Posted Monday, 16 November, 2015 by jorielov Eliza Redgold, NAKED: A novel of Lady Godiva, St. Martin's Griffin, St. Martin's Publishing Group 2 Comments
Quite an interesting story behind how I was able to become attached to the UK blog tour for NAKED, as the publicist working on scouting book bloggers to host the author and the novel stumbled across my blog thinking I was a UK book blogger! The joy that overflowed inside my heart at this realisation was unlimited in measure because it was the first true glimpse of how my words and my blog are resonating with the reading public. I have discovered my own niche in writing to have organically merged into a new hybrid style of written voice where I combine both my British ancestry with my American roots to convey a new methodology of how my words own my writerly thoughts!
This was a way for me to find independence from my dyslexia as much as seek a written voice that truly owned itself to being uniquely my own. To have a publicist find my book blog and take the context of what I’ve written here in this space in the book blogosphere as a naturally speaking Briton was quite the compliment to receive! I eagerly read as much British fiction as I can by modern and classical British authors because at my heart’s core I am an Anglophile. However, to discover that my passion for British Lit and the phrasing of British English has attracted notice by those who live in the UK was such a lovely piece of feedback to receive!
Thereby, after conferring with the author, the publicist was able to add me to this mini-UK blog tour wherein I asked if I could feature both a review and a guest author feature. The author at the time of my enquiry was stateside on a leg of her IRL book tour, wherein she was able to post me a copy of the book and confirm that she could send me an essay about the origins of the mythology and legend of Lady Godiva. I had intended to pitch a topic quite close to the one she sent me to feature, that I yielded to the author’s inspiration of where to take today’s topic.
What made me smile is how she seemingly knew before asking me where my curiosity lies in regards to the myth and how much I yearned to know more about the historical back-story of how she as a writer was able to carry forward the character within the pages of NAKED. I hope dear hearts you will appreciate reading this lovely essay as much as I did when it first arrived in my Inbox!
We know her name. We know of her naked ride. We don’t know her true story.
We all know the legend of Lady Godiva, who famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry, covered only by her long, flowing hair. So the story goes, she begged her husband Lord Leofric of Mercia to lift a high tax on her people, who would starve if forced to pay. Lord Leofric demanded a forfeit: that Godiva ride naked on horseback through the town. There are various endings to Godiva’s ride, that all the people of Coventry closed their doors and refused to look upon their liege lady (except for ‘peeping Tom’) and that her husband, in remorse, lifted the tax. Naked is an original version of Godiva’s tale with a twist that may be closer to the truth: by the end of his life Leofric had fallen deeply in love with Lady Godiva. A tale of legendary courage and extraordinary passion, Naked brings an epic story new voice.
Godiva: Saint or Goddess
This blog post comes to us from Eliza Redgold, author, academic and unashamed romantic. Her new novel Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva will be released by St Martin’s Press on Bastille Day (July 14 2015).
“My father dreamed of building in stone,” I said. “He dreamed of a castle. And my mother used to say, Better to have castles made of wood than made of air, Radulf.” Leofric smiled; the unexpected boyish smile that seemed to go straight to my core. “And what did your father say to that?” “He said dreams must come first.” “Dreams must come first. And what would you build?” “My mother believed we should build a church before we rebuilt the hall. She always wanted to have a stone church for Coventry. A church should be the first stone building, she said, for a church is for everyone. She and Brother Aefic long planned it. One day I hope to build it in her memory. I would make it so fine that all the townsfolk would want to come. I would build it with glass windows as they do in the great cities.” “So buildings made of dreams do last,” he murmured. “The dreams of your parents have become yours.” “Perhaps dreams are passed down along with lands.”
Quote from NAKED: A Novel of Lady Godiva
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Posted Monday, 16 November, 2015 by jorielov in 11th Century, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Bookish Discussions, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Folklore and Mythology, Historical Fiction, Inspired by Stories, Lady Godiva, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, Story knitted out of Ancestral Data
Posted Tuesday, 13 October, 2015 by jorielov Ann Farnsworth, Cedar Fort Inc, Sweetwater Books, The Throne of David 0 Comments
There was a moment whilst I was reading ‘The Throne of David’ where I settled inside this beautiful passage of a man finding himself between living and dying – he was cast between the worlds and equally so, caught between letting himself go and fighting to come back to the surface of where he fell below the ocean’s currents. It was a passage that was written with such a clarity of knowing what would happen inside those moments of where the soul takes over the conscience thinking of the man and a will to survive is not the only motivation behind what is happening.
