It’s Release Day for 19 Doors, a short story collection featuring a wide variety of genres. A book description, purchase link, and author bio are all below. I will provide a review at a later date.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
From the author of Small Stories: A Perfectly Absurd Novel, shortlisted by the Chanticleer International Book Awards, 19 Doors ranges far and wide, diving into magical realism and science fiction, then adding a dash of steampunk and surrealism for extra flavor. The collection ricochets from the poignant to the comically absurd, each short story a work of imaginative fiction.
• A community remembers the lives they have yet to live. • An intergalactic tour bus arrives in Hollywood … Montana. • A shopping network super-fan relives every infomercial scenario he watches. • The first sentient being in the universe applies for a job as a sous chef. • A preternatural wind comes to collect a long-owed debt.
Through 19 Doors, we are immersed in the unraveling lives of characters who are just like us and nothing like us. Whether they succeed or succumb, conform or rebel, we are treated to a compilation of stories that are frequently fraught, often fun, and always fantastic.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
**The author’s bios are so funny that I found two and added them both:
The story of Rob Roy O’Keefe’s birth goes that he was born in the same Irish cottage as his grandfather and in the same year, which led to a time paradox so cataclysmic that he would never finish th–Fortunately, the truth is much different. Turns out he was not born in a cottage or in Ireland, but in a Howard Johnson’s in Bayonne, which may explain his lifelong habit of ending each day with 28 flavors of ice cream.
In his twenties, he went through a period of crisis and self-doubt upon learning he was not named after a Scottish folk hero, but rather a mixed drink featuring scotch whisky and sweet vermouth. Years of counseling eventually enabled him to resume his place in society. That, and the realization that his siblings, Mojito, Daiquiri, and Gimlet, had it much worse than he did.
Rob made his way in the world as the inventor of several nonexistent colors and is living a life of leisure thanks to the royalty checks he receives for creating the descriptive names found on garden hose nozzles. His favorite is “Mist.”
Rob Roy O’Keefe was raised in the Antarctic by a colony of emperor penguins, which explains both his love of fish and his intense anxiety when in the company of sea lions. At the age of 12 he left to go on walkabout, but upon learning that Australia was over 3,000 miles away, he took the more expedient route from Cape Melville, Antarctica to South America’s Cape Horn.
He wandered north through the Andes, accumulated an abundance of practical knowledge, such as how to convince a hungry condor that you are not carrion. He eventually stumbled upon the hut of an Incan shaman who took him on as an apprentice. After a decade of immersion into the mysteries of the unseen world, Rob departed, fully prepared for his eventual success in the fields of pizza delivery, local politics, and brand consulting.
Today, Rob resides in New England’s Merrimack Valley, where he lives in a tree house made of Good Humor popsicle sticks held together by the discarded dreams of retired sailors.
In the fall of 1907, Katharine decides to drive from Newport, Rhode Island to her new home in Jackson, New Hampshire. Despite the concerns of her family and friends that at the age of 77 she lacks the stamina for the nearly 300-mile journey, Katharine sets out alone. Over the next six days, she receives a marriage proposal, pulls an all-nighter, saves a life or two, crashes a high-society event, meets a kindred spirit, faces a former rival, makes a new friend, takes a stroll with a future movie mogul, advises a troubled newlywed, and reflects upon a life well lived: her own!
Join her as she embarks upon her remarkable road trip.
Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1830-1908) was born into affluence in England and emigrated to the U. S. at the age of eighteen. Fiercely independent and never married, Kate volunteered as a nurse on a medical ship during the Civil War, before founding a vocational school for underprivileged girls. She was a philanthropist, a hospital administrator, and the author of The Other Side of War: 1862, as well as the noted translator of dozens of novels written by French authors, including Moliere and Balzac. She is included in History’s Women: The Unsung Heroines; History of American Women: Civil War Women; Who’s Who in America 1908-09; Notable American Women: 1607-1950; A Biographical Dictionary; and A Woman of the (19th) Century: Leading American Women in All Walks of Life and figures prominently in With Courage and Delicacy: Civil War on the Peninsula by Nancy Scripture Garrison.
