Category Archives: literacy
My secret reading list in college for #ReadABookDay
I’ve loved books since I read my first fairy tale when I was a little girl at St Vincent’s in Philly. I read Nancy Drew, Dana Girls, the whole gang, then I ‘discovered’ the adult section at the little library on the beach when I was 13.
And I was off and running with the likes of Harold Robbins and Irving Wallace.
In college I discovered French historical novels… and well, you can guess what I’m reading here!
For #ReadABookDay I pulled out this photo of me back in college ‘studying’ at the student center
I’d read French novels whenever I could. No wonder I write Paris WW2 historicals
My latest is ‘Sisters At War’ and it pubs on Sept 25th.
Pre-order: https://t.co/bYrynTvs80
Boldwood Books
If you’re a bookblogger or reviewer, check out #SistersAtWar on #Netgalley: http://netgal.ly/gSCTrL
I Love to Write Day and why I’m late posting . . .
Liberty Jordan travels back as a re-enactor to 1862 Antietem and falls in love with a Union Army doctor and finds her twin
I love to write day.
Wow, I’ve been working on a proposal to submit to an Open Call and I got so involved, I forgot it’s I Love to Write Day! My story is a sexy fairy tale time travel and oh, what fun!
So here’s to everyone who loves the written word . . .
I’m excited to announce that my Civil War time travel romance
LOVE ME FOREVER is on SALE for 99 cents this month of November!
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Once upon a time a little girl moved from kingdom to kingdom.
She had no time to make friends So she made up stories.
The fairy tale characters became her friends.
That little girl was me.
National Day on Writing . . . Why I Write
Me and my fairy tale friends
National Day on Writing . . . Why I Write
Once upon a time a little girl moved from kingdom to kingdom.
She had no time to make friends So she made up stories.
The fairy tale characters became her friends.
That little girl was me.
I write to make people smile and feel the touch of friendship.
And I’m Irish.
I was a Confederate War Bride…and a Rebel spy
Soldiers from both the North and the South left sweethearts behind.
Ladies sewed uniforms, plowed fields, raised their young’uns.
Some ladies, especially a belle from Tennessee, joined the fight in a different way.
They became spies.
So on this day of commemoration of Confederate soldiers in many Southern states, I want to remember the ladies and gentlemen soldiers who so bravely risked their lives to fight for their cause.
In my Civil War time travel romance, Love Me Forever, Pauletta Sue Buckingham fell in love with a Texas Ranger and became a Confederate war bride.
How did she become a spy?
Find out in my video prologue excerpt!
Prologue with Pauletta Sue’s backstory video:
Southern Belle and Spy: Excerpt from LOVE ME FOREVER from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
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LOVE ME FOREVER is available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited
Women Soldiers in the Civil War from “Love Me Forever” from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Love Me Forever is now available in Print for $19.99
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If you love Civil War romance and time travel and TWO hunky military heroes, check out my Kindle Scout winner:
She wore gray.
He wore blue.
But their love defied the boundaries of war.
And time.
Christmas during the Civil War in 1862 from “Love Me Forever” Video about the two mistresses of Rosebriar — twins born more than 150 years apart #Christmas
Christmas during the Civil War in 1862 from “Love Me Forever” from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Christmas is the time of year when we put aside our differences and celebrate the joys of the season.
Even during the Civil War.
No better place to do that than Rosebriar Plantation on Christmas Eve 1862.
The beautiful antebellum house in Virginia has been turned into a battlefield hospital after the Battle of Fredericksburg with Union Army surgeon, Major Flynt Stephens at the helm. There they treat the wounded from both the North and the South.
There’s also a mystery afoot in the major’s eyes. He swears there are two women playing the role of his fiancée and the mistress of Rosebriar.
Identical twins.
But which is which?
Liberty (his lady in gray and a time traveler).
Or:
Pauletta Sue (belle and spy).
I hope you enjoy this excerpt from LOVE ME FOREVER, my Kindle Scout winner.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
~Jina
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December 24, 1862
Christmas Eve
Later that evening . . .
Flynt placed the metal star at the top of the Christmas tree.
Behind him, he could feel the stares boring into his back. Men from both sides lay huddled together in the great hall of Rosebriar, each one believing it was his tree with his Christmas star.
North or South.
He smiled. Wasn’t it Dickens who said every man should keep Christmas in his own way?
