1--What is the title of your latest release?
The Sisters of Sea View, Book One in a new series called On Devonshire Shores.
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Four genteel sisters (who’ve never had to work a day in their lives) are impoverished after their father’s death and decide to open their seaside home to guests to make ends meet. They expect to host elderly invalids who historically flocked to the shore for their health, but instead find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen including one man with a secret agenda.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Great question! I wanted to set the novel in a seaside resort town in 19th century England. I chose Sidmouth for a few reasons. One, Jane Austen spent a holiday there with her family, and two, I have also been able to visit the beautiful south coast of Devon.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Yes! I don’t have sisters of my own, so I enjoyed creating a family of sisters that I loved spending time with while writing this book.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
The first novel in the series focuses primarily on two of the Summers sisters: Sarah and Viola. Sarah is capable, hardworking, and caring. Viola is wounded, reclusive, and prickly but emerges from her protective shell as the story progresses.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Answer: I always learn so much from research. For this novel, I read several books about Sidmouth and about English seaside resorts in the 19th century. I enjoyed learning about “bathing machines,” the practice of year-round sea bathing, and the supposed health benefits of drinking sea water.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I write a very rough first draft all the way through to the end before I go back and conduct several rounds of revisions and editing.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Sadly, I love ALL the food, from British treats to charcuterie to chocolates.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
My husband built onto our little house, so nowadays I write in an octagonal “turret” office overlooking one of Minnesota’s many lakes.
10--Who is an author you admire?
So many! Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Georgette Heyer, Mary Stewart, Abigail Wilson, and many more.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Reading the Bible and realizing it is “alive and active” (applicable and powerful today vs. the dusty old tome I once thought it was) certainly changed my life. Fiction-wise, reading books like The Secret Garden and Jane Eyre at a young age cemented my love of British literature and are a large part of the reason I write novels set in England now.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was working for the publisher at the time and submitted my novel under a pseudonym. Only the Editorial Director knew it was me. I had a few nervous weeks, I can tell you, wondering if my co-workers would like it and fearing they would not! Thankfully, they wanted to publish it, and then the boss let them know who had really written it. That was my first novel, Lady of Milkweed Manor, which came out in January 2008.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Historical Romance.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Do mini-series count? If so: North and South (Gaskell), Persuasion (Austen), and Bleak House (Dickens).
15--What is your favorite season?
It used to be Spring, but living in Minnesota now, where winter encroaches on spring so long, I have become more of an Autumn person.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Make a meal with good friends, or travel.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I recently enjoyed The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Brunsvold.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
ALL the cuisine (see #8 above). I’m currently craving Indian food, so I’ll go with that.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love to walk (while listening to a good audiobook) and to watch historical dramas or British mysteries.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Book Two in the On Devonshire Shores series, titled, A Winter by the Sea.
On Devonshire Shores
Some guests have come for a holiday, others for hidden reasons of their own . . .
When their father's death leaves them impoverished, Sarah Summers and her genteel sisters fear they will be forced to sell the house and separate to earn livelihoods as governesses or companions. Determined to stay together, Sarah convinces them to open their seaside home to guests to make ends meet and provide for their ailing mother. Instead of the elderly invalids they expect to receive, however, they find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen. Sarah is soon torn between a growing attraction to a mysterious Scottish widower and duty to her family.
Viola Summers wears a veil to cover her scar. When forced to choose between helping in her family's new guest house and earning money to hire a maid to do her share, she chooses the latter. She reluctantly agrees to read to some of Sidmouth's many invalids, preferring the company of a few elders with failing eyesight to the fashionable guests staying in their home. But when her first client turns out to be a wounded officer in his thirties, Viola soon wishes she had chosen differently. Her new situation exposes her scars--both visible and those hidden deep within--and her cloistered heart will never be the same.
Join the Summers sisters on the Devonshire coast, where they discover the power of friendship, loyalty, love, and new beginnings.
Inspirational Historical | Romance Historical [Bethany House Publishers, On Sale: December 6, 2022, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780764234262 / eISBN: 9781493439096]
Utterly charming and captivating!
Julie Klassen loves all things Jane--Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. She worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. Three of her novels have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. Her book, THE SILENT GOVERNESS, was also a finalist in the Minnesota Book Awards, ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Awards, and Romance Writers of America's RITA Awards. Julie is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She and her husband have two sons and live near St. Paul, Minnesota.
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