One April After the War
by G.S. Boarman
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GENRE: Historical Fiction
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BLURB:
When Mary Warner is requested to attend a meeting with her estranged godfather, President Ulysses S. Grant, she quickly finds that an invitation from the office of the President is an offer she can’t refuse.
Fresh from concluding a counterfeiting sting in Cincinnati, Secret Service agents Merritt and Argent are tasked by the President to convince Miss Warner to return with them to Washington, D. C. For the two Treasury agents, this simple assignment to escort the socially awkward and willful young woman on an 800-mile railroad journey from Louisville, Kentucky to the White House proves far more interesting and difficult than the men could have ever thought possible. And, in the face of danger, it may just turn out that Mary is more of an asset than a problem for the two agents.
For Mary Warner, the trip begins to take on a sinister meaning as she finds herself virtual prisoner to Merritt and Argent. Madness, morality, and murder all swirl in a strange April storm at midnight turning this odd odyssey into something so much more than a mere trip between cities.
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EXCERPT
Merritt looked over to M before resuming his seat. She seemed completely unperturbed by the stranger’s arrival, appearance, or attitude. She had, in fact, stopped studying the stranger as soon as his presence became known to Argent and himself. She was now studying Merritt, with some expectation in her gaze. He apologized for the intrusion of the stranger, then again took up his newspaper. Argent also apologized, with the promise that he would speak to the porter about restricting access to their apartment. Having been dismissed of all but the most basic duties in this apartment, the least he could do was to keep intruders at bay.
M tried to return to her reading, but her mind was restless, her thoughts both insistent and scattered, and she could not bring her mind to bear on what she read, nor could what she read bring any order to her thoughts. She finally gave up the effort and turned her head towards the window. No matter what Argent thought, the air was fresh and cool.
She was still awake, though seeing nothing, when she heard the outer door quietly open and shut. She waited to see if it was the strange man returned to murder them all, and it was as she waited that she drifted into sleep. Her scattered thoughts coalesced into a memory of the creek at home and in this memory was Merritt, and they played together in the creek, though they were both grown; he made her laugh, like Randy used to do.
A Word With the Author
1.Did you always want to be an author?
Yes, but I never knew what I would write about. I have always enjoyed trying to find the perfect sentence, the perfect word, for even something as mundane as a complaint letter. Until I wrote these books, the only writing I had ever done was term papers and essays for school.
2.Tell us about the publication of your first book.
One April After the War is my first book, but it is the first of three that are finished and published (Amazon). Publishing and marketing have proven to be a difficult learning curve, far harder than the actual writing of the books. I am very grateful for the help and personal attention from Rachel at Books Forward.
3.Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in?
My favorite writer of historical fiction is Patrick O’Brian, who wrote 20 books in one series alone before his death in 2000. The movie, Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World, was based on these books. A close second to him would be Dorothy Dunnett, author of the House of Niccolo series.
4.What's the best part of being an author? The worst?
I crave the independence that being an author affords. I have worked in several office jobs and hated every minute. I am content to stay home with my dogs and cats and my gardens. I am willing to work far longer writing – starting first thing in the morning and working until bedtime – than at any other job I have ever had. At office jobs, I was like Fred Flintstone – as soon as 5:00 hit, I was out of the office and on my way home.
The worst part about being an author is the uncertainty of finding an audience and the uncertainty of an income. But other than those two uncertainties, writing and researching have given me the greatest sense of contentment. I can’t imagine that I will ever tire of it.
5.What are you working on now?
The first three books in the M. Warner Annals are finished and will be for sale on March 15. I am currently working on Book IV, as yet untitled.
If it is not out of place, please allow me to present an unusual coincidence regarding One April After the War and the timing of its release. April 1870 (the time of the book) and April 2022 are exactly the same. That is, they both begin on Friday, Easter in both years is April 17, and the full moon in both Aprils is only 24 hours off (April 15 in 1870 and April 16 in 2022).
Interested readers are welcome to submit any questions at gsboarman.com.
Coincidences such as this are intriguing and fun. Thanks for sharing. Elaine
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
After the death of G. S. Boarman, a great niece cleaned out the old Kentucky family farmhouse and in the attic, amid the rusting coffee mill, the rickety outdated furniture that was still awaiting repairs, and the stacks of vermin-eaten Harper’s Weekly’s and Police Gazette’s, she found a curious box marked simply “M”.
On the kitchen floor, the metal hasps were flipped back and the top pried off. Lying on the top of a very neat and orderly collection of things was a scrapbook and lying loose inside the scrap book was a note that said simply, “Please finish the story.” The scrapbook itself contained a rough outline of a narrative with sometimes undecipherable glosses and cryptic references to mysterious sources.
From letters and notebooks, ledgers and calendars, train schedules and stockholders’ reports, the story was slowly extracted and pieced together, and the small treasures, carefully wrapped and preserved in the box, took their place in the narrative.
Boarman’s will had already been read, probated, and executed, but the niece, as executrix, felt obligated to fulfill Boarman’s last wish — to breathe life into the long-ago story of a woman who held some importance to Boarman.
Website: https://www.gsboarman.com/
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
G.S. Boarman will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
RAFFLECOPTER:
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I enjoyed the post. Sounds good.
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