The Resistance Girl Red Roses, Fires… and Kelly and me by Jina Bacarr
November 11, 2020 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as historical fiction, World War II
Me dressed as my heroine, Sylvie Martone, for a holiday party
The day before publication day for The Resistance Girl, I jolted awoke at 7:30 a.m. to the acute smell of smoke.
Burning in my eyes, throat. My chest heavy.
Tree branches scrapping against my windowpane and strong winds blowing and howling like a wild banshee had escaped from the netherworld. I swear the creature was hell-bent on dragging the hot flames closer and closer on the hem of her petticoats.
A cold fear rattled my bones. A sense of ‘This can’t be happening‘ turned my blood to ice.
I had gone to bed two hours earlier since I was up all night tweeting and posting on social media about my Paris WW 2 historical, The Resistance Girl, set during the Occupation and scheduled to pub the next day. I was exhausted but…
The acrid smell was so powerful, it dragged me out of a deep sleep.
I ran to my window on the second floor overlooking the front lawn, my heart in my throat. What I saw shook me to the bone.
A bright, rusty-orange sky…
Fire… but where?
I soon discovered the fire was less than six miles away… zero percent contained with capricious winds powered by a powerful Santa Ana with flames popping up in random places. Who knew where the burning embers would land… then ignite?
A nightmare in the making.
I turned on the air purifier, closed all the windows, and flipped on the local TV news.
And drank a ton of hot mocha coffee.
Then boom! Just when I was starting to get a grip on the situation, the powerful winds blew down my backyard fence in a big huff and puff worthy of Mr Wolf himself. What next?
I kept telling myself my heroine Sylvie Martone, French cinema star, had survived horrific events during the war… grilling by the Gestapo, dangerous treks across France to save downed pilots, attacked by SS. Whatever happened, I could handle it.
Fueled by her courage, I kept working on promoting my book while tossing important stuff into a go-to bag just in case I had to leave (note to self: keep that bag up-to-date). The next two days were a mad blur of Emergency Alerts on my phone, texts, phone calls, stand-by evacuation orders… and checking on family and friends.
Dear friends of mine did have to evacuate, but their home was undamaged, thank God. And my beautiful and vivacious daughter-in-law Kelly got caught on the toll road with smoke rolling across the highway as the fire advanced — I insisted she come and stay with me rather than go back to her place. My son agreed and rushed over to help us.
Kelly ended up spending a few days with me and I was so grateful for her support… and happy I could help her. It was then I realized how Sylvie felt when she was working for the Resistance and had no one to confide in…. except a young woman who becomes very important in her life when Sylvie saves her from the hands of the Gestapo.
Which brings me to my Boldwood red roses…
My lovely editor, Nia Beynon, and Team Boldwood sent me a dozen red roses on pub day. The gorgeous scent of roses lifted my mood and filled my soul.
The moment was made more special because I waited to open the box of flowers until Kelly arrived after work so she could share it with me. We gushed over them like teenagers getting corsages for the prom. Even my usually quiet, surfer-dude son was impressed with the lovely roses — and grateful we were both okay.
Which brings me to an important theme in The Resistance Girl.
Family.
My story is a dual timeline with Sylvie’s granddaughter Juliana intent on solving the mystery of her grandmother’s mysterious and notorious past in present day.
While Sylvie risks her life to save those she loves in Paris during World War II — her family. France. And her home.
Over the next few days, the fires were slowly contained and evacuation orders lifted, but I’ll never forget the fear and trepidation they brought, the mad dash to pack, and the instinct to keep my loved ones close and safe. Like my heroine, Sylvie Martone, I believe there’s nothing more important than family.
Because in the end…
There’s no place like home.
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Two women. One heartbreaking secret.
Paris, 1943.
Sylvie Martone is the star of French cinema, and adored by fans. But as Nazi officers swarm the streets of Paris, she is spotted arm in arm with an SS Officer and her fellow Parisians begin to turn against her.
However Sylvie has a secret – one she must protect with her life.
Paris, 2020.
Juliana Chastain doesn’t know anything about her family history. While her mother was alive she remained very secretive about her past.
