historical romance

New Release: The Passenger by Joie Lesin

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Joi Lesin’s debut novel The Passenger came out last month, and I am excited to introduce her and her Paranormal Historical Romance to you.

Let’s start with what is The Passenger about?

Elizabeth Reilly is twice haunted. She not only keeps the memories of her late husband, a casualty of World War II, close to her heart but she also inherited the ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead from her mother. 

When she aids a dying man, Paolo Clemente, in his last moments of life, she launches on a journey that will forever change her life and the life of the family Paolo left behind. After befriending Paolo’s ghost, Elizabeth travels to California to help him find peace. There she meets his son, Giovanni, who has recently returned from the war in Europe. Gio, as he is known by those closest to him, is only just settling back into his post-war life. When Elizabeth arrives, bringing news of the father he never truly knew, Gio is suspicious of both Elizabeth and her story.

The Passenger is a historical paranormal romance that explores the themes of love, grief and discovering who we truly are. These things are set against the backdrop of paranormal historical and picturesque settings that transports the reader to another time and place. Add to that, the characters are forced navigate the challenges of long hidden family secrets, matters of the heart, and the supernatural.

For me, the setting is as much of a character as the people who populate the story. The Passenger takes place in Cana, a fictional town nestled somewhere in California’s wine country. It’s a town where there’s so much more than meets the eye. 

To visit Cana, you must travel over winding roads bordered on both sides by green, rolling foothills and tall, sun filtering conifers surrounded by native plants. Along the way, the ancient trees part to reveal estates of all sizes. Here, a vineyard displays rows of grapes ripe for the picking. There, a ranch complete with cattle grazing the hillside. This is where you’ll find the vineyard Paolo Clemente bought after immigrating from Foggia, Italy to America. 

History and the paranormal are my two favorite genres. What inspired this story?

The inspiration for Elizabeth, Paolo, and Gio’s story came to me when I was 16 years old. I was on the city bus on the way home from school playing the “What If” game, making up stories for random passengers. 

On this particular day, I noticed a man sitting at the back of the bus who seemed a bit down on his luck. I wondered, what if he were alone in the world? What would happen if this man collapsed there on the bus? Would he die right there on that bus alone? What if I, or someone else, comforted him in his dying moments?

The tale blossomed from there until I finally sat down to write it 16 years later.

That’s amazing that such a seemingly small moment stuck with you for so long. How does that affect your writing schedule?

As a writer, I find I am a combination of a pantser and plotter—I puzzle together rather than plot my stories. For me this means I spend a significant amount of time thinking about the story. I tend to work out the story in my head like a problem that needs to be solved. This also means that part of my writing routine may look like I am just staring into the sky, but I am working hard—honestly.

All of my stories start with a single scene. Most of the time when that scene first comes to me, I don’t yet know the characters, but I see a moment in time. From there I treat it like a puzzle. I discover who the characters are by writing the opening and closing scenes. From there, I write to discover what has to happen to lead them from that opening to the single scene that birthed the story for me—and how to progress forward from that pivotal moment to the closing scene. Any plotting I do happens a scene or two at a time. It may not sound like it but it’s both organic and methodical for me.

I am, and have always been, a night owl. So, when I’ve gathered enough of the story elements together in my head, I sit down to write, usually, at night. Why? Because my creativity is most alive under the moonlight.

Welcome to the night writer’s club! When you aren’t writing, who are you?

Outside of writing, I am many things—a wife, mother, stepmother, daughter, sister, and friend. Until three years ago, I was also a Business Analyst, but now have the opportunity to focus on my writing full-time. 

For grounding myself, I simply love to lose myself in books and always have—both reading and writing them.

For fun, I take pictures and share them on social media. I’m always on the lookout for a view that’s new to me. I’m also a novice ukelele player. By this I mean, I’ve been learning how to play for the last four years. My husband did restring my ukelele for lefthanded playing, so I think I should get the hang of it one day soon—maybe. Which leads me to say, aside from books, one of my biggest interests is music. I have an eclectic taste, but my favorite to listen to by far is indie rock—80s and current.

I think anyone who can play a musical instrument is awesome. What’s next in your writing career?

 I am currently working on two projects at once. 

The first is a story that takes up where The Passenger left off. Like its predecessor, Watch Over Me is a ghost story and answers some questions left open at the end of The Passenger. This paranormal romance takes place in 1968 and tells the continuing story of Elizabeth’s daughter, Bella. What was the inspiration? A scene of Bella running through the vineyard with someone—or something—in pursuit while the earth trembles.

I’m also working on a mermaid novel that explores the relationships between sisters, mothers, and daughters. I’m very excited about this story and cannot wait to share more about it. 

First though, my ghosts are calling and want their stories told.

