Tag Archives: women’s fiction

by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | March 8, 2021 · 5:00 am

Under the Light of the Italian Moon Blitz

Under the Light of the Italian Moon banner

Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Biographical Fiction

Date to be Published: March 8, 2021

Publisher: Amsterdam Publishers

A promise keeps them apart until WWII threatens to destroy their love forever

Fonzaso Italy, between two wars

Nina Argenta doesn’t want the traditional life of a rural Italian woman. The daughter of a strong-willed midwife, she is determined to define her own destiny. But when her brother emigrates to America, she promises her mother to never leave.

When childhood friend Pietro Pante briefly returns to their mountain town, passion between them ignites while Mussolini forces political tensions to rise. Just as their romance deepens, Pietro must leave again for work in the coal mines of America. Nina is torn between joining him and her commitment to Italy and her mother.

As Mussolini’s fascists throw the country into chaos and Hitler’s Nazis terrorise their town, each day becomes a struggle to survive greater atrocities. A future with Pietro seems impossible when they lose contact and Nina’s dreams of a life together are threatened by Nazi occupation and an enemy she must face alone…

A gripping historical fiction novel, based on a true story and heartbreaking real events.

Spanning over two decades, Under the Light of the Italian Moon is an epic, emotional and triumphant tale of one woman’s incredible resilience during the rise of fascism and Italy’s collapse into WWII.

About The Author

Jennifer Anton is an American/Italian dual citizen born in Joliet, Illinois and now lives between London and Lake Como, Italy. A proud advocate for women’s rights and equality, she hopes to rescue women’s stories from history, starting with her Italian family.

In 2006, after the birth of her daughter, Jennifer suffered a life-threatening post-partum cardiomyopathy, and soon after, her Italian grandmother died. This tumultuous year strengthened her desire to capture the stories of her female Italian ancestors.

In 2012, she moved with her family to Milan, Italy and Chicago Parent Magazine published her article, It’s In the Journey, chronicling the benefits of travelling the world with children. Later, she moved to London where she has held leadership positions in brand marketing with companies including ABInbev, Revlon, Shiseido and Tory Burch.

Jennifer is a graduate of Illinois State University where she was a Chi Omega and holds a master’s degree from DePaul University in Chicago.

Under the Light of the Italian Moon is her first novel, based on the lives of her Italian grandmother and great grandmothers during the rise of fascism and World War II.

Review the book at Amazon.com, Goodreads, and Bookbub

Connect with Jennifer on Instagram @boldwomanwriting

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by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | February 22, 2021 · 5:00 am

Journey to Hope Tour

Book 2 of The Hope Trilogy

Women’s Fiction

Date Published: August 22, 2020

Publisher: Heart Ally Books

When you lose everyone and everything you love, can you ever live again? Or love again?

An unimaginable trauma. A future that seems impossible. When your world shatters, how do you put it back together?

When Matt Nelson found Kathleen on the beach, she’d been hiding behind a scarf and sunglasses for three years. She couldn’t hide her loneliness, and he couldn’t turn away. But when her flashbacks start, they’re both unprepared for the repercussions and the depth of her emotional suffering.

Kathleen agrees to return to intensive trauma recovery at The Charlotte Center, where the sounds and the smells and the images from that terrible night await her, demanding she confront her demons.

The world of PTSD recovery is fraught with terror and pain for both Kathleen and Matt. Will their love prove strong enough to survive the agonizing and arduous journey? Can Kathleen move beyond her anger and learn to live again?

Catch up with the first book in the series

Published: May 2018

An unimaginable trauma. A future that seems impossible. When your world shatters, how do you put it back together?

For 950 days, Kathleen Conners has struggled with that choice. Behind a scarf and sunglasses, she hides from the world, from herself, from The Event, from any future with anyone.

After receiving a box of letters from his deceased mother, Matt Nelson is shoved from his predictable, controlled life to a secluded beach in North Carolina. While trying to understand his mother’s intent, he discovers Kathleen. Matt must choose whether to follow the path his mother orchestrated or rescue the woman who has captured his heart.

When the only person Kathleen blames more than herself reappears, can Matt be the strength Kathleen needs to create a new life, or will he be forced to walk away if she decides the climb is too great?

EXCERPT

Matt stroked her jaw. “You are many things. Strong, Courageous. Beautiful. But you’ve had one thousand four hundred thirty-one days without peace.”

She shifted out of his embrace. Turning to one of the larger plants, she jerked the plant out by its roots, scattering dirt across the table. “I’m scared.”

“Me, too. But it’s not a question of wanting to do this. No one would want to do this. The question is, are we willing to do this? Are we willing to see this through?”

