Shout-Out: Divine Heretic by Jaime Lee Moyer

Everyone knows the story of Joan of Arc, a peasant girl who put Charles VII on the throne and spearheaded France's victory over Britain before being burned by the English as a heretic and witch.

But things are not always as they appear.

Jeanne d'Arc was only five when three angels and saints first came to her. Shrouded by a halo of heavenly light, she believed their claim to be holy. The Archangel Michael and Saint Margaret told her she was the foretold Warrior Maid of Lorraine, fated to free France and put a king upon his throne.

Saint Catherine made her promise to obey their commands and embrace her destiny; the three saints would guide her every step. Jeanne bound herself to these creatures without knowing what she'd done. As she got older, Jeanne grew to mistrust and fear the voices, and they didn't hesitate to punish her cruelly for disobedience. She quickly learned that their cherished prophecy was more important than the girl expected to make it come true.

Jeanne is only a shepherd's daughter, not the Warrior Maid of the prophecy, but she is stubborn and rebellious, and finds ways to avoid doing - and being - what these creatures want. Resistance has a terrifying price, but Jeanne is determined to fight for the life she wants.

But when the cost grows too high, Jeanne will risk everything to save her brother, her one true friend and the man she loves.

Not everyone is destined to be a hero. Sometimes you have no choice.

Book Review: Against A Brightening Sky by Jaime Lee Moyer

Pros: interesting murder mystery, wonderful relationships

Cons: 

The year is 1919 and a riot and explosions rock San Francisco’s St Patrick’s Day parade, the perpetrators targeting a young woman in the crowd.  Captain Gabe Ryon tries to figure out the connection between the attack and the growing number of murdered Russian immigrants.  Meanwhile his wife, Delia, is haunted by the ghost of a European princess.

The novel is split between Gabe and Delia’s efforts to understand what’s happening and stop the murders.  It’s great seeing how the investigation covers both procedural and spiritualist methods.  The mystery is intense, with a lot of twists.

It’s a real joy seeing a book that has several loving couples and deep friendships.  While you can read this book independently of the previous two in the series (Delia’s Shadow and A Barricade in Hell), you’ve definitely got a deeper sense of the relationships and how the characters have come to trust and rely on each other if you’ve read the other books.  

Perhaps that’s why the books, though dealing with disturbing subject matter, leave one with a feeling of positivity.  There’s a good amount of death and darkness, but the stories read more like cosy mysteries than hardboiled detective fiction.

It’s a fast paced book that makes good use of an interesting time and setting.  This is a series I highly recommend.

Book Review: A Barricade in Hell by Jaime Lee Moyer

Pros: interesting characters, interesting setting, intricate plot

Cons:

It’s 1917 and though San Francisco’s far from the war in Europe, the war’s affects are felt there.  Delia’s become Isadora’s apprentice in dealing with ghosts in order to help with her ‘gift’ of seeing them.  But her schooling’s tried by the ghost of a young girl that has started haunting her, which doesn’t seem bound by the normal rules and can’t be banished.  Meanwhile, Captain Gabe Ryan and his partner Jack Fitzgerald start investigating a murder that appears to have an occult connection. 

This is a murder mystery with ghosts.  It’s twist is that the culprit’s discovered fairly early but proving a case against the person, that would hold up in court, proves to be very difficult.  The viewpoints alternate between Delia and Gabe, focusing on the troublesome ghosts on the one hand and the murder case on the other.  There are a good number of twists and turns and you don’t know who will survive ‘till the end. 

I loved all of the characters.  They’re well written, with backgrounds that are painful in different ways, making them feel like real people.  The protagonists all have understandable motivations for their actions, and while the antagonists’ reasons for doing things aren’t as well defined - until the end -  they don’t feel like cookie cutter villains at any point. 

You get to see a bit of chinatown and some of the racism the inhabitants there faced.  Those scenes were handled carefully and considerately.

It’s the second book in the series, but the books are written episodically, so you can easily pick this up without reading Delia’s Shadow.  If you like ghosts and mysteries and good writing, you’ll love this series.

Recommended Reading by Professionals... with Jaime Lee Moyer

In this series, I ask various publishing professionals (including authors, bloggers, editors, agents etc.) to recommend 2-3 authors or books they feel haven't received the recognition they deserve.

Today's recommendations are by Jaime Lee Moyer. Jaime Lee Moyer lives in San Antonio with writer Marshall Payne, two cats, three guitars and a growing collection of books and music. She writes poetry and short stories. Her first novel, Delia's Shadow, came out in September.

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Most readers lament that there are always too many good books, and not enough time to read them. Good books, and excellent writers, can slip through the cracks for that very reason. Here are two recommendations from me for two writers you might have missed.

1. Amanda Downum: The Drowning City, The Bone Palace, and The Kingdoms of Dust (The Necromancer Chronicles).  A great series set in a non-European setting.  Isyllt Iskaldur is a necromancer and a spy, and these books are full of intrigue, magic, innovative worldbuilding, and excellent writing. Highly recommended. There is so much to love in these books, but I only get a paragraph.
2. Ian Tregillis: Bitter Seeds, The Coldest War, and Necessary Evil  (The Milkweed Triptych).  Where to start with these books? These are alternate history at it's absolute best and most inventive. The Nazi's have succeeded in building a race of supermen, the British use magic--and demons--to keep from being swept away during WWII. These books deserve a lot more attention than they've gotten.

Stay tuned for the next post for more reading recommendations.

Author Interview: Jaime Lee Moyer

Novel: Delia's Shadow

Short Fiction

Poetry

Website: www.jaimeleemoyer.com

> What is Delia's Shadow about?

Delia has always seen ghosts, but only as glimpses of faces watching from a corner, or faded haunts walking through walls. The ghost she discovers standing at the foot of her bed one morning is different. Shadow, as she comes to call this spirit, follows her relentlessly, invades her dreams, and demands things of Delia. This young woman died before Delia was born, the last victim of a brutal killer that terrorized San Francisco and then vanished. At the same time, Lieutenant Gabe Ryan finds himself investigating a series of murders that bear an uncanny resemblance to his father's thirty-year-old cases. Working together, Gabe and Delia race to discover the killer's identity before he claims more victims.

> Why did you decide to set your novel in 1915 San Francisco?

Choosing the time period was easy. The earthquake that had devastated San Francisco was nine years in the past and the city thought of itself as reborn. San Francisco hosted the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915, and invited the world to come see a rebuilt city. Setting the story in that year gave me a rich background for my story.

1915 really was at the beginning of what we think of as the modern age. Cars were becoming as common as horse drawn buggies and wagons. Women had already won the vote in California years before and were proud of their independence. Women's roles were changing, attitudes were changing, and the flapper era was just around the corner. It was an exciting time.

> How much research did you do on 19th century spiritualism for the novel?

Spiritualism flourished well into the 1920s and beyond. The belief in communication with the dead wasn't as strong by the time the 1930s rolled around, but it was still there. I think that the modern day paranormal investigators are what 19th and early 20th century spiritualism evolved into. It's not viewed as a religion now, but unexplained phenomena and a strong belief in ghosts are still at the heart of it all.

I read a great deal about the spiritualism movement. Spirit mediums were employed to  provide a point of contact between the living and the dead. Seances were very popular and viewed as the best method of formal communication with the afterlife.

Spirit photography flourished at the end of the 19th century as well. People really believed that the blurry images and half seen shapes in these photographs were the ghosts of loved ones who hadn't completely "passed on" into the afterlife. Those beliefs ran deep. Telling someone the photographs were faked and a trick elicited shock and anger.

> What made you want to be a writer?

I wrote my first story at the age of 11. It's not so much a matter of wanting to be a writer, as in making a conscious choice, as it is that writing is at the heart of who I am. I don't think I could stop writing.

> If you could, would you change places with any of your characters?

No, I don't think I would. I love these characters, but each of them has their own burdens to bear, their own pain and sorrows that haunt them. Fictional characters don't have an easy life, especially if they are my characters.

> What was the hardest scene for you to write?

There is a very emotional, pivotal scene that takes place on the 4th of July. I can't go into detail without spoiling the plot, but that scene was very difficult for me to write. People who've read the book will know the scene I mean.

> Since you write all three, beyond the matter of length, do you find it easier writing short stories, poems or novels?

I'm a good poet and a better novelist. Novels seem to be a natural length for me and come more naturally. Much as I love writing short stories, I'm not nearly as good at those.

> When and where do you write?

It sounds very grand to say that I write in my office, but the office is really the second, unused bedroom. I have a desk and a computer and this is where I write.

I write around my day job, so there is no set time or schedule. In all the ways that count I have two full time jobs, three if you count real life.

> What’s the best/worst thing about writing?

The best thing about writing is making a connection with a reader and knowing that someone, somewhere, gets what you were trying to do. That they love your story and your characters.

The worst thing is that the story on the page is never as grand and wonderful as the story in my head.

> Do you have any advice for hopeful authors?

Practice, practice, write all you can, and hone your craft.

> Any tips against writers block?

I'm the wrong person to ask. If something I'm writing stalls, it's not because I'm "blocked" but because I took a wrong turn somewhere. I usually backtrack  a bit, figure out what I did wrong and keep going. 

I know that's not very helpful, but it's all I have. :)

Book Review: Delia's Shadow by Jaime Lee Moyer

Pros: interesting mystery, slow romance

Cons: map

Delia Martin returns to San Francisco after a 3 year absence because the ghost that's been haunting her for the past 6 months demands it.  The ghost, which Delia calls shadow, seems to have a connection to a string of recent murders in the city.  The murder investigation is headed by Gabe Ryan, best man at the upcoming wedding of Delia's best friend, Sadie, and his partner Jack.

Set around the events of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 the novel includes a mix of detective work and spiritualism as we see events from the alternating viewpoints of Delia and Gabe.

The romance is light hearted and grows organically from Delia and Gabe's interactions throughout the book.  In several ways the book reminded me of Mary Robinette Kowal's Shades of Milk and Honey, though the magic/paranormal elements here are more pronounced.

There are two maps of the fair grounds at the beginning of the book.  They're both black and white though one's an annotated line drawing and the other's a picture with text that is difficult to read.  For some reason the second map is upside down in relation to the first, making the places more challenging to line up.  There's no real need for the maps beyond giving a better image of the area some of the events take place in, so this is a cosmetic complaint as it doesn't detract from the text in any way. 

This is a slow moving story, but by no means is it a slow read.  The dual mysteries of the murderer and Delia's shadow unfold at a quick pace, even as Delia and Gabe get to know each other better.  

If you want a lot of action this isn't a good pick, but if you like well rounded characters living life and dealing with difficult circumstances, than you'll find this an enjoyable read. 

(As an aside, if you want to read about a real serial killer that stalked a World's Fair, read Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.)