Music for My Soul by Lauren Linwood-A Review and an Interview with the Author

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 15, 2013

As the third wife of an abusive French vineyard owner, Madeleine Bouchard hasn’t produced the expected heir after three years of marriage. Fearing he plans to kill her, she flees during a trip to England. Unable to make her way home, she joins a troupe of traveling mummers and reinvents herself as the only woman troubadour in the land, captivating audiences with both song and story.

Nobleman Garrett Montayne’s fascination with Madeleine causes him to pay the troupe to bypass their next stop in order to journey to his estate. Though he suspects Madeleine of being a thief with dark secrets, love blossoms between them under the magical moon of summer solstice.

But Madeleine’s past is about to catch up with her, as her husband is set to arrive to conduct business with Garrett. Madeleine determines to free herself from her loveless marriage and make a new life with Garrett, no matter what the cost.

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REVIEW: First just a word of caution, this book is very hard to put down! LOL…

It’s difficult to do this review justice as it’s one of those you have to read to believe how good it is! The story is one of basic old world abuse of wives, only this one escapes and finds the love of her life. It’s actually double that, as the hero has also been abandoned and heartbroken…

Madeleine is a young woman married to a monster. Henri de Picassaret is a vineyard owner and makes champagne. He is wealthy and has had three previous wives who have died. Her father thought he would be a good provider for her, not knowing of his love of “punishing” his wives. But after the marriage Heenri forbade her contact with her family and told her family the break was her idea. He has “punished” her for small failings often and severely. She has many scars on her back and legs from his punishments and even a circular scar on her cheekbone from his signet ring. She walks with a slight limp, due to a broken knee from Henri, when she told him she didn’t think her lack of children was her fault or his previous wives, but his. Madeleine is desperate to escape from Henri because she knows she will not live much longer if he has his way.

Fearing for her life and planning to return to her family, then to spend the rest of her life in a convent so as not to evade her marriage vows, Madeleine escapes via a “sally port”. She has secreted many of the jewels Henri gifted to her, (more for his own reputation than for caring for her) inside the hems of her tunics and skirts to pay for her passage to her family in France and her care at the convent.

Finally escaping to the road, she comes later upon two men riding, and fearing capture or that they were bandits she claims to be the wife of Lord Montayne – who has a reputation so dreadful that no one would touch her lest he come after them. However, since one of the men was Lord Montayne they knew she was lying but went along with her story to see what she was up to. Garrett who called himself “Sir Garrett” to Madeleine and his friend “Sir Ashby” decided to help “Lady Montayne” get to London as they tried to find out who she really was.

Garrett’s wife Lynette had run away about three years before and had never been heard of again, leaving him with a lovely little daughter and a broken heart. Here the story truly begins, though I’ve left enough details out so you will still be surprised and intrigued!
Of course, Garrett begins to fall for lovely Madeleine, who BTW sings like a bird and can tell imaginative and wonderful stories to entertain everyone! A very talented lady who plays the lute (another valuable she brought along – her only real possession). Garrett and Ashby stop at a small house outside of London to repair his horse’s shoe, Madeleine gets the smithy’s wife to help her hide from the men (concocting another story for the smithy’s wife) since she’s afraid to go to London with them because she really isn’t Lady Montayne…

Ok, enough spoilers…this is a marvelous and intricate story of desperation, escape, finding love…also of forgiveness, mystery, danger, and righting old wrongs! The tale is incredibly well told with some humor as well as a building romance. The characters are loveable, some you can hate, and some are comic…a little bit of everything!

Lauren Linwood is a wonderful writer with a fantastic imagination. I hope this is only the beginning of many wonderful tales! Believe me, it’s hard to put this one down, I found myself awake until the wee hours of the morning because I just had to know what was going to happen! This book has it all ladies! Please enjoy this one for yourselves, no regrets!

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Georgianna S.

The Reading Cafe would like to introduce the author behind MUSIC FOR MY SOUL-Lauren Linwood

TRC: Hi Lauren and welcome to The Reading Cafe. We would like to start with some background information.  Would you please tell us something about yourself?

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Lauren: I turned my passion for history into a career and taught teenagers for many years, hoping to spark their interest about people in the past and help them connect today with previous yesterdays.

I’m a so-so cook (although I do make a mean tortilla soup) who’s fascinated by MasterChef and The Next Food Network Star. I love to watch historical dramas such as Downton Abbey or The Borgias, yet I also wouldn’t miss Modern Family, White Collar, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, or Grey’s Anatomy.

I wish I could be the host for House Hunters on Vacation, eat at least once in one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, and get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Something tells me none of these will ever happen!

TRC: Your bio states you have an interest in the medieval historical period. What about this era draws you in and why?

Lauren: Everything! The politics, culture, war, architecture & art, the Church, the Black Death. It actually spans quite a long period in history. So much happened, and that’s the beauty of writing a story with such a rich backdrop of history to draw from.

TRC: MUSIC FOR MY SOUL is your May 2013 release in the medieval fiction genre. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Lauren: As the third wife of an abusive French vineyard owner, Madeleine Bouchard hasn’t produced the expected heir after three years of marriage. Fearing her husband plans to kill her, she flees during a trip to England. Unable to make her way home, she joins a troupe of traveling mummers and reinvents herself as the only woman troubadour in the land, captivating audiences with both song and story.

Nobleman Garrett Montayne’s fascination with Madeleine causes him to pay the troupe to bypass their next stop in order to journey to his estate. Though he suspects Madeleine of being a thief with dark secrets, love blossoms between them under the magical moon of summer solstice.
But Madeleine’s past is about to catch up with her, as her husband is set to arrive to conduct business with Garrett. Madeleine determines to free herself from her loveless marriage and make a new life with Garrett, no matter what the cost.

TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series?

Lauren: I wrote MUSIC FOR MY SOUL to be a stand-alone, yet Garrett’s very charming best friend kept trying to run away with the story! I finally told him if he’d go off to London for part of the book, I promised him he could come back to Stanbury in time to see things resolved, plus I’d write him his own story. I’m hoping my editor at Soul Mate Publishing will be interested in hearing how this flirtatious nobleman has his heart stolen and wants to settle down with his one true love.

TRC: How did you keep your plot of MUSIC FOR MY SOUL unpredictable without sacrificing content or believability especially for a storyline of the medieval genre?

Lauren: Having Madeleine join a troupe of traveling mummers as its troubadour helped somewhat. Being on the road lends itself to unpredictability. When the troupe comes to a faire at Stanbury, the hero’s home, it’s something new and out of the ordinary for his world, so that also changes up what usually happens at a castle. And then I have Madeleine injure herself so that the troupe goes on without her, and she has to think beyond Plan B, C, & D.

TRC: Do the characters talk to you and direct your writing, or do you have complete control over the direction of their story?

Lauren: Oh, I wish I had control over these people! Sometimes it’s like herding cats to get them to do as I wish. I start out with a very general outline, usually a single page with a bullet point list of 15-20 things I want to happen throughout my story. I feel if I get too deeply into an outline, it’ll take the fun out of the writing for me and my characters. I like being surprised!

One example bullet point in MUSIC FOR MY SOUL?

“Madeleine runs away – heads to London.”
Now how she got there – and what happened along the way – simply unfolded as I wrote. I run a movie in my head as I sit at my computer, so my people act and speak while I type furiously to get everything down. At times I try to have them streamline things and take the interstate to their destination. They much prefer getting off on farm-to-market roads and bypasses and meandering awhile, finding new conflicts and dangers that I hadn’t foreseen. They can be quite unpredictable! Eventually, they get back on track – but it’s always on their terms – never mine.

TRC: How thoroughly do you plan out your characters and story before you begin the first draft?

Lauren: I always start with the name of the hero and heroine. Once I have those names, I start visualizing them from their hair length and texture to height and body frames. I dress them, often researching the era online and saving pictures of clothing I think they would wear. Then I sprinkle in character traits. Are they brave? Impatient? Stubborn? After that I give them families, friends, and a back story. Half of this may never make the pages I write, but I have it in mind as I do so.

Once those character sketches are complete (definitely for the hero and heroine, sometimes for the antagonist and a few important secondary characters, but not as full-blown), then I do the brief outline I mentioned. I keep it a bit vague to give me options and let the characters be partners with me throughout the writing journey.

TRC: If you could virtually cast the lead characters of Music For my Soul which actors and models would be represent your ideal image?

Lauren: I adore Henry Cavill and think he’d make a terrific Garrett. Emma Stone has the spunk and inventiveness that characterizes Madeleine.

TRC: What challenges (research, historical, etc) did you face writing this particular novel?

Lauren: Research is much easier nowadays with the Internet. I had access to pictures and diagrams and timelines. The hardest part is integrating historical details that will lend an air of verisimilitude and help my readers learn a little about the period while they’re reading without coming across as a dry history lesson or distracting them from my story.

TRC: How do you deal with the stress and anxiety of writing deadlines?

Lauren: Red wine. Yoga. And I walk 4-5 miles almost every day, which is my major stress-buster. I’m actually very organized, so I like knowing my deadline and plan accordingly. Yes, I was that girl in high school who turned her senior research paper in 2 days early. Hey – it was done and I wanted it gone! Of course, everyone in my class hated me as they raced to slap theirs together, but I digress…

TRC: What do you believe is the biggest misconception about yourself?

Lauren: As a debut author, I just want to land on people’s radars! I doubt there are ANY misconceptions about me because people are just learning about who I am.

TRC: If you could become a contestant on one of the reality television shows, on which show would you like to be a participant?

Lauren: I have never missed a single episode of Survivor. I wish I had the smarts, athleticism, and social game to play it … but besides lacking in those areas, I HATE SNAKES!!! And I’m a mosquito magnet. I’d be the first contestant ever evacuated for having so many mosquito bites, I’d be on death’s doorstep.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Lauren: I’m finishing up a western historical about a heroine who writes dime novels under a man’s pen name. She jilts her groom at the altar (Don’t worry, she didn’t love him!) and runs west to experience what she writes about. She falls for a gambler running from a gunslinger who wants him dead.

I’m also working on final edits for two western historicals coming out soon. OUTLAW MUSE is an October release about a schoolmarm about to hang for murder and the English playwright who stops the execution and takes off with her. Along the way, he finds his muse and proves her innocence. A GAME OF CHANCE comes out in January, and it’s the story of mistaken identity, with twins literally separated at birth. They don’t know the other exists, and the heroine puts two and two together – all while she’s impersonating her own mother! It’s a true story of mistaken identity.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Lauren: Simply that I appreciate The Reading Café for hosting me and helping give MUSIC FOR MY SOUL exposure. Thanks so much!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food – dark chocolate, hands down (when seafood is not calling my name)

Favorite Dessert – crème brulee

Favorite TV Show – Game of Thrones

Last Movie You Saw – Now You See Me (as I’m answering – but I’m sure I’ll have seen another half-dozen by the time you’re reading this because I’m mad for movies!)

Dark or Milk Chocolate – the darker, the better

Favorite Flower – tulips

TRC: Thank you Lauren for taking the time to answer our questions.  We wish you all the best in your writing career and congratulations (once again) on
the release of Music for My Soul.