Review, #Giveaway & Author Guest Post: The Turning of Anne Merrick by Christine Blevins

SYNOPSIS:


A tale of love and espionage from the author of Midwife of the Blue Ridge...


She spies for General Washington, betrays the Redcoats and battles for America's independence...


It's 1777, and a fledgling country wages an almost hopeless struggle against the might of the British Empire. Brought together by a fateful kiss, Anne Merrick and Jack Hampton are devoted to each other and to their Patriot cause. As part of Washington's daring network of spies, they are ready and willing to pay even the ultimate price for freedom.


From battlefields raging along the Hudson, to the desperate winter encampment at Valley Forge and through the dangerous intrigue of British-occupied Philadelphia, Anne and Jack brave the trials of separation, the ravages of war and an unyielding enemy growing ever more ruthless.


For love and for country, all is put at risk-and together the pair must call upon their every ounce of courage and cunning in order to survive.

MY THOUGHTS:

I can't tell you how many times I have wished that I had access to a time machine and journey back in time.  While this is impossible, I am glad that there are creative writers like Christine Blevins who can paint a portrait of what it would be like to live in historical times.  I felt as if I were right there experiencing everything with Anne.  The Turning of Anne Merrick is an action-filled piece of art!  If you like historical romance novels, this is one of the best that you will ever read.

AUTHOR GUEST POST: A Novel Idea

In my quest for the wonderful tidbits required to make a historical novel come alive, I often bump into a tasty morsel altogether unrelated to what I am seeking, but compelling nonetheless. So what do I do when this happens? I jot it down.

Evidently, sometime during in the course of research for my debut novel, Midwife of the Blue Ridge (an adventure set in 1763), and amid notes regarding 18^th century ocean travel and life aboard a sailing ship, I jotted down this completely unrelated fact:

Really? New York City had been occupied by the British Army for seven years?

Boston and Philadelphia are the large cities that spring to mind when you think about the American Revolution. New York – not so much. I was surprised the city had been occupied by the British enemy for seven years. Not only did I jot the fact down – I double bubbled it!

Once I completed the manuscript Midwife of the Blue Ridge, I set out to get it published. This difficult process begins with first finding a literary agent willing to take on an uncredentialed and unpublished author. One does this by sending out query letters and sample pages, and suffering many, many rejections and much disappointment. At one fairly low point, I was organizing my research materials seriously thinking about giving up on writing, I ran across the bubbled note again.

Really?

New York City had been occupied by the British Army for seven years?

Hmmm… 

We Americans begin learning about the birth of our nation from the moment we gaze in wonder at a firework display at our first Fourth of July celebration. Between kindergarten and high school, a multitude of significant events, the battles and the stories of our forefathers – all of this history becomes etched on, and sometimes lost, in the wrinkles of our brains.

I reread the note and turned to the internet to recover what I had lost, and began  to unearthed things I didn’t ever know. I became swept up in the American Revolution – swept up in the confusion and fervor of that extraordinary time in our history. A story began to coalesce in my mind, somewhat mimicking what was happening to me. This began with the tale of an ordinary woman – not the daughter, or wife or mistress or maid of any historically famous man –  just a woman who gets swept up by remarkable events taking place around her. 

It’s hard for me to describe the complete evolution of this story, but it became apparent once I began the deep research, the story I envisioned would require more than one book. The bubbled note I had written years before became the embryo of a three book series set during the American Revolution.

Anne Merrick’s adventure begins in The Tory Widow with a celebratory kiss from a handsome young stranger. Against a New York City backdrop of civil strife, revolution, and war, Anne discovers her true ideals, and true love.

In The Turning of Anne Merrick, as the war drags on and the Patriot cause appears evermore hopeless, Anne’s resolve and core purpose is tempered and tested at Saratoga, Valley Forge, and in British occupied Philadelphia.

Author Christine Blevins writes what she loves to read – historical adventure stories. The Turning of Anne Merrick is the second in a 3-book series set during the American Revolution, and the companion book to The Tory Widow. A native Chicagoan, Christine lives in Elmhurst, Illinois, along with her husband Brian, and The Dude, a very silly golden-doodle. She is at work finishing the third novel inspired by a lifelong fascination with the foundations of American history and the revolutionary spirit.

Visit Christine's website

Giveaway: Bayberry Candle Bundle – these sheets and envelopes are perfect for scrieving all manner of treason. The bundle is supplied with a quill pen and wrapped for convenient stowing amidst your gear.

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Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.