She turned to glare at him. “You act like we walk down a path and come out on the other side. I will never be through this. Do you expect me to stop missing them? Do you expect me to be normal? That’s not even the goal. If that’s what you expect, I’ll head back to the beach right now.”

About the Author

June happily resides in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with her husband, Dave, and their dog, Sodapop. They have two wonderful adult children and two grandchildren. She is an enthusiastic exerciser and an accomplished cook. She and her husband enjoy hiking with Sodapop, traveling, scuba diving, trying new restaurants, concerts, and whatever other adventures they can find. Reading and a constant desire to learn keeps her busy too.

A trauma survivor who struggles with mental illness, June is continuously reaching for hope like the characters in her books. She openly discusses her personal struggles on her blog, JuneConverse.com

Decide to Hope is her first novel and relies a great deal on her own experience with trauma, choices, recovery and hope. If you’d like to discuss trauma, coping and recovery, contact her at JuneConverse.com or DecideToHope.com

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by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | February 21, 2021 · 5:00 am

Sylvie Denied Blitz

Women’s Fiction

Date Published: February 21, 2021

Publisher: Flower Press

Deborah Clark Vance’s first novel, Sylvie Denied, offers an intimate portrait of a woman who refuses to be silenced.

As she enters adulthood in the turbulent 1970s, Sylvie thinks the way to change a violent world is to become a peaceful person. Yet she slowly sees how a childhood trauma thwarts her peaceful intentions and leads her to men with a dark side – including Enzo, the man she marries. Even as his behavior becomes increasingly volatile, she believes she can make things better with love and understanding. But finally, living in terror, Sylvie must find a way to escape with her daughter and claim her place in the world.

Praise for Sylvie Denied

“Women’s fiction and literature readers will find Sylvie Denied a hard-hitting, familiar-feeling story of growth and new directions.”– Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review

“Sylvie is a resilient free spirit open to the world but struggling to find a lasting relationship worthy of her decency and altruism. Rich in emotional and geographic detail, it is genuinely rewarding to read.” — Jonathan Slade, Producer of 8 Emmy-winning documentaries including “The Electric Road Trip,”

“In Sylvie Denied, Deborah Clark Vance gives a riveting picture of the sixties and seventies, as her strong-willed heroine searches for a meaningful life.” -Madeena Spray Nolan, author of “The Gift” and “The Burning Ground.”

About The Author

After leaving her family home and respectable birthplace, Deborah Clark Vance set out to find what made the world tick. Inspired by Thoreau’s advice to simplify, she explored self-sufficient living. Deborah learned to identify and forage for edible plants and medicinal herbs, gaining confidence that she could survive in the wild as long as there were woods, and the weather wasn’t too cold. She attended the University of Life where she came to cherish those who prefer truth. She raised four children and cobbled together a living by selling paintings and freelance articles, copyediting and translating Italian, selling plants and designing gardens, working on radio documentaries and a kids’ educational TV series, teaching piano lessons, college students and adults with emotional and mental illnesses. . . and eventually earned a PhD in Intercultural Communication from Howard University and taught at a small liberal arts college. Her family and friends near and far live with her in her heart. Sylvie Denied is her first novel.

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by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | February 20, 2021 · 5:00 am

Joyous Lies TOUR

Women’s Fiction

Date Published: February 15, 2021

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Maelle Woolley, a shy botanist, prefers plants to people. They don’t suddenly disappear. Raised on her grandparents’ commune after her mother’s mysterious death, she follows the commune’s utopian beliefs of love for all. Then she falls for attractive psychiatrist Zachary Kane. When Zachary claims her mother and his father never emerged alive from his father’s medical research lab, Maelle investigates. What she discovers will challenge everything she believes, force her to find strength she never knew she had, and confront the commune’s secrets and lies. What happened to love? And can it survive?

EXCERPT

The plants, she hoped, would have something to say.

With the door to the laboratory closed and the sound barriers in place, Maelle fixed acoustic sensors onto two potted plants, situated side by side in a glass dome so even the vibrations of her breath could not disturb them. Above one, she played a recording of the sound of a caterpillar munching leaves. The noise, when magnified so humans could hear it, sounded like the march of eager feet over rough terrain. After twenty minutes, she removed the recording, put on her earphones, and waited.

She heard it, a faint clicking sound.

The plants were talking to one another.

About The Author

Margaret Ann Spence writes about women, the choices they make, and what happens next. Her debut novel, Lipstick on the Strawberry, published by the Wild Rose Press in 2017, won the Romantic Elements Category in the First Coast Romance Writers 2015 Beacon Contest. It was a finalist for the 2019 Eric Hoffer Book Award and in the 2019 Next Generation Indie Awards. Joyous Lies, her second novel, launches on February 15, 2021.

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