Category: Espionage

+Blog Book Tour+ Maggie’s Wars by Phil Pisani A war drama as lived through the courage of a woman re-defining her position in a man’s world.

Posted Tuesday, 26 August, 2014 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

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 Maggie’s Wars by Phil Pisani

Published By: All Classics Books, an imprint of American Book Incorporated
(aka American Book Publishing, a defunct publisher)(author is actively seeking a new publisher)
Official Author Websites:  Site | Maggie’s Wars on Facebook | @PhilPisani1

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook

{I found the Trade Paperback available on Powells.com}

Converse via: #MaggiesWars

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Acquired Book By:

I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Maggie’s Wars” virtual book tour through HFVBT: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary ARC copy of the book direct from the author Phil Pisani, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Due to personal issues arising from self-hosting my book blog (Jorie Loves A Story) within the 24 hours ahead of my stop last Friday, the 22nd of August. I am posting my book review post-tour instead, and am grateful for the understanding of the author Mr. Pisani, of whom I spoke to on Twitter the day of my original tour scheduled stop.

Inspired to Read:

I have percolated my keen interest (and most dearest desire, mind you!) in vintage typewriters ever so often on my blog, and within the links (of which are temporarily ‘missing’ from my sidebar) threaded on my blog I have left a curious little nudge of this passion left within the mentions of ‘The Typosphere’ and all things geekily befit a girl bent on owning a retrofitted (vintage) typewriter from the 1930s-1940s. I have the mind of finding a workhorse (one so powerful the happy merriment of clacking away on my own manuscripts will not put it into an earlier grave) and one wherein only the occasional missive could be typed out for a friend. I daresay, once I start ‘growing’ my collection I’ll most likely be one of those lovely souls I see in ‘type-in’ photographs whose sporting a variety of machines, and letting everyone write-off a note to a friend of theirs to mail by post.

Part of what encouraged my interest in this particular novel, was not merrily the cover-art sporting a curious shot of a typewriter, but the very synopsis of it; of finding a wicked strong female character charging into a life bourne of men and a long honoured past of service where peers are not easy to come by and where a backbone of tenacity is commonplace! I am referring to the trade of journalism, and the strong boiled grit of any woman who wants to take-on a field so rife and known for being for men and men alone. I love stories where women are shown as not only courageous but trail-blazing forerunners for everyone else who rises after them in successive generations. I, also, happen to have a particular fondness for journalism – albeit in fictional stories, and most especially the newspaper trade! Mostly I have come to find stories in motion picture that whet my fancy of interest (i.e. “The Paper” starring Marisa Tomei & Michael Keaton; “One Fine Day” starring Michelle Pfeiffer & George Clooney; and of course, “I Love Trouble” starring Julia Roberts”. I also fancy classic films like “His Girl Friday” starring Rosalind Russell & Cary Grant and “It Happened One Night” starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable.) yet there are a few novels I have found as well over the years. One in particular was part of a series, but the publisher went under before the series could alight and find its footing. A bit sad on that note, as the lead character was a typing secretary with her own portable typewriter by which she travelled with job to job. Loved the premise and the fact she solved cosies as she typed or rather stumbled upon murderous circumstances made it even lovelier.

I have always wanted to seek out more story-lines in fiction, told by authors and settled inside the bounded pages of novels; the stories my mind is so fanciful to watch on film. Seeing an excerpt of this novel prior to electing to participate in the blog tour sealed the initial joy I had in reading the synopsis. Even seeing Maggie for a few short paragraphs, I knew I wanted to spend time with the feisty blonde who dared to carve out a path where most women would not have dared to walk! And, if typewriters were involved, ooh, all the more reason to dive into the heart of the novel! Dare I say, if she were a redhead Maureen O’ Hara would have played her on camera!

+Blog Book Tour+ Maggie’s Wars by Phil Pisani A war drama as lived through the courage of a woman re-defining her position in a man’s world.Maggie's Wars

Combatting wars on two fronts – one of fame and the other love – Maggie Hogan never wavers as a rare woman reporter on the battlefields of World War II, the Nuremburg Trials and the beginnings of the cold war. But she makes the mistake of falling for an officer, complicating her ambitions. Learn of what one woman feels she must do in order to make it in a man’s world, no matter what. Maggie’s Wars is a story about the ultimate battle between love and prestige, and how you can’t win them both.


Places to find the book:

Series: Maggie's Wars, No.1


Also in this series: Intangible, Beneath Creek Waters


on 6th November, 2013

Pages: 232

Author Biography:

Phil Pisani grew up on the north side of the railroad tracks in an upstate New York blue-collar industrial town in a rough neighborhood filled with the most colorful characters in the world. Factory and tannery workers mingled with bar and restaurant owners, gamblers and gangsters, good people and bad people, brash rogues and weak loudmouths, all spawned by the early immigrant movement to America. Italians, Russians, Slovacks, Irish, and Germans formed a rough and tough section of town where few from the south side dared to venture. He learned to fight at a very young age, both in the ring and on the streets. Fights became badges of honor. He also was a voracious reader. His mother worked in the village’s library. After school, or fights or sandlot football games he would curl away into the adult reading section. Enjoying the polished blonde oak bookshelves, tables and chairs, he would choose a book from the stacks and delve into its smells and contents. Reading soothed him.

He studied history and humanities in Pisa, Italy, and Oswego State in New York and later earned a MA in Political Science from Binghamton University.

He worked as a labor investigator for NY and rose in the ranks through the years but never stopped writing or reading. He currently lives in Albany NY, with his wife Joanne.

