Showing posts with label women's fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women's fiction. Show all posts

Friday, February 14, 2014

#BookBlast Banished Love by Ramona Flightner



Ramona Flightner is a native of Missoula, Montana. After graduating from Tufts University with a B.A. in Spanish, she earned a Masters degree in Spanish Literature from the University of Montana. Her Master’s thesis, Chilean Testimonial Literature: the collective suffering of a people, highlighted her continued interest in the stories of those who were at risk of being forgotten or silenced.
           
She studied nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a Master’s in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She has worked for ten years as a family nurse practitioner providing care to the poor and under insured at two community health centers, first in Wilmington, Delaware and now in Boston, Massachusetts.
           
An avid reader, she began writing three years ago. She enjoys the demands of research and relishes the small discoveries that give historical detail to her books.
           
Ramona is an avid flyfisher and hiker who enjoys nothing better than spending a day on a remote Montana river, far from a city. She enjoys research, travel, storytelling, learning about new cultures and discovering new ways of looking at the world. Though she resides in Boston, Massachusetts, Ramona remains a Montanan at heart.
          
 Her dreams are to see the plains of East Africa, marvel at the wonder of Petra in Jordan, soak in the seas of the South Pacific, and to continue to spend as much time as possible with her family.
           
Banished Love is her first novel and is the first in the forthcoming Banished Saga.

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Blurb:

Free-Spirited…

Clarissa Sullivan dreams for more from life than sipping tepid tea in stifling parlors in Victorian Boston. She defies her family’s wishes, continuing to teach poor immigrant children in Boston’s West End, finding a much-needed purpose to her life.

Radical…

As a suffragette, Clarissa is considered a firebrand radical no man would desire. For why should women want the vote when men have sheltered women from the distasteful aspects of politics and law?

Determined…

When love blossoms between Clarissa and Gabriel McLeod, a struggling cabinetmaker, her family objects. Clarissa’s love and determination will be tested as she faces class prejudices, manipulative family members and social convention in order to live the life she desires with the man she loves.

Will she succeed? Or will she yield to expectations?

BANISHED LOVE follows Clarissa Sullivan on her journey of self-discovery as she learns what she cannot live without.



Excerpt:
“Colin, anything in that paper interesting enough to share? You read it like you are hoping to find some long-lost treasure,” Lucas cajoled.

“Hmm…no, nothing uplifting like that song. Just more tales of death and woe around the world. The Boxers are getting more powerful and dangerous.” Colin sighed, setting aside the Boston Evening Transcript.

“And why should we care about a bunch of pugilists?” Mrs. Smythe demanded, her thin face even longer with her disapproval.

I giggled; Lucas snorted before acting as though he were sneezing to hide his amusement, but Colin stared at Mrs. Smythe with frank fascination.

“Do you read the papers, Mrs. Sm…Sullivan? Talk with your friends?” At her cold stare, he continued. “The Boxers are discontented Chinese on the verge of rebellion who are indiscriminately killing Christians in China. Including American Christians,” Colin said helpfully. “I thought it was the topic of conversation these days.” He glanced toward Lucas and me, and we both nodded our agreement.

“A genteel woman,” Mrs. Smythe began, with a sniff in my direction to indicate I must be lacking in that regard, “would not know of such vulgar goings-on halfway around the world with a bunch of savages, my dear Colin. I do read the papers but only the parts that pertain to my world and me. The parts about running a good home, a good kitchen. About decoration.” With this, she waved her hand around the room to indicate its frightful state. “Decorum.” Yet another censorious glare was sent in my direction. “These are the important matters of my life,” she stated with one more sniff, showing her displeasure at the topic.


Buy Link: Amazon

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

@AuthorJMKelley and her new release Daddy's Girl #interview

Please welcome my guest today, J.M. Kelly and her woman's fiction release, Daddy's Girl!


1. At any given time do you work on only one story at a time and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head?
For the most part, I work on one story at a time, though if I get ideas for other stories, I’ll write a portion of story to hold that thought for myself for a later time. As far as ideas, something is always lurking around in the back of my mind. I let the ideas simmer until I decide if they should be filed away for future experimentation, or passed over because it’s a weak or weird concept I will never be able to expand on properly. I have enough attention span issues. I can’t successfully juggle two or more stories at one time. My brain would implode.

2. Is there a genre you haven't written in but would like to? Or wish you could write in?
I’d love to have the patience with myself to focus on a really in-depth fantasy setting. I admire anybody with the vivid imagination to build a creative and unique world. I’m more in tune with developing interpersonal relationships between characters. I’m sure, if I forced myself to truly concentrate, I could write in the fantasy genre, but again, I fear brain implosion would be the end result. I’ll leave that genre to more masterful minds than mine.

3. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself?
Oh, lord, could I have fun with an open budget. I would go for the cottage idea in a heartbeat. Though I love the mountains, I’d have to choose a beach for my dream cottage, mostly because I’ll take mosquitos over spiders any day. I have a very luxurious image of the perfect décor in my brain, though luxury doesn’t mean expense, necessarily. I’m more concerned with fluffy couches than anything else.  Now, since I’m rich beyond my wildest dreams in this scenario, naturally I would have a giant bathroom with rainforest showerhead and a massive Jacuzzi tub. A writer needs a place to relax, after all.

The most important factor, though, is that my cottage by the sea has doors that open up to let the sounds of the surf in. I would love to be able to sit and watch the water as I write every day. The peacefulness would be almost overwhelming, I think.

4. If you could turn your novel into a TV show, which novel or series would you do? Where would it be set? Network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS), Cable (AMC, BBC, Lifetime) or Premium Cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz)?
Is it bad that I watch so little television I can’t really grasp what the difference would be between the choices offered? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those people who think television is a horrible thing. I just don’t focus on it very well. Frankly, I tend to have the Weather Channel playing on a constant loop as background noise. That, or the Discovery Channel. I just forget to listen in, I guess.

As for a show in general, I’m thinking my first novel, Drew in Blue, would make a fun show.  The continuing adventures of Drew Doyle, bungling his way through parenthood, love, and life.  As I wrote the story, I always imagined the town having a Stars Hollow vibe, ala the fabulous Gilmore Girls. Throw in some strange Pennsylvania-style townies, and we’ve got a show, ladies and gents.

5. Finally, tell us about your latest release!
Daddy’s Girl is a work of women’s fiction with strong romantic elements.

Janie McGee, the black sheep of her family, is free-spirited, uninhibited, and never one to stay in the same place for too long. Despite a lifetime of never seeing eye to eye, when Janie learns her father, Joe, is gravely ill, she surprises even herself by returning home to rural Pennsylvania to care for him. 

David Harris sports a pocket protector, collects coins, and is addicted to Antiques Roadshow. Everything about the man rubs Janie the wrong way, from his nerdy wardrobe to his enviable friendship with Joe. And to make matters worse, Janie’s father thinks they’re perfect for each other, proof positive of how little Joe knows his own daughter ... or so Janie thinks.

A shared devotion to the elder McGee begins to close the gulf between Janie and David, but a burgeoning romance opens the door to unexpected consequences neither could foresee. Joe, however, remains steadfast in his resolve to show Janie that Daddy knows what’s best for his little girl after all. Can Janie finally open her heart to David while watching the first man she ever truly loved fade away?

J.M. will be awarding a gift basket of some of the author's favorite things, including a $25 gift card from Amazon and a signed copy of the Foreign Affairs anthology from Turquoise Morning Press to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

 

About J.M.:

After one too many Snowmaggedon shoveling catastrophes, J.M. Kelley, a native of Pennsylvania, loaded her car with all of her belongings and moved to sunny South Carolina. A year later, she finds herself shivering when temperatures dip to fifty degrees, and battles against the slight Southern accent she seems to be developing. When not toiling away at her day job, she can be found huddled over her laptop in a quiet corner of her favorite coffee shop, slurping a caffeine-laden milkshake as she writes.

J.M. Kelley is a proud recipient of a Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Award. Drew in Blue, her debut novel, was nominated for Best Contemporary of 2010 by The Romance Reviews, and is a TRR and Night Owl Reviews Top Pick. Her second novel, Daddy's Girl, will be published in January 2013. Her short story, Siren Song, is included in the anthology Foreign Affairs, from Turquoise Morning Press, available August 8, 2012.

Visit www.jmkelleywrites.com for news and information!


Monday, June 3, 2013

#Guest: Cathy Mansell and her new release Shadow Across the Liffey

About the Author:
Member of Leicester Writers’ Club, Just Write workshop, Life President of Lutterworth Writers’ Group, Member NAWG, Member Romantic Novelist Association and past president of Riverside Speakers club.

Cathy is an experienced writer of romantic fiction. Her early work was competition short stories and articles published in national magazines. She was Editor in Chief of the Leicestershire Anthology, ‘Taking Off’, a book promoted and supported by Arts Council UK.

In recent times, Cathy has turned to writing full-length novels that are set in Ireland/England. Her debut book Shadow Across the Liffey was published on 7th February 2013 by Tirgearr Publishing.  She was a recent contestant on the TV show Food Glorious Food to be broadcast on 27th February 2013


Welcome, Cathy, and thanks for taking the time to answer my quesitons!
1. At any given time do you work on only one story at a time and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head?

