Book Review: Unhinged by Amanda Deed

by Carolyn Miller @CarolynMAuthor

Blurb
Serena Bellingham is faced with an impossible choice. Either leave her struggling family to serve the eccentric genius, Edward King, or stay, only to see the same man imprison her father.

Her decision leads her to Aleron House, a home shrouded in secrecy, strange attitudes and even stranger happenings. Is Edward King all that she has heard, or is the truth something entirely different? Is it possible that the handsome architect might need her even more than her beloved family does?

Unhinged is an Australian retelling of Beauty and the Beast, complete with a mysterious curse and a precious rose.

Review
I'm always a fan of a fairy tale retelling, and if it's set in Australia so much the better. After attending Amanda Deed's online book launch for Unhinged I was pretty keen to read this novel, especially as it's set in various suburbs of Sydney, some places which I recalled having either visited or heard about. So, with high expectations, I started reading - and finished it the next morning with a smile.

Unhinged is much more than just a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. With its interesting detailing of life in 1840s Sydney and the way it touches on aspects of mental health, this story felt at once historically accurate and yet relevant for today. How easy it is, even (especially?) in Christian circles, for mental health issues to be skirted around, with sometimes little legitimacy given to the experiences of those who suffer. I liked the natural inclusion of faith, I enjoyed the referencing of historic figures, I could relate a little to the 'fever' of creative pursuit, and having recently visited Elizabeth Bay House near Sydney Harbour, I could definitely 'see' Aleron, the house depicted as 'the beast's castle' in this novel. This is my favourite Amanda Deed novel, and one fans of historical romance - and especially those who enjoy retellings of fairy tales - are bound to enjoy.

Unhinged can be purchased from Amazon.com.au Koorong and Books In Stock

Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband she has pastored a church for ten years, and worked part-time as a public high school English and Learning and Support teacher.

A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English Literature, and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her Regency novels include The Elusive Miss Ellison, The Captivating Lady Charlotte, The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey, and Winning Miss Winthrop, all available from Amazon, Book Depository, Koorong, etc

Connect with her:        website | facebook | pinterest | twitter | instagram

Book Review: The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green

Lucy here with a review of

The Mark of the King, by Jocelyn Green

 

Can we pause for a moment and admire the cover?? How gorgeous is that! 

Right. Onto the review. I give "The Mark of the Kin" a solid 4 stars. 

I had a love/hate relationship with this book. I had no expectations (warnings?) when I started reading and LOVED it up until about the end of the first 1/4 or 1/3. It then dawned on me that this was NOT going to be a "standard" romance. I left it sitting idly on my Kindle for a few days before swallowing hard and diving back into it.

What drew me back? 

The description.

Slate grey clouds now drifted in the sky, veiling the constellations like wraiths.

Green, Jocelyn (2017-01-03). The Mark of the King (Kindle Location 934). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

Mmm mm. I'm a sucker for description (I still vividly remember Laura Frantz's Courting Morrow Little's first page and the line about "the dust beneath her bare feet fine as flour") and wow does Jocelyn do description really well. Seriously. I felt like going to a southern bayou and finding a crayfish chimney to stand on just to feel it crunch beneath my heel as Julianne had. I could practically feel the humid slap of Spanish Moss upon my face as we traversed the muddy 18th century frontier. Could hear everything. Feel everything.

And that was part of the problem. I could visualise everything so clearly that the brutality of midwifery, greedy soldiers, backstabbing Indians (as portrayed in the book, not my personal opinion), and the lack of care from France was so, well, in my face. So raw. Refreshing, for a Christian book. But also uncomfortably so at times. 

A dilemma. 

Also...the romance. Great setup for romance, at least at the start. An arranged marriage. Between 200 men/women. Wow! Nothing like having to pick one's life partner in ten minutes or less. 

But the romance...wasn't. At least not how I've come to expect romances to be. Julianne's first marriage isn't her last (not wanting to give any of the plot away), and that second marriage is more of a thin candle than an bushfire romance. 

Still, there are gems such as this one:

“We all have scars, my beautiful one. They make us who we are, and if we let them, they bring us together.” His lips curved gently. “Now, let me show you how much I love you.”

Green, Jocelyn (2017-01-03). The Mark of the King (Kindle Locations 3258-3259). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.  

 Excellent advice.

In parting, I do recommend The Mark of the King but be prepared to sit down to a meal, not an ice-cream. Available here.