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Inserting yourself into a field wrought of men:

Maggie has more gumption than most women her age, older, or younger combined – she has the forthwith and stalwart attitude of never backing down when your in the right, and bending the conventional roles as far as she dared to re-direct them! She solidified in her own heart and mind, the will of a working woman in an age of war and with the determined grit to realise she was not going to be happy within a traditional role; expected by her suitors to take-on. No, Maggie was the rare breed of women whose bliss was attached to the hip of the adventure she was embracing, the pulse of the news breaking before her eyes, and the danger of being in a moment of raw horror. She took the courage in her veins to heighten her awareness of the living environment around her, as much as she credited her initial responses to living horror as a surviving method of acknowledgement as a reporter. To distance herself yet contain herself in the emotional angst all the while reporting the news with a modicum of sensibility and tact.

The callus way the men in her field short-change her abilities and throw her darts at her gender only further inspire her fire to be stoked inside her belly. To refute their sneers and vocal jabs by keeping her head bent on the assignment and her heart outside of swaths of emotional angst.

My Review of Maggie’s Wars:

typewriterThe Preface of Maggie’s Wars held within its simplicity an inspiring nod towards how serendipitously our lifepaths can unfold before us, and within the observations of where our feet have taken us a measure of kismet is always alongside the hopeful dreams we cast into the cosmos. A beautiful soliloquy of one woman’s fond remembrance of where her past led her into her future, and it was such a wonderful way to begin the story! By the time you enter into the first chapter, your quite aware of the author’s knitted style of giving breath to the craft of story-telling; allowing a fluidity of his lead character Maggie to overtake your senses, endear your heart, and ignite your imagination with a clarity of her driven passion for the life she’s lived. It is in the way he chooses to write in her observations, the manner of her speech, and the ticking nod of her essence, as she starts to bloom alive on the page. I knew from the moment I turnt page 2 I was in for a sweet surprise of narrative, underlit by a light of a joyful narrating current of story inked out of the author’s pen.

By page 15, I was curling into a smile, knowing exactly what was drawing my eye further into the story at such a fast clip: Pisani has written a war drama in the style and favour of a classic movie! Almost as if the characters and the setting were set behind one of the classical story arcs caught on camera, and your nestled in for the duration, popcorn a finger grasp away and eyes absorbing everything in as though your seeing this style of film for the first time. His approach to the craft is one that I appreciate, as he gently glides you into the world where Maggie has alighted; the cross-hairs between choosing a life of a reporter and the traditional route as a wife. She lingers over the choice until her room-mate Flora points out the obvious nature of her character. Flora is the classic best friend you want to room with whilst your living on your salt in Greenrich.

I only snuck a cursory glimpse at a review on this novel posted by a friend of mine (Erin @ Oh for the Hook of a Book), and it was at this passage of time I understand the words which lifted into my focus ‘he wrote a novel befit a noir motion picture’ or perhaps it was worded differently but the meaning was the same! Noir, oh, my yes, and how pleasantly I was to be surprised by this realisation! Generally speaking, Erin & I have the propensity to appreciate the same authors, novels, and styles of literary voice. Her reviews (like those of Audra @ Unabridged Chick) are always a delight to dissolve into after or even before, I’ve picked up the book myself! On this particular instance, I was saving my visits until afterwards,… as I sometimes do.

Maggie’s moxie of proving her worth as a reporter early-on whilst attempting to nail the coveted interview with Madame Chiang Kai-shek, murmured a stir of a memory of another strong-willed woman I always loved watching a fire light inside her eyes; the character of Tess (portrayed by Melanie Griffith) in Working Girl. Defining the role you’re given and taking it a step further is the making of any character who bends convention and attempts to supersede away from the norm. Pisani stitched in just enough moxie into Maggie to already know what her contemporary Tess would have told her: don’t wait for the story, go out and get the story! I love her ingenuity and her eagle eye observations on the politico world of New York City!

There is an undercurrent connection to organised crime as Maggie’s heart is attached to a curious cat known as Johnny Pero, er, Stone rather as he prefers to be called. She wasn’t flummoxed by this bit of information but rather guessed it herself yet respected him enough not to draw out an enquiry. He, on the other hand was bewildered by his feelings for this woman he first caught sight of on the street – back when she was first attempting to land a job at the coveted Trib; a journalist dream starting gate. Their two paths crossed at times in their lives where forging a relationship wasn’t quite optimal. His connections to organised crime and the exploits of his role inside the family therein are explained in full as you read Johnny’s perspective of the events as they unfolded. This is where Pisani makes a good choice in first revealing Maggie’s life from her own point-of-view before re-visiting it again from Johnny’s. He keeps the scenes tempered a bit, giving out the raw details but holding back just enough to where you get the gist and sometimes even more than that, but he doesn’t cross the line. I appreciated the honesty and the fact that despite knowing Johnny’s actions were outright unlawful, the man had a conscience.

As Maggie & Johnny equally started to have their fill of the war on the front lines, both started to question their motivations on going there at all. Maggie was high on the thirst for getting ‘the story’ — blinded by ambition and a zest for danger, she was absolutely clueless to understand what the she would witness in reality. Johnny on the other hand was forced into serving on a special unit, placing his life and his comrades on dangerous grounds the entire time he served. Pisani remains true to etching in the humanity of the story, the undertone is always focused on the hope even in the middle of the darkness of the battlefield. The story ends on the wings of a cliffhanger, as I have a feeling the story is not yet done. The saddest part of the novel is the knowledge that both Johnny and Maggie ended up being pawns for other people whose goals went against the logics of humanity.

