Today we reveal Jill Hughey's books Unbidden and Redeemed, both of which had an amazing MAKE OVER!
"Two new covers, same great stories"
For fans of Historical Romance, we give you Book 1 and 2 in "The Evolution Series".
Evolution Series Book One: Unbidden
When the emperor chooses a husband for Rochelle, she tries to drive her betrothed away, but by the time she realizes she might want to keep him, she has been too successful and other forces are dividing them as well.
A whirling romance in the enchanting world of Charlemagne’s Empire. Rochelle of Alda, a feisty Frank noblewoman, expects to continue her industrious life managing her family’s estate. When her emperor summons her to the palace to meet the skilled soldier she is required to marry, Rochelle engages in a battle for independence from David of Bavaria. As her own deceptions multiply, she suspects another of also plotting against their marriage. To her surprise, and too late, David’s passion and patience begin to win her heart. Can their love survive the tangled web of her schemes and the secret adversary David refuses to see?
Doeg has only two requirements in a wife, and when Philantha arrives he knows she is the one who will fulfill them. However, she has a requirement of her own that at first frightens her new husband, but eventually breaks down the barriers he has kept erected around himself for decades. They work to rejuvenate his estate by day while their passion grows at night. When an unexpected threat from within their world endangers Philantha, will Doeg throw off the shackles of his past completely to claim happiness once and for all? Travel to Bavaria in 834 where Redeemed combines the best elements of historical romance with an exciting new setting.
Jill Hughey has loved historical romance since sneaking peeks at her mother’s library years ago. She has enjoyed writing just as long. She prides herself on deep character development, and settings that take her readers on long, satisfying journeys to places they have probably never been in a book before.
Jill lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons. Her hobby is singing lessons, in which she studies classical soprano and some lighthearted works.
We are not the first to ponder the mysteries of the universe and hope to
find its key. What we are now "discovering" may have been known
thousands of years ago. "Wisdom of the Toga" is both entertaining and
thought-provoking as it delves into the realm of interpretive mythology,
storytelling, science, and pop culture to uncover a common thread woven
through time...mythic patterns that shape our lives. Laying out a
pathway from ancient humankind's struggle for survival to our
fascination with space exploration, the reader is guided on a
captivating journey along a metaphorical stream of time and space to
reveal that "long ago and far away" the course was set to determine the
part each of us will play in humankind's unfolding story; for as long as
the Fates allow. The story you tell can alter lives and change the
course of history.
I've lived in so
may places that friends and family write down my address in pencil, knowing it
might soon be erased and written over by another, and then another. Such is the
adventure of life. Experiencing first hand the nuances of cultural variations
has taken me along a winding path . One which now crosses with you on your own
path, together on this blog.
Did you plan to
be a writer...
Writing is not
something I set out to do as a profession. It sought me out, lurked in the
shadows, and followed me around until I succumbed to its lure. I seemed to
always be the one asked to write the latest “whatever”, from marketing blurbs
and news articles to computer manuals and business plans. Once upon a time I
wrote material for college level cost accounting text books. I used stories as
examples; creating practical scenarios with characters named after friends,
family, co-workers. Stories are terrific teaching tools because a well told
tale sticks in memory more readily than dry boring facts.
The majority of my
writing is in the non-fiction genre, but I write with the spirit of a
storyteller and use much of my material in lectures and seminars. Through a
local university I taught a popular community education course on the subject
of storytelling in ancient cultures. From that material I developed my current
book, Wisdom of the Toga: Mythic Patterns That Shape Our Lives.
What kind of
research was involved for Wisdom of the Toga?
This was quite a
lengthy and involved process over several years. For the core I pulled and
compared translations of ancient documents, read and re-read the ancient
classics (Homer, Ovid, Aristotle, Plato) and the more modern classics (H.G.
Wells, Jules Verne, The Brothers Grimm), and revisited the Bill Moyers/Joseph
Campbell “Power of Myth” series.
What draws you
to a book.
When I'm deciding
on a book to read or purchase I browse though the “look inside”
feature or download a sample. I want the writing to draw me in, to know that
the author is a true storyteller. I want to witness (and taste) some of the
magic that mesmerizes and conjures images in my mind. A well-crated, engaging
story is key, regardless of the topic.
What were your
favorite books as a child..
One book from my
school library, which I read while in third grade, left a lifelong impression
on me. That book is Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. “It
was a dark and stormy night.”, she begins the tale, and I was drawn in from
that very moment. A few years ago I saw a copy of her book at a local bookstore
and bought a copy. I'm not sure if I was buying the story or the fond memory it
holds...perhaps a little of both.
How do you
unwind after a long writing session?
During the writing
stage I am intensely focused, absorbed in each and every moment, agonizing over
the 'best' words to convey my message. Once I break from this I like to get
outside in the fresh air and take a walk, or go to the gym and physically
release the tension.
What is the
best piece of writing advice you've received?
Just keep writing!
Laptop, desktop
or notebook, and pen/pencil for writing?
