Jorie Loves A Story, is a blog that was inspired into creation due to a reader’s love and passion for the written word. She reads bookish industry newsfeeds, keeps a pertinent eye on newly published authors, is readily eager to book travel to independent book shoppes, athenaeum libraries, historical landmarks of literary interest, and book festivals, conventions, or symposiums; absorbs herself into the written word, cherishing each book she comes across that has the ability to transport herself into another time, place, and world. This is her journey, as she uncovers one book at a time that leaves her musefully happy for the discovery.

Read my Introduction Post, to see where I am hoping to take Jorie Loves A Story. To help celebrate the launch of my blog, read my Launch Day post! Read how the Story of Jorie Loves A Story was knit together!

Visit my Guest Features, Interviews & Podcast Archive and learn about my style of betareading (*as of 2018/20 I’ve taken a sabbatical). Curious about my approach to reviewing books? Read my thoughts! *Hint!* it’s hugged into my reaction of my first Gaiman essay! To gain perspective about how my readerly life changed a bit after my father’s stroke, kindly read #StoriesOfJorie – specifically November 2016 + January 2017.

In February, 2020 I became a promotional influencer and reviewer for LibroFM ALC. I announced my participation in the LibroFM ALC programme via #TheSundayPost.

Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story

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ChocLit Spotlight | “The Lost Girl” by Liz Harris a new historical drama by an author I automatically get excited to read her next releases!

Posted Monday, 23 November, 2015 by jorielov ChocLitUK, Liz Harris, The Lost Girl 0 Comments

I have come to appreciate finding new ways to help spread the word about the novelists and stories I personally enjoy reading via ChocLitUK. When Brook Cottage Book Tours first started to announce upcoming blog tours featuring the authors I’ve come to know as a book reviewer, I couldn’t wait to jump on board the tours! For you see, as a ChocLit reviewer, I haven’t had the pleasure of reading each ChocLit novelist as of yet – although my ChocLit Next Reads List on Riffle is a good indication of my earnest intention of reading their collective works!

Imagine my happy surprise finding in the batch of Autumn tours, one featuring a novel by Ms Harris (who is an auto-read author of mine!) and one novel by Ms Freeman of whom I have not yet had the pleasure of reading. Similar to my curiosities broached on a Cover Reveal by Ms Browne, I wanted to highlight what inspires me to read Ms Freeman; thus be sure to return on Friday to find out what I have to say!

Today, I am going to share a bit of insight into what I learnt about The Lost Girl during one of my #ChocLitSaturday chats inasmuch as share with you why I feel this will be my next unputdownable read by Ms Harris!

On my Connection to Ms. Harris:

I have been hosting #ChocLitSaturday chats on a regular basis for a bit over a year now. Eleven in the morning of a Saturday, has become a favourite hour for me to exchange conversation and joy with everyone who shows up to participate in a chat centered around ChocLit novels and the Romance branch of literature in general.

Similar to my previous thoughts I shared about Ms. Courtenay, I have come to appreciate chatting with Ms. Harris, either through #ChocLitSaturdays chats or privately. She is most giving of her time and I have appreciated the opportunity to know the writer behind the stories I enjoy reading! She always shares her happy spirit in the chats too, and her insights into why she enjoys writing the books that speak to her the most.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Harris through our respective love & passion of reading inside the twitterverse whilst I host #ChocLitSaturday the chat as well as privately; I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time. Similarly this applies to spotlighting new books by an author I appreciate such as this one.

What if you were trapped between two cultures?

Life is tough in 1870s Wyoming. But it’s tougher still when you’re a girl who looks Chinese but speaks like an American.

Orphaned as a baby and taken in by an American family, Charity Walker knows this only too well. The mounting tensions between the new Chinese immigrants and the locals in the mining town of Carter see her shunned by both communities.

When Charity’s one friend, Joe, leaves town, she finds herself isolated. However, in his absence, a new friendship with the only other Chinese girl in Carter makes her feel like she finally belongs somewhere.

But, for a lost girl like Charity, finding a place to call home was never going to be that easy …

Places to find the book:

Add to Riffle

Published by: ChocLitUK (@ChocLitUK)

RELEASE DATE: 16th October, 2015 – ebook version

Formats Available: this is a Digital First release! print and audio should follow next!

Genre(s): Historical Fiction | Western | Adoption | Chinese-American ancestry

Liz Harris lives south of Oxford. Her debut novel was THE ROAD BACK (US Coffee Time & Romance Book of 2012), followed by A BARGAIN STRUCK (shortlisted for the RoNA Historical 2013), EVIE UNDERCOVER, THE ART OF DECEPTION and A WESTERN HEART. All of her novels, which are published by Choc Lit, have been shortlisted in their categories in the Festival of Romantic Fiction. In addition, Liz has had several short stories published in anthologies. Her interests are theatre, travelling, reading, cinema and cryptic crosswords.

