I am so happy to welcome Genevieve here today. Her book is not one I would have normally picked up. She contacted me about this book and her words really “intrigued” me. I am so glad she reached out to me!! You will be too!!
Welcome Genevieve!
Thanks for the invitation, Lori!
I feel … as I sit awaiting inspiration … that I am somewhat of a fish out of water here. No, that’s not right. Not out of water; I am breathing fine, after all. It’s just that it appears I’ve taken a little leap into the next pond over.
You see, I don’t write mystery. Okay, okay. I’ll wait for you to finish gasping and shaking your head with disappointment. Another moment? Sure. No problem.
Ready? Excellent. Now, if anyone is still there, first of all, thank you. Now I’d like to introduce you to a genre that many literary agents told me was somewhat of a mystery.
I write “Historical Romance”. That’s a simple enough concept, except what I write is more what I’d call historical ‘adventure’, rather than romance, but romance readers are eating it up, so if they want to call it a romance, that’s just fine with me. Carrying on with the fishy metaphor, please allow me to lead you into a murkier pond. Step carefully now. My historical adventure crosses over to include a touch of fantasy. Some readers have even hinted that it’s almost “literary” fiction. I had a few people suggest it could be YA, but I draw the line at that. My daughters won’t be reading “Under the Same Sky” until they’re at least able to drive!
And then there’s the question of the beautiful cover. Penguin is my publisher, and you might have heard that most authors have little to no say in the creation of their cover. I’m not the least bit disappointed—I think it’s gorgeous and eye-catching. But to me it screams romance, which I neither write nor read very often. So I shall bow humbly and beg you not to judge a book by its cover.
Being amongst you all today makes me want to cross the genre line one more time and make my novel into a mystery … of sorts. Let’s see if I get this right.
The year is 1746. Maggie Johnson is gifted with “the Sight”, which is a power kept secret from all but her family, because if it were to be discovered by the rest of the world, she could be burned at the stake. Except, impossibly, there is someone else who knows. Half a world away, Andrew MacDonnell, a Scottish Highlander who has dreamed of a faraway little girl since he was just a wee lad, knows all about Maggie’s dreams. How? Because he has the same gift. There is no mystery in the battle Andrew and the others fight that April on Culloden moor. The Scots fighting for the Stuart cause are wiped out by the superior English troops, and they are either killed, imprisoned and tortured, or forced to flee. Andrew shouldn’t have survived, injured and exhausted as he was, but from across the sea Maggie was with him, flooding his heart and muscles with her power, giving him what he needed so he could disappear from the field of death. But she cannot save herself when she and her sisters are kidnapped by vicious white slavers, and it is only when he appears in her mind that she is given the means to escape.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is just the first few chapters. Have I intrigued you?
~Genevieve
Well are you intrigued? I sure was and by page 13 I was so engrossed in the story I couldn’t put it down. This is not a “Historical Romance” it is so much more and it is filled with mystery!!!
Under the Same Sky
Berkley Trade
Published by The Penguin Group
Available Now!!
Cover Illustration by Gregg Gulbronson
Cover Design by George Long
I read this book last year and wanted to include it on my Best Books of 2011 but since technically is wasn’t available until January 3, 2012 it couldn’t be included, but it will be in the running for 2012. This book is amazing. To think because it is not classified as a genre I usually read, I may have missed out on this story. This is the type of book my whole blog is about, a book you can escape into, a perfect escape, an adventure not to be missed. As soon as I finished this story and the snippet of the next I had to email Genevieve. I loved the story so much but my enthusiasm was so great I was having trouble putting it into words. Today I still feel like I am gushing but I really want to get across to all of you that you will enjoy this book, especially if you are like me, someone who has basically stepped away from the romance genre.
This story is beautifully written and captivating. There are places where it is purely poetic. Genevieve you are more than welcome in this pond. I am anxiously awaiting Sound of The Heart coming out in May.
About This Author
Genevieve Graham graduated from the University of Toronto in 1986 with a Bachelor of Music in Performance (playing the oboe). While on a ski vacation in Alberta, she met her future husband in a chairlift lineup and subsequently moved to Calgary to be with him. They have recently settled in a small, peaceful town in Nova Scotia with their two beautiful daughters. Writing became an essential part of Genevieve’s life a few years ago, when she began to write her debut novel, Under the Same Sky.
CONNECT ONLINE
http://www.genevievegraham.com/
www.facebook.com/GenevieveGrahamAuthor
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4505583.Genevieve_Graham
twitter.com/GenGrahamAuthor
Genevieve will be at Kaki’s Blog on January 7 talking about the “ugly truth” of historical fiction! Be sure to check it out!
Have we “intrigued” you enough that you would like to win a copy of this story?
I am giving away my gently read copy to one lucky winner!!!
U.S. AND Canadian Residents Only
Contest Will End January 19 at 11:59 p.m. CST