Did I Notice Your Book - Blogfest

I noticed Time's Enemy by Jennette Marie Powell!

What a great idea for a blogfest, the brainchild of Ciara Knight, 
co-sponsored by Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh. 

Here's the deal:

You can choose a book that you’ve read, something you saw on a blog or social media site, Goodreads, or a sales website. Anything that caught your eye because of a great cover, blurb or reviews, but DON’T tell the author that their book has been noticed. Instead, shout out on social media sites, and encourage others to do the same, until the author finds his/her book. 

Here's my pick:

I'm excited to tell everyone about this awesome Saturn Society time travel series by Jennette Marie Powell. I'm a sucker for time travel stories in the first place, but these books are so well written and it's clear the author spent a lot of time (no pun intended!) researching the historical settings the main characters travel to. 

These novels are jam packed with tension, suspense, intriguing plots and subplots, and some steamy romance scenes, too! Great page turners. 

After I finished book one, Time's Enemy, I was super happy to discover the second book in the series had just been released, so I was able to continue following Tony and Vi's journey. I'm anxiously awaiting the next Saturn series novel because I miss these characters.

Here's a description of the first book from the author's website: 

Time-travel Romance - contemporary and early 20th century America

One man against a secret society of time travelers – and the woman he loves.

One unwanted gift. One great wrong. One chance to make things right…

Tony Solomon never wanted to be a time traveler. But when a freak accident gifts him with the ability to travel in time, he becomes an unwilling initiate in a secret society of time travelers. Determined to prevent his daughter’s murder, he violates the Society’s highest law and becomes a fugitive. When the Society refuses to tell Tony how to time-travel within his own life, he seeks help from Charlotte, the woman whose life he saved during a prior trip to the past.

When Tony arrives in 1933 looking for answers, Charlotte is both thrilled and terrified to see her childhood hero. Loyal to the Society, she is honor-bound to bring to justice those who manipulate time for their own gain. In giving him sanctuary, she faces a terrible choice-condemn the man she loves and to whom she owes her life, or deny her deepest convictions by helping him escape and risk sharing his sentence.

Buy Time’s Enemy at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords and many other online retailers. Print edition available at Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, or by request at your favorite bookseller.

And here's the second book, another superb read:

Here's the description from the author's website:

A past shrouded in mystery

Violet Sinclair remembers nothing of her life before the day she awoke several years earlier, drenched in blood that wasn’t hers. But since she met Tony Solomon, she’s been certain of one thing – sometime in her hidden past, she knew him… loved him… and did something terrible to him.

A present fraught with danger

Time-traveler Tony Solomon is sure he never met Violet before they were coworkers, yet she bears an uncanny resemblance to the woman he loved and lost decades before he was born. After an impulse encounter leaves Violet pregnant with his child, she becomes the target of killers from the future.

A future feared in jeopardy

Framed for murder, Tony will do anything to protect Violet and their child, even if their only escape is to jump into the past, something he swore he’d never do again. But when they jump back much further than planned, they find their troubles are only beginning—and secrets can get them killed.

Buy Time’s Fugitive at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords  Print edition available at Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, or by request at your favorite bookseller.

These are two of my favorite books. What's yours? Do you like time travel tales or romance novels? 

If you'd like to check out the other bloggers' picks,  here's a list of the blogfest participants and their links:

1. Author Ciara Knight	2. Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
3. Aloha! Mark Koopmans says hi from HI	4. Brinda Berry Blogs
5. The Blutonian Death Egg	6. Been There, done that
7. The Character Depot	8. Marta Szemik
9. Hilary of Positive Letters	10. Kathy- Imagine Today
11. Writers Alley	12. Tasha Seegmiller
13. Hildie McQueens Author Site	14. Jay Noel
15. Confessions of a Watery Tart	16. tara tyler
17. Catch the Rush	18. However Improbable
19. Katie OSullivan	20. Tyreans Writing Spot
21. Writers Do Laundry Too	22. Nancy S. Thompson
23. Michael Pierce	24. Tina @ Life is Good
25. Write Here, Write Now	26. Writing on the Wall
27. Rachel Firasek	28. Louann Carroll
29. I am HR Sinclair	30. Amy Jarecki Writes
31. Avery Olives Blog	32. Stories to Share
33. Amber Kallyn	34. The Write Game
35. Jennifer Lane Books	36. Jami Grays Blog
37. Krista Ames	38. Lynn Kelley Random Acts of Weirdness
39. Christine Rains	40. Laura Eno
41. Carrie Butler @ SYAW	42. Scribbles From Jenn
43. Mary Pax	44. Leave it to Livia
45. Cally Jackson Writes	46. The Eagles Aerial Perspective
47. Cathy Keaton Writes, or Tries To	48. Heather M. Gardner
49. Defending the Pen	50. WRITING IN THE CROSSHAIRS
51. Susan Says	52. Libby Heily
53. Ink in the Book	54. Medeia Sharif
55. Sydney Aaliyah	56. Use Your Words. . .
57. Pensuasion	58. Joylene Nowell Butler, author
59. jennas journal	60. quirky contemporary tales
61. Patti Roberts Book Blog	62. Patricia Stoltey
63. Spunky L. Diane Wolfe	64. Isis Rushdan
65. Wicked. . . with a Side of Saucy	66. My First Book
67. C. M. Brown	68. Trisha @ WORD+STUFF
69. Lindis Writing Journey	70. Sia McKye Over Coffee
71. Charitys writing journey	72. The Submission Process
73. Carrie-Annes Magick Theatre	74. Maryann Millers Its Not All gravy
75. Embrace Adventure	76. PK HREZO
77. when it rains it hales	78. Mama Diaries
79. The Open Vein - E. J. Wesley	80. MsMariahs Space Blogyssey
81. Edge of Your Seat Romance	82. Hold on to Your Bloomers
83. One Magic Bean Buyer	84. Madeleine
85. Susan Roebuck	86. Queendsheena
87. Laura Josephsen	88. Susan Oloier
89. Jennee Thompson	90. Did I Notice Your Book
91. Steven Symes, Writer	92. Jeffrey Beeslers World of the Scribe

