Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Who Buried Sarah


                                                       WHO BURIED SARAH

by Eden Monroe

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

 

GENRE:  Historical fiction

 

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

 

BLURB:

 

Sarah, the only child of Rev. and Mrs. Cranston Estey, was betrothed to Connor McLagen of the affluent McLagen family. The McLagens were socially revered, although there were rumours of nefarious underpinnings to their substantial wealth, and the God-fearing Esteys were not in favour of the marriage.

 

Three days before the June 1927 wedding, Sarah disappeared. Her note said she’d changed her mind and decided to leave town.

 

A week later she was found, buried in a rose garden, the gruesome and sensational discovery knocking New Brunswick prohibition wars out of the headlines.

 

There were many with secrets to keep…

 

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

 

EXCERPT


“Then stop playing with fire. Look, I like it that you want to … go further … but not now, darling. We have to wait for the right time and I promise to live up to your expectations. There will be nothing holding us back then, but I promise I will be gentle.”

 

Shifting away from him slightly, she gazed out across the river. “I understand that. I’m not exactly inexperienced about such things, Connor.”

 

Had she really just said that aloud? She was aghast that the secret she knew she had to share with him at some point had spontaneously bubbled to the surface. This was probably the worst time for such a revelation, but there was no turning back now.

There was silence as she waited for the fallout from the bomb she’d just dropped, not daring to look at him.

 

“Excuse me?” he asked after a moment, his voice gone hard. “What did you mean by that, Sarah?”

 

Apparently this had unexpectedly become the time for truth telling. She was as surprised as he was it was happening, but she loved him too much not to be completely honest. She’d just thought it would somehow be easier to do. “What I mean is … I’ve … ahhh … been with a man before.”

 

He was deadly calm. “In what way?”




A Word With the Author



Did you always want to be an author?

 

Yes, I can honestly say I did. I remember seeing a feature story about novelist Flora Kidd in the Family Herald Magazine one time, I would have still been in my teens. When I read that story I was mesmerized. I said (a) I want to do what she does and (b) I want to interview Flora Kidd someday, and I was fortunate enough to realize both goals. What a thrilling full-circle moment it was for me when I interviewed the great Flora Kidd, and I took the same photo as the one in the Family Herald all those many years ago - Mrs. Kidd leaning with her elbows on a huge stack of her books, smiling wistfully. However I realized after the pictures were developed there was a lampshade behind her head, and there wasn’t time to take more and still meet my deadline (those were the days before digital). Oh how that lampshade bothered me. I’d been so star struck I’d missed the lamp. It was some time later that I dug out the Flora Kidd story from years ago, and believe it or not, there was that very same lampshade behind her head, I swear. 

 

Tell us about the publication of your first book.

 

I love writing fiction but my first book was non-fiction and was about the late Elsie Wayne, former mayor of Saint John, New Brunswick who went on to become a Member of Parliament. She was a very popular politician and so my first book ended up being a top ten national best seller in Canada. It was a great experience. In fact at bookstores where we had our signings they had to add an extra cash register to accommodate the crowds. I was relegated to the shadows of course because she was the star attraction, but it was still a very rewarding first book.

 

Besides yourself, who is your favourite author in the genre you write in?

 

I would say far and away my favourite author in romantic suspense is Sandra Brown. I’ve been enjoying her books for years, a great storyteller and I still remember many of her books. As for mystery, P.D. James, John Grisham and James Patterson all come to mind. And certainly the incomparable Agatha Christie.

 

What’s the best part about being an author?

 

I enjoy creating characters who go on to take the reins, and I love that. They really do tell their own story and I get to go along for the ride. They become very real to me and I can easily recall each and every one of them; their personalities. I can’t think of any better way to spend my time than writing, unless it’s reading. I love the excitement of storytelling, daring myself to step outside the box and loving it when I do. I also love the editing process. That is by far my favourite part of the entire experience.

 

The worst?

 

The initial process of creating is not the best part of it for me – sometimes it’s actually a torturous, blood letting experience in order to leave it all on the page. Then there’s sometimes the uncertainty of will this be the one that fails me? Thankfully it so far has not, and that feeling usually fades away quickly once I get rolling. After I’ve emptied myself, the words are waiting for the part I truly enjoy, the molding and shaping of the clay … the editing. 

 

What are you working on now?

 

I will start work very soon on a romantic suspense trilogy, The McClures, set in the 1800’s in New Brunswick, Canada. Following the untimely death of her husband, an American woman and her children flee to New Brunswick seeking safe haven only to find their trials and tribulations are far from over. Three sons, two murders, one grandson.

 

 

 

 

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


 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Eden Monroe writes about real life, real issues and struggles, and triumphing against all odds. A proud east coast Canadian, she enjoys a variety of outdoor activities, and a good book.

 

https://edenmonroeauthor.com/

 

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEdenMonroe/

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

 

The author will award a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.

 


 


a Rafflecopter giveaway




4 comments:

  1. Thank you for featuring me today. I appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you could have dinner with any fictional character from literature , who would it be and why?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great question Tracie. I really gave this some thought and I would have to say the biggest thrill for me would be to have dinner with some of the characters I've created. After telling their story it seems as if I already know them, but to get to actually hang out with them would be so great. So to answer your question my first inclination would be to say Kane Davidson of the Emerald Valley Series because that would be a cool experience. But for dinner I think I'd choose Aggie, the housekeeper of that same series. Now that would be fun because I'd enjoy her non-nonsense direct manner and she'd be good for quite a few laughs.

    ReplyDelete