LADIES OF INTRIGUE - Michelle Griep - One Free Book

Welcome back, Michelle. How did you come up with the idea for this story?

Since there are 3 different stories, I have 3 different answers :

The Gentleman Smuggler’s Lady was inspired from my time visiting Cornwall where smugglers abound. And Poldark. Who isn’t inspired by Poldark?!

The Doctor’s Woman is a story dear to my heart because I live so close to the fort where this atrocity took place.

A House of Secrets came about from a tidbit of history I uncovered one day while at the Minnesota History Museum, about a secret tunnel reported running from a brothel to the Minnesota Club.

If you were planning a party with Christian authors of contemporary fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

Robin Jones Gunn because I heard her speak one time and she’s so personable.

Heather Gilbert because she’s such a sweetie.

Lindsay Harrell because I keep meaning to read her books and I just haven’t gotten around to it yet…bad reader!

Cara Putnam because I’ve never met her but I’d really like to.

Ane Mulligan because she’s another one of my bestest critique buddies in the world.

Deborah Raney because she’s just so doggone noble.

Now let’s do that for a party for Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

Laura Frantz because her smile is infectious.

Julie Klassen because she’s one of my writing buddies.

Lori Benton because I want to write like her when I grow up.

Joanna Davidson Politano because I love her stories and I’d like to meet her.

Shannon McNear because her writing is stellar and we can plot together.

Elizabeth Ludwig because she is truly my partner in crime.

Many times, people (and other authors) think you have it made with so many books published. What is your most difficult problem with writing at this time in your career?

Hah! I almost choked on that one. Does any author ever really have it made? Writing is such a subjective thing that there’s no guarantee ever that anyone will “have it made.” My biggest problem currently is striving to beat down self-doubt, wondering if I can keep coming up with intriguing ideas.

Tell us about the featured book.

These 3 stories were previously published in other collections but now they are all under one cover. Here’s a blurb:

Can truth and love prevail when no one is as they appear?

The Gentleman Smuggler’s Lady
Cornish Coast 1815
When a prim and proper governess returns to England from abroad, she expects to comfort her dying father—not fall in love with a smuggler. Will Helen Fletcher keep Isaac Seaton’s unusual secret?

The Doctor’s Woman (A Carol Award Winner!)
Dakota Territory 1862
Emmy Nelson, daughter of a missionary doctor, and Dr. James Clark, city doctor aspiring to teach, find themselves working side by side at Fort Snelling during the Dakota Uprising. That is when the real clash of ideals begins.

A House of Secrets
St. Paul, Minnesota 1890
Ladies Aide Chairman, Amanda Carston resolves to clean up St. Paul’s ramshackle housing, starting with the worst of the worst: a “haunted” house that’s secretly owned by her beau—a home that’s his only means of helping brothel girls escape from the hands of the city’s most infamous madam.

Please give us the first page of the book.

1815, port village of Treporth, Cornwall, England

Pretend I am courageous.

Pretend my heart still beats.

Pretend all manner of blissful things. . .

and that I shall find him alive.

Re-creasing a worn scrap of foolscap, Helen Fletcher tucked the paper into her valise then snapped shut the clasp, wishing most of all she’d never received such horrid news. No one had ever warned her about the dangers of parchment.

Pretend the world is right and well. . .for it would be—or she would die trying to make it so.

She rose from her sleeping berth and paced the few steps to the small mirror on the wall. Grey-blue light, the last from the end of a melancholic day, leaked through the porthole into her tiny accommodations. The vessel Nancarrow had never been meant to haul passengers, but the captain had made an exception for her plight, thank God. Removing her hat from a hook, she did her best to pin up her dark hair beneath the brim, then tied the ribbon secure. Now that they were docked, she’d not be sorry to leave this tucked-away compartment.

“Of course Father will be fine,” she whispered to her reflection, taking courage in the voicing of such a hope. She lifted her chin, staring into her own eyes. “And you will be, too.”

Whirling about, she retrieved her valise and left her sanctuary of the past fortnight. The corridor was a maze and a dim one at that. Very few vigil lanterns lit the way. She edged past stacks of crates secured against one wall then turned sideways to squeeze through a narrow throat of a space next to a post. Though she ought be used to it by now, the tight quarters smelled of brine and dampness and overworked ship hands—an odor she wouldn’t miss.

At last she made it to the stairs leading to fresh air and England. She’d never been to Cornwall, Bath having been her former home before leaving as a governess to Ireland. But as long as she was with Father, it would no doubt feel like home.

She gripped the railing with one gloved hand and ascended the wooden rungs. Her other hand held tightly to all she owned in this life, which was precious little. No matter. God would provide. He always did. Was not the very fact she’d been sent passage to attend her ailing father proof enough of God’s surprising provision?

The closer she climbed toward the top deck, the louder shouts echoed and boots thudded. Strange. When they’d set sail from Ireland’s green coast, the crew had sung ditties of brisk winds and prows cutting through the ocean blue. Ought not the ballads of mooring at a friendly port be jolly as well? She frowned. No, those rumbles and curses were decidedly not merry at all.

I’m intrigued. How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.michellegriep.com

https://www.facebook.com/michellegriep/

https://www.pinterest.com/michellegriep/pins/

https://twitter.com/MichelleGriep

Thank you, Michelle, for sharing this collection with my blog readers and me. I look forward to reading all three stories.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Ladies of Intrigue: 3 Tales of 19th-Century Romance with a Dash of Mystery - Paperback
Ladies of Intrigue: 3 Tales of 19th-Century Romance with a Dash of Mystery - Kindle

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