Spotlight & $50 GC Giveaway: The Unveiling of Polly Forrest by Charlotte Whitney

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

 

Description of The Unveiling of Polly Forrest

 

Sometimes things are lost for a very long time…and then they are found.

Take Gracie for example, a woman who lost everything, her life, her family, even her name, but now she is a Cathalian warrior of Antecede blessed with powers, which aren’t yet fully realized.  Her elder and nemesis, Donavan, finally granted the former professor an opportunity to train a new warrior.  Her joy turns to shock when she meets her great, great, great, great grandson, Henry, accompanied by his wisecracking best friend, Milo.  Henry recognizes his long dead ancestor right away, and it doesn’t take the Cathalians long to realize that this meeting was no accident.

 

Read an excerpt of The Unveiling of Polly Forrest

 

Gracie and the warriors of Antecede soon discover that they aren’t the only ones laying a claim on their new charges.  Menacing enemies from the South and their hired mercenary assassin, Revilan, the Bowman, have also taken an interest.  Come along with Gracie, Donavan, and their fellow warriors on a perilous quest to protect all that is good and right from the evil that threatens it, and along the way discover what else was lost.

Gracie hadn’t seen Donovan since he rendered her and her charges unconscious, except to sense him speaking to Henry earlier in the day. He appeared to be his normal, arrogant self then, but right now he looked a bit wild. He was truly splendid like an untamed avenger, and she was a little in awe of the warrior coming towards her. Again, it was unfortunate for Gracie that she wasn’t as quick as her little beasties and didn’t think to try making herself scarce. She had never mastered that skill as a mortal or as a warrior. Drama followed her wherever she went. She met Donovan’s stare head on, shoulders back.

 

He stopped, breathing hard, hands on his hips, not far from where she stood, and now she realized Donovan wasn’t just angry, he appeared almost unhinged, and something else, some other undefined sentiment, which he quickly tried to hide. She caught the emotion with her amplified senses but failed to decipher it before it disappeared. Her elder’s appearance perplexed and confused Gracie. He was pale, and it was no small thing for a man so bronzed to look like a ghost. As if on cue, the wind picked up upon his arrival, and his hair whipped around his face. Donovan held Gracie’s stare until she dropped her eyes because the residual fire in his unnerved her.

 

Interview with Author Charlotte Whitney

 

Q: How long did it take to write The Unveiling of Polly Forrest?

A:  It took me about two years. Historical novels are different from contemporary novels in that they require a lot of research and this is incredibly time-consuming. Many authors churn out a book a year, but I’m not that prolific, and I revise several times. By the time I’ve finished I feel like I’ve revised a book a hundred times. At that point I really don’t know how good the book is. It’s way too familiar and I’m SO ready to be finished with it. This time around I had two great editors, several beta readers and a huge advance review team. They all spotted errors that needed fixing, so it was a long process indeed. However, I’m getting excellent reviews so I feel that all the work is justified.

 

Q:  What is something you’d like to accomplish in your writing career next year?

A:   I’d like a complete first draft of my next book that’s in relatively good shape. I’m using the working title, The Showers of Perseus, but I may end up with a totally different name. So go to my website (charlottewhitney.com) and sign up for my free newsletter and I’ll keep you updated regarding the title and its release date. The first draft is always a struggle for me in that I make so many changes along the way. Usually I don’t have an outline because my characters don’t come to life until I start writing. This makes the process laborious. However, after the first draft is done, I love going back, rearranging and deleting chapters, writing new ones, checking every nook and cranny of every chapter to ensure it’s the best it could be. Since I have high standards, this takes a long time.

 

Q: Do you listen to music when you write?

A: No, while I love music and go to many concerts, I find it a distraction while writing. Particularly if the music has lyrics, I’d be mixing up my thoughts with the lyrics. I might be able to write while listening to a quiet Shubert symphony  like the Unfinished, but I’d get lost in Mozart’s Symphony Number 40 in G Minor, my favorite classical piece. I think listening to rock would be a disaster in the making if I had it on during work time. I’d need to go on a walk in order to clear the words out of my head.

 

Q: How are you able to sit behind a computer all day? Do you have a regular exercise routine to get moving?

A: Yes, I start out the day with a set of weight, resistance, and stretching exercises. Later my former exercise teacher in Michigan does an aerobics class on Zoom on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings. I go to yoga classes four times a week. Then there’s the dogs who need a walk both in the morning and in the evening. Also, I live in Arizona where we have amazing hiking trails. Now that I think about it, I think my daily workouts are punctuated with small amounts of writing in between!

 

  

About Author Charlotte Whitney

 

 

Charlotte Whitney is the author of historical fiction set during the Great Depression in the rural Midwest. Her most recent work, The Unveiling of Polly Forrest, a stand-alone historical mystery follows her groundbreaking novel, Threads A Depression-Era Tale, which was met with both critical acclaim and commercial success. 

 

She received a master’s degree in English at the University of Michigan, and after a short stint of teaching at two community colleges, worked at the University of Michigan where she was an associate director of the Lloyd Scholars for Writing and the Arts. Currently living in Arizona with her husband and two dogs she enjoys hiking, bicycling, swimming, and yoga.

 

Author’s website:  https://www.charlottewhitney.com

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-Whitney/e/B001KCTFWQ

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/CWhitneyAuthor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-whitney-8235463a/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CWhitneyAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlottewhitney65/

BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Unveiling-Polly-Forrest-Mystery/dp/B09SNSGWJ3/

  

 

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. 

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