BOOK REVIEW
I always love a good road trip, and I enjoyed traveling along with Katharine Wormeley from Rhode Island to New Hampshire in 1907. The thing that struck me the most is that simple things, like stopping to get a flat fixed or sitting in a park, turned into meaningful connections. Katharine really got to know remarkable people from all stations of life just by engaging with them. It makes one think about missed opportunities to get to know others better.
Katharine, an author, translator, and nurse, uses all of her skills on this trip. During the trip, She reflects on working with Frederick Ward Olmsted, the designer of Central Park, and her mostly unspoken love for him. She is surprised to meet his wife on her journey. She also visits another love from the past. This is a journey of memories, paths not taken, and a lesson to reach out to others with all of your talents. I came away with a picture of a lovely woman who was also strong as steel. Gail Ward Olmsted has also reached out, to the past, and introduced us to an extraordinary woman. I’m glad I got to meet her.
I received a free copy of this book from the author and publisher via Netgalley. I also picked up the Audible version of this book, which I very much enjoyed. The narrator, Lisa Bozek, did a great job of capturing the spirit of Katharine Wormeley.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, GAIL WARD OLMSTED
(In Her Own Words)
I enjoy writing about quirky, lovable women in search of their happy ever after. Second chances, do-overs, fresh starts: whatever you want to call them, our ability to reinvent ourselves is a beautiful thing.
My first visit to Sedona, AZ prompted me to start writing JEEP TOUR, my first novel. I fell in love with the red rocks and blue skies. My second novel is Guessing at Normal, a rock and roll love story. Driving on the Left is a romantic sequel of sorts to JEEP TOUR, based in Ireland. I decided to follow up Guessing at Normal with Second Guessing because I was looking for a ‘happy ever after’ for my main character Jill. Landscape of a Marriage is the mostly true story of park builder Frederick Law Olmsted and his late brother’s widow Mary. Together they transformed the American landscape. My husband is a distant relative of Olmsted’s and I was thrilled to write their story.
After writing a pair of contemporary novels with a legal twist: Miranda Writes (9/22) and Miranda Nights (7/23) I am back with a biographical novel about an amazing woman. Watch for Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip: 6/13/24!
A hopeless romantic, I am married to the love of my life. I am mom to two adults and two cats, and I enjoy reading, music, water sports and travel.
Q&A WITH GAIL WARD OLMSTED
Below is my Q&A with Author Gail Ward Olmsted.
Bonnie: Welcome, Gail! How did you learn about Katharine (Kate) Wormeley, a real-life nurse, author, editor, and translator, and what made you decide to write a book about her?
Gail: I first came across her name while doing research for Landscape of a Marriage which was published in 2021. She was a longtime friend and trusted confidante of Frederick Law Olmsted, and the more I read about her, the more I wanted to know.
Bonnie: OK, let’s tackle the elephant in the room early. Was Kate really in love with the very married Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park, or was that the “fiction” part of historical fiction?
Gail: Based upon her journal entries and letters, I can say without hesitation that she was very much in love with him. Perhaps it was his being unavailable that attracted her or his clear appreciation of her sharp wit and intellect. One quote which was attributed to a mutual friend of theirs spoke of her regarding him ‘with something quite close to ardor.’ Kate claimed that, besides her father, Olmsted was one of the two men she loved most in the world. I have no idea who the ‘other’ man was, so I made him up.
Bonnie: Kate embarked on a road trip by herself, which raised a lot of eyebrows. That used to happen to me in the 1980s when I traveled by car alone, so I imagine it was quite shocking back in 1907. Did that really occur? I know a lot of women couldn’t drive even back in the 1940s and 1950s.
Gail: Driver’s licenses cost about a dollar in the early 1900’s and most states did not require them. I could not find any reference to Kate having one, but based on her lifestyle and personality, I believe she would have loved the freedom of the open road. I invented the road trip between her two homes as a way to highlight her independence and her desire to live her life on her own terms. A solo journey is a great time for self-reflection as well as new adventures.
Bonnie: I was thinking about what the condition of the roads must have been in 1907. Did that come up in your research?
