Category: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Blog Book Tour | Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth a #fairytale re-telling of Rapunzel by #BrothersGrimm

Posted Thursday, 9 October, 2014 by jorielov A Thomas Donne Book, Bitter Greens, Illuminations: A novel of Hildegard von Bingen, Kate Forsyth, MacMillan Publishers, Minotaur Books, St. Martin's Publishing Group 3 Comments

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

Published By: Minotaur Books (@MinotaurBooks), (a Thomas Donne book)
imprints of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, which is now a part of MacMillian Publishers
Official Author Websites: Site | Blog | @KateForsyth | Facebook

Available Formats: Hardback, Trade Paperback, & Ebook

Converse via: #BitterGreensBlogTour, #Rapunzel, #FairyTale, & #BitterGreens

Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Bitter Greens” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher St. Martin’s Press, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

I grew up inside the world of fairy-tales like most young children whose imagination is captured by the fantasy worlds a fairy-tale can generate and explode inside their minds and hearts. I did not always read the direct stories from literature, but opted instead for the motion picture versions and/or re-tellings of the same tale told from a different writer; as part of me always felt that the Brothers Grimm fairy-tales were for someone a bit older than I was at the time I had stumbled across them. I did, of course, read stories like “Little Red Riding Hood” or others that were in collection anthologies for children, but I never truly paid any mind or attention to who was writing them as I liked reading each of the short stories in succession of each other. I do know I appreciated Hans Christian Anderson as a child, but I am not sure which of his were my ultimate favourite either; I will have to re-explore his works at some point down the road.

Even if I heard the stories told aloud by family members or watched an adaptation on the screen, the entire world always fit quite happily inside my mind’s eye, as I liked the lessons stitched into the fabric of the stories themselves. I always liked seeing how the characters worked themselves out of situations and found true strength in the midst of difficulty. The fact there were more happy endings than there were unresolved cliffhangers was a big draw as well, as despite the obstacles that arose, it was quite wicked to find they could live peacefully in the end.

One of my favourite adaptations is “Ever After” on behalf of “Cinderella”, although there are a few other adaptations I appreciate as well. I am not remembering which versions of Rapunzel I am familiar with but when I first learnt of this novel, I was attracted to the deeply wrought story as an underlay to the main thread of context for the well-known fairy-tale. I do remember I used to tell different variants of the story whilst I was in elementary school, as it was a bit of a game we used to play at lunch. We were either re-inventing different outcomes for Rapunzel or Rumpelstiltskin; when we weren’t fondly trying to trip each other up remembering our US Presidents with their various nicknames to help clue us to which one was which. Elementary school games were filled with fond memories as it was one of the few times my classmates and I truly came together as one for the pure joy of ‘sharing’ and being full of ‘laughter’.

I did get a kick out of watching “Tangled” which I realise now was a Rapunzel variant of the story, but then again I grew up on Disney animated films; I tend to keep my eye on the releases that remind me of my childhood.

Bitter Greens
by Kate Forsyth

The amazing power and truth of the Rapunzel fairy tale comes alive for the first time in this breathtaking tale of desire, black magic and the redemptive power of love.

French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens…

After Margherita’s father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.

Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.

Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman.

Genres: Fairy-Tale Re-Telling, Historical Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Also by this author:

Published by A Thomas Donne Book

on 23rd September, 2014 (in the United States)

Pages: 496

Author Biography:

Kate Forsyth wrote her first novel at the age of seven, and is now the internationally bestselling & award-winning author of thirty books, ranging from picture books to poetry to novels for both adults and children. She was recently voted one of Australia’s Favourite 20 Novelists, and has been called ‘one of the finest writers of this generation. She is also an accredited master storyteller with the Australian Guild of Storytellers, and has told stories to both children and adults all over the world.

Her most recent book for adults is a historical novel called ‘The Wild Girl’, which tells the true, untold love story of Wilhelm Grimm and Dortchen Wild, the young woman who told him many of the world’s most famous fairy tales. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, ‘The Wild Girl’ is a story of love, war, heartbreak, and the redemptive power of storytelling, and was named the Most Memorable Love Story of 2013.

She is probably most famous for ‘Bitter Greens’, a retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale interwoven with the dramatic life story of the woman who first told the tale, the 17th century French writer, Charlotte-Rose de la Force. ‘Bitter Greens’ has been called ‘the best fairy tale retelling since Angela Carter’, and has been nominated for a Norma K. Hemming Award, the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Fiction, and a Ditmar Award.

Her most recent book for children is ‘Grumpy Grandpa’, a charming picture book that shows people are not always what they seem.

Since ‘The Witches of Eileanan’ was named a Best First Novel of 1998 by Locus Magazine, Kate has won or been nominated for numerous awards, including a CYBIL Award in the US. She’s also the only author to win five Aurealis awards in a single year, for her Chain of Charms series – beginning with ‘The Gypsy Crown’ – which tells of the adventures of two Romany children in the time of the English Civil War. Book 5 of the series, ‘The Lightning Bolt’, was also a CBCA Notable Book.

Kate’s books have been published in 14 countries around the world, including the UK, the US, Russia, Germany, Japan, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Poland and Slovenia. She is currently undertaking a doctorate in fairytale retellings at the University of Technology, having already completed a BA in Literature and a MA in Creative Writing.

Kate is a direct descendant of Charlotte Waring, the author of the first book for children ever published in Australia, ‘A Mother’s Offering to her Children’. She lives by the sea in Sydney, Australia, with her husband, three children, and many thousands of books.

On reading a re-telling ahead of an original canon:

I clearly have stepped outside my own preferences in reading this past year, as previously I would attempt to read an original canon version of a story prior to picking up a re-telling of the same story. I have found that due to different reasons time doesn’t always allow the luxury of going back to the canon, but rather only allows me to read the book at hand. On the other side of the coin, there have been a few times where I felt not reading the original work might befit me moreso than if I had, such as the case with Sense & Sensibility: A Latter-Day Tale and my forthcoming review of The Monogram Murders (Hercules Poirot). As this particular story is a Brothers Grimm, I was more akin to yearning to read a re-telling than perhaps the original, as I always felt the Grimm brothers wrote stories a bit more intense than I might be drawn to read on a regular basis. At the heart of their stories, I was always wholly entranced but to the actually reading of them? I was always a bit on the fence of where I fit with my inclinations. Realising I had known enough about Rapunzel to insert myself into the flow of the novel, is why I settled myself into the pace Forsyth was generating from the opening of the story and onward. I would be curious if other readers make the same choices I do, or if they have a preference for reading canons prior to after canons; it is such a curious situation to have and I find myself yielding a bit when it comes to where my preferences lie on the issue.

