for quills?) and I don’t find the answer in one or two searches, then I just invoke creative license and make it up!
How long have you been writing?
I have been writing for over 20 years! I had a few little literary stories published years ago, but other than that I was struggling to find something to write about that really resonated for me. That’s when I started with romance because I loved romance novels so much growing up.
Do you have another profession besides writing?
Yes! I am a middle school English teacher! But don’t tell my students I wrote a romance novel because they will use it against me.
In today’s tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop. Have you ever written parts of your book on paper?
The first step for me is handwriting the plot in a stream of consciousness style flood in a spiral, college-ruled notebook. This gives me the basic story structure to go off of. When I get stuck on a scene, I go back to the notebook and free write until I spark an idea.
What is something you had to cut from your book that you wish you could have kept?
Oh my goodness I cut about 40 thousand words from that sucker. In the director’s cut, I explored much more of how young Alex came to live with the Duchess and then fall in love with swordfighting and Philippe. I actually think the version that got published is much tighter, but those were really hard cuts at the time!
Do you snack while writing? Favorite snack?
Just coffee. So much coffee.
Get Taken by His Sword (Swords of Chevalerie Book 1) at Amazon.
Florence A. Bliss
Author Bio:
Florence A. Bliss is an author from Las Vegas, NV who has a keen eye for writing love stories full of drama, heartache, humor, and enough seduction to light the pages on fire. With an MFA in creative writing from UNLV, Florence loves to write across genres but has found her home in romance. She lives with her fancy Italian husband and two children. Together they love to travel, explore the ghost towns around Las Vegas, road trip up and down the Pacific coast, and of course drink coffee out of tiny cups (milk for the kids). Florence is an avid people watcher and strives to understand why people do what they do, and she never tires of imagining the stories of what couples have had to overcome in order to come together.
In an era defined by neon lights, cassette tapes, and the birth of grunge, the music scene of the 80’s was more than just a trend-it was a revolution. This book whisks readers away to a time when music pulsed through the streets, clubs echoed with electric rhythms, and every song told a story. Journey across the State of Texas under the spell of groundbreaking artists and their iconic hits.
Meet passionate fans, ambitious musicians, and unforgettable groupies, all brought together by a shared love for rock ‘n’ roll. Experience the highs of sold-out concerts, the lows of band breakups, and the exhilaration of that first chord. As you delve deeper, discover how music was not only a form of entertainment but a way of life, a rebellion, a movement that shaped a generation.
Blending vivid storytelling with nostalgic anecdotes, this book is more than a mere recollection-it’s a tribute to a time when melodies held memories, lyrics voiced dreams, and every beat was a heartbeat of an era. Whether you’re a seasoned rocker or a new-age music enthusiast, embark on a journey that will reignite your passion for music and remind you of its timeless power to connect and inspire.
On The Road
Get On The Road: A Texas Groupie’s Memoir at Amazon.
What was your inspiration for writing On the Road?
The book is basically a memoir about my adventurous life as a young woman. I knew eventually I would write a book about being a groupie because I knew so many people would be interested in reading about people they looked up too and admired.
There are many books out there about rock music. What makes yours different?
Yes, there is. I feel my book is different simply because of the time frame it was in. The 80’s were a very exciting and vibrant time for Rock and Roll and Metal.
Do you have another profession besides writing?
I’ve been many things in my life. Antique dealer, Paranormal Investigator, Booking/Management for musicians. But by far the thing I am most proud of is being a wife to my wonderful husband and a mother to my two beautiful kids.
Do you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?
Writer’s block for me would be the cobwebs in my brain. I am 60 years old, and sometimes recalling all those memories from so long ago can be perplexing at times. But thank goodness I was good at keeping so many notes.
What is the last great book you’ve read?
I had it in my library for awhile, but Patti Smith’s memoir about her life with Robert M. She has always been an interesting person to me, and the book is very moving.
What is something you had to cut from your book that you wish you could have kept?
I actually am the one that made the cut. I think I might have sold a lot more copies if I had kept in the smut, the sex. I made the decision to leave the story dangling and let the readers’ minds fill in what they think probably happened simply to be respectful not only to my husband but the musicians in which I had relations with. We are all older, married and have different lives.
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
Oh man, I am perfectly happy right where I am. I got it all right the first time around.
Favorite travel spot?
I’m living there baby!!! Costa Rica!!! Pura Vida!!!
What is something that made you laugh recently?
My husband always makes me laugh, but recently he waters the yard (jungle) with a water hose and we live in the rainforest. DUH!
What is the strangest way you’ve become friends with someone?
Our first taxi driver in Costa Rica, named Carlos. Nicest person you could ever meet. We’ve become fast friends.
Get On The Road: A Texas Groupie’s Memoir at Amazon.
Linda Chadwick
Author Bio:
Linda Chadwick is a lifelong resident of Texas, married thirty plus years, has two grown children, and is a mom to her dog and cat fur babies. She has always had an intense love of writing and has dreamed of being a published author since she was six years old. She has always loved every facet of music. She is an avid collector of antiques and once owned her own antique shop. Her husband Doug is recently retired and they are embarking on their next adventure, moving to Costa Rica. Don’t worry, she states she has many ideas lined up for more books.
John Viera left his CIA fieldwork hoping for a “normal” occupation and a long-awaited family, but when a Pakistani engineer is kidnapped from a top-secret US project and diplomatic entanglements tie the government’s hands, the Intelligence Community turns to John and his team of ex-operatives to investigate — strictly off the books. They uncover a plot of unprecedented magnitude that will precipitate the slaughter of millions.
