Paris socialites, Nazi boyfriends, Resistance spies… The Socialite takes readers into a glamorous world of divided loyalties, danger, and love. J’Nell Ciesielski is here to tell us all about it and give us some insight into her own reading preferences as well. Welcome to the Index, J’Nell!
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France , Paris , Military Bases or Schools , 1940s , 1939-1945 (US WWII) , World War II , Aristocrats/Social Elite, Military, Spy , Forbidden Love, Love Triangle, Opposites Attract, Protector Falls for the One in Peril, Socially Unequal Romance , Ciesielski-J’nell |
Glamour, treachery, and espionage collide when an English socialite rushes to save her sister from the Nazis. As the daughter of Sir Alfred Whitford, Kat has a certain set of responsibilities. But chasing her wayward sister, Ellie, to Nazi-occupied Paris was never supposed to be one of them. Now accustomed to the luxurious lifestyle that her Nazi boyfriend provides, Ellie has no intention of going back to the shackled life their parents dictate for them—but Kat will stop at nothing to bring her sister home. Arrested for simply trying to defend himself against a drunken bully, Barrett Anderson is given the option of going to jail or serving out his sentence by training Resistance fighters in Paris. A bar owner serves as the perfect disguise to entertain Nazis at night while training fighters right below their jackboots during the day. Being assigned to watch over two English debutantes is the last thing he needs, but a payout from their father is too tempting to resist. Can Barrett and Kat trust each other long enough to survive, or will their hearts prove more traitorous than the dangers waiting around the corner? |
J’Nell’s Website |
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Questions about J’Nell’s Story
What inspired this story?
One day I was browsing something super important and stumbled across a black and white picture of six beautiful girls. The Mitford sisters. Six gorgeous daughters born into an aristocratic English family, each girl with a different passion: Diana the fascist, Jessica the communist, Unity the Hitler lover, Nancy the novelist, Deborah the duchess, and Pamela the poultry connoisseur. Whoa. How could such different personalities belong in the same family? What would you do if your sister got moon-eyed over Hitler?? Bam. An idea was born.
Which scene (give us the chapter) is your favorite, the one you never tired of working with? Give us a reason to look forward to it.
I really loved working with the scenes set in Bavaria. For a writer it was such a challenge to put myself and my characters into the town Berchtesgaden where only Nazis were allowed to live. So much tension all around and between the characters, especially when they’re invited to have dinner with Hitler.
Did you stumble upon anything in your research for this book that made you sad?
Any time you study history there are going to be equal parts amazing stories and sad realizations. During WWII, ordinary people rose up to do incredibly heroic deeds, but so many innocents suffered at the hands of evil. Anyone deemed undesirable were packed off like animals to concentration camps where they were murdered or worked to death. The sheer inhumanity of it is beyond belief.
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Questions about J’Nell’s Reading
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What other Christian Historical Novels are similar to yours in setting or storyline? I adore Kristy Cambron and Kate Breslin. They write in similar eras with stories set around both world wars, spies, adventure, and romance, with a similar voice of storytelling as me. |
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What Christian Historical Novel taught you something about the craft of writing because it was so well done? Tell us a bit about what it taught you. I’m going old school, but Gilbert Morris was my first teacher when it came to writing, to storytelling really. He taught me what imagery can do and how it can make readers feel. He taught me the delicate dance of burgeoning romance between men and women in the middle of a ballroom surrounded by crowds of people yet only seeing each other. I learned about the importance of point of view, tension, black moments, and final payoffs. All important tools for writers. |
J’Nell is giving away an e-book copy of The Socialite. International entrants welcome. Enter the Rafflecopter below!
**If you don’t want to enter Rafflecopter, tell me in a comment below: “I’m not entering the rafflecopter, but please throw me in the hat” so I can manually put you in there for a chance.**