On the writing style of Phil Pisani | a classic story-teller of the war era:

Pisani has written a war drama intermingled with an organised crime family angle that gives new definition to the offerings inside historical fiction overall. He draws you into this close-centered world of crime, drama, city politics, and the interior life of a button man on the job. Maggie happens to be the woman who draws the eye of the gangster without his realisation of how that would effect both their lives; their paths start to merge together even though both are not willing to commit. Pisani handles both of their characters with a grace and ease, he is honest and upfront about Johnny’s nefarious dealings in the neighbourhood (if your familiar with Mario Puzo, especially The Last Don; none of these sequences will be unfamiliar) as much as he counter-balances his life on the outskirts of society by giving him a chance to meet someone he never felt he could compliment.

The tone of the novel is underpinned by the desires of Maggie to prove her salt and worth as a reporter in a field as much as it is a juxtaposition of Johnny’s life on the streets and at war. Neither of them realised what they would be getting into once their agreed for their own reasons to be shipped overseas, and it is the drama of how they live through and what they gain back tenfold in experience and maturity that makes the story an enjoyable read. The fact that Pisani is creative with how he chooses his characters to ‘express’ themselves gave me a smile, as this is one question I am always quick to ask any writer who chooses to take the opposite route. This story is enjoyable because although a stronger word or two might be implied, it is how Pisani knits their personality through the words he uses that left me full of appreciation. And, the few times a word might have been used was very well placed.

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Blog Book Tour Stop,
courtesy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Virtual Road Map of “Maggie’s Wars” Blog Tour found here:
I recommend this novel for anyone who loves reading Kate Mosse!
(review of ‘Citadel’)

Maggie's Wars Virtual Tour via HFVBTs

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See what I’m hosting next for:

Bookish Events badge created by Jorie in CanvaHistorical Fiction Virtual Book Tours - HFVBT

and mark your calendars!

Reader Interactive Question:

What pulls you inside the narrative of a war drama the most!? This one was quite a unique story overall, as it the main point of view exchanges between the two lead characters; at times overlapping and conjoining to become one. I appreciated this style of story-telling as it added extra layers of depth and meaning. Which perspective do you prefer!? First person or two interchanging points of view like this one!?

{SOURCES: “Maggie’s Wars” Book Cover, synopsis, tour badge and HFVBT badge were provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and were used by permission. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Bookish Events badge created by Jorie in Canva. Typewriter clipart inserted through the ClipArt Plug-In via WP for the Open Clip Art Library (OCAL) – all clip art images are in the public domain and are free to use without restrictions. Tweets embeded by codes provided by Twitter.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

The ‘live reading’ tweets I shared as I read & reviewed “Maggie’s Wars”:

{ favourite & Re-tweet if inspired to share }

Comments via Twitter:

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • Go Indie
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Posted Tuesday, 26 August, 2014 by jorielov in 20th Century, ARC | Galley Copy, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book for University Study, Bookish Discussions, Clever Turns of Phrase, Cliffhanger Ending, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Espionage, Film Music Book Typewriter Focus, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Good vs. Evil, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Romance, Horror-Lite, Indie Author, Life Shift, Light vs Dark, Military Fiction, New York City, Organised Crime, Passionate Researcher, Psychological Suspense, The World Wars, Typewriter Culture, Vulgarity in Literature, War Drama, War-time Romance, Warfare & Power Realignment

+Book Review+ The Reluctant Bride by Beverley Eikli #ChocLitSaturdays

Posted Saturday, 11 January, 2014 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

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The Reluctant Bride by Beverley EikliThe Reluctant Bride by Beverley Eikli

Author Connections: Personal Site | Blog

Facebook | Twitter | Converse via: #TheReluctantBride

Genre(s): Fiction | Romance | Historical | Regency

Napoleonic | Espionage | Suspense

Published by: ChocLitUK, 7 September 2013

Available Formats: Paperback, E-Book, Audiobook, & Large Print Page Count: 400


Acquired Book By:

Whilst researching Indie Publishers and Presses one evening, as I was hopping through the book blogopshere, I started to alight on book bloggers who were recommending several of whom I hadn’t yet heard of! ChocLitUK was listed as a good resource for Romance; intrigued I clicked over to read more about them! I believe it was ‘love’ at first sight for me – their website won me over instantly! The stories they publish are stitched together in a way that has always endeared me to the genre! Having read about their Tasting Panel, I enquired by email if they would ever consider a book blogger to review their titles instead.

ChocLitUK is an Independent Publisher whose origins go back to 2009 for bringing top quality women’s fiction with the undercurrents of love woven into the stories! Their catalogue of stories appeals to me, as I never considered myself a “Chick Lit” type of gal, as I love the foundations of romance to be etched in relationships! (as outlined in “My Bookish Life”) The full essence of what I seek out when I want to be wrapped up in a romance is found in the niche ChocLit has developed! Besides who couldn’t help but appreciate a publisher with a cheeky sense of humour? ChocLit | Chocolate, anyone?

I am now a ChocLit reviewer who receives books of my choice in exchange for honest reviews! I received a complimentary copy of “The Reluctant Bride” from ChocLit via IPM (International Publisher’s Marketing) in exchange for an honest review! The book released on 7th September 2013. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. This marks my first review for ChocLitUK!

