SUZANNE ADAIR VISITS

Suzanne Adair, Author



 Please welcome one of my favorite historical authors, Suzanne Adair. Her book PAPER WOMAN won the prestigious Patrick D. Smith Literary Award. CAMP FOLLOWER was a finalist for both the Daphne du Maurier Award and the Sir Walter Raleigh Award. Her current release, REGULATED FOR MURDER is certain to win awards as well.


Caroline: Readers love to get to know authors. Please tell us something about yourself that lets readers get to know the real you--perhaps something they might find surprising.


Suzanne: I took up dancing adult classical ballet lessons when I was in my early twenties in college and am still dancing ballet. I've performed in several small companies. Ballet has given me a love of all dancing: ballroom, jazz, country, etc.

Caroline: You must have natural talent, because ballet lessons usually require one start very young. Your novel PAPER WOMAN is one of my favorites. Is the American Revolution your chosen era for all your books?


Suzanne: I'm glad you enjoyed PAPER WOMAN. The American Revolution is my chosen era for this series of books. But starting next spring, I may release the first book of a science fiction series that's set in the 24th century.


Caroline: No, no! I want more Michael Stoddard books! (Oh, for a moment I forgot it's your choice. LOL) Where do you glean most of your research?


Suzanne: Most of my research for the series set during the American Revolution has come from hands-on experience as a Revolutionary War reenactor, and from historical sites that I visit.

From Suzanne's site

Caroline: On your blog, you have photos of Revolutionary re-enactors. Do you participate in these battles or watch them?


Suzanne: I don't participate in the actual battle reenactments, but I watch my sons re-create the roles of redcoats on the battlefield. My active participation is as a civilian accompanying the army.

Caroline: Would you like to share an unusual/interesting experience you had while visiting a battleground or researching one of your books?


Suzanne: While I was staying at the Kinard House, a restored Victorian-era B&B just down the street from the Revolutionary War fort in Ninety Six, South Carolina, I met the resident ghost, Henry Kinard. On two previous visits to Kinard House, the owner had never dropped the slightest hint of a spectral resident, but my experience that third visit tallied exactly with her experiences. I have a scientific background and didn't believe in ghosts, but I could find no other explanation for the experience. And fortunately, it was a pleasant encounter.


Caroline: I've met several ghosts, so I'm a believer.
In the past you had used a traditional publisher. What made you decide to publish independently?

Suzanne: The regional press that originally released my trilogy (PAPER WOMAN, THE BLACKSMITH’S DAUGHTER, and CAMP FOLLOWER) as well as the historical fiction and non-fiction of a number of authors folded. I approached several agents and small presses with REGULATED FOR MURDER, but they dragged their feet or said they didn't know how to reach my audience. Meanwhile loyal readers kept asking me when my next book was coming out. They'd been patient, but they wouldn't wait forever.


By the time my publisher folded, I was managing most of my own promotion and even some of the distribution. Also I'd retained almost all subsidiary rights when I signed the contracts, so I'd already made the trilogy available for ebooks. January 2011, I decided to independently publish the Michael Stoddard series, bringing each title out in electronic format first, then releasing a print version several months later. My print rights for the trilogy reverted to me, so those books will be re-released in print in several months.


Caroline: I'm pleased to know that! They are keepers and I'll want them in print as well as the e-books on my Kindle. I know you use real events in your stories. Are any of the major characters based on real people?

Suzanne: None of my major characters are based on real people. They're all blends of people I've known and fictional characters. The following actual historical people have appeared as cameos or secondary characters in my books:


PAPER WOMAN: Luciano de Herrera
THE BLACKSMITH’S DAUGHTER: Thomas Brown, Lord Cornwallis

CAMP FOLLOWER: Francis Marion, Banastre Tarleton
REGULATED FOR MURDER: James Henry Craig


Caroline: What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Suzanne: Entertainment, education, and escape.


Caroline: Great answer! Tell us about your latest release, after I remind readers to check the review from Monday's post.

 Suzanne: For ten years, an execution hid murder. Then Michael Stoddard came to town.


