Fiction
Novel Reaction is excited to welcome author Barbara Freethy, Barbara is the author of more than twenty novels, the latest being her Angel Bay Series. Let’s learn a little more about Barbara:
I’ve been making up stories most of my life. Growing up in a neighborhood with only boys and a big brother who was usually trying to ditch me, I spent a lot of time reading. When I wasn’t reading, I was imagining my own books. After college and several years in the P.R. field, I decided to try my hand at a novel. I was pregnant at the time, and I think there must have been something in those pregnancy hormones. Two years after that decision, I had a finished book and a contract with Silhouette Romance. (Okay, I’ve glossed over the hair-pulling struggle of actually writing that first book, but all the pain vanished when I got the “call”.)
I wrote several books for Silhouette under a pen name, Kristina Logan, and then moved on to single title romance, writing books for Avon and NAL and most recently for Pocket Books where I’ve launched my Angel’s Bay Series. It’s the first time I’ve written a series of connected books, and while it’s quite a challenge, I love being able to develop continuing characters and storylines and create an entire town complete with a rich and fascinating history. Book one, SUDDENLY ONE SUMMER came out last summer and this spring, ON SHADOW BEACH (April) and IN SHELTER COVE (May) will be released. A fourth book will be out in early 2011. IN SHELTER COVE will bring my total of published books to 27.
As you can imagine, it’s taken me a few years to write that many books. I no longer have babies or little kids running around, but I continue to have the support of my family as I live the crazy life of a writer, one foot in the real world, the other in the world of my imagination.
I first got my love of reading from my mother, who was an avid reader and filled our home with overflowing shelves of books. She was also the one who first came up with the idea of writing a romance and completed her first novel a few years before me. When I first started writing, we traveled to writers’ conferences together and learned the craft, but mostly we just had a lot of fun. It was wonderful to have her support and encouragement. She was in the audience when I won the RITA for Daniel’s Gift, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget the expression on her face. While, she never fulfilled her own publishing dreams, she kept on writing, as much for the joy of it as anything. And some days when the writing seems “hard” or when the ever changing publishing business takes another spin, I think of her and remember that it’s always about the story. And the next best thing to reading is writing.
I hope to continue on for many more books, because the ideas just keep coming. When I’m not writing, I’m enjoying my family and the usually good California weather. A native Californian, I’ve lived at both ends of the state, and while I sometimes miss the hot summer nights of Southern California, I love the beautiful bays and hillsides of Northern California and the intriguing city of San Francisco, one of my favorite settings.
NR: How old were you when you wrote your first book?
Barbara: I started writing when I was in my mid twenties. My mother was an avid romance reader and I grew up in a house overflowing with books. After college and several years working in communications, I decided to take a break from writing about high tech companies and write a book. I also had two little babies in the house and thought it was also be great if I could launch a writing career and work from home. It took me about a year to write the first book, which I sold to Silhouette Romance under the pen name Kristina Logan. I wrote 7 more books for Silhouette and then decided to try a longer book. That was DANIEL’S GIFT, which I wrote under my own name, and it went on to win the RITA for Best Contemporary Romance and was also optioned for a TV movie. I’ve now published a total of 28 books with the next one, GARDEN OF SECRETS, being released by Pocket Books, September 20, 2011.
NR: Who are the authors that you read or which authors helped you decide to become a writer?
Barbara: I’m a huge reader but I was definitely influenced by Nora Roberts, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Kay Hooper, Elizabeth Lowell, Karen Robards and many, many more.
NR: Where did you come up with the idea of the Gabriella sinking, leading to the founding of Angel’s Bay?
Barbara: Angel’s Bay was a fun community to create. I have no idea how it all came together but I wanted the town to have a history rich in legends. In some of my research, I read about shipwrecks off the coast of California and how there are underground canyons where ships can be lost for centuries. I thought that would be a cool tidbit to work in. To throw in a little more California history, I set the wreck towards the end of the California Gold Rush and filled it with gold. The town was created by the bay, where some of the survivors made it to shore and ever since then stories of angels watching over the town have been told. The women of the wreck also started the first Angel’s Bay quilt, which was made of squares telling each family’s story. The quilting tradition continues today and the past and the present are constantly being reconnected with each new stitching of the quilt and of course the quilt shop is the heart of the town.
