Diane Scott Lewis visits today at Dishin' It Out

I want to thank Ginger for always being a friend and mentor. Many years ago when I was new to the writing game I began an epic novel. This novel grew huge, but I had no idea that there were such trivial matters as word count restrictions. I soon learned that many agents and editors won’t touch a new writer with a large novel. Diana Gabaldon of course was able to transcend that restriction. We are all very jealous of her success.

 My novel, an historical adventure with romantic elements set in England during the French Revolution, grew to almost 200,000 words. I finally agreed that I had to cut back my story. But even with cuts, it was still unwieldy, so I broke it into two novels. The first and larger section, set in England, became The False Light, published two years ago by Eternal Press to excellent reviews. The Historical Novel Society called it “Simply brilliant.”

The second portion, which takes place in sultry New Orleans then in war-torn France, became Without Refuge, and was released in March of this year. The difficult task was to put enough info (backstory) into this second novel to make it understandable to readers who might not have read the first book, though I hope they go back and read The False Light.

Here’s a blurb for Without Refuge:

~In 1796, ruined countess Bettina Jonquiere leaves England after the reported drowning of her lover, Everett. In New Orleans she establishes a new life until a ruthless Frenchman demands the money stolen by her father at the beginning of the French Revolution. She is forced on a dangerous mission to France where she unravels dark family secrets, but will she find the man she lost as well?~

Please leave a comment to win a PDF of Without Refuge.

Visit my website: http://www.dianescottlewis.org

Note from Ginger:  I've read both of Diane's novels and they are well-written and captivating.  I never expected to find English and French history so entertaining, but this author's blend of descriptions, details, and characters who are real and believable drew me in and held me captive until the last pages.  Of course, then I wanted more despite her admirable ability to create a manuscript of over 200,000 words and make it into two novels that still needed paring down to meet publishing standards.  Go figure!  IMHO, Diana Gabaldon has nothing on Diane Scott Lewis.

 I urge you to put her on your TBR list.