Category Archives: Meet Three Characters

Meet Three Characters from To The Wild Horizon.

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Today, I am delighted to welcome Imogen Martin to introduce three characters from her latest novel To the Wild Horizon. Over to you, Imogen …

Thank you for inviting me onto your blog Carol.

To The Wild Horizon is my second historical romance and came out in February. It is the story of the Oregon Trail: the pioneer journey from the Midwest to the Pacific coast. Whilst I did plenty of research to get the details right, at its heart this is a slow-burn romance. Here’s an introduction to three characters.

Grace Sinclair

Grace is brave, determined and resourceful. Her parents have died and the most important thing for her is to take her brother Tom to join their older brother who has settled in Oregon. While preparing to leave, Grace shoots her landlord in self-defence. Fearful that being arrested would leave Tom, a twelve-year-old with no-one to protect him, she decides to join the next train leaving town. As the army captain in charge will not let single women travel alone, she pretends to be married. Inevitably, this lie catches up with her.

I loved writing Grace. She has many of the characteristics I admire in a woman. She is hard working, prepared to endure hardship, and helps her fellow pioneers whenever she can. Importantly, she is brave enough to challenge male expectations about what a woman should and shouldn’t be. Grace has many skills: being able to handle a gun is one of the most important.

Captain James Randolph

Whilst Randolph may be tall, dark and handsome, there is no getting round the fact that he’s a misogynist. As the story progresses, the things that shaped his personality are revealed. Initially he’s furious that Grace has deceived him but she talks him into a deal that might let her travel further. He watches her each day in hope that she will fail, but instead begins to fall in love with her. High moral standards are important to Randolph, so he is troubled by his feelings, as he still believes she is a married woman.

Randolph is partly based on a historical figure Captain Randolph B Marcy (as my favourite romantic hero is Mr. Darcy, I thought the coincidence of the name was encouraging). Captain Marcy travelled the Oregon Trails many times and wrote an important book much used by pioneers: “The Prairie Traveler: a handbook for overland expeditions.”

I use images of actors when writing, and this shot of Tom Hughes playing Prince Albert helped me visualise Captain Randolph.

Jane Eliot

Jane is a shy young woman, aged 19. She has a beautiful older sister who sets her cap at Captain Randolph. Jane develops a relationship with Corporal Moore and this leads her to being attacked by an unknown man. Grace puts her own safety at risk in order to find out who the culprit is.

For much of the book, Jane lacks confidence and does not stand up for herself. One of the things I like most are characters who develop over time. In the end, Jane is crucial to the dénouement of the story.

Thank you for the great introduction to your characters, Imogen. I really like the sound of Grace Sinclair. x

About the book:

Missouri, 1846: In the frontier town of Independence the sound of a gunshot shatters the night. As the pistol drops from her hand and clatters to the ground, Grace knows she has no choice but to leave. Now.

In this inspiring and deeply moving story of love, courage and endurance, a young woman on the run from the law sets off on a desperate journey of survival on the treacherous Oregon Trail.

This unputdownable and heart-wrenching historical novel shows the true strength and resilience of a woman’s heart, even when she has everything to lose and the odds are stacked against her. Fans of Kristin Hannah, Amy Harmon and Olivia Hawker will lose themselves in To the Wild Horizon.

What readers say about To the Wild Horizon:

“Incredible!!!!!” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“One of my favourite reads of the year. I absolutely loved it. A heartwarming, enticing, and intriguing tale of courage, love, compassion and resilience. This story will keep you on edge until the very last page.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t fall asleep because I had to know what was going to happen next. Incredible… I loved every second.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher: Storm Publishing
Publication date: 7.2.2024

Link to purchase: To the Wild Horizon.

About the author:

Imogen Martin writes sweeping, historical fiction. Her first two novels are set in nineteenth century America.

As a teenager, she took the Greyhound bus from San Francisco to New York. Over those three days of staring out of the window at the majestic mountains and endless flat plains, stories wound themselves into her head: tales of brooding, charismatic men captivated by independent women.

Since then, she has worked in a coffee-shop in Piccadilly, a famous bookstore, and a children’s home. She has run festivals, and turned a derelict housing block on one of the poorest estates in the UK into an award-winning arts centre.