My Review of Bitter Greens:

The Abbey into which Charlotte-Rose de la Force enters has such a strict rule base to follow, that I was curious how she could abide by a quarter of their order’s restrictions when she was entering the convent a free-spirit of the 17th Century. The rules of her day were quite forthright as she was simply another woman cast into an Abbey at the voice of the King, as she was no longer useful nor wanted at Court. The harshness of the sentence was in the fact that most of the women who were forced into this life did not go willingly but rather begrudgingly yet they had little recourse to pursue a different course. In many ways, at the beginning of this novel I started to think back on my reading of Illuminations as the circumstances of being cast into a particular closed off from society insular world was highly familiar. On this level, Bitter Greens is a historical fiction arc of a story set against the back-drop of a biographical fiction narrative, as we are learning about the story of Rapunzel through the writer who gave birth to the idea that has staid with us for generations.

The ache of Mademoiselle’s heart clenched into a tight knot as her new cloister environment did not permit her to continue her writings or her stories from being spilt out of her quill. I was tucked up in curiosity at this revelation to sort out how her story of Rapunzel would come to flourish inside such a stark and dank place where the creative arts were discouraged. It was a bit striking to me that they did not want their sisters to take up a hobby or have a personal vice to keep their own sanity amongst the duties they would endure – so many hours would stack against the clock, and to have a bit of a reprieve in my mind would have settled the heart to endurance.

One particular part of the story I was rather keen on involves beekeeping and the wisdom of knowledge the apothecarist at the convent shares with Charlotte-Rose during a measure of repentance she owes for stepping out of line. Sister Seraphina keeps not only a full garden for her sisters but an active hive, where she cares for her bees with both love and reverence for their culture. I have always appreciated learning more about bees as their struggle to survive is always so very perilous of a plight. Inserting this thread of Sister Seraphina was most delightful, as it spoke to how some of the sisters carved out a bit of peace for themselves even within the walls of a ruled life of order. This was a turning point for me in the story, as I started to feel attached to both characters as warmly as I have felt towards Hildegard.

The origins of Rapunzel are presented as a symphony of a lived life from an era prior to Charlotte-Rose’s own, as told to her by Sister Seraphina whilst they toiled in the garden. What I found so incredible about this bit of traction of where the inspiration for the story of Rapunzel was spun from is how ironic it was for Charlotte-Rose to find herself putting roots into her time at the abbey. She was as indifferent to the life of service as Hildegard (there are a lot of cross-references for me in my mind between both stories!), irked beyond her ire to make peace with her situation, and yet had a bit of a warming glow towards acknowledging that there could be a way towards happiness despite her emotions as a small flicking candle lighting the flame. Her solace was always hinged to stories and the craft of telling stories in a voice that carried the mirth of joy of having them being told. She wandered off into her mind as soon as a measure of shadow and ill will would work itself into her path or affect those she knew around her. The stories were a freedom from reality to help her mind heal from what it did not want to acknowledge as being real as much as to calm her nerves from feeling overwhelmed by something she witnessed or heard. The infusion of how she worked her words into her own creative voice for stories is an outlet of her truest strength. Seeing how this originated and how it percolated at the abbey was the kind of insight that we do not always perceive on behalf of writers of fairy-tales and mythologies. I am not sure how much was based on actual knowledge and how much was creatively inspired, but the notion of where it all stemmed from was beyond fascinating to read in Bitter Greens!

Charlotte-Rose has been given the rarest of gifts: the chance to thread her memories through the spindle of her mind and takeaway insight into how she became the woman she is and how the choices she made affected her future. The tome of wonder you will find within this novel is only one part of the whole of Charlotte-Rose’s life and an expedition of a theory of how she came to fulfill her destiny as a spinning of stories and telling tales full of incredible wisdom. There is a particular surprise for all of us who have travelled down the rabbit hole with Kate Forsyth seeking Rapunzel and finding someone unexpectedly present instead. I felt like smirking when I realised the beauty of Forsyth’s choice and the level of eloquence she stitched into this story overall. I was quite struck by the realisation that from the moment I first opened Bitter Greens to the moment I closed the ARC, I was taken completely unawares and most delighted by the experience!

On the writing style of Kate Forsyth:

Somehow I had forgotten that the novel The Wild Girl was the first novel I had come across by Kate Forsyth at my local library – a book I had checked out a few times yet had not had the honour of reading in full. Forsyth puts dual empathsis on the story of Charlotte-Rose and of Margherita (the inspiration behind Rapunzel) throughout Bitter Greens; owning to each vein of the narrative when writing from one fusion of the story to the other. I found myself drawn closer into the plight of Charlotte-Rose during this reading as I think for me, I found a connection in her that I had discovered whilst reading Hildegard (from Illuminations), and thereby my mind simply alighted onto her path a bit more than Margherita’s at this time. I will have to see after I have the pleasure of reading the Brothers Grimm tale of Rapunzel if I feel more attachment to the passages involving Margherita.

The breadth of her vision for this re-telling is quite impressive, as she didn’t just present a new way of seeing Rupunzel but rather to bridge the gap between the fairy-tale, the reality of two women who truly lived, and the way in which the story has evolved through each generation who fell in sync with it’s telling. She has given us a hearty adaptation whose layers curate in your mind and encourage the reader to take a second reading to fully absolve through the multi-dimensional story in full earnest. I know I will be seeing how my impression of the duality shifts and evolves, but for a first reading I was properly enchanted and spellbound. This is a gutting story-line of perseverance and fortitude whilst dealing with tribulations that no one would soon want to find themselves in the midst of personally.

I do highly recommend that readers might consider reading Illuminations before they read Bitter Greens, as there are instances of overlap between situations found within both stories; for me personally, some of those instances were better understood because I had read Illuminations last year.

Bitter Greens Book Trailer via Kate Forsyth

Inspired to Share: The placards and music presented in this impressive book trailer elude to the passages that will be found within the pages of “Bitter Greens”; as this is not your ordinary fairy-tale nor is it a re-telling that you’re expecting to find; the layers of story and of time itself through different eras and recollective memories is what helps enchant you as you read; but it is the sheer vision of Forsyth to spin the tale as only she could give it life that stays with you. Consider this trailer a bit of a ‘teaser’ of what the novel will yield!

The Virtual Road Map for “Bitter Greens” can be found here:

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

I will be hosting an Author Interview
with Kate Foryth on this blog tour as well.

on my Bookish Events page!

This blog tour is also highlighting the:

A society that I hope to one day join myself as I love their content & focus on Historical Fiction. I appreciate being able to use their badge in my blog’s sidebar to promote awareness of their efforts to spotlight emerging talent inside the genre & for providing amazing ways to become integrated into the mission of supporting today’s historical authors who write such convicting narratives and stories. For the moment I support from afar but I always love alighting on their site and seeing what is new & forthcoming. They even host live events & get togethers!

I positively *love!* comments in the threads below each of my posts, kindly know that I appreciate each thought you want to share with me and all the posts on my blog are open to new comments & commentary! Short or long, I appreciate the time you spent to leave behind a note of your visit! Return again soon!

