Sci fi and Frank Dravis's Dianis series

The Matriarch, book 2 in the Dianis, a World in Turmoil Chronicles

Frank Dravis

Epic Sci-fi/fantasy

Six Factors Publishing, LLC, March 2020

386 pp

$3.89 ebook

Buy on Amazon

About the Book

The second book in the Dianis, A World In Turmoil chronicles, The Matriarch, a sci-fi fantasy, centers on the protected planet of Dianis. In a sudden shift of federation policy the planet is stripped of its cultural observers and colonization control agents, but a single team circumvents the withdrawal and stays behind. Love, friendship, and career aspirations drive the members of the last remaining Interspecies Development Branch team.  In many ways The Matriarch can be compared to Dune. Both are on primitive backwater worlds with precious resources coveted by the galaxy. Both are protected by a caretaker organization, and both succumb to galactic intrigue and betrayal.

The IDB team has disappeared, and the Matrincy, the governing council of adepts has intervened seeking clues as to their whereabouts. In the absence of the IDB, Nordarken Mining has intruded in the planet in its quest for new sources of aquamarine, a strategic resource needed in the Turboii War. Before his disappearance, Chief Inspector Achelous of the IDB predicted Nordarken Mining, in the form of extrasolars, would invade the planet and they do.

The effort to defend Dianis from extrasolar incursions has attracted the attention of the powerful Paleowrights a major religious sect on Dianis. The Paleowrights covet the technologies that Achelous brought to Dianis and have begun to raid any suspected sites where Achelous and his team may be. The free peoples of Dianis are thus faced with two enemies: galactic conglomerates intent on stealing their resources and the provincial Paleowrights intent on suppressing their free will.

Becoming aware of the cosmic turmoil that surrounds her lover Achelous, Marisa, a trader princess and force of nature, learns more and more of Achelous's secrets: he is not the simple Dianis trader he pretended to be but an undercover agent for a secret monitoring organization of a galactic federation hundreds of years in advance of her own. Marisa loves Achelous, her son, and her country, but can she unravel the mystery of Achelous' disappearance in time to save him from Paleowright retribution?

My review

The world of Dianis holds more precious secrets than the desperately needed and highly sought aquamarine taken for granted by the planet’s inhabitants.

Once secluded and sheltered from a galaxy at war, matriarch herself, the leading adept, or a type of mind-reader, of the ruling federation council has taken an interest in the turmoil surrounding this planet. The federation's leading expert on Dianis, cultural anthropologist Archelus, chief inspector of Interspecies Development, has not only been found, but has committed a grievous misstep on the planet he's supposed to be observing. He's uncovered the surface secret that makes Dianis a prize to mining companies eager to profit from war, but also the darker secret that would destroy the balance of power in the federation.

Dianis is a complicated hierarchy of various species with several different moralities and faith values at odds--sound like another world we know? The mysterious but despised Paleowrights know something's amiss due to strange phenomena occurring on their world and will use any means to control the source of these powerful abilities. At war with the Life Believers and everyone else, they wreak havoc. The Matriarch goes undercover to the planet to determine the real interest in exploiting this little world. Who will win the battle over Dianis’s true treasure trove?

Told in multiple viewpoints in epic format from a boundless cast, it’s troglodytes, Timberkeeps, Paleowrights and various tribal peoples fight to defend their way of living and coping on Dianis, a small planet in the Margel Damansk Asteroid Cloud. At stake? The culture of Dianis. At greater stake? A battle for control of the galaxy. Fans of epic sci fi serials will enjoy this second episode in the World in Turmoil series.

About the Author

Living along the Mississippi River, Frank Dravis has leveraged his many life experiences to write The Foundry, the first book in the Dianis, A World In Turmoil series. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan where he and his father cruised the Great Lakes. His father often chose to go out on the lake when it was empty, on the roughest days. Frank spent six years in the US Navy chasing Soviet submarines during the Cold War. His love of the sea is reflected in The Foundry, a love he has shared with his wife and two girls.

A hunter, Frank has taken game with a variety of weapons, including the bow, rifle, shotgun, and muzzleloader, the weapon modeled in The Foundry and used as the tool of choice in the fight against corsairs in The Citadel.

He assists his wife in her passion for horses as stable hand and the sole rider of Shaboom their willful appaloosa. Equines appear regularly in the Dianis series, not as horses, but as eenus.

Frank's care for Earth and the stewardship of their land in Wisconsin are reflected in the culture and ethos of the Timberkeeps.