From the corporate skyscrapers of Montreal to the treacherous alleys of Baluchistan, these formidable enemies strike, determined to create a regional apocalypse and permanently alter the balance of world power. Isolated in their knowledge of the impending devastation, John and his network stand alone between total destruction and the Leopard of Cairo.
This is the first book in the Apex Predator series.
The majority of our research for The Leopard of Cairo and our other fiction comes from Jay Holmes’s fifty years of experience in military and intelligence operations. Piper will call him up and say something like, “We need to blow something up,” or “What will John Viera do if he’s being followed?” Jay either tells her off the top of his head or he gets back to her in a day or so, and she fills in the rest from her own knowledge and with Google.
Which was the easiest character to write?
Jay finds it easiest to write the male operatives on the team. For Piper, the female characters are easiest to write, particularly the middle-aged female assassin, Mrs. Beasley. Piper isn’t sure what that says about her own personal character.
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
Usually, our inspiration starts with some tawdry joke we make while eating a fresh chocolate cake in Holmes’s kitchen sometime after midnight. If we’ve had a sip of guinda, a Spanish cherry liqueur, the work goes faster.
Your book is set in Quetta, Pakistan, Cairo, Egypt, Montreal, Canada, Northern Vermont, and Flagstaff, Arizona. Have you ever been there?
Piper has only been to Flagstaff, but Jay has been to all of these places. Piper would love to visit Montreal and Vermont, but Jay has warned her away from Quetta and Cairo.
If you could put yourself as a character in your book, who would you be?
Piper would love to be as tough as Angelina. Jay is already one or two of the male characters, including our protagonist John Viera.
How long have you been writing?
Piper has been writing off and on since she flunked Calculus in college and switched her major from Biophysics to technical writing. She began writing novels in 2004.
Jay has been writing professional papers for over four decades, and he has occasionally been forced to turn in government paperwork that resembles writing during that same time span. Piper roped him into writing fiction, spycraft, and history books in 2010.
What is the last great book you’ve read?
Piper just finished Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence, a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia. It’s an absolute masterpiece detailing his work with the Arab tribes to overthrow the Ottoman Empire and build the nations of the Arabian Peninsula.
Jay just re-read Admiral Arleigh Burke, a biography by E.B. Potter, and he highly recommends it.
Which authors inspired you to write?
Piper is inspired by authors of great characters and stories from all eras, such as Alexandre Dumas and J.K. Rowling. Jay was inspired by Piper asking him to write.
What is something you had to cut from your book that you wish you could have kept?
Piper: Not with The Leopard of Cairo.
Jay: Piper constantly edits out my X-rated content.
Who was your childhood celebrity crush?
Piper: Roger Moore. At fifteen I was in London and was thrilled to get a picture of the trash in front of the building where he lived.
Jay: Raquel Welch. I wanted things to happen with me and her. By the time I was ten, I figured out that was a nonstarter, and I started focusing more on local girls.
Piper Bayard is an author and a recovering attorney with a college degree or two. She is also a belly dancer and a former hospice volunteer. She has been working daily with her good friend Jay Holmes for the past decade, learning about foreign affairs, espionage history, and field techniques for the purpose of writing fiction and nonfiction. She currently pens espionage nonfiction and international spy thrillers with Jay Holmes, as well as post-apocalyptic fiction of her own.
Jay Holmes is a forty-five-year veteran of field espionage operations with experience spanning from the Cold War fight against the Soviets, the East Germans, and the various terrorist organizations they sponsored to the present Global War on Terror. He is unwilling to admit to much more than that. Piper is the public face of their partnership.Together, Bayard & Holmes author non-fiction articles and books on espionage and foreign affairs, as well as fictional international spy thrillers. They are also the bestselling authors of The Spy Bride from the Risky Brides Bestsellers Collection and were featured contributors for Social In Worldwide, Inc.
When they aren’t writing or, in Jay’s case, busy with “other work,” Piper and Jay are enjoying time with their families, hiking, exploring back roads of America, talking foreign affairs, laughing at their own rude jokes until the wee hours, and questing for the perfect chocolate cake recipe.
“I want to present Cleopatra to the World,” Lady Stanhope sighed and reached for her purse. Two very young and inexperienced detectives, Flinders Petrie and Thomas Pettigrew, were unexpectedly presented with the case of a lifetime. Flinders and Pettigrew, recent graduates of Oxford and rivals of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, suddenly find themselves confronted with the task of finding Cleopatra’s tomb. The tomb’s location, as they quickly discovered, was protected by the adherents of an ancient cult. Their quest leads them to Cairo and Alexandria. They meet a mysterious woman, who is possibly the descendant of Cleopatra. Their story weaves between the ‘City of the Dead’ in Cairo and the ‘Mound of Shards’ in Alexandria. They discover that becoming a detective is more difficult than they imagined as students. Set against the background of the River War in the Sudan and written by an expert in archeology and Middle East history, readers will find this story a worthy successor to the Conan Doyle legacy. “Find me Cleopatra, and I will pay for all this….”
What would be your one sentence elevator pitch of what your book is about to get someone to want to read it?
Two quirky young detectives are hired to find Cleopatra’s tomb, they grow up quick, but almost get killed during the chase.
Why choose the detective fiction genre for your book?
I read the Adventure of the Speckled Band as a kid. It scared the wits out of me. Ever since, I’ve wanted to write a detective story.
What research did you do to ensure you were historically accurate in setting, language and the like?
For the Middle East, no problem, I taught Middle Eastern politics for 25 years, and lived in Cairo for a year studying at the American University. (I also wrote a couple of books on Middle East politics). For everything else: Wikipedia, online publications, academic theses, and Bing AI (AI is really neat, if you know what to ask).
I know for my own book it was a real process to get things just right. Coming up with character names is more difficult than people might think, how did you go about picking yours?