{SOURCES: Cover art of “Bitter Greens”, book synopsis, author photograph of Kate Forsyth, author biography, and the tour host badge were all provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and used with permission. The book trailer for “Bitter Greens” via Kate Forsyth had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Tweets were able to be embedded by the codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Historical Novel Society badge was used with permission; as book bloggers are encouraged to promote the Society on their blogs.}

The ‘live reading’ tweets I shared as I read & reviewed “Bitter Greens”:

{ favourite & Re-tweet if inspired to share }

#amreading & #amblogging my thoughts on a #fairytale re-telling of #Rapunzel by Kate Forsyth! A #histfic set in the 17th Century #Versailles

— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) October 9, 2014

#amreading & #amblogging my #review for #BitterGreens on the #BitterGreensBlogTour! :) A #Rapunzel historical fiction adaptation by Forsyth!
— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) October 9, 2014

.@HFVBT My #bookreview for #BitterGreens arrives on #BitterGreensBlogTour http://t.co/mILzfGO0ax by @KateForsyth An unexpected re-telling :)

— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) October 9, 2014

.@KateForsyth unique & sophisticated #fairytale re-telling #Rapunzel spun by a master story-teller who knits #histfic http://t.co/mILzfGO0ax
— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) October 9, 2014

.@histnovsoc Lovely s/o of gratitude on behalf of #Historical #Novel Society; #book review of #BitterGreens http://t.co/mILzfGO0ax #histfic

— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) October 9, 2014

Comments on Twitter:

@JLovesAStory Ooo! I’ve been eyeing this. Off to read your review. :)
— Rissi (@scriptsandsuch) October 9, 2014

@KateForsyth I positively *loved!* #BitterGreens & your style of story-telling! :) Such a beautiful treat for the eyes & imagination! Thanks

— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) October 9, 2014

@JLovesAStory @KateForsyth This was one of my fav reads of the year! FAB! I can’t wait to read her other books!
— The Lit Bitch (@thelitbitch) October 9, 2014

@JLovesAStory @KateForsyth I picked up The Witches of Eileanan to read after I finished this one. Great writing style! :)

— The Lit Bitch (@thelitbitch) October 9, 2014

Posted Thursday, 9 October, 2014 by jorielov in 17th Century, Apiculture, Apothecary, ARC | Galley Copy, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Catholicism, Charlotte-Rose de la Force, Domestic Violence, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Honeybees, Nun, Religious Orders, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, Widows & Widowers

+Blog Book Tour+ I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

Posted Tuesday, 16 September, 2014 by jorielov Broadway Books, Crown Publishing Group, Erin Lindsay McCabe, I Shall Be Near To You, Random House Publishing Group 1 Comment

I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

Published By: Broadway Books, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group (@CrownPublishing)

and part of: Penguin Random House (@penguinrandom)

Official Author Websites: Site | @ErinLindsMcCabe| Facebook
Available Formats: Hardcover, Ebook

Converse via: #IShall (main tag), #IShallBeNearToYou

Acquired Book By:

I was selected to be a tour stop on the “I Shall Be Near To You” virtual book tour through TLC Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher Crown Publishing Group, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read & Excitement Ahead of Time:

The beautiful cover art on the hardback edition I received to review is featured inside the Excerpt by the publisher’s Scribd page featured below my review. I must admit, I appreciate both versions of the cover-art designs, even if I’m a bit partial to the hardback as I think it gives a measure of mystery as to how a woman could hide behind the thin veil of a man’s clothes and walk onto the field of battle; serving her country alongside her husband. The second cover-art which is included on the Book Synopsis is a bit more elusive as to the central core of the story, as it draws you to think of a different thread of context. At least it had for me, as it appeared to be a woman who was caught in the middle of the era of war rather than a woman who joined the fight during the war itself.

I had the pleasure of participating in a Twitter chat ahead of my review posting on the 2nd of September, whereupon I was wrapped up in the excitement of this novel’s release and the joyous mirth of discovering book bloggers & readers who had already felt the inertia of its emotional pull. I was overjoyed being able to participate in a chat dedicated to one of my favourite branches of literature, and for giving me such an incredible start to this blog tour.

I Shall Be Near to You

In I SHALL BE NEAR TO YOU, McCabe introduces us to newlywed Rosetta Wakefield. More accustomed to working as her father’s farmhand and happiest doing what others might call “man’s work,” Rosetta struggles with how to be a good wife to her childhood beau and new husband, Jeremiah. When Jeremiah leaves home to join the Union army, Rosetta finds the only way she can honor Jeremiah is to be with her husband—no matter what..

Cutting off her hair and donning men’s clothing, Rosetta enlists in the army as Private Ross Stone so that she might stand beside her husband. Joining, however, is the easy part, and now Rosetta must not only live and train with her male counterparts as they prepare for imminent battle, but she must also deal with Jeremiah, who is struggling with his “fighting” wife’s presence, not to mention the constant threat of discovery..

In brilliant detail, inspired by the letters of the real Rosetta Wakeman, McCabe offers a riveting look at the day-to-day lives of these secret women fighters as they defied conventions and made their personal contributions to history. Both a tender love story and a hard look at war, I SHALL BE NEAR TO YOU offers a unique exploration of marriage, societal expectations, and the role of women in the Civil War through the lens of a beautifully written novel..

Places to find the book:

on 2nd September, 2014

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 336

Author Biography:

Erin studied literature and history at University of California, Santa Cruz, earned a teaching credential at California State University, Chico, and taught high school English for seven years. Since completing her MFA in Creative Writing at St. Mary’s College of California in 2010, Erin has taught Composition at St. Mary’s College and Butte College. A California native, Erin lives in the Sierra Foothills with her husband, son, and a small menagerie that includes one dog, four cats, two horses, numerous chickens, and three goats.

The [American] Civil War:

I learnt quite a heap about the Civil War whilst I was in high school, except to say, they left out quite a lot of important factors such as women who served their country alongside the men! I think I might have listened a bit closer to the lectures and the discussions, as to me, it was all starting to blur together after two terms of feeling as though we were going right round in a circle without any of it making a lot of sense in the end. Being the fact I grew up in the South, most of the lessons were focused on the Rebel Army rather than the Union; yet being that I’m from Northern Stock, I was more keen to know about Grant’s positions and where my ancestors might have fit into this war. It would take over a decade to learn about my Great Granddaddy who was a Captain with the Union, and fresh off the boat from Ireland. The best bit was learning how he was a farmer and how much he loved the land. In some ways, I was never surprised to have learnt more than half my ancestors who immigrated to America ended up as farmers; it seems right as rain to me, being that I’m a locavore who appreciates farm fresh fruit and veg, locally grown (without chemicals) and sourced.

It didn’t matter which side your family fought on during this war because it was a war to end all wars in of itself. It was a war where everyone fought side by side and both sides (the North & the South) felt they were in the right. It has a brutal history and it has an empowering moment of change; nothing was the same, and battles were won on the deaths of so many innocents. To find a story that places true-to-life characters in the middle of this great war and gives a searing arc of climax that befits the war itself as much as the barriers women faced during that time is an incredible find.

