Saturday, November 11, 2017

The Summer of '71 By: Rebecca Branch



The Summer of ‘71

A Romance of Youth in Timeless Rome
By: Rebecca Branch

This story takes place in Rome, but I am certain you already know that by the title. It is the first story in an art historian superhero series. This book, is written by the hand of a historian, who puts just the right twist on this story, and makes it work just perfectly.

What I also like, is the fact that the author even dedicated this book Rome, and intimacy both. In knowing that, it gives you hope for enjoyment, even if it is, in just a book. And as for Rome, as she states in her book, it gives you the insight from two different Worlds, the past and the present. And as you read, you can imagine your future.

This story reminds me of someone watching an older kind of screened movie, on a yellowed screen. A Movie about relationships, romance, and love, and the past. When the times were good, and so was the era. A love letter kind of story, the ones you write home about. The ones you hear your parents and grandparents tell and retell. 

“I met him at a fountain in Rome, as he sat there playing his guitar. It was Summertime, the weather was perfect, and he was just more handsome than any other man I had ever seen…” 

As the story gets told to you, you envision it the same, every time it is told to you. And you never complain every time you hear it. And when you imagine it, you are even more jealous, because it is being told in Rome, some place everyone has always wanted to see, and only dream of. 

This book comes highly recommended, and it was even more enjoyable to read. I found it a pleasure, as I followed along, seeing the story lines unfold right in front of me. This book will keep you reading it through to the end, simply because you will want to see it through.

I give this book five beautiful stars. It was everything I expected, and even wanted, as I read it. I was glad that I decided to read this, it was well worthy of my time, I think that you’ll enjoy it too!

Here are my questions for Rebecca:
1.      What made you write this book and how long did it take you?
The story of the Summer of ’71 was told to me over dinner by my next door neighbor. There were twelve of us at my house that night and we went around the table discussing how and when we lost our virginity. I loved my friend’s story and asked permission to turn it into a novel. I had been writing a biography of my family at the time for my daughters and some friends who read it suggested I write something with mass appeal. 50 Shades was the hit at the time and they told me to write something hot but cerebral, using my experience as a historian and art historian as a backdrop. My friend’s story of his loss of innocence, set in Rome at the end of his teen years in 1971 seemed perfect. I wrote 750 pages in a month and edited it down to 580 over the course of the year. It was self-published in 2012. I have written one book a year and twenty short stories since.


2.     Who designed your cover?
I designed it but used a cover designer named Courtney Lopes to fine tune it, create a back and a spine. I think her work on this cover and all my covers is marvelous.


3.     Do you have any photos or descriptions of your characters?
Yes I do. They populate my website and Facebook. There are literally hundreds of pictures, magazine covers, excerpts, in-depth historical and art supplements and short stories.


4.    What motivates you to write?
A Walter Mitty desire to live my life vicariously through my characters. Four of my books are in a series, although each can stand alone. Summer of ’71 is my first and could be serialized into three books and a sub-story but I’ve kept it intact as one. The second third and fourth in the series introduce new characters and historical time travel. They are all romantic and often erotic, but the characters move back and forth in time and interact with famous people of the recent past through the ancient world. I have one more book, a novella, which is unrelated to the others, called The Resurrection of Griffin Ballard


5.     What all education have you had?
I received my undergraduate degree in art history and archaeology from UC Berkeley then went on for my Ph.D. at Columbia. My focus was on the buildings of the Roman empire after its fall. I also studied museum management and fine arts at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA.


6.    What are you working on now?
My next novel planned is In the Land of Isis and Osiris. I just published Out of Time’s Abyss.


7.     What are your hobbies?
Antique collecting and restoration, cooking, rare books and manuscripts, travel, lecturing on the architecture of the Roman Empire. My profession is architecture and design business consultancy.


8.    What do you like best about being a writer?
I am a story teller. I’m filled with facts but am an inspirational speaker. I decided to write down my thoughts and stories and love to do it. It’s therapy for me and getting a great review is a heartwarming piece of acceptance.


9.    Have you ever met any other writers, or do you hope to?
Several. It was a group of romance author girlfriends, some quite successful, who encouraged me to write in the first place.


10.                        What is your favorite book of all time?
Impossible to answer. Pride and Prejudice perhaps. Many classics. I have a special love of Dan Brown, JK Rowling, Colleen McCullough, and Jean Auel.


