Why I chose to write historical fiction.

In a recent interview I was asked why I chose to write historical novels, and more specifically why I like to write novels set in the Victorian and Edwardian era. This was my answer, which I kept rather short, otherwise I'd gone on for hours!

I love history. I love the idea of writing about what might have happened in those times.

There was so much happening – new inventions, new discoveries and events that shattered and shaped the world such as wars.

It was a time when people were desperately poor and death rates high, and it was a time of opulence and making fortunes. Self-made industrious men could be fortunate enough to become rich through hard work or invention and change the way their families lived. Cities expanded and the population grew creating hardship for the poor and opportunities for those who grabbed it.

I enjoy the Edwardian era because of all the changes that happened during that time. Before WWI generally women were at home raising children. They had no voice in the world, little or no power. During WWI women had to step into the roles previously held only by men. They had to go to work and leave the home to help with the war effort. With the men away, woman were faced with a freedom they’d never had before. Then, after WWI, the world changed again and women couldn’t be silent anymore. They became more prominent in history and started taking control of their lives by getting the vote, and working outside of the home, etc.  It’s all so fascinating.

I like exploring the idea of families, how they lived and worked, from the rich to the poor. I’ve written characters living in slums and others living in grand country estates. Each aspect has its own fascination and writing how those characters coped and survived is a great source of inspiration for my plots.

I think the women’s fashion of both Victorian and Edwardian is just so beautiful and feminine. The changing shapes of the dress from the Victorian period to the Edwardian era is vast, from hooped crinolines to hobble skirts.  

Women were often the hidden power behind the successful men and that is interesting and worth exploring.  I read a lot of diaries written by women of those times and try to explore as many historical sites of interest as I can. 

Visiting country houses helps my imagination to set the scene for my characters who would have lived on those types of estates, just as I like visiting the mean narrow streets of cities, which would have houses the desperately poor. 

My ancestry is Yorkshire and so I set many of my books in Yorkshire. York is a favourite place of mine. The history there is amazing. I enjoy researching the town and surrounding countryside for inspiration.

History is diverse and ever-evolving. It gives writers such a scope to draw from in which we create our worlds.

A selection of my books

A new review!

Just saw a lovely review on Amazon for The Promise of Yesterday. (Thank you to that reviewer!)

"I am a great fan of Anne-Marie Brear's writing and the storytelling in The Promise of Tomorrow certainly didn't disappoint. The pages flew by so quickly, and I became gripped by the lives of the sisters, Harry Belmont, and the wonderfully kind Stan Wheeler and his wife Bessie. Charlotte is a strong female character who rises to challenges and changes into a respected and assertive woman. There is a class divide, family conflict, imminent danger, and a beautiful love story."

The Promise of Tomorrow

Amazon: mybook.to/ThePromiseofTomorrow

The Slum Angel

The Slum Angel.

Available for pre-order!

Can Victoria find the security she has lost? Will a certain doctor be the man she can give her heart to? 

#historicalfiction #York #Victorianera

Amazon: http://mybook.to/theslumangel

Welcome Elizabeth Ellen Carter!

Today I'm showcasing fellow Australian author Elizabeth Ellen Carter and her brand new book, which is out today!

Here's the blurb:

Refused his rightful promotion, Adam Hardacre quits the Royal Navy in disgust and is quickly approached with an intriguing proposition to serve his country undercover.

His first assignment takes him home to Cornwall to expose traitors plotting a French invasion of England. There, he meets newly unemployed governess, Olivia Collins, who has stumbled upon a hidden secret from Adam’s past – his youthful summer love affair with the local squire’s daughter. It is a tragic history that brings Adam and Olivia closer than is wise.
However, with the attraction deepening to something more, neither realize that Olivia unwittingly holds the key to his mission.

As Adam infiltrates the plot, Olivia finds out the shocking truth behind his lost love’s death many years ago, and both their lives are in danger. But their growing relationship is clouded by suspicion. Who can and cannot be trusted – anyone or no one?

Or... even each other?