Lucy Thompson loves a good story, a hot coffee, and silence. Blessed silence. But with five children, a tool-wielding hubby, and numerous characters yammering away at her, that isn't likely to happen any time soon. :)

Come find me on Facebook. I'd love to make a new friend. :)
If, by any chance, you'd rather fancy a cowboy romance, then I have two on Amazon. Mail Order Surprise and A Cowboy's Dare. Enjoy!

  

Book Review: Unnoticed, by Amanda Deed

Review by Andrea Grigg

Plain Jane O’Reilly wants nothing more than to go about her business ‘unnoticed’. Not much chance of that, seeing she’s tall, has an abundance of unruly red hair, and big feet ‘that poke out like a dead tree on a barren landscape’. (I loved that line!)

Her mother died when she was a little girl, her stepmother is nasty, and so are Jane’s two stepsisters who swan around the homestead and get Jane to do everything for them. Sound familiar?

If you’ve guessed ‘Unnoticed’ is based on the story of Cinderella, you’re right. I really enjoyed the parallel, not just because it’s different to any other I’ve read, but because it’s set in Australia. In the town of Hay, New South Wales, in 1877, to be precise. And while Jane is obviously Cinderella, there’s a lot more to her than a fairy tale character. She grabbed me from the first page.

Jane comes across as vulnerable yet strong, hopeful even though she’s been continually let down, and, like us all, she simply wants to be loved. She doesn’t think she deserves it though, and the reasons for her misbelief made me want to slap some sense into a few people on her behalf.

Prince Charming, a.k.a. Price Moreland, is a barber-surgeon – interesting combination – and has come from America because … well, I’ll let you find that out for yourself. Whilst I found him interesting, I didn’t feel there was as much depth to him as there was to Jane. However, Jane finds him tall, dark and gorgeous, and he thinks the tree-climbing Jane is tall, beautiful and intriguing, so that’s all that matters.

The rest of the story takes them both on a spiritual as well as romantic journey. I particularly enjoyed the following passage:

            “Aunt Ruby, why would God love me?”

            Without hesitation, her aunt’s face it up with a broad smile. “Because you breathe,     lovey. He don’t need any more reason than that. Because you breathe.”

Beautiful, isn’t it?

In my opinion, Jane and her idiosyncrasies make the story sing. (Wait until you find out the names she’s given her beloved animals.) As I read, I envisaged her played by a young Judy Davis. (Anyone remember My Brilliant Career?) Or, going back even further, Katherine Hepburn.

So. ‘Unnoticed’. A beloved fairy tale with quirky characters and an Australian twist … what’s not to love?

  Andrea Grigg lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, and is author of two contemporary Christian romance novels, and a novella. She would love to connect with you via: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.andreagrigg?ref=hl

Twitter: @andreagrigg https://twitter.com/andreagrigg

Email:    andreagrigg@live.com

All About Dotti and ACW Birthday Scavenger Hunt

Rita here. Today I'd like to introduce Dorothy Adamek. An Australian writer of Historical Romance, she lives at Crabapple House with her Beloved and their three children, twenty fruit trees and Gilbert the cat. A graduate of La Trobe University, Dorothy studied Literature, History and Education. She taught secondary school English and English as a Second Language.

Romantic shot of Dotti and Her Beloved

Dotti, you are a regular blogger. What is it called and what would you mainly talk about? Does it have a theme?

Hi Rita. I’ve been writing at my blog, Ink Dots, since 2009. I started journalling my writing adventures and sharing some of the historical details I’ve unearthed in my research. I chose the name Ink Dots in salute to olde worlde writer's ink, and picked up the dots from my nickname, Dotti. Ink Dots represents what I write ~ Historical Romance ~ The Heartbeat Of Yesteryear. 

Currently, I post twice a week. On Mondays I interview an historical romance author and most weeks the author generously offers one giveaway copy of their latest release. I love promoting other authors this way, and some return to Ink Dots every year (or sooner) to celebrate a new release. 

On Friday I’ve been following my 52 Author Dates challenge. Each week I step away from the writing desk to stretch myself as an author and experience various tasks/excursions I may have otherwise avoided. (I’m a chicken when it comes to swimming in cold water and entering wild places like thousand year old caves.) These challenges are designed to give me a taste of emotions my characters may face in the life I create for them. Following the author challenge has helped Ink Dots grow a faithful readership of those who visit every week to keep up with the fun. http://dorothyadamek.blogspot.com.au


Rita: Every time I've visited I find something that intrigues or amuses me. I don't always comment, Dotti, but enjoy my peep just the same.