11.  Where is your favorite place to relax?
In my girlfriend’s arms these days. Otherwise…the Metropolitan Museum of Art where I used to work as an assistant to the curator, Central Park where I walk my dog, bicycle and run and Rome where I get lost in the passage of time.


12. Please share with us your social media and book links:
https://www.facebook.com/arthistoriansuperhero/   Art Historian Superhero Facebook Page

13. Anything to add:
My books cross genres and are oftentimes called slipstream. They are about relationship building, self-awareness, loss of innocence, depression, reclamation, friendship, infatuation, romance, erotica, humor, art, history, travel, cuisine, adventure, and family. My books are well researched and historic, the characters are well developed, the writing is easy to understand, each story is educational. My books are novel length, not the length of most romance or erotica books. They are 250k, 185k, 160k, 85k, and 80k in length. They are all meant for an adult audience.

Summer of '71  (Art Historian Superhero Series, #1)Summer of '71 by Rebecca Branch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This story takes place in Rome, but I am certain you already know that by the title. It is the first story in an art historian superhero series. This book, is written by the hand of a historian, who puts just the right twist on this story, and makes it work just perfectly.

What I also like, is the fact that the author even dedicated this book Rome, and intimacy both. In knowing that, it gives you hope for enjoyment, even if it is, in just a book. And as for Rome, as she states in her book, it gives you the insight from two different Worlds, the past and the present. And as you read, you can imagine your future.

This story reminds me of someone watching an older kind of screened movie, on a yellowed screen. A Movie about relationships, romance, and love, and the past. When the times were good, and so was the era. A love letter kind of story, the ones you write home about. The ones you hear your parents and grandparents tell and retell.

“I met him at a fountain in Rome, as he sat there playing his guitar. It was Summertime, the weather was perfect, and he was just more handsome than any other man I had ever seen…”

As the story gets told to you, you envision it the same, every time it is told to you. And you never complain every time you hear it. And when you imagine it, you are even more jealous, because it is being told in Rome, some place everyone has always wanted to see, and only dream of.

This book comes highly recommended, and it was even more enjoyable to read. I found it a pleasure, as I followed along, seeing the story lines unfold right in front of me. This book will keep you reading it through to the end, simply because you will want to see it through.

I give this book five beautiful stars. It was everything I expected, and even wanted, as I read it. I was glad that I decided to read this, it was well worthy of my time, I think that you’ll enjoy it too!

View all my reviews

 

Hell Hath No Fury By: Annabelle Anders


Hell Hath No Fury
Devilish Debutantes Book 1

By: Annabelle Anders



I love the title to this book! Because you know when you read the title, you know how the sentence completes. ‘Like a woman scorned.’

I am one who marries for love, not money. I mean, let’s face it, money would be nice, but when you have love, you have everything. Because when you close your eye at night, and lay next to that man, you know you have everything.

But then there are those who have to have their cake and eat it too. And as I was reading this, I was wanting to reach through this book, and pull out ‘Not so Mr. Perfect’ and teach him a thing or two.

Cecily Nottingham is beautiful, and the thing is, she also has money. In England, it is referenced as a dowry. And here she is, thinking she has found happiness, and the man of her dreams, is already announcing that he is in love with someone else.

Its ok, my jaw fell to the floor too. But what he doesn’t know, in order to keep the dowry that he thought he could walk away with, he must also keep Cecily. Apparently, he didn’t know this, because all he ever saw her for, was her dowry.

Now, imagine how Cecily must feel. Used, and unwanted, but she has a plan of her own. Once she realizes that the Earl has realized that he must keep her, she sets out with her own plan.

Cecily sets out and finds the Earls own cousin, one Stephen Nottingham, hoping this will goad him into divorcing her. Stephen, is handsome as sin, much more than she had bargained for. And he is everything her husband is not. Honorable, loyal and even trustworthy.

Stephen has only returned to England himself, to save his own financial estate which is in ruins. When he meets Cecily, he has found himself in a compromise, he isn’t sure if he should strangle his own cousin, or kiss his cousins scorned and yet gorgeous wife. This meet causes Stephen to suffer with his own honor, and even self-control.

Cecily is about to find out, if love can conquer all, while causing cat fights, duels, and a whole lot of trouble she wasn’t really ready for, Cecily is ready to strive for everything she wanted in the first place. The question is, will she get it?

