Tag: #christianhistoricalfiction

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Secrets of Emberwild by Stephenia H. McGee

Book Description

A gifted trainer in a time women are not allowed to race, Nora Fenton prefers horses to men. They’re easier to handle, they’re more reliable, and they never tell her what to do. After her father’s passing, Nora is determined to save her struggling horse farm, starting with entering her prize colt into the harness races at the 1905 Mississippi Fair. If she wins, she may have a chance at independence. But when a stranger arrives and starts asking disconcerting questions, she suspects he may have other motives than unseating her in the training job that is rightfully hers.

Silas Cavallero will do whatever it takes to solve the mystery of his father’s death–even if it means training an unwieldy colt for Nora, who wants nothing more than to see him gone. But when mysterious accidents threaten their safety and circumstances shrouded in secrets begin unlocking clues to his past, Silas will have to decide if the truth is worth risking ruining everything for the feisty woman he’s come to admire.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Secrets of Emberwild by Stephenia H. McGee is a great read combining mystery, some romance, and historical facts about the South in 1905. There are secrets, manipulation, and roadblocks that the characters must confront to solve the mystery.

Silas Cavallero has long doubted the sheriff’s account of his father’s death 15 years earlier, that Silas’s father was accidentally trampled by his prized stallion, never to be found. He decides to investigate which leads him to Mississippi’s Emberwild Horse Farm.  There he is he hired to train Arrow, a harness racing horse, but must contend with the horse’s owner Nora Felton.  She prefers her horse to people and makes it known that she should be training Arrow.  Unfortunately, after her father died, her uncle and mother conspire to wed Nora since they believe she should be a proper lady and leave the horse training and racing to men. Yet, Nora is determined to save her struggling horse farm, starting with entering her prize colt Arrow into the harness races at the 1905 Mississippi Fair. If she wins, she may have a chance at independence. With Silas’ support and encouragement, he and she team up to prepare Arrow for the harness races. But after mysterious accidents threaten their safety and circumstances shrouded in secrets begin unlocking clues to the past, Silas must decide if the truth is worth risking and endangering the feisty, gritty woman he’s come to admire.

This story will captivate readers from page one. The characters are very relatable and believable. The insight into how women were treated is eye-opening.  Regarding the mystery there are many surprises that keep readers on their toes and guessing as to what really happened.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

Stephenia McGee:  I have a degree in animal science and equestrian science. I worked as a horse trainer.  Because my back went out, I could not do any horse training anymore. I wanted to write a story with the horsemanship skills I used, having a heroine who would face difficulties because of the time, the early 1900s. 

EC:  There is a mystery thread?

SM:  Yes.  Silas is trying to find out what happened to his father, never believing it was an accident.  He is also looking for the horse that disappeared. The readers know there is a connection somehow between all these characters. One of the bad guys have motives that are suspect, the Uncle Amos. He is overconfident, a liar, uncaring, manipulative, and does not have much regard for women.

EC:  How would you describe the heroine, Nora?

SM:  She is a little bit older and has led a sheltered life. She is trying to learn how to be independent.   Nora is headstrong, curious, very opinionated, and struggles with the society pressures of the time. Her own family wanted her to be quiet, soft-spoken, act like a lady, and get married. This goes against everything in her personality. Nora is a spitfire, rebellious, defiant, and coy.  She is like a horse whisperer.

EC:  How would you describe Silas, the hero?

SM:  Quiet, gentle, and easy-going. He is confident, sincere, protective, and honorable.

EC: Why the setting?

SM:  I put her in Neshoba County Mississippi because of the fair. It started in the late 1800s.  It is a huge deal.  People take off a week to go, staying in cabins. One of the big events is the harness racing, the only legal horse racing track in Mississippi. I thought it would be fun to put Nora there so she could be a racer.

EC:  Women in the early 1900s?

SM:  They had to have their place, following orders, and being seen and not heard. They were stifled and had no say in their marriage.  Nora had a tug and pull with the way women were treated in the times. Although, she had some freedom since it was in the middle of the suffrage period.

EC:  What role does Arrow the horse play in the story?

SM:  Arrow plays a big part in the story. He is a character.  Like Nora, he is headstrong, ornery, high strung, temperamental, high energy, and wild.  Silas tempers both Nora and Arrow.  Ever since Arrow was born, he became Nora’s best friend since she was so lonely. She loves him and spills her problems out to him. I was able to use my experiences with my horse, Rona, for Arrow. Rona is retired after she broke a bone in her hoof.

EC: There is a book quote comparing Arrow and Silas.  Please explain.

SM:  I put in this book quote, “They are like two stallions.  They assess one another looking for weakness, while at the same time offering due respect to one another.” Nora is watching how Silas will handle Arrow. He is not rough with Arrow and does not man-handle him.  They both give each other mutual respect.

EC:  What about the relationship between Silas and Nora?

SM:  When he is first hired, she does not want anything to do with him, having the feeling he is taking over her duties. She is trying to establish her position.  She slowly gains respect for him, watching how he handles the horse, people around him, and even her. They share a passion for horses, develop a friendship, and then it turns to love. In a sense they are kindred spirits.  He finds her fascinating, becomes intrigued with her, and is never overbearing.  He takes her for what she is.

EC:  What about Nora and her mother’s relationship?

SM:  Nora and her mom are complete opposites who hardly agree on anything. Her mother wants Nora to have a stable life, to do feminine things like cook and sew.  This causes mother and daughter to butt heads. After the father died, they try to understand each other more. They each want the bond and friendship that goes beyond parent-child.

EC:  What about your next book?

SM:  This current book is stand-alone.  The next book is called The Swindler’s Daughter, set in 1918 in rural Georgia.  A girl finds out her dad just died in prison even though she thought he died a long time ago. She has been left an unusual inheritance. It comes out in May 2023.