Minnesota-based author, Joie Lesin is a life-long fiction writer and the author of The Passenger. She has long been fascinated by anything otherworldly including ghosts. She loves to write a good ghost story—especially when it includes a touch of romance.

Originally from Massachusetts, at six years old, Joie moved to her mother’s birthplace, Minnesota. By eight, Joie lost her New England accent, however, it’s gradually returning as the years go by. She grew up in Minneapolis but now resides in St. Paul with her husband and their blended family—which includes a rambunctious grand-corgi.

Joie misses the ocean, but she often finds herself walking by one of Minnesota’s many lakes and travels to one of the coasts as often as she can. In fact, she considers California her home away from home. When she’s not writing, reading, or walking, you can find her listening to music. She absolutely loves music—especially live—and songs have sparked most of her story ideas.

Follow her at her website: https://www.jlesin.com/

She’s a 1940s ghost whisperer. He’s the son of a ghost.

Burdened with her empathic gift, Elizabeth Reilly wants to be free of it and fit in with normal people. Nevertheless, when the spirit of an old man asks for her help, she travels across the country to help him return home. Gio Clemente is still angry with his father who abandoned him as a child. To help the father pass on, Elizabeth must persuade Gio to let go of his anger. Though he resents her intrusion, they are both stunned to find themselves fighting a profound attraction. Elizabeth can accept his headstrong brand of love, but can Gio accept her gift—and believe in her?

The Passenger, a 1940s ghost story set in the California wine country, tells a tale of family connections, life-changing choices, and love—lost and found.

The Passenger is available now: https://www.jlesin.com/thepassenger

An Oldie, but a Goodie: From Here to Fourteenth Street by Diana Rubino

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

From Here to Fourteenth Street was re-released in 2015 with The Wild Rose Press, after I revised it and gave it a new title. It was originally titled I love You Because with my first publisher. It’s the first in a trilogy, The New York Saga, featuring 3 generations of the McGlory family. Tom McGlory, an Irish New York cop, and Vita Caputo, an Italian immigrant from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, meet and fall in love despite the overwhelming odds against them in 1894. They overcome economic hardship, prejudice, hatred, and corruption in this tumultuous world.

Book Two, Bootleg Broadway, is set during the Prohibition era and features Tom and Vita’s son Billy, a scatterbrained musical genius. My objective was to get him into one mess after another, and had no trouble doing that, once I got to know Billy.

In Book Three, The End of Camelot, Billy’s daughter Vikki is the heroine. Set around the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963, Vikki realizes her husband Jack was embroiled in the plot to kill the president, but his mission was to prevent it. Jack was found dead in the bathtub of his hotel in Dallas, the same day of the assassination. When the Dallas police rule his death accidental, Vikki vows to find out who was behind the murders of JFK and her husband. With the help of her father and godfather, she sets out to uncover the truth.

My inspiration for From Here to Fourteenth Street was my great-grandmother; businesswoman, politician, small-time bootlegger, wife and mother. She was way ahead of her time. I modeled Vita after her, and since 19th Century New York City history always fascinated me, it came naturally to weave her story through that world, brining sights, sounds and smells of the streets and tenements to life.

I am a strict plotter – I work out a detailed outline, and for the last few decades, I’ve been using the Donald Maass workbook Writing Your Breakout Novel. It contains questions to ask your characters and explains how to outline your story. I find it invaluable for structuring my stories.

For this and most of my historicals, I usually spend about a year researching and writing. I write 2,500 words every day, and don’t quit until I’ve reached that goal.

Diana writes about folks through history who shook things up. Her passion for history and travel has taken her to every locale of her books: Medieval and Renaissance England, Egypt, the Mediterranean, colonial Virginia, New England, and New York. Her urban fantasy romance Fakin’ It won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times. She is a member of the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association. With her husband Chris, she owns CostPro, Inc., a construction cost consulting business. In her spare time, Diana bicycles, golfs, practices yoga, lifts weights, plays her piano, devours books, and lives the dream on Cape Cod.

Connect with Diana at www.dianarubino.com

It’s 1894 on New York’s Lower East Side. Irish cop Tom McGlory and Italian immigrant Vita Caputo fall in love despite their different upbringings. Vita goes from sweatshop laborer to respected bank clerk to reformer, helping elect a mayor to beat the Tammany machine. While Tom works undercover to help Ted Roosevelt purge police corruption, Vita’s father arranges a marriage between her and a man she despises. The story has a paranormal twist – Vita and Tom work together against time and prejudice to clear her brother and father of a murder they didn’t commit, as Vita’s friend Jadwiga, a medium, helps them find the killer with some help from the otherworld – and some creative thinking.

New Release: Dark Highlander by Virginie Marconato

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

I think I became a writer the day I decided to write a (very bad, shamefully close to the real story) version of White Fang when aged nine or ten! As for the Middle Ages I fell in love with it at school during a history lesson, then Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood put its final seal on it all. A girl of twelve then, I never recovered!