They are from historical characters: Flinders Petrie is the nephew of Sir Flinders Petrie, the great archeologist. Thomas Pettigrew is the grandson of Thomas Pettigrew, the British anatomist and mummy exhibitor. E A Walis Budge is himself. Lady Hestor is herself. Lord Cromer is himself. Inji was second in command of ‘Social Affairs’ in Cairo, and a very scary lady, indeed. (The first description of Inji is exactly the person I met in Cairo). Other names are from lists of Greek and Egyptian baby names.
How has your world traveling impressed itself on your writing?
Traveling supplied the background ambience. Owen Lattimore, the China expert, once wrote something to this effect: “If you haven’t been there and don’t know that there are tapeworm segments in the bottom of outhouses, you’re not an expert.” He was right. I lived on the economy in Cairo for a year and had to learn Arabic. I saw a lot of stuff a tourist would not see. My daughter is an amateur archeologist who worked on the digs at Pompeii, so I had an bona fide archeological source.
What will connect the reader to the story and make them keep reading to the end?
There are multiple levels, I think. Obviously, there is the Sherlock Holmes nostalgia. But beyond that, the story of a couple of self-entitled kids being forced to grow up in a hostile world is the same theme that you have in the US today: A lot of readers are experiencing the same trauma. And, of course, there is the lost love theme which is a pretty universal experience.
Probably everybody can relate to Flinders and Petrie, they are a very likeable and funny pair: reviewers seem to like them.
Did you have difficulty deciding your book was ready to publish?
I hadn’t a clue. I ran the manuscript by several literary agents who weren’t interested and then shipped it off to the same hybrid I used for the Student. A mistake. I have revised it to take out the clinkers and add material since I now have the advantage of hindsight.
What age(s) of reader do you think would enjoy The Cleopatra Caper?
I wrote another book and the developmental editor said that I write for eleven year olds. Maybe so. I like to think that I write for anyone who has the imagination to be scared by the Speckled Band.
What’s your next project idea?
The Stolen Goddess will be out in April. Flinders and Petrie meet TE Lawrence and Gertrude Bell. It’s set in Istanbul at the end of the Ottoman Empire. I have tried to portray the old empire in all its complexity. It has some truly villainous villains: the Veiled One is the Phantom of the Opera on steroids, and the Bulbul (the bulbul, “nightingale,” was the official executioner in the Ottoman Empire) is modeled after Charles Mansion (I represented one of the Manson family in a parole hearing). The theme is that of the arc of life, unlike Holmes and other fictional detectives, Flinders and Petrie age.
The Bones of the Apostle will probably be out later this year. This is a darker work set in 1915, the time of the Armenian genocide. (My late wife’s grandmother survived the death march). I’m still revising; I’m not sure I can do it justice. I have invented a new character, Gazelda Jones, who is as quirky as the detectives and adds a love theme. She will be around to the end of the series.
There are other detective fiction novels set in times past, why should a reader choose The Cleopatra Caper?
It’s a detective story with all the fast action of the genre, but it’s also a story about growing up, about lost innocence, and about lost love. In a way it’s a ghost story, because the heroes are haunted by their experiences. Their character development is central: These guys are driven by wanderlust, by guilt, and by the loneliness of their newly chosen profession. I suppose you could say that it’s part Conan Doyle, part Lawrence Durrell, part Henry James, and a smidgen of the “Thin Man.”
John Amos holds a PhD and a JD. He has taught at university level for 25 years. His academic publications include several books and multiple articles. His fiction works include The Student (2022), The Cleopatra Caper (2023), and The Case of the Stolen Goddess (2024). He has lived in the Middle East, most notably in Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, and Turkey. He currently practices Law.
Maggie has always accepted life’s constraints: that is, until she witnesses a breathtaking moment of liberation as a butterfly breaks free from a spider’s web. And this small, defiant act sparks a fire within her soul.
That’s a dangerous thing for a field slave in 1850 Missouri.
As her daughter ascends to the coveted position of personal maid to the Mistress, Maggie’s family is thrust into the intricate dynamics of power and privilege within the House.
But in the shadows, a chance encounter between Maggie’s sons and Preacher, a burly, escaped slave, sets the stage for a risky alliance.
Meanwhile, Lucy, the Master’s lonely daughter, hungers for the warmth and kindness that Maggie effortlessly exudes. The boundaries that separate them are as rigid as the times they live in, but the desire for connection and understanding defies the odds.
Maggie, recognizing an opportunity for freedom, finds herself entwined in a perilous dance between liberation and the relentless pull of her current station.
Will she follow in the path of the butterfly?
The Honey Tree
What would be your one sentence elevator pitch of what your book is about to get someone to want to read it?
This is the story of Maggie, a slave who excels at picking cotton, and Lucy, a nine year old whose mother believes she can’t excel at anything.
Why do you think Maggie was so persistent in wanting you to tell her story?
Honestly, I still don’t know.
She haunted me for years – years. I’d jot a few things down, toss them away. I kept telling myself it wasn’t a story for me to tell. The ideas would fade – only to come back stronger.
One full moon I dreamt – vividly – of that wild night on the Mississippi River. The next morning I wrote in earnest.
The Honey Tree is different from your ventures into fiction. What is your background to be able to write Maggie’s story? What research did you need to do?
There was a bit of a familiar echo from a few characters to some elders I remember as a child. And if you read Wake of the Sadico, you might see a connection. But I had a ton of research to do.
I disliked research before the internet. Spending hours in libraries trying to learn what 15th century seafaring was truly like is incredibly time consuming – and when you get home you always realize you missed some key details.