Here is the buy link:
US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L23VCZT
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07L23VCZT
AUS - https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07L23VCZT
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07L23VCZT

Excerpt 1
Adam felt the hair rise on the back of his neck.
He was not alone.
Whoever watched did not want to make themselves known. He turned slowly, looking in the shadows for a tell-tale figure. Nothing made itself obvious to him. The stream bubbled along merrily as it had always done; the old priory was still there. He’d played in the ruin as a child and later became a man there, in deed if not in years. In fact, it looked as though not another stone had tumbled since he first saw it. It made him feel like he was ten years old once more.
Surmising that whoever watched had slipped away, more cautious of him than he of them, Adam started whistling a familiar tune, one they used to keep time as they brought in the halyards. He approached the standing end wall where an old window opening would have once have contained stained glass, the sill at waist height. Adam lay a palm flat on the wall to the left of the opening and closed his eyes, feeling the rough texture of stone weathered for centuries but still solid – a mute sentinel which had stood watch while two young people cautiously and tentatively explored the act of love together.
Sweet Constance.
Kenstec House was only just through the trees. Perhaps it wouldn’t do any harm to venture as far as the edge of the lawns. He doubted anyone would recognise him. Squire Denton would be in his seventies now, if he lived.
Even if his presence was questioned, he could always say he was a rambler who had lost his way.
Adam took a deep breath bringing with it the nostalgic scent of honeysuckle. It was a perfume Constance favored, and it was strong here, as though her presence lingered still. And yet...
He furrowed a brow. There was no honeysuckle covering the ruins, so where had it come from?
He opened his eyes and was face to face with a woman through the opening in the wall.
“Constance?”
The woman looked as shocked as he did.
Before he had time to compose himself, the woman fled, disappearing into the thick of the trees.
“Constance!”
He called out her name once more but had gone no further than a few steps in pursuit before his rational mind could alert him to the differences between the two women.
Constance would be nearly forty now. That woman was at least ten years younger. This woman’s hair was much darker. But it was the eyes he remembered. Constance’s eyes were the lightest shade of blue. His wood sprite had brown eyes – as big and as frightened as a doe’s.
Adam chuckled to himself. He’d frightened a maid from Kenstec House. Or perhaps it was she who startled him.

Either way, it wasn’t an auspicious return to Ponsnowyth.

Excerpt 2

Constance? Constance!
The man’s question lingered and his exclamation rang in Olivia’s ears as she ran through the woods into the safety of the estate grounds.
Who was he? Why would this stranger mistake her for a girl who had been dead these past twenty years? She was afraid she knew the answer, but no – surely it was too much for a coincidence for it to be Adam Hardacre.
By the time Olivia had got half way across the lawn, she had dissuaded herself from such a foolish belief. She must have misheard the man. Clearly, he had been as surprised by her appearance there as she was of his.
She let herself into the house via the kitchen and bolted the door. In the stillness, she became acutely aware of her isolation inside the manor walls. Perhaps it wasn’t wise to stay here on her own tonight.
She wondered if it was too late to accept Polly’s invitation to live at the inn for a few days. Olivia hadn’t minded being on her own in the earlier part of the week when there was much to do in the house, but now, with that work nearly complete, one could almost entertain the thought of ghosts.
And while she was in the mood to contemplate such matters, it was also time to stop dwelling in the past; worse still, in someone else’s past.
The fate of the ill-starred lovers from Constance’s diary was long ago and there was nothing more she could do about it. The mystery of it had been solved.
Olivia went up to her room and packed a small valais. The afternoon sun through the window brought out the red grain of the mahogany of the writing box. Inside it, she had reunited Adam’s love notes with Constance’s diary as well as the letters from St Thomas’ Hospital in London which told of the young woman’s untimely end.
She ran her hand over the box. Did this Adam the carpenter still live?
If she left now, she could stop by the Trezises’ at the timber mill on her way to the inn and ask if they knew how to contact the former owner. She would write him a letter to explain who she was and what she had found. She would make the offer of returning the box and the papers relating to his one-time sweetheart.
Without truly knowing why she did so, Olivia shoved the writing box under her bed next to her trunk. Something which had been hidden for so long ought to be kept hidden until it could be returned to its rightful owner.

Nicola's Virtue FREE!

Nicola’s Virtue – ebook FREE until Dec 16^th.

She crossed the world to start again, only it was harder than she expected.

#Australia #historical #governess #Sydney #19thcentury #saga

http://myBook.to/NicolasVirtue

I'm on BookBub!

You can follow all your favourite authors and be notified when they have a new book release or a price deal on BookBub. I'm on there too. https://www.bookbub.com/authors/annemarie-brear 

Best Cover Competition.

My cover for The Promise of Tomorrow is in a contest for best cover at InD'tale Magazine. Yay!
I would love some votes if you think it's worthy! 
Thank you.
 https://www.indtale.com/polls/creme-de-la-cover-contest

Preorder The Slum Angel!

My next release is a historical novel set in the Victorian era of York, Yorkshire. The Slum Angel will be released February 2nd in Kindle and paperback.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing this novel and exploring the characters. Victoria Carlton is the main character but there are others who wanted to be heard like the wonderful Doctor Joseph Ashton and the women of the slums, Mercy and Kathleen.

