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The Orphans of Berlin cover reveal and that moment in proofreading that made me cry by Jina Bacarr

September 11, 2022 by in category historical fiction, Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , ,

What I’ve been up to…

@jinabacarrauthor

A week in the life of an author can be crazy crazy #amwriting #amwritingromance #historytok #authorlife #writersoftiktok #booktok #authorsoftiktokr #historicalbooklover #booksthatmakeyoucry #amwritingromance #ameditingfiction

♬ original sound – Jina Bacarr Historical Author♥

Hey, everyone, I just had to share a moment with you… I was proofreading THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN (pulling an all-nighter) and the tears were flowing… I swear every time I get to certain sections of the story, it hits me.

I cry.

We writers spend days, weeks, months getting it right (or so we hope), then it moves through the system and we don’t see it for a while, then we get that final last look before it gets ready for you guys…

And it’s then we get to experience it as a reader. Wow…

You don’t think about the craziness of writing and rewriting and the intense research you’ve done to get there, you get caught up in the moment. Like a dance you’ve rehearsed and rehearsed and then the music starts and your feet don’t touch the ground… you’re flying!

I’m so excited to share this fabulous Boldwood Books cover here with you! This is a story of my heart… it takes place in Paris in the late 1930s and during WW2, Berlin… and Philadelphia. Yes, Philly… during the middle 1930s. We’ve got debutante balls, intrigue in Paris… Berlin when the Nazis came to power… and a hero to die for. And two heroines. Questions? Please ask me! I’m here and dying to share my story with you.

It’s a story about rescuing Jewish children on the French Kindertransport… children’s transport and three sisters who must leave Berlin before it’s too late… and the American woman determined to make that happen.

Thanks for listening…

Jina xx


A heartbreaking World War 2 novel that tells the story of two women’s fight for love, family and hope, as the world crumbles around them. Based on the true story of the Kindertransport rescue from Nazi-occupied Europe.

#TheOrphansofBerlin is out 10th November!

Pre-order now for $1.99 US and UK 99p:

https://amzn.to/3Qjp5mB UK

https://amzn.to/3TMKZlf US

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Jina Bacarr September Featured Author

September 1, 2022 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , , ,

About Jina Bacarr

Jina Bacarr | A Slice of Orange

I discovered early on that I inherited the gift of the gab from my large Irish family when I penned a story about a princess who ran away to Paris with her pet turtle Lulu. I was twelve.

I grew up listening to their wild, outlandish tales and it was those early years of storytelling that led to my love of history and traveling.

I enjoy writing to classical music with a hot cup of java by my side. I adore dark chocolate truffles, vintage anything, the smell of bread baking and rainy days in museums. I’ve always loved walking through history—from Pompeii to Verdun to Old Paris. The voices of the past speak to me through carriages with cracked leather seats, stiff ivory-colored crinolines, and worn satin slippers. I’ve always wondered what it was like to walk in those slippers when they were new.

You can follow Jina on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Goodreads
Bookbub

Jina also has a column here on the 11th of every month: Jina’s Book Chat.

Jina’s newest novel, The Orphans of Berlin, is available for preorder and will be published November 10, 2022.

THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN
Buy from Apple Books
Buy from Books-A-Million
Buy from Google Play
Buy from Kobo
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Buy from Amazon

A Few of Jina’s Other Books

THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN

Buy now!
THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN

THE LOST GIRL IN PARIS

Buy now!
THE LOST GIRL IN PARIS

RESISTANCE GIRL

Buy now!
RESISTANCE GIRL

THE RUNAWAY GIRL

Buy now!
THE RUNAWAY GIRL

HER LOST LOVE

Buy now!
HER LOST LOVE

A NAUGHTY CHRISTMAS CAROL

Buy now!
A NAUGHTY CHRISTMAS CAROL

A SOLDIER’S ITALIAN CHRISTMAS

Buy now!
A SOLDIER’S ITALIAN CHRISTMAS

COME FLY WITH ME

Buy now!
COME FLY WITH ME

LOVE ME FOREVER

Buy now!
LOVE ME FOREVER

SISTERS AT WAR

Buy now!
SISTERS AT WAR

SISTERS OF THE RESISTANCE

Buy now!
SISTERS OF THE RESISTANCE

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Happy 3rd Birthday to my publisher Boldwood Books by Jina Bacarr

August 11, 2022 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , ,

@jinabacarrauthor

Happy 3rd Birthday to #boldwoodbooks #booktok #boldwoodbirthday @bookandtonic

♬ original sound – Jina Bacarr

 

I was a shy kid growing up… glasses, pigtails, my nose in a book, but I came alive on stage. I think that’s because there I could be someone else who wasn’t always the ‘new kid’.

You see, I went to fifteen schools growing up.

But there was one thing constant in my life on every birthday no matter in which state we lived.

My mother’s butter vanilla cake.

Every birthday Mom made me a cake from scratch. Sometimes milk chocolate icing, or lemon or coconut , but always that soul-melty butter cake. Sweet but not too sweet, smooth, silky cake and dollops and gobs of yummy buttercream frosting.

So this year when my publisher BOLDWOOD BOOKS asked us authors to do a video to celebrate the phenomenal success of the company on their 3rd birthday, I so wanted to make Mom’s butter vanilla cake but–

For the past three weeks, I’ve been obsessed with finishing my next Paris/Berlin WW2 novel (many all-nighters) — handing in the manuscript, then working on the edits from the best editor a writer could ever have. Amazing lady who challenges me to write the best books I can. I’ve been with Nia Beynon from the beginning of my Boldwood Books’ journey and she’s the best.

I’m proud to say I’m the first American author they signed in 2019.

On this fab occasion, I want to wish Team Boldwood a very happy 3rd birthday!!