McCabe centers her story on the true grit of historical fact originating out of the Civil War itself; including having found a real-life Rosetta who was part of the inspiration for her own. She doesn’t hold back from revealing the cardinal truths of the battlefield or the wounded inside the hospital wards, yet she is sensitive to their plight and I felt lifted in spirit rather than bogged down in the horrors of war. I felt she tempered the truth with a narrative that gives you a breath to absorb the words without always taking the reality of what they are expressing to a shocking conclusion. McCabe’s best attribute is in knowing what to include and how what happens affects everyone you’ve come to know. The war is both the backdrop and the shifting force to pull everyone forward and apart at the same time. It is a testament of our past and a testament of the power to fight for everything you believe in.

Posted Tuesday, 16 September, 2014 by jorielov in 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Civil War Era (1861-1865), Debut Author, Debut Novel, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Military Fiction, Vulgarity in Literature, War Drama

+Blog Book Tour+ Tower of Tears {Book No. 1: the McClusky series} by Rhoda E’ttore

Posted Friday, 12 September, 2014 by jorielov CreateSpace Independent Publishing, Heart of San Francisco series, Jonathan West, Julie Lessman, Rhoda D’Ettore, Self Published, The Daughters of Boston series, the McClusky series, Tower of Tears, Winds of Change series 0 Comments

Tower of Tears by Rhoda D’Ettore

Published by: Self-Published Author

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Official Author Websites: Site | @rhodadettore | Facebook

Converse via: #TowerofTearsBlogTour

Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Tower of Tears” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Rhoda D’Ettore, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

When I first learnt of this novel going on tour with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, I was a bit intrigued by the premise, as I have been reading quite a few immigrant stories of late, and this particular one interested me because the McClusky family was arriving in America from Ireland. I have newly defined ancestral roots to Ireland, and now that I know for a bonefide fact I descended from an Irishman, I have noticed my appreciation for reading about the Irish who came to America has increased tenfold. A bit due to the fact there is such a breadth of unknown factors and stories that are simply out in the void of the past; inches away from knowing anything further about this side of my family and perhaps even, the route they took to arrive not only in America but as settlers on land they chose to farm.

I was captured by this one particular family’s plight to forge their own future in a country so far removed from their own, and encouraged by their determined spirit to make it irregardless of what would come across their path!

– quoted from my Interview of the author who is going to pen a series around the McClusky’s and giving us a bit of a taste of who they are inside Tower of Tears!

Tower of Tears
by Jonathan West, Rhoda D’Ettore
Source: Author via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read an Excerpt of the Novel:

Chapter 1: The Voyage

Betrayal. Despair. Murder. Mystery. Romance. Blackmail. “If God be good, Mr. Landon will burn in the eternal flames of hell. If God be bad, he will suffer much worse.” In 1820, a young woman and her son leave Ireland for a better life in America. She soon suffers heartache and tragedy, while residing with family whom she has never met.

Unbeknownst to her, the family had already set her up with employment in a factory–a factory run by a lecherous man. This is the first book in a series that will follow the McClusky family while they become Americanized while face with the Potato Famine, the US Civil War, and the Industrial Revolution.

Genres: Historical Fiction

Places to find the book:

Also by this author:

Series: McClusky,

Published by Self Published

on 25th May, 2014

Format: Paperback

Pages: 308

Author Biography:

Rhoda D’Ettore was born in Woodbury, New Jersey, into a family of 5 siblings–which has provided her with plenty of comical material. She began working at the United States Postal Service at 25 years old, and over the past 15 years has accumulated many humorous stories about situations that the public never gets to know about. Her first ebook, “Goin’ Postal: True Stories of a U.S. Postal Worker” was so popular that readers requested it in paperback. Recently, she published the humorous “Goin’ Postal” in paperback along with another story entitled, “The Creek: Where Stories of the Past Come Alive”. Combining these two into one book may seem strange, as one is humorous and the other is a heart wrenching historical fiction, however, doing so proves to the reader Rhoda D’Ettore’s versatility.

Rhoda D’Ettore received her degree in Human & Social Services while working at USPS, has travelled extensively, and loves history. Over the years she has volunteered for several community service organizations, including fostering abused and neglected dogs for a Dalmatian rescue.

The Irish & America as a new place to lay one’s hat:

D’Ettore honoured her Irish characters by allowing them to speak in a vernacular which would befit the era and the time in which they were living. I always appreciate the syntax of language and of dialect of characters who either originated from one country and moved to another, or simply lived within a country and culture other than my own completely. I like getting the proper sense of life being lived elsewhere and within historical fiction it is always nice to root around and see where a writer’s own research and heart for the story led them to create the essence of whom they are writing about the most. The Irish are represented well in the novel, as not only are the obstacles in their path representative of time appropriate events, but they are given that determined grit and reserved emotional life that is characteristic of their nature.

One of the bits I appreciated on the voyage was the close kinship Jane felt towards Anna; two women attempting to change the stars for their children and daring to see into the unknown beyond anything they could have dreamt. I appreciated she had someone she could connect too and of course, Anna is one of those pure optimistic spirits who can wiggle out a ray of light even when darkness threatens to supersede your thoughts! I even enjoyed how she turnt the supposed horrid news of an unexpected pregnancy (on Jane’s behalf) to a light of joy!

My Review of Tower of Tears:

As the story opens we are settling into the new life Jane McClusky is attempting to carve out for her three year old son Liam, her husband Thomas (still in Ireland), and herself – she quite literally embarked on a transatlantic voyage to the New World devoid of understanding the hardships and tribulations she would greet once she landed on American soil. She had conversed with her husband about the necessities and the monies she would need to survive living with her Cousins in Philadelphia, but as soon as the wind is back in her chest and rest has given her clarity of mind, her American Cousins who emigrated ahead of her are not as they appear inside their letters. She had a growing fear of this as she was never quite sure if they were as open as they seemed inside their conversations within the postal correspondences. She strove to leave behind the adversities which plagued Ireland at the time: short life expectancy, no forward motion of families as they were co-dependent on the crop yields per annum, little to no hope of pulling yourself up by the bootstraps, and the worst of all — a constant worriment over the life your child will have as he’s reared through the hurdles of trying to survive Summer to Summer. The major crop was potatoes (of which I had known before I opened the novel, but hadn’t realise how dependent they were on its yield) yet the greatest hope any of the farmers had were to attempt a new life elsewhere, whilst leaving behind family, nationality and the certainty of self-identity.

D’Ettore is not shy from disclosing the lesser known facts of what such a life shift would entail to those who were brave enough to set sail. She gives you a bird’s eye glimpse at how harsh an immigrant life was for someone to forge as much as how everything changes from an accord you struck prior to your voyage. I always found it interesting studying history that there were always prejudicial misconceptions about immigrants and thus, direct consequences were faced in the work force. In this particular story we are seeing the point-of-view of the Irish, which interested me due to my own newly found ancestral roots stemming from the Emerald Isle; however, I have also read other stories about how Italians and Jewish families were equally displaced with unequal opportunities. I find all of our ancestors were hardened not only by the way in which life affected them, but how their lives were constantly challenged by everything they attempted to do in order to provide an honest wage.

