Welcome back! Today we’re chatting with historical fiction author Edwina Kiernan. This was my first time chatting with her, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Thanks for being here today. What was your favorite chapter book? What did you love about it?

George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl. I loved all the crazy ingredients that George mixed together, and always wanted to do the same! It was such a fun book (as most of Dahl’s books are!) and my little imagination was soaring and spinning with the humor, delight and escapades contained within the book’s pages.

What was the last book you read that you couldn’t put down?

The Knight by Steven James. Wow. It was absolutely gripping. I’m working my way through his Bowers series at the moment (just about to start The King), and they’re all superb, but The Knight was just absolutely astonishing. It grabbed me from the start and wouldn’t let go… I just had to keep reading every spare moment I had!

Have you ever had a book recommended to you that you didn’t like? No names, but what didn’t you like about it?

Yes. I used to write book reviews for a magazine and publishers would send their new releases to us. I was assigned one that was hyped up and touted as a heart-pounding book that would make you cry and feel glad to be alive… It was shockingly boring. Extremely slow-moving, and the main characters were some of the whiniest, self-centred protagonists I’ve ever read. I had to stop reading about a quarter of the way through (which I never did back then) and explain to the publisher that I just couldn’t write a positive review about this book. It remains one of the worst books I’ve ever tried to read.

If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be?

Sherlock Holmes. I can only imagine the conversations and curiosities that would result, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I would learn a lot from his insight, reasoning and observances. It would be fascinating.

If you could visit any fictional place, where would you go?

Narnia. Especially if I could go horse-riding with Bree from The Horse and His Boy (one of my favorite books, even now). That would be exquisite.

Who’s your favorite author?

My favorite author is Anne Bronte. I love her way with words and her passionate commitment to telling the truth within the pages of her fiction. Her poems are magnificent, too. Absolutely love her.

Share five books from your TBR (to be read) pile.

Lord-willing, I’m looking forward to reading these soon:

  • The King by Steven James
  • Crime Strikes a Chord by Christy Barritt
  • Mountain Fugitive by Lynette Eason
  • Finding Lady Enderly by Joanna Davidson Politano
  • The Peasant’s Dream by Melanie Dickerson

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

One thing I hope that my books contribute to the world is hope. Life is tough. There’s no such thing as perfect this side of heaven. My earnest prayer is that everyone who reads any of my books will find hope and rest in God’s deep, redeeming love for them, and that they will find truth and freedom in the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. Some books will speak more clearly about these things, and some will hint more toward them, but I pray that each reader will be stirred to want to know God more, and will find love and security in Him.

She wants a new life. He’s in danger of losing his. Will love solve everything — or immerse them in even worse peril?

England, 1848.

Restless and ready for a change, Grace Stratton gladly accepts the opportunity to leave her remote parsonage home to serve as a wealthy spinster’s companion in the idyllic country town of Lindenfell. Its warm atmosphere and friendly inhabitants sooth Grace’s lonely heart. But when a mysterious stranger arrives, she soon discovers things aren’t always what they seem.

Convinced chloroform will revolutionise the medical world, Dr. David Carbury frequently administers it to his London patients — until one of them dies. Facing a grave trial to prove his innocence and defend a drug most people view as poisonous, he makes hasty plans to buy time to bolster his case. But he wasn’t expecting to face an even deadlier challenge.

As attraction sparks not long after they meet, Grace soon suspects he’s hiding something, and David knows he can’t run from the truth forever.

But neither of them could imagine the sinister threat lurking just around the corner…

Edwina Kiernan is the Christian author of the award-winning novel, Ruby’s Redemption. An enthusiast of classic novels and history, Edwina combines her faith, imagination and research in hope-infused tales set in times past. A lifelong word admirer, with Welsh and Irish heritage, she started writing stories early in childhood. She is a committed follower of Jesus (the Living Word), and endeavors to use her pen to point others to Him. When she’s not writing, Edwina loves spending time with her dashing husband and lively little son, reading and studying the Bible, getting lost in a captivating novel and drinking more types of tea than most people realize even exist.

Find her online at www.EdwinaKiernan.com, Amazon, BookBub, Goodreads, and Twitter, but the best place to connect is her email list, where she shares behind-the-scenes updates, book recommendations, freebies, and weekly giveaways. Sign up at www.EdwinaKiernan.com/subscribe.