He has two degrees, a Bachelor of Computer Science and a Master of Business Administration. Those degrees have been integral to his professional life where he has worked in a variety of roles from software engineer, to marketing executive, to chief information officer, at such prominent firms as SAP and Organic Valley. The technical and scientific acumen he gained through those endeavors is demonstrated in the series in the effort to make the Dianis brand of science practically possible somewhere in the galaxy today.

New Mystery from Gail Pallotta and giveaway

Cooking Up a Mystery

Gail Pallotta

Christian Romantic Mystery, 270 pp

released April 24, 2020

Pelican Book Group, LLC

$5.99 Ebook

Print – coming soon

Buy on

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble

Pelican book store

About the Book

Laney Eskridge worked to put her husband through dental school. Then he left with another woman. She's on edge from the emotional scars and her parents' deaths. Then she hears unexplained noises in her new tea house, and her anxiety is tripled. Add a budding romance with Eric—a guy with a fear of commitment—and it's all too much to handle. She cuts ties with Eric and plunges into making her business pay off.

When Eric discovers that Laney's in danger, he vows to protect her. But can he make a lasting promise? Will she trust him? . . .and when they overhear a threat that could cause national turmoil, will anyone believe them? There's more brewing than herbal tea in Cooking up a Mystery.


The Giveaway? Gail will give a Kindle copy of her suspense Stopped Cold to the third person who comments on this blog. Comment by noon CST on April 30 to be eligible.

A Brief Interview with Gail

Gail, what do you love about this new story?

Most importantly, I love the way the main character, Laney Eskridge, puts her faith in God to pull herself from the jaws of poverty. Her parents died and her husband left her for another woman. That was after she sent him through dental school instead of going to college herself. She’s struggling to make ends meet at Laney’s Delectable Delights, the new tea house her parents bequeathed to her. Forgiveness is the last thing on her mind right behind romance, which she wants no part of. However, when she comes face to face with Reverend Henshaw, who tells her she must forgive her ex, and move forward, she listens. She’s just not sure she can do it.

I also love the people who come in Laney’s Delectable Delights. She has some fun customers.

Introduce us to the romantic couple and tell us what makes their relationship work.

These two are highly unlikely to ever make a relationship work. Laney’s so angry at her ex, she’s determined to keep her distance from any man and succeed on her own. And that vow includes Eric Crider. He has a history of breaking off relationships when they grow too serious. His father hurt him and his mother deeply when he abandoned them, and everyone tells Eric he’s like his father. He would never want to inflict that type of pain on anyone, and he’s convinced the inability to commit to one person long term is in his DNA. There’s only one thing that can make their relationship work—their love for each other.

What do you hope readers will tell others about your book?

First, I hope they say it was fun to read. If they also find an inspirational message that touches them, that would be wonderful. It would be great too if they find some recipes they like in the back of the book. Those are from Mission Love Seeds, an organization helping children in the Philippines and answering local crises. All of them were taken from a cookbook, Heavenly Delights, authored as a fundraiser by my friend, Pam Nichols Griffin, in Destin, Florida.

    

What are you reading now?

Currently, I’m reading several books in the Ponder This series put out by Pelican Book Group.

What’s next for you?

I’m editing a couple of romantic suspense novels and hoping one of them will appear on the horizon soon.  

My Review

A wounded but determined chef and a commitment-phobic university professor fight their attraction. When they decide to take on an overheard terrorist plot, they must decide what’s more important—their personal hangups or the fate of the nation.

Laney finally landed on both feet and set off running. She’s got a great business, an assistant whose loyal and trustworthy, and a burgeoning catering clientele. She’s done the marriage thing and it didn’t work for her. That’s okay. Laney’s got enough on her plate and counting on only herself is a refreshing change, even though the weird noises coming from the other side of the wall creep her out. Then she meets Eric and his avant-garde taste in art.

Bachelor Eric’s broken-footed helplessness tugs at Laney’s heartstrings. He only needs dinner for a few weeks, thank you. Or does he? Na… Maybe… Could he? Could they? Every relationship has a few hiccups, and when these two souls accidentally overhear some truly frightening threats, they realize life is bigger than their issues. Besides, they make a pretty good team investigating things that go bump in the night. What happens after they save the world…well, you’ll just have to read the book.

Told from both sides of the oven, Laney and Eric’s humorous and poignant story of modern-day romance among the faith-filled set will leave Christian romantic mystery lovers smiling.

