Welcome to this week’s Coffee Chat!
Settle in with us to meet this week’s guest author, Jan Selbourne, who writes historical fiction. Her featured book has the intriguing title of The Woman Behind the Mirror.
Good Morning, Jan. What may I get you to drink?
JS: My first drink of the morning is tea, then by 10am I’m looking for that coffee. Ground beans into the coffee maker, a dash of cream and sugar and I’m ready for the day ahead.
Ally: I assume you’ve already had your tea, so I’ll work on that mug of coffee while you tell readers something about yourself.
Settle in with us to meet this week’s guest author, Jan Selbourne, who writes historical fiction. Her featured book has the intriguing title of The Woman Behind the Mirror.
Good Morning, Jan. What may I get you to drink?
JS: My first drink of the morning is tea, then by 10am I’m looking for that coffee. Ground beans into the coffee maker, a dash of cream and sugar and I’m ready for the day ahead.
Ally: I assume you’ve already had your tea, so I’ll work on that mug of coffee while you tell readers something about yourself.
BIO:
Jan Selbourne grew up in Melbourne, Australia. Her love of literature and history began as soon as she could read and hold a pen. Her career started in the dusty world of ledgers and accounting then a working holiday in the UK brought the history to life. Now retired, Jan can indulge her love of writing and travel. She has two adult children and lives near Maitland, New South Wales.
Ally: I asked Jan to list something unique or unusual about herself and received this response: “I can’t think of anything unique/unusual – that I’ll admit to!” (It raised all kinds of questions in my mine! :) )
Author Contacts:
https://www.facebook.com/jan.selbourne/
https://twitter.com/JanSelbourne
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-selbourne-2817b6140/
https://nomadauthors.com/
Jan Selbourne grew up in Melbourne, Australia. Her love of literature and history began as soon as she could read and hold a pen. Her career started in the dusty world of ledgers and accounting then a working holiday in the UK brought the history to life. Now retired, Jan can indulge her love of writing and travel. She has two adult children and lives near Maitland, New South Wales.
Ally: I asked Jan to list something unique or unusual about herself and received this response: “I can’t think of anything unique/unusual – that I’ll admit to!” (It raised all kinds of questions in my mine! :) )
Author Contacts:
https://www.facebook.com/jan.selbourne/
https://twitter.com/JanSelbourne
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-selbourne-2817b6140/
https://nomadauthors.com/
INTERVIEW:
Ally: Was there one particular person or event that inspired you to write your featured book?
JS: While researching the history of the Bank of England, I discovered during the American War of Independence business for the bank was so good that George Washington remained a shareholder throughout. Like most Australians my knowledge of that war was basic, so I probed for more information and found an article on how bad the living conditions were during the Siege of Boston. Young women of eighteenth-century England were under the control of their fathers and then husbands. I wanted my female character to break free of the stifling restrictions. She runs away to the American colonies as they are breaking free from their ties. She too will experience huge permanent changes in her life.
Ally: Do you have a favorite book? One that you just can’t forget?
JS: I have a lot of favorites, can I name four?
When I was a kid - The Wind in The Willows. Grown up – Through A Glass Darkly, Karleen Koen, The Term of His Natural Life, Marcus Clarke, and Burning Bridges, Dee S. Knight
Ally: Readers don’t always know how important there feedback is to authors. What’s the most meaningful thing a fan has said about your books?
JS: “I didn’t want the book to end, I got so wrapped up in the characters, I wanted more time with them.” Review - Lies of Gold
Ally: If you were thrown through a black hole into an unknown world, what book hero would you want with you? Why?
JS: Probably Superman, with his incredible strength and ability to deal with any dangerous situation. He’d get me out safely.
Ally: What writing project is next on your To-Do list?
JS: I’m currently working on a story set in 19th C England and the Australian colonies.
A retired London doctor discovers he and his business partner have been swindled out of
their fortunes by the clerks they employed. Worried about the scandal, he begs Metropolitan
Police detective Lloyd Harrington to find them, quietly. When evidence reveals the business
partner and one of the clerks are travelling to the colony of New South Wales, Lloyd reluctantly
agrees to follow. Where a brutal revenge for crimes committed years ago is about to unfold.
This project is still in early stages so no anticipated release date.
Ally: Tell us which of the short answer questions you selected.
JS:
Ally: Was there one particular person or event that inspired you to write your featured book?
JS: While researching the history of the Bank of England, I discovered during the American War of Independence business for the bank was so good that George Washington remained a shareholder throughout. Like most Australians my knowledge of that war was basic, so I probed for more information and found an article on how bad the living conditions were during the Siege of Boston. Young women of eighteenth-century England were under the control of their fathers and then husbands. I wanted my female character to break free of the stifling restrictions. She runs away to the American colonies as they are breaking free from their ties. She too will experience huge permanent changes in her life.
