Today I welcome women's fiction and contemporary romance novelist Mary Metcalfe whilst I am touring the blogosphere. Find my interview today at Fly HighAbout Mary:
Originally from the Toronto-Hamilton area of Ontario, Canada, Mary moved to Ottawa to study journalism and fell in love with the region. Shortly after graduating, she met and fell in love with her soul mate.
In addition to being a full-time novelist, Mary edits memoirs, fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. She's adopted the moniker Lakefront Muse to reflect (pardon the pun) her love of living by a small lake and gaining inspiration from nature in her rural surroundings. While her novels are set in or near Boston, she lives in the foothills of the Laurentians in Quebec, Canada.
'The whole point of a good novel, in my view at least, is to journey with the characters as they learn about themselves and what is important in life. We tend to learn best when we are challenged; when we have to dig down deep to our core values; to what’s negotiable and what’s not negotiable. I don’t cut my characters any slack when it comes to challenges.'
In addition to being a full-time novelist, Mary edits memoirs, fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. She's adopted the moniker Lakefront Muse to reflect (pardon the pun) her love of living by a small lake and gaining inspiration from nature in her rural surroundings. While her novels are set in or near Boston, she lives in the foothills of the Laurentians in Quebec, Canada.
'The whole point of a good novel, in my view at least, is to journey with the characters as they learn about themselves and what is important in life. We tend to learn best when we are challenged; when we have to dig down deep to our core values; to what’s negotiable and what’s not negotiable. I don’t cut my characters any slack when it comes to challenges.'
From an interview with P Y Delagrange
Here are Mary's choices:
Non-fiction: Official biography of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen
Mother. She was an amazing woman who stood by her husband through thick and thin
and helped keep up the morale of the Brits during WWII.
Classic: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. They are such wonderful stories, with bawdy women and shameless men and wonderfully archaic writing.
Fiction: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It's the first in an amazing series of books about an 18th century Scotsman and his time-travelling wife. Beautifully written with masterful storytelling, I'd read it again any day.... or several, as it's very long.
And below are details of Mary's latest novel, Winds of Change.
After losing her husband and daughter in a plane crash, Boston social worker Jennifer Barrett is rebuilding her life. Finding solace in her work, Jennifer helps young client Mark Powell find work at the seniors' residence where her father lives. After learning Mark hasn’t seen his father, an internationally-known broadcast journalist, in over four years, she can’t understand how a father could abandon his only son to chase war stories.
When Jennifer meets Ben Powell, she is prepared to dislike him, despite his charm and affable manner. But, when he reveals he’s been battling post-traumatic stress disorder, she realizes he didn’t want to bring his demons home to Mark, who has suffered from clinical depression. As Jennifer gets to know Ben, she realizes there may be room in her heart for laughter and new love.
Lana Fitzpatrick, a close friend of Jennifer’s and a young nurse helping care for Jennifer’s father, is also a widow, raising her young son Danny alone. As Lana gets to know her handsome co-worker, Mark Powell, and sees him bonding with Danny, she finds her heart swelling with love.
As new family bonds form, all discover the power of friendship and love to overcome loss so they can face life with renewed hope.
Find out more about Mary at her blog www.lakefrontmuse.blogspot.ca
Classic: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. They are such wonderful stories, with bawdy women and shameless men and wonderfully archaic writing.
Fiction: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It's the first in an amazing series of books about an 18th century Scotsman and his time-travelling wife. Beautifully written with masterful storytelling, I'd read it again any day.... or several, as it's very long.
And below are details of Mary's latest novel, Winds of Change.
When Jennifer meets Ben Powell, she is prepared to dislike him, despite his charm and affable manner. But, when he reveals he’s been battling post-traumatic stress disorder, she realizes he didn’t want to bring his demons home to Mark, who has suffered from clinical depression. As Jennifer gets to know Ben, she realizes there may be room in her heart for laughter and new love.
Lana Fitzpatrick, a close friend of Jennifer’s and a young nurse helping care for Jennifer’s father, is also a widow, raising her young son Danny alone. As Lana gets to know her handsome co-worker, Mark Powell, and sees him bonding with Danny, she finds her heart swelling with love.
As new family bonds form, all discover the power of friendship and love to overcome loss so they can face life with renewed hope.
Find out more about Mary at her blog www.lakefrontmuse.blogspot.ca
Thank you for this wonderful interview post, Dee. I'm having a Goodreads giveaway for the second novel in the Look to the Future series. Ten copies of New Beginnings are available at end October. http://bit.ly/Q9H0v0 Hope your followers will all sign up! Cheers! Mary
ReplyDeleteExcellent choices!!
ReplyDelete