Inspired to Read:

I am always finding a way to duck into the Regency &/or the Victorian age, which is why I was perked with interest when I saw the genre offered in ChocLit’s catalogue! This story has a clever character arc in which two of the leads are needing to embark on a journey towards redemption. One to prove she can stand on her own feet again and another (I presume) to not only overcome his life as a soldier but to accept and shift forward from the death of his mistress. There is a lot of clever passageways the author could take this story and I was keen to find out! The back-story alone held my interest but its the heart of the two lead characters that made me tempted to read it!

Book Synopsis:

Can honour and action banish the shadows of old sins?

Emily Micklen has no option after the death of her loving fiancé, Jack, but to marry the scarred, taciturn soldier who represents her only escape from destitution. Major Angus McCartney is tormented by the reproachful slate-grey eyes of two strikingly similar women: Jessamine, his dead mistress, and Emily, the unobtainable beauty who is now his reluctant bride. Emily’s loyalty to Jack’s memory is matched only by Angus’s determination to atone for the past and win his wife with honour and action. As Napoleon cuts a swathe across Europe, Angus is sent to France on a mission of national security, forcing Emily to confront both her allegiance to Jack and her traitorous half-French family. Angus and Emily may find love, but will the secrets they uncover divide them forever?

Author Biography:Beverley Eikli

Beverley Eikli wrote her first romance when she was seventeen. However, drowning the heroine on the last page was, she discovered, not in the spirit of the genre so her romance-writing career ground to a halt and she became a journalist.

After throwing in her secure job on South Australia’s metropolitan daily, The Advertiser, to manage a luxury safari lodge in the Okavango Delta, in Botswana, Beverley discovered a new world of romance and adventure in a thatched cottage in the middle of a mopane forest with the handsome Norwegian bush pilot she met around a camp fire.

Eighteen years later, after exploring the world in the back of Cessna 404s and CASA 212s as an airborne geophysical survey operator during low-level sorties over the French Guyanese jungle and Greenland’s ice cap, Beverley is back in Australia living a more conventional life with her husband and two daughters in a pretty country town an hour north of Melbourne. She writes Regency Historical Intrigue as Beverley Eikli and erotic historicals as Beverley Oakley.

Beverly won Choc Lit’s Search for an Australian Star with The Reluctant Bride. Beverley’s Choc Lit novels include: The Reluctant Bride and The Maid of Milan.

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Posted Saturday, 11 January, 2014 by jorielov in 19th Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Book Trailer, Bookish Films, Britian, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Espionage, France, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Marriage of Convenience, Midwives & Childbirth, Modern British Literature, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, The Napoleonic War Era, the Regency era, Women's Fiction

*Blog Book Tour*: Unravelled by M.K. Tod

Posted Saturday, 9 November, 2013 by jorielov , , 5 Comments

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Unravlled Virtual Book Tour - France Book Tours

Unravelled by M.K. Tod
Published By: Tod Publishing, 19 September 2013
Official Author Websites: Tod on Facebook; Tod on Twitter; Personal Site & Blog
Available Formats: Softcover and E-Book
Page Count: 440

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Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a stop on the “Unravelled” Virtual Book Tour, hosted by France Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of “Unravelled”  in exchange for an honest review by the author (M.K. Tod) of whom is also the publisher Tod Publishing. The book released in September 2013. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read: I have always been drawn into dramas set during the World War eras, including reading one earlier this year which was a time slip between both World Wars as a woman (Elspeth) embarked on discovering what had happened to the man (David) she met and loved during the war. Having read “Letters from Skye“, I was awakened to the idea of “Unravelled” most readily because at the heart of both premises is the search for truth inside the backdrop of war. War dramas can evoke so much emotion on the pure level of the war itself, but its what happens in the background of war that keeps my interest perked. How the loved ones left behind find resolve to carry-on forward whilst they have someone deployed as much as how those who survive the war itself re-integrate back into civilian life. No two stories are alike, as readily as each character elects to draw into their human condition in different ways.

 

M.K. TodAuthor’s Biography:

I have enjoyed a passion for historical novels that began in my early teenage years immersed in the stories of Rosemary Sutcliff, Jean Plaidy and Georgette Heyer. During my twenties, armed with Mathematics and Computer Science degrees, I embarked on a career in technology and consulting continuing to read historical fiction in the tiny snippets of time available to working women with children to raise.

In 2004, I moved to Hong Kong with my husband and no job. To keep busy I decided to research my grandfather’s part in the Great War. What began as an effort to understand my grandparents’ lives blossomed into a fulltime occupation as a writer. Beyond my debut novel UNRAVELLED, I have written two other novels with WWI settings. I have an active blog—www.awriterofhistory.com —on all aspects of historical fiction including interviews with a variety of authors and others involved in this genre. Additionally, I am a book reviewer for the Historical Novel Society. I live in Toronto and I’m happily married with two adult children.

Book Synopsis:Unravelled by M.K. Tod

Two wars, two affairs, one marriage.

In October 1935, Edward Jamieson’s memories of war and a passionate love affair resurface when an invitation to a WWI memorial ceremony arrives. Though reluctant to visit the scenes of horror he has spent years trying to forget, Edward succumbs to the unlikely possibility of discovering what happened to Helene Noisette, the woman he once pledged to marry. Travelling through the French countryside with his wife Ann, Edward sees nothing but reminders of war. After a chance encounter with Helene at the dedication ceremony, Edward’s past puts his present life in jeopardy.

When WWII erupts a few years later, Edward is quickly caught up in the world of training espionage agents, while Ann counsels grieving women and copes with the daily threats facing those she loves. And once again, secrets and war threaten the bonds of marriage.

