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The Real Truth behind my upcoming Paris WW2 novel ‘SISTERS AT WAR’ by Jina Bacarr

May 11, 2023 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as #MeToo

my gorgeous cover for ‘Sisters at War’ up for pre-order on Amazon

I never would have predicted when I sent my editor my latest novel SISTERS AT WAR on Tuesday (my heroine is a victim of sexual violence in Paris during WW2), that fellow writer E. Jean Carroll would win her sexual abuse and defamation case in Federal Court on the same day.

Bravo to E. Jean for her courage and fortitude in pursuing justice for women everywhere. I remember when we crossed paths back in the day. She was vivacious, charming, and gracious, taking time to give advice to this young writer. (I saved her business card… I’ve got it somewhere.)

And in our writing careers, we both faced unwanted sexual advances from men in power.

Let me explain.

I’ve had several experiences that formed me as a young woman… unfortunately, some were unpleasant sexual encounters and like so many women of my generation, I kept silent.

Until now.

What happened to me formed the character of my heroine in SISTERS AT WAR who is raped and assaulted by an SS officer and the effect it has on her and her sister. Guilt, damage to her self-esteem, loss of confidence, and a rift between the two sisters when she believes her to be a collaborator. I’ve done some hard thinking about whether or not to discuss the events in my life that still give me chills. To give credence to my heroine, I feel I owe it to my readers to let them know I speak from experience.

In this first post, we’ll go back in time to my early writing days. I had a few breaks in the biz and wrote scripts for various shows from children’s to daytime TV and dialogue for primetime TV. I worked with some great male writers who respected me… and my work. I have forty-three TV and cable writing credits. And three produced one-act plays in Malibu.

Then I interviewed for my dream job: assistant producer. I went for the interview and it went well… until the company executive groped my breasts. I was shocked. I ran straight to the agent who sent me for the interview and told her what happened. The agent told me to ignore it and take the job. (This was before the ‘Me Too’ movement.’

Oh, my…

I said no. Then the exec called me and to his credit, he apologized and offered me the job, assuring me it wouldn’t happen a second time. Still, I didn’t feel good about the situation, that my worth as a woman and as a writer was devalued.

Again, I said no.

To this day, I wonder what would have happened if I’d ‘looked the other way’ and taken the job, but I couldn’t live with myself if I did. In the end, I walked away with my dignity intact.

And that’s more important to me than any showbiz ‘break’.

In the months leading up to the September 25^th release date of SISTERS AT WAR, I will discuss sexual assault encounters that I experienced in Paris, Italy, and Copenhagen… and a two-part account about the night I was kidnapped and assaulted when I was in graduate school.

Yes, the details remain vivid. Because you don’t forget.

Thank you for listening.

Jina

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Titanic Trivia Quiz: How many can you get right? by Jina Bacarr

April 11, 2023 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as Belfast, Cherbourg, historical romance, iceberg, romance, ship of dreams, Southhampton, Titanic, Titanic111, women's fiction

Meet Ava O’Reilly, the Irish heroine in ‘The Runaway Girl’ who boards the Titanic at Queenstown

THE RUNAWAY GIRL. was a special challenge to write because of the importance to ‘get it right’ re: every moment aboard the ship since the ship of dreams set sail on April 10, 1912.

It’s all in the details, they say…

But how many details do you know about the TITANIC?

Check your Titanic knowledge with:

A Titanic Trivia Quiz

We’ve seen the films, read the books, but what do you know about the Titanic, really?

Take the quiz and find out!

(answers at the bottom of the page)

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Titanic Trivia Questions:

You’ve just spent your honeymoon in Paris with your handsome husband and it’s time to return to America. He surprises you with first class tickets on the Titanic. From what French port do you sail?

Marseilles
Cherbourg
Calais

The Titanic has just arrived in Queenstown and you see several bumboats with vendors hawking their wares. They come aboard ship with their Irish souvenirs. When John Jacob Astor buys his new bride a souvenir, your husband buys you one, too. What did Colonel Astor buy his bride?

a set of china
a Celtic brooch
a lace shawl

You’re thrilled to find fresh flowers in your cabin when you and your new hubby come on board the ship of dreams. You’re also excited to find out you’re one of several honeymoon couples sailing to New York. According to reliable sources, how many honeymoon couples were there on the Titanic?

You hear heated whispers in the first class dining saloon when American millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim arrives with his latest mistress. Everyone’s curious, who is she? And where is she from?