I do believe everyone who has ever read your blog gets the feeling you're more than 'slightly' interested in history, as a pre-published writer, tell us what era you love and why? Also which settings are you likely to choose for your novels?

Dotti: I’m a serious fan of most things olde worlde. The Australian colonial era is my favourite. Anytime in the 1800s draws me and I’m currently working on a 3 book series set on Phillip Island in the 1870s. I’m also working on a goldfields series set in Ballarat in the 1850s, with yet another project set in the 1840s. You can read more about why I love history on my About and Australia Pages at Ink Dots. (Ah, I'm with you on that. Two of my last books have an Australian setting.)

Rita: Not all writers find support in this special calling. How are you finding this? Friends? Family?

Dotti: I’m surrounded by tremendous support as a writer. My family cheer ‘loud and proud’ and tell their friends and colleagues about my writing. God has blessed me with many kindred spirits in the book world who understand the peculiarities of the writing life. Readers and writers alike pray for me each day and share the writing road with all its dips and peaks. And I’m blessed to be able to return the gift of praying for my supporters, too. I know this is something not every writer enjoys and I don’t take it for granted. If there’s a writer reading this now, weighed down by little support or discouragement, please message me. I’d love to pray with you. In many pursuits, prayer is the foundational work and writing is no different.

Rita: You've been travelling around lately. Would you share where and any 'take away' thoughts?

Dotti with James Scott Bell, RWAust '14

Dotti: I’ve enjoyed two conferences and one intensive writing retreat in the last month. Together with thousands of romance authors, (waving at Narelle Atkins and Mary Hawkins) I attended the Romance Writers Of America national conference in San Antonio, closely followed by the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Sydney. As always, the conference experience delivered inspiration and the much needed opportunity to examine industry trends and meet with industry professionals. I highly recommend writing conferences for the enormous learning opportunities. Two of my favourite workshops this year were, ‘Write Faster-Write Smarter’ and ‘How the world's best storytellers do it. Pixar's Secrets.'

Dotti's Immersion Master Class with Margie Lawson

In between conferences, I attended a Margie Lawson Immersion Master Class, also in San Antonio. Margie Lawson teaches her own brand of deep editing in small groups of 6 or 7 and I never come away from this kind of writing retreat the same. If there’s one resource I’d share with a fellow author, whether beginning or well established, it’s the benefits of what Margie Lawson offers from her web community in the form of online classes, lecture packets and writing retreats. http://www.margielawson.com/

Rita: It's been so interesting to find out a little more of what makes you 'tick', Dotti. (Incidentally, our heroine of Green Gables, Anne, always asked that her name be spelled with an 'e' but in Dotti's case that is reversed. So from now on, Dotti, the 'e' I always used is now forever banished!)

Dotti: Thanks for interviewing me today, Rita. It's been fun answering your questions. I look forward to welcoming new Ink Dot's friends. Come and say G'day.

Rita Stella Galieh is a scriptwriter and co-presenter on Vantage Point, a 5 minute program broadcast throughout Australia. She has contributed to several US Anthologies by Adams Media and has two Historical Romances published by Ark House Press. Each year she and her husband minister in Buddhist Government schools, prisons, hospitals & churches in Thailand.

Things can change in a heart beat.
http://inspirationalromance.blogspot.com
Follow me on Twitter @RSGalieh

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ACW SCAVENGER HUNT CLUES FOR WEDNESDAY:

Clue 7 from Dorothy Adamek: What is the real life setting of Dotti's Australian romances? http://dorothyadamek.blogspot.com.au/

Clue 8 from Rita Galieh: What is my mother's maiden name? http://www.ritastellagalieh.com/ 

Clue 9 from Paula Vince: What is the name of my most recent novel, released just this year? http://justoccurred.blogspot.com.au/ 

We hope you're enjoying the hunt and locating the answers to the clues. The contest rules are listed in Monday's post. Please remember to comment on Monday's post, complete the online form and your Rafflecopter entry. Rafflecopter lists all the options for gaining extra entries in the drawing, including commenting on the posts this week. 

The Scavenger Hunt closes at 2pm on Sunday, September 7 (AEST). The winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 9. Good luck!

