My first book obsession was Outlander, and I, like so many others, fell madly in love with Jamie Frasier. How could I not? Diana Gabaldon masterfully created a character whose integrity, dignity, and honor mixed with his intellect and education, and his singular courage and strength made damn near the perfect man. It was his stature, high cheekbones, blade nose, wide mouth, cat eyes, red hair, and innocence that sent him over the top to true perfection...oh! And let us not forget his kilt. That, combined with his raw masculinity, was the icing on top.
Jamie may have been the hook that kept me reading, but escaping to 18th-century Scotland intrigued me more than anything. Every day, I looked forward to going back in time to a place where the night sky was unencumbered by city lights, noise pollution consisted of galloping horses and a creaking carriage, handwritten letters were the only form of communication, and a fire your only source of heat. Eventually, I finished the third book in the Outlander series, but the fourth wouldn't be published for two years. I panicked. What was I going to read now? I missed everyone, especially Jamie, so I contemplated starting over with book one (which will always be my favorite), but that's a hell of a commitment; Outlander isn't a light read. That's when I started binging historical romances, desperately trying to find another Jamie Frasier. I was unsuccessful, but I had a great time trying, and read some amazing novels.
Over the next few years, I read hundreds of historical romances and had no interest in any other genre. Then, one of my book besties begged me to read Fifty Shades of Grey. I gave in, and I'm not going to lie; it was a struggle. But once I adjusted to the writing style and got into the story, I happily finished the series. That opened the door for me to branch out from the historical romance binge I'd been in for years and start devouring contemporary romances at the same pace. Slowly, I started adding paranormal romances to my repertoire of guilty pleasures. They were intensely passionate and so creative they blew my mind, and again, I thoroughly enjoyed them. By then, I realized it wasn't the genre that kept me reading; it was the writing and love story.
Unfortunately, my reading time in the past several years has become my writing time. I miss it, but I wear many hats. I won't bore you with describing them all, but they keep me extremely busy. Nonetheless, I try to write early in the morning, during lunch, in the evenings, and on weekends, plus any extra time I have in between. I even write when I'm in a waiting room or sitting in the car while my husband runs into the grocery store (I don't usually go in because it's too damn cold). But, I look forward to soon becoming a full-time author, not only because I love to write, but because I've got a pretty good-sized stack of stories piling up in my head.
Here are a few of my favorite authors:
Diana Gabaldon (she is the queen and will always reign supreme:)
Monica McCarty (her Highland Guard series is fantastic.)
Sylvia Day (great writing!)
Kresley Cole (The Immortals After Dark series is so creative and has the best audible narration ever!)
Octavia Randolph (The Circle of Ceridwen Saga, a beautiful journey through ancient history.)
Sarah Maas (Of course! Been hoping for the movie for almost ten years.)
That's a diverse mix of styles, genres, and storytelling, and they are all fantastic writers. They, and many others, are why my debut series, Souls Reunited, is a mixed-genre set of intensely passionate romance novels. It's interesting because that wasn't my intention. When I started Book One, The Essence of Fate, I was only going to write a short, steamy romance to get my feet wet, per se, and see if writing was for me. Well, after I finished chapter one, I was hooked. From there, Charlotte and Ian's connection became more than a short story. They led me to write a full-length novel that is the first in a series of four and the beginning of a tale that takes us back in time to a place of mystery and magic with a few stops in between.
I won't say much about the other books until they are released. However, I will say that Book Two, The Power of Fate, begins in London in 1798, and takes us to Scotland, where Book One ended. Carlotte's discovery in the display case is our segue into Book Two, where we meet Ella and Alasdair. From there, we journey farther back in time to 1573 on the Isle of Skye, where Isla and Lachlan's story begins in The Meaning of Fate. At the end, there is a beautiful segue into the fourth and last book in the series, The Dawn of Fate. This unique and powerful tale takes place on the west coast of Scotland in the 13th century. It's a profound love story that will capture your heart and explain why these two souls will love for eternity.
Each book is a standalone novel without cliffhangers and I stayed true to each genre; contemporary, historical, fantasy/paranormal. However, they are all tied together with common threads, some of which are vital to the series as a whole. Others are just little easter eggs I enjoyed including for the more detail-oriented readers. The language, culture, and historical events/characters are all accurate, or as accurate as I could make them. Although I did extensive research, I was limited in the last two books due to the lack of information available. Unless you were royalty or the extreme upper class, there wasn't much recorded about how you lived, what you wore or ate, what your home looked like, and so on. Furthermore, language was a challenge because people spoke Middle English until some time in the 1600s. It was a brain workout, but I managed to be authentic in my storytelling without using vocabulary that would make the writing unrelatable to most readers (and me:).
The fantasy/paranormal aspect of the series was unplanned, but I'm so happy I was led down that path. Again, I won't say much here since the other books haven't been released. But I will say it's my favorite part of the series and when you read it, you'll know why.
Thank you so much for your interest in the Souls Reunited Series. I'd love to hear from you so please comment or email me at alisonsteuart.author@gmail.com
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