Mlle. Aubart, a Parisian entertainer
Madame de Villiers, a Belgian cabaret singer
Miss Annabelle Pearl, a British fashion designer

You’re late for dinner in the first class dining saloon and lost in the maze of dead end corridors when you run into that handsome gentleman you met last night. He shows you the way to the dining room, then sneaks a kiss in the elevator. How many first class elevators are there on Titanic?

one
two
three

While you were waiting to board the ship at Queenstown, Ireland, you couldn’t resist flirting with the handsome lad who helped you carry your traveling bag. He whispered in your ear he’ll sneak into the single women’s 3rd class quarters to see you later. Where are the women’s steerage cabins on the ship?

fore
aft
amidships

You want to look alluring when you meet that handsome gentleman for dinner later in the first class dining saloon on D deck, so you pamper yourself in the Turkish baths. The bath stewardess insists you try out the latest beauty treatment:

an electric bath which tans your skin with ultraviolet lights
a face peel
an exercise machine where you walk in one place

Tonight you’re dining in the exclusive À La Carte Restaurant some first class passengers call the Ritz when you hear the ship’s musicians playing a lovely waltz. Later you hear them playing that same musical piece when you’re getting into a lifeboat. Some say it may have been the last song the musicians played as the Titanic foundered. What was the name of that waltz?

Autumn
Emperor
Vienna

It’s 10 p.m. on Sunday night, April 14th, and you can’t resist a stroll up on deck with your husband. It’s misty and getting colder. Even with his strong arms wrapped around you, you can’t stop shivering. How cold is it?

45 degrees F
29 degrees F
32 degrees F

It’s 11:40 p.m. and you’re in bed with your husband enjoying a night of wedded bliss when the ship hits an iceberg. You want to cuddle up next to him in your warm bed, but he insists you get dressed and get into a lifeboat. How long do you have before the ship sinks?

1 hour and 45 minutes
2 hours and 40 minutes
2 hours and 10 minutes

Answers:

(Answer: B Cherbourg)

(Answer: C a lace shawl)

(Answer: C 13)

(Answer: A Mlle Aubart)

(Answer: C three)

(Answer: B aft)

(Answer: A an electric bath)

(Answer: A Autumn)

(Answer: C 32 degrees F)

(Answer: B 2 hours and 40 minutes)

THE RUNAWAY GIRL:

US Amazon

UK Amazon

———–

US:

Barnes & Noble

Kobo.

Apple Books

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When you’re on deadline and the time changes and you freak out when you lose an hour by Jina Bacarr

March 11, 2023 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as #Historical, clocks forward, editing, Paris, time change, women's fiction, World War 2, writing

when the time changes and you don’t…

If there’s one thing we writers never have enough of…

It’s time.

Words we got… thousands.

Coffee… by the potful.

Comfy bunny slippers… on automatic re-order from Amazon.

But time?

That’s as elusive as the instant bestseller.

I’m on autopilot this week until whenever to get it all together and bring my next Paris WW2 novel home for my publisher Boldwood Books. Amazing company. They take good care of their authors… fabulous marketing team… I love my editor, Isobel… and the company has won several ‘Best Publisher’ awards in the UK and is up for more awards this year.

And my fellow authors are like family to me.

But in the end, it’s up to me to write the damn book.

Sweat, tears… blood. Yes, I changed the order because I sweat the small stuff like commas and the big stuff like research which turns into major tears when I realize writing never gets easier but tougher (you demand more of yourself)… and blood because if you don’t bleed onto the page, you’re not giving it your all.

So, mes amis, tonight is the night we turn the clocks forward and lose the hour.

But guess what. I’ve decided to do something about it.

I’m going to type twice as fast for a solid hour (accuracy is another story) and write twice as many words and–

Voilà!

I’ve got my hour back… at least for tonight.

Tomorrow?

Well, that’s another day.

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Some great book news:

The trade paperback of my Paris WW2 novel THE LOST GIRL OF PARIS

is coming to THE WORKS stores in the UK… so check it out if you’re in the United Kingdom.

Listen to an excerpt in the video below…

E-book:

My heroine, Angeline de Cadieux, is a Roma girl in WW2 Paris… she’s strong, fights in the Resistance… makes exquisite perfumes and comes up with an amazing marketing campaign during the war to boost morale in France.

Thank you!

UK https://amzn.to/3j7eU6S

US https://amzn.to/3aD9Jae

CA https://amzn.to/3IbaVRZ

AU https://amzn.to/3xtrF1A

————–

And THE RUNAWAY GIRL is a Kindle Monthly Deal in Australia.

Thanks for listening… and now back to our regularly scheduled craziness.