3 Ways To Drown Out The World And Sink Into The Creative Well

'How I Write' ~ 8Tracks

By Dorothy Adamek

Writers are well known for taking themselves off to quiet/noisy places where an escape from the everyday allows that uninterrupted sinking into the creative well. 

Let’s face it, we’re all crave to sink and be allowed to stay there ~ whether we’re pushed by a deadline or simply the longing to get our words onto the page. 

For months I’ve had tradesmen in my yard for a pool installation. Different trades have worked to their own rhythms, spurred on by the music of their choice at the decibels which best suit the worksite. 

I don’t begrudge them their music. The day passes faster when you work to a beat. But writing is also a pursuit where noise or music aides the artist. 

Here’s three escape chutes I’ve used to drown out the concrete grinders and nail guns. Grab the headphones and follow me...

'A Jane Austen Romance' ~ 8Tracks

1. Pandora is a free internet radio option where you create up to 100 tailor-made stations of your choice. Search for the name of one of your favourite songs, artists or genres, and Pandora will scan its “entire world of analyzed music...to find songs with interesting musical similarities to your choice.” You can keep your profile private or share and follow other Pandora users. As a writer of historicals, I like to keep a list of music from the 1800s, including instrumental hymns.

2. 8Tracks is another example of free handcrafted internet radio. It offers “a simple way for people to share and discover music through an online mix, a short playlist containing at least 8 tracks.” I use this website as a listener, grateful for those who’ve compiled a collection of tracks by genre, mood or activity. A quick search of some of my all-time favorites delivers more options than I have time to explore. 

A search for Jane Austen, for example, will bring up the well loved soundtracks to movies and mini series well known to Austen enthusiasts. Add a + sign to the explore option, select writing, reading, romance...(the list is endless) and you’ll receive compilations by various users. The one I tried first was Music To Write To. (How did they know?) Instrumental and evocative and perfect if you write historical romance. 

You may care to veer centuries away from Jane Austen to Broadway, Beach House, Feelgood or Electronic - combinations as varied as your moods. 

But if music doesn’t cut it and you just need noise...here’s where you go. 

'Music To Write To' ~ 8Tracks

3. Soundrown is another free option where you combine the sounds of a coffee shop with rain, waves, fire and/or birds. Not enough choices? How about night sounds, train sounds, fountains and white noise? Even a playground can stream into your earbuds and transport you as far from the tradesmen in your yard and into whatever feeds your storyworld. My favorite at Soundrown is a splash of coffee shop with a good dollop of rain. Wrap me in my writing shawl and I’m good to go.

How about you? What do you listen to when you write? Genre, mood or sound? If you haven't already, play around with some of the options above and share what works for you.
Blessings for a wonderful weekend,  

Dotti

Dorothy Adamek lives in Melbourne with her Beloved and their three gorgeous kids. She's the winner of the 2013 FHL ~ Touched By Love Competition. Enamoured by all things 19th century, she writes The Heartbeat of Yesteryear, Historical Romance ~ Aussie style. Come say G'day at her blog, Ink Dots. 

Guest Post ~ Rita Stella Galieh

How could she believe in her future when she couldn't escape her past?

 The completely updated version of my historical romance, Signed Sealed Delivered will be available on AMAZON Kindle... today! 

Years ago when I studied art at Sydney's National Art School I discovered its previous occupants were not as carefree as we art students. It was known as the Darlinghurst Gaol. Great sandstone buildings fanned out from a central roundhouse which once served as a chapel. That's where I first wondered about its many sad stories, especially if one was truly innocent. I asked myself if any Christians were incarcerated there had they given up hope? 

The cast of characters whose lives entwine with governess Megan Trevallyn's destiny follows:

Cornelia Cantrell, scheming mistress of the Mayfair Mansion; Captain Cantrell, her love; Lieutenant John Stafford, her nemesis; Ezra Montefiore, an ardent suitor; and her Christian mentor, Caroline Chisholm, the bane of all who practice excessive adherence to rules and regulations of the new colony.

As Book I of the Watermark Women Trilogy it can stand alone, but for readers who are waiting for the next two books in the series, there will be a decision re publishing in due course.

The gates of Darlinghurst Gaol where the seed for my novel first sprouted.

*****

Rita Stella Galieh scripts and is co-speaker on a Christian radio program, Vantage Point, broadcast throughout Australia. With two books traditionally published and as a contributor to several US nonfiction anthologies, she has four more novels ready for the right publisher. Her weekly blog features real life stories from all over the world. see  http://inpspirationalromance.blogspot.com