I’m thrilled to welcome Soul Mate author L.S. Young to the Power of 10 series. Today, Ms. Young shares ten interesting facts about Landra Andrews, the heroine of her debut novel, A Woman So Bold.
Here’s L.S.!
1. Landra is from a small farming town called Willowbend located in rural 1890s north Florida. The town is fictional but several of the nearby landmarks mentioned, such as the Withlacoochee River and Monticello Opera House, are real.
2. Her first name is a feminized version of her grandfather’s name (Landry) and her middle name is Elizabeth after her mother.
3. She speaks French because she had a governess but she doesn’t find much use for it in backwoods Florida.
4. At the age of seven she refused to cry in front of everyone at her mother’s funeral. Her reasoning: “It’s never been in me to give something to folks just because they expect it.”
5. Her favorite season is autumn and the cooler weather often distracts her from her chores.
6. When a rattlesnake threatens her brother and sister she attacks it with a garden hoe! (This scene was inspired by my grandmother.)
7. The day she meets her hero she is wearing her favorite white dress and he is riding his dapple gray mare.
8. She loves poetry and Mark Twain, but admits she hates the prim and dull heroine Elsie Dinsmore.
9. There is a hint of the witch about her, as evidenced by her superstitious grandmother’s proclamations, her connection to the earth, and her discerning dreams.
10. She has a secret she keeps from almost everyone, even some of her siblings.
Blurb
Twenty year old Landra Andrews is as brazen and unique as her first name. Although educated and well-connected, she is trapped by a dark secret from her past. She fears the rest of her life will be decidedly prosaic, until a dashing young man inherits a neighboring farm and sweeps her off her feet.
William Cavendish is a second son from an old Southern family. A gentleman in conduct and an artist at heart, he sowed his wild-oats in the years he spent abroad and is ready to settle down. He is taken with well-spoken, headstrong Landra from their first meeting, and his heart for her only grows.
William seems to be everything Landra has dreamed of but never dared to believe she could have–handsome, kind, and well-bred–but when they are wed, she soon finds herself in all too familiar surroundings, toiling once more against land that won’t yield. Her restless spirit and iron will rebel against her discontent, and when a lover from her misspent youth returns, she finds herself torn between two very different men. Will the mistakes of her past destroy the hope of her future?
Bio
L.S. Young resides in Florida with her husband and daughter. She received her BA in English with a minor in Religion from Southeastern University. After spending several years as a childcare worker and secondary English teacher, she turned to writing full-time.
She enjoys exploring the Suwannee River State Park, hiking in the Appalachian Mountains, swimming, and writing nature poetry. She’s an enthusiastic reader of fantasy, horror, Victorian literature, and historical fiction and has a large collection of coffee mugs and bookmarks. Like Lizzie Bennet, she is fond of a walk and dearly loves a laugh.
Young is a member of the Historical Novel Society. A Woman so Bold is her debut novel.
Where to find L.S. Young…
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Amazon
It’s official.
If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re not starting college this fall. If you know someone who is, please pass on this list. I was a college English professor for over thirty years. Every fall, I greeted many bright, likable new students. By the end of the semester, some of them had failed my class; by the end of the year, some had flunked out of college. At least ninety percent failed not because they couldn’t do the work but because they made one or more of the mistakes on this list. Others passed but didn’t get the grades they could have gotten, didn’t learn as much as they could have learned. It’s a heartbreaking waste of money, time, and opportunity. And it doesn’t have to happen, not if students avoid a few basic mistakes.
When seventeen-year-old Matt Foley’s coach and mentor is killed in a sparring match at a tae kwon do tournament, the police decide it was a tragic accident. Matt’s not so sure. With help from a few friends, including the attractive but puzzling Graciana Cortez, Matt learns the coach’s opponent, Bobby Davis, is a brutal, highly skilled martial artist, the central attraction at an illegal fight club. Now, Matt’s convinced someone hired Davis to murder the coach. But who would want to harm the coach, and why do it at a tournament? Matt’s efforts to find the truth pull him into some dangerous conflicts. To improve his self-defense skills, he joins a krav maga class taught by a man who becomes his new mentor. Matt suspects that he’s going to need those skills, that some day he’ll have to face Bobby Davis himself. (Poisoned Pen Press)
1973: The Sting. Newman and Redford are back (and still hot)! When a mutual friend is killed by a mob boss, two con men, one experienced (Newman) and one young (Redford) try to get even by pulling off the big con on the mob boss. I can remember seeing this at the show on Christmas Day (release date) and the audience stood up and clapped at the end.
1. Every year, Ty retreats to his favorite island, Key Lime Island, between his Elvis gigs in Branson and Vegas.
1. Pepper is from a tiny town in Nowhere, Arkansas, where she lives with her rogue boyfriend, Derek, in a shabby trailer. She hates her life and what her once-nice boyfriend has become.
Award-winning novelist Beth Carter pens novels and children’s picture books. Her latest release is SLEEPING WITH ELVIS, a contemporary romance, with elements of suspense and humor. Her debut novel, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, won the 2015 RONE award for best “Women’s Fiction/Chick Lit Novel,” as well as “Best Debut Author” by BTS Books. Her novelette, SANTA BABY, appears in the 2015 Christmas anthology, SIZZLE IN THE SNOW, alongside eight romance authors’ stories.
Jambalaya. Of all the fabulous Louisiana dishes, jambalaya is by far my favorite. It’s almost impossible to get it wrong. FYI, there are two basic kinds of jambalaya, brown and red. Red, which has a tomato base, is considered Creole jambalaya and dominates in New Orleans. Brown is prevalent in Cajun Country. I heart them both.
Hotels Mazarin and Le Marais. I’ve had some great hotel experiences in New Orleans, and some dreadful ones. But the hands-down lodging winners are these two beautiful and historic hostelries. The rooms are wonderful, the service impeccable, and the full breakfasts – especially at Mazarin – are excellent. They’re part of the New Orleans Hotel Collection, which rescues derelict properties and turns them into elegant lodging. Bravo, NOHC!
Tulane University. Yes, I’m biased because this happens to be my alma mater. But it’s a charming campus, so if you’ve opted for a ride on the St. Charles streetcar, why not take visit the home of the Green Wave? It’s next to Loyola University and across the street from Audubon Park, so you can wander through both of those locations. Or explore some of the turn-of-the-century mansions in the Silk Stocking Ward, which is the nickname for the Uptown area where the universities and park are located.
Winona Kent was born in London, England. She immigrated to Canada with her parents at age 3, and grew up in Saskatchewan, where she received her BA in English from the University of Regina. After settling in Vancouver, she graduated from UBC with an MFA in Creative Writing. More recently, she received her diploma in Writing for Screen and TV from Vancouver Film School. Winona has been a temporary secretary, a travel agent and the Managing Editor of a literary magazine. After a career that’s included freelance articles, long and short fiction, screenplays and TV scripts, Winona has now returned to her first love, novels. She currently lives in Vancouver and works as a Graduate Programs Assistant at the University of British Columbia.
Last week, I treated myself to a Dairy Queen banana split. I tried not to gasp when the clerk told me the price was $6.77 (CDN). I inquired about the other prices and discovered that, like everything else, Dairy Queen treats had risen in price.
The Crossing Realms series takes place in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Having grown up about thirty minutes north of the city, there’s so many things I love about the ‘Burgh I knew I wanted to use it as a setting for the series. It’s small enough to be familiar, and big enough to be mysterious.
Joanne Guidoccio 