I hope you enjoy my birthday video — I shot the vid at my local fancy bakery…

And if you look close enough, you’ll see that little girl in an insert in the video… with glasses and pigtails wound on top of her head.

Jina

My BOLDWOOD BOOKS:

Paris 1940

The Lost Girl in Paris

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

The Resistance Girl

Juliana discovers her grandmamma was a famous French film star in Occupied Paris & her shocking secret…

US https://amzn.to/2FoKKeS 

UK https://amzn.to/3bU18Qv  

CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08DNDHDG4

AU https://amazon.com.au/dp/B08DNDHDG4 

 

The Runaway Girl

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

 

Amazon:

US https://amzn.to/30yll8P

UK https://amzn.to/2NCqTty

 

 

 

 

HER LOST LOVE

 

US https://amzn.to/3zGPmmI

UK https://t.co/kX3e1A4lJm

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Mothers and Daughters theme for my next Paris WW2 novel… how the dynamic shapes us growing up by Jina Bacarr

July 11, 2022 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , ,

When I was a little girl about six, I lived with my Irish grandmother when my mom was away doing amazing things… I thought she was a princess doing good deeds because I heard from my grandmum about the ‘people she helped’ and saw her wearing beautiful dresses in the pictures she brought home.

Ah, yes… my grandmum loved to spin stories about how my mom was the spitting image of her grandmother, an English lady of the realm who fell in love with an Irish rogue and ran away from home with him.

My mother was a model.

The people she ‘helped’ were the ladies in the audience.

And the dresses I saw were designs she wore for shows.

And the part about English royalty? My grandmum swore it was true, her eyes sparkling as she mixed up Irish potato pancakes (boxty, my favorites) and I believed it.

Because what little girl doesn’t want to believe her mom is a royal lady?

I still don’t know if the story is true, though my Great-Aunt Marie swore it was… and since she was a pious lady who lived her life as a lay sister among the nuns, who’s going to dispute it?

So what does this have to do with my upcoming Paris WW2 book?

It’s about the dynamics of how we see our mothers and how it shapes us growing up. My mum taught me to be a ‘lady’ and look for the good in everyone and never be selfish if we had extra cake or leftover pot roast and share it with someone who needed it. Since Mom was a great cook, she never lacked for takers.

My mom became the inspiration for the German girl’s ‘Mutti’ in my story. Kindness, understanding… and also the model for the American heiress’s mom… Philadelphia society with an Irish lineage.

Mothers and Daughters… a quilt rich with history and ideas… highs and lows… sorrows and sighs. But in the end, they’re our mothers and God bless them.

Jina —————–

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom and me

————–

My next Paris WW2 book will be released in Fall 2022. More info coming!

Till then…

check out my Paris WW2 novels:

Paris 1940

The Lost Girl in Paris

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

 

 

The Resistance Girl

Juliana discovers her grandmamma was a famous French film star in Occupied Paris & her shocking secret…

US https://amzn.to/2FoKKeS 

UK https://amzn.to/3bU18Qv  

CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08DNDHDG4

AU https://amazon.com.au/dp/B08DNDHDG4

 

 

 

 

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How I learned to stop worrying and love TikTok… my 5 tips by Jina Bacarr

June 11, 2022 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, TikTok, Writing tagged as , ,

Do you TikTok?

Love it or hate it?

What to post? Dancing to retro music in your PJs?

Reading from your book while trying to looking into your cell camera?

Show your face or not?

Just when we authors felt comfortable Tweeting and Facebooking, now we’re TikToking.

Sort of.

It’s the Wild West in TikTok-land and it’s difficult to know what works and what doesn’t. For example, I posted a vampire short story about speed dating a sexy vampire with sound effects, action, romance, humor… it only got 12 views…

Sometimes I talk into camera about my books, but I haven’t mastered ‘page flipping’ the book, holding the camera, and saying anything remotely intelligent at the same time. I’m still sweating it, but I haven’t given up.

When I post beautiful cakes that I find in my local markets, I get hits. Over 700 on this one:

I even did an April Fools’ joke — a video about my ‘next’ book ‘LuLu goes to Paris’ about a little turtle’s journey…

Here’s my latest TikTok video where I show off my ‘cake skills’ — sort of, the vanilla buttercream icing melted — and talked abut my two Paris WW2 books. So far I have. ZERO views. (it can take HOURS for the TikTok algorithm to put your video in the queue… whom to show it to… where (country)… and a million other reasons. I don’t use the music you can add… I prefer to talk about what my books. If anyone has any comments about using the music tracks, I’m all ears (no pun intended but I couldn’t help it — it’s 3 am as I write this). UPDATE: 19 hours later, I have 335 views.

@jinabacarrauthor

tempting goodies while I wait for edits on my next Paris WW2 novel #booktok @boldwoodbooks #writingcommunity #book #historicalfiction

♬ original sound – Jina Bacarr

In the end, be yourself. If you love hamming it up in bunny slippers and Disney Princess PJs, go for it. Everybody knows we authors are ‘different’, so show the audience that part of you.

—————————–

5 tips:

post often

post short clips

be real and be quirky if that fits you

talk about your books… short and I mean short excerpts, lines, etc. Provocative, intrigue the viewer to want to know more…

use ‘author’ in your name so viewers know you write books. Mine is: https://www.tiktok.com/@jinabacarrauthor

I discovered these 5 tips by joining https://www.facebook.com/groups/tiktokforauthors — a fabulous group of TikTokAuthors on Facebook.

I’ve also just applied to join author Fiona Lucas’s new FB TikTok group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tiktok4authors

That’s it for the moment… If you have any tips or TikTok stories you want to share, please do in the comments.

Most of all, have fun!!

Jina

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