PROLOGUE London March 1941 The cool, clear night shuddered, then moaned as the fluctuating drone of hundreds of engines eclipsed the silence. A wave of planes like angry hornets slipped through the darkened sky over a city already wearing black in preparation for the inevitable mourning. She tasted dust and burnt embers in the back of her throat as she hurried through a crowd of stragglers running toward a shelter. A man grabbed her arm, as if to correct her movement, but an explosion nearby made him release his hold and hurry after the crowd. She shifted the valise she cradled in her arms, the pressure on her chest making it difficult to breathe. Fatigue and pain battered her body, both eagerly welcomed, as they disguised the bruise of overwhelming grief. She staggered forward, the blood dripping unchecked from her leg and forehead, the acrid stench of explosives mixed with the sharp smell of death. Gingerly, she moved through the darkened high street so familiar in the daylight but foreign to her now. The night sky blossomed with fire and scarlet light as the loud bark of the antiaircraft guns answered the banshee wails of the warning sirens. Pressing herself…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Danielle! Please tell us about yourself and your new book, ALL WE LEFT BEHIND.  Thank you for the invitation to be here! A little about me is that I am a child and family counsellor in private practice and I split time between Vancouver and Mayne Island Canada. I write historical fiction as Danielle R. Graham and contemporary fiction as D.R. Graham. All We Left Behind debuted on the Toronto Star and Globe & Mail Bestsellers lists in Canada and released in the US on March 30th! All We Left Behind is an emotional untold story of World War II, set against the backdrop of the internment of Japanese Canadians from Mayne Island, BC. Mark Sakamoto, author of Forgiveness, and winner of CBC Canada Reads, calls All We Left Behind, “As heartwarming as it is heartbreaking.” Glynis Peters, international bestselling author of The Secret Orphan, calls it, “Heart-wrenching. Emotional. A powerful story of wartime love and devotion.”   I haven’t read many books set during WWII in Canada. What made you set your novel in British Columbia?  I grew up in Steveston BC, which is a predominately Japanese-Canadian fishing village and I have a family cottage…

MARTHE Chavaniac-Lafayette December 1940 “She was only fourteen when she married?” Anna asks, as she helps me cart a box of research books into the tower chamber with its crystal chandelier and abundant natural light. I’ve been telling her about what I’m learning for my new series of sketches, and she asks, “Can you imagine being ready for marriage at such a young age?” I don’t even know that I’m ready now, I almost say. I might not have accepted Henri’s proposal if not for the war. I certainly wouldn’t be taking on a project to make the preventorium over in Adrienne Lafayette’s image. And I wouldn’t have a fancy studio like this. I wouldn’t want to sculpt stone here—the dust would get into every crevice of the canopied bed and antique furniture—but it’s a perfect place to sketch. It looks like the preventorium’s president took most of her belongings with her when she returned to America in the summer of ’39—but she left behind some books on the shelf, old hatboxes under the bed, and framed photographs on the wall. The books are a mix of Shakespeare’s plays, Balzac’s novels, and Anatole France’s poetry. The hatboxes are filled with…

1–What is the title of your latest release?  THE VINES 2–What is it about? Across a century and against seemingly insurmountable odds, a woman with an astonishing immune system and an equally dramatic determination to survive is held against her will on an abandoned island near New York City. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  Everything. The idea for this novel started with its setting—an abandoned quarantine facility on an isolated island in the middle of bustling New York City. Originally an isolation hospital for the city’s poor immigrants, Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island underwent several reincarnations before becoming an experimental treatment center for drug-addicted teens in the 1950s. In 1963, the facility was shuttered. Ever since, a forest has been hellbent on destroying the hospital remains. Now a federally protected heron reserve, North Brother Island cannot be accessed without a permit from the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re not accepting applications. The island has a dark, little-known history, rife with tragedy and misery. In its present state, its crumbling buildings serve as an eerie foreshadowing of a post-apocalyptic world. Several photographers have been able to capture…

1–What is the title of your latest release? SURVIVING SAVANNAH 2–What is it about? The Titanic of the South — the true and untold story of the sinking of the luxury Steamship Pulaski.  3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  Savannah, Georgia past and present!  4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  I have three main characters and they all surprised me with their utter resilience! I spent a lot of my time wondering — would I have been as strong as they were/are? 5–Why will readers relate to your characters?  They must survive to live a deeper life, and who doesn’t want to do that? 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  What people chose to do with their survival! It varied so much.  7–Do you look forward to or do you dread the revision process?  Half and half. Part of me loves revision and getting my hands back into the clay of my story, and the other half of me dreads the very hard work of digging out the weeds.  8–What’s your favorite snack to have on hand while writing?  Popcorn!  9–Where would you go for an ideal…