Hi!

I’m Virginie, a historical romance writer specializing in 14th and 15th century England. Why? Because I live and breathe anything Middle Ages, have done since I fell in love with that time in history during a lesson at school. It was as if I’d been there, watching my dashing knight ride off into the distance (now I think of it, shouldn’t I have pictured him riding towards me??)

My husband and two children know all about my passion for castles in all states of ruin and even have stopped rolling their eyes when I suggest visiting yet another one. I didn’t choose my husband because he’s Welsh but what a marvellous coincidence that he happened to be born in a place where we can’t move for castles, courtesy of Edward I’s conquest of Wales in the 13th century! The only downfall is, every time I see a new one, I come back home with a new idea for a story and then remember I already have 15 on the go… When they find out I write books everyone tells me: “Ooh, I don’t know how you can come up with all these stories!” Well, for me the writing is the fun, easy part. I could write all day every day and never run out of ideas.

I have published 8 books now, and have many more projects queuing up in a more or less orderly fashion. Fortunately my job as a part-time English teacher gives me some time to see to them.

My latest release, Dark Highlander, is my first Scottish romance and Cormac, my first Highlander hero. I enjoyed creating him so much that I can already say he won’t be my last! I’m toying with the idea of giving Cormac’s brothers their own stories, I love them all so much. In fact it’s always a sad moment when I finish a book and know I will never be with these people again. They have become part of my life, it’s like saying good bye to a friend moving to a different country when you’ve been living in close quarters for months. That’s why I like rereading my own books after a few months or years have passed; it’s like revisiting the good old times. I remember where I wrote a particular scene, or laugh when I recall how long I spent rewriting another bit.

There are common themes to my writing. Foods and smells always feature heavily. I also love books where the hero and heroine come from different countries. I suppose that, being a French woman married to a Welshman, I know first hand that it adds an extra dimension to the relationship. Different languages, different cultures… It’s a godsend for a romance writer.

This particular book just wanted to born, it kept playing in my mind, the story developed on its own and all I had to do was put the words down. It’s difficult to explain but it was a very pleasurable experience. As a consequence, it was written twice as fast as my other books, even if it is longer. I am not one for plotting in advance, I prefer to see where the story goes and see what has possibilities and the premise for Dark Highlander was full of them.

Cormac has been tricked into marriage. Pregnant Hazel has been duped into accepting his hand. Together they will flee to escape this union they do not desire – only to fall in love with each other.

I hope you have as much fun reading Dark Highlander as I had writing it!

Follow Virginie at her website: https://virginiemarconato.com/

Lady Hazel Fletcher’s father, fiercely opposed to Scottish independence, means to use her as a weapon in his scheme to instigate trouble between England and Scotland. She is pregnant by her lover, a neighboring nobleman, but her father blames a Scotsman he has deliberately framed.
Cormac MacLeod, realizing the trick when he’s accused of fathering the child of a woman he’s never met, refuses to marry her and is thrown into the dungeon.
Allied against her father’s treachery, Hazel and the fierce Scot plan to escape together, then go their separate ways. But once free, they find Hazel’s lover cannot protect her, and reality hits—they have no choice but to flee to the heart of the Highlands together…

An Oldie but a Goodie: A Shop Girl in Bath by Rachel Brimble

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Thanks so much for having me here today, Chelsey, and for the opportunity to tell your visitors a little bit about the first book in my Shop Girl series, A Shop Girl in Bath. The book was published five years ago today on July 1st 2018, and it is so wonderful to be celebrating all its past and (hopefully!) future sales 😊

The book is set in Bath’s finest Edwardian department store and opens in January 1910. It is a story of female empowerment, family drama and, of course, romance! The heroine is Elizabeth Pennington, the eager heiress of Pennington’s who is passionate, ambitious and desperate to wrench the reins of the store from her father who would much prefer to be passing Pennington’s onto a son rather than a daughter.

When he finally relents and hands over the running of Pennington’s to Elizabeth, she is determined to bring the store into the new decade and encourages the store’s shop girls to embrace their own aspirations and dreams. Not long after she takes over, our hero and master glove maker Joseph Carter enters the store in a bid to secure a contract for his collection of gloves. From there, Elizabeth and Joseph become a business dream team and romance blossoms along the way with plenty of drama and intrigue to keep the reader turning the pages! 

