#NewRelease from Diane Scott Lewis: WW2 Romance

Diane Scott Lewis joins me today to talk about her newest release, OUTCAST ARTIST IN BRETAGNE, which came out on May 1, 2023. In this World War Two romance, a man and woman from opposing sides of the war fall in love. But love in a time of war is fraught with danger, especially for enemies. Sounds like an exciting story! Thanks for visiting, Diane!

Blurb:

Unwed and pregnant, Norah Cooper flees England to hide with her cousin in Brittany just before Germany’s 1940 invasion of France. After her baby is stillborn, she's trapped under the Occupation as war expands across Europe. Norah grieves and consoles herself by sketching wildlife. When she’s caught too near the coast, she comes under scrutiny of the German commandant, Major August von Gottlieb.

August loathes what Hitler is doing to his country and France but is duty-bound to control the people in his jurisdiction. The lively young Englishwoman piques his interest. Is she a spy? He questions her and asks her to sketch his portrait so he might uncover the truth.

Soon, their relationship evolves into a passion neither of them can deny. She endures taunts from the villagers. His superiors warn him of not being harsh enough—he could be transferred or worse. He plans to sabotage a major war machine of the Reich, while she secretly helps the Resistance. Both acts are fraught with danger while kept secret from one another. Will their love ruin her and end in heartbreak? Or will they overcome the odds and survive the surging threats on all sides?

Excerpt:

Norah is approached by the commandant at the open market:

Norah stuck the package in her basket, wanting to move away. “It’s because you…the Germans buy up most of the food before we have a chance.” She sighed inside. There was her wayward tongue again.

“Ah, I see.” He scanned the scattering of booths again. Then smiled at her. “Hungry soldiers are a problem. I wonder what can be done.”

The Major’s half-smile sent a flutter through her belly—so wrong! What was the matter with her? She stepped to the side. Would he do something about the food?

“How is your young cousin after his unfortunate experience yesterday?” He walked beside her, and she forced herself not to be rude. Tall for a woman, Norah’s five-foot seven-inch height barely cleared his shoulder.

Several women stared and whispered.

“Jean is fine, thank you again.” She was careful not to gush. She didn’t dare take the children back to the church. Her cousin had been distraught over what happened with Jean.

The Commandant bowed his head. “It was only fair, Fräulein Cooper. I’m a reasonable man.”

His caring about fairness surprised her.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to take this fish to my cousin.” She moved in that direction.

“I can see you’re anxious not to be seen with the enemy.” The Major put his hands behind his back, his smile wry. “Since you’re English, are you registered as an enemy alien?”

Her stomach plunged. “I suppose I should, but we’re so far removed.” She’d tried to blend in with her French cousins and hated to call attention to herself. Would he demand that she comply?

Buy Links:

https://books2read.com/Outcast-Artist-in-Bretagne

Direct Amazon Link:

https://www.amazon.com/Outcast-Artist-Bretagne-Diane-Scott-ebook/dp/B0C24NLLBK

Author bio:

Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) grew up near San Francisco, joined the Navy at nineteen, married in Greece and raised two sons in Puerto Rico, California, and Guam. She's a member of the Historical Novel Society and wrote book reviews for their magazine. She’s always loved travel and history and has had several historical novels published. 

Diane lives with her husband and one naughty dachshund in western Pennsylvania.

Social Media Links:

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Character Interview with Tamara from BEYOND THE FALL

Diane Scott Lewis is my guest today and she's sharing an interview with her character Tamara, a modern woman who time travels to 1789. I love time travel romances (OUTLANDER anyone?) Diane wants to let you know that BEYOND THE FALL is on sale for .99 cents for the next two weeks!

Diane Scott Lewis’ time travel BEYOND THE FALL is ON SALE for two weeks, only .99!

Blurb:

Tamara Ledbetter travels to Cornwall, England and researches her ancestors. In a neglected cemetery, she scrapes two fallen headstones together, faints, and wakes up in 1789, the year of The French Revolution, and grain riots. Farmer Colum Polwhele, a man with his own secrets, comes to her aid. Can a sassy San Francisco gal survive in this primitive time and fall for Colum, or will she struggle to return to her own time?

Interview with Tamara:

Q: Tamara, why did you travel to Cornwall in the first place?

