The Story Behind the Book: Adventure

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The Story Behind Knights of the Lost Temple: The Bronze Scroll by Paul Donsbach and Alia Sina

The Story Behind Knights of the Lost Temple: The Bronze Scroll

By Paul Donsback and Alia Sina

Hi, I’m Surat Romero, but everyone calls me Sam. They say I’m the lead character in The Bronze Scroll adventure-romance novel, but really my love interest, Rebecca Schreiber, steals the show. I’m an attorney who investigates corporate whistleblower claims for a global law firm. My home base is Los Angeles, but I spend much of my time on work assignments abroad. Rebecca’s a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, who lives in Tel Aviv. We met at a conference in New York last November. Rebecca was one of the speakers, and I was really impressed and went up to meet her after her talk. She’s just gorgeous, with hazel eyes and long auburn hair rolling down past her shoulders. She’s deeply spiritual in a new-age sort of way and committed to integrity and community service. In fact, her presentation was about journalistic ethics for international investigations. Listening to her speak, I was captivated.

Our book has two co-authors who are really quite different. Alia Sina believes in new-age Islam and miracles that seem to happen every day. She grew up in an Afghan American family and now has a husband and two young children of her own. She seems to have read every supernatural thriller ever written. Paul Donsbach believes in logic and science and grew up in the Christian tradition. His favorite novels are those that make you question your beliefs and whether it’s possible to believe anything at all.

Despite their differences, Alia and Paul decided to write an adventure-romance novel together. They had each been working on ideas for their own novel and, when they met at a writers’ workshop, realized that their ideas were quite similar. They decided to work together on a story based on an unsolvable mystery, which they saw as a symbol of the discontents of the modern era, when all of the great discoveries seem behind us. After much research, they chose for their impossible mystery the so-called Copper Scroll (actually made of bronze), which is an ancient treasure map found in a Dead Sea cave almost 70 years ago. After it was translated from the original Hebrew and Greek, archaeologists and scholars dismissed it as impossible to decipher, since the treasure locations are described so vaguely and at least partly in metaphorical terms.

Alia and Paul never imagined that Rebecca and I, along with my friends Jason Baldwin and Steve Bellamy, could ever solve this mystery. But that’s exactly what happened. The experts had said that the Copper Scroll was either a hoax or an inventory of the Jerusalem Temple in the first century AD. My friends and I got an e-book version of the first century historian Flavius Josephus’ writings and started running word searches using words and phrases from the mysterious treasure descriptions.

After we started solving the Copper Scroll's mysteries one by one, Alia and Paul had to rewrite the plot with a more optimistic theme. Maybe there's no such thing as an impossible mystery after all. But does this mean that anything is possible? Even our dreams of peace and unity? What about the legendary lost Ark? Is its location really listed on the Copper Scroll? Not once but twice? I won't answer these questions here, but I have to say our story ended up more interesting than Alia and Paul's original idea of a mystery that remained unsolved.

Thank you again for the opportunity to be here, and please feel free to check out the book. I think Alia and Paul are pretty good writers, but I have to say that Rebecca is the main reason to read the book. I've never met anyone so accomplished and present. She just has that magic.

Stay tuned for the next book in our series too. Now that The Bronze Scroll has been published, Alia and Paul are working on the The Last Pharaoh. I'm having a great time with my friends in Greece, Egypt, and Italy, and hoping to see Rebecca again soon too. Will the sparks of our romance turn into true love? I certainly hope so, but in the meantime I've got my hands full with ancient mummies and a scorpion queen.