Bearing a dispatch from his commander in coastal Wilmington, North Carolina, redcoat Lieutenant Michael Stoddard arrives in Hillsborough in February 1781 in civilian garb. He expects to hand a letter to a courier working for Lord Cornwallis, then ride back to Wilmington the next day. Instead, Michael is greeted by the courier's freshly murdered corpse, a chilling trail of clues leading back to an execution ten years earlier, and a sheriff with a fondness for framing innocents—and plans to deliver Michael up to his nemesis, a psychopathic British officer.


Caroline: Michael Stoddard is a wonderful hero! I can hardly wait to read his (okay, your) next book. Where can readers find your books?


Suzanne:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Regulated-Murder-Stoddard-Revolution-ebook/dp/B005V334M2/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318876227&sr=1-5


Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96171


Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/regulated-for-murder-suzanne-adair/1106658070?ean=2940013308572&itm=1&usri=suzanne%2badair

 Caroline: How can readers learn more about you?


Suzanne's bio: Award-winning novelist Suzanne Adair is a Florida native who lives in a two hundred-year-old city at the edge of the North Carolina Piedmont, named for an English explorer who was beheaded. Her suspense and thrillers transport readers to the Southern theater of the Revolutionary War, where she brings historic towns, battles, and people to life. She fuels her creativity with Revolutionary War reenacting and visits to historic sites. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking, dancing, hiking, and spending time with her family.


Visit her blog (http://www.suzanneadair.typepad.com/) and web site (http://www.suzanneadair.com//) for more information.


Follow her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Suzanne.Adair.Author/, Twitter http://twitter.com/Suzanne_Adair/, and Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1188958.Suzanne_Adair/


Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Suzanne Adair and her author friends. Subscribe to Suzanne's free newsletter http://tinyletter.com/Suzanne-Adair-News/.


Caroline: Suzanne, thank you for sharing with us today. Wishing you continued success with your amazing books!

Readers, please return on Friday to meet Alyson Reuben.


Thanks for stopping by!

LOVE, SEX, AND DEATH...PAPER WOMAN HAS IT ALL!

THE BIG DAY IS HERE! Follow Suzanne Adair's instructions on her blog to be entered for a Historic Haversack of goodies from Suzanne (I'm donating a download of my book, SAVE YOUR HEART FOR ME, for the Haversack) and in the Blog Tour De Force to win a Kindle! Visit Suzanne's blog, "The British Are Coming Y'all," by midnight EST on April 21st at http://www.suzanneadair.typepad.com/ for instructions to win a free download of PAPER WOMAN, a novel of the American Revolution. My review, also posted yesterday, is below.  Please mention me as your favorite of Suzanne's sponsors in BLOG TOUR DE FORCE! (Yes, unmitigated self-promotion.) Suzanne says, "If any visitors want to also win my Historic Haversack goodie bag, I will instruct them to select a review site from those listed, comment on the review site with, 'Love, sex, and death. Paper Woman has it all!' then return to my blog to comment where they posted and why they liked that particular review."

                    PAPER WOMAN REVIEW


PAPER WOMAN is a book you will love! From the first page, Ms Adair’s story of one woman’s quest during the American Revolution will pull you into the pages (or your e-reader). This is not a pedantic historical treatise. Ms Adair’s ability to bring the era to life amazed me. She interweaves plot and historic detail while she entertains so well that the reader forgets he or she is gaining new insights into the American Revolution. In fact, not only did I immediately identify with Sophie Barton, I felt I was standing next to the heroine and experiencing each obstacle with her. No wonder Suzanne Adair's awards include the Patrick D. Smith Literature Award. 
         

AVAILABLE NOW!

Sophie Barton is only thirty-three, but she is already twice widowed and, via her seventeen year old daughter Betsy, soon to be a grandmother. (Yes, women often married young at this time.) Sophie is “the paper woman” because of her job assisting her father with his printing press. She also keeps the accounts for their print shop. Her father and his cronies are busy stirring up rebellion against the Crown at the same time Sophie is being courted by a British officer who is more than he seems--or less, depending on your viewpoint. David, Sophie’s charming brother, spends his time cavorting with widows and winning games of chance. Their selfish younger sister, Susana, is a young matron interested primarily in grabbing all supposedly due her and her family. Sophie hates the small town of Alton, Georgia and longs for travel and adventure. Ever hear the saying, be careful what you wish for?