A: The trip was first planned with my husband, Mister-the-oh-so-important-doctor. I wanted to research my Trembeth ancestors in the village of Shevioke. Then, well, Michael informed me he no longer loved me and was moving out to live with his nurse. I was simply tossed aside. But you know, I discovered I didn’t care that much. We’d grown apart. I was just shocked and angry at the timing.

Q: So you went alone and ended up in a neglected cemetery?

A: Yes, I was surprised the village was run-down, deserted, the cemetery overgrown. I tried to lift a fallen headstone, then the strangest thing happened. Like an earthquake, burning smells, and I did something I never do…I fainted.

Q: How did you react when you first woke up in the eighteenth century?

A: Absolutely flummoxed, as they say. At first, I was just amazed that the cemetery was cleaned up, the church no longer half-fallen in, the village in complete repair. Everyone was in old-fashioned clothes. I thought I was caught in a reenactment. Or a festival of some kind. But how long I must have been unconscious for all the preparations to happen freaked me out.

Q: Then you tried to return to your car?

A: I did. But a drunk accosted me, thinking me a whore because I wore a short skirt. I thought he played his part too well, you know, in the reenactment. He got rough, and a man on a horse rode up and chased the drunk off.

Q: And this was your knight in shining armor?

A: A young farmer named Colum Polwhele, he was very nice. But he insisted on playing the eighteenth-century part. I was annoyed by this time that people insisted they were in the past, when I knew that was impossible. He walked me to where I thought I’d left my car.

Q: But it was no longer there, right?

A: The parking lot was a field, no car. Then Colum saw two riders, got angry, threw me on his horse, and off we galloped. I yelled at him to stop. But things got totally weird. There were no paved roads, no telephone or electrical wires.

Q: Then he took you to his friend’s home?

A: Even weirder! A house with no modern appliances, no electricity, not even switches to turn on lights. I swore it must be historical and kept that way for tourists. Colum argued with his friend, who didn’t trust me. He thought I was a spy. Sure. They were into something underhanded, those two. Colum questioned me, doubted my story completely.

Q: What did you do? Did you finally realize you were in the past?

A: I began to panic. Nothing made sense. I had to decide if I was insane, or I’d actually gone back two hundred years. It was 1789! And these guys thought I was a spy because my ancestor was their enemy.

Q: Did Colum help you, as in, were you two attracted to one another?

A: He is handsome, quite the gentleman compared to my a-hole husband. Yeah, we started to feel an attraction. But we had so much to overcome. Am I really stranded in the past? Is Colum involved in stealing grain? Can he handle a bold, modern woman? How do we figure this out? We both could end up hanged!

Q: Well, I’m dying to know more. I hope readers will pick up a copy of Beyond the Fall, to share your adventure.

Visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianescottlewis.org

To purchase Beyond the Fall: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Fall-Diane-Scott-Lewis-ebook/dp/B07HDFRLT4

Excerpt:

Why had the village been abandoned so completely? Sadness hung over the area like a fog.

At least one of her ancestors had a manor house in the vicinity that was still intact: the Elizabethan Roscarrock House from the pamphlet. She’d try to locate the place when she left the cemetery. The Trembeth family had settled in this area in the fifteenth century, mostly involved in mining.

Approaching a fallen headstone, she bent, brushed away dirt, and swore the name Trembeth was etched in the mossy granite. But the years were difficult to decipher. Another stone appeared to be buried beneath this one.

She kneeled and strained to move the top stone, scratching her fingers. The wind swirled her hair again. She blew strands from her mouth and continued to scrape the top stone across the bottom to jar it off, the sound strident. Her arm muscles started to ache. A burning smell reached her nostrils, and she glanced up.

Suddenly, she grew lightheaded. Dampness soaked through the skirt where her knees pressed the earth. The ground trembled beneath her. An earthquake, in Cornwall?

Nausea bubbled up inside. The church and churchyard shimmered around her, like an out of focus photograph. She tried to pull back her hands, but they seemed glued in place. Stifling a cry, she felt what seemed an electric shock pierce along her spine. She grew dizzier, her heart pounding, and then crumpled over like a rag doll into the moist grass.

Author Bio:

Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, joined the Navy at nineteen, married in Greece and raised two sons all over the world, including Puerto Rico and Guam.
A member of the Historical Novel Society, she wrote book reviews for the Historical Novels Review. Diane worked from 2007 to 2010 as an on-line historical editor. She had her debut novel published in 2010, and has had several historical and historical-romance novels published between 2010 and 2018.

Diane lives with her husband in western Pennsylvania.