The authors of The Bronze Scroll are excited to announce the publication of their first book in the Knights of the Lost Temple adventure-romance series. This groundbreaking novel, co-authored by Paul Donsbach and Alia Sina, tells the story of Sam Romero, an investigative attorney who has uncovered and solved hundreds of high-profile corporate crimes and scandals. But nothing has prepared Sam for the mysteries of his latest investigation—an ancient treasure map stolen by corporate thieves, an Israeli land-permitting official murdered, and a local reporter kidnapped and held hostage by a rogue executive, Roy Griffin III. Racing against the clock to rescue the beautiful reporter, Rebecca Schreiber, Sam has only hours to prove that he can solve the mysteries of an ancient bronze scroll and find the Temple treasures hidden during a time of war.
“We want to surprise our readers with stories of making the ‘impossible’ become real,” said co-author Mr. Donsbach. “The world is truly ours to remake with a vision of unity, diversity, and inclusion. Through our fictional characters, we will work to show that “ordinary” people can accomplish seemingly miraculous feats through friendship, inspiration, and love. In fact, history teaches that this is the only way that positive change happens. “
Remarked co-author Alia Sina on creating their book: “While on our own separate journeys, we found ourselves working on a story that flowed with ease given each of our strengths that complimented one another in the world of fiction. We each were working on our own novel and, at the suggestion of our moderator for our writers’ workshop, we began working with each other. What was intended to simply be an “experiment/project/let’s see what happens” turned into a commitment we both developed to the characters and their story. As a fan of supernatural suspense novels, and now as an author, it never ceases to amaze me how real the characters could become. Having written my first novel with Paul, I feel the characters waiting to continue their story.”
A New-Age Journey of Discovery: For their first novel in the Knights of the Lost Temple series, co-authors Paul and Alia chose the so-called Copper Scroll (which is actually made of bronze) as a central element in the characters’ story. One of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in a desert cave in the 1950s, this artifact is a treasure map listing tons of gold and silver hidden at vaguely described locations that scholars had given up on deciphering. As a supposedly “unsolvable” mystery, the Copper Scroll would serve a symbol of the discontents of modern life, in which the great, achievable dreams seem to have already been accomplished.
There was just one problem. The Copper Scroll wasn’t unsolvable after all. As Sam and his friends work to decipher this ancient treasure map, its mysteries unravel one by one. By searching for the listed treasure descriptions in the e-book version of the ancient historian Flavius Josephus’ writings, Sam and his friends discover that most of the treasure sites involve metaphors or legends important to the leaders of the Judean provisional government at the outbreak of the Great Revolt in 66 CE. They realize that this treasure map must have been made for a peace speech before the Bronze Gate to the Jerusalem Temple in May of that year, in which one of the leaders (probably the chief high priest) urged negotiations with the Romans to end the revolt.
The high priest’s speech would have begun with treasure site 1—seventeen talents (about 900 pounds) of gold and silver hidden in the Valley of Achor. This matches the seventeen talents of gold and silver that Josephus recorded as being stolen from the Temple by the Roman governor, triggering the revolt. As the high priest would explain to his audience, the Valley of Achor was a biblical location where a thief was executed for stealing gold and silver from the Temple. Having condemned the Roman governor in this manner at the beginning of his speech, the high priest would move on to the other metaphors in the treasure sites listed on the Copper Scroll, including the 900 talents (sites 3, 56 and 58) that Josephus identified as the annual taxes paid to Rome by Judea and the other Jewish client states, and the 300 talents of gold (site 47) that Josephus described as being allocated by King David for his son Solomon’s use in building and furnishing the inner sanctuary of the Temple.
A Sacred Relic of the Exodus from Egypt: As they decipher this ancient treasure map, Sam and his friends realize that the 300 talents of gold that site 47 says were hidden underground on the west side of the Pool of Siloam match another legend of hidden Temple treasures being recorded on a bronze scroll. They learn of a legendary account in the so-called Treatise of the Vessels of a bronze scroll being made during a time of crisis, as a permanent record of King Hezekiah, or one of the other listed leaders, hiding the Ark and the gold from Solomon’s Temple in an underground cistern near the Gihon Spring (the water source adjoining the Pool of Siloam), to be revealed at the time of the Messiah, son of David.
But, the characters wonder, is this what treasure site 60 means when it says that the Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) is the “deciphering scroll” explaining each of the hidden treasures? After all, its famously enigmatic epilogue (chapter 12) cryptically refers to the Exodus story (almond blossoms and locusts), the Tabernacle (a silver cord and a golden pitcher), a spring and a cistern, and “every hidden thing,” to be revealed at the time of judgment. Could this be a secret biblical code recording that the lost Ark and the gold from Solomon’s Temple were hidden in a underground cistern by the Pool of Siloam near the Gihon Spring?
A Time for Peace: As the adventurous Bronze Scroll novel moves toward its surprise ending, the characters decipher more of the Copper Scroll’s metaphorical treasure descriptions (including the cursed son of King David at site 48, the Samaritans’ version of the lost Ark legend at site 57, and the bronze sacrificial altar at site 59). Using mysterious spiritual powers that he has long resisted, and the protection of a secret knighthood that he discovers, Sam must learn the scroll’s remaining mysteries before Roy makes good on his threats. He must learn the explosive truth needed to save Rebecca and, in the process, uncover the true spiritual meaning of this ancient bronze scroll.
But what could that be? Is it Kohelet’s message about a “time for peace”? Or does an ancient scroll found soon after modern Israel’s independence tell us something about the time of judgment? As the Knights of the Lost Temple series begins with this first novel, Sam and his friends start an exciting journey of discovery in search of this hidden truth.
The authors of this new adventure-romance series invite you to join them on this voyage. Currently working on the second book in the series, the authors believe that the world’s diverse spiritual traditions hold answers for our troubled times. Paul, who identifies as “spiritual but not religious,” and Alia, a “new-age Muslim” from an Afghan American family (writing under her pen name), believe that greater understanding among the world’s different faiths and beliefs is essential to solving the world’s current problems. Recognizing that even the smallest miracles—like an ancient treasure map found in a desert cave—can make a big difference, the authors welcome you to share this journey together.
For More Information:
Publication date: August 11, 2021, 291 pages; an independent publication of Knights of the Lost Temple, LLC.
E-book: $9.99; 978-1-7373978-0-9
Paperback: $19.99; 978-1-7373978-1-6
Hardback: $29.99; 978-1-7373978-2-3
Book website: https://www.knightsofthelosttemple.com/
Rebecca’s blog (under pen name): https://veilsofdesire.com/
Amazon Selling Page: https://amzn.to/3BcelQr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Knights-of-the-Lost-Temple-105963305136800
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knightsofthelosttemple/