Author Connections:

Personal Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Converse via: #ChocLit

I wasn’t surprised that Ms Harris tackled another hard-hitting dramatic story-line in her new book The Lost Girl as I have previously come to find she has a way of elevating historical fiction to an emotional keel of clarity. There is a richness to her stories – she dares to capitalise on the emotional heart of her character’s journey; even within the pages of A Bargain Struck this was true, and she did it by taking a seemingly ordinary story-line and moulding it into such a convicting story of life, love and second chances.

Her stories give me a heap of pleasure to read due to how she layers her stories with honesty, conviction and soul-searching transparency of her character’s lives. Each of her characters is battling through a life difficulty when we meet them; as within A Bargain Struck it was a medical reality that altered the confidence of her Western Bride; whereas in The Road Back her character was facing breaking tradition and convention in order to pursue her true love to the man who connected directly to her soul.

In each of her novels I’ve read thus far, she doesn’t hold back the dramatic upheaval of how guttingly honest she takes us on her character’s journeys. She allows us to step over the threshold and insert ourselves body and spirit into her character’s shoes, giving us a visceral experience grounded in a sweeping back-drop of incredibly realistic world-building. Her tone is underscored with light and hope, allowing us to see how despite adversity, true love can grow and illuminate the best of humanity. She doesn’t back down for hard-hitting thematics but it’s how she tells the stories that endeared me to her style.

Harris has a way to broaching History with such a refinement of shaping the past through a lens of eloquence and clarity, that you simply devour her stories. I appreciate finding an author whose not only dedicated to research but dedicated to writing the stories she’s most passionate telling to a readership whose thankful she’s writing her heart out.

It’s not a very well-known fact of my (future) life but it’s also not something that I shy away from blogging and/or tweeting about whenever the subject comes up quite naturally. Here I am referring to the fact I’m a Prospective Adoptive Mum, of whom will be adopting children out of foster care in the future. The most insight you will find on my blog to date in this regard is found on two reviews: Red Thread Sisters (about Chinese Adoption) and The Language of Hoofbeats (about at-risk foster youth and adoption). I recently was spotlighted during a campaign to promote positive affirmations about Adoption via CanadaAdopts focus on Adoption Month. They selected my quote as one of the featured submissions and tweeted it on 10th of November. (click to read the tweet)

Knowing this, it might not come as a surprise that when I first read the premise for The Lost Girl I was already dearly invested in reading the story! Any story that involves adoption in a way that honours the child and the role adoption places in their life, is a story I will automatically be keen to read. Knowing the full scope of what Ms Harris puts into each of her novels, my curiosity for this particular release was tenfold increased. I am also drawn to immigrant stories, as I tend to read quite a lot of historicals that revolve around families who left their home countries for a fresh start in America or Canada or England (or insert new country of choice); wherein they must learn to adapt and to navigate a world that is completely unlike the one they’ve left.

I am partially curious about these stories due to my own ancestral past and how close I am to first and second generation Americans who forged ahead to create a life in America without knowing how their life would evolve much less how their descendants would thrive based on their choices. The other half of my curiosity is being drawn into stories about the human condition, the strong will of mankind to survive against all adversity, and the willingness to take-on a challenge irregardless if the strength and faith needed to overcome it is known at the time. I love stories that knit together a diversity of culture and a genuine compassion for multiculturalism.

I can also relate to the theme about ‘finding home’ and finding where your own personal niche in life can be dearly hard to place. Stories that evoke a resonance of finding ourselves in the midst of a place where we might not have felt we could thrive is also at the heart-pulse of my interests, because each of us has a life path of experiences and adventures to walk. It’s how we approach what comes along inside our lives that tells the most truth about who we are and I suppose you could say, I am attracted to novels (esp historical novels) that paint a portrait of our humanity.

How I broached the topic on #ChocLitSaturday:

Congratulations, Ms @lizharrisauthor on OCTOBER #newbook release for #TheLostGirl! Love when you tackle stories like this! #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

A beautifully organic convo emerged out of this celebratory tweet, most of which I have shared with you today, as if your visiting my blog via the blog tour, you might have followed it to gain a bit of insight on behalf of the author, the publisher and the story as a whole. I am unsure how many of the bloggers are reviewing the e-book version for the tour, which is why I decided to attach portions of this #ChocLitSaturday chat in conjunction with my post as a way to help celebrate the book to new readers! I cordially invite all of you visiting today to follow us on Twitter and join us in 2016 when we come back online to share our Rom blisstitudes and new ChocLit loveliness!

As you will see as our convo moved forward, we talked about the subject of the story but also a bit about what inspired Ms Harris to pen the novel as well. I was so very happy to be hosting the chat for the first time since lightning kicked me offline over the Summer; to find myself happily consumed by a convo about a new release I was already tempted to read was the purist of joys! May this convo help inspire you to consider reading The Lost Girl and/or browsing my other Harris reviews!

