Linda Swift is
currently contracted with seven digital publishers and has eight ebooks
available, seven also in print. Two additional books, two short stories and a
collection of Haiku are scheduled for release later this year. Linda writes
both contemporary and historical fiction. Another historical, set in 1573
England involving Mary Queen of Scots is among her releases this year followed
by its sequel in 2012.
Hello, Stuart. Thank
you so much for inviting me back to tell you and your readers about my recently
released historical. I have often heard the expression "the book of my
heart." And THIS TIME FOREVER fits that description for me. I have been
fascinated with the Civil War since I first read Margaret Mitchell's book and
saw the movie of Gone With The Wind. Later, I avidly watched the TV mini-series
North and South. And I think I knew even then that someday I would have to
write my own story about the Civil War. You can well imagine my joy when the first
review by Manic Readers (rated five stars) said:
"This Time Forever is
a sweeping tale of two extended families as they endure the horrors of the
American Civil War…I was reminded both of Gone With the Wind, and the TV
saga of North and South. Both sides, thinking the war would be short and
convinced of the rightness of their respective causes, continue for some time
to have balls, parties, and generally live life as if there was no war, but a
mere diversion in their neat little lives…It doesn’t take long before sense and
sensibility are violated on both sides as the war encroaches on their lands,
plantations, houses, money and food supplies…It is easy to ‘see’ the scenes
described, from ballroom to battlefield, and to truly understand how this war,
pitting families against each other, is a psychological challenge many cannot
put behind them."
I think this is the
most tragic period in the existence of the United States of America. Families
were divided, with brothers fighting and killing brothers. The outcome changed
the way of life in the South forever and its repercussions are still being felt
even today.I do not pretend to be a scholar of history. However, I did research
the facts in this book and I believe the times and events to be accurate but
some Civil War buff will no doubt prove me wrong!
This historical has a
history of its own. I began the story fifteen years ago and my agent sent a
synopsis and first five chapters to a Harlequin editor. I met the editor at a
national writers' conference and she asked me to send the complete manuscript.
I was elated, but there was one small problem. I didn't have a complete
manuscript, only the chapters already sent, however I promised to send it right
away. I went home and began a marathon writing project. I work better under
pressure but this was beyond my comfort level. I had not yet developed the
habit of doing research online and I had thirteen books of Civil War history
spread out on the bed in my office which also serves as the guest room. I would
write furiously, come to a place where I needed information, search the books
until I found it, and resume the story. In two weeks I completed seventeen
chapters and sent them in. The editor wanted the story but lost the battle with
superiors because the story was more mainstream than romance. She asked me to
send it to another imprint and they kept it almost two years, finally rejecting
it because I wasn't a "name" author which would guarantee sales.
My agent continued to
send it out with various responses, most of which reflected the fact that Civil
War books were not selling well. At one editor's suggestion, I cut the first
seven chapters to have the H&H meet in Chapter One. It was finally accepted
by an ebook publisher in 2006, who vanished overnight before I could sign a
contract. I changed the name of the book three times, the last time when I
submitted it to the publisher who accepted it with all the chapters intact.
As fate would have
it, THIS TIME FOREVER, is being published in the first of four years commemorating
the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. So I feel its time has come. There is
currently a plethora of C.W. books, both new and reprints, on the market. It
seems ironical that this story about the American Civil War is being published
by a Canadian publisher. And I doubt that anyone outside the United States
truly appreciates the deep emotions this war still elicits, especially for
Southerners. (As an aside, an English publisher released Cold Mountain, another
C.W. story).
The 4th of July was a very
special holiday for me, this year, as my Civil War saga, THIS TIME
FOREVER, was due for release by Champagne Books. Its publication
coincides with the four year commemoration of the Civil War
Sesquicentennial and although I didn't plan it this way the
timing is perfect. And isn't it ironical that a story of such significance to
Americans is being published by a Canadian publisher? The ebook is available
now from the publisher for $5.99 at http://www.champagnebooks.com/shop/index.php and
at Amazon. The print book is released in August.
Instead of telling you
about the story, I want to share part of the book's first review. If you
only read one new book about the Civil War this year, I hope you will read this
one. It will take you behind the battles into the hearts of
both Yankees and Rebels as they live and die for the cause they believe
in.
MR Review
Rating:
Reviewer: Alberta
Review:
Rating:
Reviewer: Alberta
Review:
This Time
Forever is a sweeping tale of two extended families as they endure the
horrors of the American Civil War. The primary characters are Philip, a newly
minted surgeon who is enmeshed in the war as an idealistic young man, and
Clarissa, an expectant mother in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They meet under
extenuating circumstances as Philip is captured by the Rebel forces and made to
act as a medic to southern forces for much of the war. He ends up with Clarissa
as a medical assistant. He has left a fiancée in Oswego, New York and her
husband is away acting as a courier for the Rebel side.
I was
reminded both of Gone With the Wind, and the TV saga of North
and South. Both sides, thinking the war would be short and convinced of the
rightness of their respective causes, continue for some time to have balls,
parties, and generally live life as if there was no war, but a mere diversion
in their neat little lives.
The
secondary characters are just as well-developed and fascinating as Philip and
Clarissa. They move from feelings of patriotism to despair as the war causes
more and more upheaval in all their lives. The order of things has turned
upside down, and that which might have been unthinkable for ladies and
gentlemen in the recent past, now becomes the norm as fighting rages on,
leaders are questioned, and death becomes very personal for all the families.
It is
easy to ‘see’ the scenes described, from ballroom to battlefield, and to truly
understand how this war, pitting families against each other, is a
psychological challenge many cannot put behind them.