Farnsworth delve into a deeper part of what happens when we are taken out of our ‘life’ and placed in this in-between place between where we are, where we could be going, and where we might honestly end up. It’s a fusion of spirituality and an awareness of what can be felt and seen between the veils of where time and life intersect. I was caught so tightly into her vision of what David Lord was experiencing that I wanted to know more about how this section was written, hence this guest post!
What I hadn’t expected is that the inspiration behind this passage was heart-centered on a personal tragedy and was written after a period of healing on behalf of a Mum who had lost her child. I hadn’t realised I would broach a subject that was so dearly personal to Ms Farnsworth, but it’s how she responded to my enquiry that touched my own heart. Despite the circumstances of her son’s death, it’s how his passing has influenced and inspired his mother that truly stays with you as you read their story.
This new insight into ‘The Throne of David’ provides a beautiful back-story to David Lord’s out of body experience and re-grounds part of his character’s journey in the author’s search for understanding about what happens when this chapter of our lives ends. It’s a beautiful testimony about life and the heart of how each hour we are given with each other is a treasured gift not to be forsaken but cherished and celebrated. I found her response quite uplifting and a lovely open letter from a Mum to her child.
The book begins when a mysterious letter is delivered to the Prince of Wales 32 years after it was posted. Hinting of a secret royal marriage, the letter raises the specter of an unknown heir to the British throne and sets in motion a desperate race for the truth.
The search sets David Lord, an American accountant, against the unlimited resources of the Royal Protection Service (the SO14) who do whatever it takes to protect the King of England.
Critical to settling the issues spawned by the letter is locating the coronation stone, one of the holiest artifacts of the Hebrew nation and a companion to the Ark of the Covenant, of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ fame. The coronation stone legend originates in ancient Israel and travels, over time, to Ireland, Scotland and London. The revered stone is currently on display in Edinburgh castle.
Or is it?
Mounting evidence indicates that the genuine coronation stone disappeared before it ever reached Westminster Abbey. The sacred stone Mr. Lord uncovers could prove the downfall of the House of Windsor or validate their divine right to rule through the ancient Throne of David.
Proposed Topic:
There is a sequence within The Throne of David where David Lord takes an ethereal journey outside of his body where the journey of his soul is revealled for a brief expanse of the story. The way in which you portrayed this journey was quite beautiful – my question truly is how did you come up with the vacuum of space you’ve explored and painted such a clear picture of what he was thinking and feeling during this moment of being between life, death, and heaven?
You can write any length you’d like on this as it was truly such a curious part of the story — I loved it personally. I was wondering if you did research about near death experiences or it this sequence just came to you as your wrote it?
Before you read this Guest Post, kindly note the author invites you to read the passage from her novel which inspired me to pitch this topic of enquiry on her website.
You can find the excerpt here.
The story of my novel ‘The Throne of David’ is really a tale of a 50 year old mother who finally saved up enough life experience to write a book. There is a scene in the book that has captured my readers attention in a way I never anticipated. It is a sequence of scenes where David Lord is out of his body, some would say he was dead. But, for me, death is really nothing at all. Read More
Posted Tuesday, 13 October, 2015 by jorielov in 21st Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Britian, British Literature, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Crime Fiction, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Equality In Literature, Espionage, Good vs. Evil, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical Thriller Suspense, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Inspired by Stories, Modern Day, Political Narrative & Modern Topics, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, Treasure Hunt
Posted Wednesday, 12 August, 2015 by jorielov Harlequin Books, Kimberly Belle, MIRA, The Ones We Trust 1 Comment
I must admit, when it comes to Harlequin, my two favourite imprints of theirs have been MIRA and the newly acquired Heartsong Presents (which used to be independent). MIRA gives you such an enriching choice amongst contemporary women’s fiction writers and relationship-based romance writers, you can find something to tickle your curious bone to read on any given month of release!