Great
question! Depends on what I'm writing. Blue ink on paper for notes (later
notes added in red ink) The desktop PC in my office provides a 'serious' place
where the foundation is laid out. I move around with my laptop for a change of
pace and draw creative inspiration from my surroundings. My final “go through”
is always (read aloud) from a print version.
Describe your
book.
“Extraordinary
ideas travel the currents of time like actors in search of their next great
role.” This is my
favorite line from the book. One that came crashing down around me with a
“BOOM!”. We tend to think we're more advanced than our ancestors, but perhaps
“advanced” is merely seeing the same things interpreted through the perspective
of our modern ideals. These are the notions I set out to explore and put forth
for you to ponder...mythic patterns that shape our lives.
“Story is the
age-old method of teaching and recording history, which holds the key to unlock
the mysteries of the universe. Story is who, and why, we are. Without it, we do
not exist.”
I developed the
website www.wisdomofthetoga.com
to accompany the book, including a companion guide with pictures and an
interactive facebook page for readers to share thoughts and opinions. (I'm also
hoping to get the Twitter account “tweeting” on a regular basis.) On the
website you 'll find chapter excerpts from the book as well as bonus articles
on a variety of topics to enjoy. Readers are free to email me with comments.
Articles on the website have been used by teachers (just email a request via
the contact form for permission.)
Meet the Author
Monica Davis began her writing career in the world of academia. A cross
country move prompted her to enter the corporate sector where she spent
many years as a business executive. Always up for a good challenge, her
adventurous spirit led her to take on an extensive research project;
delving into ancient cultures and fantastic tales. She used some of that
material to develop a course called "Wisdom in Story", which ultimately
became the basis for the "Wisdom of the Toga" book.
Swimming with dolphins is said to be the number one thing to do before you die. For 12-year-old Michael, it very nearly is. A secret boat trip has gone tragically wrong, and now he lies unconscious in hospital.
But when Michael finally wakes up, he seems different. His step sister Bibi is soon convinced that he is not who he appears to be.
Meanwhile, in the ocean beyond Bermuda’s reefs, a group of bottlenose dolphins are astonished to discover a stranger in their midst – a boy lost and desperate to return home.
Bermuda is a place of mysteries. Some believe its seas are enchanted, and the sun-drenched islands conceal a darker past, haunted with tales of lost ships. Now Bibi and Michael are finding themselves in the most extraordinary tale of all.
'I loved it... An absolute winner.'
- LA Weatherly, author of the Angel Burn trilogy
'A writer who knows how to grip the imagination, make you sit on the edge of your chair, and make you laugh out loud.'
- Michelle Lovric, author of The Undrowned Child, The Mourning Emporium and The Book of Human Skin
'If you only ever buy one Kindle book in your life (although that sounds a bit unlikely, now that I stop and think) this has to be it.'
- The Bookwitch blog.
An Interview with Nick Green
What inspired you to write this book?
The idea for the story came from one single incident that happened to
me. I was walking along a beach in Lyme Regis, Dorset (on the south coast of
England) when I saw a dolphin in the water, playing with a group of swimmers.
Instantly I knew that I might never have this chance again, so despite not
having any towel or swimming things, I took off my shirt and shoes and socks
and ran into the sea. It was pretty amazing – you hardly ever see dolphins so
close to shore in England, and this one was as playful as a Labrador.
Later I wondered: why did I do that? I’m not given to impulsive
behaviour. What is it about dolphins that makes us so eager to go and swim with
them? Why is it that some people even claim it’s ‘the number one thing to do
before you die?’ That’s why I wrote The Storm Bottle – to try and find out why.
Did you plan to be a writer or did it just
happen?
When I was a kid, I used to play with a small group of like-minded
friends, and what we played wasn’t football [soccer!] but make-believe. Some
days we’d be vampires and werewolves (this was long before the modern-day craze
for them, so we want royalties, by the way), some days we would be superheroes,
or aliens, or characters from the latest TV show. Eventually, one by one, my
friends grew out of this, but I never quite did. And there’s a real problem
with being an almost-grown man with a penchant for living inside his
imagination. Most people call that ‘crazy’. So what you have to do, is start
writing all that stuff down, and suddenly you’re not longer called crazy,
you’re called a writer instead. So writing is just a way to stay loopy and be
respected for it.
Then, as a teenager, I found a book in my school library: ‘Writing A
Novel’ by John Braine. Although I’d often liked the thought of ‘being an
author’ when I ‘grew up’, it had never really struck me as an achievable aim –
any more than my previous ambitions of being a knight, an astronaut, or a
time-travelling scientist. Suddenly, here was a book that would tell me exactly
how to do it! Of course these days you can’t move for ‘how to write’ books, but
that was the first one I ever found. I don’t know what I was expecting – lots
of arcane wisdom probably, like the secrets of the Masonic Lodge – but it
turned out that Braine’s advice was surprisingly simply: it was basically,
begin at the beginning, go on until the end, and then do it again until the
book is good. That was the kind of advice I could understand. But it was
another ten years at least before I actually had any success with it.
If you had to sum up The Storm Bottle in 30 or
less words, what would you say?