As I researched my latest time-slip novel, The Curator’s Daughter, I spent almost a week immersed in the culture and history of Nuremberg, Germany. While I learned an enormous amount during this trip, here are my top five takeaways from my time in this old Imperial City: 1) Hitler chose to launch his Third Reich in Nuremberg because this city was once central to the First Reich, also known as the Holy Roman Empire. After the immense Nazi Party rallies held in Nuremberg, Allied forces selected its courthouse for their postwar International Military Tribunal. The justice served there symbolized justice for everyone hurt by Nazism. 2) Below the medieval streets of Nuremberg is a network of tunnels used long ago as beer cellars. Because the city housed treasured artwork and crown jewels, locals created a secret art bunker in these tunnels during World War II. Even though 90 percent of the city was destroyed during the bombings, the artifacts from the German National Museum and the Imperial Castle were recovered safely from these tunnels. 3) Nuremberg is famous for its seasoned link sausages, but I’m a much bigger fan of the soft pretzel sandwiches! My new favorite is the bretzel…

MIRIAM’S SONG is a biblical novel – my newest release – about one of the Bible’s most famous yet little-known women – Moses’ sister, Miriam. I had to dig into her brothers’ lives to get to know her better, and what I learned about her life, and God’s holiness and longing for us as I studied her, inspired me. I hope it does the same for you. M – is for Miriam, whom we meet in childhood in Scripture. She is the little girl who watches her brother floating in a little ark in the Nile. Her family is hoping someone will save his life from the Pharaoh’s plot to kill boy babies. A complicated job for a girl of about five, but Miriam’s life as she grows older becomes even more complicated. I – is for Independent. Miriam is a strong woman and is later listed as one of three leaders who led the children of Israel out of Egypt. R – is for Ready. Miriam is more than ready to leave the land of Egypt and move to the Promised Land as God has intended for Israel. I – is for Israel. Miriam was one of three leaders…

Hi, Deanna! We are so happy to have you back on Fresh Fiction. Please introduce yourself to our readers.  I’m a 5 foot, 5 inch-tall Gemini, I like long walks on the beach and men who aren’t afraid to cry. (Okay, I’m a 52-year-old 6th-generation Texan married to my college sweetheart with one child and a starter pack of Australian Labradoodles. I am currently working on my 17th novel and I have a mild addiction to Twitter.) The Veronica Speedwell historical mystery series is such a fun premise and has been enthralling readers for the last few years. What do you love about the character of Veronica?   Veronica is one of the most enjoyable characters I’ve ever written because she is–like Molly Brown–unsinkable. Nothing ever seems to get her down for long. We know she’s been through volcanic eruptions, shipwrecks, kidnapping by brigands, yet she’s irrepressibly optimistic. She’s very secure in her own sense of purpose, and I love that she is so thoroughly grounded in who she is. I suspect she might be a little tiresome in real life–she’s an absolute bulldozer to poor Stoker sometimes–but on the page, she delights me.   One of my favorite aspects…

Jen: What inspired you to write FLOWERS OF DARKNESS? Tatiana: I wanted to explore the near future and how artificial intelligence and “smart homes” can wreak havoc with our intimacy. This book is a journey into a fragile woman’s paranoia. Clarissa has just discovered that her husband is being unfaithful and decides to leave him.  She moves into a highly sophisticated artistic residence, hoping to find a new start here. But little by little, her past and her traumas come back to haunt her.  She is a writer obsessed with places and the memories that are linked to homes and the past. She is convinced that the new “connected home” she now lives in is trying to pillage her creativity for the purpose of AI. Her daughter is worried she might be sinking into a depression, but her teenage granddaughter is convinced that her granny is right… I leave it up to the reader to decide! Why does Clarissa Katsef move to Paris? Clarissa is half French, half English. She was born in the UK but moved to Paris when she was in her twenties. She is perfectly bilingual, and my book discusses those “hybrid brains”, people who live, talk,…

She was being as silly as Laura. Dorothy frowned as she placed the hat on her head for what felt like the hundredth time, tilting it ever so slightly to the left. It wasn’t as if she were about to meet the president. All she was doing was going for a walk. There was no reason to fuss so much over her appearance. Today was the fourth day since Brandon Holloway had come to Mesquite Springs, and it seemed that both he and Laura had fallen into a routine. Each day Brandon came to Polly’s Place for his midday meal. Each day Laura kept peeking out the kitchen door, almost as if she didn’t trust Dorothy to tell her when he arrived. And when he did, she insisted on taking Brandon’s meal to him, returning to the kitchen with the same report: there was no question about it; he was the man she was meant to marry. Finally satisfied with the angle of the hat, Dorothy secured it with two of her prettiest hatpins, then descended the stairs. Once a quick look confirmed that nothing in the kitchen needed her attention, she opened the back door and stepped out into…