Now at least you can Google online, or use it to seek knowledgeable folk. Even then, as I’m doing my early morning writing, I’ll suddenly realize I have no idea if they drank tea or coffee in Missouri. What will connect the reader to the story and make them keep reading to the end? I see stories as carnival rides. The events are the track laid down and the characters are the vehicles you ride in. You have to believe in the characters – like them. You need to feel their drive, their desires, their goals.
You must want to take that journey beside them.
Did you have difficulty deciding your book was ready to publish? I always have trouble letting go. There’s another tweak here, a bit more polishing there.
These stories grow into friends, and it’s hard releasing them. Once they venture out into the world, they take on their own life. You can only watch from the side-line.
What age(s) of reader do you think would enjoy The Honey Tree?
I’ve had friends give it to twelve year olds, who loved it. I suppose it depends on the parent’s perspective.
What’s your next project idea?
I seem to have stumbled across a dead girl in the Arizona desert who wants to talk to her mother.
What led you to leave the sunshine of Arizona to the not-so-much sunshine of Plymouth, England?
My darling spouse is British, and had lived with me in the U.S. for thirty-six years. It was simply my turn to live abroad.
It’s a wonderful adventure.
What do you miss about the U.S.?
Mexican food, large parking lots, and central air. When we bought our place in the UK, I discovered that “A.C.” on this side of the Atlantic stands for an “Airing Cupboard.”
Finally, there are other historical fiction novels with similar subject matter, why should a reader choose The Honey Tree?
To me, this is not another story about slavery. It’s about people who wanted something better for themselves, their families. A man who fought and lost and gave up, then fell in love and fought all the more. About a woman struck by the idea that freedom might be possible after a lifetime of believing otherwise. A woman risking more and more for her children, and then someone else’s child.
In a nutshell, it is about that spiritual leap of faith – and Lucy’s literal leap of faith.
Find The Honey Tree at several outlets includingAmazon.
Visit Jo’sbooks2read.com/HoneyTree site for all of the vendors (12 in all) you can purchase The Honey Tree from.
Jo Sparkes
Jo Sparkes
From television shows to football articles, Jo Sparkes can’t put the pen down. She’s interviewed Emmit Smith and Anquan Boldin (as Arizona Cardinals), taught screenwriting at the Film School at SCC, and went on camera to make “Stepping Above Criticism”.
An award winning writer, she’s recently moved to Plymouth, England – and learning to speak the language.
The world as we know it is built upon choices. If different choices had been made in the past, we might be living in an entirely different world. What if the so-called Lost Colony of settlers in North Carolina were in fact not lost at all but instead merged happily with the Native American tribes to create a new people and unique society?
Sixteen-year-old Charli is living in a pandemic-ravaged 2020 America when she stumbles upon the parallel world of the Q’ehazi. Drawn to these peaceful people, whose constant joy and optimism provides a stark contrast to the suffering and violence in her own life, Charli wants nothing more than to stay with them forever-but first, she must learn to attain a state of grace.
Can she forgive her mother’s abusive boyfriend? Can she learn empathy for her mother? In The World Beyond the Redbud Tree, Charli’s inward and outward struggles will lead her to a discovery she wasn’t even looking for: the beauty of her own world.
The World Beyond the Redbud Tree
You have only a few seconds to tell someone what your book is about, in two sentences tell them what your book is about? In other words, what would you say to interest them about The World Beyond the Redbud Tree?
OK, my elevator pitch: The novel is a utopian fantasy about a parallel universe in which different and more positive choices have been made.
“The World Beyond the Redbud Tree” is a gripping, coming-of-age narrative set in a pandemic-ravaged America, in which Charli, the sixteen-year-old protagonist, stumbles upon a parallel world where people co-exist peacefully, providing a stark contrast to her own troubled existence. The Q’ehazi society, with its emphasis on joy and optimism, serves as an uplifting contrast to the struggles faced by Charli in her own reality. Charli’s journey is not only an external exploration of this parallel world but also an internal quest for forgiveness and empathy. The narrative skillfully weaves together Charli’s personal struggles with larger societal issues, making the story both intimate and universal. The themes of forgiveness, empathy, and the pursuit of grace are handled with nuance and depth.
There are sensitive, but widely occurring, subjects you approach in the story. What led you to doing a book about those subjects?
I am a therapist and I help clients all the time who are dealing with these issues. These sensitive topics are based on the truth of my experiences and those of my clients, and they help to point up the contrast between our world and the mythical Q’ehazi world.
Forgiveness is a big part of The World Beyond the Redbud Tree. That’s a difficult thing to do in many situations, especially for a teen. For Charli, facing the prospect of forgiving Sean is something that would seem impossible. Failure is so easy to achieve in such a situation. Why choose this aspect of one’s character as a key theme of the story?
It’s not something that’s very often written about. In our culture, “revenge” is much more often the norm, and yet we discover that violence just leads to more violence. I wanted to show that a different choice was possible. Charli is young but she has an emotional maturity way beyond her years, and she is open to learning a different way of being. She doesn’t necessarily attain it in this book, but her journey towards wisdom and grace takes place over the course of the three books that make up the trilogy.
Where is the setting or settings for The World Beyond the Redbud Tree and is there a specific reason for its selection?
The setting is where I live, which is Weaverville, NC. I chose that area because it inspired me. We have a redbud tree on our property and I love the way it changes colors four times during the season (pink, red, green, yellow). I discovered later that it is one of the seven “sacred woods” of the Cherokee people. (See also below)
Early American history and the Cherokee people influenced your book, what research did you do to help with your book?
Ironically, I didn’t do much research before writing the book, as it’s a fantasy, other than reading books about the Lost Colony and finding out about the real history from that era. However, I visited the Cherokee Oconoluftee village in Cherokee NC a few months after writing my book, and was amazed and delighted to discover that many of the themes and ideas I had written about as being part of the Q’ehazi culture were in fact mirrored in the Cherokee culture.