Jina

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Titanic and Me and the 1997 Movie and how my Irish grandmother helped me write my Ship of Dreams story by Jina Bacarr

February 11, 2023 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Titanic, Writing tagged as historical fiction, historical romance, romance', ship of dreams, Titanic

Once upon the ship of dreams… me dressed as a first class lady

Can you believe it’s 25 years since James Cameron’s TITANIC film hit the theaters?

And guess what, it’s back in theaters this weekend!!

I’ve seen all the Titanic films — even the one made in German — but the 1997 film is an event to be enjoyed over and over again.

So I have a question, will you go back to the in-person theater and see it again?

OR: enjoy it once more in your own home?

I’d love to know how you feel about seeing it again in the theater.

Jina (dressed as a Titanic First Class lady)

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And if you can’t enough TITANIC, check out THE RUNAWAY GIRL — my Titanic love story starring Ava O’Reilly, my Irish heroine.

I had no problem writing an Irish heroine.

When I was a little girl, I lived with my Irish grandmother for a while and I remember sitting at the big, wooden table with her as she added flour, milk, and herbs to leftover mashed spuds for potato cakes, or wound her blue rosary beads around her gnarled fingers while she spun tales about life in Ireland. Grand times they were, and a lovely thread woven through the quilt of my childhood.

Meet Ava O’Reilly, in THE RUNAWAY GIRL, a girl who wants to better herself by reading books but it’s forbidden to the servants in the grand house in Ireland where she’s in service.

Then when she’s wrongly accused of stealing a diamond bracelet, she escapes.

To the Titanic.

And every tale I’d heard at my grandmother’s knee, every book I’d read, every film about the ship of dreams I’d watched over and over again became the fodder for telling my own story about the Titanic.

Based on my girlhood and love of books.

And the sea.

And yes, romance, too.

And how an Irish girl makes a daring choice on that fateful night when the Titanic hits an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. that changes her life forever…

Super Romance Sale now until February 15th on #Kobo #Audiobook THE RUNAWAY GIRL is $9.99 AUDIOBOOK

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/the-runaway-girl-2

THE RUNAWAY GIRL

Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night…

When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from her employer, she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic.

Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by her Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him.

As the fateful night approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever…

A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Her Lost Love (Christmas Once Again).

Praise for Jina Bacarr:

‘A delightful holiday romance that has all the charm of a classic Christmas movie. Christmas Once Again is perfect for anyone who loves a holiday romance brimming with mistletoe, hope, and what ifs.’ Andie Newton, author of The Girl I Left Behind

‘A breathtaking holiday romance that is sure to stay with you long after reading’

‘A mesmerizing holiday romance that is sure to sweep you off your feet and take you away to another place, another time.’

‘A fabulous book you won’t want to miss’

THE RUNAWAY GIRL e-book, print and audio book:

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Are you an author or a writer? and my TikTok Confession by Jina Bacarr

January 11, 2023 by Jina Bacarr in category historical fiction, Holocaust, Jina’s Book Chat, Paris novels, Writing tagged as author, Berlin, editing, Paris, World War 2, Writer, writing

@jinabacarrauthor

WIP woes… #booktok #authorlife #writersoftiktok #amwriting #ameditingfiction #womensfiction #booktoker @bookandtonic #writer #authorsoftiktok #heartbreakingstories #amediting edit

♬ original sound – Jina Bacarr Historical Author♥

No, this isn’t a trick question.

It’s the challenge we ladies of the pen all face in our social media, digital, crazy, mad, mad world…

The answer is: BOTH.

The writer is me in total chaos working on an insanely difficult book about rape in France during World War II with a deadline looming. My office is a mess, I’m a mess… the manuscript, thank God, is NOT a mess but it’s not finished yet. Weaving such a trauma against the backdrop of the Nazi Occupation is the most gut-wrenching task I’ve ever faced. It’s taken me a while to get a handle on the story of two sisters and how the rape of one of them affects them both.

That’s the writer me.

—–

Now for the author me.

That’s the me writing this post because this is my chance every month to reach out to you guys and let you know what’s going on in my world. It’s how we present ourselves to the book world and at times is as just as trying and difficult as the writer me.

Hence, my TikTok confession.

I hope you enjoy my video showing me in my office drowning in research material… oh, Lord.

——–

And now for some good stuff, if I may.

My WW2 story THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN is now FREE to read in PRIME on Amazon

THE OPRHANS OF BERLIN

Meet the Landau Sisters barely surviving in Nazi Germany… and Kay Alexander, the amazing debutante from Philadelphia who will stop at nothing to save them from the Nazis in 1939 Berlin…

And of course, there’s a British pilot hero to die for…

US https://amzn.to/3TMKZlf

UK https://amzn.to/3Qjp5mB

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