Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for LUMINOUS: The Storyof a Radium Girl by Samantha Wilcoxson on this Coffee and Thorn Book Tour.
Below you will find an about the book section, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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About the Book
Catherine’s life is set on an unexpected course when she accepts a job at Radium Dial. She soon finds out that the excellent pay is no recompense for the evil secret that lurks in the magical glow-in-the-dark paint. Catherine Donohoe takes on the might of a big corporation and becomes an early pioneer of social justice in the era between world wars.
Emotive and inspiring – this book will touch you like no other as you witness the devastating impact of radium poisoning on young women’s lives.
Genre: Fictional account of real events, 1920s and 30s.
Print length: 321 pages (83K words)
Age range: This is an adult book, but may be suitable for mature older teenagers
Trigger warnings: Distressing medical content
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
LUMINOUS: The Story of a Radium Girl by Samantha Wilcoxson is an emotionally heartrending historical biographical fiction story that had me grabbing the tissues as the main character’s disease progresses and yet cheering her on as she fights for justice in a time when workers are considered insignificant and easily replaceable to companies in the 1920’s and 30’s. While this is a story where you know what happens to the main character in the end, it is her fighting spirit in the face of her pain that starts to bring awareness to exploitation of all workers in dangerous jobs.
Catherine is excited to get a job at Radium Dial in Ottawa, Illinois. It is the largest and the highest paying company in the city and with this job she will be able to help her aunt and uncle with their bills. It is exacting work painting the glow paint on the dark numerals on watch dials. While the young girls have fun with the glow-in-the dark paint, they do not realize the radium is poisoning them. As her friends begin to get sick and die, Catherine realizes her greatest fear…that the radium paint they use pointing their brushes with their mouths is deadly.
Catherine and her husband face her diagnosis with their faith and love, but they also want justice. Catherine becomes a determined fighter for workers, but she is also fighting against time.
The minute I read about the “pointing of the brushes”, I wanted to scream, “NO!” Catherine’s story is difficult to read and yet I feel it is necessary to honor her by reading it and continuing her fight. Our society today is once again going through worker vs. corporation upheavals and that makes this a timely inspirational read. I love history, but this story is new to me and now I will never forget it or any of the radium girls.
I highly recommend this historical biographical fiction!
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About the Author
Samantha Wilcoxson is an author of emotive biographical fiction and strives to help readers connect with history’s unsung heroes. She also writes nonfiction for Pen & Sword History. Samantha loves sharing trips to historic places with her family and spending time by the lake with a glass of wine. Her most recent work is Women of the American Revolution, which explores the lives of 18th century women, and she is currently working on a biography of James Alexander Hamilton.
Allison Ashley’s two books, Would You Rather and The Roommate Pact show how friends can be supportive and love each other in different ways. These books show that as love grows so does the intimacy as well as finding a soul mate.
Would You Rather has the heroine, Mia, given an opportunity to pursue her education and find her dream job. The problem is that she needs her job because she needs health insurance. She has a kidney disease and is awaiting a transplant. Noah, a friend since the age of seven suggests they get married, in name only so she can study full-time and go on his insurance. Although it takes some convincing, she agrees. What will happen with this marriage of convenience and will the relationship grow into something more.
The other book in the series The Roommate Pact is also a friend to lovers’ story but with more humor, great banter, and a fabulous plot. Graham, the hero, and Claire, the heroine, agree that if they are still single by the time, they’re forty, they’ll take the proverbial plunge together and get married. But after a few glasses of wine, Claire changes the rules to being hookup buddies now. The attraction was there, the tension between them was there and their first kiss turned passionate quickly. But life got in the way. Graham was seriously injured in a rock-climbing accident. He needs ER Nurse Claire’s help to heal. She’ll do whatever it takes to nurse her good friend back to health, even if it means moving into Graham’s bed and putting up with his little dog, who hates her. There are many emotional moments as Graham struggles with his recovery and Claire is struggling with her past. Will the tragedies interfere with the relationship that is forming between the two?
