This week’s guest for the Two on Tuesday author spotlight is historical and contemporary fiction author, Jessica Marie Holt. Her Unsung Legacies series is an interconnected series of family dramas centered around a small town in rural North Carolina, told in a lyrical, literary style.

Jessica’s Two on Tuesday Facts:

1. I rely on music to inspire me and help me stay in the mood and vibe of a story. I will often pick a specific song that reflects a specific book, and listen to it often as I write. For example, I listened to Gregory Alan Isakov’s “The Stable Song” on repeat as I wrote Just Before Dawn, the first book in my historical fiction series. I live in a somewhat rural area of North Carolina, where my historical fiction books take place, and I will often drive through the countryside listening to folk, bluegrass and blues. Hearing the music, and passing by picket fences, ponds, wooded areas, and dilapidated hundred-year-old houses really connects me to the history and spirit of the setting.
2. I do extensive research, and fuss a lot over historical details, like whether a specific tree existed in North Carolina in 1868. This leads me down some rabbit holes, and forces some rewrites. I was once researching whether indoor bathrooms existed in New York City boarding houses, and ended up learning about the history of bathrooms through the ages. And when I found out that many, if not most larger homes in rural NC had separate outdoor kitchens, I had to rewrite a number of scenes in Sunlight and Shadows to reflect this fascinating fact.

Jessica is available to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter. More information on her books can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/everywordmatters/

Calling all authors!

Are you an an author interested in being featured on Two on Tuesday? If so, please complete the form here.

Disclaimer: Authors featured within the Two on Tuesday Author Spotlight were not compensated in any way for their participation. Content included within each author’s current or future works or the legitimacy of any information provided within this spotlight are not the responsibility of Kelsey Gietl. Authors were provided book content guidelines prior to applying. Authors should be contacted directly with any questions.

This week’s guests for the Two on Tuesday author spotlight are Young Adult Historical Fiction writing team, Jo Schaffel and Sara Webley. In their novel, Somewhere Besides Denver, three seventeen-year-old girls, seeking a future more exciting than society parties and safe marriages, leave their Denver homes in 1907 to greet the new century on a Grand Tour in Paris and London.

Jo Schaffel’s Two on Tuesday Facts:

1. Sara and I worked together at the Boston Children’s Zoo. We both love reading, writing, and old movies, so we decided to write a young adult book together. My father-in-law had told me family stories about his great-aunt, Josephine Marion, who chaperoned wealthy young women on European trips in the early 1900s. This was the inspiration for Somewhere Besides Denver. Josephine, who never married, was a Denver socialite and spoke several languages. She worked for the city of Denver—and had streets named after her! During the Depression, “Aunt Jo” remained in Paris, and died there in 1946.
2. I especially enjoyed researching the transportation, clothing, city life, and time period of 1907–1908, when women’s roles, as well as art and music, were shifting. Fashion, too, was changing: women were rejecting stiff clothing and corsets.

Sara Webley’s Two on Tuesday Facts:

1. Paul Poiret’s fashions freed women from wearing corsets. (See photo below.) His designs appeal to me because my dad was an industrial designer and artist, and my grandma Marie emigrated here from Slovenia in the early 1900s, when the suffrage movement was catching fire. Marie told me great stories, like being fooled by the “chocolate scam” featured in Somewhere Besides Denver. Marie was a dynamic, independent woman, like the characters Jo and I created.
2. Fancy-dressed dogs appear in Somewhere Besides Denver. I loved researching the fad of dressing up dogs, popular in Europe in the early 1900s. Besides writing books for young readers, I’ve also worked as an animal technician in the zoo and aquarium field. So most of my writing includes animals: my recent fantasy Zo in the Roosting Tree is the story of a crow and a girl who switch places.

Jo and Sara are available to connect with readers on Instagram, Facebook, and Goodreads. For more info on Somewhere Besides Denver, visit www.somewherebesidesdenver.com and for more info on Zo, visit www.zointheroostingtree.com

Calling all authors!

Are you an an author interested in being featured on Two on Tuesday? If so, please complete the form here.

Disclaimer: Authors featured within the Two on Tuesday Author Spotlight were not compensated in any way for their participation. Content included within each author’s current or future works or the legitimacy of any information provided within this spotlight are not the responsibility of Kelsey Gietl. Authors were provided book content guidelines prior to applying. Authors should be contacted directly with any questions.

This week’s guest for the Two on Tuesday author spotlight is Canadian Regency romance author, Julie Coulter Bellon. An author known for romantic suspense, Julie’s latest novel, The Marquess Meets His Match features the tagline, “A traitor with a deadly plan—two agents sent to expose his identity before he strikes. But danger is closer than they think …”

Julie’s Two on Tuesday Facts:

1. I am a descendant of several dukes and earls, including the Duke of Norfolk, the Duke of Somerset, the Duke of Clarence, and the Duke of Buckingham. For The Marquess Meets His Match, I used my own ancestor, the Earl of Pembroke in the story, as well as the Earl of Huntington. My ancestors’ real-life histories included a lot of spies and intrigue, and I loved including a bit of intrigue in my fiction story! I really enjoy the regency time period and my new book, The Viscount’s Vow will be released June 1st.
2. I am Canadian and have always been fascinated by the royal family. When I was thirteen years old, I got to meet Princess Diana and shake her hand. She asked what time it was, and if it was always that hot in Canada. I swore I’d never wash my hand again after our conversation, but of course, I did.

Julie is available to connect with readers on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. More information on Julie’s books can be found at: www.juliebellon.com

Calling all authors!

Are you an an author interested in being featured on Two on Tuesday? If so, please complete the form here.

Disclaimer: Authors featured within the Two on Tuesday Author Spotlight were not compensated in any way for their participation. Content included within each author’s current or future works or the legitimacy of any information provided within this spotlight are not the responsibility of Kelsey Gietl. Authors were provided book content guidelines prior to applying. Authors should be contacted directly with any questions.