Happy Book Birthday to
Love Under the Harvest Moon!
Today, I have the authors of Love Under the Harvest Moon sharing a list of Top Two books they've read which inspired them to write and how each title influenced them. Be sure to check out the GIVEAWAY below!
T.E. Hodden
Okay, well, Nightshade by Mark Gattis is not romance, but it was brilliant, and... I picked it up and suddenly realised some guy (this was before Sherlock or League of Gentlemen, he was some guy) was being paid money to write Doctor Who. It wasn't even on TV. He wrote books, unlike the dull ones they made you read at school, about Doctor Who, and got paid. You could write books about anything. Anything!
Mort, by the great Terry Pratchett was the next big inspiration. It is a romance in the Discworld setting that toys affectionately with conventions and cliches. It fleets between Romance (as in Mills and Boon) and the Romantics (Byron, Shelley, et al) with some neat contrasts. But if you don't notice them, it doesn't matter. There is too much else going on.
Nemma Woolenfang
The White Mare by Jules Watson, and Camelot’s Shadow by Sarah Zettel , were big influences in the early stages of my writing life. Both books really triggered my love of literature as a teenager; they made me want to create worlds of my own, even if I wasn’t quite at the stage of developing them yet. They’re historical romances, pre-medieval really, and while Amidst the Strawberry Fields (my story in Under the Harvest Moon) is set in the modern day, some pagan inclinations do creep in, which I can attribute to books like these. They sparked my love of ancient history and truly excellent writing, and they’re the kind of stories that stay with you long after you’ve flicked that final page. For any historical romance lovers, I highly recommend both.
Patricia Crisafulli
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells mesmerized me with the author’s skill of layering the stories of generations of women, and how these threads enmesh the protagonist, Siddalee Walker, until she can cut herself free of the past to find her true love.
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani, inspired me to see how richly and vividly drawn characters can populate small town life, giving a story a far bigger canvas than its setting might otherwise indicate. The book’s emotional depth makes us cheer for the heroine as she tries to break out of her predictable life and take a chance on love.
Claire Davon
Tell Me No Lies by Elizabeth Lowell. The tortured hero and fantastically drawn world of art and deception drew me in deeper as the characters were drawn in and even when there seemed no possible way to a happy ending…yet there was. Ahhh!
In the Midnight Rain by Ruth Wind. This multi-generational story with two flawed yet completely compelling main characters made me fall in love with the hero even while I was rooting for their love and prayed for a happily ever after.
Laura Lamoreaux / T.L. French
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. This is a novel that tackles a lot of social issues—but the reason we care about them so much is because of the epic romance at the story’s center. A huge part of the story’s draw is watching Scarlett struggle, and wondering if she will ever find happiness.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. This story is told by an unnamed narrator, who is almost induced to commit suicide because she believes her husband doesn’t love her, but loves his former wife, Rebecca. The power of emotions in this story is breathtaking—and so are its consequences.
A little about this newest release!
Love under the Harvest Moon
A Sweet Romance Anthology
By Various Authors
Release Date: November 14, 2016
Keywords: Sweet, Romance, Autumn, Harvest, Contemporary, Short Stories
Claire Davon – Opposite Directions
Vanessa left her small Iowa town for the bright lights of Miami, also leaving behind the boy who devastated her young self by cheating on her with another local girl. Returning after four years to take a teaching job, she finds her attraction to Zane has not diminished in the time she’s been away.
Zane also works at the school and offers to show Vanessa the ropes. She cannot deny her attraction to him is still there, but is unsure if she should act on it. He broke her heart once, could he do so again? Or would their older, wiser selves be able to navigate the tricky waters of love and forgiveness, leading them back to each other’s arms?
Nemma Wollenfang – Amidst the Strawberry Fields
Good grades, happy home, pampered life, perfect boyfriend – sixteen-year-old Beth has it all. She tells herself that… a lot. That is until the new students arrive from the recently-built Traveller’s Site, led by the rakishly handsome Razovan Verlak, who begins to turn her world upside-down. The school didn’t want them, the town tried to avoid them, and Beth is determined to ignore him—them. But Raz is not to be ignored, and he has his sights set on her.
With the autumn harvest due in, and her boyfriend and the usual harvesters notably absent, Beth and her mother have to accept alternative help to bring in their farm’s crops. And Raz is all too eager to oblige. But Beth is uneasy, and with good reason. Raz and his crew have developed a worrying reputation around town. Assault, vandalism, theft – it seems there’s nothing they haven’t done…according to rumour. But are the gossips to be believed?
Will Beth listen to the disturbing tales and keep her distance? Or will she decide for herself and get to know the real Raz as they work together, amidst the strawberry fields?
T.E. Hodden – Autumn Leaves
So there I was, on the worst afternoon of my life, surrounded by the kind of argument that left me shaken and single. And there, in the park is Autumn, a beautiful, funny, sweet, trans-girl, who seems to be the only person in the world having a worse day than me. And that...that doesn't seem right.
So, here we are. I have one day, to make her smile, and change her world, before Autumn leaves to face her winter.
Laura Lamoreaux and T.L. French – A Harvest Homecoming
When Tanya Sheldon loses her job and her marriage in the same day, she thinks her life is over. Unable to find anything else, she agrees to take a teaching position in her old high school, but moving back to Silver Lake turns out to be harder than she expected when old feelings come to light.
Tanya rejected Jake Green when they were younger, but now he’s all grown up and teaching across the hall. And for a minute, Tanya thought she might have something in her future other than a box of cats. But the moment is gone when Jake’s beautiful girlfriend Ashley returns. After learning the hard way what it’s like to be cheated on, there’s no way Tanya will let herself fall for Jake.
Patricia Crisafulli – Moon Dance
For Anna Oliver, life is one big to-do list and her responsibilities, large and crushing. Divorced and a single mother, needing to care for her own mother who is struggling with a cancer diagnosis, Anna has returned to her too-small hometown, which cannot compare with the life she enjoyed in Brooklyn. Now she is overqualified for her job in a community library and overburdened by everything.
When a storm brings down a tree on her roof—revealing damage that the insurance company won’t pay for—Anna feels as split in two as that old ash. Then someone unexpected comes into her life, and she must confront her need to trust, which seems far too difficult and risky. But under the harvest moon, anything can change.
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GIVEAWAY!
A $10 Roane Publishing Gift Card!
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use a RoanePublishing.com Gift Code. No purchase necessary, but you must be 18 or older to enter. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter, and announced on the widget. Winner well be notified by emailed and have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. This giveaway was organized by Roane Publishing's marketing department.
