Welcome to FAB Lovelies!

A Lifestyle blog that focuses on all things from fashion to beauty; fitness to weight loss; recipes to coupons; books to movies; travels to entertainment; and everything in between.

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

A Struggle for Independence by p.m.terrell - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hi, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host p.m.terrell and her new book, “A Struggle for Independence”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with p.m.terrell and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!


A Struggle for Independence
by p.m.terrell

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Historical Novel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Sometimes a woman comes to the realization that she has built the perfect life but with the wrong man.

It is 1916 Ireland, and Independence Mather has settled into a tedious routine in an arranged marriage when she meets an architect hired to add a wing onto her husband’s vast estate. She soon falls in love with the charming, attentive Nicky Bowers, but he has secrets to hide. When she discovers he is an Irish rebel, events propel her into the middle of the Easter Rising. Now she must decide whether to remain the wife of a British loyalist or risk everything to join the rebellion and be with the man she loves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT TWO:

As the raindrops fell upon the gatehouse roof, they created a musical melody that was enough to lull me into blissful complacency. The outside world could not reach me here, and I could no longer remember what life had been like before Nicky.

He laid beside me now, his arm pulling me close. His eyes were closed, his breathing regular, the cool air from fresh rain wafting through the open windows to brush away perspiration that had formed on us both. Only his fingers lightly rubbing my shoulder told me he was not asleep but only resting, a brief respite before we made love all over again.

My existence had been permanently altered. I knew that now, and I also knew I was barreling toward a reckoning of which the details were hidden from me, and I could only have faith that this was where I needed to be… and who I was meant to be with.

I did not see Stratford in the mornings as he departed each day at the break of dawn. When he arrived home, I was no more than the candlesticks on the table, a tiny ray of light he would never acknowledge but expected to remain in a given place. One evening I simply did not stand in the hallway when he arrived home, having given Johanna the excuse that I was under the weather should he inquire. But when she reported back to me later, she said he did not ask for me, and from the reports of the others, he went about his dinner as he always did, as though I was seated at the far end of the table.

It was not a relationship; I understood that now. It was a business arrangement; it had always been a business arrangement and nothing more. I had been naïve to believe it might ever turn into something else. Nor did I want anything else with him, I realized. The mere thought of him touching me was enough to turn my stomach. I was thankful for his inability to consummate the marriage.

Nicky squeezed my shoulder and pulled me ever closer to him. My days were completely different from my evenings; I lived for the hours between dawn and sunset. I still took the path along the meadow each morning but an hour or so earlier than I had in the past, and it was not long before Nicky arrived to whisk me away. Sometimes we strolled along the water at the rear of the estate, far from prying eyes. Other times we picnicked beneath the ancient oak, discussing all manner of things. Sometimes we rode our horses to the far corners of Matherscourt. And always, always, we ended up at the old gatehouse. It had become our haven.

The gatehouse was diminutive, but I was serenely comfortable here. The rushing waters under the structure sounded like a constant lullaby, and on days like this with a steady rain tapping against the roof, I felt wrapped in its cocoon. The makeshift bed had been made plumper over time thanks to Nicky overstuffing it, and my contribution had been some bed linens from the house, enough to cushion the top so we could no longer feel pricks from the straw. Someday I planned to stuff it with eiderdown; I simply hadn’t figured out the logistics of that as yet.

Meals, wine, and ale were all brought in a basket, and Léana never once gave me any indication that she was puzzled by my sudden voracious appetite, though she must suspect I was not eating it all by myself. Still, I had grown a bit plumper. I had even managed to move in some old chairs and a table with Nicky’s help, and a few peat bricks kept the fire going.

Yes, we had set up our own little home here, and while I knew we could not expect to live out our lives in a gatehouse on Stratford’s estate, I was content to let the days slip by.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUEST POST:

What’s in a Name?

It was 2002, and I was participating in a book signing in the Washington, DC area when a reader asked me if I wrote under the pen name p.m.terrell because people would not buy my book if they knew a woman had written it. I had honestly never considered the possibility that my gender would either entice or prevent a reader from purchasing it. The use of my pen name and it’s lower-case letters came about almost accidentally.

My name is Patricia McClelland Terrell. When my first suspense was picked up by Chicago Spectrum Press, the book was released in the size of a mass paperback. The length of my name gave the publisher pause, because of the amount of space it would take up on the cover. Eventually, she suggested using my initials, so my name appeared in a larger font. When I saw the cover for the first time as p.m.terrell, I was surprised to see my name in all lower-case letters. The publisher hated it, but I loved it. It was unique. As I began participating in group signings, attendees commented that my name stood out precisely because it was in lower-case.

The titles of my last two books have been a play on a main character’s name. In April in the Back of Beyond, released in 2019 by Drake Valley Press, the story begins in the month of April in Ireland. The reader quickly realizes, however, that the mystery is about a ghost named April Crutchley that haunts the cottage a writer rents to complete her book.

A Struggle for Independence takes place in 1916 Ireland as Irish rebels plan the Easter Rising. The title, however, is named for the main character, Independence Mather, as she struggles between the relative comfort and stability of an arranged marriage and the Irish rebel with whom she falls in love. The title on the cover splits between masculine and feminine fonts, reflecting the masculine concept of war and the feminine concept of a wife breaking away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:


p.m.terrell is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 24 books in multiple genres, including contemporary suspense, historical suspense, computer instructional, non-fiction and children’s books.

Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area: McClelland Enterprises, Inc. and Continental Software Development Corporation. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in the detection of white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence.

A full-time author since 2002, Black Swamp Mysteries was her first series, inspired by the success of Exit 22, released in 2008. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. Her second series, Ryan O’Clery Suspense, is also award-winning. The Tempest Murders (Book 1) was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards, cross-genre category. Her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee. Songbirds are Free is her bestselling book to date; it is inspired by the true story of Mary Neely, who was captured in 1780 by Shawnee warriors near Fort Nashborough (now Nashville, TN).

She was the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She was the founder of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual event held in the town of Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase literacy and reduce crime and served as its chairperson and organizer for its first four years. She also served on the boards of the Friends of the Robeson County (NC) Public Library, the Robeson County (NC) Arts Council, Virginia Crime Stoppers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.

For more information, book trailers, excerpts and more, visit the author’s website at www.pmterrell.com – and at the links below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH p.m.:

Website:

Blog:

Newsletter:

Facebook:

Twitter:

Pinterest:

YouTube:

LinkedIn:

BookBub Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle eBook:

Amazon Paperback:

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

Kobo eBook:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFO:

p.m.terrell will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.



**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

7 comments:

  1. Patricia ~ Good morning! Welcome back! It is so great to have you here again! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)

    P.S. ~ I really enjoyed reading your guest post! I had been curious about how your pen name came about - very interesting! Also, I love that you title your books with the main character's name and use it as a phrase! Hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for both the book description and giveaway as well. I enjoy hearing about another good book.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It sounds like an interesting book! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete