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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Featured Author: Jennie L. Morris


Welcome Today's Featured Author 
Jennie L. Morris!!!

 




Drawn in Shadows:
Get drawn into the shadows of the heart.
As a medical student, Mabel Blackwood knows all the anatomical features of the human heart, yet she’s never felt its racing pace conjured by the meeting of a single glance until she encountered Henry Grier. Born amongst the dregs of society, Henry entertains at one of the most prestigious bordellos on Carlyle Street. Will his unconventional past push away scholarly Mabel or will Henry’s free soul transform her into something much more?








A Yuletide Premonition:
Fate remains unwritten when all is given to love.
Jasmine Loveridge has no illusions about her life. With the spiritualism movement on the rise, she works more than ever, donning her fortuneteller costume each night to perform for the pinnacles of society at their Christmas gatherings. She needs the money to care for her brother and ill mother. After an accidental encounter with Mr. Draven McKellis on Carlyle Street, she encounters the admired entrepreneur unexpectedly while working a Christmas party. His penetrating gaze disapproving of her profession from across a candle-lit table covered in her tools of the trade.
A dangerous premonition concerning Mr. McKellis forces Jasmine to risk more than her reputation. Obliged to reveal the truth of her inherited abilities to the skeptical man, Jasmine’s disclosure turns into an unlikely friendship. Outside the scrutiny of high society, Draven is a man full of fancy, hopes, and dreams. Jasmine falls for this gentle, inquisitive soul. But she can never forget her station. Though her heart beats for one man, this is no fairytale. She expects no happy ending for a Carlyle Street gutter rat, no Yuletide miracles. A life of a spinster is her destiny.




The Absent Thread:
What happens when the threads of your life disappear, leaving you a wandering soul?
Dr. Ezra Blackwood, renowned surgeon, has the respect of his colleagues near and far, but a mystery surgical catastrophe leaves him shaken. Uncertain of his skill and of his path, he retreats to Carlyle Street and to The Albion, a place of refuge where the demands of his profession are far away.
Lost, Ezra finds no solace in the drinks and gambling that so often soothed him. He is a haunted man, unable to forget or forgive himself for his failure. Not even the arms of a long-acquainted lover can ease his heart. But a chance encounter with Adelia Barker, owner of Barker’s Bakery and CafĂ© changes everything. The proud, independent woman sparks a fire in Ezra that he thought lost forever. Her fighting spirit reminds him not everything is easy, somethings take sacrifice.
But how much will Ezra sacrifice for this woman? Is her heart worth his life?




Better the Devil You Know:
An immigrant, Fredrick Wolf has to succeed at Morrow Academy of Anatomy and Science. Not only succeed, he has to prove to his peers that he belongs, that he isn’t a poor local Dr. Morrow accepted out of pity.
Fredrick is willing to do anything to procure a prime specimen for their special assignment. Calling upon his uncle, his partner in crime since their move to England, Fredrick plans to use his uncle’s position at the local gaol to select the perfect candidate.
But not all prisoners are the usual drunkards or petty thieves. Some possess dark secrets, especially the man known in Clayton Bridge as Eugene Wallaby. Biding his time, Eugene sees young Fredrick’s murderous plan as a means of escape, but only if Eugene can survive the night.



About Jennie L. Morris:


I am Jennie, and yes, I was born in a time when every other baby girl in America was named Jennifer. I heard the call of writing when I was a teen and have dabbled for years in the art form. I grew up on a beef cattle farm in NE Ohio, one of the best childhoods a person can have, and a part of my heart will always belong to that dreary weathered place. Now I live in rural Kentucky, among the bluegrass and dazzling horses, with my amazing husband and our new addition Archie the Boxer.

I'm a huge history buff, with degrees in biology and anthropology. Since these are some of my favorite topics to learn about and research, I tend to add them as strong themes in my stories. Medieval European history is a passion, but who can resist all the lovely books about King Henry VIII and his unfortunate wives. In truth, I'm a huge Anglophile, and probably would be right at home living on the isle of my ancestors.

Also, I am an avid tea drinker. My cupboards are filled with more tea than any one person needs. Some of my favorite blends are Earl Grey, Chai, anything with cinnamon or peppermint, and I've grown a fondness for floral teas as I've aged. Usually I'm carrying a mug around the house, with some sort of tea sloshing inside, animals not far behind begging for treats or affection.

And last, I've an addiction to perfumes, with a growing collection of scents. From light and airy to the more gourmand, I like them all. What I adore about perfume is its ability to fit your mood, even better than your clothing. Smell can really lift the spirits and inspire some great writing.