I am quite fond of MIRA because it’s a line of featuring authors who become my ‘next’ favourite authors to follow as their careers move forward. The realistic narratives combine with strong characters who do not shield their hearts nor their emotions from the page, giving us heart-stirring fiction grounded in a story-line which will not leave you too soon after you finish reading the novel! I love finding new authors who publish under this imprint, because there is a certain level of trust in knowing what I might find within one of the new releases. You could say, I find equal enjoyment from reading MIRA authors as I do ChocLitUK authors, because of the focus on quality over quantity when it comes to the kinds of stories being penned by their authors. It’s quite a heap of joy knowing that on both sides of the Pond, we can find wicked stories for today’s twenty and thirty-somethings who want stories which are character centric and encompassing of realistic lives set around relationships.
The main reason this particular release tipped the scales of curiosity for me, is due to the fact it’s a contemporary war drama rooted in the modern world. We need war dramas set in today’s world inasmuch as we need war dramas of the past; the two walk hand in hand with bridging understanding and empathy for the men and women who sacrifice so very much of their own lives in order to protect our own. Stories which seek to generate an honest portrait of their lives honours them and allows us a glimpse inside their world.
Proposed Topic: Contemporary war dramas hit close to home but also help us re-define where a war drama can take a reading audience due to the closeness to our living age. How did you draw inspiration to not only cultivate a time sensitive narrative but to eclipse it with the breadth of the human condition in a pursuit of justice intermixed with the struggle to hold onto hope? How did you find balance between the suspense and the driving story arc of Abigail’s conscience and heart?
Book Synopsis | “The Ones We Trust”
When former DC journalist Abigail Wolff attempts to rehabilitate her career, she finds herself 
at the heart of a US army cover-up involving the death of a soldier in Afghanistan—with unspeakable emotional consequences for one family. As the story of what happened comes to light, Abigail will do anything to write it.
The more evidence she stumbles upon in the case, the fewer people it seems she can trust, including her own father, a retired army general. And she certainly never expected to fall in love with the slain soldier’s brother, Gabe, a bitter man struggling to hold his family together. The investigation eventually leads her to an impossible choice, one of unrelenting sacrifice to protect those she loves.
Beyond the buried truths and betrayals, questions of family loyalty and redemption, Abigail’s search is, most of all, a desperate grasp at carrying on and coping—and seeking hope in the impossible.
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Posted Wednesday, 12 August, 2015 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, TLC Book Tours
Posted Tuesday, 4 August, 2015 by jorielov Baker's Blues, Bread Alone series, Judith Ryan Hendricks 2 Comments
I hadn’t had the proper pleasure of finding Ms Hendricks prior to this blog tour, wherein I was most delighted I could participate by offering to host the author via a guest author feature! I am quite drawn into Foodie Fiction, especially novels that involve bakers or bakeries, as I previously devoured How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O’ Neal.
Ever since that first encounter with a baker who was experiencing a lift shift whilst embarking on a journey towards centering themselves into a new awareness of how to live a life they truly could treasure and cherish, set a new standard of foodie novels I wanted to seek out and read quite readily! It’s been a bit of a hit/miss experience for me, as I’ve found a few motion pictures along the way that tickled my palette of interest even before I realised that a few of them had been based on books! (i.e. Julie & Julia) Although, The School of Essential Ingredients is one novel I cannot wait to continue reading as the poetic prose of the writer tickled my readerly heart with absolute joy!
As I set to mind what I wanted to ask Ms Hendricks, I tried to envision myself nearly at the tip-stone edge of picking up Bread Alone ahead of reading Baker’s Blues; attempting to think about what I might find curious about this third in the series whilst at the precipice of the first!
Proposed Topic: I love the introspective thread of narrative knitted inside Wyn’s character journey as she is turning inward in order to understand how all the changes in her outer world are not only affecting the people she loves but how their impacting her spirit. What was the impetus to use bread as a metaphor for the human condition and the resolve to effectively recognise as heart-wrenching as life can become there is still time left to resolve the past and present whilst keeping hope alive for the future? Baking felt to me in this one instance to be the centering balance a ballet dancer feels each time they go back to the bar. Balance is not always easy to repair when adversity collides into our ordinary hours.
Book Synopsis | No.3 of the Bread Alone Series: Baker’s Blues
In Wyn Morrison’s world a 5 AM phone call usually means problems at her bakery
—equipment trouble or a first shift employee calling in sick—annoying but mundane, fixable. But the news she receives on a warm July morning is anything but mundane. Or fixable.