The story shifts view from Jane’s new world in America to the life her husband Thomas was living without her back home on their farm in Ireland. A very typical situation starts to incur inside Thomas’s life; re-pleasant of loneliness and the insecurity of understanding his new role in his wife’s life. Unfortunately, I suppose I had hoped perhaps her husband might have held more honour inside his heart, as their love had such a strong bond to crumble due to distance of only a handful of months felt dishonest to the strength inside Jane’s own mind and fortitude to overcome their situation. Yet, this is a very honest interpretation of a family attempting to change their lives; not every family has an upward light shining to keep them on a path without strife in marriage.

I personally had to stop reading this novel between a rape scene of a pregnant woman and the murder of her abuser, which is a bit of spoiler but not the whole truth of the story. I felt the heinous attack on someone withchild was a bit too much for me to be included — it simply didn’t warrant to happen. I felt a more fitting scene would have been seeing the start of Jane’s affection towards Richard her Cousin in America. Her affection for him and his in return for her were being nurtured from the beginning when they first started to work together. There was already a story-line in place that would have allowed their love to blossom legally and affirmatively, so I am not as sure why the thread of story-line was pitched to take the route of severe emotional and physical abuse. It was quite shocking to read and it didn’t sit well with my conscience either. I could not continue because I simply could not find a reason to go forward as instead of finding a bit of light in the undertone of the novel, I felt the story was growing in oppressive anguish and upturnt devastation.

Fly in the Ointment:

A continuity issue arose when I reached page 26, as Jane is reflecting to her Cousin Richard as they are walking to work about her mother; in this scene she mentioned her name was Erin. Yet, on page 18 Erin is clearly the name of her sister, as she is having a flashback memory of when they were younger. Of course, she might have been named after the Mum, but I was a bit confused by the omission of knowing Jane’s Mum’s name. The few hiccups in proofreading I overlooked as I oft find a few here or there in most of the books I read. Continuity however is something I take a closer gander at as it can alter the perception of the pace and flow of where the story is heading.

The story turnt out to be a bit more brutal and absent of what I was hoping it would yield — there are moments where violence and even violation of a person’s rights has plausible appeal, but for some reason I simply felt there were a few too many circumstances alighting in Jane’s life for her to overcome. Every chance she tried to stand on her feet, something else was taken away from her. I also thought it was a mis-step not to include Anna as an anchor for Jane; there was an absence of aligning Jane with a circle of support from the beginning. And, the family she believed she was welcomed into with open arms was a deceptive web which rankled my joy a bit because I had believed this was a story which was going to go in one direction but found it headed in the opposite instead.

As this is not a comedy of errors, it is a historical fiction rooted in historical fact, and I was just a bit disappointed that one or two threads of narrative were explored, but not all of them combined. I could have even foreseen an issue with Jane’s boss as it is well-known women were not always treated equally or fairly throughout history in employment; but it is the lengths of which her life unravells and how it unravells that left me feeling uncomfortable as I turnt the pages. I was disheartened as I had hoped this would be a multi-generational saga centered around a family I would enjoy reading as the series continued.

Blog Book Tour Stop,

courtesy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Virtual Road Map of “Tower of Tears” Blog Tour found here:

See what I’m hosting next for:

{SOURCES: Book Cover for “Tower of Tears”, Author Photograph of Rhoda D’Ettore, & Author Biography were provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and used with 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. Jorie asked to host the author ahead of reading the novel as she is most keen on Jane Austen & the sequel authors who give us such a wonderful joy to read their literary muse after being inspired by Austen herself; she was most happy to receive his replies from the Interview through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours via the author himself.}

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Go Indie

Posted Friday, 12 September, 2014 by jorielov in 19th Century, Abortion, Adulterous Affair, Blog Tour Host, Domestic Violence, Feminine Heroism, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Mystery, Immigrant Stories, Realistic Fiction, Self-Published Author, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, Unexpected Pregnancy, Women's Fiction, Women's Rights

+Author Interview+ Uncovering a bit of the back-story of “Tower of Tears” whilst conversing with historical fiction author Rhoda D’Ettore!

Posted Thursday, 11 September, 2014 by jorielov CreateSpace Independent Publishing, Rhoda D’Ettore, Self Published, the McClusky series, Tower of Tears 0 Comments

When I first learnt of this novel going on tour with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, I was a bit intrigued by the premise, as I have been reading quite a few immigrant stories of late, and this particular one interested me because the McClusky family was arriving in America from Ireland. I have newly defined ancestral roots to Ireland, and now that I know for a bonefide fact I descended from an Irishman, I have noticed my appreciation for reading about the Irish who came to America has increased tenfold. A bit due to the fact there is such a breadth of unknown factors and stories that are simply out in the void of the past; inches away from knowing anything further about this side of my family and perhaps even, the route they took to arrive not only in America but as settlers on land they chose to farm.

I was captured by this one particular family’s plight to forge their own future in a country so far removed from their own, and encouraged by their determined spirit to make it irregardless of what would come across their path! Therefore, I was quite happy that I could take a moment to Interview the author who is going to pen a series around the McClusky’s and giving us a bit of a taste of who they are inside Tower of Tears!

Book Synopsis:

Read an Excerpt of the Novel:

Chapter 1: The Voyage

Betrayal. Despair. Murder. Mystery. Romance. Blackmail. “If God be good, Mr. Landon will burn in the eternal flames of hell. If God be bad, he will suffer much worse.” In 1820, a young woman and her son leave Ireland for a better life in America. She soon suffers heartache and tragedy, while residing with family whom she has never met.

Unbeknownst to her, the family had already set her up with employment in a factory–a factory run by a lecherous man. This is the first book in a series that will follow the McClusky family while they become Americanized while face with the Potato Famine, the US Civil War, and the Industrial Revolution.

Author Biography:

Your novel “Tower of Tears” encompasses such a startling moment inside one immigrant family’s life towards a new beginning in a new country. Did you base the premise of the story which is the first of a new series on research or a connection through your own ancestral past?

D’Ettore responds: I did use my ancestral past. Almost all of the characters are named after real people, and I thought it important that their spirits are remembered. In 1820, a woman named Jane Lindsay came to Philadelphia from Ireland and was my first immigrant ancester to arrive. The character of Eva is a combination of my own mother and her aunt, Eva. Both are strong and independent women as portrayed in the book. As far as the story—that is completely fiction. Other than having lots of children and the family being devoutly Catholic, there is no similarity.

Did you find it difficult to decide which portions of our own living history to coincide with the history of the McClusky family inside the series as a whole? Or did everything simply call into place right as it should when you wrote the series?

D’Ettore responds: I don’t outline and plan the stories. For this story, I sat at the computer and tried to imagine a terrified woman leaving her home and what the conditions must have been like for her. Then I thought, “How can I screw this woman’s life up?” I did do a lot of research as to current events of the day and even the speech patterns. When I needed to find Jane a job, I researched the businesses in Philadelphia for that time period. Sparks Shot Tower is a real place that still stands. It really did make the shot pellets and have a contact to make the bullets for the War of 1812. Eva resembles my real life mother who constantly watches the news and tells me what is going on in the world. To make her character pop, I researched the newspaper headlines of the early 1820s. As for the entire series, the potato famine, the building of the railroads and the US Civil War will all be great backdrops for the future books.

