My Interview with M. L. Little

I was interviewed by M. L. Little, author of The Book of Secrets, on her blog this week! The interview is mainly about my oldest published books, Family Reunion and England Adventure, books 1 and 2 in the Six Cousins series. 

 

Click here to go to her blog and read the interview. M. L. Little writes reviews for Kid Lit Exchange and often works with kids while somewhat maintaining her sanity. Her house backs up to the edge of the woods, where she sometimes hears the cry of what might be a nullian. The Book of Secrets, installment #1 in the Seventh Realm series, is her first novel.

England Adventure Release!

Today’s the day! England Adventure is available in print, and it will soon release as a digital copy as well! 

https://www.createspace.com/5212145

(The CreateSpace e-store is more beneficial for me, but however you want to get it, I am sooo blessed either way!)

As part of the festivities, Deborah O’Carroll interviewed me today on her wonderful blog The Road of a Writer. While you’re there, check out the rest of her delightful blog!

Here are endorsements that I was honored to receive from two writers:

“Miss Bryant has weaved a story of depth and feeling, putting realistic characters in true-to-life experiences. This is more than a book about girls going on a dream trip to England—it’s edifying fiction about Christ-like love and letting our light shine for Him.”
- C. R. Hedgcock, Author of The Baker Family Adventure Series

“England Adventure is a touching account of how much ordinary people can do to hurt or heal each other. A book with beautiful descriptions of Great Britain and considerable emotional power.”
- Hannah S., homeschool graduate

England Adventure Release Date Announcement

This week is the week! England Adventure, the sequel to Family Reunion that at least I have been long awaiting, releases Friday, March 20! Visit my blog or Facebook page that day for the links. My week has been busy getting ready for it …. Yesterday Cheyanne Marie graciously featured me on her blog, cheyannemariebooks, which kicked off the festivities, on Friday I will be interviewed on Deborah O’Carroll’s blog (I’ll get you the link then!), and next week I’ll be interviewed on another blog (details next Tuesday!!). I am so grateful to have been brought to this point by my faithful God. Many thanks to all of you, as well. You've been so encouraging and helpful as I've worked on this book!

Now I must scurry off to get to some editing jobs, but I’ll hopefully “see” you back here on Friday!

Excerpt:
“These three months I’ve been fixated on how wonderful it’s going to be, but almost never thinking it would happen, because it’s still more like a dream to me than a reality," [I said.] “But now that it’s really here, I’m worried about what’s going to happen, and if—if it’s really going to be all that I dreamed it to be.”
“It’s going to be,” Caroline declared. “We’re going to places that have been our favorite places since we were kids, where we’ve always wanted to be: castles and cottages and green hills and forests. We’ll be where all our favorite book characters lived. We’ll be in the most beautiful country in the world!”

Well Seasoned

As I was pondering what to blog about today, my mom suggested humorously, “How about this dreary weather we’ve been having?” The moment before I had been thinking of how it would be spring break next week and how that always makes me think of my first book Family Reunion, because the entire plot took place during those seven days. And so everything came together for a blog post about the seasons and my Six Cousins series. 

Fortunately for the Austin family reunion, their March was beautiful and spring-like, unlike ours so far this year (it’s still early yet, so I hold out hope). I wrote a post called “A Six Cousins Spring” back in March 2013 detailing how tightly springtime wove into Family Reunion. When I wrote England Adventure, I was delighted to notice an emerging pattern—I love patterns in book series—because that story took place in summer. I see no harm in informing you I have tentative plans for two more books with the Six Cousins, and their stories will occur in fall and winter, respectively … of different years, this time; you’ll see Marielle growing up, Lord willing!

So, when you think of England Adventure, imagine early summer in England, the time of the mid-summer solstice in June, when the sun stays up late—until well after nine o’clock—and when British students are still in their summer school term. Flowers are out in full, and roses … oh, the roses! It’s a marvelous time to be traveling around England; Marielle, Emma, and Caroline consider themselves very fortunate to escape the Texas heat and enjoy the old country in its brightest weeks.

