Category Archives: Book Reviews

Indie Author Spotlight: Fiona West ~ Sweet Romance

Indie Author SpotlightWelcome to week five, and our second month!, of Indie Author Spotlight by The Edifying Word. Today I’m talking to Fiona West, author of sweet fantasy romance and sweet contemporary romance. I wasn’t familiar with term “sweet romance” before reading Fiona’s work, and I took it basically to mean “feel-good love story.” I guess that gets at the base of the genre, but with so much more depth. If Fiona’s books are representative of the genre, then I need to read more of it!  

______________________________________________________________________________

“With every book I write, I endeavor to help you think harder, laugh louder and love better. If I can do those three things, then that’s success for me.” – Fiona West

After reading just one of Fiona West’s books (I devoured The Ex-Princess last week!), I’d say she’s succeeded according to her own definition. The book is SO great. I expected a light-hearted, feel-good read. I definitely got the feel-good, happily-ever-after (HEA) promised in the romance genre, but wasn’t as light of a read as I thought it would be. The characters are REAL. Their royalty doesn’t exempt them from real life, real issues, and real emotions. The book covers living with unseen illness and society’s condemnation of such, gender equality, and even human trafficking, all while showing real, healthy love. Swoon. I’m in love, and I’ll be reading the rest of the series. I was so excited, then, to talk to Fiona more about her writing. 

Thanks for being willing to answer my questions, even in the midst of moving (!!!). Today I’m going to switch things up and ask my usually-last question first: what do you want readers to know about you?

With every book I write, I endeavor to help you think harder, laugh louder and love better. If I can do those three things, then that’s success for me. That means you’ll see some things in my books that are unusual: neurodiverse characters who’ve got dyslexia or autism, characters with Down Syndrome, characters with a chronic illness. Since I have a chronic illness that’s largely invisible, it’s near and dear to my heart that we consider what life is like for people who aren’t like us. And how we can make life better for the people around us, how we can better understand what they’re going through. That’s what it means to be a community, and books have the power to show us that first-hand. I take that responsibility very seriously.

I think that answer just about sums up why I loved The Ex-Princess so much; really, it sums up why I read in general, and why certain books resonate with me while others don’t. I’m looking for that human connection, that reflection of reality in a positive and constructive way. So, since I’ve gushed about The Ex-Princess and promised to read the rest of your books, can you tell everyone what those are, and maybe something about your upcoming projects?

The Ex-Princess is the first book in the Borderline Chronicles Series, which also includes The Un-Queen, The Almost-Widow (free as an ebook on my website!), The Jinxed Journalist, and The Semi-Royal. I’m working on a second series, the Timber Falls Series; the first of those is called Could Be Something Good and will be out at the end of May. For now you can pre-order it or find a copy on NetGalley.

I always have a few projects going at once, because that’s one way I stay productive: if one manuscript just isn’t coming together, sometimes I’ll leave it for a bit and work on something else. Some people are mood readers? I’m a mood writer. Lately, when I sit down to write angsty, I write Magicology, which started out as a short story and has now morphed into a novella. It’s two villains falling in love in the Borderline Chronicles universe, and it’ll be included in the box set that’s coming out later this year. When I sit down to write sweet, I’m working on book three in the Timber Falls series, which is a second-chance romance about a geriatric care nurse and her employer, whose mother has Alzheimer’s. It’s been a real challenge to keep that book funny, but I really want to show that there’s still joy and love and humor, even at the end of life. But it’s definitely going to make me cry. And I keep coming up with new short stories in both universes, which my newsletter subscribers get to enjoy. Not too many of those lately, but more to come!

Well, mental note to sign up for your newsletter! Since you describe yourself as a “mood writer,” which I totally get because I’m definitely a mood reader, does that mean you are a “pantser,” and write where the mood takes you?

I’m actually both a plotter and a pantser: I’m what’s known as a “plotster,” because I do plan out the story to some extent, but it’s very loose and my characters often just giggle and say, “I don’t think so.” There’s a scene in The Ex-Princess where Edward decides to go on without Abbie, and I did not see it coming whatsoever. That’s kind of fun, in a way, when your characters are fleshed out, but not so neatly drawn that they can’t still surprise you. When I start writing, it’s usually a scene in the middle that I just can’t get out of my head, then I go back and try to figure out how they got there. But it always starts with the characters more than the plot. What are their flaws? What makes them tick? What would they do for love? Compelling characters cover a multitude of plot sins.