During 2020 Imogen was selected by Kate Nash Literary Agency as one of their BookCamp mentees, a mentorship programme designed to accelerate the careers of promising new writers.

Married with two children, Imogen divides her time between Wales and Sardinia.

Discover more about Imogen and her work: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

You can also visit Imogen’s website and join her monthly newsletter. (Sign up to get a FREE map of the Oregon Trail you can look at while reading.)

Meet Three Characters from New Beginnings at Lullbury Bay.

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Today, I am excited to welcome a first-time guest to my blog, Georgia Hill, to introduce three characters from her latest novel, New Beginnings at Lullbury Bay. Over to you, Georgia …

Thank you so much, Carol, for having me on!

My new contemporary romance, New Beginnings at Lullbury Bay, has just come out. I really loved writing it as there are some fun characters. Here’s my quick introduction to three of them. They all work in Va Va Bloom, the florist’s shop, which is at the heart of the book.

Meet Three Characters

Marion Crawford

Marion is the part-time assistant in the shop and is a monster. I had such fun writing her. She’s late forty-ish (never admits to her real age) and loves a spa, yoga with goats and a bargain designer dress. She’s always immaculately made up, is fond of a micro-bladed brow and doesn’t baulk at wearing stilettos for a job where she’s on her feet all day. She may be a monster, but she’s a magnificent one! She tolerates working in Va Va Bloom part-time as her children have mostly left home, and her husband works away. It means she can keep tabs on the town gossip, as she hates being the last to know what’s going on. Along with violently pink Moschino jumpsuits, gossip is her passion. Daisy, the owner of Va Va Bloom, puts up with her because, underneath all the caustic snobbery, lies a generous warm heart, a lonely soul and a genius for upselling!

Mia Lodell

Mia is a delight. She’s the possessor of fine intelligence and a fierce work ethic, and, along with jobs in a supermarket and at the local primary school, she squeezes in working at Va Va Bloom part-time. Now in her early twenties, she struggled at school, flunked her exams and is taking A Levels at evening class. She’s got her eye firmly fixed on university. As well as a passion for nineteenth century poetry, Mia’s the one who teaches the others all about the Victorian language of flowers. It’s a system of coded messages hidden in bouquets that any Victorian Miss would know. Want to declare your passion? Send red roses – but make sure the thorns are removed. Want to show disdain? A bouquet of yellow carnations will do the job nicely.

Daisy Wiscombe

Daisy is the owner of Va Va Bloom. Her father died when she was sixteen, just when she was at that crucial moment of choosing her academic future. To appease her grieving mum, she found herself becoming a science teacher. Several years in, Daisy realises two things: one, she’s a hopeless teacher and two, she’s desperate to do something else. In a huge, life-changing decision, she sets up Va Va Bloom. When the novel begins, she’s been running it for five years and is at that awkward stage of needing to expand the business but isn’t sure she has the finances. A workaholic, the early mornings and full-on Saturdays mean her love life is put on hold. And then, a handsome stranger pops into her shop. He’s wearing thigh-skimming chinos, has a head of luxurious wavy hair and a pair of dark eyes permanently on the brink of humour. Daisy’s rusty romantic muscles are twanged, and she’s instantly smitten. It’s just her luck, then, that he’s buying his girlfriend a bouquet of expensive flowers. Having had her heart broken, Daisy’s confidence in her sex appeal is low. What would a gorgeous man like Rick want with a scruffy Croc-wearing florist who frequently sports rose stalks in her messy hair?

About the book:

Va Va Bloom is the brand new florist shop in Lullbury Bay, run by the talented – and heartbroken – Daisy.
As soon as she set foot in Lullbury Bay, Daisy knew it would be the perfect place to heal from her past and rebuild her life. Working in her very own florist shop by the sea, life couldn’t be better.

Except… arranging beautiful flowers for the weddings of the seaside elite, including the coastal wedding of the year, she can’t help thinking about what could have been.

Then Rick comes into the shop one day, and she finds herself open to a new romance for the first time in ages. But as it turns out, he isn’t without his own baggage… Will love ever bloom again for Daisy?

New Beginnings at Lullbury Bay is out now! Click to find out more or purchase.