Both books are heartwarming sweet stories, with readers laughing and crying along with the characters.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Are these a series?
Allison Ashley: I am a science nerd with an artsy reading and music side to me. I am kind of an anomaly. For now, the series will be just with these two books. They are stand-alone but in the same world. I enjoy writing friends to lovers’ stories. The first book has Mia and Noah as lifelong friends, while in the second book Claire and Graham are just friends.
EC: Would you write a book with the roommate Reagan?
AA: I am somebody who writes with the characters coming alive for me and they just pop out. Reagan is a little young for me to write. I am not sure I can write a twenty-five-year old’s story. I want to write as I know, and I am turning forty so I am not sure I can use the younger generations terminology.
EC: In the first book, Would You Rather how did you get the idea for the story?
AA: I wanted to write a story that included marriages of convenience. Being in the medical field I have seen where some are unable to afford a certain medicine. They either have insurance restrictions or do not even have insurance. This prompted me to think what if they married because they needed health insurance. I loosely based Mia’s condition on someone that was treated for a kidney condition at the Cancer Center I worked at. It is relatively pricey for a chronic kidney condition. I wanted to write a story with these issues.
EC: How did you come up with the scenes where Noah and Mia played practical jokes on each other?
AA: It came from several different places. I wanted to portray their deep friendship and the comfort level where they can be just silly. I remembered my first year as an oncology resident where I shared this tiny office with five co-residents. We were stressed and worked long hours. We would mess with each other’s desks. One time I literally turned everything on my neighbor’s desk upside down. This spurred the idea. I also goggled some of the ideas put into the story. I also put them questioning each other, ‘would you rather.’ They bring these questions up to deflate a situation and a way to tip toe or test their feelings regarding a relationship.
EC: How would you describe Noah?
AA: Serious, someone who does not like change, compulsive, thinker, calm, gentle, observant, discipline, and a protractor. He is also thoughtful, kind, quiet, introspective, and adventurous. He was greatly affected by his brother’s death. He is the embodiment of the saying, ‘still waters run deep.’ He is very stoic who does not let his emotions show. These features intensified after his brother died.
EC: How would you describe Mia?
AA: Sweet, genuine, charming, mischievous, and feels guilty that her illness has affected those she loves. Through her I was able to show how certain drug companies have support programs, but there are other things that are not covered. She is a little bit of a dichotomy. She always makes new friends everywhere she goes but then she also has introspective times.
EC: The role of her kidney disease?
AA: She has a chronic life-long condition, something that is impacting her. She had to learn to allow those close to her to take care of her. She tried to avoid that because of the hardship it presented. She had to work through the feelings since she did not want to disrupt people’s lives or be a burden on them. I put this quote, “The thing we fear most has the greatest reward.” Having the kidney disease, brought about a traumatic incident regarding her parents. She was shocked. She used it to push her parents away because she feels guilty for what they did on her behalf.
EC: What about the relationship?
AA: Around Mia he seems to allow his emotions to be freer. They tease each other a lot but will do anything for each other. They can be jealous and intimate. They have an intense relationship. They went from a friendship to an intimate relationship, going from 0 to 60 quickly, a whole new level. Mia would not let herself think about her feelings, while Noah acknowledged his first. They knew everything about each other.
EC: In the second book, The Roommate Pact, the dog, Gertrude the dog, was a common thread for the main characters?
AA: She can be cute, cuddly, and sweet but has another side toward the heroine, Claire. She can be possessive of the hero, Graham, and domineering. She is a complete daddy’s girl and does not like to share with anyone else.
AA: As the story goes on, he has a big arc. In the beginning he is a playboy who avoids commitment, superficial, outgoing, and adventurous. Then he becomes very kind and caring. He always put up a front while growing up. When he could not speak because of an accident he found the ability to show Claire his true person.
EC: What about the relationship?
AA: They had a physical attraction, competitive, irritated each other, and enjoyed a lot of the same interests. Their personalities are very similar, which causes them to rub each other the wrong way sometimes. The accident of her father affected the relationship. She has a fear of something happening because Graham is a first responder. This part is personal, because it is something I know very well, since my husband is a first responder. Claire watched her mother live in fear over worrying that something could happen to Claire’s dad.
