Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

From the Back Cover -

Content in her comfortable marriage of twenty-two years, Jane Lindsay had never expected to watch her husband, Brad, pack his belongings and walk out the door of their Manhattan home. But when it happens, she feels powerless to stop him and the course of events that follow Brad's departure.
Jane finds an old ring in a box of relics from a British jumble sale and discovers a Latin inscription in the band along with just one recognizable word: Jane. Feeling an instant connection to the mysterious ring bearing her namesake, Jane begins a journey to learn more about the ring - and perhaps about herself.
In the sixteenth cnetury, Lucy Day becomes the dressmaker to Lady Jane Grey, an innocent young woman whose fate seems to be controlled by a dangerous polictical and religious climate, one threatening to deny her true love and pursuit of her own interests.
As the stories of both Janes dovetail through the journey of one ring, it becomes clear that each woman has far more influence over her life than she once imagined. It all comes down to the choices each makes despite the realities they face.

My review
Susan Meissner is a talented writer of historical romances, or should i say History and Romance? She has a way of writing that puts the reader into the characters place in time, even if you had not thought that was some time you would like to read about.
In today's society, it seems the popular thing, the "in" thing, if you will is to blame someone else for the situation you find yourself in...whether it is your enviroment, your financial or social status, your parents, and so on. Lady in Waiting explores the choices of a young woman in the sixteenth century, as well as the choices of a modern day wife, mother and daughter.
This is not the first book i have read by Susan Meissner, and like Orphans & Widows, Window to the World and Sticks & Stones, this books captivates the reader in short order, and keeps you reading.  Even if you, like me, don't usually like to read books written in the first person, don't let that keep you from trying a book by Susan. Lady in Waiting captures the 'what if' life of sixteenth century Jane Grey and through skillful writing compares it to modern-day Jane's life. Although the circumstances of the two Janes were vastly different, Susan expertly entwines the two stories through a ring. What i appreciated and obtained from this book was that even allowing others to choose for us, is in effect our choice, and love is a choice you make every day.

I would recommend this book as a great read.

It is available from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Living Books Inc (only Canadian), CBD.com, Barnes & Noble, Parable Christian Books
i recieved this book free from Multnomah Publishers in exchange and for the express purpose of writing an honest review. There was no obligation to give a possitive review.

review by Jane and book giveaway

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Friday, January 28, 2011

Author Interview and Giveaway - Janelle Mowery

Hello readers! Today I am happy to welcome Janelle Mowery, author of When All My Dreams Come True and several other novels, to Reviews By Jane!

First off, would you mind telling us a bit about yourself and something about you that might surprise your readers?

I grew up in southern Minnesota and moved to Texas after I graduated. Since then, I’ve married and we have two wonderful sons. As for something that might surprise readers…I went skydiving once. Loved it. I love to experience different things and I went skydiving to see what it was like. I wouldn’t be afraid to jump again, but I don’t feel like I have to jump again.

Skydiving? Fun! I've always wanted to. :-)
What inspired you to write When All My Dreams Come True?I’d been reading many fiction books and one day it hit me…I was sure I could write a story of my own. Once that thought took hold, it wouldn’t shake loose, so I started shaping a story. After many years of hard work, When All My Dreams Come True is the result.

And what a great result is was!
What prompted you to write in the wild west? I love western history. I’m amazed at the people who stepped out in faith and meager belongings or knowledge of what they faced, and moved west to begin a new life. I love the wildness of the west. It was a completely different life from the east.

Has your faith influenced your writings?

Without a doubt. First, I know none of this would be possible without my Lord and Savior. And second, I’ve gone through many phases of my life, some very difficult, and if I can get the fact that faith is what gets us through hardships woven into my stories, I’ve succeeded in the best reason to be published, especially if it helps someone going through their own difficulty.

Did you base any of your characters on people you really know?

I sure did. The pastor and his wife were based on a combination of two different couples I know, both who were incredibly faith-filled people. Great examples to follow. Also, the heroine has a touch of me in her. I grew up very much a tomboy and still have a strong streak in me. Bobbie’s character was easy to write because of this.

That's cool! When writing a few miscellanious short stories and a work-in-progress, Scattered Tears, with my friend, Katy, I noticed how some of the characters develop natural characteristics of the people you know.
Which book that you've written was your favorite to write?

Oh goodness. I love them all. I love the humor in the upcoming release, When Love Gets in the Way. I love the message of not judging by appearance in the book released last year, Love Finds You in Silver City, Idaho. But I guess the one that will always remain near and dear to my heart is, When All My Dreams Come True. It was the very first story I ever wrote and I worked so long and hard on it to make it publishable.