What would they do for love? It’s an interesting question! Have you always written romance? 

No. I started writing at age nine. It was a poem about shooting stars. I think I still have it somewhere, actually. My parents both always encouraged me to be creative with stories, and I wrote a terrible dystopian romance called Rebellion Against the System when I was in eighth grade. Then in high school, I wrote a one-act play about a delivery man who longs to be a detective–that also had a romance in it, come to think of it. So I’ve tried a lot of different genres, and it sounds silly, but I didn’t realize I was writing romance until my husband pointed it out. I had to wrestle with that for a while, because I didn’t see myself as “that kind of writer.” I worried about what my friends and family would think…my stuff is very tame, comparatively to most of the rest of the genre, but still. There’s still a stigma about romance, I think. Finally, I did accept that love stories brought me joy and gave me hope, and that if being “that kind of writer” meant I could spread “happily ever after’s” around, I’m cool with that.

That’s so interesting, because I worry sometimes about being “that kind of reader.” I agree romance gets a bad rap and it’s hard sometimes to find good ones. I had a good friend and avid reader of quality literature ask me recently if I had any “good” romances to recommend and I was a little unsure of what to tell her, but I’m gonna tell her about you now! 

I love what you said about being worried about being “that kind of reader!” It’s SO TRUE! We don’t want to offend, right? What’s too steamy for you might be fine for me, so it does make recommendations tough. That’s why I think it’s cool that sweet romance as a genre is gaining traction, because it’s easier to say, “Yes! I loved this and I bet you won’t be offended by it!” Yet even though my books are pretty clean, some readers still objected to the made-up swear words and the kissing scenes between my characters as being too sensual. Like I always say, “You’re not tacos; you can’t please everyone.” But I hope my books appeal to people who want a feel-good book about love and relationships without sex scenes.

So – here’s the perennial question: how on earth do you manage to fit writing such excellent books into normal life?

I have two kids, a seven-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter. I have an amazing, supportive partner as well, and we’ve been married for fifteen years. When they were really small, I’d write during naptime…which could be anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour. So the incentive was there to really sit down and focus. Even now, I try to mostly write at night when the kids are in bed and Mr. West is off doing his own thing. But let’s face it, I’m never not interruptible. So I just take the time where I can get it. Sometimes I write with a kid on my lap. When I’m writing, my phone is on silent, my music is on repeat, and I turn on Forest so I can’t get on the internet or I would just cruise Twitter until my eyes bleed. I snatch little bits of time where I can, but it helps that my whole family thinks what I do is amazing. I’ve started using a program called 4thewords, which is this incredibly inventive game where you get points and fight monsters by writing a certain number of words or writing for a certain amount of time. And the kids think this is just fantastic, and they like to help me pick out a monster to fight. (100 words in 20 minutes? I can do that.) Then they scoot off to play so they don’t distract me and make me “lose.” It is hilarious and strangely motivating, and it gets them to leave me alone.

I love that creativity, and that your family can all be a part of supporting your work. You’ve shared with us a lot of what you’re trying to accomplish or convey through your writing, but why write at all given that it takes such an effort to make the time? 

In college, on my first day of my first writing class, the professor stood up in front of the class. He was a stereotype right down to his argyle socks: the elbow patches, the thick glasses, the beard, and he’d been working on a nonfiction biography about Abraham Lincoln for a decade. But he said, “If you can do something else, you should. If you have to write, if you need it, then let’s go over the syllabus. But it’s too hard if you don’t have to do it.” And I felt that in my bones. That writing was as necessary as air to me. I tried not to; I was unhappy. So I guess I write because I’m made that way. Writing is one of my gifts.

I agree, you definitely have a gift for writing. But you also clearly put in an exceptional amount of effort. Do you read as a way to help you write? Do you have a favorite genre or favorite books?

Oh, man. That’s a tough one. I really do love romance of many different varieties. But lately, I’ve been reading more nonfiction for research: there were two medical memoirs that I used to make sure I was really nailing Daniel and Kyle in the Timber Falls series, since they’re both young doctors. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay and The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly by Matt McCarthy. Both were great reads. And I just finished a book called Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic by Michael McCreary, which was research for Kyle, but it was so heartwarming and funny and touching. I’m so inspired by real life, and I try to inject some “realness” into all of my books, no matter how embedded in fantasy they are. Watching documentaries almost always gives me plot fodder.