So when Juliana discovers a photograph of a glamorous French actress from World War Two amongst her mother’s possessions, she is in shock to find herself looking at her grandmother – especially as she is arm in arm with a Nazi Officer…
Desperate for answers, Juliana is determined to trace the journey of her grandmother. Surely there is more to the photograph than meets the eye?
But as she delves into Sylvie’s past, nothing can prepare Juliana for the tales of secrets, betrayal and sacrifice which she will uncover.
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Amazon Buy Links:
And read the story behind the story about how my love affair with Paris shaped The Resistance Girl. https://www.boldwoodbooks.com/the-resistance-girl-jina-bacarr/
Listen to ‘chapters’ read by my favorite narrator, Laurel Lefkow, and relive the story of cinema star Sylvie Martone out to defeat the Occupiers
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Other Books by Jina Bacarr
The Book Review that touched my heart by Jina Bacarr
October 10, 2020 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as author, Boldwood, Boldwood Books, historical fiction, historical romance, Ireland, Queenstown, romance', ship of dreams, stories, story, Titanic, Writer, writingSometimes, you get it right….
When I saw this review of my Titanic love story THE RUNAWAY GIRL, it tugged at my heart.
Yes, it’s a wonderful 5 star review, but more importantly, my story has captured the interest of a young girl who wasn’t much of a reader beforehand.
Amazon Review:
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020
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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’ https://youtu.be/S-33oEM4DlI
THE RUNAWAY GIRL e-book, print and audio book:
This book is incredible a truly remarkable story, Sylvie diary, notes photo's and recordings are inspiring. the real story of glamourous Sylvie Martone has to be solved and told. She will never be forgotten. I loved it
Happy Fall… Or is it autumn?!
September 28, 2020 by Alina K. Field in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field, Writing tagged as American English, British English, historical fiction, Spelling and Punctuation, writing craftA Quarter Days’ Post
Greetings! I’m back for my quarterly post about various and sundry things related to writing historical fiction.
In my last post I talked about the delights of playing with words and creating Tom Swifties.
Today I’m talking about the difference between English and English, as in American vs. British.
Is it fall? Or is it autumn? More on that later.
What’s in your tool kit?
Words are the building blocks we writers and speakers use to create story. We start hoarding those blocks early, and the resulting vocabulary says much about our own personal settings—where we grew up, what our social milieu is, what our family is like.
A case in point—my grandkids’ first words. We waited with bated breath for each munchkin’s first spoken vocabulary word. I coached them repeatedly (and unsuccessfully) to say “mama”.
But for both of them the first word was… DOG! (Yes, we do love our dogs.)
Fledgling writers
are taught “write what you know”. I wonder why? It’s a lot more fun to step outside the known world. But it does lead to challenges.
The biggest challenge: You don’t know what you don’t know.
For a 21st century American like me trying to set a story in Georgian England, there are a million opportunities to err.
First there’s the issue of etymology. Was a word used during this story’s time period?
A couple of examples from a Regency first draft I was beta reading for a friend:
- Hooligan: a great word, right? Unfortunately it dates to the 1890s.
- Foyer: Sadly, this dates to 1859.
And a couple from my own first drafts:
- Merry Widow: as my editor pointed out, this phrase references Franz Lehar’s operetta’s English title from 1907. Just a tad later than the Regency!!!
- Shack: Not only is this a later word (1878) but it’s of American or Canadian origin.
Which brings up another potential pitfall for the fledgling Regency Romance author.
American vs. British
Americans and Brits may speak the same language, but we use different words.
I’m fortunate to work often with an editor in England, and so I’ve compiled my own list of Americanisms for my own pre-editing purging.
Some more examples:
This very funny post from a British writer complete with illustrations.
And a list of 60 American English words translated into British English.
Spelling and punctuation are different too.
Once, long ago, while reading one of Georgette Heyer’s books, I wondered why they kept writing “cosy” instead of “cozy”. Why had so many misspellings slipped past the editor?
The British spelling was different enough to make it a jarring read for this ignorant and unaware American who happens to be a good speller. Fortunately, I’m wise to them now.
There are also punctuation differences. Here’s a short post about some of those.
And a long one about spelling differences.
I don’t believe Regency readers will pillory an author over this issue, so I’ve settled on using American spelling and punctuation in my stories.
One might say, in this area at least, I’m writing what I know!