Co-author Paul Donsbach is a Texas native and a lawyer. Raised in an era when those working for social progress were rooted in religious faith, he believes that many of today’s problems likewise require a renewed commitment to spiritual ideals.

Co-author Alia Sina was born and educated in the greater San Francisco Bay area. She was raised in a first-generation, close-knit Afghan American family. Some of her formative experiences involved her interactions with people who embrace cultural diversity, as well as those who are hostile to families from a different background.

For More Information:

Book website: https://www.knightsofthelosttemple.com/

Rebecca’s blog (under pen name): https://veilsofdesire.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Knights-of-the-Lost-Temple-105963305136800

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knightsofthelosttemple/

The Story Behind The Shadow of Atlantis by Wendy Leighton-Porter

The Shadow of Atlantis

By Wendy Leighton-Porter

Before setting off on my new career path as a children’s author, I was a Secondary School (ages 11-18) teacher of French, Latin, and Classical Studies for many years. I always dreamed of writing a book one day but, with a busy teaching career, I never seemed to find the time. Years later, when I no longer had the excuse of being too busy, one day it suddenly hit me (during an international flight) that I should stop procrastinating and do something about making my dream a reality. As I began to ponder what I should write, an idea popped into my head out of nowhere… and it wasn’t the plot for just one book, but for a whole series! By the time the aeroplane landed, I’d worked out exactly what I wanted to do.

My jumping-off point was influenced by the advice of “write about what you know”. Although no longer in the classroom, I still wanted to educate as well as entertain, so I set out to create a story filled with adventure but one that would also give young readers the opportunity to learn something new. With a background in teaching Classical Studies, I decided to begin my time-travelling journey in the Ancient World and my first three books are based on well-known tales from Greek mythology. Everyone has heard of the legendary lost city of Atlantis, so it seemed like a good place to start. There is plenty of history for young readers to learn in this story, as well as a section at the end of the book where they can find out more information.

I originally had a literary agent and an independent publisher for my first three books, but the publishing company folded before anything went to print and the agent changed careers. Luckily, I still had the rights to my work and so, along with a group fellow authors who had also been with the same agent, we decided to band together as Silver Quill Publishing, a co-operative through which we all self-publish. It seems to work for us!