About the Author

Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, Mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. A 2013 Grace Awards finalist, she’s a Reader’s Favorite 2017 Book Award winner and a TopShelf 2020 Book Awards Nominee. She’s published six books, poems, short stories and several hundred articles. Some of her articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. https://www.gailpallotta.com/

And visit Mission Love Sees at http://www.missionloveseeds.org/blog/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/120924667405/

Social Media links:

Blog - https://gailpallotta.blogspot.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorsandMore

Twitter - Gail Pallotta  @Hopefulwords

LinkedIn -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gail-pallotta-b368b220/

Amazon page

Bookbub - https://www.bookbub.com/profile/gail-pallotta

Inspy romance with Clare Revell

Dark Lake

Clare Revell

Pelican Ventures LLC, September 2018

Inspirational romantic suspense, 320 pp

$5.99 Ebook; $15.99 paperback

Also available on Audible

Buy on Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Publisher

About the Book

Archaeologist Dr. Lou Fitzgerald is used to unexpected happenings, and they don't usually faze her. After surviving a childhood disability, and dealing with an unfair boss, Lou has learned the art of rolling with the punches. But when she arrives at Dark Lake, what was supposed to be a simple archaeological dig is beyond even her wildest imaginations. Landowner Evan Close has his own reasons for keeping the secrets of Dark Lake, and this attractive interloper is a menace. Her precious dig threatens to bring his house of cards tumbling down around him, and he feels helpless to stop it. It soon becomes apparent there are dark forces at work, and Lou's simple assignment turns into a mystery. Solving that mystery comes with a steep price.

My Review

Dark Lake has many eerie layers in name and back story. While Dr. Louise Fitgerald is a renowned archaeologist, she is also strangely vulnerable to the bizarre whimsies of the power-drunk director of the private organization she works for. He constantly pulls the rug out from under her and threatens her and yanks the privileges of name recognition that goes along with her discoveries. He pays well, but seriously, why is she working for this dangerous jerk? Could it be that her self-confidence is in shambles due to the disfigurement she deals with, yet tries to keep quiet?

“Rolling with the punches” has come to the last straw for Dr. Lou as she is shifted from a different archeological site and job just as she proved a long-held and worked-for premise on an important dig to a relatively recent site submerged when a dam was built a century earlier. She’s to dive and check over the remains of the village. But it’s not just the creepy fog that’s all wrong in Dark Lake. The property owner, the mysterious Evan Close who employs a body guard, has enigmas Dr. Lou longs to explore. The two hit it off right away and sparks fly as they’re drawn together through a mutual need to survive the secrets of Dark Lake.

Told through alternating points of view, the suspense builds wonderfully. The mutual tension works well, though I did have a giggle at Colonel Dad reprimanding two thirty-somethings to stay pure until marriage or he’d hand out knuckle sandwiches. Faith-based romance is nice and clean yet real without being preachy and spinsterish.

About the Author

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. They have recently been joined by Hedwig and Sirius the guinea pigs. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins. Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.

The first draft of every novel is hand written.
She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars. She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarere...
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellA...
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell

Claiming Canaan by Barbara Britton

Claiming Caanan: Milcah’s Journey 

Book 4 of the Daughters of Zelophehad series

Barbara Britton

Harbour Light Books, an imprint of Pelican Ventures LLC

April 17, 2020

Biblical Fiction

214 pp

$15.99 Print

$5.99 Ebook

Buy on

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Pelican Book store

About the Book

When the tribal elders make marriage a requirement for claiming her land, Milcah bat Zelophehad must find a betrothed straightaway. The only problem in finding a husband is that all her suitors were slain while conquering the land of Canaan. Men avoid her in order to stay alive.

After praying to God to send her a bold suitor, a man from her father's clan plummets from a tree right on top of her. Is this God answering prayer, or a foolish antic by Eli, the war-scarred brother from one of her clan's rival families.

Will settling in Canaan sort out Milcah's troubles?

My Review

The final book of Britton’s series about the Daughters of Zelophehad from the Book of Joshua is my favorite. The Israelite clans have finally reached the Promised Land, but their quest to claim it for their own has just begun. For Milcah, fourth of the five daughters given an allotment in their father’s name, pagan Canaanites are not the only enemy. Other members of her tribe lust after her land, and when her allotment comes with a price—a husband—she tries to obey. She even falls in love during the years since her three older sisters have married. Unfortunately, she has yet to share a wedding night since they have a habit of dying heroically and tragically. The draconian rules of etiquette in ancient Israel come to her rescue when the second-to-last man she’d be willing to claim as spouse and she are found in a compromising position.