A girl and her step-brother discover why swimming with dolphins is the
number one thing to do before you die.
Do you have a favorite character in The Storm Bottle? Who and why?
I’d have to say Bibi. She was interesting in that she was actually
dreamed up for another book I was planning, which I never wrote. That idea
collapsed, as they do, but she remained, too vivid to forget about. I changed
everything about her background, but her fundamental character and essence
remained. She’s also the first (and so far, the only) time I’ve written in the
first person. Her voice came so easily. For me, she’s the most real-seeming
character of all those I’ve written.
What has been your greatest challenge in writing The
Storm Bottle?
Writing all the dolphin parts
was particularly challenging, because I had to throw out everything we normally
take for granted – even things like where people are when they converse with
each other. Dolphins can have a chat from half a mile away, they can see in two
ways (eyesight and sonar), they only sleep with half their brain at a time, and
of coursethey have no hands or material
possessions. So what do they even talk about? And how do you transcribe their
click-based speech as words? I had to take allthis into account whenever the dolphins were around. Some of my
solutions were plucked out of thin air: for instance, I made my three main
dolphin characters have Spanish names and accents, to suggest a culture that
was ‘foreign’ but still quite similar to our own. This is how Michael (who
becomes a dolphin) perceives them; they’re not really Spanish of course, but
his brain interprets their ‘foreignness’ that way. Furthermore, all dolphins
within a particular pod have similar or themed names. This was inspired by
scientific research which found that dolphins in social groups develop similar
name-whistles to emphasise their bond.
What is your favorite scene in The Storm Bottle?
There is a storm scene which took over and seemed to
write itself. I have never been in a hurricane but after writing that scene, I
felt as if I had.
What kind of research was involved for The Storm
Bottle?
I read up exhaustively on the behaviour of dolphins, so as to get this
as accurate as I could, and also to get ideas for the central story. I also did
quite a bit of research into Bermuda, and some of the local dialect. There are
some fantastic ways that Bermudians have of expressing themselves.
Of the books you’ve written, which is your favorite?
I usually say this one, but book 3 of my Cat Kin trilogy is also up
there. It felt really good to finally finish the series.
What draws you to a book? Why do you pick it up
off the shelf?
A title might attract me. After that, it’s the first page. I can
usually tell within a page if I’m going to like something. Voice is everything.
Subject matter, genre, none of that matters to me.
What has been your greatest pleasure or personal
success as an author?
When my first book (The Cat Kin) was published, I was interviewed on
BBC Radio about it, for the only radio show that was specifically for kids.
That was awesome, going to the famous Broadcasting House and being treated as a
special guest. Sadly they’ve stopped doing that show since.
Why did you choose to be an Indie writer and
would you choose to self-publish again?
I self-published The Storm Bottle because no publisher has offered to
take it so far. I don’t really know why this is, and nor does my agent. My
agent represented Diana Wynne Jones so presumably she knows what she’s talking
about. I still have faith in the book, so I hope that by e-publishing it I can
let readers decide for themselves.
If you had a chance to rewrite, is there anything
about your book you would change?
I have re-written it many, many times, so I hope that what you have
now is the best I can do. No book can ever be perfect, but this one is my best
shot.
What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve
received?
Rewrite.
What challenges did you face in getting your first book published?
My then agent submitted The Cat Kin to every
suitable publisher, with no takers. So I published it myself using a POD
service. I sent a copy to The Times book reviewer and she gave it a glowing
review. Within two weeks, Faber made an offer for the book. This is an
interesting lesson in how publishing works.
What was one of the most surprising things you
learned while writing The Storm Bottle?
That dolphins can be so violent.
What is your favorite movie based on a book,
where you preferred the movie?
The Prestige. The original book, though fun, is full of plot
problems and loose ends. Christopher Nolan nailed the story that it ought to
have told.
If you could get anyone to read your book, who
would you choose and why?
Peter Jackson! Go figure.
Favorite place?
Horseshoe Bay, Bermuda
Best Christmas present?
A telescope.
Favorite author?
David Mitchell
Favorite smell?
Unburned tobacco. (I don’t
smoke.)
Favorite series?
Doctor Who
Favorite movie?
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Favorite dish?
Kleftiko.
Favorite color?
Green!
Favorite quote?
‘I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but I do
know that World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones.’ – Albert
Einstein.
Your best trait?
My sense of humour.
Your worst trait?
My sense of humour.
Author Nick Green
Nick Green is a UK children's and YA author, best known for his trilogy The Cat Kin, published in the UK by Strident Publishing and in Germany by Ravensburger, and also as a BBC audiobook. He has appeared on BBC radio talking about his books, and has been shortlisted for two UK children's book awards. He regularly does school visits and other children's literary events. The Storm Bottle is his first straight-to-Kindle novel.
Jill Hughey has loved historical romance since sneaking peeks at her mother’s library years ago. She has enjoyed writing just as long. She prides herself on deep character development, and settings that take her readers on long, satisfying journeys to places they have probably never been in a book before.
