Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Meet My Fellow Wild Rose Press Author Laura Strickland As She Celebrates The Release of Her New Historical American Romance SLOW TRAIN TO NOWHERE: SEAN

Laura and I are authors with The Wild Rose Press, and when I saw a post about her book, released yesterday, I knew I had to invite her to be my guest here. 

This is my kinda book!

Meet Laura

Multi award-winning author Laura Strickland delights in time traveling to the past and searching out settings for her books, be they Historical Romance, Steampunk or something in between. Married and the parent of one grown daughter, Laura has also been privileged to mother a number of very special rescue dogs, and is intensely interested in animal welfare. Her love of dogs, and her lifelong interest in Celtic history, magic and music, are all reflected in her writing. Laura's mantra is Lore, Legend, Love, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

About SLOW TRAIN TO NOWHERE: SEAN

 Five children from the orphan train. Can the eldest protect the rest?


When Sean Hussey returns to the town where he lived as a boy, it’s with revenge on his mind. He’s made a success of himself out west and intends to get even with the farmer under whose thumb he once suffered. He’ll show mercy only to the others who shared his fate in days gone by, especially sweet Jenny whose memory he still cherishes.

Sarah Rupert hasn’t had it easy growing up as a girl from the orphan train, and as a survivor of shocking abuse. Since the death of her husband, she’s had to support her young son by dubious means. When Sean Hussey comes back into her life it’s a miracle, because he’s the boy she always wanted for her own. Trouble is, Sean just may be in love with another woman.

Excerpt

They talked for a while about the changes in the town and Sean worked on his second drink.

All of a sudden he nodded at the glass in front of her. “Why d’you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Order a drink and just let it sit? You did the same before.”

“I get my drinks for free.”

“But you don’t drink ’em. Why?”

“Want to know the truth?”

His light eyes fastened on her face. “Always.”

“I’m afraid if I start drinking I won’t be able to stop and then the boogie-men from the past will swoop in and get me.”

“Boogie-men?”

“There’s not much keeping them at bay. Just these walls I’ve put up and have to kind of keep in place. If I get tipsy, those walls might fall down.”

He studied her seriously. “Describe these boogie-men to me.”

She didn’t want to. “Can’t. That might invite them in.”

He drew a breath and covered her hand with his where it rested on the table. “Honey—”

“No, Sean. I dare not let ’em in.”

“All right then. I won’t ask nothing more.”

“They’re—they’re like the ones you see in nightmares.”

He shook his head. “I don’t dream much anymore. Used to when we first came here. I used to dream I was back in New York. Running the streets. Looking for my ma.”

“But she died on the way over from Ireland, right?”

“Fancy you remembering that.”

She remembered everything about him.

“Never looked for my pa. Knew where to find him. In a pub. With a glass.” He looked down at his own drink as if startled.

“Right now,” she confided, “I’m living my life for my boy, Luke. All I do is for him.”

“Not for yourself?”

“No.”

“You wanting nothing for yourself—”

Oh, she wanted.

“—don’t seem fair.”

“Were you happy out west, Sean?”

He shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t think happy describes my state of mind. There were moments when I felt pretty good.”

“Never married?”

“Nah.”

“Never tempted?”

He shook his head.

So he was free. And she was free. For an instant Sarah caught a glimpse of something so wonderful, it dazzled her mind’s eye. He, though, was interested in Jenny, who wasn’t free.

Purchase SLOW TRAIN TO NOWHERE: SEAN

Amazon US


Connect With Laura

Thursday, May 9, 2024

Meet Steve Moretti, Author of Deep, Intriguing Time Travel Novels, Featuring MUSIC IS NOT BOUND BY TIME, Book One of the Song For A Lost Kingdom Trilogy

Having written several time travel novels, I'm always drawn to similar stories, and Steve Moretti far exceeded my expectations with MUSIC IS NOT BOUND BY TIME. This story drew me to it not only for the time travel element, but because his heroine Adeena Stuart is a musician. She plays cello and I play piano, but musician stories always connect with me. Meet Steve, read about MUSIC IS NOT BOUND BY TIME, and be sure to check out Books Two and Three of this trilogy, which I look forward to reading.

About Steve

I was a reader long before becoming a writer. 

The feeling of being swallowed whole by a great book is something I treasure. It is my goal with every book I write, to immerse the reader in the story – utterly and completely. 

I am drawn to music and art that transcend time, movies that dont age, and novels that forever embed themselves inside you. 

My writing focuses on artistic creators and the passions that define them, often tragically, men and women who are inspired to the point of obsession with their art. They leave behind creations that render them immortal, free from the constraints of time.

My background in broadcasting, journalism, public education, and the technology business taught me that great accomplishments are the result of individuals who are not limited by limitations or afraid to face what they they most fear. 