With events unfolding in Canada, France and England, UNRAVELLED is a compelling novel of love, duty and sacrifice set amongst the turmoil of two world wars.

Unravel & Disseminate the Past:

It’s hard to step back into the past when you’ve lived through a brutal war, of which your memories plague you with the harshness of service. When your past cross-sects your present and propels you backwards towards that time, due to a recognition (in this case) or a footnote in lecture series of that particular war, your entire being fights against the ability to calmly acknowledge the gratitude. As a survivor of such brutality, the living mind will not entreat from memories but rather allow them to consume every inch of a person’s waking world. Edward has to weigh the past horrors with his present invitation to go back to France, whilst choosing whether or not to disclose the details he’s kept from his wife Ann. How then do you decide what to share and what to keep hidden from view?

Prior to taking his trip to France, he decided to recover letters he had hidden in a metal tin he had kept in his parents house. Letters which were not exchanged with his wife, but rather a woman named Helene. Memories of his first love flickered back to him with a warming glow of affection. He ruminated about his last search for her whereabouts and of what could have separated them. Even in the present day, his heart could not accept the fact he never found out what had become of Helene. The more you dig into your past, the more you have to decide what to allow back into the threshold of your thoughts, because if you’re not careful, the past can overcome you to a sickening degree. Whilst in France, standing at the memorial Edward’s burden is compounded by being in the presence of where the lives were lost that had become the baggage of grief of which he had never shed. He arrives at a point where he has to decide about how to resolve the past as bits of his wartime life starts to emerge back into his present world. It’s a question that deserves merit to weigh, because when there are disconnections in our lives we lose the ability to grasp the larger scope of our actions. We tend to act on feeling and instinct rather than reason. Edward has placed himself at a junction point where the further he attempts to unravel the events of his life, the further away from where he has been led lengthens.

In his vein attempt to keep his past personal and away from Ann, he starts to distance himself from his wife who is tired of his retreating into himself without sharing what is on his mind, heart, and soul. He doesn’t realise that his solitude is creating a divide in his marriage. I would hope that in the end, he would realise that it is far better to share the whole truth, than to carry-on with the lie. As this is one of the pitfalls of attempting to make reparations of the past. His further anguish as he stands on the precipice of the past merged with the present as events are propelled forward for him in France, he must make choices he never felt he would have to face. Therein lies another danger of tempting fate beyond what your willing to sacrifice.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com My Review of Unravelled:

In the opening bits of the story, Edward starts to experience flashbacks to his time at war, re-living the most brutal of situations which were spun into focus after receiving an invitation to attend the unveiling of a war memorial. Tod is unflinching in her descriptions of war giving the reader a close and personal view of what he had experienced. In the quaking reality of his visual memory, Edward starts to wonder if he can handle the reality of home and what being back home truly means to the outside world. His job as a signaler meant he had to keep a continuance viable for communication between troop locations and the front. As he started to impart his experiences on the battlefield, Tod paints the grisly truth in gruesome detail. It is not for the sensitive heart as she shares these moments. Edward’s wife Ann heard for the first time her husband’s horrors of war, finding the strength to listen and console. I believe this is a breath of humanity her husband was not expecting to find in her, as his own guilt of war nearly eclipses out all hope of compassion. Uniquely after the war, Edward remained in telecommunications in which he was still working as a man in civilian life in charge of similar duties he had during wartime.

One of the more interesting perspectives that Tod gives in her story, is the amount of Canadians who were traveling to France at the same time as Edward and Ann. She grounds the story rather humbling by showing that Edward is not the only war survivor who is coming to terms with his past, as otherwise there would not have been 6,000 going overseas to pay homage. Whilst in France, Edward is finding that there is a thin line between truth, memory, honesty, and protecting his wife from what he is not sure she would be able to handle to hear. I appreciated the sincerity of Tod’s writing, proving that being human and being in love, make certain circumstances a bit more complex than we can willingly handle to bear. Tod gives a pristine hinting of the (real) Canadian National Vimy Memorial which bespeaks of the real-life grief and harrowing escapes of soldiers who never felt they deserved to live. The alacrity of the moment encased in this scene brings to light that for each soldier lost in battle, there is another soldier leading a half-life, lost in time due to the guilt they carried back from the field.

Memories are like doors with a key to unlock each hidden image struck from view, which can take you into ethereal thoughts of which should remain inactive. Human nature turns the keys into a slippery slope if acted upon as proven in Unravelled by the actions Edward chooses to take once he reunites with Helene. Time yields to desire but by succumbing to our innermost desires we chart a course where our fate is determined by our actions. Whilst Edward was struggling to untangle his own demons (as his memories took on a different context), Ann was struggling with her own as she could not understand why Edward was seething with angst when he sent her away to London when he stayed behind in France. The developing story of Unravelled is pitting two souls against each other when they should be standing united at the moment they decide to intersect with past regrets and anguish. In this way, Tod carves open a timeless conundrum of knowing when to let the past remain where it belongs.

A slow rumbling discontentment started to shatter the everyday solace of marital bliss that Ann and Edward had experienced prior to the trip to France. One must wonder why anyone would throw away a marriage based solely on an errant day of remembrance. Ann found her voice and articulated herself whenever Edward tried to press her about why their marriage was starting to crumble, struck by the unfamiliar territory of realising that there could be repercussions for his transgressions. A fact he hadn’t bothered to consider before digging himself into such a giant hole. Ann’s strength shines through honestly and openly, as Tod engages the reader as a fly on the wall inside their once happy home. On the brink of the Second World War, their unresolved issues will become circumspect. The emotional throbbing angst of Ann is one of the more genuine approaches I have seen in fiction.

