Writerly Stuff: Blogging Today on Unusual Historicals Blog

Today's Unusual Historicals Blog contains a piece I wrote about Smuggling as a profession. It also contains a scene from my upcoming historical romance novel, "Fire at Midnight."

If you have time, and are so inclined, I'd appreciate it very much if you would read the short article and leave a comment on the blog.

Here is the link: http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2009/01/professions-smuggling.html

Also...big exciting news...my novel just been given a 4-star rating by RT Book Reviews in the March edition. I've been doing the "please, please a 3! Not a 2, but a 3!" mantra for a few months now because the RT magazine is an influential publication and a 3 is a highly respectable rating for a debut novel. When I learned yesterday that my book had received a 4 (their ratings range from 0 to 4 1/2), I was absolutely thrilled, humbled, grateful...you get the idea!


Lisa Marie

Book Review: Broken Wing by Judith James

Note: This is a re-post of a post originally published last year. I joined the re-read challenge issued by a group of bloggers and am posting my review of Judith James' Broken Wing.

I’ve always been a fan of the tortured hero. Not only from the perspective of a reader witnessing the redemption of the hero as he battles to triumph over his personal demons, but also as a writer interested in the study of craft. For generations, writers have used their skill at portraying the soul in torment to create heart-wrenching stories with unforgettable characters.

“Broken Wing,” the debut novel by author Judith James, contains one such memorable tortured hero in the form of Gabriel St. Croix, a young man who was grown up in the tawdry environment of a Parisian brothel. Gabriel has learned to insulate himself completely from the world around him in order to protect his soul from the endless parade of strangers who want only his body. Beneath Gabriel’s harsh, cynical, often uncivil exterior beats the heart of a good man who cannot bear to see a child abused in the manner Gabriel has been abused. Gabriel takes it upon himself to protect the young boy Jaime from predators who would debase and ruin the child. In doing so, Gabriel sets in motion a chain of events that will eventually lead to his own salvation when Jaime’s widowed sister Sarah comes to liberate her brother.

“Broken Wing” is an engrossing love story with themes of redemption and the power of love at its core. While some readers might find the subject matter unsettling, the author has navigated Gabriel’s dark world with sensitivity and compassion. From the moment Gabriel and Sarah first set eyes on each other, the spark of attraction between them is palpable. Even when Gabriel is consistently rude and deliberately shocking, Sarah remains undaunted and increasingly curious about this unfriendly stranger who suffered untold hardships and new humiliations in order to spare her brother the same fate Gabriel has experienced.

There are no false notes in this story; the relationship between Gabriel and Sarah unfolds at a believable pace, with scenes of revelation and tenderness that are heart-breaking yet thoroughly engaging as Sarah slowly reveals the sensitive, tender man beneath Gabriel’s gruff, wounded exterior. Sarah’s initial feelings of gratitude over Gabriel’s rescue of her brother yield to deeper emotions as Sarah realizes that Gabriel’s exterior is an artifice built out of self-loathing. It is Sarah who is able to make Gabriel see himself as she sees him; convincing Gabriel that he is greater than the sum of degrading experiences forced upon him during his short life. In the end, Gabriel is redeemed through Sarah’s love, earning “Broken Wing” a permanent place on my keeper shelf.

Writerly Stuff: Do People Sometimes Predict Their Own Deaths?

Because I write historical novels, and they tend to be, ah, unusual, I've had the honor of being invited to become a regular contributor to the Unusual Historicals blog. My first article as a contributor falls under the category "Famous People," and I've chosen to create a fictional interview with inventor Henry Winstanley, whose wish to test the lighthouse he designed and built during "the greatest storm there ever was" proved to be prophetic. I also managed to work in an excerpt from my upcoming Medallion Press release, "Fire at Midnight," into the article as well. The famous lighthouse figures prominently in my novel. The following link will take you to the article:



http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2008/07/famous-people-henry-winstanley.html

Book Review: Her One Desire by Kimberly Killion

“Her One Desire” provides all the elements necessary for a thoroughly satisfying historical romance. Broc is an alpha hero with just enough insecurity to render him endearing. Lizbeth is a plucky heroine who earns the sympathy and support of the reader as surely as she wins the hero’s heart, and Lord Hollister is definitely a villain worthy of contempt.


This stunning England/Scotland set medieval historical romance by talented debut author Kimberly Killion is a fast-paced, sensual, emotionally engaging story that not only delivers the exciting story promised by the cover blurb, but also manages to deliver a fresh plot that deftly balances tense drama with scenes of tenderness and humor.


With themes of redemption, salvation, hope—and most of all, the power of love—“Her One Desire” allows the reader to witness Lizbeth’s growth from the timid “Lady Ives,” daughter of England’s Lord High Executioner, into Scottish chieftain Broc’s beloved wife “Lizzy.” Lizbeth holds her own against a mother-in-law who comes equipped with a sword and a villain determined to steal everything Lizbeth has ever valued in life. This author is one to watch, and I’m looking forward to her next novel, “Highland Dragon.”

Book Review: Run Among Thorns by Anna Louise Lucia

Having grown up cutting my reader-teeth on romantic suspense novels by Mary Stewart, I immediately know when I begin reading what will be, for me, a keeper. "Run Among Thorns" opens with grim government agent types reviewing footage of Jenny Waring expertly dispatching her captors during a tense hostage situation. The reader senses the appalling skills exhibited by the young woman have tossed her from the frying pan into the fire when we're introduced to Kier McAllister, a master of interrogation and psychological games of terror. McAllister spirits Jenny out of the country and takes her to a secluded cottage in Scotland, where he plans to use every technique available to him to force Jenny to abandon her cover story. The problem is, Jenny isn't an agent, secret or otherwise. She's a young woman with outstanding survival instincts who learned marksmanship at an early age, but when faced with the hard core McAllister, she's hard-pressed to convince him she isn't a product of special training being primed for military action. When McAllister squares off against his captive in a test of wit and will, he gradually concludes Jenny might be no more than the innocent she claims to be. He begins to suspect the agency who hired him has ulterior motives that have nothing to do with scoring Jenny as a new operative . McAllister, who has always taken pride in his work, must now use every survival trick he knows to keep Jenny alive. Fans of romantic suspense will find this novel satisfying because the story focuses on the building relationship between Jenny and Kier; the special operative/secret government agency theme forms a backdrop, but the story is really about the developing rapport between the two main characters. On the strength of this debut novel, I'm looking forward to the author's next release, "Dangerous Lies."