NR: I am very excited that Charlotte is finally getting her own story as she has been one of my favorite minor characters, can you give us any hints as to who she ends up with? (I am totally team Joe!)
Barbara: I cannot tell you who Charlotte ends up with — that would spoil the story, but I am really excited that GARDEN OF SECRETS features one of my favorite characters, Charlotte, as well as the two sexy men who want to claim her heart, Joe and Andrew. Each is a worthy competitor. So Charlotte has some tough decisions to make.
NR: Do you have any questions you never get asked but always want to be asked?
Barbara: That’s a tough one. I think I’ve been asked everything! I guess one question I’d like to answer that wasn’t asked is whether the series has to be read from the beginning. While the entire reading experience will be richer from the start, I worked especially hard to make sure that each book stands on its own and readers can jump into the series at any time and not feel lost.
NR: On Novel Reaction each month we do a books to movie challenge where we read the book and watch the movie and discuss it. Which is your favorite book to movie and why?
Barbara: Another good question. I recently saw SOMETHING BORROWED, which was based on the book by Emily Giffin. I thought the movie was pretty close to the book with a couple of exceptions. But I think the book did a better job of really showing us the depth of the characters, which made it easier to understand their motivations and actions. I didn’t think Rachel came across as likeable in the movie when she sleeps with her best friend’s fiancé, but the complexities of the love triangle are better done in the book. But overall, they were both great entertainment.
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Thank you so much Barbara for stopping by and sharing with us, I haven’t seen Something Borrowed yet but it is on my list. I just finished Barbara’s Angel Bay Series and enjoyed it. The reviews of the first four books will follow but here is the reading order:
Angel Bay Series:
Garden of Secrets (September 2011)
“I am Johannes Verne and I am not afraid.” For Johannes, in The Lonesome Gods by Louis L’Amour, life has started off differently than other kids. He grew up never knowing kids his own age and only participating in conversations with adults, mostly with his mother and father. By the time he was eight, Johannes was already thinking and conversing on the level of adults. Because his mother had passed away and his father was dying, they joined an emergency wagon train west, hoping to arrive in California in time for Johannes to meet his grandfather. Unfortunately, his grandfather still carried hard feelings towards his father. Johannes and his father stopped in the desert outside of California and started a life where the dry air could help his father live a little longer than the moist eastern air. Johannes and his father were soon tracked by the grandfather and by some miracle Johannes survived in the vast desert. He was protected by his new found Indian friends and by the people who rode west with him. Johannes joins Miss Nesselrode and she taught him many things about business. He continued to learn and soon fell in love with a girl named Meghan. Life continued to be extremely difficult and Johannes realized he had made many enemies by just existing. Will Johannes ever be truly free to do as he chooses or will he forever need to be watching his back from those that wish him harm?
I really loved this book by Louis L’Amour. It had tons of action to keep me interested along with the subtle love story within the plot. This novel in particular made me stop and think a lot about different aspects of the wilderness and how things and people have gone on before. I loved the main character Johannes and really enjoyed how the author managed to develop such a strong character through out the course of the novel. Johannes was full of integrity, intelligence, and initiative. He didn’t sit back and wait for things to happen- he met them head on, knowing what had to be done. I also loved the descriptions of the desert: Louis L’Amour managed to transform something generally thought of as ugly into a thing of true beauty and wonder. The novel really had an amazing plot and some very good morals.
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Title: The Lonesome Gods
Author: Louis L’Amour
Format: Paperback, ebook, audio
Page Nos.: 560
ISBN: 978-0553275186
Publisher: Bantam
Release Date: 1983
Reviewer: Jillian
When Pamela Lawson decides to have breast augmentation to feel better about herself, she has no idea she’s about to put her life on the line. The implants that Dr. MacNamara recommends to her is supposed to keep her from getting uncomfortable ends up causing cancer. What Pamela doesn’t know, is that filing suit against P.S.S. sets off a series of deadly explosions and death threats.