As World War II starts to erupt into their lives, so too, do new roles assert a new distance between them. As Edward is staying away longer under the presumption of war affairs, his absences start to nettle the old worries of Ann’s heart. Meanwhile, Ann has taken on a new role herself as a Signals Welfare coping counselor. At a time where they were able to patch up the past and start to shift their lives forward, I found it striking that fate would deal them another hard hand to muddle through. Tod did not waver in her ability to give a real-life honesty to the setting, as she deftly presented stateside wartime life, re-pleat with the rationing, rubber and metal drives, as well as the inclusion of the Victory gardens; the latter of which continues to inspire my own family towards self-sufficiency. The inclusion of Ann being a wartime knitter spoke to my own heart as I am a charity knitter alongside my Mum. Through watching a classic movie on TCM, I saw firsthand the sock knitting that is mentioned in the novel. It is a charity; I am not sure why knitting groups have not reinstated. Whilst Ann is caught up in her new duties, Edward is approached to have a more active role in World War II.

The impetus of the story is revealed inside the choice of cover art, as the entire crust of marital issues arises out of a forgotten tin full of letters. The memories of what the letters contain within them sets Edward and Ann on a course spinning into their future selves at a maddening pace of hurt, regret, and the illicitness of time spent away from the one you honoured by vow. If the lessons of what transpired in the past are not fully learnt and forgiven, history can repeat itself, but to which degree and to which level of sacrifice is left to be determined by the reader who walks alongside Edward and Ann as the Second World War rages onward. In the end, your left wondering if the lesson of the letters in the tin had any merit of being drawn back into the present? If the tin hadn’t been recovered would the actions have been different on behalf of Edward and Ann? This is a story that provokes the reader to render questions inside their heart long after the book is placed back on their bookshelf, as the contemplations overtook one’s thoughts as readily as Autumn springs up after Summer. Unravelled for me is a relationship-romance wrapped up in the shirt tails of a war drama, in which, you viscerally live through one married couples life.

A Love Stronger than Time:

Unravelled presents an unparalleled love triangle which fuses Ann to Edward as much as Helene to Edward. Two great loves of his life intersecting at a chance reunion in France during a war memorial dedication for World War I, jettison him into an internal turmoil of knowing which is his true heart’s desire to pursue. Each of the three are struggling with their own memories, doubts, fears, and demons of anguish and yet, at the center of the triangle remains Edward. Stalwart and stubborn in belief that he were able to reclaim his first love, it would trump his second. However, Helene is a stronger than he is which makes his journey more difficult because he has to accept reality as it has stood. Tod has an unwavering precision of giving you the raw emotional scenes that develop out of such a triangle as much as the psychological affects of how it manifests its presence in a marriage. Love can transcend time, but if time has shifted forward where lives have moved past where love was first committed to two souls, I would have to believe that the better choice would be to honour the life that was lived in the absence of such a love as great as Helene and Edward. The complexity of the story, is that Tod is presenting you with characters who might contradict your own personal beliefs as you walk alongside Ann, Helene, and Edward wondering how each of their lives will pan out or wander apart. The stitchings of their love are frazzled and frayed by time itself, and yet, as wholly true as though they were only separated by mere hours rather than years. I am not sure if any of us can determine how we would react if the circumstances were thrust upon us nor how far we could go to effectively right a wrong we feel was unjust.

On the other hand, I was struck with the powerful dilemma of Ann, who was the wife who was thought to find forgiveness for her husband’s transgressions without knowledge of how deep they ran. Her faith and her resolve to carry forward is a testament to women of her time who met every challenge presented to them with grit and determination, even if they didn’t feel empowered to do so. She is the wife left stateside who held true to the love of her husband who embarked into war and returned a hollow fragment of the man who had left. The courage it would take to grasp all the changes her world was evolving into is not even measurable. I think all of us would be blessed to have such a formidable Aunt in our lives, such as Aunt Bea to turn too when our internal world collapses. Tod wrote her character in an atypical method for the era of the story, giving her a realism that most authors shy away from.

Gratitude for Giving Light to an Unknown Piece of History:

One reason I appreciate reading historical fiction as much as I do, is that it brings to light the lesser known stories that would remain obscured from our eyes, if it were not for dedicated well-researched writers, such as M.K. Tod who breathe new life into the stories that deserve to be told. I am finding myself attracted to these stories as they are the missing fragments of the larger stories already known to all of us. These new stories shed light on certain aspects of the whole that have been left out of focus, giving us a resounding fuller picture than we had originally. War, in of itself, is a brutally difficult period of time for any man or woman called to service. They dedicated unselfishly their time, their talent, their resolve, and their lives to keep all of us safe for another day. They deserve our utmost respect and honour for their sacrifices during deployment. Erecting memorials is one way of sharing our esteemed gratitude, yet on another level, if we can remember to thank a serviceman or woman in person, at whichever moment their path crosses ours, we have the ability to share our gratitude randomly. The biggest thing to remember is simply not to forget what they gave and what we have gained due to these sacrifices that cannot be fully understood.