My favorite season is spring; what is yours? Do the seasons play a large role in your writing? What is your favorite season to write about?

St. Paul's through the roses

In other news, I have a short story published by Rivershore Books for sale on Etsy—it’s to help raise money for an organization called the Justice Society, which fights human trafficking. Ironically, it’s called “Field of Blue” and takes place in spring! So if you want a flavor of Texas spring … here’s the link.

Lastly, I added England Adventure onto Goodreads—it’s not published yet!—but I couldn’t wait any longer. So, if you’d like, you can now put it on your “to-read” shelf.

Meet the Cast

As the publication date for England Adventure lies in wait just on the other side of the beginning of March, the characters have been telling me I should do a blog post or two to prepare for the big day. It seems Caroline and Kailey had so much fun revealing the cover that the others thought some individual attention would be nice after all.

So. Allow me to introduce the main cast of England Adventure (Six Cousins, Book 2)!

Marielle Austin. At age fourteen, Marielle never thought she’d be going on an adventure like this, especially without her parents. But on the other side of the pond, good friends of her grandparents, the Endicotts, are ready to receive her and her cousins and give them the tour of a lifetime. Many of Marielle’s fears turn out to be groundless, but new ones take their place as she gets to know Paris Hamilton, the Endicotts’ granddaughter, whose troubles live beneath the surface of her sunny personality. Can Marielle keep her ears tuned to God’s directions and help Paris? Will Marielle herself benefit and grow from this trip, or will it become the saddest episode in her young life?

Emma Yardley. While trying to watch over her sister Caroline and cousin Marielle, be a model guest to each of their hosts, and absorb all that England is, sixteen-year-old Emma also faces challenges. Though you might not guess it from her even-keeled nature, she has some trouble navigating relationships and accepting disappointments.

Caroline Yardley. On the other hand, at age thirteen, Caroline is ready for adventure. Things don’t always go right, but that’s okay! It’s more important to delight in what you can, even if it’s only the fact that a chaotic shopping street you’re standing on, with your own two feet, was once a major Roman road. The Romans! Imagine that.

Reanna Wilkins. Shy, sixteen-year-old Reanna wasn’t so sure about this trip, and meeting Paris confirms her fears. Paris bedazzles cousins Abby and Kailey, but Marielle, Emma, and Caroline are still there to be friends, though Marielle, too, seems strangely preoccupied with Paris. Perhaps what will make Reanna feel better is creating music.

Abby Austin. Abby, eighteen, is going to college in the fall, so she feels this two-week trip in June had better be good. And it is—mostly because of the awesome Paris. She has everything—personality, fashion, ambition. She’s a dream friend. But then some stuff starts going wrong … and Abby realizes maybe Paris isn’t the perfect girl.

Kailey Austin. Fifteen-year-old Kailey doesn’t always remember where they’re going, but once she’s there, she definitely has her opinions. London shopping is the best! Bath and Southampton are pretty cool, too. But Paris is what really makes it all epic. And at the end of the trip, maybe everything was more worthwhile than she originally thought.

Paris Hamilton. At seventeen, it’s vital to Paris that her life looks perfect—even though it’s not. Her grandparents know it isn’t, but they should just stay out and let her be who she wants to be. It’s pretty rad that she’s traveling around England with six teenage girls, and they’re all super nice, especially adorable Marielle, who seems like the last person who’d be able to help her.

Gregory Endicott. He won’t give us his age; it’s sufficient that he’s old enough to be Paris’s grandfather. The only wholly British person in the little group, and the only man, he has his hands quite full; and it’s a good thing he can hold on to everything, too, or else he’d be tearing out what paltry hair he has left. There is Paris, however: she may be slipping farther out of his cradled hands than he thinks.