I’m impressed by that level of research, but then again that clearly contributes to making your characters so realistic and compelling. Last question for you today is what do you do for fun that’s not writing or reading? Assuming you have any time 🙂

I have been fairly obsessed with knitting ever since Mr. West’s grandma put knitting needles into my hands during the Oregon/Oregon State game back in 2002 and taught me how. I also like running 5K’s, because they’re just short enough that you know you won’t die before you get to the finish line and just long enough that you feel like you did something amazing. Which probably tells you a lot about how I train for 5K’s. But they’re often for a good cause, and since I have as many opinions as hairs on my head, there are a lot of great causes that I enjoy supporting however I can.

—-

Ok, now you’ve read this whole interview with Fiona West and you’re pumped to connect with her and buy her books! Excellent! So, I’ve conveniently provided links for you here. First is a list of her social media/internet presence, in order from most to least used, followed by direct links to purchase all of her books. Click away, my friends!

Social Media:

Books:

Interested in paperbacks 25% off regular price? Order through Fiona’s website here! 

______________________________________________________________________________

Would you like to be featured, too? Please contact me at kristin@theedifyingword.com!

Who am I?

Isn’t that the eternal question? Who am I? What makes me ME? Is it my history? My ancestry? The sum of my actions? My thoughts? Fears? Aspirations? I think this is a fundamental human question, something people the world over ask themselves, regardless of their life circumstances.

For me, it’s less a question of who I am than of where I belong. Thanks be to God, I know where that is: right where I am. If there’s one thing this pandemic has made abundantly clear, it’s that I am one blessed woman. My husband and my children are MY LIFE. Last year, we packed up and moved across the country. I was scared, but I knew that as long as the six of us were doing this together, I’d be fine. I can adjust to a new location, make new friends. But the core of my life is here with me. Even more so, now that we’re staying-at-home-all-together-all-the-time. Is it easy? No. Do we get on each other’s nerves sometimes? Yes. But do I doubt that we will come through it together? Not at all. My husband, my children, and the Grace of God will carry me; we will carry each other.

I haven’t always felt this at home. I had a profound identity crisis after becoming a mother – who was I if I wasn’t the smart woman who walked into work every day and did “important” stuff? If I couldn’t engage in my regular hobbies with my husband anymore (um, no rock climbing or backpacking with a newborn baby)? If I wasn’t the perfect student and had to give up grad school? I wrestled. For years. I suffered from PPD – multiple times. I reached incredible low points that I don’t wish on anyone. But I found me, I found home.

Perhaps it’s because I endured that journey that I am so interested in others’ stories as they search for what makes them them. I’ve had a chance to read a lot of books over the past bunch of days (self-isolating from your family does that, dratted pandemic), and there’s been a common theme across many of them: search for self.

A Drop of Midnight: A Memoir by [Diakité, Jason]Jason “Timbuktu” Diakite, a biracial Swedish rapper born of American parents, recounts his search for his identity in his memoir, A Drop of Midnight. I picked it up for free as part of Amazon Prime’s “First Reads” in February. I’d never heard of him before, I don’t like rap music, and I certainly don’t know what it’s like to experience a racial identity crisis. I’m a white girl from NJ. Very simple. So in many ways this was not a typical read for me, but I found it fascinating – which was certainly helped by the incredibly beautiful writing (hats off to the author and the translator!). It was moving, and while I can’t identify with his particular experiences, I can identify with Jason’s search for himself. I rooted for him as I read, praying he’d find that comfort in his own skin, that home he was clearly searching for. (I also learned a whole lot along the way, which is always nice.)

The War I Finally Won by [Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker]Ada Smith is a fictional 11-year-old girl with a club foot in WWII England. Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s The War I Finally Won, a sequel to the Newberry Honor recipient The War That Saved My Life, takes us along on Ada’s journey as she finds her place in the world, a world that is constantly changing around her and full of heartache. She perseveres. She finds people who love her, she learns to love, and in doing so she finds home. It’s beautiful.

