A Fateful Romance from the Past

History and romance go together so nicely that it is always fun to find a new historical romance and discover a new author. I especially love those books that not only grabs my interest with the romance but contain fascinating information about a time period I don't know much about. That's why I especially enjoyed learning about this week's guest in My Writing Corner, Janet Gibbs.

Janet Gibbs was born in England but now resides in Northern New Jersey. She has research and written extensively on women's history, including three biographies for the book, Past and Promise, Notable New Jersey Women. She has written non-fiction, which has appeared in several newspapers including the New York times. 


Her newest book is the historical romance, Pawn of Fate. Janet, we'd love to hear your story. Please tell us about yourself and how you came to write this book.

I’ve always wanted to be a writer since I was eleven years old.  I began as a poet and had success with publishing and reading my work.  Since then I’ve branched out to nonfiction and then decided to write the stories that I’d heard from ‘characters’ talking to me! 

My ‘big break’ in publishing came from a high school friend who remembered a woman in her neighborhood who published with Wild Rose!   I looked them up and they were most kind and generous in reading and publishing two of my novels.  I’m working on the sequel to So Much More this summer! 

This latest book, Pawn of Fate, began when my father-in-law would take me to his childhood home in Union City, NJ.  He spoke of his grandfather who was a silk twister in an embroidery mill.  I became fascinated with that and began my research and interviews and it developed into a novel about politics, passion and wealth in the early 1900’s.  This novel is dedicated to my father in law. 

Most of my book ideas come from my family and the history that surrounds their lives.  I love women’s history and immigration stories.  I have quite a few stories left to tell about strong independent women who forged a life in America with determination and a passion for success.

The setting for the book comes first and then the characters ‘introduce’ themselves to me.  I use an excel spreadsheet to keep the major dates under control!  I plot out each chapter with a heading so I know basically how the story will progress.  I’m a stickler for authenticity and will devote many hours or days to researching the smallest of detail for my characters.   Sometimes this research may hold up my writing but then I get right back to it and it takes off.   Often I am not sure how the novel will end but believe it or not, the characters take over and lead me to a very satisfying finale!

Emma Baden is swept into the dangerous world of radical union organizers in the silk mill town of Union Hillin 1911.  She is drawn to the charismatic socialist leader, Frederick Mossler,  who charms her into becoming a speaker for his cause.    An evening rally suddenly turns violent but Emma is rescued from the panicked mob by Max Keppel, the handsome heir to the town’s largest mill.   Their attraction is immediate, yet he is married and considered the enemy.   Their relationship survives her destructive marriage and the fall of the unions as well as the disintegration of his marriage to spoiled heiress, Lavinia.  Eventually Emma achieves her goal of owning her own embroidery business and lingerie line.  Though she finds success, Emma knows she was always just a pawn of fate. 

Here is how to get in touch with Janet:
https://www.facebook.com/JanetFrancesGibbs
https://twitter.com/JanetFGibbs
https://instagram.com/janetfgibbs/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32190762-so-much-more

Pawn of Fate is available on Amazon.com, B&N.com and Itunes.-Mainstream Historical, rated PG13. 

Thanks, Janet for being my guest.