The name you chose for the parallel world of Q’ehazi, I’ve found a similar word and the definition fits the world you’ve created, but how did you come up with it?
I literally made it up. I didn’t want it to be a real word in another language. So I flung together a few letters and my friend suggested the apostrophe.
If you had to be one character in The World Beyond the Redbud Tree, who would you choose and why?
I actually wrote the character of Maudina (Sovereign Aurora’s sister) for me to play, should there ever be a movie made! I resonate with her youthful spirit and her creativity.
What will connect the reader to the story and make them want to keep reading?
A variety of things. I would hope they would be intrigued by the unique and imaginative parallel world; some people have called the book a “page turner” because they want to find out what happens to Charli, as she’s a very sympathetic and multi-faceted protagonist; many people have described the book as “thought-provoking” because it’s not just a story but also a message about our world and how to make it better.
What’s the biggest difference between living in California and now in North Carolina?
Interesting question. I’m originally from England and I loved all the trees in NC, it’s like being in England before all the trees were cut down, many hundreds of years ago now. I enjoy both states, and they are very different. It’s also important to mention that I moved from Los Angeles to the tiny little rural town of Weaverville, and that experience contributes to the difference also. The people here are gentler and the pace is a lot slower. There isn’t so much diversity here, either in people or activities. I feel more connected to nature here, because we live on an acre of land. However, in LA I lived near the beach and I enjoyed that too. So there’s good things about both places.
What’s your next project idea?
Book Two in the series, called “The World of the Q’ehazi” (working title). I have just finished the first draft, will be refining it and hope to publish it later this year.
Find The World Beyond the Redbud Tree at several outlets includingAmazon.
Madison C. Brightwell
Author Bio:
Madison C. Brightwell is an author and a licensed MFT with a doctorate in psychology. She has been working as a therapist for fifteen years, before which she worked as a professional actress and in film and TV development. She has written four other novels and three self-help books in the field of psychology. Since moving to Asheville, North Carolina, from her native Britain, Madison has become inspired by the history of this land, originally inhabited by the Cherokee. She draws on many of her experiences helping clients with trauma, addiction, and chronic pain.
Having the ability to foretell events and connect with people in the afterlife is a unique gift. But can it also be a horrible curse!
Anna Mavrides has been burdened her whole life by the violent visions she had as a young girl. When she decides decades later to write a book about those visions and her family’s connection to the spirit world, it becomes an instant bestseller, but it ultimately triggers a chain of events that would have her charged with the brutal murder of her childhood friend.
As Anna wrestles with the fractured memories and tangled relationships of her youth from her prison cell, her determined supporters dig to expose the motives of the leader of a Spiritualist community featured in the book and the District Attorney who charged her with murder.
Their efforts could exonerate her and provide some answers about Anna’s distant past, but her reward will be a penultimate showdown at a seaside Maine amusement park, where the past and present fuse in a fiery conclusion.
All her life, people have asked Anna Mavrides, “How do you know?” Can she finally answer that question?
How Does She Know
If you only had two sentences to tell someone what your book is about, what would you say to excite them about the story?
Anna Mavries decides to tell the world her story about the extraordinary supernatural gifts and Greek legacy she possesses, but little did she know the ripple effect on the present day and the past it would conjure up. As she sits in jail, both friends, foes, and paranormal play tug of war with Anna’s life and as the rope unravels, Anna sees the truth.
How did you and DIane meet and decide to collaborate on a book?
We met at work and developed a deep friendship. Diane began to tell me about her gifts and the manuscript in which she detailed these events. And of course with my insatiable hunger to know more about paranormal, I could not resist the opportunity to bring it to life.
Why a murder mystery?
The pivotal vision is Christine so it felt right to develop a more profound story around it
Where is the setting for How Does She Know and is there a specific reason for its selection?
Portland Maine is Diane’s home and she is considered a Mainer. Since the majority is based on true events, it seemed fitting to keep it in her birth place plus it adds so much color to the story.
How have your own experiences influenced your characters in their personalities, characteristics, and little details? For example; do one of you have someone in your life that you put a little bit into Marjorie?
The story revolves around true events that Diane has and continues to experience as a medium- thus all those details built the main character Anna.
If you had to be one character in How Does She Know, who would you choose and why?
I really bond with Lori as I like her moxy and she has the traits of a Gemini which I am part of that club.
What will connect the reader to the story and make them want to keep reading the story?
I find that the layers of the past and present swirling around Anna’s paranormal experiences, the readers want to know how it all intersects at the end.
What was it like collaborating in creating How Does She Know?
Moving from Diane’s detail manuscript to a compelling story had its journey with stops, starts, tears and joy but in the end it is a passion project that came into reality at the right time!
Many first time authors have a problem with letting their work enter into the world for others to read. Did you have difficulty deciding your book was ready to publish?
I truly believe the universe decided when this passion project was ready and it came through with implacable timing. I am a believer of signs and throughout 2023 I was seeing multiple numerals in a row repeating – my sign was the number 1 and it was loud and clear!
What are the daytime secret identities of the authors of How Does She Know that help pay for the electricity to power your computers?
Diane and I both work I work in hospital reimbursement again being a Gemini I have 2 sides for sure!
What is your next project?
A sequel is currently in the works for Anna to continue to bring forth the intrigue of her gifts as they expand and grow – again based on true events!