That was as it should be, he thought, stepping down from the ladder and standing back to admire the fifteen-foot-tall pine tree the soldiers had erected in the main receiving room. Peace on earth. For now. The yellow flag Flynt hung outside the grand house ensured every soldier knew it was a hospital and both Union and Confederate wounded lay inside. The fresh red, white, and blue candles glowed brightly and the small net bundles filled with nuts and golden apples hung on the boughs of the tree. Someone had made a strand of beans and strung it around the bottom. Glass ornaments, round and blue and silver, hung on the top branches.
New-fashioned ornaments he’d bought on a whim back in medical school before the war. Who could have predicted this horrible conflict? And its casualties. Outside, a heap of amputated feet, legs, arms, and hands lay at the foot of an oak tree a few yards from the main house, waiting to be taken away.
Light, melting snow covered the pile.
But the weather was turning clear and mild.
He prayed that was a good sign and next Christmas would be different, though talk was the country was discouraged after the devastating Union loss two weeks ago at Fredericksburg. The people didn’t want to continue the war. If Burnside and the other generals couldn’t pull off a victory soon, he doubted if the government would get the support it needed to go on with the war.
That meant supplies.
Field hospitals were in want of fresh food, especially fruits and vegetables, causing cases of scurvy to break out. Rosebriar, on the other hand, had more than enough stored food and wood and, thanks to Pauletta Sue, the wounded benefited. They had fewer deaths and less cases of typhoid. It amazed him how a few changes in procedure saved so many lives.
Flynt let his gaze wander over the soldiers brought into the hall, most reclining on straw mattresses. Some had spent days in tent hospitals, lying on the frozen ground with only pine or twigs underneath their blankets. Every man able to sit up or raise his head was brought in to enjoy the Christmas celebration.
He’d never forget the look on the men’s faces when Pauletta Sue went around to each wounded soldier and gave him a small glass filled with brandy, insisting on using as many clean glasses as possible. Aunt Fairinda raised a ruckus in the kitchen, but she calmed down when she saw the men smile. He could still hear the hushed voices of his cook and the other servants oohing and aahing over the tree, saying it was just like the old days before the war started. Even Old Dan shed a tear. Surprised Virginia folk knew how to do up Christmas right, he’d said, like Tennessee folk.
And the singing.
Flynt’s heart warmed to the voices of the wounded men lifted up in the chorus of a popular holiday carol. Pauletta Sue’s light soprano rang out loud and clear. She sat at the pianoforte, her fingers skipping over the keys, turning her head and flirting with every man who caught her eye. He stood in the corner, watching her. Wanting her. His glance moving up and down her body, taking in her deep green silk dress covered with black velvet trim spread out around her, setting off her ivory-skinned beauty like emeralds surrounding a precious pearl.
The perfect mistress of Rosebriar.
Every man in the room envied him.
The real question on his mind was, was this Pauletta Sue from Tennessee?
Or his lady in gray?
It didn’t take him long to find out. Somehow, when he wasn’t looking, he swore they’d switched places. The two women were playing games with him. The lady in gray tended to the soldiers earlier, then the real Pauletta Sue took her place to entertain the officers.
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LOVE ME FOREVER
She wore gray.
He wore blue.
But their love defied the boundaries of war.
And time.
I’d love to hear from you. You can find me on social media:
www.facebook.com/JinaBacarr.author
https://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
www.pinterest.com/jbacarr
https://instagram.com/jinabacarr/
And you’ll find more videos on Vimeo:
And don’t forget MERCY STREET on PBS, also about Civil War medicine beginning in January 2016!
What do Hungry Writers do? They “Cook Their Books” #FREE Anthology #KindleScout
I’m so proud to be a Kindle Scout Winner and Kindle Press Author — a big bonus for me was meeting and hanging out with the other winners. Such a talented, witty group — and good cooks, too!
So a bunch of us decided to cook our books. We’ve just released a FREE anthology of recipes: KP Authors (Kindle Press Authors) Cook Their Books.
Thanks to everyone who participated, but a big shout out to Fiona Quinn for organizing our cookbook drive and getting us off our butts. Fiona is an amazing mystery writer — check out her Lynx series HERE.
I hope you enjoy our recipes. Mine are from LOVE ME FOREVER. You can read an excerpt from my book along with a fun chat with my heroines, Liberty and Pauletta Sue.
~Jina
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If you love Civil War romance and time travel and TWO hunky military heroes, check out my Kindle Scout winner:
She wore gray.
He wore blue.
But their love defied the boundaries of war.
And time.
LOVE ME FOREVER is now available from Kindle Press at Amazon.com
Once upon a story... 