What do you feel is the hardest part about writing convicting historical fiction whose heart of story is rooted in a remembered part of our combined past?

D’Ettore responds: Historical Fiction needs to have accurate descriptions and events to be convincing. An author loses credibility if he/she write about an atomic bomb going off in 1620 Virginia. His/Her entire target audience would immediately lose interest. For that reason, I think the research and details are the hardest part of writing historical fiction. In almost any other genre, the author can create anything he/she wants and no one can claim they are wrong. But with historical fiction, if the author says something was invented in 1840, it better have been invented in 1840. The readers are smart and they demand their authors to respect the past.

What prompted you to choose the specific events that are highlighted in the series? Were they of personal interest or did they come to fit the story in a way that benefited the inclusion?

D’Ettore responds: I tried to grip the reader by either putting humorous family banter, some sort of shocking or exciting scene or details of conditions and events into each chapter. There are certain issues that everyone can relate to: disease, love, death, betrayal, family, etc. No matter what time period is discussed, these topics are relevent. I simply tried to choose events that fell into those topics during that particular time period.

What has led you to soak into the historical fiction genre to such a passionate level and know that it is a niche you want to explore further!?

D’Ettore responds: I have always been a lover of history & politics. The past fascinates me because one tiny moment can define a person or nation. So many people have gone before us, and we often make assumptions about their lives. But can we truly know what it was like to sit on a chamber pot on a rocking ship with over 100 people who haven’t bathed in weeks while holding your three year old son’s hand and not having toilet paper? NO! And most people have never thought about it either. My writing is a dedication to those who went before us and suffered. It is a great big “thank you” to all of the people who paved the way for a woman such as myself to publish opinions and ideas that would have been chastised in the past. It is also a symbol of the accomplishments those of the past made to conquer their obstacles we no longer have to endure. So heck yeah, I’m passionate about it!

Your story “Tower of Tears” has such a layered intensity within its pages, simply from the catch words of the synopsis, how did you decide to craft a novel that does not fit entirely into one genre but rather encompasses several as the the story is told? Do you find that stories alight in your mind with a genre in mind or is the genre second to the telling of the story?

D’Ettore responds: This probably goes back to the “write what you know” rule. I know large families headed by strong women, because my mother raised five kids on her own after my father died. I also know history and love true crime stories. If you put all those things together, you get a family saga crime drama with a historical backdrop. I knew one of the characters of Tower of Tears was going to be murdered, but I had not decided who the killer was. The easiest way for me to continue writing was to make all the characters appear guilty and decide later. Before it was finished, my beta reader said, “I know who the killer is!” So I took the name she gave me and made sure that person was not the killer! Next thing I knew, readers were calling it a murder mystery. I think I will let the readers decide what my stories are, and just keep writing what I know.

Outside of the 19th Century, is there a moment in the folds of the historical past you might be curious to explore?

D’Ettore responds:

Nazi Germany:
My next book, Newborn Nazi, was supposed to be about a boy being forced into a Hitler Youth training facility which prompted his sister to help save Jewish lives. As I continued to write it, it took on the dimensions of a spy novel with the backdrop of Nazi Germany. I intend on having New Nazi available for sale within the next month. But again, the same wit and scarcastic humor as well as strong family ties are weaved throughout this book.

1950s South Philadelphia:
I also have a work in progress entitled Mob Kids: Growing up in South Philly. It takes place in the 1950s and depict what children of mobsters went through when dealing with arrests, fathers in jail and being subjected to violence they thought was normal.

Do you travel to destinations that are reminiscent of locales or scenes that are inside your novel(s)? Or is most of your research condensed to what you can draw out of materials outside of travelling? I think it works both ways personally, as not everyone can travel to each country or city where their novel is set.

D’Ettore responds: I have used both. My first book, Goin’ Postal & The Creek, as well as Tower of Tears were set in the Philadelphia/New Jersey areas where I live. Drawing upon local history is easy to do having lived here my whole life. However, my upcoming novel, Newborn Nazi, takes place almost entirely in Germany. Again, I drew on my family history to write this book because I have never visited Germany myself. The interesting thing about Newborn Nazi is that although fictionalized, the main characters were real. Edmund was forced into a Hitler Youth camp and eventually became an officer in the SS. His sister was indeed horrified by the Nazis and began housing Jews and even American soldiers. The brother was put in a difficult position of family vs country loyalty conflict. It makes for a great book! The ending scene of the book has become part of my family legend. The point: They were real, and I did not have to be there or travel to their homes to appreciate them. There is a story behind every life and some stories should be told. Sometimes even those you were taught to hate were the “good guys”.

Where does the second and third book in the series start as far as era and generations? Did you continue to have well-known events highlighted behind the storyline as the series moves forward?

D’Ettore responds: Books 2 & 3 are still works in progress. Book 2 is entitled “Liam’s Longing” and will pick up about ten years after Tower of Tears. The same characters will be utilized, as well as some family members who flee Ireland due to the Potato Famine. Tragedy will strike in the family once again, and one of the characters will blame himself for turning his back on the Catholic Church. Also, many of the Irish worked to build the railroads and a real-life murder mystery took place in the Pennsylvania area that I intend to draw upon. The best thing about historical writing is that there is always something in real life that can be included for credibility. One of the biggest criticism I received about Tower of Tears was not developing the children’s characters enough. However, that is something I intended to do in the later books. Children are a little difficult to develop for me. They do not commit murder or worry about bills. All you can do is make them sick or kill them. I have no intention of abusing children in my novels, so I will wait until they reach 18, then make them miserable.

What was the impetus which gravitated you into writing? And, when did this occur? Who was your best cheerleader?

D’Ettore responds: Two years ago, an online friend of mine sent me his crime thriller manuscript and I loved it. Then I realized he was only 20 years old. If he could write a novel, so could I. He became my inspiration, but my brother, Alan, became my driving force. As I stated on the Tower of Tears‘ acknowledgment page he would often tell me, “That author sucks, you can write better than that!” But even he was shocked by some of the scenes in my first novella.

What are your favourite tools to use whilst writing? And, where do you write to gain the most inspiration?

D’Ettore responds: WritersDreamTools.com is a Godsend for Historical Fiction writers. It lists events, people and slang from every decade over the past 400 years. I use that constantly. I usually write on my laptop laying in bed, or at time at work on my lunch break. The USPS can be very inspirational! (see my other book as to why)

Outside the realm of writing and reserach, what enriches your spirit the most? Where do you find your serenity?

D’Ettore responds: I’m not married and I don’t have any kids, so my home is fairly peaceful and serene! Just joking. I have made it a point to travel and do all of the exciting things in my life I wanted to. I have done everything from bungee jumping to playing with a tiger. Now I have written several books/ebooks/audiobooks. I feel at peace with my life for those reasons. I also make it a point to volunteer or donate to worthy organizations, such as Toys for Tots or the National Military Family Assoc.–$1 of each book sale will be donated to the defenders of our freedom, although they deserve so much more.