Andrea Rubinowitz was born and raised in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and from the age of 6 years old fascinated with the paranormal world. From chasing ghosts before impending thunderstorms, racing home after school to watch Dark Shadows, seeing every horror movie with Vincent Price, and finally as an adult, the urge of knowing more never ceased in fact it grew. Upon meeting Diane M. Sylvester, born into a generation of fortune tellers not by choice certainly cannot guarantee a life time of happiness.
Diane M Sylvester
Diane M. Sylvester was raised in Portland, Maine and continues to reside in this beautiful state known as Vacationland. Born into a generation of fortune tellers not by choice; this pedigree cannot guarantee a life time of happiness. She longed to tell her story of her lineage, physic abilities and paranormal experiences that she cannot ignore. How Does She Know is Diane’s first book regarding her amazing gifts.
Marco did okay in math. He could follow the complex blueprints provided to him, navigate the steps, and arrive at the answers that earned him a shiny grade near the front of the alphabet. That is, until middle school. As new and confusing letters started creeping into every question, Marco developed a problem. When a new figure ‘pops’ into his life, he is introduced to a fantastical world where numbers rule, where they live together in villages, engage in duels, build stadiums and cheer for their favorite team as players are flung through the air. Marco’s imagination runs wild as he develops new powers and hungers for more.
But everything is not as it seems. Join Marco, his annoying little sister Maggie, and his best friends Oliver and Liam (a math whiz and a conspiracy nut), as they discover this magical world is more real than they ever could have dreamt. And find out… Will Marco master the Numberfolk before the Numberfolk, very literally, master him?
Marco the Great and the History of Numberville is the first installment in a fantastical adventure series that will have readers learning math and enjoying every minute of it. In addition, the text includes over 300 practice problems and solutions as well as access to an entire digital world allowing students to dive directly into Marco’s world with 40+ games to level-up their learning.
Marco the Great
See the tour–wide giveaway at the end.
How did you come up with the idea for Marco the Great?
I have always been an avid reader and a lover of stories. When my daughters were young, we would read The Magic Treehouse series and I was so impressed with how well my kids could pick up on facts from fiction much better than they could with standard textbooks. The idea to create a similar mathematical fantasy world rattled around in my brain for years. It wasn’t until my daughter hit 6th grade and was really struggling that gave me the push I needed to help her. I was substituting a class and the way I happened to explain solving equations had a fun and creepy vibe to it. At that moment I finally knew what the story would be. I started writing and honestly haven’t stopped since! As a bonus, my daughter no longer ‘hates’ math, she has this wonderful excitement when she talks about it, she is so proud and confident, and she went from being behind to being a leader in her honors course. This alone was well worth it, and I so hope that Marco the Great can have a similar impact on students across the world.
How did you do research for Marco the Great?
The math was the easy part. I feel like I have been researching not only the content but the best way to present it to students for my entire personal life and professional career. Every one of the 100+ math textbooks I own, every experience as an educator, and every ‘aha’ moment contributed to the scope, sequence, and presentation of the topics.
I, in some way, researched everything else that went into Marco the Great. Sometimes this was a deep dive into Google or the books I have at home, but often it was just throwing myself into the experience. In one scene, Marco and Mr. Pikake do math in the snow. My kids and I physically did this. I wanted everything to be just right and believable. For instance, I needed to know how it sounds when you are shivering and trying to speak the character’s words. So we played it out! We even wrote out all the equations with a stick and took pictures of them to aid me as I wrote the scene.
Marco the Great has unique page numbers, how did you come up with this idea?
One goal of the book was to help students see that numbers are everywhere. There are numbers we see and don’t ever really think about, and there are others we don’t see that are governing the natural world like friction or gravity. The page numbers were a great place to highlight this. By making them different mathematical equations and expressions, my goal was to show that no matter how difficult the math might look, it’s just a number.
Every book has page numbers that serve as a way to reference and communicate information. They are something we often ignore. In Marco the Great you can’t miss the strange mix of letters and numbers taking over the bottom of each page and they differ depending on the chapter and the concept we are talking about. This provided both a fun and novel way for students to check their understanding and an opportunity to normalize complicated notation and make it more approachable. It had the added benefit of highlighting the unseen numbers we take for granted.
What makes your book different from what’s out there?
One of the reasons I finally took the terrifying leap to publish was because there wasn’t anything on the market. I am certainly a bibliophile and I searched and searched and came up empty. There are books that are math adjacent, but I found these never dug deep enough into the actual concepts. Books that did dig deep were textbooks or technical writing that were hard to read and felt like I had to first translate them into English and then try to understand what they were attempting to explain. Marco the Great presents rigorous mathematics in a way that is fun to read and much easier to comprehend. It uses the power of storytelling to provide a fresh perspective that I believe is so needed in today’s classrooms.
Do you have another profession besides writing?
My technical profession is educator and instructional designer. I have spent years designing and developing courses and curricular material which made the transition to writing a bit easier. A huge part of my educational philosophy is that learning should be fun. Most of my days are spent coding math games. I think that learning through play is the absolute best way to master new concepts.
The norm is for instructional designers to stay out of the classroom. I always felt this was a huge mistake. How can I design a strong and engaging curriculum if I am so removed from the students using it? So, throughout the years I have always kept one foot in the classroom. Not only does this bring me so much joy, energy, and purpose, it helps me to continue to understand the demographics I am designing for and what is important to them.
What is your next project?
I am very excited for the next book in the Marco the Great series: Marco the Great and the Mystery of Phaseville. It focuses on Algebra concepts such as functions and graphing. I am in love with the story and can’t wait to get everything just right.
What are the biggest rewards and challenges with writing Marco the Great?
The biggest reward is helping students to not fear numbers; to see their importance, and to feel more confident in learning and doing mathematics. There is so much talk about how math is useless, we don’t use what we learn in our daily lives. But I see it differently, I see math everywhere I look. Learning math is the process of making sense of the world around us, optimization, logic, engineering, it’s everything. If I can help a student to see, understand, and appreciate math, it is all worth it.