Introduced in the first book, Eli is bit of a troublemaking curiosity seeker, the third son who has little to look forward to in inheritance. Since being wounded and scarred in battle, he’s chosen to comfort himself through drink. Milcah is determined to keep her inheritance and decides to put up with anything—anyone—who allows that to happen. All Eli needs is a chance to prove himself, and he could certainly find very little to complain about being the spouse of a comely landowner. He’s willing to turn over a new leaf, especially to prove his father and older brother wrong about his capabilities as a responsible man.

As these two begin to bond, truly, their strength is a three-stranded cord. Milcah is blessed upon blessed when she sees the riches of her property, but it comes with potentially insurmountable tests of Eli’s sobriety and their faith as they prepare for their wedding. The sisterly bonds are unbreakable, and their dedication to honor their one true God and their heritage is inspiring for any age. They work together in all circumstances to support each other.

Britton’s wonderful research puts the reader in time and place in ancient Israel. Although not every thread is completely woven in place, the sisters’ stories are lovingly wrapped up in pure romantic love. Britton’s bullies and waifs, however, are left to our imagination, and I’m okay with that. We know the ultimate end of the story, of course, from the Bible. 

About the Author

Barbara M. Britton was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, but currently lives in Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. She writes romantic adventures for teens and adults. Barb has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Wisconsin Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. You can visit Barb online at www. barbarambritton.com or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Inspy romance Flowers Can Be Fatal 11

Mums in November, Flowers can be fatal #11

Clare Revell

Pelican Ventures LLC, October 2016

Inspirational romantic novella, 127 pp

$3.99 Ebook

Also available on Audible

Buy on Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Publisher

About the Book

Running into Amber Neville after twenty years wasn’t on Dr. Jackson Parker’s list of things to do. Amber had been head girl to his head boy, and from what he remembers, she was British, stuck up and bossy...But the red-haired beauty she’s grown into leaves him stunned.Newly returned from a job in Canada, Amber remembers Jackson as a brash and rude American--not at all the even-tempered, handsome doctor he's turned out to be. But she can’t get involved, not with the massive burden she bears--a burden that has to remain hidden at all costs.As secrets are revealed, Amber’s life is thrown into danger. As the flowers fade, so does her chance of survival. But Jackson has other plans. After all, doctors are meant to save lives, no matter the cost.

My review

After reading several stories in the series and wondering about the American who seems to be everywhere, saving people and generally being part of the community, we finally get to his story. It’s worth the wait, readers! Jackson Parker is full of surprises. Having been raised as the son of a foreign diplomat, he had a lot to overcome and to prove to his classmates. Although smart, he tended to act up and act out in all the wrong ways. The girl he wanted most to approach back in their school days, Amber Neville, seemed out of reach…and then Jackson and his family moved again.

The two of them receive the surprise of a lifetime when Amber turns up in the small village Jackson returned to after getting his medical education and license. She’s been a nanny to a high-powered family and is looking for another job in this tucked-away place. Jackson wastes no time in letting Amber know that now he’s grown up he’s not repeating his past and letting her get away without even getting to know her. Amber is on edge, and Jackson wants to help her. When a dangerous allergy gives him the opportunity to come to her rescue, Amber’s heart is lost. Jackson unwittingly opens an ugly can of worms when he asks his cop brother to do a background check. Unsure what to believe and how to help, Jackson continues to pry until Amber can’t hide any longer. By then it might be too late for both of them.

Lots of twists and turns make this sweet little suspense a page-turner. Told from both points of view I was often shaking my finger at the mean cops and the horrifying situation these poor people were involved with. Those who love clean romantic suspense will love this story.

About the Author

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. They have recently been joined by Hedwig and Sirius the guinea pigs. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins. Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.