I live in Ottawa, Canada, with my wife and a menagerie of dogs and cats. My four young grandchildren keep me in wonder at the mysterious world around us.


About MUSIC IS NOT BOUND BY TIME


A gifted musician, a priceless cello, and a love worth risking everything. A time-travel fantasy powered by music.

Even as a rebellious child, Adeena dreamed of becoming a professional cellist. Driven to perform and to compose, she forsakes almost everything else, sabotaging relationships at the altar of her quest for musical perfection.

But after yet another failed audition, shes had enough. It is time to let go of her dream and get a real life. And then, a new hope arrives from her dying grandmother in Scotland – a lost music score written by an unknown composer in the 18th century.

When Adeena gets an opportunity to perform the lost score on the Duncan Cello, the oldest cello ever created in the United Kingdom, time transforms around her.

She is connected to Katharine, a young cellist living in 1745 Scotland. Both women are attracted to the Duke of Perth, James Drummond, a man history records as doomed to die the following year after the Battle of Culloden.

In Music is Not Bound by Time, the first book in the Song for a Lost Kingdom trilogy, the power of music transcends the limitations of the ordinary world for those who listen through their heart.

A fantasy that will sweep you away. Time travel powered by music.

An Excerpt

 Adeena wasn’t sure what to make of her situation.

An hour ago the music director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra was almost a stranger to her, more mythical creature than real person. Now, as she stood beside Friedrich Lang, with the pages of her score spread all over his piano, they were like old comrades.

She surveyed his private practice room. Baffles made the acoustics rich and pure. A row of spotlights lit a line of framed photographs highlighting Friedrich’s career, conducting and performing on stages around the world. One dramatic series of black and white photos captured him in performance at Carnegie Hall, dripping in sweat, entranced in what must have been a sorrowful violin solo.

“Ja! Ja! I see how this will work,” Lang shouted as he played parts of the score on the piano, getting a feel for the tone and tempo and muttering to himself.

Adeena began to worry that his interest was only in the music she had brought him.

“Would you like to hear me play, Mr. Lang?” she finally asked tentatively.

He suddenly stopped, looked up from the piano and stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time. “What?” he asked, focusing on her and then at her cello case, propped up in the corner.  “Yes, of course! Bring your cello over here. Let’s try playing this through, together.”

Adeena felt relieved as she unpacked the cello and lifted it carefully from the case. He stared at the old instrument.

“That’s your cello?” he asked. “No endpin? Where did you get it?”

Adeena felt her heart pounding through her chest like it might expose her at any second. She took a deep breath and spoke carefully.

“It’s the…the Duncan Cello,” she said matter-of-factly. “I work at the National Gallery and I have, uh, well…I have special permission to use it.”

Lang studied her carefully and Adeena wished she could read his thoughts.

“Really? I just saw a story about it on the news.” He examined it more closely and slapped his hands together in hearty approval. “Five million dollars? Scheisse! Okay, you’ve got my attention young lady.”

Lang stood up and moved a wooden stool near the piano. He motioned for her to sit.

“Let’s play, my dear. See what we can do with this piece!”

As the conductor focused on her music, Adeena glanced toward the open cello case and the original copy of the score, sealed in a plastic bag. An image of her grandmother flashed in her mind. She mouthed a silent “thank you” to her.

It had not been easy to “borrow” the Duncan Cello from the National Gallery. Indeed it had required a certain degree of deviousness on her part. But for the moment, cello and musician were together. At last, she could perform the music that seemed a part of who she was with an instrument that felt like it had always belonged to her.

Adeena listened to the opening bars of the music coming from the piano. The conductor was astute. He understood this music instinctively. The effect on his face was clear and his focus profound as his fingers touched the keys. Lang’s head began to sway, directing an invisible orchestra in front of him.

Adeena sat watching him on a wooden stool. She pulled the Duncan Cello between her legs. It somehow felt naturally comfortable. This instrument was her voice, its haunting timbre was able to bestir her nethermost emotions with a depth she had never experienced. It brought release to the creativity imprisoned within her. As she traced her fingers along the smooth wood grain of its weathered fingerboard, a rush of blood pounded within her trembling hands.

Lang looked up from the piano. He seemed entranced as well, as he gave a slight nod of his head for her to begin, closing his eyes to better concentrate on the music.

Adeena tightened her grip, ready to start the dark, timeless tango of cello and cellist.

Slowly, she began to play. As the strands of her taut horse-hair bow glided across the strings of the cello with a lush friction, an odd sensation swept over her. The harmonics of cello and piano combined to create a sense of yearning, enveloping the windowless chamber in a wave of sound that focused the emotions rising within her.

Purchase the Song For A Lost Kingdom Trilogy on Amazon

Audio Book

Connect With Steve

Email: steve@stevemoretti.ca 

Website

 FB 

Insta

 YouTube

 Good Reads

BookBub



 

 

 


Slideshow