93. Michelle @ Writer~In~Transit	94. Michael Offutt
95. Stephen Tremps Breakthrough Blogs

Haley Whitehall - Historical Fiction Author

I'm pleased and honored to have Haley Whitehall guest posting today. Haley has wonderful news to share with us, but first she's going to tell us a little about herself.

Okay, take it away, Haley:

Why Historical Fiction?

Many people have asked me why I write historical fiction. The simple answer is because I love history and historical fiction is a natural fit. But, there is more to it than that. I want to do more than entertain with my stories; I want to teach.

I think historical fiction is one of the most misunderstood genres. Historical fiction is not the same thing as the dry history textbook you read in high school. Historical fiction is more than just the facts. That is where the fiction comes in ;)

Many people fell asleep in history class. Ever watched the Jaywalking segment on the Tonight Show? It is amazing how little some people know about history. Okay it is more than amazing; it is downright scary.

I hope historical fiction can help fill in the holes! I want to put my B.A in history to work.

Writing historical fiction, I can bring history to life. I happen to be drawn to the nineteenth century U.S. The Civil War, Pony Express, Oregon Trail, cowboys on the Chrisom Trail… I love it all. I love imagining the landscape dry, dusty, and dreary or bright, beautiful and blossoming. I have the power to bring the terrible troubles of a war torn country to life or the triumphs of a nation celebrating peace and prosperity.

I throw my fictional characters into true historical conflicts. Each character has a set of traits: strengths, weaknesses, beliefs, habits. I watch my characters struggle and grow in this historical setting. Perhaps, I’m a little bit like a mad scientist.

I base my fictional characters on a combination of real people, although most are unknown in popular history. Some historical fiction writers choose to write fictional events in the life of famous authentic historical people, but I like to tell the story of the common man. I like to expose untold or little known historical stories or events. It is like one of those Dateline stories that uncover the truth. I dig deep for my stories.

My debut novel Living Half Free follows the life of a mulatto slave, who falls in love with a Cherokee woman, and passes as white. But, he must find his voice, and the courage to stand up for his beliefs or else lose everyone he loves forever.

Because I write historical fiction to teach history, I am careful at what I embellish. I pay close attention to manner of speech, dress, work, personal behaviors, settings, and interactions with other characters. I try to make them authentic for the time period as much as possible. Historical fiction is not easy. Every detail can be scrutinized by the reader which makes research time consuming and important.

I not only write historical fiction, I continue to read it too. (Every Monday I review a historical fiction book on my blog.) There are many periods of history I am not particularly interested in -- the Dust Bowl for instance. If I am going to learn about this sad time, the first place I will turn is a historical fiction novel. It is a lot more fun than Wikipedia!

Have you read historical fiction to learn about history? Have you learned history from a historical novel without even knowing it? If you write historical fiction, why did you choose that genre?


Bio:

            HALEY WHITEHALL has been studying the Civil War era since the 5th grade. Her writing 
style is Mark Twain with a little more faith. She likes to write out of the box stories that feature an underdog. LIVING HALF FREE is her debut novel. Released February 29, the ebook can be found at Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. Find out more about Haley through her website or connect with her on Twitter @HaleyWhitehall or Facebook.

Congratulations on your debut novel, Haley! *Bells and whistles! Champagne corks popping!* Please join us in celebrating this exciting milestone in her career. LIVING HALF FREE is only $2.99. Buy it now! Seriously, her writing rocks. And she's always willing to help fellow writers, so check out her blog and connect with her on Twitter. 

She started the Twitter hashtag #lightonhistory, so if you want to hang out with other historical writers (fiction and nonfiction), be sure to use #lightonhistory. Such a helpful bunch of tweeps!