Yvonne Endicott. Mrs. Endicott is overjoyed to show hospitality to her dear friends’ granddaughters. She loves sharing her two-century-old home and her ancient, adopted homeland. If only Paris loved what she loves, she could be sure that everything with Paris would turn out to be all right; but, no matter, this trip isn’t the time to think about such things … or perhaps, maybe it is.

Cecelia Parker. Mr. Endicott’s sister thought she would try being hospitable like Yvonne and open her cramped Southampton home to their bevy of American girls … but that decision must have been made during a barmy moment, as she’s not overly fond of teenage girls. But still, going along with them on a bit of holiday might not be too unpleasant.

Winifred Braithwaite. A good friend of Mrs. Endicott’s, she’s a well-traveled Devonshire lady settled in the charming seaside village of Branscombe. When the tourists come to her, she recognizes that some of them need more than simple hospitality … and she certainly might be able to give them both.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the eleven major characters of England Adventure. Thank you for letting me introduce them to you! Who are you most interested in meeting?

“The Moment You've Been Waiting For!"

crows a tall, brown-haired thirteen-year-old, Caroline Yardley. “And the moment I’ve been waiting for, too! It’s time to reveal the cover of Six Cousins Book 2, England Adventure!”

For as long as she can remember, Marielle has dreamed of seeing England in person. When kind grandparents send her and her cousins there to visit old friends, she can hardly wait to see the places she’s known in fiction and film. The Endicotts are perfect hosts—and their worldly American granddaughter Paris, perfectly beautiful.

But it soon turns out that nothing is as it seems. Her cousins Abby and Reanna, once the best of friends, appear deeply at odds, and the picture-perfect Endicott family is hiding secrets of its own. Distanced by an ocean from home and her family’s protection, Marielle finds herself challenged by a troubling new world. She befriends Paris, but Paris seems opposed to what Marielle stands for. Can Marielle be the witness who helps Paris overcome the lifestyle that’s harming her? Or will Marielle and her cousins be overwhelmed by the conflict this supposed dream trip has brought them?

“On the cover, you’ll see my fair cousin, Marielle Austin, as she gazes across the Thames toward St. Paul’s Cathedral, one of our favorite spots in London. It was jaw-dropping gorgeous and tons of fun! Well, all of England was gorgeous and fun, really. Most of it, anyway. No, no—all of it. But this picture sums it up—”
  “Gosh, I guess none of us will ever, like, make it to the cover of a book,” interrupts a slightly shorter fifteen-year-old with a blond bob as she sashays in front of the hovering image and plants herself on the other side, opposite her cousin.
  “You’ve got to have a story before you can get on the cover of a book,” Caroline counters. “Marielle went to all the hard work of telling this story, so it’s only right—”
  “Well, yeah. But she coulda shared the limelight a little,” Kailey sniffs.
  Caroline sticks out her lower lip. “You’re not really begrudging her, are you?”
  Kailey takes one look at Caroline and giggles. “Okay, okay. Whatever. It’s fine. Marielle totally deserves it. But anyway, where’s everybody else?”
  “You and I were the only ones who wanted to get up here and do this.”
  “You’re kidding! Abby didn’t want the attention?”
  “Nope. None of them did.”
  “What about Paris? No way can I believe—”
  “It had to be a cousin, because we’ve already been properly introduced in the first book.”
  “Ohhh. Okay. Well, we get more attention this way, so I’m, like, more than cool with it.”
  “Yep! Anyway, we’d better get back to the book. So, esteemed audience, England Adventure is due to break upon the publishing scene in a few weeks! I’ve been told setting a definite release date for this book is a delicate matter, but stay tuned for The Day. It won’t be long now!”
  Caroline holds her hands up toward the cover and nudges Kailey with her foot; Kailey looks perplexed until she realizes she should do the same. “Look for it, guys!” she cries. “You don’t want to miss me, I mean us, do ya?”