EC: Next book?
AA: I am working on a book that has a science side, and a love triangle. A girl had a stem cell transplant and is attracted to the boyfriend of the girl who saved her life. Another book I am thinking of writing is an opposite attracts book about a woman who works at the medical examiner’s office, based on my neighbor. My agent is negotiating with different publishers.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for AN UNSUITABLE HEIRESS by Jane Dunn on this Austen Prose Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Following the death of her mother, Corinna Ormesby has lived a quiet life in the countryside with her cantankerous Cousin Agnes. Her father’s identity has been a tantalizing mystery, but now at nineteen Corinna knows that finding him may be her only way to avoid marriage to the odious Mr. Beech.
Deciding to head to London, Corinna dons a male disguise. Travelling alone as a young woman risks scandal and danger, but when, masquerading as a youth, she is befriended by three dashing blades, handsome and capable Alick Wolfe, dandy Ferdinand Shilton and the incorrigible Lord Purfoy, Corinna now has access to the male-only world of Regency England. And when she meets Alick’s turbulent brother Darius, a betrayal of trust leads to deadly combat which only one of the brothers may survive.
From gambling in gentleman’s clubs to meeting the courtesans of Covent Garden, Corinna’s country naivety soon falls away. But when she finds her father at last, learns the truth about her parentage and discovers her fortunes transformed, she must quickly decide how to reveal her true identity, while hoping that one young man in particular can see her for the beauty and Lady she really is.
AN UNSUITABLE HEIRESS by Jane Dunn is an entertaining Regency historical romance/historical fiction with an adventuress young woman who dresses in men’s clothing and travels to London to find the father she never knew and pursue her dream of being a professional painter. This is an easy and fun to read standalone Regency story with enchanting characters.
Corrina “Cory” Ormesby has always known she is an illegitimate child. Since her mother’s death she has spent the last seven years with a cousin in the country. Her cousin is no longer willing to support her and rather than being forced into an unwanted marriage, she dresses in men’s clothes and travels with her pet poodle to London in search of the father she knows nothing about but does have the yearly gifts he sent on her birthdays until her mother’s death.
When she tries to stop the abuse of a horse at a carriage stop, she is knocked down and a trio of young blades come to her aid and befriend her. They assist her in solving the unknown identity of her father, learn her true gender, and then they all must learn to navigate the difference in circumstances for the sexes in Regency London.
I really liked Corrina and her bravery as she sets out on her journey and her determination to live the life she wants without losing her innate kindness to people and animals and her sense of adventure. The author’s research is evident in the description of norms, clothing, and language. All her gentlemen friends are realistic representatives of this period. This story has a mix of romance, a search for personal independence, friendship, adventure, and cute pets. It also demonstrates a balance between light and fun predictability vs. societal norms and strictures.
I recommend curling up in your favorite reading chair with a cuppa and letting this story take you on an enjoyable journey to Regency London.
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Author Bio
Jane Dunn is an historian and biographer and the author of seven acclaimed biographies, including Daphne du Maurier and her Sisters, and the Sunday Times and NYT bestseller, Elizabeth & Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens. She comes to Boldwood with her first fiction outing – a trilogy of novels set in the Regency period, the first of which, The Marriage Season, is to be published in January 2023. She lives in Berkshire with her husband, the linguist Nicholas Ostler.
High-powered businesswoman Lana Rubicon has a lot to be proud of:her keen intelligence, impeccable taste, and the L.A. real estate empire she’s built. But when she finds herself trapped 300 miles north of the city, convalescing in a sleepycoastal town with her adult daughter Beth and teenage granddaughter Jack, Lana is stuck counting otters instead of square footage—and hoping that boredom won’t kill her before the cancer does.