Gail: Even within the city limits, the roads would have been narrow and dirt-packed with ruts from the horse-drawn carriages and wagons. Lots of dust on dry days and plenty of mud when it rained. In a word, dreadful!
Bonnie: I loved that Kate made so many unplanned connections on her travels just by taking an interest in others. Often, they were not of the same class as Kate, who was quite well off. In real life, was she someone who reached out to others regardless of class or station?
Gail: Having read her letters as well as comments made by family members and close friends, Kate was clearly a ‘people’ person. As a nurse, teacher, and philanthropist, she went out of her way tohelp others. I found no reference to snobbery or class-consciousness attributed to her.
Bonnie: In the book, Kate has some unnamed health concerns. The road trip she takes is in 1907 and she died in 1908. Do you know her cause of death?
Gail: A fall on the steps of her beloved home Brookmead sent her to the hospital. She developed pneumonia and died from complications at the age of 78.
Bonnie: One last question, and this one’s for you. Let’s go beyond the bio. Tell us something about yourself we might not know from reading your bio.
Gail: I love to entertain. Finalizing the guest list, planning the menu, setting the table (I’ve been known to do this days in advance). I really enjoy it, whether it’s a casual cookout, a luncheon with my friends or an evening event with candles and wine.
Bonnie: That sounds so lovely! It was great talking to you, Gail. Thanks for answering my questions, and I hope you come back and visit us again.
A love match would not do. She would make an advantageous match—a brilliant match!
At the age of nineteen, Lady Dorothea Rowlandson was practically on the shelf. Had she not suffered her father, the earl’s, untimely death weeks before last year’s season, she would surely by now be a married lady—the established wife of an illustrious peer. With such a regrettable delay, time was ever more of the essence if she wished to secure her own future and that of her sisters.
Miles Shaw holds an encumbered estate. It is only logical, therefore, that he commence the London Season on the hunt for a well-dowered wife. His personal code of honor requires he be upfront about this goal, so that he deceives no one. And as he fully intends to love and cherish the wife of his choosing, he will naturally bring as much to the union as he receives. After all, he is a landed gentleman with no shortage of charm.
When chance forced Miles and Dorothea to partner one another for the first dance of the first crush of the season, Fortuna could only have been in a funning mood. To have fostered so unsuitable a connection was nothing short of absurd. For what could a peer of the realm’s daughter and a gentleman of no consequence, with his pockets to let, possibly have in common?
PRAISE FOR A BRILLIANT MATCH
“This book was an absolute delight and without a doubt belongs on the reading list of any fan of sweet regency romance!”— Merilee Loves to Read
“A creative and delightful historical romance, especially for lovers of a good P&P-type story!”— My Literary Love
INSTAGRAM GIVEAWAY
Author Jennie Goutet has generously offered one print or digital copy (winner’s choice) and a $25.00 Amazon gift card as a giveaway chance to one lucky winner.
FOLLOW me @BonnieReads777, Jennie Goutet @aladyinfrance, and @austenprose on Instagram.
COMMENT on my Instagram post sharing your favorite thing to bake during the holiday season and why.
TAG up to 5 friends in the comments. One additional entry per tag.
TERMS
Entrants must be US residents 18 years or older. The contest ends at 11:59pm Pacific Time, December 5, 2023. Void where prohibited. Not associated with Instagram or its affiliates, nor are they responsible for this giveaway. The winner will be chosen randomly from the entries and contacted by @austenprose as a direct message on December 6, 2023. Prize must be claimed by December 10, 2023. Please be aware of scam accounts!
Jennie Goutet is the best-selling author of twelve Regency romances, including the Clavering Chronicles, Memorable Proposals, and Daughters of the Gentry series. Her books have received first place in historical romance for the New England Reader’s Choice Awards and have hit the number one spot in Regency Romance on Amazon. They have been featured on BookBub and Hoopla and are translated into five languages.
An American-born Anglophile, Jennie lives with her French husband and their three children in a small town outside of Paris. Her imagination resides in Regency England, where her best-selling proper Regency romances are set.
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