A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY by Julianne MacLean-Review, Interview and Giveaway
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 12, 2023
Scarlett Fontaine is a true Hollywood legend—a singer, actress, and beloved fashion icon. But Scarlett dies tragically at just thirty-six years old, leaving behind no children. Or so the story goes…
Gwen Hollingsworth is the curator at a museum dedicated to Scarlett’s life. She’s also sole heir to Scarlett’s fortune as a descendant of the star. But all is not well in Gwen’s world. She’s dealing with a messy marital separation and is struggling to move forward. So when Peter Miller, a biographer and photojournalist, comes to the museum with shocking claims about Scarlett—a life of exile in Alaska, a baby born in secret—Gwen’s whole world is turned upside down. Again.
Determined to uncover the truth, Gwen and Peter set out for Alaska together but soon find themselves on a path toward something far deeper and more meaningful than either of them ever expected.
A Storm of Infinite Beauty takes readers on a breathtaking journey from a lush vineyard in Nova Scotia to a rustic lodge in Alaska where old family secrets are revealed and the quest for true happiness begins.
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REVIEW: A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY by Julianne Maclean is a stand alone story line of women’s fiction focusing on two timelines, two women, two pregnancies, and a family history ripe in fame, secrets and lies.
Told from omniscient third person perspectives and dual times lines 1963-64, and 2017, A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY focuses on Hollywood legend Scarlett Fontaine aka Valerie McCarthy in the year before her life changed in the blink of an eye.
In 2017, former photojournalist turned author Peter Miller is hoping to write the biography of the late award winning, Hollywood legend Scarlett Fontaine, and his search for the truth brings him to Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada where the Scarlett Fontaine Museum is located and housed in a large Victorian mansion. Meeting curator and Scarlett Fontaine descendant Gwen Hollingsworth sets into motion a journey to Alaska where Gwen and Peter will uncover the heart breaking story and beginnings of the woman the world would come to know as Scarlett Fontaine.
In 1963-64, the reader is ‘told’ the story of Valerie McCarthy as she is banished, by her family to Alaska, where she will never come to terms with a perceived betrayal, accepting of the present, and a new direction in life going forward. A secret pregnancy, the Great Alaskan earthquake of 1964, and the death of 139 lives forces Valerie to take on a new role, a new life, and the personification of someone who has it all.
A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY is a dramatic, heart breaking, emotional and tragic story of betrayal, unrequited love, dysfunctional family behavior, loss and acceptance set against the real world earthquake and ensuing tsunamis in Alaska in 1964. The premise is edgy, haunting and real; the characters are desperate and impassioned. A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY is a journey; a trek into the past focusing on loss, love and taking back control.
Copy supplied by Netgalley
Reviewed by Sandy
TRC:Hi Julianne and welcome to The Reading Café.
Congratulations on the release of A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY.
We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?
JM: Sure! I’ve been writing novels for thirty years, and I have a wonderfully supportive husband and a 26-year-old daughter who is currently studying to be a chiropractor. I live in Nova Scotia, Canada.
TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?
JM: There have been many influences over the years. I was very lucky to have a mentor early on when I began writing historical romance. I joined a writers’ group in the 1990’s and met the late Jo Beverley, who was incredibly generous in sharing her knowledge. It was amazing to meet a real published author when I was just starting out. Later, when I began publishing novels independently, Bella Andre was an incredible inspiration for me. She’s very smart about the business of publishing and I learned a lot from her about focus and discipline.
TRC: What challenges or difficulties have you encountered writing and publishing your stories?
JM: It was tough to break into the publishing world in the late 1990’s. It took me six years before I landed a contract, so I spent those years writing and submitting — and usually getting rejected! But I have no regrets about that because it forced me to keep improving my manuscripts to become a better writer. I also learned to persevere and not give up, even in the face of rejection.
TRC: Would you please tell us something about the premise of A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY?
JM: A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY is a dual timeline novel which takes readers back to the great Alaskan earthquake of 1964 (a true historic event), so there’s quite a bit of action surrounding the main character’s emotional journey. I think readers will enjoy the escape to stunning and beautiful Alaska while also learning about what happened there in 1964. And they’ll experience it through the eyes and hearts of the two female leads who each have personal battles to fight in their own lives. There’s also a love story at the book’s core, which readers have come to expect from me. I don’t think I could write a book without a love story, even if it’s tragic or unrequited.
TRC: How do you keep the plot(s) unpredictable without sacrificing content and believability?
JM: That’s a great question, and it’s a challenge to keep things fresh when sometimes it feels like everything in books and movies has been done before. But generally, when I’m plotting a novel, I try to lead the reader down what looks like a predictable path, but then I steer away from the obvious and take a sharp left turn.
In my opinion, whether something feels believable depends on the characters’ thoughts, emotions, and actions. If those feel real and make sense, how they navigate through unexpected events should also feel real and authentic.
TRC: Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?
JM: I can’t speak for other readers, but for me, the cover image is often what initially attracts me to a book. It’s what catches my eye if I’m simply browsing in a store or online. If it looks like a quality read, and the title is intriguing, then the back cover description becomes the most important element that truly sells it to me.
TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?
JM: For me, it’s a little of both. I usually have the broad plot points figured out before I begin writing a novel, so I know the main events that are going to happen, but within each scene, and while getting from one major plot point to the next, the characters lead me there. Sometimes I’m not sure what will happen within a scene until the characters start talking and interacting.
TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writers fail in this endeavor?
JM: At the most basic level, I think a good writer needs to write cleanly and clearly, and that’s where craft is important. I’m referring to the use of strong verbs, avoiding passive sentences, repetition of words or ideas, and making sure the structure and length of each sentence is varied so that they all flow together with a pleasant rhythm. (Note that this can be handled during the editing and polishing phase.)
Outside of that, I feel the writer needs to get into the mind—as well as the skin—of the character and strive to feel the emotions as they write. This of course requires the all-important use of imagination. If the character is being chased by a bear or is falling down a mountain, the writer’s heart should be pounding as they imagine and describe such an experience.
The icing on top of all that is the use of all five senses. The writer shouldn’t lose sight of the physical world when his character is moving through a scene. This might be where writers fail in the goal of pulling a reader into the storyline and keeping them there. The writer might communicate the character’s thoughts and feelings very well, but the reader wants to be transported fully into the character’s personal experience. They want to feel what the character is feeling, emotionally and physically as well. For example… Is it raining? Is the character’s skin wet and cold, and is this making him shiver when he’s trying to talk to someone? Or is he drunk and losing his balance? Or is the smell of lilacs reminding a character of her childhood and helping her to make sense of her current situation? So, the bottom line is this: emotions are important, but so are physical sensations. The reader needs the whole experience.
Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline direction? Characters?
JM: I don’t listen to music. I need absolute quiet, or at least white noise. The rhythm of the words is my music!
TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?
My husband is my sounding board for plot ideas, and he’s great at it. My cousin is also my critique partner, and she will let me know if something in my book needs a shot in the arm.
TRC: What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?
JM: I’m not sure, but maybe there’s an expectation that an author should know everything about every single aspect of the world. Sometimes we make mistakes (about a setting detail for instance) because we’re human. It’s not because we don’t care or are too lazy to do research. We’re really trying to do our best. Sometimes even a copyeditor won’t pick up on an obscure detail that a certain reader might notice. Mistakes happen to us all, and it only bothers me when a reader says it ruined the whole book for them and they didn’t bother to finish.
TRC: What is something that few, if any people, know about you?
JM: I have a weakness for crystal stemware.
TRC: On what are you currently working?
JM: I’m almost finished the first draft of my next book which is due in a few months. It’s set on Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia, my home province.
TRC: Would you like to add anything else?
JM: Thanks for having me!
LIGHTNING ROUND
Favorite Food – salmon and ratatouille
Favorite Dessert – Crème Brûlée
Favorite TV Show – I have lots of favorites, but I’ll go with Succession today.
Last Movie You Saw – In the theater, it was Oppenheimer.
Dark or Milk Chocolate – Dark
Secret Celebrity Crush – Ethan Hawke
Last Vacation Destination – New York for a Billy Joel concert
Do you have any pets? – No. Our dog Molly passed away in 2020 and I’m not over that yet.
Last book you read –The Undiscovered Self: The Dilemma of the Individual in Modern Society by Carl Jung
Thank you, Julianne, for taking the time to answer our questions.Congratulations on your new release.
JM: Thank you!
Spark Points Studios is offering a paper copy of A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY by Julianne MacLean to ONE (1) commenter at The Reading Cafe.
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