Then Jack—tiny in stature but fiercely independent—happens upon a dead body while kayaking. She quickly becomes a suspect in the homicide investigation, and the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos. Beth thinks Lana should focus on recovery, but Lana has a better idea. She’ll pull on her wig, find the true murderer, protect her family, and prove she still has power.
With Jack and Beth’s help, Lana uncovers a web of lies, family vendettas, and land disputes lurking beneath the surface of a community populated by folksy conservationists and wealthy ranchers. But as their amateur snooping advances into ever-more dangerous territory, the headstrong Rubicon women must learn to do the one thing they’ve always resisted: depend on each other.
MOTHER-DAUGHTER MURDER NIGHT by Nina Simon is both murder mystery and multi-generational family drama combined into one heartfelt and intriguing read. Grandmother, mother, and daughter are reunited by a devastating medical diagnosis and while working through their dysfunctional dynamics they also work together to solve a murder. This is a standalone mystery that could easily become a series if the author wished.
High-powered L.A. real estate mogul, Lana Rubicon is seriously ill and now needs the assistance of her daughter, Beth who lives 300 miles north with her daughter, fifteen-year-old Jacqueline “Jack”. It is a difficult adjustment for everyone.
While Jack is leading a kayak tour of the slough, a dead body is discovered. When Jack becomes a suspect, Beth begs Lana to hire a criminal lawyer, but the bored Lana decides this is the perfect opportunity to focus on anything but her disease and protect her granddaughter by finding the real murderer. As the women discover a web of family lies, hidden agendas, and land disputes the danger escalates, and they learn that to find the truth they must do something they have never done, depend on one another.
This is a genre mash-up that delivers on both the dysfunctional family drama with humor, tough love, and learning to understand another’s view and an amateur cozy murder mystery that has plenty of twists and red herrings that kept me guessing until the end. The first third of the book leans more towards the family dynamics and discovery of the body and then the investigation plotline of the murder becomes intertwined, and the pace of the amateur investigation increases to the climax. The characters are entertaining and unique, but the family dynamics and interactions make them come to life.
I enjoyed and recommend this unique genre mash-up.
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About the Author
I write crime stories about strong women. My first novel, MOTHER-DAUGHTER MURDER NIGHT, about a grandma, single mom, and teenage girl who come together to solve a murder mystery, is out now.
Writing is my joy. In college, I was an electrical engineering student by day and a slam poet by night. After a brief stint at NASA, I started designing interactive exhibits and eventually became a museum director. I wrote two books of nonfiction about participatory, relevant cultural institutions. I thought of nonprofits as my “real” job and writing on the side.
Then, my mom got sick. I quit my job to help care for her, and I found myself turning to fiction–crime stories especially–as a way to escape during a hard time. My mom and I both always loved mysteries, and I decided to try to write one myself, with a detective/hero based on her. Now, my mom is doing better, and I’m gratefully spending my days writing, reading, and dreaming up new stories.
I live off-the-grid in the Santa Cruz mountains with my family.
A Hail Mary Pass – that’s what the President of the United States called it.
What are the chances Marc McKnight’s time travel team can convince George Washington to leave his home and travel with them to the year 2037? Another bloody civil war is imminent in the United States. Political parties are hopelessly divided and fanning the embers of war. Can the war be prevented if George Washington tells modern America what the Founding Fathers were trying to achieve?
A Hail Mary Pass. A long shot. But it’s worth a try.
THE TIME PATRIOT: EPISODE ONE – HAIL MARY PASS by Kim Megahee is the intriguing first in The Time Patriot series of time travel/sci-fi historical episodic novellas set in 2037. With the U.S on the brink of civil war, a time travel team has been sent by the current U.S. President to bring George Washington forward in time to clarify to the people of 2037 America what the Founding Fathers were trying to achieve with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
I was impressed with the believability of the worldbuilding in this novella. It sets up the series without bogging down the pace of the plot. The historical research interspersed with futuristic sci-fi imaginings are interwoven seamlessly throughout the novella and lead to an easy suspension of belief and an enjoyable read that ends too soon.
