Heart Of Stone by Jill Marie Landis Review, Blogpost and Giveaway

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to read a book by bestselling and award-winning novelist Jill Marie Landis. The book Heart Of Stone which Zondervan is releasing in both trade paperback and mass market paperback on March 1st, is the first novel in Landis's Irish Angel series.

 Book Description from http://www.jillmarielandis.com/
  
She had the darkest of pasts. And he had everything to lose by loving her. Laura Foster, free from the bondage of an unspeakable childhood, has struggled to make a new life for herself. Now the owner of an elegant boardinghouse in Glory, Texas, she is known as a wealthy, respectable widow. But Laura never forgets that she is always just one step ahead of her past. When Reverend Brand McCormick comes calling, Laura does all she can to discourage him as a suitor. She knows that if her past were discovered, Brand’s reputation would be ruined. But it’s not only Laura’s past that threatens to bring Brand down—it’s also his own. When a stranger in town threatens to reveal too many secrets, Laura is faced with a heartbreaking choice: Should she leave Glory forever and save Brand’s future? Or is it worth risking his name—and her heart—by telling him the truth?

My thoughts:
As I will read anything with the word Irish in the title,character or setting of a story, I just had to read this book. Heart of Stone is a story of redemption and forgiveness. Set in the 1800's Texas, the people of that time period were pretty strict in their morals,and the past that Laura had was not to be accepted and that is why she tried to start over with a different identity.When Laura was young she and her sisters were separated and forced into an existence not of their choosing. Laura vows to find her sisters no matter what it takes.Laura was doing well in the town she choose to live in until her past catches up with her. She meets the Reverend Brand McCormick, who is a widow with two small children and has a issues of his own to deal with.If the townspeople found out the secrets these two have, would they be accepted in the community? Circumstances and events happen to threaten their efforts of a good life. Reverend Brand relies on his faith and Laura learns to have faith.Brand loves Laura and believes that even though he knows of her past life, he is ok with it. Laura on the other hand thinks that she is not good enough for any man. Will these two get together or will events tear them apart?? You will have to read this book for yourself. I liked the story alot even though I am not really thrilled in reading the western genre, I did enjoy this book and look forward to reading the next one in the series.

 
Article from Jill Marie Landis

  “I love this part of a quilt - when all of the fabric selections, pattern decisions, cutting, making of blocks, laying out of the top, the borders, all of it, starts to come together as you begin to sew the blocks into a TOP. For me, it's one of the best parts.....seeing everything that you've thought about, and worked on, coming together...” Natalie Barnes, Beyond the Reef


So began a recent email from a dear friend and quilt designer, Natalie Barnes. Over twenty years ago, Nat inspired me to begin quilting again and I like to think I inspired her to start a fledgling quilt pattern company, Beyond the Reef, which has grown by leaps and bounds ever since.
As I read her email, I noticed that her thoughts on how a quilt comes together are not unlike the experience of writing a novel. A writer’s initial ideas about characters—deciding who will people the pages of a book and finding just the right setting for them—is much like choosing the pattern and fabrics for a quilt.
In the case of historical novels, choosing the right time period is like deciding on a quilt’s background fabric. Background fabric, borders, and the individual pieces for the patchwork blocks each play an integral part.
So it is with writing. Designing, cutting and fitting patchwork pieces together is like weaving a plot by fitting together scenes and chapters. In writing, the real magic takes place after the rough draft is finished and inspiration continues during the editing process. Somehow the story comes together the way a quilt does during the final stitching and binding until, at long last, it’s finally whole.
Just as a quilter will often pause to rummage through her stash of fabric hunting for just the right piece to compliment her quilt, so too does a writer search through her reference library until just the right snippet of information catches her eye.


While I was working on HEART OF STONE, my 20th novel, (Zondervan, March, 2010) that special, inspirational piece of information came in the form of two words: Irish Channel.


HEART OF STONE is the first book of the Irish Angels series. It’s about a fallen woman named Laura Foster and is set in the fictional town of Glory, Texas, in 1874. The historical romance follows Laura through her trials and tribulations as she seeks redemption from a life of shame and finds love along the way.
Though primarily set in Texas, I opened the book in New Orleans in 1853 to give the readers a glimpse into Laura’s childhood. Before I started hunting for the perfect details to texture the setting, I had preconceived notions of the characteristics of New Orleans that most people share. I pictured the French Quarter with its brick buildings and balconies sporting decorative iron grille work. I saw secret gardens behind stucco walls, could almost smell the café ‘a lait, taste the Creole cooking, picture duels under the oaks at dawn.
I planned for Laura to have been orphaned when both her parents died. She was from an impoverished family living with their aunt and uncle in a run down house somewhere in New Orleans. While searching for an exact location, I came across the history of the Irish Channel neighborhood where emigrants escaping the famine settled near the docks. Most were so poor they had no money to go any farther. Many sought work at the wharf.
Before that time I was completely unaware that New Orleans had, from it’s very beginning, a large Irish population. In fact, in the mid-1800’s, there were more people of Irish ancestry than any other group, even French, in the city. I later learned that Irish brigades fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and that a wealthy Irishman donated the land for City Park where those duels under the oaks were fought.
From mostly rural backgrounds, impoverished Irish newcomers farmed themselves out as day laborers hired to dig canals around the city. It was work many slave owners refused to risk having their valuable “property” engage in. Too poor to escape the city when yellow fever hit in 1835, thousands of Irish died.


History and research provided the plot element that orphaned Laura Foster. When I added three sisters to her back story, HEART OF STONE suddenly became more than a tale of a fallen woman starting over in Texas. It was about a former Irish orphan from Louisiana searching for her long lost sisters.
I pictured where the girls had lived and the conditions they survived. Each of my Irish Angels would grow up to become determined, independent women who triumph over their very different upbringings and each definitely deserved a book of her own.
For me, that one small detail, the name of a neighborhood called the Irish Channel, stood out like a vibrant swatch of patchwork that repeats itself in a quilt. It was an unexpected find that echoes through four stories about four resilient women, the thread that ties the series together.


Jill Marie Landis is not only a quilter, but in her “spare time” she dances the hula, plays ukulele, raises orchids and tropical flowers in her Hawaiian garden and loves to read through research at the beach.


About HEART OF STONE: http://www.jillmarielandis.com/
-HEART OF STONE excerpt: http://www.zondervan.com/media/samples/pdf/0310293693_samptxt.pdf-Jill Marie Landis's blog: http://www.jillmarielandis.com/blog
-Jill
-Jill Marie Landis' appearances: http://www.jillmarielandis.com/appearances.htm
-Jill Marie Landis's guestbook/quarterly drawing: http://www.jillmarielandis.com/gb.htm

TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: U.S entrants only please.
Giveaway of one copy of Heart Of Stone by Jill Marie Landis will go from March 1st - March 20th, 2010

~~You must be a follower of both my blogs, Blog O'The Irish and CelticLady's Reviews
~~You must leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.
~~Visit Jill Marie Landis's websites listed above.
~~Twitter  or post this giveaway, you can do one or the other.

Thank you and good luck!