Ally: Do you have a favorite book? One that you just can’t forget?
JS: I have a lot of favorites, can I name four?
When I was a kid - The Wind in The Willows. Grown up – Through A Glass Darkly, Karleen Koen, The Term of His Natural Life, Marcus Clarke, and Burning Bridges, Dee S. Knight
Ally: Readers don’t always know how important there feedback is to authors. What’s the most meaningful thing a fan has said about your books?
JS: “I didn’t want the book to end, I got so wrapped up in the characters, I wanted more time with them.” Review - Lies of Gold
Ally: If you were thrown through a black hole into an unknown world, what book hero would you want with you? Why?
JS: Probably Superman, with his incredible strength and ability to deal with any dangerous situation. He’d get me out safely.
Ally: What writing project is next on your To-Do list?
JS: I’m currently working on a story set in 19th C England and the Australian colonies.
A retired London doctor discovers he and his business partner have been swindled out of
their fortunes by the clerks they employed. Worried about the scandal, he begs Metropolitan
Police detective Lloyd Harrington to find them, quietly. When evidence reveals the business
partner and one of the clerks are travelling to the colony of New South Wales, Lloyd reluctantly
agrees to follow. Where a brutal revenge for crimes committed years ago is about to unfold.
This project is still in early stages so no anticipated release date.
Ally: Tell us which of the short answer questions you selected.
JS:
- memorable book you’ve read: Through A Glass Darkly
- a movie you’ll always remember: Casablanca
- most beloved comic book character: The Phantom
- favorite comfort food: Chocolate
- e: best place you’ve ever visited: Scotland, lovely people, beautiful country
The Woman Behind the Mirror
Genre: Historical Fiction
Heat Level Rating: 2
Marry in haste, repent at leisure is the last thing on Sarah Forsythe’s mind when she and the son of a local minister elope to the American colonies. She wasn’t to know abandonment, poverty and shame would follow.
As the colonies rebel against British rule and the siege of Boston worsens, Sarah hides her desperation behind a hard shell. To survive, she steals from her employer and instead of the cash she needs, she finds Bank of England documents. Sensing they might have some value, Sarah protects them through months of deprivation until she finally secures passage home to England.
Unknown to her, two men are following, intent on claiming those documents. At any price.
Bank of England fraud investigator Neil McAllister faces the biggest challenge of his career when a woman from Boston demands a reward for returning lost documents to the bank. Then two men with the same name and nearly identical stories arrive in England, each claiming ownership of them. Who is lying? Or are all three accomplices in a plot to swindle the bank?
As the obstinate, secretive woman gets under Neil's skin, he trusts that she was an unwitting witness to the crime of cold-blooded betrayal and treason before the fall of Boston. Now it’s up to Neil to protect Sarah because the traitor wants her dead.
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084WVQBTP/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=the+woman+behind+the+mirror&qid=1582087891&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B084WVQBTP/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+woman+behind+the+mirror&qid=1582088489&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B084WVQBTP/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+woman+behind+the+mirror&qid=1582088593&sr=8-1
Genre: Historical Fiction
Heat Level Rating: 2
Marry in haste, repent at leisure is the last thing on Sarah Forsythe’s mind when she and the son of a local minister elope to the American colonies. She wasn’t to know abandonment, poverty and shame would follow.
As the colonies rebel against British rule and the siege of Boston worsens, Sarah hides her desperation behind a hard shell. To survive, she steals from her employer and instead of the cash she needs, she finds Bank of England documents. Sensing they might have some value, Sarah protects them through months of deprivation until she finally secures passage home to England.
Unknown to her, two men are following, intent on claiming those documents. At any price.
Bank of England fraud investigator Neil McAllister faces the biggest challenge of his career when a woman from Boston demands a reward for returning lost documents to the bank. Then two men with the same name and nearly identical stories arrive in England, each claiming ownership of them. Who is lying? Or are all three accomplices in a plot to swindle the bank?
As the obstinate, secretive woman gets under Neil's skin, he trusts that she was an unwitting witness to the crime of cold-blooded betrayal and treason before the fall of Boston. Now it’s up to Neil to protect Sarah because the traitor wants her dead.
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084WVQBTP/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=the+woman+behind+the+mirror&qid=1582087891&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B084WVQBTP/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+woman+behind+the+mirror&qid=1582088489&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B084WVQBTP/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+woman+behind+the+mirror&qid=1582088593&sr=8-1
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