No.  I’m not that clever.  I have to work on one story at a time.  Sometimes, when
I am three quarters way through the book an idea for another one will come. I let it bubble until I have finished what I’m doing.

2. Is there a genre you haven't written in but would like to? Or wish you could write in? 

Sure, I would love to be able to write a science fiction story. I’m fascinated by stories that are set in imaginary worlds. I often wonder how an author researches for this kind of genre. I would also love to write a book in the first person, and make it believable.

3. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself?
Great question: I’d buy a cottage somewhere in the West of Ireland and have one of the rooms converted into a study overlooking fields, a stream and mountains.  This would definitely inspire me. Oh, but it’s only a dream.  A holiday somewhere like that would be lovely.   

4. If you could turn your novel into a TV show, which novel or series would you do?  Where would it be set? Network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS), Cable (AMC, BBC, Lifetime) or Premium Cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz)?

Shadow Across the Liffey would lend itself nicely to a TV drama/film.  Set in 1960s Ireland where the story is set with the likes of Julia Roberts and Colin Firth as the main characters. and Irish actors to play the minor parts.  It would be such fun.  BBC have done great drams recently.  We need more. Who wouldn’t love to see their novel turned into a movie.

6. Finally, tell us about your latest release!

I’m very excited about my latest release, Her Father’s Daughter, out with Tirgearr Publishing on June 6th. This is a mystery suspense.  A gripping story of one woman’s search for the truth.

BLURB
HER FATHER’S DAUGHTER

Set in the 1950s Ireland, twenty-year-old Sarah Nolan leaves her home in Dublin after
a series of arguments. She has taken a job in Cork city with the Gazette, a move her parents’
strongly oppose. With her limited budget, she is forced to take unsavoury lodgings where the property owner can’t be trusted.  Soon after she settles in, Sarah befriends sixteen-year-old Lucy, who has been left abandoned and pregnant.

Dan Madden is a charming and flirtatious journalist who wins Sarah’s heart.  He promises to end his relationship with Ruth, but can Sarah trust him to keep his word?

It is when her editor asks to see her birth certificate that she discovers some long-hidden secrets.  Her parents’ behaviour continues to baffle her and her problems with Dan and Lucy multiply.

Will Dan stand by Sarah in her time of need?  Will Sarah be able to help Lucy keep her baby? Or, will the secrets destroy Sarah and everything she dreams of for her future.
                                                                               
Cathy will award a $10 Amazon gift card to one random commenter at the end of the tour and two $5 Amazon gift cards to random commenters during the course of the tour.

Shadow Across the Liffey:
Blurb:

A gripping story of how family secrets can wreak havoc on the present.

In 60’s Ireland life is hard for widow, Oona Quinn, grief-stricken by the tragic deaths of her husband and five-year-old daughter. Struggling to survive, she meets charismatic Jack Walsh at the Shipping Office.

Vinnie Kelly, her son's biological father, just out of jail, sets out to destroy Oona and all she holds dear. Haunted by her past, she has to fight for her future and the safety of her son, Sean. But Vinnie has revenge on his mind . ..
 
Excerpt:

Oona and her sister laughed as they blew up coloured balloons for Jacqueline’s fifth birthday party, placing them prettily around the room.

‘This is hard work.’ Sighing, Oona hooked her long dark hair behind her ears. ‘I wish I’d asked Eamon to do all this and gone to fetch the birthday cake myself.’

‘Oh, yes. Can you see our men making fairy cakes and arranging a table as pretty as this one?’ Connie was perched at the top of the stepladder, tying pink balloons around the lampshade above the party table.

‘Give over!’ Oona handed her another balloon. ‘Eamon wouldn’t have a clue how to bake a cake.’

Oona Quinn was twenty-six, two years younger than her sister, and as dark as Connie was fair. A petite five feet two inches, with dark brown eyes and small slender hands, she worked part-time in a shipping office. Her husband had wanted her to be a stay-at-home mum, but she had won him round by telling him that it gave her a sense of importance to be contributing to the family income.

‘Have you tried Mam’s new teacake recipe yet?’ Connie asked.

‘Is it good?’

‘Well, Dessie loves it. You soak the fruit overnight in cold tea. I’ll bring you some over next time I bake one.’

‘All this talk of food’s making me hungry.’ Oona clutched her stomach. ‘Let’s have a cup of tea and then we can finish blowing up the rest of the balloons.’


Buy links:


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