Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Blog Tour: Lady Gwendolyn by Magnolia Belle


Historical Fiction
Date Published: July 2013

In early medieval days, bandits beset a caravan taking Lady Gwendolyn Hampton of England to marry Angus Dewar in Scotland. In the confusion, she escapes, while the bandits think her maid, Madeleine, is her. From one peril to another, Madeleine must keep the ruse in order to stay alive. Lady Gwendolyn's brother, Lord Richard Hampton, wants Madeleine as his consort, and tries to rescue her. Through betrayal, intrigue and murder, she becomes a woman of title, and must decide if she wants the life he offers.






My Review
A historical journey that draws the reader in. Magnolia Belle has really done a wonderful job of checking her facts. You can tell she is not new to this era of writing and the way she sets the backdrop for the novel really has such a authentic feel to it. 

The plot is well developed and flowed smoothly. Nothing felt too rushed or over the top, which I appreciated.

As far as characters, I think that Lady Gwendolyn is the perfect female lead, she had so many great qualities that made her appeal to the reader. 

There is a lot that goes into writing a novel about a different time and you can really tell that there is no detail that has been overlooked. Superb Historical Novel. 


Links to Buy 

Magnolia Belle
My pen name "Magnolia Belle" came from a dream of one day owning a riverboat that offered dinner, sultry jazz and hot R&B while floating down the Mississippi. Realizing I didn't have the millions it'd take to get that dream off the ground, I took the name to write under. I figured it'd be one hard to forget. Plus, it's as southern as I am.

I live in Texas with my husband and our 'pack' of fuzzy children (aka dogs). Before that, I grew up in a military family and lived all across the US and in the Orient. In 1977, I got married and in 1978 I graduated with a degree in Accounting from Tarleton State University. Yeah, I know. BIG leap from accountant to novelist.  As editor of the University paper, I won first place in the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Editorial competition in 1977. I was also a member of "Who's Who Among Colleges and Universities" in 1977-78, and graduated with high honors. A singer/songwriter and guitarist, I played with a band in the 1980s that made 3 albums.

I started my company, "Black Wolf Books" in 2005 as a venue to publish and sell my work. The name "Black Wolf" comes from the first series of 5 novels I've written (and am still working on).

My heritage includes at least two Indian nations, one on my mother's side and the Iroquois on my father's. Because of that, I write about American Indians with great respect. I also spend inordinate amounts of time in researching history, facts and personalities in the era they are presented.  Historical events and documentation (such as treaties) are cited in my novels, so readers can see what really happened.

My characters become very real to me, and I often find myself not writing, but rather taking dictation as they tell me their stories. That's also why I tend to write in series of novels. My characters are a gabby bunch!


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