Author Connections:

Site | @rhodadettore | Facebook

Converse via: #TowerofTearsBlogTour

I would like to thank Ms. D’Ettore for giving me such a wonderful response to my Questions, not only on behalf of the first McClusky novel in the new series, but for giving me a good impression on who she is as a writer and about her process to create the stories she brings to life on the page! I appreciated seeing her passion for creating the worlds her character’s live inside, but also, that part of her character lives actually stem and fuse together with her own ancestral roots and family lore from stories which are passed down through generations! I was encouraged hearing this as I oft wondered if other families had living histories shared through stories person to person as their generations continue to grow and prosper! It is one of the many reasons I always enjoyed having such a uniquely diverse ancestral past which stems into different countries of origin!

I am going to be posting my book review for “Tower of Tears” on Friday, in lieu of Thursday, as I still find myself recovering from the three/four day migraine that off-set my entire blog schedule this week! I am thankful to the author for giving all of us a special treat in understanding her inspiration and hopefully inspiring my readers to pick up her novels! I am quite eager to see where my readings lead me in Tower of Tears, as much as I wanted to say that I do find some writers prefer to write older children and/or college-aged adults as it is simply where their pen takes them with greater ease. I am always curious how each writer I ask about ‘serenity’ will answer the prompt – wherein I am only truly curious how they spend their time outside of writing & research. For me, we all need a bit of peace and quiet in our lives, a bit of downtime, and the hours to alight in our everyday life where we can sit back and just ‘breathe’ rather than always be rushed to meet a deadline or finish a project. I love simple joys in life and that is in part what inspired me to ask that question. I was thankful to learn she gives back to our military and their families as they are always in need of kindness and charity as a way to give back a bit of the gratitude we all feel on behalf of their dedicated service.

Blog Book Tour Stop,

courtesy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Virtual Road Map of “Tower of Tears” Blog Tour found here:

See what I’m hosting next for:

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.

{SOURCES: Book Cover for “Tower of Tears”, Author Photograph of Rhoda D’Ettore, & Author Biography were provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and used with 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. Jorie asked to host the author ahead of reading the novel as she is most keen on Jane Austen & the sequel authors who give us such a wonderful joy to read their literary muse after being inspired by Austen herself; she was most happy to receive his replies from the Interview through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours via the author himself.}

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Go Indie

Posted Thursday, 11 September, 2014 by jorielov in 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Feminine Heroism, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Mystery, Immigrant Stories, Reader Submitted Author Interview, Self-Published Author

+Author Interview+ A conversation about Jane Austen and his vision for “A Jane Austen Daydream” by Scott D. Southard

Posted Wednesday, 10 September, 2014 by jorielov A Jane Austen Daydream, Madison Street Publishing, Scott D. Southard 3 Comments

I first learnt about the book blogosphere event *Austen in August* last year when I was a 1st Year Book Blogger, an event that I was truly over the moon in happiness to have discovered as I have been a Janeite ever since I first came across the collective works of Jane Austen. I would go so far as to say I was a bonefide Janeite even prior to having read her works! I have attempted to read a portion of her novels and the after canons which have followed centuries later each August in 2013 and 2014. Life has a funny way of interfering with your plans, as twice now I have had to put aside my goals for my readings and simply ride out the wave life was bringing into my life instead!

Aside from this small blunder of not being able to fuse my passion for Austen during one particular month of the year, I have started to collect her works in various editions – the most recent of course were gifted to me by my Mum & Da in celebration of my 1st Blog Birthday on the 6th of August, 2014! What an unexpected joy for me to not only realise I was being thrown a ‘surprise!’ blog birthday party but I was being given two novels by Jane Austen I do not know as much about: Mansfield Park & Northanger Abbey! I have slated to read both of these in November, as I personally would like to read Jane Austen this year even if I am outside the scope of a celebration of Austen! I already had planned to read Persuasion for the first time, and it’s quite fitting to add two more to the mirth of joy!

Today, the joy for me in hosting Mr. Southard is getting the chance to celebrate the continuing legacy Jane Austen provides to all of us. My absolute favourite thus far in my readings is Pride and Prejudice due to the nature of the Bennett family and the connection between Lizzie and Darcy. Mr. Southard has written such a wonderful new novel that takes us into the heart of Jane Austen herself and gives us a magical entreaty into her life, world, and a plausible thread of narrative which could have been lived if circumstances had gone differently within her own life. I love the beauty of the scope and the heart of the depth within this novel, and it was an honour to interview the author! Regrettably, I was not able to review the novel as a print edition was not available during the tour.

Book Synopsis:

Read an Excerpt of the Novel:

Chapter IV from Volume II

All her heroines find love in the end— but is there love waiting for Jane?

Jane Austen spends her days writing and matchmaking in the small countryside village of Steventon, until a ball at Godmersham Park propels her into a new world where she yearns for a romance of her own. But whether her heart will settle on a young lawyer, a clever Reverend, a wealthy childhood friend, or a mysterious stranger is anyone’s guess.

Written in the style of Jane herself, this novel ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years—did she ever find love? Weaving fact with fiction, it re-imagines her life, using her own stories to fill in the gaps left by history and showing that all of us—to a greater or lesser degree—are head over heels for Jane.

NOTE: An audiobook version is in the works by the publisher!

Author Biography:

Scott D. Southard, the author of A Jane Austen Daydream, swears he is not obsessed with Jane Austen. He is also the author of the novels: My Problem with Doors, Megan, Permanent Spring Showers, Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, and 3 Days in Rome. With his eclectic writing he has found his way into radio, being the creator of the radio comedy series The Dante Experience. The production was honored with the Golden Headset Award for Best MultiCast Audio and the Silver Ogle Award for Best Fantasy Audio Production. Scott received his Master’s in writing from the University of Southern California. Scott can be found on the internet via his writing blog “The Musings & Artful Blunders of Scott D. Southard” (sdsouthard.com) where he writes on far-ranging topics like writing, art, books, TV, writing, parenting, life, movies, and writing. He even shares original fiction on the site. Currently, Scott resides in Michigan with his very understanding wife, his two patient children, and a very opinionated dog named Bronte.

As you were previously asked in an interview, which novels of Jane Austen inspired your own novel “A Jane Austen Daydream” I was curious how you quickly mentioned that each volume of the text stirred your thoughts towards three separate novels of Austen. What do you think is etched inside “Emma”, Pride & Prejudice”, and “Persuasion” to have captured your heart and attention over her others?

Southard responds: Interesting question and a very technical one. Well, in writing Daydream all of Jane’s writing had an impact, from her letters to her unfinished novels. And excerpts from each (or influences or indirect quotes) snuck their way in at some point or another. But when I was mapping out my final outline for the work, I really began to see my three volumes each encompassing one aspect of Jane’s growth.