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.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Widows of Champagne by Renee Ryan

Book Description

For readers of Lilac Girls and The Lost Girls of Paris comes a captivating novel of resilience, as three generations of women battle to save their family’s vineyard during WWII.

Champagne, 1939

Gabrielle Leblanc Dupree is taking her family’s future into her hands. While she should be preparing for a lavish party to celebrate two centuries of champagne making, she secretly hides Chateau Fouché-Leblanc’s most precious vintages behind a fake wall in the cellar in preparation for the looming war. But when she joins the resistance, the coveted champagne isn’t the most dangerous secret her cellar must conceal…

A former Parisian socialite, Gabrielle’s mother, Hélène, lost her husband to another war. Now her home has been requisitioned by the Germans, who pillage vineyards to satisfy the Third Reich’s thirst for the finest champagne. There’s even more at stake than Hélène dares admit. She has kept her heritage a secret…and no one is safe in Nazi-occupied France.

Josephine, the family matriarch, watches as her beloved vineyard faces its most difficult harvest yet. As her daughter-in-law and granddaughters contend with the enemies and unexpected allies in their midst, Josephine’s deep faith leads to her own path of resistance.

Across years and continents, the Leblanc women will draw on their courage and wits, determined against all odds to preserve their lives, their freedom and their legacy…

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Widows of Champagne by Renee Ryan is the story of a family struggling to survive in Nazi occupied France. Three widows who lost their beloved husbands must now protect their livelihood, the Chateau Fouche-LeBlanc vineyard in Reims, after it was requisitioned by the Nazis.

The plot has wine merchant, Helmut Von Schmidt, now turned Nazi Captain in the Wehrmacht, requisitioning the LeBlanc home and stealing their wine for the German troops. Throughout the days he appears as Lord over the women and the manor. 

But the three widows come up with a plan.  Josephine, the family matriarch, a grandmother to Gabrielle, another widow, will use her early stages of dementia, appearing confused.  She and Gabrielle appear to struggle for control over the vineyard so that Von Schmidt must have all his dealings with the granddaughter. Helene, Josephine’s daughter-in-law, has the worst chore, to be the social secretary and a mistress to Von Schmidt.  Her two daughters, Gabrielle and Paulette, struggle to understand why their mother seems to have turned into a collaborator. Gabrielle fights to defend her vineyard and her country by joining the French resistance movement.  She does not understand why she is both fearful and enchanted with Gestapo Detective Wolfgang Mueller, who searches out French citizens.  Completely unlike Gabrielle, Paulette is young and selfish and has an SS boyfriend. The three widows struggle to keep each other alive, out of the Nazi grasp, and to make sure the Nazis do not find out their secrets.

This is a story of resistance, betrayal and heartache. It delves into the sacrifices and risks people will take to protect what they love. 

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Elise’s Author Interview

Elise Cooper:  How did you get the idea for this story?

Renee Ryan:  I was writing another WWII story and came upon how Hitler’s soldiers stole all these treasures including the French wine.  Unfortunately, the wine was lost forever.  Think about it, no one can ever get back or make, for example, a 1912 or 1867 wine.

EC:  How did the wine and champagne play into the story?

RR:  The story is set in and around a vineyard that is the LeBlanc family livelihood.  The Nazi occupiers shipped all the wine to the front to give to the soldiers.  It is based on a true story.  A lot of widows ran these vineyards because they lost their husbands during WWI.  For example, there were the widows Veuve Clicquot, Elisabeth Law de Lauriston Bollinger, and Marie-Louise Lanson de Nanoncourt.

EC:  How would you describe the four women?

RR:  Josephine is the boss until she realizes she is becoming confused.  As the matriarch of the family, she has passed the running of the vineyards to her granddaughter Gabrielle. She is very courageous.

Helene is the former Parisian socialite who is witty, charming, and brave.  She appeared to be a collaborator but is doing what must be done to save her family. 

Gabrielle is the fighter and very responsible.

Paulette is spoiled and entitled.  She represents those children who have yet to grow up.

All the women are trying to find their own way.

EC:  How would you describe Von Schmidt?

RR: He is self-indulgent, self-promoting, and narcissistic. He used the war for his own purposes.  Just like him, a lot of the SS men forwarded their own agenda.  He is a bully, thief, controlling, opportunistic, and has no regard for women.  He took away Helene’s dignity and independence.

EC:  Helene was accused of being a collaborator, but she wasn’t?

RR:  People make assumptions without asking the questions.  It was assumed that these women were able to make choices, while for many it was their only choice.  Survival for themselves or their family should be considered very noble, such as Helene. But there were also the ones like Coco Chanel, women more like Von Schmidt.  Since I worked for Chanel for a time, I learned how she hated these Jewish brothers. The Nazi seizure of all Jewish-owned property and business enterprises, provided Chanel with the opportunity to gain back the full monetary fortune generated by Parfums Chanel and its most profitable product, Chanel No. 5. The directors of Parfums Chanel, the Wertheimer brothers, were Jewish. Chanel used her position as an “Aryan” to petition German officials to legalize her claim to sole ownership.

EC: You go into how some people were stuck in the Nazi controlled lands?

RR:  This was the backdrop for Helene who decided to stay, thinking it would get better.  Her father had begged her to leave with her mother and himself.  They did get out, but when Helene wanted to leave it was too late. 

EC:  What about your next book?

RR:  It is scheduled to be published in October 2022.  It is a WWII European setting during the 1930s, early 1940s.  An Austrian opera singer and a British romance writer joined forces to get the Jews out of Germany and Austria. 

THANK YOU!!

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.