Thank you so much for your great post, Georgia. It has been lovely to have you and to meet Marion, Mia and Daisy. xx
About the author:

Georgia Hill writes warm-hearted and up-lifting contemporary and dual narrative romances about love, the power and joy in being an eccentric oldie and finding yourself and your community. There’s always a dog. It’s usually a naughty spaniel of which, unfortunately, she has had much experience. She lives near the sea with her beloved dogs and husband (also beloved) and loves the books of Jane Austen, collecting elephants, and Strictly Come Dancing. She’s also a complete museum geek and finds inspiration for her books in the folklore and history of the many places in which she’s lived. She’s worked in the theatre, for a charity and as a teacher and educational consultant before finally acknowledging that making things up was what she really wanted to do. She’s been happily creating believable heroines, intriguing men, and page-turning stories ever since.

Discover more about Georgia and her novels here: X/Twitter | Facebook | Website

Meet Three Characters from The Secret Sister.

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It is always a pleasure to welcome Jan Baynham to my blog, but I am especially delighted today as I have recently finished reading her wonderful book, The Secret Sister, from which she is going to share three characters. 

Thank you, Carol, for inviting me onto your lovely blog to introduce three characters from The Secret Sister. Any author will tell you that by the time a novel is published, the characters in the story have become firm friends and we know everything there is to know about them.

Firstly, I’d like to introduce you to Sara Lewis; we meet her right at the beginning of the novel as she accompanies her little boy, Aled, to school on his first day. Her abusive husband, Fred, is away undergoing army training before being posted abroad for active service. They live with Fred’s mother at Graig Farm in the rural mid-Wales town of Pen Craig, and we very soon learn that she is unhappy living with her insufferable mother-in-law. Coming from an academic background, Sara is estranged from her own parents, having got herself pregnant at sixteen by a much older Fred. She was flattered that the local bad boy should have eyes for her and was taken in by his charms. She does have support from her elder sister, Menna, who offers her a lifeline in the form of working in the office of her building business, much to the disapproval of Fred’s mother. When news comes through that Fred has been killed in training, although sad for their little son, she is secretly relieved that she will never have to suffer any more abuse. A group of Italian Prisoners of War begin work on building an extension to the office where she works and there is an immediate attraction between her and one of the builders. Despite knowing that fraternisation between the prisoners and local women is forbidden, their love grows.

The prisoner she falls for is handsome Carlo Rosso from Porto Montebello in Sicily. As he writes to his mother when he first arrives at the prison camp, there are hints that Carlo carries a secret. He is one of several POWs who leave the camp each morning to work either on local farms or on building sites. Before being conscripted into the Sicilian army, he was a painter specialising in ecclesiastical art. Because of this, he is chosen to lead a team to transform an old Nissen hut within the grounds of the prison camp into a beautiful Italian Chapel where the prisoners may worship. There was no money allocated for the task, so it was down to the ingenuity and creativity of the prisoners to use found and natural materials to do this. As his and Sara’s relationship develops, they are both in danger for being found out. He stays in Pen Craig when the war ends and works for a local builder.

The final character I’d like to introduce you to is Claudia Rosso, the daughter of Sara and Carlo. She is very close to her father and has followed him into the world of art by studying painting. She is heartbroken when her beloved papà is critically injured in an accident at work. When she holds his hand as he takes his last breath, he whispers the name of Giulietta. Like her mother, she knows nothing about his life in Sicily but learns from Carlo’s friend that he had been wrongly accused of a wrongdoing and that is why he could never return to Sicily. Claudia travels to the island in search of the truth in order to try to find out who Giulietta is and to clear her father’s name. What she finds is a shock and she has to find ways of dealing with the discovery.

The characters were a joy to create, and I hope readers will enjoy their stories.

About the book:

The Secret Sister

Wales, 1943.

Sara Lewis should be heartbroken when her husband doesn’t return from war. But he was never the kind husband she hoped for. And now she’s stuck with her cruel mother-in-law on the family farm. Sara must do what is best for her young son. So she leaves the farm for the safety of her sister’s home.

Despite herself, she begins to notice Carlo, an Italian prisoner of war. Longing looks soon turn into love letters and a connection neither of them can sever.

But fraternisation between the prisoners and local women are forbidden. As their love grows, so does the danger all around them . . .

Twenty-five years later, their daughter holds her father’s hand as he takes his last breath and whispers a name: Giulietta.

But who is Giulietta, and who are the young woman and baby in an old photograph?