A Shop Girl in Bath was inspired by my love of the British period dramas Mr Selfridge and The Paradise. I adored these shows and if your visitors did too, I am sure they will enjoy this series. After the shows finished, I had a nagging compulsion to create a department store series of my own but focus almost entirely on the ambitions and personal lives of the women. The series goes on to encapsulate the growing opportunities for women as well as major Edwardian events such as the fight for the Vote and even a shop girl travelling aboard the fated Titanic for New York…

I am lucky enough to be able to write full-time and treat my writing as a job the same as any other, working from 8.30am – 5.30pm with a lunch break in between. I am naturally disciplined, but I think my commitment (I will often squeeze in a couple of hours or so on the weekends, too!) comes from my absolute love for writing. I am a plotter at heart and spend a lot of time getting to know my characters and writing a chapter plan before I begin the actual writing. Once I’ve started the first draft, I write from beginning to end without looking back. The hard work comes in the following drafts, but the first draft is my opportunity to have fun!

People have often asked me how I have managed to be so prolific over my career having written 29 books in sixteen years and it is very much due to my writing process. However, in January 2022, I embarked on a history degree so my writing time has definitely been drastically reduced! I have gone from writing two and half books a year to one and a half. On top of that, I am a firm believer in the joy of paying things forward whenever you can, so I also run a First Chapter Critique service for aspiring romance and women’s fiction writers. The writer sends me the first 3,500 words of their novel and I fully critique the pages as well as providing them with a 3-4 page report on characterization, dialogue, setting etc. specific to their story. If any of your visitors would like to know more, I invite them to visit my dedicated webpage at https://rachelbrimble.com/first-chapter-critique-service/ for all the details!

Rachel lives in a small town near Bath, England. She is the author of 29 novels including the Ladies of Carson Street trilogy, the Shop Girl series (Aria Fiction) and the Templeton Cove Stories (Harlequin). Her latest novel, Victoria & Violet was released 17th October 2022.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association as well as the Society of Authors and has thousands of social media followers all over the world.

To sign up for her newsletter (a guaranteed giveaway every month!), click here: https://bit.ly/3zyH7dt

Follow Rachel on her website: https://bit.ly/3wH7HQs

1910 – A compelling tale of female empowerment in Bath’s leading department store. Perfect for the fans of the TV series Mr Selfridge and The Paradise.

Elizabeth Pennington should be the rightful heir of Bath’s premier department store through her enterprising schemes and dogged hard work. Her father, Edward Pennington, believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire and is resolute a man will succeed him.

Determined to break from her father’s iron-clad hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting the store, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. United they forge forward to bring Pennington’s into a new decade, embracing woman’s equality and progression whilst trying not to mix business and pleasure.

Can this dream team thwart Edward Pennington’s plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth and Joseph?

A Shop Girl in Bath can be purchased here: https://geni.us/fl1Cxi

New Release: Outcast Artist in Bretagne by Diane Scott Lewis

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

My story is set in Brittany, France, in the small village of Saint Guénolé. It’s 1941, a year after the Germans have invaded France during WWII. A beautiful country backdrop marred by swastika flags, roaring motorcycles, and marching German soldiers. Norah, an Englishwoman, fled to France to hide the shame of her out of wedlock pregnancy the month before the invasion. Trapped, the baby stillborn, she lives with her cousins and draws birds, aching to return home.

August is the battle-worn German Commandant. He loathes Hitler’s policies. A widower, he starts to appreciate France and needs a change in his life. The lively Englishwoman catches his attention. Is she a spy? Or are his interests more visceral?

A TV mini-series, Island at War, inspired my story. The commandant was a complex, often-charming man.

I’m a terrible pantser, throwing ideas around, a vague idea of where to begin and where to end, until my characters show me where they need to go. Then I tighten it all up. The project could take a year and I try to write every morning, from 7 to 12. I fell in love with these characters and hate to say goodbye.

Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) grew up near San Francisco, joined the Navy at nineteen, married in Greece and raised two sons in Puerto Rico, California, and Guam. She’s a member of the Historical Novel Society and wrote book reviews for their magazine. She’s always loved travel and history and has had several historical novels published. Diane lives with her husband and one naughty dachshund in western Pennsylvania.

Follow Diane at https://dianescottlewisauthor.blogspot.com/

Unwed and pregnant, Norah Cooper flees England to hide with her cousin in Brittany just before Germany’s 1940 invasion of France. After her baby is stillborn, she’s trapped under the Occupation as war expands across Europe. Norah grieves and consoles herself by sketching wildlife. When she’s caught too near the coast, she comes under scrutiny of the German commandant, Major August von Gottlieb.

August loathes what Hitler is doing to his country and France but is duty-bound to control the people in his jurisdiction. The lively young Englishwoman piques his interest. Is she a spy? He questions her and asks her to sketch his portrait so he might uncover the truth.

Soon, their relationship evolves into a passion neither of them can deny. She endures taunts from the villagers. His superiors warn him of not being harsh enough—he could be transferred or worse. He plans to sabotage a major war machine of the Reich, while she secretly helps the Resistance. Both acts are fraught with danger while kept secret from one another. Will their love ruin her and end in heartbreak? Or will they overcome the odds and survive the surging threats on all sides?