#TheLostGirl looks like 'classic Harris' story-telling, to me! Hence why I was attracted to #amreading it @lizharrisauthor #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

@lizharrisauthor When you find a setting and a place which evokes such a strong connection, your smart to continue #writing #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

The story is set against the tensions between the Chinese and the white miners in a fictional town (based on a real town). #ChocLitSaturday

— Liz Harris (@lizharrisauthor) October 3, 2015

And there's a cowboy, too! #ChocLitSaturday

— Liz Harris (@lizharrisauthor) October 3, 2015

#TheLostGirl is perfect for topic Q1 Do you prefer emotional angst w/ silver lining or uplift of joy throughout a novel? #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

@lizharrisauthor I had a feeling it might be – it's one of my #nextreads as I await the #printbook! :) #beyondexcited :) #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

When I wrote Q3 I was thinking of you: What thematics of drama do you love finding explored in today's literature? :) #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

You tend to break down barriers; breathe diversity of choices, lifestyles & traditions into your stories @lizharrisauthor #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

I love a finely composed drama inside today's stories, but also seeing how drama can shape the characters choices #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

There's a theme in the novel I've just submitted to Choc Lit – namely, #ChocLitSaturday

— Liz Harris (@lizharrisauthor) October 3, 2015

I would love seeing how this story develops if it gets greenlighted. You have keen insight on drama, Ms @lizharrisauthor! #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

@lizharrisauthor Yes exactly! w/o a strong presence of the historical background of a place we are only half-living stories #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

I think there's no point in setting a story against historical background if you only use that history as decoration. #ChocLitSaturday

— Liz Harris (@lizharrisauthor) October 3, 2015

No there isn't a reason to do that (#histfic w/ background as decoration) because you short-change your #readers! :( #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

@lizharrisauthor Some of the stories I read about winter & cowboys were potent in what they had to do to survive :( #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

@lizharrisauthor The story in #TheLostGirl I think is a good one to tell right now. We need more acceptance in this world. #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

@lizharrisauthor I love immigrant stories; love unearthing the strength of survival & the light of hope in family histories #ChocLitSaturday

— ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday) October 3, 2015

(tweets returning soon)

This blog tour is courtesy of: Brook Cottage Book Tours

as part of the

I am starting to feature spotlights and guest features for ChocLit via Brook Cottage Book Tours in addition to my own readings of ChocLit during #ChocLitSaturdays (an exclusive feature of Jorie Loves A Story) and the compliment chats via Twitter @ChocLitSaturday | #ChocLitSaturday (of which I created to help promote ChocLit and the love of reading relationship-based Romances as a whole). #ChocLitSaturdays moved to Nurph in 2015, thus quite a heap of our convos are archived by visiting our Nurph Channel: ChocLitSaturday. Our chats will resume in January 2016.

I hosted Sheryl Browne’s Cover Reveal for The Rest of My Life to kick-off my spotlighting, whilst upcoming on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving this week, I will be spotlighting Kathryn Freeman’s Search for the Truth! Be sure to visit me again on Saturday for a *SPECIAL* Guest Feature during #ChocLitSaturdays wherein I offer a conversation about ChocLit’s new imprint: #DarkChocLit!

I happily review for ChocLitUK!

I have been quite wicked happy to feature Ms Harris on more than one occasion, as the first novel I read of hers was A Bargain Struck (review); followed by her debut novel The Road Back (review). I also featured a Guest Post about her passion for Wyoming as well as a Guest Post about what inspired The Road Back.

Visit my ChocLit Next Reads List on Riffle to see which stories I fancy to devour in 2016!

You can be sure I will be requesting The Lost Girl as soon as it releases into paperback!

Kindly leave your questions, comments, and notes for Liz Harris!

Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.

{SOURCES: Book cover for “The Lost Girl”, book synopsis and author photograph of Liz Harris, the tour host badge and blog tour banner were provided by Brook Cottage Book Tours and used with permission. ChocLit Reviewer badge provided by ChocLitUK and used with permission. Stories in the Spotlight banner created by Jorie in Canva. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Comment Box Banner made by Jorie in Canva. Tweets embedded due to codes provided by Twitter.}

Comments on Twitter:

.@ChocLituk | @lizharrisauthor Jorie is over the moon excited about #histfic The Lost Girl https://t.co/tOrI190Py6! pic.twitter.com/9fijGM648Y

— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) November 23, 2015

Thank you very much for that lovely introduction to The :Lost Girl, Jorie.It was a novel I loved writing @joriestory https://t.co/TPAw9mvoAd

— Liz Harris (@lizharrisauthor) November 23, 2015

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

Posted Monday, 23 November, 2015 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 19th Century, Adoption, American Old West, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Book Spotlight of E-Book (ahead of POD/print edition), British Literature, Brook Cottage Book Tours, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Historical Fiction, Immigrant Stories, Indie Author, Modern British Author, Modern British Literature, Orphans & Guardians

« Book Review | “CORVIDAE: an #anthology of corvids” [edited by] Rhonda Parrish published by #IndiePub World Weaver Press

ChocLit Spotlight | “Search for the Truth” by Kathryn Freeman a ChocLit author I’ve been curious about reading! »

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