Here in Indiana the leaves are beginning to turn signaling fall is on the way, but if you’ve been to a bookstore lately, you may have noticed the Christmas collections are releasing. Last week my novella Beauty Bright in the We Three Kings Christmas novella collection released. It’s been so fun to read early reactions to this collection. I shared the Story Behind the Story on Book Talk with Cara. You can watch below or pop over to your favorite podcast… links here. I know I love reading the author’s notes to books, and this is the video/audio version of that. As with any book, there’s so much research that goes into it…that I don’t include. After all this is a novel. But I do love a good research thread!
This isn’t my first book that dug into the role the Monuments Men played during World War II. The first, Shadowed by Grace, is one of my favorite books and it also won an award and finaled in another. While Beauty Bright is set in Germany, Shadowed by Grace is set in Italy and follows the work of the Monuments Men as the Allies made their way up the boot of that country. As I’ve been editing the book one more time before rereleasing it October 15th, I’ve been reminded how much I love this story. It’s also made me miss Italy, Rome, and Tuscany (insert a homesick sigh). I’ve been looking up locations and longing to plan a vacation to visit the Uffizi and Vatican again while actually making the trip to Montegufoni for the first time. It’s a long story, but each time I land in Italy and see the driving, I chicken out of renting a car to go explore.
Some day… PS preorder Shadowed by Grace before October 15th in ebook for $2.99. You can find links on my website here.
This week I finished reading Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other by my friend Bethany Turner. This was such a fun and compelling read. I love Bethany’s voice — as an author she’s perfected the contemporary rom com, but what I appreciate is the way she layers in such heart. It would have been easy to leave this as a superficial gal-who-left-town-and-didn’t-want-to-return v. the guy-who’s-trying-to-hide-and-protect-the-town-that-adopted-him. Instead, the heroine and hero are rich, three dimensional people with reasons that motivate their actions. That carries through to the supporting characters, too. I read this at the same time I was reading another book that stayed on a surface level, so the contrast was so stark.
At the same time, don’t think this isn’t a fun read. There’s all kinds of pop references and just plain fun zaniness.
Where’s the last place you’ve traveled in a book?
And if you haven’t entered my giveaway to celebrate the release of We Three Kings, you have through September 30th. You can use the form below. Good luck!
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Avoid driving in Rome but by all means take the plunge and drive around Italy. There’s nothing quite like it. You meet the real people, learn the map in Italian and begin to think Italian. It doesn’t matter if your language is basic. They are such a beautiful people and will help—while picking your pocket. Lol. It’s been years since I was there last but I still think in Italian when discussing places because that’s how I navigated With old fashioned maps and villagers waving arms pointing and three different opinions on how to get there and “why not just stop at the bakery (insert anything food related) as long as you’re here.” It’s all about the journey, not the destination.
Thank you for the chance
I remember driving to pick up my son at the train station from our Airbnb in Tuscany. Not bad at all and I did it alone.
I followed the links and was not able to find the ebook format. I use a Kindle and checked the Amazon site. Please let me know if I am missing something. Thanks!