Fly in the Ointment:

Although I realise the stark realities of war are beyond what my imagination will allow me to endeavour to envision, I know they are from the very depths of Hell itself. However, as mentioned previously in other reviews, I do have a keenly sensitive heart and when visceral imagery turns into the grisly and macabre, I must admit that I feel my stomach turn a bit queasy around the edges.  I will admit that I might be overly sensitive at the time of reading this novel, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the level of violent images disturbed me to where I glossed over certain passages to overt my eyes entirely! Therefore, as a forewarning to a reader I must let you know that if you’d rather read a novel that doesn’t describe the verity of degree as this one you have my notation to guide you on your choice!

As much as I must make a notation about the curiously strong expressions whilst the soldiers are deployed in which the language takes on a certain ‘character’ of its own! And, it’s not always arriving in your ears when you think it might either! I was a bit surprised at the frequency on one level of regard, as at one point my ears cringed red! In cases as these where vulgarity becomes the choice expression, I ask myself if its given for literary merit or shock value to the reader. In my own opinion, I do not believe the disbursements of these words adds value to the story but rather etches a bit of its heart away instead.

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The “Unravelled” Virtual Book Tour Roadmap:

Unravlled Virtual Book Tour - France Book Tours

Be sure to catch the first half of this showcase on JLAS:
M.K. Tod’s Guest Post:
“Becoming a Historical Fiction Writer”

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Be sure to scope out upcoming tours I will be hosting with:

France Book Tours

by visiting:

Bookish Events badge created by Jorie in Canva

{SOURCES: Cover art of “Unravelled” as well as M.K. Tod’s photograph and biography, the blog tour badge, and the logo banner for France Book Tours were all provided by France Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers were provided by Shabby Blogs, who give bloggers free resources to add personality to their blogs. Blog tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Bookish events badge created by Jorie in Canva.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

Related Articles:

Canadian National Vimy Memorial – (en.wikipedia.org)

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Posted Saturday, 9 November, 2013 by jorielov in Adulterous Affair, Blog Tour Host, Canada, Debut Novel, England, Espionage, Fly in the Ointment, France, France Book Tours, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, The World Wars, Time Slip, War-time Romance

*Author Guest Post* | M.K. Tod [Unravelled] speaks on “Becoming a Historical Fiction Writer”

Posted Saturday, 9 November, 2013 by jorielov , , 1 Comment

Guest Post by Parajunkee

“Becoming a Historical Fiction Writer”, from the author of the historical fiction novel, “Unravelled”. M.K. Tod imparts her journey towards publication today on Jorie Loves A Story!

M. K. TodI would like to welcome a special guest contributor today: Ms. Tod who has penned the richly engaging historical fiction novel “Unravelled”, by which I had the honour of reading courtesy of France Book Tours. As soon as I read the synopsis for this novel, I knew I would be readily drawn into the world by which it is set! I am oft drawn into dramas during the World War eras, and especially ones that are wrought with both a measure of eloquence for the setting as much as delving into the human spirit and heart of the story.

I now yield to Ms. Tod, as she starts to share her fascinating story!

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Becoming a Historical Fiction Writer ~ by M.K. Tod

Summer 2004 – the summer that changed my life. In July of that year, my husband’s company asked him to consider a three-year assignment to Hong Kong. We hesitated only long enough to consult with our children and mothers, then plunged into planning and moving, riding the waves of fantasy and euphoria for the next few months. Everything seemed full of possibilities.

Winter 2005 – the bite of reality set in as I struggled to find occupation and purpose and to satisfy intellectual, emotional and social needs. My husband was frantically busy, traveling every week to locations throughout Asia. I had found only a few friends and no job. For a woman accustomed to juggling career, family and social activities, endless free time felt like a burden rather than a luxury. Excitement was replaced by loneliness and intense dislocation. How would I survive?

I dithered. I continued searching for a job. I complained to those back home. I prowled the streets of Hong Kong extending simple outings to multi-hour, blister-inducing walks. I joined an association of expat wives who met for coffee every Thursday. I read books and bought stacks of DVDs. I shopped. I visited Cambodia, Taiwan, and Australia. Gradually, an idea emerged.

My grandmother died on the way to her second wedding. I had often thought this dramatic curtain on life would make a good story and one day, sitting in our apartment with a wonderful view of harbor and city, I decided to write about her life. I had some notes my mother had written about her family. I had my computer and oceans of time.

The first step was research. To create a story based on the lives of my grandparents, I would have to understand WWI, the Depression and WWII. Not being a student of history, I felt the need to begin at the beginning. What caused WWI? Who were the players? What did soldiers experience? What happened on the home front?

Happily, the Internet offered reams and reams of information on military and political events as well as maps and photos and stories of individual experiences of war. I found soldiers’ diaries lovingly transcribed by relatives to preserve and honor long ago sacrifice. I found regiments maintaining information about those who served in WWI, the weapons used and uniforms worn, the rations eaten and songs sung. A world of chaos and bungling and death emerged and I became utterly captivated.

But a novel requires drama: a plot with twists and turns, characters going through change, tension and conflict. Clearly, I would have to embellish. I was a mathematics and science grad with no writing experience except business articles and client reports. “Writing a novel can’t be that hard,” I muttered to myself.

I bought a book on writing, underlining advice that seemed most useful. “Always have a notebook and pen on hand.” “Borrow (and steal) from your favorite writers.” “Master metaphor.” “Accelerate the pace with invisible writing.” “Sentences are written like jokes. The punch line is at the end.” “Mix description, narration, exposition and dialogue.” “Resolve all conflicts by the end of the story.” Gradually these bits of advice made sense.

