Set in
bygone days— a time when Daniel Boone lived, explored and settled—Laura
Frantz’s “A Moonbow Night” springs off the page toting courageous characters
through challenges I’d only wish to experience from the pages in this novel.
These are brave individuals, who faced challenges and met with resistance that
our settling forefathers suffered.
Temperance
Tucker, an innkeeper’s daughter, yet highly skilled in surviving in the
wilderness and knowledgeable about the lay of the land, meets Sion Morgan. Sion
is a Virginia surveyor looking for a guide through turbulent Indian country.
The unrest of the Indian nations and why they attacked settlers pulsates off
these pages. As do the complex and varied characters the reader meets along the
way. Indeed, I have several favorites in these pages.
As I read
this novel, I experienced conflicting emotions. Should I speed through and find
out what was going to happen? Or should I savor the pleasing rhythm and cadence
that Laura writes with. It took self-control, but I chose the latter.
Laura—as
ever—wrote with such passion for the life of her characters, till the very last
line. She drew me in and lead me through a stunning journey that I’d never
venture in the flesh and yet will never regret that I visited in the pages of
her novel.
Rich in the
period’s experience including foods, the ruggedness of the land and the
interactions of people from different cultures caused me to feel like I’d
stepped into a time machine for such rich detail. Yet, I never felt like this
novel had turned into a history book, because Laura weaves in those intricate
details with her character’s journey, ever inviting the reader to experience
more. Laura Frantz stories deliver. This is a highly recommended read and reread
and yes, reread it again!
I thank you
so much dear Laura! You put me on the list to receive your novel for a review!
I only can present an honest opinion and was delighted to receive “A Moonbow
Night”. I’ll tell you now, you are the only author whom I have both the printed
novel and audio novels for the same stories! I’m eager for your next labor of
love!
Questions
for Laura:
1) The actual Moonbow that is a focus
landmark in your story is intriguing. When did you discover the Moonbow and
again, when did you decide to write this wonder into your novel? Since childhood, Cumberland Falls has been a favorite
place. I didn’t fully appreciate the unique setting until I was grown, finding
it a beautiful backdrop with its history and romance. I wish I’d honeymooned
here!
2) The way you handled the depth of the loss and
love in this novel surprised me. Yet, your story didn’t come off depressing.
You handled this topic with care. Did you research grief and loss in depth or
know someone who inspired this story? So thankful the grief
theme rang true. I’ve always felt things very deeply and Tempe’s ruminations
that life is full of little losses is something I’ve pondered many times.
Losing a person, of course, is a much larger loss than the ones Tempe mentions
at that point in the story, but the feeling is much the same. I’ve lost a beloved
grandmother, perhaps the greatest grief I’ve known. But like Tempe, my life has
been made up of all kinds of little losses, a sort of bittersweet existence.
3) I just love Temperance or Tempe as
she is more often called. How did you come up with her character? And did you
pick the model for your cover and how it was laid out? It is an exquisite cover
that represents Tempe well! I started with Tempe’s
period appropriate name and knew she had to be a stalwart character being
raised on the frontier. No shrinking violet! I wanted her to be a tribute to
those pioneer women of old. As for the cover, it is perfect for the story. The
original cover was much more suspenseful but lacked a historical feel so my
publisher’s art team graciously asked my personal preference. A split screen
was decided on with the very important falls at the bottom and then Tempe
herself, looking up as if gazing at the moonbow, her braid slightly frayed as
befitting a frontier woman. I had to chuckle at the model for Tempe (the art
team chose her) as she has a tattoo which was edited out. J
4) Sion Morgan is a favorite character.
Do you have any photos of him on your Pinterest? Who inspired his personality? J Sion is a strong
character, as befits a hero, and is a surveyor which was a well respected trade
in his day, though not with Native Americans, understandably. Before writing
the novel, I purchased a painting by the frontier artist David Wright with the
humorous title of, Someone is Wondering
Why He Don’t Write. There was the epitome of my hero in the woods, holding
a gun in his enormous hands, begrimed and looking weary in a rare idle moment.
Inspiration comes from unexpected places.
5) Your character Nate Stoner is amazing
and of course a favorite with me. How did you come up with him? I needed a father figure for Sion, someone grounded in his
faith who would cause enormous heartache for our hero later on and be the
bridge between Sion and the Lord.
6) Raven – what a good representation of
an individual caught between two cultures. How did you discover Raven? Raven is kind of a shadowy character which I wish had been
fleshed out more (word count wouldn’t allow for that) but perhaps his role was
to simply show his conflicted position, caught between two worlds/cultures.
Readers are already asking me what happened to him. I honestly don’t know!
7) When is your next novel to be
published? My next novel releases
January 2018 and I’m excited since cover art is now underway, my favorite part
of publishingJ. Can’t wait to share that with you soon!
8) How do you want your readers to find
you on social media?
https://www.facebook.com/LauraFrantzAuthor/
https://wwwinstagram.com/laurafrantzauthor/
https://www.pinterest.com/laurafrantz/
https://www.facebook.com/LauraFrantzAuthor/
https://wwwinstagram.com/laurafrantzauthor/
https://www.pinterest.com/laurafrantz/
