Welcome to the blog tour for
Her Dear and Loving Husband,
a historical romance novel with a paranormal twist . . .
What
they say:
‘James
Wentworth has a secret. He lives quietly in Salem, Massachusetts, making few
ties with anyone. One night his private world is turned upside down when he
meets Sarah Alexander, a dead ringer for his wife, Elizabeth. Though it has
been years since Elizabeth's death, James cannot move on.
Sarah
also has a secret. She is haunted by nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials,
and every night she is awakened by visions of hangings, being arrested, and
dying in jail. Despite the obstacles of their secrets, James and Sarah fall in
love. As James comes to terms with his feelings for Sarah, he must dodge
accusations from a reporter desperate to prove that James is not who, or what,
he seems to be. Soon James and Sarah piece their stories together and discover
a mystery that may bind them in ways they never imagined. Do vampires and
witches live in Salem? Will James make the ultimate sacrifice to protect Sarah
and prevent a new hunt from bringing hysteria to Salem again?
Part
historical fiction, part romance, part paranormal fantasy, Her Dear and
Loving Husband is a story for anyone who believes that true love never
dies.’
Adding a Paranormal Twist to Historical Romance
Meredith
Allard
You could say I write historical romance
with a paranormal twist. I’ve been writing novels for years now, and I love
writing historical fiction. That’s the genre I've been most associated with,
and I wasn’t looking to change until I had the idea for my vampire novels in
the Loving Husband Trilogy. While
Book One in the series, Her Dear &
Loving Husband, has historical elements from the Salem Witch Trials in
1692, it was my first venture into paranormal fiction, and that was definitely
a twist for me, a turn in the road I was used to traveling. Now I’m so glad I
took the plunge into this rich, imaginative genre.
Before, all my stories, while fictional,
were entirely realistic. The characters could really exist, and the facts about
the historical times they lived in were painstakingly researched. While I
always relied on my imagination to write my novels, my previous stories were
limited by the physical realities of our world. When I began writing paranormal
fiction, I discovered a whole new freedom that allowed me to write whatever my
imagination conjured. Even if it’s not possible in our real world, it’s
possible in this paranormal world my characters and I created. As most fiction
writers will tell you, the characters take over and tell their own stories their
own way. When that happens I find it’s best if I just sit back and take
dictation. And when I let my paranormal characters do the talking, there are no
limits to where the story can go. Fantasy, flights of fancy— that’s what I was
missing in my earlier books.
By writing a romantic paranormal fantasy I
was able to write about a vampire who has been alive for 349 years, and he has
seen American history from its beginnings in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
through the Revolutionary War, to the Trail of Tears, through World War I,
World War II, right up through our present day. I was able to write about
witches who can shatter glass at the snap of their fingers or light a roomful
of candles with the wave of a hand. Ghosts can reappear from the past to reunite
with loved ones. And a werewolf can cross party lines to adopt a vampire son.
I had been closed off to the paranormal
genre before. I thought to write something meaningful it had to be real—as in
it could really happen. But now I realize that imagination can be powerful.
Even as an adult, it’s good to explore the realm of what’s possible and enjoy
some fantasy every once in a while. It’s fun to play those childhood games of
“What if?” again. That’s why I love writing historical romance with a paranormal
twist.
***GIVEAWAYS***
Win a copy of The Salem Witch Trials: A Day by
Day Chronicles of a Community Under Siege by Marilynne K. Roach.
This is a
factual book Meredith used to research the Salem Witch Trials:
What they say:
‘Based
on over twenty years of original archival research, this history unfolds a
nearly day-by-day narrative of the Salem Witch Trials as the citizens of Salem
experienced the outbreak of hysteria.’
Giveaway open to US residents only and closes on August 27th.
Win a dinner for 2
at
Salem’s very own Adriatic Restaurant & Bar!
at
Salem’s very own Adriatic Restaurant & Bar!
Enter
our giveaway and you could be the lucky winner of a sumptuous meal for 2 at
Mediterranean eatery Adriactic Restaurant & Bar. Set within a warm
interior, you’ll not only be treated to excellent, fresh cuisine but you’ll
also find yourself in the heart of Her Dear & Loving Husband’s setting.
***Giveaway is for food only. Airfare is not included. Closes on
August 27th***
Win
1 of 5 e-copies of
Her Dear & Loving Husband by Meredith Allard
Her Dear & Loving Husband by Meredith Allard
***Closes on August 27th***
Since
2000, Meredith Allard has been the Executive Editor of The Copperfield Review,
an award-winning literary journal for readers and writers of historical
fiction. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from California
State University, Northridge, and she has taught creative writing and writing
historical fiction seminars at Learning Tree University, UNLV, and the Las
Vegas Writers Conference.
Her
short fiction and articles have appeared in journals such as The Paumanok
Review, Moondance, Wild Mind, Muse Apprentice Guild, Writers Weekly, CarbLite,
and ViewsHound. She is the author of the Amazon Best-Selling Loving Husband
Trilogy, as well as the historical novels Victory Garden, Woman of Stones, and My Brother’s Battle.
Victory Garden and Woman of Stones have also been Amazon Best-Sellers
in the Historical Fiction and Religious Fiction categories.
Find
out more about The Loving Husband Trilogy:
Find
Meredith Allard:
Thank you so much for hosting the blog tour today. I really appreciate it!
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