Do you suppose we’ll ever go “one-world” on the spelling and punctuation rules?
Happy fall (and autumn) to everyone, and I’ll be back in December!
Images credits: autumn leaves and dog are from Stencil (I’d happily claim that dog though!); image of words is from Wikimedia Commons.
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Meet the unsung heroine of publishing: Miss Proofreader by Jina Bacarr
September 11, 2020 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as author, Boldwood, Boldwood Books, historical fiction, historical romance, Ireland, Queenstown, romance', ship of dreams, stories, story, Titanic, Writer, writing
Ode to my Proofreader
My proofreader has the eye of an eagle and patience of a saint,
No matter what I write, she swears not to faint
Through missed commas, wrong tenses, and a lost full stop or two
She carries on in spite of, through and through
But what I never expected when I sent my m/s off with a sigh
Was that parts of my book would make her cry…
———
Last month I wrote about the copy edits and mentioned that I sent my Paris WW 2 historical novel is off to the proofreader!
Oh, my, I had no idea I’d make her cry…
I actually stopped in the middle of proofreading my manuscript when she sent it back to me and shed a tear or two myself, I felt so bad for upsetting her. My first thought was… I had to change the scene, make it happy, not have this lovely professional proofreader stop her work because my characters made her cry.
How dare they!
I was totally surprised how much this affected me.
It’s okay for me to bawl my eyes out when bad stuff happens to my heroine, but I think we writers live in a bubble and don’t know realize how much the stories we tell affect our readers. They’re just as invested in the story as we are.
And for that I thank you for allowing my stories to touch your soul, wrench your heart, and send you on a journey to a place far, far away, but bring them home, nourish them, cheer with them cry with them when you let our characters come into your life.
And yes, my proofreader did finish her proofreading on time (with a tissue or two in tow).
Why copy edits keep me up at night by Jina Bacarr
August 11, 2020 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as author, Boldwood, Boldwood Books, historical fiction, historical romance, Ireland, Queenstown, romance', ship of dreams, stories, story, Titanic, Writer, writing
copy edits done and gone
every comma, typo, everything wrong
fixed and buttoned up nice and tight
trying so hard to get it all right
now to sleep perchance to dream in bliss?
no…tossing & turning, wondering, what did I miss?
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My Paris WW 2 historical novel is off to the proofreader!
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Once upon a time in Hollywoodland far, far away, I wrote tons of scripts for kids’ TV shows. I remember one show I was hired to work on where my script was considered the ‘hallmark’ of the series — it had all the elements they wanted in each script and they used it as a ‘sample’ to show other writers they brought on what they wanted.
Wow.
Yes, it was cool. Simple, right? Give them a good script, get a paycheck, grab another assignment.
Oh, no, my innocent ones.
It wasn’t at all like that. I met with the producers (seasoned pros) every day for two weeks until we hammered out the characters, the plot, subplot, theme… met with the toy company so I could see what the ‘toys’ looked like. Wrote an outline — a detailed outline — three times.
Got more notes. Wrote the script… rewrote it.
Then another meeting that went something like this: ‘You got the story down… characters good… ‘ say the producers. ‘But change the big action scene to include…………’
‘Why?’ I ask.
‘Because the toy company wants to introduce this …………. toy in the episode.’
I grin, say nothing. Remember rent is due. ‘You got it.’
In the end, it was a great episode with an emotional connection between the hero and his father and lots of action, but it didn’t just happen. All those meetings, notes paid off. It was a team effort and I learned back then that’s what makes good scripts. And good books.
The team.
Copy edits are a big part of that team.
Yes, I cringe, freak out, yell, and cry when I see those ‘comments’ on the right side of the page, but I’m so grateful for the time, skill, dedication, and heartfelt emotion the copy editor puts into her work. She knows this is my ‘baby’, yet it’s her job to find everything that ‘doesn’t’ work.
So a big THANK YOU to my copy editor on my Paris WW 2 historical coming out in October (cover reveal soon!) for putting up with my mistakes and asking the hard questions so I get it right.
You done good, kid.
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Blog tour coming up Oct 27 – Nov 2 already filled up except for one spot Yay!!
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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’ https://youtu.be/S-33oEM4DlI
THE RUNAWAY GIRL e-book, print and audio book:
