Review of Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland by Roseanna White

Fiction Monday Review

Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland

By Roseanna M. White

Summerside Press (December 2011)

Roseanna has written a beautiful book.  Her voice is fresh and lovely.  She lends authenticity to the story with her own history of having attended college in historic Annapolis.  Her love for the city is evident in her descriptions.  The story is set during the time Annapolis was the nation’s capital during a short time in 1783-84. Roseanna is a member of Colonial American Christian Writers, a group which I founded, and Roseanna also contributes to Colonial Quills, our group blog.  It was so fun seeing some of the topics we researched together as a group showing up in the book!  That was one of the neatest things about this novel, on a personal level.  We appreciate her acknowledgement of the group, as well! 

The premise for this book is not a typical romance nor even for historical romances.  So if the reader is expecting a cookie cutter romance this is not going to be their book. This is not a “let me settle in for my light romance” read.  Both the hero, Emerson Fielding,  and the heroine, Lark,  are flawed people who have a very significant parting right near the beginning.  This is a Christian fiction and both of these characters have the strongest character arcs I have seen since I can ever remember.  I suspect that is one of the many reasons RT gave this book their top amount of stars and selected it as the December Top Inspirational Pick.  There is profound change in Lark and Emerson, particularly as God leads them to be the persons they were meant to be and not who they had been at home in Virginia. 

One thing unique about this book is that the life issues of the young woman are portrayed with such authentic emotion as are Lark’s interpretation of her former fiance’s actions. Because Ms. White is still in her twenties, I believe she is well able to capture with a freshness and vivacity and authenticity the angst of this age group.  Granted, Roseanna married young and has little children, but it is clear when reading this book that she offers a unique and fresh author’s voice, and a way of characterization that is more in line with how a young person would indeed react. 

If you are going to read this book, don’t pick it up until you have several nights open in a row.  You will want to know what happens and won’t want to set this one aside and come back to it.

Bibliotherapy: The hero is a Revolutionary War veteran with PTSD.  The heroine has been “acting” out a role rather than displaying who God intended her to be.  She has been dishonest with herself and with others in revealing who and what she is.  Forgiveness and mercy and restoration of relationship are main themes.

Giveaway:  Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of this book in your choice of format.  Please leave your email address, also.

Interview with Roseanna White

Roseanna M. White is the author of Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland

Published by: Summerside Press

Date: 1 December 2011

Roseanna is also the author of two other books, both Biblical novels from WhiteFire Publishing, Her website is http://www.roseannamwhite.com/wordpress/

Roseanna, what got you interested in the colonial time period?

Actually, it was my interest in Annapolis itself that led me to this time period. I lived, worked, and attended college in historic Annapolis, and I fell in love with its charm and history. Intrigued to realize it had been the fledgling nation’s capital for six months in 1783-84, I dreamed of writing a story set there during that eventful period. When Summerside asked if I had any ideas for historical romances set in Maryland (after rejecting a contemporary, LOL), I pitched this idea, even though my agent at the time felt the setting was a long shot. To our delight, they loved it! And so I dove into all things Colonial/Early Federal.

It actually took me a while to really love it. At first the fashion seemed weird to me, I thought the powdered wigs were crazy, I wrinkled my nose at some of the customs, and I just couldn’t get my head out of the 19^th century, which I had been writing in for years. But as I wrote my story and became more immersed in the time period, I really came to appreciate and adore it. So much so that I followed it promptly with another story set in 1780, which will be releasing from a different publisher 1 January 2013, in a year and a few odd weeks. =)

What inspired your latest colonial work?

Silly as it sounds, I was reading a romance right after college that had two secondary characters who were engaged but cool with one another. At the end of the book, they ended their betrothal, and the next book in the series was about the woman finding her “true” love now that she was free of the expected commitment. But what, I wondered, if they had stuck it out? What if they had fought to find that love with each other? What if her feelings hadn’t been mistaken at the start, but were mistaken now? And so I had the premise of Love Finds You in Annapolis—the story of a heroine who’s heart was broken by the hero at the beginning, and of a hero who decides to fall in love with his betrothed and discovers far more than he ever thought possible, something only the Lord could have given.

Do you have a favorite colonial place you like to visit and why?

Well, I do love visiting the historic district of Annapolis. It has some of the oldest remaining Colonial architecture in the country, and is just gorgeous to stroll through. All the street signs even have details on them about what the streets were formally called and when they were named! 

But a little closer to my current home in Western Maryland is Old Bedford Village in Pennsylvania. I visited this recreated town over the summer with my kids and just loved seeing the old buildings, the re-enactors, and getting a feel for everyday life in colonial days. My post about it was on the Quill a while back and can be seen here: http://colonialquills.blogspot.com/2011/10/in-ye-olden-days-hold-your-nose-put-on.html

Roseanna, do you have a favorite colonial recipe you enjoy? Would you care to share it with CQ readers?

Sure! Since it’s the holiday season, I’ll share a wassail recipe. From what I read, the kind that the poor took around and sold to the wealthy in the 1780s was actually a white, milky version not known for its yumminess, LOL, so I’ll share instead a good version for your Christmas party, which can be left to simmer in a crockpot and is basically a mulled cider.

Readers, you can find Roseanna’s recipe for wassail this coming Saturday on CQ.

Giveaway: This giveaway is twofold! First, anyone who comments here (please leave an email address) is entered to win a copy of Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland.

 

In addition, anyone who comments on this post (including Colonial Quill members) will be entered to win Roseanna's Great Annapolis Giveaway, pictured here. And there are more ways to rack up the entries, as this giveaway is ongoing! See Roseanna's blog for details: http://roseannamwhite.blogspot.com/p/great-annapolis-giveaway.html