The book is set in York, one of my favourite places in Yorkshire. York is a very old city and its history is enthralling, but naturally there are the dark parts, the slum areas which in the Victorian times were overcrowded harsh places rife with disease, desperate people and poverty.

The Slum Angel blurb:

Orphan, Victoria Carlton is brought up by her uncle, a banker, to be a lady and make a good marriage. Yet, she is drawn to help the poor families in the slums, much to her family’s disgust. When her uncle dies suddenly, her cousins blame Victoria, and she is thrown out of the house with nothing. 
Victoria flees to the poor side of York to start again in a world that is full of perils. To combat the heartache of being without her family, she befriends the destitute women and children in the slums, but such friendships come with the danger of disease, and increasing poverty, and the threat of a brutal man could cost her everything.
Can Victoria find the security she has lost? Will a certain doctor be the man she can give her heart to? Or will the ghosts of the past return to take away everything she has worked so hard for?

Amazon: http://mybook.to/theslumangel

100 Years Anniversary of WWI Ending - a battlefield visit.

Last month I achieve one of my bucket list goals. I visited Flander's Fields in Belgium on a battlefield tour.
Those of you who know my books, know that I have a deep interest in World War One and have written in that era on three occasions (The Promise of Tomorrow, Southern Sons and Where Dragonflies Hover)

I have researched the era a great deal and to visit actual battlefield sites was an amazing experience I'll remember forever.
I'm sharing with you some photos of the day, not all as there are too many, but enough to give you a feel of what I saw.

 This is just some of the shells and hand grenades still collected on farmer's fields in and around Passchendaele and Ypres.

Live shells are still being found and our tour guide told us that only the month before a farmer had been ploughing his field and was blown up by an unexploded shell. 100 years later!! It's so hard to believe isn't it? We saw this shell just by the side of the road. Farmers put them out for the army to collect every Friday and dispose of them. 

The photo of the trench is from the Passchendaele Museum. It is a great museum to visit and learn even more about the battle sin that area. Walking through the trenches give you a feel of what the men must have gone through. Though the day we went the weather was lovely, but I could imagine the trenches in the wet and cold and the mud of winter.

 The serene looking little lake is actually a bomb crater on the outskirts of Ypres. The site has not been touched and allowed to fill with water. It's very beautiful to look at but the grim story is men fought and died in this spot and it's a sobering thought that we were walking on ground churned up by heavy gunfire and bombs and at one time dead bodies of brave men.

 The cemeteries we visited were numerous in the area, naturally, as it was a hot bed of fighting for over 4 years. As an Australian it was very touching to see the Australian War memorials and graves, but as someone who has British ancestors who fought and died in battles it was doubling moving. Knowing that an ancestor of mine (Ellis) sent five sons to war and only three came back.
To my great+ uncles Arthur and Alfred Ellis and all the brave men and women who fought and died for our freedom, we owe you a debt that can never be repaid.

Lest We Forget

Reviews for The Promise of Tomorrow.

Some lovely reviews have been coming in for The Promise of Tomorrow, which is also on a blog tour from November 1st  - 10th.

''I am a great fan of Anne-Marie Brear’s writing and the storytelling in The Promise of Tomorrow certainly didn’t disappoint. The pages flew by so quickly, and I became gripped by the lives of the sisters, Harry Belmont, and the wonderfully kind Stan Wheeler and his wife Bessie. Charlotte is a strong female character who rises to challenges and changes into a respected and assertive woman. There is a class divide, family conflict, imminent danger, and a beautiful love story.'' Full review is here at Waggytales blog

"I can certainly recognise when I’m in the presence of a writer at the top of her form and capable of some of the very best story-telling. I raced through this book, real life disappeared, and I was absorbed in the world the author created and the lives of its characters. It really is a cracking read – full of strong characters, well-rounded and beautifully drawn, detailed portrayals of people who became totally real to me as the story unfolded. And it’s quite a story – filled with tension, full of twists and turns that had me gripped as I read it in a single sitting." Full review is here at Being Anne blog

The Promise of Tomorrow

Can Charlotte find the happiness that always seems under threat, and will Harry return home to her?

#Edwardian #historical #WWI

Amazon: mybook.to/ThePromiseofTomorrow

To Gain What's Lost

She thinks her life has changed for the better, her dark secrets hidden, but little does she know…
The daughter of a wealthy landowner in Yorkshire, England in 1864, Anna Thornton leads a privileged life. But she is not content. She wants her life to mean something and longs to be accepted for the free-thinking, independent woman she is. When the dashing, adventurer Matt Cowan sweeps her off her feet, she thinks she has finally met her soul mate. However, he’s not the man she thinks he is. After he sails for South America, leaving her behind in England, Anna discovers she’s pregnant. Heartbroken she flees her family home, determined to keep her child’s illegitimacy a secret. 
He has a few dark secrets of his own…
Brenton O’Mara is a strong, independent man who wants to make his own way without relying on his father’s wealth. He comes to Anna’s new home looking for work and convinces the reluctant woman to hire him. But Anna's wary of men, of love, and treats him as nothing more than the penniless labourer she believes him to be. Then, just when Anna seems to feel she is getting on with her new life, and Brenton believes he is breaking down her barriers, the past rears up to confront them and their future hangs in the balance. 