As a mom, how do you balance your time?
My kids inspire me. I watch how my teenagers respond to situations, funny things they say, and all of that goes into the story in some way. They help me a lot. I’ll read a passage and watch their reaction. When they smile or can’t help but let out a chuckle it tells me ‘that’s a good line’.
My husband is also a huge help. We both work from home and homeschool. We split things up. The kids rotate coming out into my office (my son is here with me now working on his own math homework) and then back inside. Everything is a balancing act, and I am sure I fail at it. But that’s okay. I try to do better every day and am so thankful for all the time I get with my kids.
Marco the Great and the History of Numberville is a MathBait publication. The first installment in the series covers standards from 6th & 7th grade Prealgebra. The exact topics can be found at www.mathbait.com/marco-the-great.
Marco the Great has a 4th-6th grade reading level and was written for a middle school audience. However, it is a great option for younger students as well, either independently or read aloud. Throughout his journey, Marco encounters bullying which may be uncomfortable for younger readers. Parents may skip the related passages (pages 22, 60, and 112), if desired, for the given audience
Find Marco the Great an the History of Numberville at Amazon.
We are doing a tour–wide giveaway of a signed copy of the book and a MathBait T-shirt. SK has THREE sets available for US and/or Canada winners.
SK Bennett is an award-winning educator, instructional designer, mathematician, and homeschool mom of five. She spent years designing courses for top companies and institutions before deciding it was time to embrace her belief that learning should be fun and math should never be all about memorization and rote procedures. Inspired by her favorite stories, she set out to create Marco’s world – where learning is an adventure and math is never ever boring.
Why do we spend so much time and effort creating a fairytale world for our children, just to take it away from them? Author Jeff Janke faced that dilemma three years ago when his daughter started questioning her belief in Santa Claus. Like most parents, he had two problems to solve–how to gently teach his child the true meaning of Christmas, and how to prevent her from spoiling the fairytale for other children. Out of this problem, Secret Santa Claus Club was born.
Secret Santa Claus Club is a beautifully illustrated story about a little girl thinking back on the magic of each Christmas. She remembers meeting Santa at the mall and seeing her first bike under the tree on Christmas morning. As time goes on, she starts to wonder if it’s all real. When she decides she’s ready to know the truth–her parents help guide her to the true meaning of the holiday.
Secret Santa Claus Club was written to be a tool for parents during these challenging moments. Combined with love, patience, and compassion, SSCC will help transition the reader from believing to becoming. At the end of the story, your child will be invited to join Secret Santa Claus Club. They’ll understand the importance of keeping the secret, creating the magic for believers, and helping other members of the club.
Secret Santa Claus Club
See the tour–wide giveaway at the end.
A Reader’s Review
“I recommend using Secret Santa Claus Club to help break the news to any child. Or if your kid knows already, like mine did, it can help put the strange idea of “becoming” Santa into perspective. There’s some emphasis on keeping the secret from other believers (and helping spread the magic), which I really appreciate. Very glad I purchased. The quality is excellent. But most importantly, the story is really sweet.”
— Erin M. (Amazon reviewer)
Secret Santa Claus Club Page 34
A Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Santa Talk: How to Use a Secret Club to Help Support the Truth and Transition your Child
My daughter, River, was 9 when she started to question Santa Claus. It really took me off guard, but I knew this momentous occasion deserved something special. I couldn’t find the exact solution I was hunting for, so we held off telling her and I spent a year writing her a book.
I had several goals in mind, some driven by common fears all parents have in my shoes.
I wanted to make sure she didn’t feel betrayed. Saint Nick was real after all! But would she feel like I lied to her all these years?
I wanted to keep Christmas special and full of magic. I didn’t want it to lose its luster.
I needed to hold her accountable for all the believers in her life. I didn’t want her to spoil the secret for any of her peers.
And I wondered if I could replace feelings of exclusivity with inclusivity.
These goals and fears are what drove me to my light bulb moment. The Secret Santa Claus Club was born. 5 years later, I can say it worked better than I ever imagined.
__________________________________
Here are the steps I took, the insights I gained, and the changes I would make:
Make Your Own Club Rules:
For me, I focused on spreading the magic and keeping the secret. Of course, every family will have their own unique approach. In a nutshell, here are my SSCC Rules:
Respect all Santas, including mall Santas and parents dressed as Santa
Help fill stockings
Never share the secret with any believer, no matter how young or old
Only caregivers can invite members into the club
Always leave milk and cookies
Carry on all the same Christmas Traditions with love and joyfully give to others
Find other members:
If your child has a tight-knit crew, find out who’s in the know and who isn’t. Share the concept of your club with family members and parents. Encourage them to extend their warm welcome to your child. River loved the feeling of community once older folks started talking about “the club”.
Find believers:
It’s helpful to know who to guard the secret from. And it’s also fun to pick a few close believers—like siblings or friends—and perform “acts of magic” for them. More on this below.
Create Club Activities:
Spreading the magic was a huge emphasis for us. River loved finding out how her mom and I made magic for her over the years. It gave her great ideas on how to pass it on. Some examples of club activities are writing letters from Santa to younger siblings or friends, or picking out stocking gifts for the family and stuffing them.
Charity:
I wish I specifically mentioned charity in our written club rules, but we always make sure to focus on it during the holidays. There’s no better way to honor the legacy of St. Nick than by giving to those in need. We started the tradition of finding someone in our community less fortunate, brainstorming a helpful gift, and leaving it for them anonymously. We also have River pick out 5 of her toys to donate. This helps make room for what’s coming.