Back in Toronto that summer, my mother provided further ingredients for the story by telling me that my grandfather fought at Vimy Ridge in April of 1917 and went on to be part of the Army of Occupation in Germany after WWI ended. She spoke of my great-grandparents and what she knew of her parents’ wedding, a few memories of the Depression and more substantial memories of living through WWII. She gave me a box of old photos and newspaper clippings and my grandfather’s scrapbooks. She also relayed the story of my grandfather’s involvement with Camp X, a place not far from Toronto where espionage agents were trained in WWII. My grandfather and espionage – who would have imagined?

The plot started to take shape.

Writing gave me more than an occupation; it gave me the thrill of doing something new. Unwittingly, I had accepted the need to let go of my old world and reinvent myself, had taken charge rather than allowing myself to continue wallowing. I had emerged from the culture shock of moving to a foreign country with a sense of purpose. Contentment settled in. Time passed. The story and my writing skills evolved.

In June 2007, we returned to Toronto. Before leaving, I took several last walks to favorite haunts—The Peak, the walk along Bowen Road, Dragon’s Back, a lively Vietnamese restaurant in Soho, the streets of Central, Stanley Market, the Man Mo temple, Teresa Coleman’s gallery—these familiar places were friends, touchstones in that bustling Asian city.

My novel was in its fourth version by then, the outcome of almost two years of work contained in a small moving box of printed materials, books on writing, novels and non-fiction books about WWI and WWII along with a collection of computer files.  I set those aside to resume my business career, occasionally working on the story on evenings and weekends. But the pull of writing would not let me go. I longed to craft sentences, build images of long ago times, and explore the emotions of a man and woman coping with war and the consequences of death and destruction. Hong Kong had turned me into a writer.

After completing a lengthy consulting project, I took the plunge and walked away from thirty years of accomplishments. I remember feeling inordinately pleased the first time I used the word ‘writer’ to describe my occupation. Finally, in late 2010, I threw away my consulting files. Had Toronto regulations permitted, I might have had a ceremonial bonfire to mark the end of that life. A wonderful life, really. One in which I had been fortunate enough to work with talented people in frequently demanding circumstances.

And where am I now? I’ve completed two novels and have an agent for one of them. A third novel is ready for editing and plot tuning. I have a blog called A Writer of History. I’ve conducted a reader survey. I’ve taken two writing courses and collected additional books on writing. I’m active in the community of writers, particularly those who write historical fiction and have even been asked to speak on the topic.

“What about my grandmother’s story?” you ask. It has been self-published this past September under the title Unravelled. A fitting title for what happens in the novel and a fitting description of what happened when a woman from Toronto became an expat spouse in Hong Kong.

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction and blogs about all aspects of the genre at A Writer of History. Her debut novel, UNRAVELLED: Two wars. Two affairs. One marriage. is available in paperback and e-book formats from Amazon (USCanada and elsewhere), NookKoboGoogle Play and on iTunes. Mary can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

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Thank you, Ms. Tod for giving us such a hearty overview of your writing history and journey towards publication! I must say, your story starts off on an adventurous note, whilst you and your family rather quickly relocated to Hong Kong! I would imagine the experience of being there would not only give you numerous memories for your lifetime, but provide you with curious possibilities for research and writing! I realise you didn’t have an easy road towards beginning your book, as you first had to sort through what it was that your heart was calling you to do, but once on that path! Oh, my goodness did you excel! As I read how your research started to give you a heartier glimpse of life during the World Wars, I fondly thought back on my own research jaunts and where they have led me! There are always hidden passageways we tread whilst researching a story, and for me, that is part of the reason I enjoy to write. It would appear the same is true for you as well.

You were also blessed with a family who kept excellent genealogical records and cared about preservation of your lineage! I am also a history buff whose passion for uncovering her ancestral past stems from the pursuits her Mum made long before I was even a whisper of a breath! The map of passageways leading into our ancestry is oft a tedious and rewarding journey, but I was most impressed that your Mum had such a collection of information to impart on you! Wow. And, your quite right, who expects to find such a juicy antidote as espionage!?

What I appreciated the most about your journey, is that it took an exodus of being elsewhere to have your true heart’s passion for writing not only emerge into the forefront but to grab a hold of your inner murmurings to where you decided that it was your calling afterall! The accumulation of everything you were prior to writing has given you the edging on being a writer because writing takes gumpshun, passion, determination, and bold self-confidence! Clearly these are attributes you brought with you from your previous career and they will be what carry you forward as your writing endeavours continue to expand!

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Be sure to catch the second half of this showcase on JLAS:
Jorie reviews “Unravelled“,
which includes a virtual road map of this tour!

Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.

Be sure to scope out upcoming tours I will be hosting with:

France Book Tours

on my Bookish Events Featured on JLAS!

{NOTE: The links for bookstores carrying the novel “Unravelled” shared by the author, M.K. Tod are not affiliated with Jorie Loves A Story. As stated in my Review Policy I do not have affiliations, nor do I receive compensation for links shared on my blog.}

{SOURCES:  Photograph of the author M.K. Tod was provided by France Book Tours and used with permission. Guest Post badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Jorie requested to feature a Guest Post on JLAS by Ms. Tod whilst signing up for the blog book tour for “Unravelled”. She was honoured her offer was accepted and received the guest post by Ms. Tod through Ms. Cazabonne. This marks her first Author Submitted Guest Post on her blog! France Book Tours badge created by Jorie in Canva. Post dividers provided by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

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Posted Saturday, 9 November, 2013 by jorielov in Adulterous Affair, Blog Tour Host, Canada, Debut Novel, England, Espionage, France, France Book Tours, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, The World Wars, Time Slip, War-time Romance