The secrets of the past collide as the family are shaken to their very core, forced to revisit memories they’d rather forget to uncover the truth.

Links to purchase: Amazon UK | Amazon.Com

My review:

In this wonderful novel, I was transported between two captivating timelines and immersed in the rich tapestry of Wales at the end of WWII and 1960s Sicily. The author’s skilful storytelling effortlessly evokes a brilliant sense of time and place, bringing the contrasting settings alive with vivid detail.

The narrative introduces us to Sara, trapped in an abusive marriage, and Carlo, an Italian prisoner of war whose forbidden love defies the odds in post-war Wales. Fast forward to 1968, and we follow Claudia, their daughter, as she unravels family secrets in Sicily, where she also meets the charming Alessandro.

Romantic, heart-wrenching, and heart-warming, “The Secret Sister” is a captivating tale of love, resilience, and the enduring bonds of family (I greatly enjoyed the bond between Sara and her sister, Menna). Baynham’s meticulous attention to setting enriches the narrative, bringing both Wales and Sicily to life in a way that resonates long after the final page is turned. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel from beginning to end.

About the author:

Originally from mid-Wales, Jan Baynham lives in Cardiff. After retiring from a career in teaching and advisory education, Jan joined a small writing group in a local library where she wrote her first piece of fiction. From then on, she was hooked! Her stories and flash fiction pieces have been longlisted and shortlisted in competitions and several appear in anthologies both online and in print. In October 2019, her first collection of stories was published by Black Pear Press. Fascinated by family secrets and ‘skeletons lurking in cupboards’, Jan writes dual narrative, dual timeline novels that explore how decisions and actions made by family members from one generation impact on the lives of the next. Setting and a sense of place play an important part in all of Jan’s stories and as well as her native mid-Wales, there is always a contrasting location. She is published Choc Lit, an imprint of Joffe Books.

Having joined the Romantic Novelists Association in 2016, she values the friendship and support from other members and regularly attends conferences, workshops, talks and get togethers. She is an active member of her local Chapter, Cariad.

Find out more about Jan Baynham and her novels here: Website/Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub

Meet Three Characters from The Broken Vow.

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I am delighted to welcome Luisa A. Jones to my blog as she discusses three of the characters from her latest novel, The Broken Vow. Congratulations on the new book, and over to you Louisa …

The main character in this book is Charlotte Fitznorton, a spoiled girl of nineteen and the rather obnoxious stepdaughter of the heroine in the previous book, The Gilded Cage. I was keen to explore Charlotte’s story further, as despite being so unpleasant in the earlier book, I felt she deserved a chance to become a better person. The most plausible way to bring this about was to make Charlotte suffer – we authors can be so cruel! Charlotte could only come to a better understanding of the world and of other people by experiencing loss, hardship and responsibility. By ensuring that her comfortable existence was tipped upside down, I could teach her some valuable lessons and bring out a more likeable side to her character. However, she needed a reason to truly change. Charlotte’s initial motivation for action is selfish: she’s desperate to save her plans to marry into the aristocracy. It’s only later on, with help from her friends, through hearing differing perspectives on her family’s past, and through hard work, that she comes to question whether she’s actually on the right path.

Another important character in the book is Maggie Cadwalader, also a minor character from the previous book. As a working-class girl, Maggie’s life is very different from Charlotte’s, but in the course of the story, their paths come to cross. In The Broken Vow, as in The Gilded Cage, I was keen to explore the lives of ordinary working people as well as the rich and to show how the Great War changed people’s lives, whatever their class. Women on the home front made a vital contribution to the war effort, a contribution which, in my view, hasn’t been adequately acknowledged. In creating Maggie’s story of dangerous work in a munitions factory, I hope I’ve been able to offer some recognition of what so many women might have experienced.

The third character I’d like to mention is new to this book: Charlotte’s friend and role model, the formidable Venetia Vaughan-Lloyd. Like Charlotte, Venetia is a young woman of means. However, her experience of a disability, past heartbreak, and political activism, as well as charitable work, means that Venetia’s awareness of the “real world” is much more developed than Charlotte’s. She’s kind-hearted, forthright, witty and generous, and a character who seemed to take on a life of her own as I brought her into the story. She first starts to influence Charlotte by taking her to a lecture by the suffragette leader, Mrs Pankhurst, which was tremendously fun to write. Venetia likes Charlotte for who she is, but constantly challenges her naïve views and really brings out the best in her, speeding her personal growth.

