THE SUMERTON WOMEN: a synopsis

Look for THE SUMERTON WOMEN, available from Kensington Publishing on April 24th, 2012 at your local bookseller, or pre-order from amazon.com! . . . . When Cecily Burkhart is orphaned at age eight, she becomes the ward of Harold Pierce, Earl Sumerton, and finds herself surrounded by a family as endearing as they are complex. There is Lord Hal and Lady Grace, who both nurse a secret pain behind a façade of wealth and excess, their son, the innocent young Brey, and their daughter, the devout and intense Mirabella. There is also Father Alec Cahill, loving tutor and mentor, who maintains an unblemished exterior to disguise a secret of his own. After a string of traumatic events befall Sumerton, everything changes. Old dreams die to be replaced with new plans. Cecily must learn to adapt to a different life, a different love, and hold together a household fractured by tragedy. Meantime Mirabella struggles to adjust to the violent changes being made in Henry VIII’s England, changes that will rob her of her calling. Grief-stricken, Mirabella reshapes her life by embarking on a sequence of choices that threatens to destroy the lives of everyone around her unless she learns to accept one vital truth. This fast-paced character study is a poignant illustration of the ties that bind women and the tragedies that tear them apart. It is a saga of faith tested, of loyalty and betrayal, of resentment and forgiveness. Above all, THE SUMERTON WOMEN is a novel about the choices people make that alter lives forever.

The Miniseries in My Mind: Why I Write Historical Fiction

At first when it came to my attention that some have coined my works as “soap opera-y”, I was mildly offended. Upon further reflection, I then realized, though they may have intended it as a burn, my work DOES resemble a soap opera! When I think of the impact soaps have had on the history of dramatic work, such as All My Children, the cancellation of which caused quite a stir among fans, I could not help but revise my view of this opinion. Many people love drama, not because it is unrealistic, but because it captures reality in an emotional, creative, and often relatable way; drama reflects life. Examining any family, one will see interwoven stories rife with all that makes drama compelling; rivalries, addiction, betrayal, misguided love affairs . . . Some may call it a soap opera, I call it a Tuesday!

I can say with pride I attended the most exclusive film school in the United States, right in my parents' living room. They raised me on classics such as Dr. Zhivago, Gone with the Wind, Camelot, The Lion in Winter, and miniseries such as The Thorn Birds, Roots, and Rich Man, Poor Man. I was enthralled by the scope, the subtleties, and the nuances of the actors that captured emotions in a way today’s film industry only touches upon. We did not just watch movies, we experienced them. With in-depth analysis, discussing the motivations of the characters, the director’s choices, and the theme of films, I was taught a deeper appreciation of the art of drama that would shape my professional life.

Always an avid reader and writer since I could hold a pencil, I longed to capture the kind of emotion I saw in these films, translating it onto paper in a way that would engage a reader’s heart. A miniseries in my mind . . . And so I took to writing in earnest as a teen and into my twenties, when I was at last fortunate enough to secure an agent who shared my vision, landing my first book deal at the age of thirty. My dream of sharing my love of drama, characters, and intensity could at last be shared with the world!

My stage is historical fiction. History for me is a vehicle in which drama and emotion play out in a palatable form—everything is back there waiting to be delved into and experienced. It is not just names and dates, battles and politics. It is the human condition, a tale timeless, transcending any era. SECRETS OF THE TUDOR COURT and RIVALS IN THE TUDOR COURT (both of Kensington) were character studies of ambition, avarice, jealousy, loss, adultery, abuse, and madness. Historical figures and events provided the framework for my intent, that of translating the weakness and strength that is humanity into a moving, compelling drama. I relied on as much research as was available to me at the time, and continue to learn how to hone those skills along the way to lend more credibility and authenticity to my work. It is an ongoing learning process, and someday I hope when I look at my last work as compared to my first, I will see growth and improvement along the way, not just in my research abilities and the filtering of anachronisms, but in my exploration of the vast gamut of emotion that encompasses the human story.

So enter the miniseries in my mind, if you dare, and let me take you on a journey of the heart and the soul, a journey we all experience—the journey that is life!