Make it official:
If you’d like to make it more official and are crafty, make a badge, ID Card, patch, certificate, or ornament. We printed the club rules on linen certificate paper and I was so surprised at how much River studied those rules!
Celebrate:
Don’t forget to celebrate the induction of the club like a graduation or special achievement. This is a big deal! A rite of passage! Ask other adults to recognize the newest member into the club. A talk with family ahead of time can really make the transition special.
———————————————————-
One of the best parts about using the Secret Santa Claus Club was the way it transformed the event from a potential tragedy into an adventure. Once River joined the club, there was so much for her to look forward to; it replaced the magic that Santa supplied with a whole new world of magic of her own making.
If you’d like a tool to help your family start this conversation and introduce your child to the Secret Santa Claus Club, grab a copy of my children’s book! https://a.co/d/2tk9rFD You certainly don’t need it to have a successful transition, but it can be helpful. I also have lots of helpful blogs on my website: www.secretsantaclausclub.com
Happy holidays to you and your family and best of luck to you!
Jeff Janke is a single dad who considers himself more of a problem solver than an author. When his daughter started questioning Santa, he wrote a book to help guide her from a world of believing in Santa to a community of truly becoming Santa. When his daughter wanted to invite other friends into the club (after they learned the secret), and after lots of encouragement from friends and family who have faced the same dilemma, he decided to publish Secret Santa Claus Club to help other parents and children too!
Michelle Alger flees when her secretly recorded tryst winds up on the internet. She has no option but to hide. Her one-night stand—the son of a powerful US senator—was murdered. Learning she’s the prime suspect is traumatizing. Already a member of witness protection thanks to a Colombian drug lord kidnapping her in college, she now has to run from the senator and law enforcement. To make matters worse, the drug lord finally knows her location and is hot on her trail. There’s only one man she trusts. He saved her once, can he do it again six years later?
Captain Jeremy Malone no longer wears a Green Beret. He’s traded in his fatigues for a new life leading Delta Squad, a covert unit within SweetBriar Group. His latest orders from the senator: find the unknown woman and bring her to me. But Jeremy knows her identity. He once rescued her from a Colombian cartel, and has never forgotten her. He assigns his squad a new mission: find Michelle first and learn the real story.
Michelle and Jeremy can’t deny their explosive chemistry. But, with every new piece of evidence, Jeremy’s faith in Michelle’s innocence is questioned. Is her plea for help a ruse…or a trap set by a beautiful woman determined to expose Jeremy’s own secrets…
This is the second book in the SweetBriar Group (SBG) series and can be read as a standalone.
Shadow of Doubt
See the tour–wide giveaway at the end.
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
Inspirations for stories sometimes come from real-life situations in the world. I think in high concept when I see a news story or read an article (war, bioweapon, terrorist) and play the “what if” game. Example: What if a small terrorist cell gets their hands on a bioweapon, how would my black ops team stop them?
Other story ideas just hit me from nowhere. Characters start to introduce themselves and I try to “talk” to them to understand who they are.
How did you do research for your book?
For this book and series, I used a combination of hands-on, internet, and interviews. A few years ago, I attended The Writer’s Police Academy. It’s a hands-on, comprehensive conference given by police officers, first responders, and federal law enforcement. It was amazing and taught me so much. Especially when they let me shoot lasers from a real (but modified) gun. I also interviewed anybody and everybody that would talk to me about so many topics.
Which was the hardest character to write? The easiest?
Wraith was the hardest character to write. She’s complex. She’s a badass sniper who made a horrible mistake during a mission. I had to show her losing the ability to compartmentalize emotions to feeling everything. And make it so the readers still rooted for her.
Talon seems to be the easiest character to write because he hogs every scene and wants to be the center of attention. I’m constantly reining him in.
There are many books out there with black ops teams in romantic suspense. Why should you read mine?
The SBG series not only deals with life-and-death situations, but also with emotional complexities and dynamics within a team of people who’re closer than family. You’ll read both heavy-action and intricate emotional entanglements. These operators are badass, trained to save the day/world at all costs, but they’re also human with human emotions and responses.
Your book is set in a couple of US locations. Have you ever been there?
Most of my books have international settings. I like to hop around the world to keep the suspense engaging. That said, Shadow of Doubt has two main locations in the US: A fictional town in the North Carolina mountains, and Indianapolis. I’ll admit I chose these locations because I’ve been to both and could picture the places as I set the scenes.
How long have you been writing?
I started late in life. I’ve been an avid reader from the moment I sounded out “See Jane Run,” but it never occurred to me to write a book myself. That happened in 2009. Oy. Some days I wonder if the elevator got stuck on the bottom floor of my brain when I decided to “give it a shot.”
What advice would you give budding writers?
I have two pieces of advice. One is for those who’ve never attempted to write an entire book: Don’t angst and worry about story structure and trying to make it perfect. No matter if it becomes published or not, you will always have a story you want to read.
The second advice is for those who reached the end of their draft and are saying “now what?” Celebrate the victory. It’s tremendously hard to achieve this milestone. Revel in your success.
What is your next project?
I’m in the process of brainstorming an anti-hero. I’ve always written alpha characters and strong villains. Now, I want to see if I can write a villain worth rooting for.
We are doing a tour–wide giveaway of a signed print copy and some swag. P.A. has FIVE sets available for US winners. She also has FIVE ebooks to send to readers worldwide.
A. DePaul is a Publishers Weekly Bestselling and award-winning author.Her books are full of action, suspense, and romance.
As a hybrid author, she has books traditionally and independently published. Her traditional publishers include Berkley, a Penguin Random House imprint, and Harlequin Books.
Lit World Interviews 