Renactment from Suzanne's website



















Circumstances rapidly change, placing Sophie and her family in danger. Like a female Indiana Jones, she is determined to solve the puzzle of who wants her arrested for treason and who has plotted against her family. I won’t include any spoilers, so I won’t describe her quest through forests and swamps, accompanied by the men who love her and offer their loyalty.

PAPER WOMAN is a book I enthusiastically recommend and I rate it five stars! One night I read until my eyes were so tired I couldn’t focus. The next morning, I hurried my routine so I could finish this enthralling tale of love, sex, and death. PAPER WOMAN is available in e-download from Smashwords here.
 

Suzanne

Suzanne Adair is the nom de plume for Suzanne Williams, a native Floridian who currently lives with her family in North Carolina. In second grade, she wrote her first fiction for fun after the eye of a hurricane passed over her home, and she grew up intrigued by wild weather, stories of suspense and high adventure, Spanish St. Augustine, and the South's role in the Revolutionary War. She has traveled extensively and lived in England for half a year. After visiting the ruins of colonial-era Ft. Frederica on St. Simon's Island, Georgia, she began writing PAPER WOMAN, the first book of her series and the recipient of the 2007 Patrick D. Smith Literature Award. THE BLACKSMITH'S DAUGHTER and CAMP FOLLOWER continue her fictional ventures into the Southern theater of the Revolutionary War. CAMP FOLLOWER was nominated for the 2009 Daphne du Maurier Excellence in Historical Mystery/Suspense Award and the 2009 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction. Suzanne enjoys participating in living history to commemorate events from the Revolutionary War -- a hobby that helps her depict colonial life in writing.

BOOK REVIEW OF PAPER WOMAN BY SUZANNE ADAIR

Do you read historical fiction? Do you like adventure stories? Do you read books that include Native Americans? Do you enjoy stories with romance between heroic characters? Do you want to win a Kindle? More about that later.



Available Now!

 If you answered yes to even one of these questions, PAPER WOMAN, by Suzanne Adair, is a book you will love. From the first page, Ms Adair’s story of one woman’s quest during the American Revolution will pull you into the pages (or your e-reader). This is not a pedantic historical treatise. Ms Adair’s ability to bring the era to life amazed me. She weaves historic detail so well that the reader forgets he or she is gaining new insights into the American Revolution. In fact, I felt I was standing next to the heroine and experiencing each obstacle with her. No wonder Suzanne Adair won the Patrick D. Smith Literature Award.

Sophie Barton is only thirty-three, but she is already twice widowed and soon to be a grandmother. Sophie is “the paper woman” because of her job assisting her father with his printing press. She also keeps the accounts for their Alton, Georgia business. Her father is busy stirring up rebellion against the Crown at the same time Sophie is being courted by a British officer whose intentions are less than honorable. Daniel, Sophie’s charming brother, spends his time courting women and winning games of chance. Her sister Susana is a self-involved young matron interested primarily in what might be due her and her family.


But life quickly changes and Sophie and her family are in danger. Like a female Indiana Jones, she is determined to solve the puzzle of who wants her arrested for treason and who has plotted against her family. I won’t include any spoilers, so I won’t describe her quest, accompanied by the men who love her and offer their loyalty.

PAPER WOMAN is a book I enthusiastically recommend and I rate it five stars! I couldn’t stop reading until my eyes were so tired I couldn’t focus. The next morning, I hurried my routine so I could finish this captivating tale. PAPER WOMAN is available in e-download from http://www.smashwords.com/  and in print from http://www.dramtreebooks.com/

 

Win a
Kindle!

Join me on the 21st-24th when Suzanne Adair, author of PAPER WOMAN, will be my guest. Read my blog here then go to Suzanne's blog at http://www.SuzanneAdair.typepad.com/ for a chance to download her book FREE and enter to win a Kindle! To be in the drawing for the Kindle, you must comment here on April 21st and then go to her blog at the above link and follow her directions. (Nothing hard, nothing time consuming.)
 

Thanks for stopping by!