To Gain What’s Lost ebook/pbk

To heal she must start again. Will the secrets of the past jeopardise her future happiness?

#Victorian #Historical #Leeds

Amazon: myBook.to/ToGainWhatsLost

Eden's Conflict

Showcasing one of my books just because I can.

Eden's Conflict. I loved writing this book which is set near Gargrave in Yorkshire and also touches on the Boer War. The characters were so good to write and their stories flew onto the page.

Blurb

A new century brings change to the carefully ordered world Eden Harris maintains, change that threatens all she holds dear. Despite years of devoted service to the Bradburys, the leading family of the community, Eden hides a secret that would affect them all. When an enemy returns, her world is shattered and her secret exposed. Torn and provoked, she strains to protect her family until a devastating accident leaves her alone and frightened. As the threat against her grows, Eden takes her precious daughters and flees from the only place she's called home, to live amongst masses in York. Her attempt to start anew is not so simple as the past haunts her, and the one man she thought lost to her so many years before, returns to claim what has always been his.

Eden must gather her strength and look into her heart to accept what the future offers. Can she find the happiness she longs for?​

Amazon kindle and paperback: myBook.to/EdensConflict

Free on Kindle!!

Kitty McKenzie Book 1 FREE on Kindle 5 days only!!
After losing everything, can she keep her family safe?
‘5 Stars – enjoyable read!’
#Historical #Victorian @amazonkindle
myBook.to/KittyMcKenzie

1864 - Suddenly left as the head of the family, Kitty McKenzie must find her inner strength to keep her family together against the odds. Evicted from their resplendent home in the fashionable part of York after her parents’ deaths, Kitty must fight the legacy of bankruptcy and homelessness to secure a home for her and her siblings. Through sheer willpower and determination she grabs opportunities with both hands from working on a clothes and rag stall in the market to creating a teashop for the wealthy. Her road to happiness is fraught with obstacles of hardship and despair, but she refuses to let her dream of a better life for her family die. She soon learns that love and loyalty brings its own reward.

Blog Tour Dates for The Promise of Tomorrow!

The Promise of Tomorrow is going on a blog tour - when I write that I always think of a rock star tour - haha - anyway, my lovely historical novel is being featured at the blogs below from October 1st - 8th.

Everyone is welcome to stop by each blog and say hello.

New release!

Happy Release Day to me!!

The Promise of Tomorrow has been released!

Can Charlotte find the happiness that always seems under threat, and will Harry return home to her?

Available in ebook and paperback on Amazon:

mybook.to/ThePromiseofTomorrow

The Promise of Tomorrow blurb

Charlotte Brookes flees her lecherous guardian, McBride, taking her younger sister with her. After a year on the road, they stumble into a Yorkshire village where the Wheelers, owners of the village shop, take them in. This new life is strange for Charlotte, but preferable to living with McBride or surviving on the roads.  Harry Belmont is an important man in the village, but he’s missing something in his life. His budding friendship with Charlotte gives him hope she will feel more for him one day, and he will marry the woman he yearns for. 

When McBride discovers where Charlotte lives, his threats begin. Harry fights to keep Charlotte safe, but World War I erupts and Harry enlists.  Left to face a world of new responsibilities, and Harry’s difficult sister, Charlotte must run the gauntlet of family disputes, McBride's constant harassment, and the possibility of the man she loves being killed.

Can Charlotte find the happiness that always seems under threat, and will Harry return home to her?

Cover Reveal!!

Here it is! The beautiful cover for The Promise of Tomorrow. 
I really love this cover and I'm so happy with the look of it. The colours are so right and I can see that is Charlotte.

Can Charlotte find the happiness that always seems under threat, and will Harry return home to her?
#Edwardian #historical #WWI 

Now available for pre-order on Amazon!
mybook.to/ThePromiseofTomorrow

Anthology new cover

My anthology called 'New Beginnings' has had a make over - a fresh new cover!

New Beginnings

6 romantic short stories.

#Anthology

#shortstories

#Paris #India #Australia

Amazon kindle & paperback

http://mybook.to/NewBeginningsAnthology