This afternoon, I am wicked happy to welcome to Jorie Loves A Story, an alum of my Romance genre chat #ChocLitSaturday – John Jackson! He is an avid reader of Romance & Historical Fiction – where his wanderings run close to my own – as we share a fond love and appreciation of ChocLit novels – his friendships with authors is quite extensive as he’s actively involved in the Rom organisations throughout the UK, whilst allowing him to meet-up in person with the romance & historical writers of today who are penning the stories which give us a heart-pulse of pause for their ability to transfuse the past (and/or the Contemporary) settings in such a way as to allow us to ‘breathe a life’ through the journeys their characters’ take through the stories themselves.
It is with extreme pleasure to now welcome a fellow reader and blogger into the fold of published status as an ‘author’. Mr Jackson’s wit and humour is infamous throughout the three years we’ve been chattering on Saturdays – he has a tenacious eye for quality in fiction throughout the Romance genre and for authentic portrayals of historic periods. If you want a go-to reference for where History entreats into a Historical novel, look no further than Mr Jackson for advice! His knowledge about ancestral research and nautical history is further impressive as he brings a lot to the table to discuss a wide variety of stories and settings.
As soon as I knew he was going to publish his debut novel this year, I knew I wanted to feature him on my blog – I’ve watched his journey from budding novelist to making the bridge from a moonlighting writer into the blogosphere and online communities as a reader/blogger to published author. The following conversation is meant to introduce my readers to the series he is creating through this first installment of “Heart of Stone” whilst giving you a few inside glimpses behind how he creates his literary world.
Dublin, 1730
When young and beautiful Mary Molesworth is forced to marry Robert Rochford, widowed heir to the earldom of Belfield, she finds that her idea of love is not returned. Jealous, cruel and manipulative, Robert ignores her after she has provided him with a male heir, preferring to spend his nights with his mistress. Power-hungry, Robert builds up a reputation that sees him reach for the highest positions in Ireland.
Caught in an unhappy marriage, Mary begins to grow closer to Robert’s younger brother, Arthur. Acknowledging their love for each other, they will risk everything to be together. But Robert’s revenge threatens their lives and tears them apart.
Will Mary and Arthur find a way to escape Robert’s clutches?
Based on real events, Heart of Stone is a tale of power, jealousy, imprisonment, and love, set in 1740s Ireland.
Be sure to brew yourself a lovely cuppa and settle in for a lovely convo between Mr Jackson and myself! Afterwards, kindly remember to leave your notes, comments & questions for Mr Jackson in the comment threads as he will be responding as he’s able to leave you a reply. And, hopefully this will be a Historical Drama you’ll earmark to read whilst finding out why I love these kinds of releases!
As you’ve turned being an Ancestry Sleuth into a golden chance to tell an unknown story out of your family’s own lineage, what surprised you the most about how the story started to knit together? Especially, as it seems as if the pieces of the story’s heart were primed to be told through a novelist’s perspective?
Mr Jackson responds: I first became aware of the story behind Heart of Stone some ten years ago, in an old book I found on-line about celebrated Irish women. It sounded like a story worth pursuing, and gradually the whole tale came together. I thought “Wow! This is a story worth telling. At the time, though I didn’t have the desire or skills to try to tell it.
Then I realised that the story – as it was – couldn’t be told directly. I WANTED to tell it, possibly for the sake of the protagonist’s ghosts, but I knew I would have to write what I think of as “the story of what SHOULD have happened.” Read More