James and Isabel Lancelot have disappeared in mysterious circumstances, leaving behind their children, 10-year-old twins Jemima and Joe. Nobody has a clue what’s happened to them, except for the family cat who was the sole witness to their disappearance. Using the portal of an old book – Shadows from the Past – the couple have travelled back in time but, having left behind the key to bring them home, they are now trapped somewhere in the past. With their parents missing, the twins are sent to live with their Uncle Richard, a professor of ancient history and archaeology, where they soon befriend their new next-door-neighbour, Charlie, a super-brainy boy who is the same age as them.
At the start of the school summer holidays, the three children decide to investigate the old book that had belonged to the twins’ father. Finding the book locked, they’re unable to open it until Jemima discovers she has the key. It was on her mother’s necklace, left abandoned on the attic floor after their parents’ disappearance. And there’s more… The children find a small pouch inside the wooden chest that contained the book and, inside the pouch are four golden charms shaped like owls.
With the book unlocked, an astonishing series of events begins to unfold. The youngsters hear whispering voices carried by a strong breeze that comes out of nowhere and then, a strange cloud fills the room. Through the mist, they see tantalising glimpses of an ancient city. Joe is the first to discover that if they step inside this cloud it will take them to another place. Jemima is surprised to hear her mother’s voice calling to her, reminding her to pick up the all-important key. Then, holding Max, her beloved Tonkinese cat, in her arms, Jemima follows the two boys into the mist. Arriving in the lost city of Atlantis, the children are astounded to find that it was no myth, but a real, historical place. And so their adventures begin…
It doesn’t take them long to realise the owl charms are mini translation tools, enabling them to communicate with the Atlanteans, but when Jemima attaches one to Max’s collar, the large cat begins to speak. The children can’t believe their ears, especially when Max tells them the truth about their parents’ disappearance. The twins are overjoyed to learn that their parents aren’t dead but simply lost in time, and now their quest begins in earnest. They must find and rescue James and Isabel, searching throughout the pages of history. But, first, the youngsters have an important mission – to warn the people of Atlantis about the disaster that will soon destroy their city. Will they succeed? And can they find their way back to the safety of their own time before it’s too late?
PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

After teaching French, Latin, and Classical Studies for almost twenty years, Wendy’s career took a new direction when she turned to her first love – books – and decided to devote herself to writing children’s fiction. With the old adage “Write about what you know” in mind, when she first came up with the idea for her series of time-travel adventures, she jumped head-first into the ancient world of classical history and mythology which formed the backdrop for her first three books. As the series moves forward in time, she sets each story in historical periods that have always fascinated her. Although no longer in the classroom, she seeks to entertain her young readers, to engage them, to foster a love of reading, but also to educate. As she takes them on a thrilling journey into the past alongside her three young time-travellers and their talking cat, Wendy hopes that her love of history, myth and legend will rub off on them along the way.

Website: https://www.wendy-leighton-porter.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WLP_author

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WendyLeightonPorterWriter

The Story Behind Trail Mix by Paulita Kincer

I’m not an outdoors kind of person. Don’t get me wrong, I love to be in nature to see beautiful scenes -- sunsets, mountains, seas. And who can beat the feeling of the sun warming my face as I laze on a raft in a pool?

But I’m not crazy about bugs and dirt and, mostly, peeing without a toilet. No matter how I squat and aim, the pee always ends up running down my legs and soaking my socks.

When two of my characters proposed hiking the Appalachian Trail, I resisted. I wanted to sit them down and have a conversation about the trials that they would face. But Jess and Andi seemed determined.

And if they were going to do it, I had to do it.

This idea started when I noticed my friend Sheila was an awesome dieter. She could go on a diet and stick to it in most impressive ways.

I’m terrible at dieting. I can’t make it a day, but I exercise religiously.

Since my husband had been hiking sections of the Appalachian Trail for a few years, it struck me that hiking the Appalachian Trail would be the ultimate combination of diet and exercise.

Like most women inching toward middle age, Sheila and I felt fat, compared to our previous bodies. But looking back now, we should have been satisfied with the bodies we had rather than thinking about dieting and exercise.

My characters, Jess and Andi, are similarly obsessed with diet and exercise when perhaps they should be satisfied with the bodies they have. They also are trying to avoid some emotional issues at home, like young adult children returning home from college and needy husbands.

When I decided that I’d have to hike part of the Appalachian Trail to write the book, I emailed my friends.

I sent messages to the women in my running group (obvious because they love to exercise) and to my homeschooling mom group (obvious because they like natural things and new experiences).

Three friends agreed to come along – one from my running group and two from my homeschool group. We scraped together backpacks and walking sticks and set off for North Carolina.