Mac, her ex-husband, is dead.
Ineligible for widowhood, Wyn is nonetheless shaken to her core as she discovers that the fact of divorce offers no immunity from grief. Friends and family are bewildered by her spiral into sadness, Mac’s daughter Skye blames her for his death.
For the last several years Wyn has been more businesswoman than baker, leaving the actual bread making to others. Now, as she takes up her place in the bread rotation once more, she will sift through her memories, coming to terms with Mac and his demons, with Skye’s anger, and with Alex, who was once more than a friend. Soon she will re-learn the lessons of bread that she first discovered at the Queen Street Bakery in Seattle…bread rises, pain fades, the heart heals, and the future waits.
No.1 Bread Alone (Book Synopsis)
No.2 The Baker’s Apprentice (Book Synopsis)
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Posted Tuesday, 4 August, 2015 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Bread Making, Cookery, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, TLC Book Tours
Posted Friday, 31 July, 2015 by jorielov James Eric Richey, JER Books, Two Hearts: When I Said I Do I Meant Forever 0 Comments
I love being able to host special guest author features which compliment a blog tour, as I tend to have a felicity attachment to ‘knowing more’ than what the novel can give to us as a reader. I love to cosy up inside an author’s mind whilst ferreting out a bit of what inspires them to create the stories which give us such a pleasure to read! There are moments where I vacillate between wanting to offer an interview or a guest post – as each guest feature has it’s own advantages; as I contribute the questions for the conversations and the topics for the essays! It sometimes boils down to what makes me the most curious at the time in which I am in the moment of deciding which feature to offer an author, and this is how I settled on asking Mr Richey for an essay compliment to my review!
I wanted to delve a bit deeper into the context of the romance itself – to the very structure of how Mr Richey was able to give us such an inspiring portrait of an honest romance between two people who had such a lot on their plates to overcome! It was a topic that spun itself into my mind nearly at the same moment I signed up to review the novel! I am thankful to be able to share the author’s response and allow his own words to speak for themselves.
Book Synopsis:
Jaxon Tagget is a cattle-rancher’s son, born and raised on the Double T, just outside of Dillon, Montana. In love with his high-school sweetheart, Annie, Jaxon proposes on graduation night, presenting her with a wedding ring made from gold he mined himself. Annie accepts immediately, to the horror of her bitter, man-hating mother.
Jaxon’s a wonderful husband, but the warnings of Annie’s mother linger in the young bride’s ears. And it doesn’t help that women continue to fall all over the markedly handsome Jaxon.
Unaware of his wife’s persistent doubts, Jaxon is struggling with his own troubles when he finds out his dad is sorely in need of money to save the ranch. But hope glimmers gold when he rediscovers the old mine on the Double T.
While Jaxon travels to verify the mine’s productivity, Annie grows increasingly suspicious. Is Jaxon’s absence what it seems, or does he have another, less faithful reason for his travels? When Annie sees a picture of the beautiful laboratory owner whom Jaxon is visiting, she’s sure the only gold he’s interested in is long, blond hair. Is Annie right, or will it be her doubts that forever sever their Two Hearts?
Proposed Topic: Two Hearts is an epic romance spanning not only personal strife and adversity, but the kind of hardship that can break most families apart, as there is a questionable future in regards to the family ranch. How did you approach knitting together a love story anchoured by realistic tribulations whilst grounding your characters in a strength of resolve that would give the reader balance to read through the worst bits whilst appreciating the bond Jaxon and Annie share? How did Jaxon and Annie help propell the story forward through everything that they had to face?
James Eric Richey’s response:
Mr Richey began his essay by featuring two quotations he especially is fond of referencing to solidify his point throughout his guest feature. As I was not entirely sure how to vet permissions to include these quotes on my blog in time for my tour stop, I yielded to hopping on social media and found (quite happily) these are quotations which others appreciate sharing as well! I was quite thrilled to find ‘who’ was behind the tweets and I suggest you visit their feeds for more inspiring content!
I love this quote.
Here is another quote I like.
We live in a disposable society—if something is broken we throw it away. This same philosophy is applied to marriage—divorce is the first answer for any little problem that comes up. Read More
Posted Friday, 31 July, 2015 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, iRead Book Tours, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author