The three books you mentioned were the greatest influences on the different volumes. That is not to say the plots or surprises are the same, but there are more “nods” there for the experienced Austen reader. I wanted Jane to seem over confident and sure of herself in the way of love (to the point of being foolish) and that just screamed Emma for me. For the second volume, I needed to have a Jane that is a little older and wiser, but still fascinated by love; and that meant Pride and Prejudice. Finally, for the third volume, Jane had to be… well… I don’t like to say broken, but hurt by love, a little more reflective. And that could only be Persuasion.

I have to ask, were the Bronte sisters the inspiration behind naming your family dog? And, if so, do you think you might spin a tale that pays homage to them like you have with Jane Austen?

Southard responds: Bronte the dog! That is great! Yes, the name is from the sisters, but my wife picked it out. I didn’t even know we were getting a dog until I came home one day to find that she bought a dog bowl and collar. My wife actually did her thesis on the Brontes, creating a dance inspired by the themes in their books (she got her MFA in dance from the University of Michigan).

I don’t think I would do something like that about the Brontes, but they are in my mind. When I wrote my novel My Problem With Doors, I actually cut out a scene that was to include the Brontes. My character Jacob was going to seduce all three of them. Kind of a scandalous idea now thinking back on it.

I thought it was keenly interesting that a Professor inspired your reading of “Pride & Prejudice” whereas I simply felt attracted to the story’s premise, as I share your ‘first’ of Austen but I was curious, have you equally been keen to start to watch the motion picture adaptations based on Pride? If so, which stood out to you for either the choice in actor or in delivery of the story?

Southard responds: I was lucky enough to discover Jane first through her books. To be honest, I find a lot of adaptations of her work to be quite hit or miss. I think the mini-series of Pride and Prejudice done in the 90’s (with Colin Firth) to be the gold standard for Austen adaptations. Honestly, I turned off the film version of Pride about 20 minutes in. The film version of Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow I think is wonderful as well. I think that screenplay really captured the energy of the book.

I saw a connective thread in your previous interviews, of your passion for classical literature, as I am a new member of The Classics Club (a world-wide group of devoted readers to the Classics), do you oft find others to share in your joy of reading classical literature? And, have you noticed a renewed passion for reading classical literature now as compared to when you were in college?

Southard responds: One of the things I do on the side, which I really love, is the book reviews for my local NPR station. I appear on WKAR’s radio show Current State every other week or so (you can hear my past book reviews via links on my site- sdsouthard.com). The producers have really been great about letting me play with the selections for the reviews, which means I have done some classics. For example, I’ve reviewed Dickens, Austen, and this September for Banned Books Week I will be reviewing Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. So in a way through those reviews I am sharing my love of classics.

In regards to your second question, I can’t remember a time I really wasn’t interested in books. So there is no passion to renew. It’s just part of my hardwire, I guess.

What did you find to be the hardest part of harnessing your vision for the story inside “A Jane Austen Daydream”? What did you learn through the process of writing the story as a whole?

Southard responds: The hardest thing was finding the courage to do the book. Let’s be honest, it takes a lot of arrogance (for lack of a better word) to say “I’m going to write a novel starring one of the most important people in literature… and look what I am going to do now with her!” I’m still floored I did it.

In many ways, it was my Mount Everest and I sat on the idea of the book for many, many years. There were five books written between the time I got the idea for Daydream and my completing it! I think after climbing that “mountain” I am more confident in my ability. I’m not scared by big ideas like I used to be. So I learned to trust myself. Now it’s just a matter of finding the time.

I love your approach to writing as to create convicting story-lines outside the box of ‘genre-specific’ literature, whilst writing an organic vein of thought that curates your own style out of your imagination. I, personally, appreciate this as I’m a genre-bender writer at heart too, but even moreso than that, I like seeing how a story can illuminate different perspectives yet remain true to its core. Out of all the combinations you’ve written thus far, which stories are motivating you to explore next or to re-approach in a new way once again?

Southard responds: For me, I always love to be swept away by a story and surprised. I like to think I did that with the twists in Daydream. My hope is that if people pick up one of my books they won’t know what to expect and that is kind of exciting. So every work of mine is very different from the others, and hopefully different from others in a genre.

Honestly, I can only think of one time when I went into a book with “genre” on my mind and that was my novel Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare. In the beginning it has all of traits of a classic gothic mystery (foggy London streets, etc.)… but then things change.

I have a new book being published by 5 Prince Books sometime later this year called Permanent Spring Showers. It is a contemporary tale. I’m really proud of it and I look forward to hearing what people think of it. It is probably the biggest cast I have played with in a novel. I don’t think I can easily point to any influences on the work (maybe Woody Allen?). I will say that I like to think of it as an anti-romance, since everything that shouldn’t be romantic strangely is.

Whilst you were mentioning your favourite writers, you predominately named classic authors in your repertoire of beloved novelists; do you have any contemporaries that lit the same spark for you?

Southard responds: One of the perks of doing the book reviews for WKAR is I get to read a lot of books and many times before they are released. There has been quite a lot I have been impressed by. I loved The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I also enjoyed The Circle by Dave Eggers. I’m floored by the imagination of Neil Gaiman and Christopher Moore can always make me laugh.

When I read about the kind of readership you were hoping to find your novel, I remembered my viewing of “Lost in Austen”, and thought perhaps there is a new era of taking our love of certain author’s collective works by placing our own spin on them. Do you take stock of expressions of story craft like “Lost in Austen” or do you not see the same similarities?

Southard responds: Honestly, I didn’t see Lost in Austen. I’ve heard about it of course, just haven’t gotten around to it. Too busy watching Doctor Who probably. (Now why isn’t there an episode when the Doctor meets Jane? She would be a great companion.)

It’s difficult to talk about the twist in the book without ruining the surprise (which I think is what we are referring to), but I will say that the idea came to me back when I was in college (around 1995, like I said I had the idea for a long time) and that was more around trying to figure out who would be a good match for Jane. It began as a joke and strangely it stuck because it was such a unique idea.

I think Kurt Vonnegut’s work could be considered an influence for the idea as well.

Posted Wednesday, 10 September, 2014 by jorielov in After the Canon, Audiobook, Austen in August, Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Discussions, British Literature, Classical Literature, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Inspired By Author OR Book, Jane Austen Sequel, Reader Submitted Author Interview, Regency Era, Romance Fiction, Women's Fiction

Category: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

I do highly recommend that readers might consider reading Illuminations before they read Bitter Greens, as there are instances of overlap between situations found within both stories; for me personally, some of those instances were better understood because I had read Illuminations last year.

The Virtual Road Map for “Bitter Greens” can be found here:

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

I will be hosting an Author Interview with Kate Foryth on this blog tour as well.

on my Bookish Events page!

This blog tour is also highlighting the:

Read an Excerpt of the Novel:

Blog Book Tour Stop,

courtesy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Virtual Road Map of “Tower of Tears” Blog Tour found here:

Read an Excerpt of the Novel:

Blog Book Tour Stop,

courtesy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Virtual Road Map of “Tower of Tears” Blog Tour found here:

Read an Excerpt of the Novel:

I will be hosting an Author Interview
with Kate Foryth on this blog tour as well.