Austenland: A Novel by [Hale, Shannon]

On a more lighthearted note, Shannon Hale’s Jane “Erstwhile” Hayes (Austenland) takes a vacation to nineteenth century England to figure out who she is. It’s easy to call it a romance and move on, but it’s really one woman’s effort to figure out and accept herself so that she is capable of loving and being loved in return.

 

Rightfully Ours by [Astfalk, Carolyn]Finally, I just finished Carolyn Astfalk’s Rightfully Ours, a young adult, Catholic love story. It is beautiful in so many ways. In it we see Paul struggle through the hard work of adolescence, with the added burden of great personal loss. He grows from rotely following along with his childhood faith to true personal conviction. He finds who he wants to be, the courage to try to live his ideals, and the family to support him in that effort. For many, many reasons, this is a book I hope my children will read when they are old enough.

So, there you have four very different books that all speak beautifully to the human question who am I? There’s a fifth, too, but it’s an ARC and I can’t share it yet — wait ’til May/June. Who knows? We might even be able to go out in public by then….

Thank you for reading along with my musings. I am grateful that, for now, I have that question answered. I have no doubt that I will face many more trials and life changes that will challenge this notion – but right now, it is such a pleasure to read these stories, and learn from them, but not to feel that yearning, that seeking.

I am home, and it is beautiful.

Are “the classics” actually good? Wuthering Heights is!

So I’ve been making an effort recently to read some of “the classics” – my husband seems bemused by this, but I feel like I’ve reached a point where I can appreciate literature in a way I just didn’t when I was younger. I’ve always loved to read – but it was all about being wrapped up in the story. As I’ve gotten older, read more, become a mom in need of intellectual stimulation, and become more experienced as an editor and beta reader I’ve gained a greater appreciation for the art of writing. You can get a three-star review from me for an engaging story without amazing writing, but the fives are reserved for those that do both and also convey some sort of life message – communicate some great truths about life.

This year so far I’ve read 1984 and Animal Farm (George Orwell) and I’ve begun reading The Innocence of Father Brown (G.K. Chesteron). In 2019 I read Les Miserables (Victor Hugo), Under the Lilacs (Louisa May Alcott), and Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte). In 2018 I read The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia #4, C.S. Lewis), Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen), and The Valley of Fear (Arthur Conan Doyle). I only actually enjoyed two of those: The Silver Chair and Wuthering Heights. The rest I’m glad to have read, but didn’t love while I was reading them, if that makes sense.

Since I let this post sit for four months without touching it and don’t remember at all where I was going with it, I’ve decided to offer my quick takes on each of the books I mention above:

The Innocence of Father Brown — It is SLOW. Father Brown always solves the crime, and he usually imparts some bit of Catholic wisdom in the process. But it is slow.

1984 — I finally understand so many cultural references to Orwell. I also do not understand how people do not see the parallels to our modern life. Telescreens remind me an awful lot of Alexa…or Facebook. Scary stuff.

Animal Farm — I never took a European History class, which put me at a great disadvantage when it comes to understanding this book.

Les Miserables — Would any editor anywhere let this book get published nowadays? I LOVE the musical and know all the songs by heart, and the core of the story is wonderful. But we need to slash like…half the book.

Under the Lilacs — I just feel ambivalent about this one. I reread Little Women and Little Men as a kid (rereading books is not something I typically do) because I loved them so much and this one…was just harder to get into and love.

Wuthering Heights — This book is SO DARK. In the past I’ve found it hard to get into books where I can’t identify with the characters, or where the characters are unlikable. Pretty much everyone in Wuthering Heights in unlikable, but I think the story is wonderfully written and so heartbreakingly realistic. Maybe I’ve just reached a point in life where I realize there are no perfect people and so I’m not looking for perfect characters? I think, though, it might be that I found it a fascinating look at why people do horrible things. What makes these people tick? That understanding brings empathy, even the face of human awfulness.

The Silver Chair — Narnia is eternally captivating and all the books have been spectacular so far. I should get back to that series!

Sense and Sensibility — I really, really, really WANT to like Jane Austen. I’m just not sure I do. Some of the characters are infuriating and I’m glad I didn’t live in that society.

The Valley of Fear — I was largely unimpressed, to be honest. Which was a little disappointing.

Have you read any of these books? What do you think of them? Are there any classics I should be sure to read?