Many of the scenes in my novel come from that hike, including the very first scene as we hiked through a thunderstorm, cresting mountains as the lightning streaked across the sky.

I’d only been car-camping before. You know, where you pull your car up to the campsite, drag out the tent, the prepared food, the firewood bought at the corner store. I hated that. It just seemed dirty and disgusting. The prep and the cleanup afterward took forever.

But hiking the Appalachian Trail, with everything I needed on my back, seemed pure somehow, in spite of having to dig a hole when I wanted to use the bathroom.

One morning, as we were hiking, we climbed a path that took us across a grassy bald – that’s a rounded mountaintop where trees don’t grow.

As we walked through the grass, my friend Noreen threw her arms out in the air, both hands grasping walking sticks, and she cried, “Thank you, Earl!”

Earl is my husband who planned our hike, so that one morning, we would stand on that bald and see the Blue Ridge Mountains rolling away in front of us in their blue haze.

This trip with my friends was the first step toward my novel, which became Trail Mix.

Thanks so much for allowing me to meander through my memories of how this book came to be.

About The Book

Title: Trail Mix

Author: Paulita Kincer

Publisher: Oblique Presse

Publication Date: August 30, 2014

Format: Paperback / eBook

Pages: 220

ISBN: 978-1312462502

Genre: Women's Fiction / Travel / Adventure

Buy The Book:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Trail-Mix-Paulita-Kincer-ebook/dp/B00MYQRO4S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1438224368&sr=1-1&keywords=Trail+Mix+Paulita+Kincer

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trail-mix-paulita-kincer/1120455801?ean=9781312462502

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23161252-trail-mix

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZUB3qqLWTQ

Discuss this book at our PUYB Virtual Book Club on Goodreads by clicking HERE

Book Description:

In the tradition of Wild by Cheryl Strayed, comes a novel of two suburban women who decide to hike the Appalachian Trail, escaping their lives as moms and wives in search of nature, adventure, and the ultimate diet plan.

How does a woman know what she wants after spending 20 years thinking about her husband and children? Sometimes it takes a distraction from everyday life, time to examine the forest before the trees become clear. With no previous camping experience, Andi and Jess begin the 2100-mile odyssey from Georgia to Maine. The friends figure life on the trail can't possibly be worse than dealing with disgruntled husbands, sullen teens home from college, and a general malaise that has crept up in their daily lives. At the very least, the women are bound to return home thin.

Book Excerpt:

Prologue

Raindrops trickled down Jess’ nose. Her sodden boots plodded along, squooshing the mud with each step.

“Why did I do this?” She threw her head back, her face raised in lament to the sky. The hood of her rain poncho slipped off. The empty forest around her offered no answer, just a steady rain. Then, far above the treetops, she glimpsed a bolt of lightning streaking toward a nearby mountain and heard an answering boom of thunder. She cringed and scuttled faster down the trail.

For nearly two hours, since the wind first whispered its urgency through the leaves, and the raindrops began to fall, Jess had been hiking through the thunderstorm with no place to stop and dry off. No place to get warm. No offer of coffee or a dryer where she could heat up her clingy socks. She walked alone on the Appalachian Trail.

Like being in the middle of labor and deciding she didn’t want to give birth after all, Jess could not turn back. Well, she could turn back, but she would find only more of the same -- woods and rain and an endless trail.

This adventure was all Andi’s idea. As Jess trudged through the forest in the unrelenting rain, she blamed her best friend and hiking companion, Andi, who had pushed the hike as a great way to lose weight. And, when Jess’ teenagers took off for the summer leaving a big gap where the role of mother used to be, she thought a hike with Andi might fill that space. Andi, who, with her long legs, strode ahead, maybe miles away by now, claiming she had to hurry to the nearest shelter to keep the tent dry. Andi had tucked Jess’ poncho around her pack before presenting her back for Jess to return the favor.

“See you at the shelter,” Andi had called. “Only about three miles farther.”

In the city, a three-mile walk might take 45 minutes, an hour if she stopped to window shop. Here, in the mountains, it could last days as she climbed up peaks and descended into valleys. Oh, who was she kidding? She would never walk three miles in the city. She would get in her car and drive.

The thunder crashed louder, and Jess eyed the spiky greenery of a large fir tree. She could take cover under the tree, be a little bit sheltered. Even as she considered taking refuge, she stumbled past the tree, walking, walking.