I hope readers of The Broken Vow will come to love these young women as much as I do!

Thank you so much for introducing your characters Luisa, I am looking forward to reading The Broken Vow and learning more about them. x
About the book:

Marriage was what Charlotte had been brought up to. After all, it provided a happy ending for all the heroines in the novels she sometimes read. So it would be for her… right?

Born into luxury, Charlotte Fitznorton has always known a life filled with lavish parties and a line of suitors, all part of a future neatly laid out for her by her father, Sir Lucien. She is to marry well and continue the line at Plas Norton, the family seat. When Eustace Chadwycke – son of a viscount – proposes just before leaving to fight in France, it seems Charlotte’s destiny is perfectly falling into place.

Then, tragedy strikes. Her father dies unexpectedly, and her future hangs in the balance – threatened by her hated stepmother Rosamund’s surprise pregnancy. News of Eustace, returning from the war broken by its horrors, leaves Charlotte fearing her engagement may be as fragile as her inheritance.

Determined to at least save her impending marriage, Charlotte pours her energy into turning Plas Norton into a healing place for Eustace and other war-weary soldiers. But small-minded townspeople, a bossy head nurse, and her newborn baby sister’s arrival push Charlotte to her limits.

Just as hope is slipping through her fingers, a mysterious stranger arrives at Plas Norton. This newcomer holds the power to upend everything Charlotte has fought to preserve. Will she have the strength to protect her legacy, or could this unexpected visitor awaken a desire in Charlotte for a different life altogether?

A beautiful and heartbreaking historical novel, if you loved anything by Fiona Valpy or Lucinda Riley, this book is for you.

Click here to discover more or to purchase.

Also by Luisa A. Jones:

1897. Rosamund bows her head and steps slowly down the aisle. The satin of her gown whispers against the stone floor and a single tear falls into the bunch of yellow roses twisted in her trembling hands. Despite rumours of his cruelty, Rosamund has no choice but to become this man’s second wife.

After her wedding, Rosamund finds herself trapped in Sir Lucien Fitznorton’s lonely country estate. As she wanders the chilly halls, made shadowy by drapes of heavy velvet, she longs for the lost comforts of her childhood home, where she was the beloved only daughter to a doting father, now buried miles away. As a young woman with no fortune of her own, only death can release her from this misery.

Until she meets Joseph, her husband’s gruffly handsome new chauffeur. With his mop of salt-and-pepper hair and lilting accent, Joseph is from another world. One of clambering children and tea at scrubbed kitchen tables, the hollow scratch of hunger and long hours of hard work. Despite their differences, they find themselves increasingly drawn to one other.

But Sir Lucien is not only cruel, he’s devious too, and soon Rosamund finds herself caught in a dangerous web of secrets and lies. Is Rosamund’s fragile marriage nothing but a golden cage, trapping her between two men who desire her… and to what end?

One holds her captive and the other offers a hope of escape… but who really holds the key to Rosamund’s gilded prison?

A gripping and emotional historical novel, fans of Lucinda Riley and Tracy Rees won’t be able to put this book down.

Click here to discover more or to purchase.

About the author:

Luisa A Jones lives in South Wales, and takes inspiration from the Welsh countryside, towns, history, and of course its people. Her writing explores the dynamics within relationships, the pressures that mental health issues can exert on people, and how these can be overcome.

Luisa studied Classical Studies at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London. Her previous jobs have included tour guide in an historic house; teacher in both primary and secondary schools; careers adviser; and corporate trainer/assessor.

Luisa loves using her creativity for crafting and baking, as well as writing historical and contemporary fiction with romantic elements. She and her husband are the proud owners of Gwynnie, a Volkswagen camper van built in 1974, which inspired the story behind Luisa’s first book, Goes Without Saying. They have three children, a dog, and two cats.

Becoming an author fulfilled a lifelong ambition. Her first historical novel in The Fitznortons series, The Gilded Cage, was released by Storm Publishing in 2023, followed by the sequel The Broken Vow in January 2024.

Discover more about Luisa A. Jones and her work here: website | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Instagram | The Broken Vow | The Gilded Cage