This novella does end on a cliffhanger, but the next episode is available now, so you don’t have to wait, which I didn’t. That said, it is also my only criticism. I know many people enjoy short bursts of stories that they can stop and start, continue or not, but I do not. I would have preferred all these episodic novellas were available in one full length story.
Overall, this is an action-packed, exciting sci-fi historical novella that I read in one sitting and really enjoyed. I did immediately download the next novella in the series, but this type of rolling out a story may not be for everyone.
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About the Author
Kim Megahee is a writer, musician, and retired computer consultant. He has a degree from the University of Georgia in Mathematics Education. His background includes playing in rock bands, teaching high school, and much experience in computer programming, security and consulting.
In his consulting career, Kim worked with large companies on four continents to help increase their software development throughput.
In addition to writing, he enjoys hanging out with his wife, reading, watching scifi movies, boating on Lake Lanier, playing live music, and socializing with friends. Kim lives in Gainesville, Georgia with his soulmate wife Martha and Leo, the brilliant but stubborn red-headed toy poodle.
The Locard Institute is a state-of-the-art forensic research center where experts from around the world come together to confront and solve the world’s most challenging and perplexing crimes. When Dr. Ellie Carr arrives for her first day as an instructor at the prestigious facility, the buildings glimmer amid the brilliant fall foliage on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. But within hours a colleague, Dr. Barbara Wright, is found dead on the floor of a supply closet. Her death appears to be an accident—but Ellie and her new supervisor, Dr. Rachael Davies, suspect a more sinister explanation.
A young woman attending a professional training program then disappears, only to be found in a gruesome tableau. Other than their link to the Institute, there seems to be no connection between the student and Dr. Wright. Although forensic traces are elusive, Ellie and Rachael are determined to find the bizarre link between the violent and diverse deaths.
As reporters shatter the privacy of Ellie’s new workplace, she searches old files and finds evidence of a crime that feels much too personal. But who, among those dedicated to justice, could be the threat? No matter how skilled she and Rachael may be in uncovering the truth, they may not be able to prevent a well-schooled killer from striking again.
WHAT HARMS YOU (Locard Institute Thriller Book #2) by Lisa Black is a gripping forensic crime thriller and the second book in the Locard Institute Thriller series featuring two dynamic female forensic experts. Even though this is the second book in this series, it can easily be read as a standalone.
Dr. Ellie Carr has arrived for her first day teaching at the prestigious Locard Institute on the Chesapeake Bay and within hours the teacher she is replacing is found dead. What appears to be a terrible accident leaves Ellie and her new supervisor, Dr. Rachel Davies, unsettled. As they investigate their colleague’s death, a female Suadi national attending the professional training program goes missing and is soon discovered dead.
Ellie and Rachel must now work to discover if there is a link between the two diverse deaths among the professional law enforcement agents attending this training program and discover who is responsible before he or she strikes again.
I love when I get to read a new Lisa Black thriller and learn more about forensic techniques besides watching her main characters put them to use in solving crimes. This story introduces the reader to the halls of the Locard Institute, right along with Ellie and where the crimes take place. I enjoyed the interactions between Ellie and Rachel who, while at different phases of their careers, still work well as colleagues and recognize each other’s strengths. The murders and mysterious killer keep the tension high and the reader on the edge of their seat. The scientific analysis Ellie and Rachel use for solving crimes as well as teaching their program attendees is woven throughout the plotline without slowing the pace and I always find highly interesting.
I highly recommend this exciting crime thriller in this series and all the forensic thrillers by this author.
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About the Author
Lisa Black’s books have reached the NYT bestsellers list, been translated into six languages and have been optioned for film. Perish was shortlisted for the inaugural Sue Grafton Memorial Award by Putnam and Mystery Writers of America. Lisa will be a Guest of Honor at 2021 Killer Nashville.
She is a certified crime scene analyst in Florida and a former forensic scientist for the Cleveland coroner’s office. She is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the International Association for Identification, and the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts, and has testified in more than fifty homicide trials.
She still aspires to drive Nancy Drew’s convertible and marry Ellery Queen.