Tears joined the rain on her face. She felt trapped. No exit ramps in sight. She could only continue to walk.

The wind ripped at her poncho as she climbed slippery stones that had been placed to form stairs. At the top, the wind gusts grew stronger and tried to push her back down. She hurried on along the ridge. Her walking poles dug into the mud that edged the rocks along the path.

On this crest, she stood exposed to the wind and rain and lightning. Rhododendron bushes lined the trail below, but the only plant that dared to peek through the crevices on this crag was a lone sycamore tree. If Jess could escape this bare slope, the trees ahead would provide an arching umbrella across the trail. As she started to descend with the trail, her boot slid across a slick stone, and she toppled backward in slow motion. She wheeled her arms, trying to right herself, but could not stop the plunge until her backpack hit the ground, and she landed – thump – on top of it.

This was supposed to be a diet plan, not a death sentence, she thought, lying on her back like a turtle on its shell, her arms and legs sprawled helplessly at her side. I may drown. The downpour pummeled her full in the face, but she lacked the energy to sit up, free herself from the 30-pound pack, heft it onto her back, and start the hike again.

As the rain doused her face, she slipped one arm from her pack and turned onto her side, away from the sky. For just a moment, she allowed herself to rest, curled into the fetal position beside her pack. A tingle began in her spine, and, in the moment she pondered why—everything went black.

About The Author

Paulita Kincer is the author of three novels, The Summer of France, I See London I See France, and Trail Mix. She has an M.A. in journalism from American University and has written for The Baltimore Sun, The St. Petersburg Times, The Tampa Tribune, and The Columbus Dispatch. She currently teaches college English and lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband and three children.

Connect with Paulita:

Author Website: paulitakincer.com

Author Blog: http://paulita-ponderings.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulitaKincerWriter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulitakincer

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/PaulitaKincer

Virtual Book Tour Event Page

http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2015/07/29/pump-up-your-book-presents-trail-mix-virtual-book-publicity-tour/

The Story Behind The Summer of France by Paulita Kincer

Some authors sit down with an idea in their head, and they carefully sketch an outline that rises and falls at all the expected points. My journey to writing a novel did not come that easily.

I started with an idea about a couple who runs a bed and breakfast in Mackinac Island, Michigan. That’s one of the places we love to vacation. But we’re even more passionate about visiting France, especially the South of France. So the idea evolved until I came up with Fia, a mom in her late 30s, living with her husband and 14-year-old boy/girl twins in the middle of Ohio. She has recently been laid off from her job as a newspaper reporter, and she receives a phone call from her Great-Uncle Martin who runs a bed and breakfast in France. He wants her to take over the B&B for the summer.

I knew this was a great jumping off point for the novel because who wouldn’t want to be summoned from a summer in Ohio to one in the South of France? Losing her job makes this a definite turning point for Fia and also frees her up to travel and find adventure.

And that could have been the entire novel, the story of how this family goes to France for three months and finds themselves isolated and trying new things. They’re entranced by the beauty of the countryside, seduced by the luscious food, and intrigued by all the family time the French spend together. But Fia learns that Uncle Martin has a secret from World War II, and things get more complicated.

I needed to throw in a little romance too because the South of France goes so well with passion. I mean, France is as famous for lovers as it is for wine and cheese, just ask Pepe Le Pew. Enter the attractive Christophe, a Frenchman from a black-market art dealer family, whose job is to seduce Fia so he can locate Uncle Martin’s secret.

In the book, the chapters switch from Fia’s story to Uncle Martin’s as he grapples with mistakes he made in the past and the way they are catching up with him.

I really loved writing Uncle Martin’s story. Part of his tales are based on my uncle’s war experiences. My Uncle Luther, who is 91 now, fought in Italy during World War II, and he has shared his stories with me.

I envisioned what it would be like for a naïve boy from Kentucky to suddenly find himself in Italy. Would he have time to appreciate the gnarled olive trees or would he be too busy dodging bullets as he celebrated his 18th birthday crouching behind a stucco house painted the color of the sunset?

My imagination was further enhanced by a story on NPR that led me to pick up the book Rescuing DaVinci: Hitler and the Nazis Stole Europe’s Great Art – America and Her Allies Recovered It.