The first draft of every novel is hand written.
She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars. She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarere...
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellA...
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell

Inspy romance Flowers Can Be Fatal 8

Gladioli in August, Flowers can be fatal #8

Clare Revel

Pelican Ventures LLC, July 2016

Inspirational romantic novella

$3.99 Ebook

Also available on Audible

Buy on Amazon

Barnes and Noble

About the Book

The work place is volatile and the volcano is restless… Jael Stevens questions her decisions after she ignores her brother’s warnings and takes a sabbatical to work as a nurse on the volcanic island Tiampu. The position isn’t what she imagined. Long hours, difficult working conditions, and frequent rumblings from the nearby mountain are only made bearable by the joy of helping others and a certain set-in-his-ways pilot. Micah Norris has dedicated his life to God and is more than content with his permanent bachelor status. But after his childhood filled with abuse, could it be that keeping his distance from others is self-preservation? When Jael Stevens shows up, Micah isn't prepared to like her. He sees the new nurse as just another in a long line of caregivers from "civilization" who have no idea what life on a remote island will be like, and he is tired of constantly having to train new professionals who don’t last. But Jael makes a big impression. With her Christ-centered focus and her kind treatment to patients, she may be just what the doctor ordered. His confirmed bachelor status may be in serious trouble. Can he finally let go of his painful past, and will he have enough, time to do so with a volatile workplace and a restless volcano?

My review

Bad things happen with volcanoes in August, Jael Stevens’s brother tells her when she takes leave from her hospital nursing job for a missionary stint in Indonesia. Jael isn’t impressed, since the volcano on Tiampu, where the Red Cross home base is set, has been silent for hundreds of years. She has little idea what she’s truly in for, however, as she attempts to match hospital decorum and uniform, including high heels, with jungle medicine. Scrambling over a log with the help of a smirking smug pilot is a humbling experience. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

Pilot Micah Norris has two loves: God and bush flying. In that order. In his world, Micah is the boss, and there’s little room for deviation. Every six months he has to break in a new nurse, and this latest one has a funny name to go with her funny ideas. Didn’t anyone tell her that dresses and pantyhose won’t cut it? And he’s in charge? As the two begin to work out their anything-but-routine schedule, Jael learns confidence in the most unusual circumstances and Micah learns he can bend his strict mindset and closed heart without breaking.

The two face the ultimate sacrificial challenges when Tiampu awakens. Told through intertwining points of view, each of these romantic people share their deepest feelings and fears as they begin to bond. I loved the audio version narrated by Brit Lynne Thompson.

About the Author

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. They have recently been joined by Hedwig and Sirius the guinea pigs. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins. Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.

The first draft of every novel is hand written.
She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars. She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarere...
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellA...
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell

Inspy romance Flowers Can Be Fatal 9

Forget-Me-Nots in September, Flowers can be fatal #9

Clare Revel

Pelican Ventures LLC, August, 2016

Inspirational romantic novella

$3.99 Ebook

Also available on Audible

Buy on Amazon

Barnes and Noble

About the Book

On his third tour of duty in Afghanistan Lt. Col. Bev King signs up for the parcel service. He likes the contact from home, appreciates the generosity and thoughtfulness of his benefactor, and is intrigued by this woman who lives in the same town as his grandmother. Jude Travis loves sending care packages to servicemen and is thrilled when "her squaddie" replies. A rapid letter exchange follows, and when he comes home on R&R they meet. But Jude is being stalked, and Bev might just get snagged in the crossfire. Will this whirlwind romance cause repercussions? Could coming home be more dangerous for Bev than staying in a combat zone?

My review

I enjoy Revell’s Flowers Can Be Fatal series. These gently linked stories that mention characters in other books and sometimes involve them are all stand-alone romances with a bit of bite. In this story, Jude Travis has a special affinity for soldiers since members of her family have also been in service. She supports Her Majesty’s troops overseas through letters and care packages. She owns her own bakery and spends her spare time keeping up with her business. She’s on the lonely side, but doesn’t have much time or interest in a social life. She also has a sneaking suspicion someone from her past is showing up at all times in all sorts of crazy places, but she can’t prove this person means her harm. When it becomes obvious she’s in danger, she does what she can to protect her new love interest, the soldier she’s been writing to on leave at home, Bev, and her heart.

The recipient of her latest personalized and warm-hearted care packages and letters, Bev King finds himself attracted to this writer like no one else When he’s fortunate enough to meet her, it’s pretty much lifelong love at first sight. Jude is an enigma, attempting to be confident and independent, yet facing a nameless fear she won’t share. When the stakes are raised and Bev is pulled into her trauma, potential repercussions abound. Protecting Jude could be more dangerous than active duty.

Told through interchanging viewpoints, Forget-me-nots is a compelling, short drama of inspirational romance and suspense. I listened to the audible version and enjoyed hearing the British nuances that don’t look the same on a printed page.

About the Author

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. They have recently been joined by Hedwig and Sirius the guinea pigs. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins. Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.