In Murder by Another Name by Jo Stone, attorney Janet Stephenson sets off to get justice for Pamela Lawson’s sickness, and ends up finding evil lurking in the P.S.S. company. Janet is worried about Pam’s health and is trying to get her some money to help pay for her chemo and other expenses that are involved with her liver cancer. She hopes that she can get her the help she needs before it’s too late to save her.
I thought this book was really interesting. I struggled reading about a mother who gets sick. After having my own mom pass away from breast cancer, I hesitated to read this book. I enjoy mystery and law cases, so I started reading this book. I had a hard time putting it down! The explosion at the beginning of the book was a perfect way to catch my attention! I struggled a little with some of the long legal process that Jo goes into. I felt it wasn’t necessary to give us all of the legal stuff. I enjoyed the characters in the book. I felt like I could really relate to Pam Lawson, after having three kids of my own, I would like to feel better about myself. However, after reading this book, I no longer want breast implants. I would suggest Murder by Another Name by Joe Stone to people interested in law stories.
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Title: Murder By Another Name
Author: Jo Stone
Format: Paperback, Hardbound, eBook
Page Nos.: 504
ISBN: 978-1432765620
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Release Date: October 2010
Available for purchase: Amazon.com, Outskirts Press
Reviewer: Jocee
**I received a copy of this book from the author but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Imagine skipping Christmas, just for one year! No Christmas tree, no cards, no parties, no tree. Now, meet the Kranks in Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. Mr. Luther Krank is a cranky and penny pinching accountant at a prestigious firm. Mrs. Nora Krank, a loving mother to Blair, and a volunteer for numerous associations. Now, Blair Krank, a happy Peace Corp volunteer, heading for the deep jungles of Peru for a year.
With Blair leaving for a year, Mr. Krank convinces his wife to skip Christmas, just for one year. They deal with neighbors, television reporters and friends who don’t exactly agree with this. Mr. Krank looks through his receipts and finds that last year the spent roughly $6,500.00 on Christmas. He points out that if they skipped Christmas and went on a cruise instead, his wife would save a lot of headache. She wouldn’t have to send out cards, buy gifts for people she doesn’t even like, and she wouldn’t have to try and give away the fruit cake that she hates so much. John Grisham does a fabulous job of making you rethink the whole idea of Christmas. Skipping Christmas definatley has a lot of Christmas spirit in it, even with the Kranks trying to get away with giving nothing, and receiving nothing.
I have to say, I like the thought of skipping Christmas. I know my husband would really like it, but being the parents of three children, the oldest of which is 5, it’s hard to do away with it. I am the “Grinch” of my family! For Christmas one year, my mom gave me a grinch backpack. It is still my favorite bag to carry through the holidays! I don’t like to spend money! I’m not creative when it comes to gifts or decorations! I don’t like to decorate, because it means I have to take them back down and put them away in less then a month. To give you a clue, we got our first Christmas tree EVER last year. My husband and I have been married for 8 years now. Yeah, we don’t do holidays. But, as my kids get older, the more we both enjoy Christmas morning and seeing the excitement in my 19 year old sister’s eyes, and my kids’ eyes. We have so many traditions that my mom started when we were young, and we still continue with them, even though she passed away 3 years ago. Once you put aside all the craziness of the holiday, and concentrate on what Christmas is all about, and seeing your kids get so into it, it’s hard not to enjoy it. Maybe, some day, my husband and I will go on a cruise instead of celebrating Christmas, but for now, we’ll enjoy the hectic holiday with our wonderful family.
You can read an excerpt here.
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Title: Skipping Christmas
Author: John Grisham
Format: Paperback, eBook
Page Nos.: 208
ISBN:978-0440422976
Publisher: Bantam
Release Date: October 2010
Available for purchase: Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble
Reviewer: Jocee