But Americans didn’t always save the art, sometimes they took home souvenirs, and would a country bumpkin like Uncle Martin realize the importance of the found artwork?

So Uncle Martin, far from perfect, wanted to hide from his mistakes as criminals tracked him down, and Fia needed to help rescue him from his blunders.

Fia is left to protect her family, including Uncle Martin, while trying to resist the temptations she faces in France.

About The Book

Title: The Summer of France

Author: Paulita Kincer

Publisher: Oblique Presse

Publication Date: July 1, 2013

Format: Paperback / eBook / PDF

Pages: 255

ISBN: 978-1300257332

Genre: Women's Fiction / Travel / Adventure

Buy The Book:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Summer-France-Paulita-Kincer/dp/1300257334/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1437011077

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-summer-of-france-paulita-kincer/1113110596?ean=9781300257332

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16089591-the-summer-of-france?ac=1

Discuss this book in our PUYB Virtual Book Club on Goodreads by clicking HERE

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kCyorexMfo

Book Description:

When Fia Jennings loses her job at the local newspaper, she thinks she'll have the chance to bond with her teenage twins. As she realizes she may be too late to create the perfect family, she's saved by a phone call from her great Uncle Martin who operates a bed and breakfast in Provence. Uncle Martin wants Fia to venture to France to run the B&B so he and his wife Lucie can travel. He doesn't tell Fia about the secret he hid in the house when he married Lucie after fighting in World War II, and he doesn't mention the people who are tapping his phone and following him, hoping to find the secret.

Book Excerpt:

Fia

The quiet of the house mocked me as I rummaged through the Sunday paper looking for the travel pages. I ignored the meticulously folded “Help Wanted” section of the newspaper and the yellow highlighter that my husband had placed on the counter to remind me that I’d been unemployed for two months and needed to find a job – soon. The ring of the kitchen phone saved me from isolation and from a job search as the thick accent of my aunt came across the crackly line inviting me to move to France.

After a few sentences in the language that Aunt Lucie considered English, she handed the phone to my great uncle Martin, and I heard his booming voice.

“Fia?” he called as if using a bullhorn rather than a telephone. Uncle Martin, the baby of my grandfather’s family, ventured overseas as a teenager to fight in World War II, found a French wife, and stayed.

I’d never traveled to France to visit him, but Uncle Martin always came home for the family reunion at the beginning of summer.

Hearing his voice on the phone, I glanced at the wall calendar, assuring myself it was late June and Uncle Martin’s visit had ended nearly two weeks before.

“Uncle Martin! What a surprise. How’s life in France?” I asked in a quiet voice meant to encourage him to lower his volume.

Uncle Martin continued to bellow. “Look, Fia, let me get right to the point.” He hadn’t lost his American directness. “Lucie and I are tired.

We need a break, maybe a permanent break.”

“What?” I gasped my voice growing louder to match his. “You and Aunt Lucie are…but you can’t be…you can’t break up?”

“No,” I heard his old man grunt across the phone lines. It sounded as if he said something like “Zut!”

“Listen. Don’t jump to conclusions,” he chastised me. “We’re tired of working so hard. We’re old and it doesn’t look like any of Lucie’s relatives are gonna step forward and take over. That’s why I’m calling. Will you and Grayson come over and run this place?”

“This place” is what Uncle Martin always called the eight-room bed and breakfast that he and Aunt Lucie ran in a small village in Provence. Lucie’s family had owned the home for generations, wringing olive oil from the trees and wine from the grape vines. But as big cities and ample education called, the younger branches of the family moved away. When Uncle Martin and Aunt Lucie found themselves the only ones living in the big, old house during the 1970s, they decided to capitalize on a tourism boom and turned the house into a bed and breakfast. They encouraged American and English tourists to stay, and, after A Year in Provence came out in 1990, their business exploded with people who wanted to see the land that Peter Mayle described.

“We thought you could take over,” Uncle Martin blared, “obviously, since you’re not working.”

Thanks, Uncle Martin, for reminding me again of my current jobless status. When a huge conglomerate bought our local newspaper and combined resources with the paper in the next town, I became superfluous. So, after years of writing about home design, I sat staring at my own shoddy decorating. I tried to look on the bright side. Now I actually had time to try some of those design tips. To add depth to the alcove next to the fireplace, I painted it a darker color. Next I added crown molding around the opening from the living room to the dining room.