I love humor in books - I look forward to the release of When Love Gets In The Way!
When you started writing, where did you begin? With an outline? Or did you just jump into it and let the story form as you wrote?

I started with nothing but my imagination. I carried and formed this story in my mind for a year before I sat down and began putting it to paper.

                                                                 You've written and published several books. Which one required the most research? Which took the longest time to write? I guess I’d have to say the first mystery I wrote with a friend took the longest to research. I know nothing about poisons and how they work on a person’s system. The internet was a great tool, plus I have a nephew who was studying to become a CSI at the time. He and his professor were very helpful with the first and second stories.

It must be nice to have family members and friends who can help you with your research - blogging friends have aided my friend and me in the research for the book we are currently writing; it's been so helpful!
Who would you have play Bobbie and Jace if your book was made into a movie? Oh man, this is a hard question because I watch very few movies. I saw Eight Below a while back and thought Paul Walker’s face looked a lot like my Jace character that I pictured while writing the story but with longer hair. I’m stumped when it comes to an actress for Bobbie. She’d have to play a strong character with humor and sensitivity. Maybe you can come up with someone.

I think Erin Cottrell(left) would play a good Bobbie! Who is your favorite author? Oh wow. I have several. But if I have to narrow it to one, I’d have to say Francine Rivers. She’s amazing. Her books are like a tapestry with faith and the Word of God skillfully woven into her stories.

Do you have another book in the making? Can you give us some insight on what it's about?

There are always books/stories waiting to be written. I have two proposals for two more historical series as well as another stand alone and also a suspense waiting on the back burner. I just have to find time to write them. But I still have five other stories coming out this year. Two belong in the Colorado Runaways series and two are with my mystery series. I also have another Christmas anthology releasing in September. I think everyone will enjoy book two, When Love Gets in the Way, of my Colorado series. It’s loaded with humor because the heroine, Grace, isn’t the most graceful woman in the world. People avoid her because she’s accident prone.

Sounds really good! I look forward to reading it!
How can our reader's reach you?
Everyone can learn more about me and my books on my website at www.janellemowery.com, and I’m also on Facebook and Shoutlife.

thoughts

i always knew i had a magic touch when it came to computers. Not always, but enough times to be able to think this, when a friend asked me to come and help with a computer problem....the problem fixed itself just after i walked in the door, without me touching the computer! Now, my computer has been down for about a week (i used Mom's in the meantime). i don't know what happened - one night i shut it down, it did it's regular updates, and so on. When i tried to start it in the morning, the lights came on, but no one was home. The monitor remained = BLACK. So i took it to asked different people about it - at Costco, cause i didn't buy it there, they couldn't help me. Len here in the park only does desktops, because they have more room  to work on. and so on. Then last night i asked Bob if he would look at it. Sure, he said, no problem. i was going to take it over to him this morning, but thought i would just try it one more time (so i wouldn't look so foolish if it worked) VOILA - and here i am on line, blogging as if there was no interuption! Thanks, Bob. you don't even have to be in the same room as the computer to work on it - or did Len tell you it was time for pay back on the cookies last year?

We finished quilting the Quilt! yahoo! Now all that Mom needs to do is finish the edges. You can't see it here, but the prairie points are already on - just need to tuck in the edge of the material on all four sides and stitch. this is all hand sewing. No the blocks and strips were not done by hand, though the embroidery and quilting was.

diary

Hi there. it's been awhile since i've been on this...not sure why, except the last few days it seems like my mind has literally been whirling, and there is NO reason for it. Couldn't slow it down to latch onto anything worthwhile. Maybe it was only because i hadn't done any real physical labor! Nothing mentally strenuous either.
The weekend was busy socially, as well as with such mundane stuff as yes - shopping! well, that's out of the way for a few days, so we can go on to other things. Mom has the quilt up. i'll try to get some pictures shortly. Luckily the embroidered blocks (all 36 of them) are so awesome, the quilting will hardly get a second look, cause i am by no stretch of the imagination even a mediocre quilter.  Yesterday we had 5 ladies (including Mom and myself) around the quilt frame. Imagine if you can, a frame 72 inches by 24 inches set up in the room. After you put chairs on each side and end, once they are occupied, there is no room to walk behind them! But it was fun, and we got quite a bit done in the 2 hours they were here. Today cousin Ruth came to help. But then, i skipped out for most of the morning because i was down at the laundromat doing the laundry. I actually enjoy the latter more than the former, as long as i am not thinking guilty thoughts about leaving Mom to do the quilting by herself. We were able to move the quilt on the frame as we have now quilted 10/36 of the blanket. Yay. We are having a quiet evening today. We went to Cracker Barrel for (dinner) lunch and i had a meatloaf dinner, so will not have much for supper tonight. Both Mom and i are not hungry. So have yourselves a great evening too. The weather was gorgeous - dried my laundry outside on the line. Sadly, between laundry and quilting i didn't take time to enjoy the sun as such. But we'll have more days like that, down here in the valley of the sun. Take care.

January 5

Hi there...
thought you'd like to know what i did today, the first Wednesday of 2011. i made this cute little reindeer. Barb Herron - a fantastic teacher of all types of crafts taught a class how to make these pins out of - you guessed it, puzzle pieces. And you always wanted to know how to recycle puzzles that had pieces missing. There you have it.
Mom and i also (with lots of help from Phyllis) put together the quilt top that Mom embroidered last winter/spring/summer with the stuffing and quilt back. We also quilted around the 97 X 96 inch top once, so that it will stay in position, then brought it home set up in a quilt frame and quilt at our leisure. Didn't get a picture of it, but will include one sometime. It was a bit warmer here today - over 60 F, but obviously didn't have a lot of time to enjoy the sun. Maybe tomorrow. Thanks for listening! Mitzi

A Dog Named Slugger

Finished the book tonight! Aww...i wish it went on. Though it tied up all the loose ends, and i am not exactly sure where a sequel would take me. This is not only a great book about a service dog, but also about living with a handicap. I would definitely give 5 stars (the best) Although i picked it up because of the title, i enjoyed it because of the interaction between the dog and Liegh. it is a well written true story. Go for it. And thanks Liegh Brill for sharing this awesome story with us.

A Dog Named Slugger

I'm reading an incredible story about, you guessed it, a dog named Slugger. The name doesn't catch your fancy? Well the story line should! It's about a working-dog, and it's not K-9, nor eye-seeing or hearing dog. He's a dog trained to help another disability - CP or Cerebral Palsy. The plot is great, the main character has all the attributes of a hero. Now, granted, the word Dog in the title caught my attention, cause i love just love dogs. ( i don't live in a housedog friendly household, but have outside dogs), but it's the story that keeps me from doing the things i need to. And i'm not finished the story, but had to tell you about it!

A Very Special Delivery

i just finished reading A Very Special Delivery by Linda Goodnight. I thought it was a well written romance with enough drama happening to keep me turning the pages. Molly was babysitting when the baby she was taking care of died of SIDS. Enough guilt was involved to cause extreme hardship. Molly worked through it, and like a good romance it was resolved. The characters are rounded out, and the scenery explained, but does not overwhelm. A good book, and i will look for other books by Linda Goodnight. When i read romance, i enjoy those that have families in them. Thanks Linda for this book.

Jan. 4

iwoke up this morning (glad i did) feeling like i could tackle cleaning. i started off with the golfcart shed, but didn't get far as today was the first Tuesday of the month and mom and i were expected at Paradise Bakery for breakfast/coffee. Mom was ready to come home after that, but had barely come home and she wanted to head off to Joanne's to get the last bits of stuff to put her quilt together. It is so far to go (10 miles) so i had to do some shopping in that area too. Well, when we were done, we were too hungry to go home and make something for lunch, so we did the next best thing and stopped at Cracker Barrel for a bite. After a stop at Rosa Mae Schmidt for her quilt rack and keys to get into the social hall, i think we're all set to put up the quilt tomorrow. We had just got home when neighbor Del knocked on the door - he needed my help for about 3 seconds, measuring a curtain rod, and had been trying to catch me at home for who knows how many days - atleast yesterday and today, and he'd see me come home, and then by the time he got here i was gone again. Yep...that was me. Yesterday we spent the afternoon at Phyllis' (she has a big table) marking out the quilt, came home for a nap, then headed out to Cracker Barrel to meet them for supper! Seems like our life revolves around food down here! Social life, anyways. Now i need to get at that shed.

Code Blue

Just finished this book  by Richard Mabry, MD. An excellent book and will be looking for the sequel on the shelves!
Dr. Cathy Sewell returns to her hometown of Dainger (pronouced Danger) after her residency to practice. Events that start right after she arrives keep the reader turning pages. Richard Mabry does a good job of getting into the main characters heart and mind to draw the reader into the emotions of a woman doctor in small city. Romance is secondary, mystery is foremost. The story is told very well, and the characters are well-fleshed. Thanks for a good read.!