The first draft of every novel is hand written.
She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars. She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarere...
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellA...
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell

Tam May on Updating Gnarled Bones

In 2017, I published my first book. It was a book of contemporary literary/psychological fiction short stories titled Gnarled Bones and Other Stories. Lisa Lickel was, in fact, generous enough to review the book, which you can read about here. It was an important book for me and one that allowed me to “test the waters,” as it were, as a self-published author.


But, like many authors with their first book, I wasn’t completely satisfied with it. In 2018, I started to entertain the idea of putting out a second edition. At the end of that year, my writing started to evolve from contemporary fiction to historical fiction. I began the Waxwood Series, and in 2019, I published the first two books of that series, The Specter and False Fathers. I discovered my passion for history and fiction go very deep, and I wanted to transfer that passion to readers as well.


At the end of 2019, I began looking again at the stories of Gnarled Bones. Many readers had commented they felt the stories were too short and ended too abruptly. I entirely agreed with that. So the first order of business was to expand and revise the stories.


But I realized also that, like many beginning authors, I hadn’t gone as deeply into what themes tied the stories together in the collection as I should have. Short story collections are tricky because if there isn’t really something to connect the stories, readers sometimes feel unsatisfied with the reading experience.


About that time, I started to read Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. I had read a snippet of the book in grad school, but I’d always wanted to read the entire thing. Friedan’s experiences interviewing suburban housewives in the 1950s and her quest to find the “happy housewife” connected with me because I realized she was talking about my mother’s generation. I could see how the feminine mystique and the Problem That Has No Name related to my mother’s life and the lives of her friends. I wanted to write about these women in the post-war generation who struggled with a definition of femininity that they were being pushed to accept and that was simply unsatisfying to them and their journey to self-discovery that would bring on the second-wave feminist movement a decade later.


These were the themes that guided me in revising Gnarled Bones for the second edition. In doing so, the book became almost an entirely new work. I even had to change the title of the book to Lessons From My Mother’s Life because the original short story upon which the first edition was titled could no longer be a part of the collection (I’m saving it for a novella of its own). I explain what changes I made to this second edition, and why I made them, as well as some of the background behind the collection in an Author’s Note I include in the book.


I really hope this second edition will resonate with many women who, like me, have mothers and grandmothers that lived through the post-World War II era and that it will help them to understand these women just as writing the stories helped me to understand my mother better.   

It was the 1950s. The war was over and women could go back to being happy housewives. But did they really want to?


Women should have been contented to live a Leave it to Beaver life in the mid-20^th century. They should have been fulfilled. Women’s magazines told them so. Advertisers told them so. Doctors and psychologists told them so. Some were. But some weren’t.


In the 1950s, women were sold a bill of goods about who they were and who they should be as women. Some bought it. But some didn’t.


These five stories are about the women who didn’t.


A teenage bride sees her future mirrored in Circe’s twisted face. A woman’s tragic life serves as a warning about the dangers of too much maternal devotion. And the lives of two women intersect during two birthday parties, changing both of them. These and other moving tales of strength, discovery, and hope are about our mothers and grandmothers and the lessons their lives have to teach us.


This book is the second edition of my 2017 short story collection, Gnarled Bones and Other Stories. This edition has been extensively revised, the stories changed and expanded, and the context moved from the present day to the 1950s and 1960s. This edition also includes a Preface and a bonus chapter from The Specter, the first book of my Gilded Age family drama, the Waxwood Series.


You can find out more information, including buy links here.

Tam May grew up in the United States and earned her B.A. and M.A in English. She worked as an English college instructor and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher before she became a full-time writer. She started writing when she was 14, and writing became her voice. She writes historical fiction that examines characters in the social and psychological contexts of their time.


Her first book, a collection of contemporary short stories, was nominated for a 2017 Summer Indie Book Award. A revised and expanded second edition of this book is now available under the title Lessons From My Mother’s Life. She is currently working on a Gilded Age family saga. The first book, The Specter, came out in June of 2019, and the second book, False Fathers, is also now available. Book 3 (The Claustrophobic Heart) and Book 4 (Dandelion Children) will be out in 2020. She is also working on a historical mystery series featuring a turn-of-the-century New Woman sleuth. Both series take place in Northern California.


She lives in Texas but calls San Francisco and the Bay Area “home”. When she’s not writing, she’s reading classic literature and historical fiction, watching classic films, or cooking up awesome vegetarian dishes.


For more information on Tam May and her work, feel free to check out her website at www.tammayauthor.com.