This is where you come in. I leave you to your destiny, to learn if this enchanting read is everything and more, as it was for me. An extremely entertaining five-star read that I enjoyed all the way to the end, and I think you will too. I encourage you to get your copy, I promise you entertainment in so many ways!



Here are my questions for Miss Anders:



1. What made you write this book and how long did it take you?

This book began as a writing exercise. I wanted to come up with an intriguing first 30 pages without turning it into a book… but it became a book anyway. I wrote it in about 4 weeks.





2. Who designed the cover?
Jena Brignola and myself.

3. Do you have any photos or descriptions of the characters that you can share with us? I wrote the book so quickly that I didn’t really do character sketches, but I really thought this model fit the bill...





4. How was your experience writing this book? As in was it a trying one, or did it help you in any ways?
The book kind of came together magically. I knew I had to get rid of Flavion somehow, and when it came together this way, I loved it. Originally, I was going to kill Flave in the second duel… and then… other things happened. LOL

5. What are you working on now?
I’m doing edits for Hell In A Hand Basket and I’m also working on a Regency Romance where the heroine is a cutter. (Anxiety)… This book is proving to be more challenging than I’d envisioned.


6. What motivated you to write this book and why and did you get the results you hoped for?
The idea of a heroine who was spitting mad drove the story… but Karma took over…and I loved it...


7. Who is your favorite writer and why?
Mary Balogh pulled me into this genre. She can turn anything into a great story. She’s amazing!


8. What suggestions can you offer for the aspiring writers out there?
Don’t delay. Just start writing. You can always come back later and fix it...


9.  How long have you been writing?

Since I was about 10…. But I didn’t finish my first novel until Aug. 2014

10. What are your hobbies?

LOL Reading. I’d love to do more traveling.


11. Where is your favorite place to write?
Wherever I’m the least distracted at the time… I write on my bed, the couch, the kitchen table, outside, and at the library.  Sometimes I sneak in a few words at work but don’t tell!


12. Please share with us your social media and book links:
















Annabelle Anders










I also have a trailer :)



YouTube link to Trailer (Featured on USA Today HEA)



13. Anything to add::
It’s such a gift to share my books with ACTUAL readers now! I feel extremely blessed! Thank you so much!


Hell Hath No Fury (Devilish Debutantes, #1)Hell Hath No Fury by Annabelle Anders
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the title to this book! Because you know when you read the title, you know how the sentence completes. ‘Like a woman scorned.’

I am one who marries for love, not money. I mean, let’s face it, money would be nice, but when you have love, you have everything. Because when you close your eye at night, and lay next to that man, you know you have everything.

But then there are those who have to have their cake and eat it too. And as I was reading this, I was wanting to reach through this book, and pull out ‘Not to so Mr. Perfect’ and teach him a thing or two.

Cecily Nottingham is beautiful, and the thing is, she also has money. In England, it is referenced as a dowry. And here she is, thinking she has found happiness, and the man of her dreams, is already announcing that he is in love with someone else.

Its ok, my jaw fell to the floor too. But what he doesn’t know, in order to keep the dowry that he thought he could walk away with, he must also keep Cecily. Apparently, he didn’t know this, because all he ever saw her for, was her dowry.

Now, imagine how Cecily must feel. Used, and unwanted, but she has a plan of her own. Once she realizes that the Earl has realized that he must keep her, she sets out with her own plan.

Cecily sets out and finds the Earls own cousin, one Stephen Nottingham, hoping this will goad him into divorcing her. Stephen, is handsome as sin, much more than she had bargained for. And he is everything her husband is not. Honorable, loyal and even trustworthy.

Stephen has only returned to England himself, to save his own financial estate which is in ruins. When he meets Cecily, he has found himself in a compromise, he isn’t sure if he should strangle his own cousin, or kiss his cousins scorned and yet gorgeous wife. This meet causes Stephen to suffer with his own honor, and even self-control.

Cecily is about to find out, if love can conquer all, while causing cat fights, duels, and a whole lot of trouble she wasn’t really ready for, Cecily is ready to strive for everything she wanted in the first place. The question is, will she get it?

This is where you come in. I leave you to your destiny, to learn if this enchanting read is everything and more, as it was for me. An extremely entertaining five-star read that I enjoyed all the way to the end, and I think you will too. I encourage you to get your copy, I promise you entertainment in so many ways!

View all my reviews