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Interview With Jennie L. Morris:

1. Can you tell us a little about your books?
               My favorite genre to write is historical fiction with a romantic twist. I love a well-researched book, even if it may take me a day to find the right information for one sentence in a story, it is well worth it. Drawn in Shadows and A Yuletide Premonition are both set in a fictious large city in the 1890’s. They center around The Albion, a hotel on Carlyle St. owned by Thaddeus Anderton, a man capable of getting anything your heart desires: alcohol, drugs, a companion or two for the night, whatever you want. These books are stand alone, created in an open world for Leap of Faith Publishing by Natalie-Nicole Bates. My three books (one coming out later this year) in the series have reoccurring characters that probably should be read in order. Drawn in Shadows, my first book, is about Dr. Mabel Blackwood, a surgical student and anatomist, whose uncle sends her to The Albion and Carlyle street to hone her skills at drawing living people instead of cadavers, and to give her more experience at life. Though this is a romance story, I spent a significant amount of time doing research on medical techniques and protocols of the time. I have a huge interest in medical history and diseases, as a biologist and anthropologist, this was a fun book to write.
               The second book, A Yuletide Premonition centers around Jasmine Loveridge, an inhabitant of Carlyle Street. Set during the holiday season, this book highlights the peak of Spiritualism, a fantastic and interesting piece of history. Jasmine is a true psychic, and to feed her family, she bounces from Christmas party to Christmas party at rich houses, showing off for the guests. Mr. Draven McKellis, a silk factory owner on Carlyle street, and skeptic, meets her at several parties, where a unique friendship form between the two. Fascinated by otherworldly stories, I wanted to do something different with a paranormal twist
               The upcoming third book, The Absent Thread, returns to the Blackwood family, Dr. Ezra Blackwood, Mabel’s uncle. After an unforeseen medical catastrophe occurs on his surgical table, Ezra begins to question his abilities. For reprieve, he seeks solace at The Albion, where Thaddeus Anderton, his best friend offers him a place away from all his responsibilities and to contemplate his next move. Until an unexpected widow, named Adelia Barker, and the poor of Carlyle Street need his help.
               Better the Devil You Know was part of a short anthology no longer available. The premise of the story was for each student at a prestigious medical school in the 1870’s to obtain a fresh cadaver. My character, Fredrick Wolf, an immigrant from Germany, wants to prove to his fellow classmates his worth by procuring a healthy, prime specimen, no matter the cost. 

2. What inspires you to write?
               A student for life, I many of my ideas for stories come from topics I’m researching or articles I’m reading for pleasure. I love to read, though I do more writing than reading nowadays, except for research purposes, and used to get inspired by history books. Often true life provides the best material, a visit to a museum, or a new city, even an old photograph can be material for a great story. 

3. How do you come up with your characters names?
               I try to pick era and regional appropriate names. My characters are often from the working-class or middle-class, I find it works best when writing historical fiction to stick to history.

4.  If you could be friends with one of your character, which one would you chose?
               Unfair question! I’ve had a lot of readers say they wished they had an Uncle Ezra (Mabel’s uncle) and I have a character named Enrique Flores I adore. But I try to have strong, independent females in my books, each of who I admire and would like to think we’d be friends. 

5. Do you have a release day tradition?
               No, I just get excited that I’m published at all! I tend to call my sisters and tell my husband, but no traditions. 

6. Do you work with an outline, or just write?
               Both. Some books and stories I have outlined, and others are a broad picture. But to some extent, I have an overall image of what I want to happen. On occasion, the characters in a book can surprise you though. 

7. If your fairy godmother waved her wand and whisked you away to the location of your choice, which place would you choose?
               Europe. Either Ireland or Germany. My ancestral home is in Germany, a still functioning farm with distant relatives running it, and I would love to meet them. They’ve lived in this tiny little village for at least four hundred years, to visit would be a true experience. Ireland, I’ve always been fascinated by the Celts and their culture, again, big on genealogy, my mother’s side of the family has a strong connection to Ireland and it feels like I would be going home in a way. 

8. What writing projects are you currently working on?
               Several. I have a steampunk short story for an anthology, which I love the idea. I’ve not worked on anything like it before. I’m currently working on a WWII book, with a twist, to be included in a fellow Leap of Faith, LLC author’s open world book series. This has been a difficult book to write, not because I don’t like war books, but I am a stickler for the details. I’m contracted for several other anthologies, all of which are exciting, one is based on a Victorian asylum, another inspired by the BrontĂ« sisters.
I have a number of books and short stories coming out this year. Another Albion book called The Absent Thread (The Albion, Book 6), Skin Deep Ruins (Dark Carnival, Book 2), and a short story in Perfectly Poisoned Presents: Bad, Bold and Beautiful called The Black Silence.

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