So far, mostly, I spent my time trying to stay positive so an amazing job would find me, and I watched cable TV shows about happy families. Who knew The Waltons was on five times a day? Mix that with the Duggars, that family with 19 kids on TLC, and my days just flew past. I slowly realized that driving my kids to sporting events and extracurricular lessons did not count as quality time. Inspired by those TV families, I amplified my efforts to pull my 14-year-old twins closer. When they ambled home from school, I’d suggest some family activities. “Let’s draw a hopscotch on the driveway!” I’d say. Their eyes rolled wildly in their heads like horses about to bolt. “How about making homemade bread together? We can all take turns kneading? Or maybe an old fashioned whiffle ball game in the backyard?”

They suggested we go out for pizza or visit a sporting goods store for new soccer cleats or swim goggles. I declined, picturing the credit card bills I juggled now that I didn’t have an income.

Bills. Ooh! I couldn’t see Uncle Martin’s invitation to France winning approval from my husband, Grayson, who had just been complaining about money.

As a two-income family, we had paid bills on time and planned our next extravagant purchase. Of course, my pragmatic husband, the almost accountant, never used credit cards. But with my own income, I wasn’t that concerned about using credit cards. When I started to run a balance, I made the minimum payment every month. No need to inform Grayson who would’ve disapproved of my indulgences. Not that I bought things for myself. Nothing but the best for our kids with their private swim clubs, technologically engineered swimsuits, travel soccer teams, and state-of-the-art skateboards. I hadn’t bothered to save for an emergency but spent and charged as I went along until the bottom dropped out of journalism.

“Uncle Martin, you know we’ve always dreamed of visiting you and Aunt Lucie, but without a job now, I just… I can’t see it working financially.”

“I’m not talking about a visit,” his voice grew agitated. “I’m talking about you moving in here and running the bed and breakfast. I’d send the plane fare to get you here. You, Grayson and the twins.”

I sat stunned for a moment, so Uncle Martin repeated himself.

“I’ll send you the tickets. I’ll just buy them online for you, Grayson and the twins. Both of them.”

My kids were always “the twins,” as if sharing a womb 14 years earlier made them one entity for the rest of their lives.

“Whoa. That is heavy stuff,” I slid onto the swiveling bar stool. “We can’t just move. Leave our house, school, Grayson’s job.”

Even as I said it, I felt hope rising in my chest. Yes! I waited for a job to come to me and it did. A spectacular opportunity. I pictured myself in a flowing skirt and low-heeled, leather sandals walking along a dusty road away from the market that would line the village streets. I’d carry a canvas bag with French bread jutting from the top as I headed home, the pungent fragrance of a cheese wafting from the bottom of the bag. Although I’d never been to France, I watched any sunny movie set in Europe. The women always wore skirts and had leisure time to linger along the roadside, smelling the lavender.

I heard the front door slam and my husband’s heavy footfall in his casual Sunday topsiders as he came in from the office. Even on a Sunday, the work at Grayson’s accounting firm was plentiful.

I turned my back on my approaching husband and said into the phone, “When are you thinking, Uncle Martin?”

“I’m thinking… NOW. Last week,” Uncle Martin’s voice rose again. I cupped my hand over the phone to try to smother the sound of his bellowing. “I’m tired of dealing with these snippy tourists. I want to roam around the world and give other innkeepers a hard time.”

“You make the job sound so enticing,” I tried to laugh lightly so Grayson, who was drawing nearer, wouldn’t realize the importance of this conversation. The idea began to form in the back of my mind: We could make this happen -- with a little cooperation. I shot a hopeful glance toward Grayson as he walked in the room. I quickly raised my eyebrows twice, which I thought should give him an indication that good news was on the phone. He looked grim and tired – the horizontal line between his own eyebrows resembled a recently plowed furrow.

“Look, I’ll have to call you back later,” I hissed into the phone and punched the button to hang up as Grayson threw his aluminum briefcase on the island. His look turned from grim to suspicious.

“Uncle Martin,” I said with a blasé wave toward the phone. “He has a business proposal…”

I tried to sound nonchalant, but I guess my eagerness showed because Grayson dropped his head on top of his briefcase for just a minute before he stepped toward the cabinet over the refrigerator. He opened the door and pulled down a bottle of Scotch.

This conversation might prove more difficult than I’d anticipated.

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