My New Favorite Author

I have a new favorite author.
This changes on a regular basis so it's not really that impressive. I've been frantically collecting all her works lately which is probably why it's taken me over three weeks to update this blog. That's a lie, truth is I've been reading her since February picking up a book here and there, but I have been reading a lot lately and working full time and it's summer and my girl child was gone for three weeks so of course I had to spend more time with the boy child and the man when I wasn't soaking up the peace and quiet and that is why I haven't blogged.

Oops. Sorry.

Let me tell you a little bit about Susanna Kearsley, the author that is my new favorite. (I'll try not to be too wordy but I make no promises) She is simply amazing. That is my opinion. And my opinion is very important, as you know.

Susanna writes, "modern gothic novels that blend historical adventure and modern-day suspense with romance and a touch of something spooky." (from her amazon bio)

All things that I really enjoy in books rolled into one.

These books are not bodice rippers where the man and woman fall instantly in love with each other at sight and after overcoming a little internal and external conflict live happily ever after (even though I enjoy those books too).  In Susanna's books the characters are deeper than that and so is their love for each other.

Her first story I read was Winter Sea. I had seen it as a recommendation on Amazon and requested it through my local library's digital library. Winter Sea is about a woman named Carrie McClelland who is an author and her research has brought her to Slains Castle located in Scotland. There her book seems to write itself in her dreams and when she checks her facts she discovers that everything is spot on as though she has lived the moment she is trying to describe herself even though it happened more than two hundred years ago. The book is crafted so well that the both the modern and the historical parts of the story are woven together flawlessly.

After Winter Sea I picked up Rose Garden for $2.99 on my Kindle, I love when Amazon discounts books I really want to read! After her sister's death Eva Ward returns to a place she spent as a child. Staying with friends Eva busys herself helping her friend launch their new Tea Room, but somehow she finds herself slipping through time. In the past she meets Jack and Daniel Butler, well known and well respected smugglers.  Finally she is faced with a decision, stay there and continue to slip back and forth between time or leave.

The third book by Susanna Kearsley that I read was actually the second one she wrote but was rereleased in the US on April 1 this  year, was Mariana. Mariana is another story set in England that has time travel involved without being hokey and very plausible. Artist, Julia Becket has felt that Greywethers has belonged to her since she was five years old and twenty five years later impulsivly buys it. For a time she feels like she's loosing her mind when one moment a room is set up one way and in the next it is completely different, as though from another time. And there are strange people in her house talking to her and she knows exactly what to reply because at that moment she is no longer Julia Becket but Mariana. There is of course a love story but the twist at the end just might surprise you!

Other books that I have already read are The Shadowy Horses, Named of the Dragon, Season of Storms and The Spendour Falls. Each amazing in itself and worth the read. I would rank these six books in order from my favorite to least favorite but the truth is I'd have five favorites and two second favorites. And that list would probably change when I reread them, because I do plan to reread them. Several times I imagine.

Still in my TBR (to be read) pile are Every Secret Thing, Gemini Game and Undertow. The latter two have been out of print for some time and I'm having a hard time laying hands on them. I might have to use the interlibrary loan system through the library to read them until I can someday own them.

So in short, if you can call a nearly seven hundred word post short, read Susanna Kearsley books. The three books I discussed can be downloaded to an eReader from Amazon or Barnes and Noble if you are inclined to buy. If not check out your local library and see what's in their digital library or even on their shelf. I did as Ms Kearsley (and she actually replied) if her other books would become available in the US for eReaders and she said yes, eventually. If your library doesn't have her ask for Title Request form or an Interlibrary Loan form and get one on the way. She is amazing and I don't think you'll be disappointed in her.