When a Yankee-induced fire destroys her family and home, young plantation-bred Amethyst Rose finds herself on the run. Angry towards a God she's never known and the men in blue, her only choice left is to move in with her elder, controlling sister, who runs a bordello in The French Quarter of New Orleans-a decision guaranteed to destroy Aimée's personal respect and tarnish her family name. With her bitter hatred towards all Yankees plunged into high gear, nothing matters anymore. Nothing, that is, until, on a riverboat en route to New Orleans, she finds herself intrigued by the presence of not one, but two Union officers who find ways to tug at the heart and soul of this woman lost.
Reviews from Flame From Within
"...immediately engaging...truly an affair of the heart and will engage your emotions, as well as your imagination...beautifully written historic romance I recommend highly." ~ The Long and Short Reviews
"...engaging, well written and entertaining. The author's extensive research into the war between North and South shone through the entire story. The inspirational aspects were not overdone, but instead were threaded seamlessly throughout the story as it unfolded." ~ Coffee Time Romance
"... fast paced historical novel by a most talented author." ~ The Road to Romance
"...incredibly well-written, easy to read, impossible to put down" ~ The Romance Studio
"... wonderfully vivid descriptions of the old south and terrific characterizations...A real keeper!" ~ Terry Spear, Author Winning the Highlander's Heart
"A story of bitterness, healing,forgiveness and romance...worth the read...entertaining and encouraging." ~ Author's Choice Reviews
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An excerpt from Flame From Within
About Shirley Kiger Connolly
A wife, mom, and grandmother of three, Shirley's historical fiction romances are laced with nuggets of inspiration for the believer and the nonbeliever. Her motto: I am a Christian who loves to write books, not a writer who only loves to write for Christians." Shirley and her husband live on the Southern Coast of Oregon with their dogs, cats, and seven chickens.
An Interview with Shirley Kiger Connolly
By Holly Hewson for The Romance StudioHH: Shirley, thank you for talking with us at TRS. Please tell us about your featured book, Flame From Within. SKC: Thank you so much for having me! Flame from Within is a story about young, plantation-bred woman, Amethyst Rose, who was raised with everything and spoiled early by her beloved papa. Papa naturally decides who she will one day marry, making arrangements for Aimee's future wedding with a man she doesn't truly love. She knows she has no choice in the matter, but for Papa, whom she adores, Aimee will do anything. As the war breaks out, however, everything changes. Aimee loses her betrothed on her wedding day, she thinks to the hated Yankees, and not long after that, her home and family are destroyed by fire by the same hated men in blue. In order to save herself and her last two servants, Lulu and Elijah, Aimee soon finds herself living in an underground cave, the only place left to hide. Angry and bitter toward a God she's never known, as well as the Yankees, her only choice left is to leave her beloved Vicksburg to go live with her elder sister. Aimee must travel down to Louisiana, into The French Quarter, where it's rumored this same sister runs a bordello--for Aimee, a decision guaranteed to destroy her respect and her valued innocence, let alone the family name. She is now at a point of no longer caring whether she lives or dies. So what does it matter? On the boat traveling South, Aimee finds herself entangled and intrigued by the presence of a couple of Union officers, who are drawn to her and make their own plans to save her from her sister. Each in his own way find ways to tug, not only at the heart of this woman lost, but also to reach her soul before it's too late. But will she let one of them?
HH: Your heroine is a woman whose world has been torn apart by the Civil War or, as she sees it, the Union Army. Where did you get the idea for her incredible story? SKC: I've always loved Civil War romances, ever since back in the late 70s and through the 80s when they were more popular. Anything that had to do with soldiers. I started getting ideas for this story back then, when my daughter also took up romance reading and grabbed my books. I wanted something not so steamy for her to read, since she was still pretty young. There wasn't anything inspirational that I knew of back then, not like that. Ideas began sprouting in my mind way back then on how to make it work. But I shelved the story until my husband and I traveled to the east coast to live in 1989, and while working at West Point for years, and visiting Washington, DC, and also Arlington, Virginia, my heart swelled again to pick up my story and work on it some more. I still didn't get very far, but the details of the story continued to brew in my mind. Two years ago I delved into it once more and finally finished what had been on my heart for so many years. I'm glad I did.
HH: How do you bring back a woman who's angry at God ... and Yankees? SKC: That's an intriguing question! Aimee's anger at God came not only from what happened to her beloved home and family, but from things that happened in her life when she was younger, by the very sister she had to go be with. Much of that detail is written between the lines, but thanks to her sister, Florette, Aimee not only had bitterness and anger in her life, she also had a lot of fears of drawing too close to any man. When the war broke out, Aimee transferred her fears to those men from the North. Only love and compassion can heal any person's bitterness and deep-rooted hatefulness...don't you agree? Aimee had to find it and see it for herself.
HH: What sort of research went into this story? SKC: A lot of research. Although I did not grow up loving history in school, things changed when I lived back east. I also discovered when writing historicals, you must do proper research, even if you only filter those facts in a subtle way into a romance. People only want a little with the love-stuff, but when they do read it they want it to be correct. I searched lots of books, online information on dress, anything I could find that dealt with that time period and the War between the States. I had to be careful not to put too much between the pages...only enough. I also got some of my information from Hearts Through History, an RWA chapter I am a part of, and a wonderful place to learn so many facts about certain time periods.
HH: More importantly, personal faith went into this story. What did that aspect of the work mean to you? SKC: Faith is very important to me, very much a part of me, but I also believe with writing, that you must be careful not to toss it into your writing so heavily that you turn some people off. I don't enjoy preachy writing as a believer, but I do enjoy seeing the sweetness of God come out. I believe it can be done tastefully and in a way that anyone can pick up your book and it will be like reading the stories of the past, where people weren't afraid to mention His name in their writing, without using it derogatorily. He used to be a part of many of the wonderful old movie classics, but you don't see that a lot anymore. As a Christian, I write what is a part of me, and so, whether I do an inspirational story or not, I know God will be in my work somehow...whether His name is mentioned or not.
HH: With the romance genre covering a wide spectrum of content these days, how are inspirational and Christian romances faring in the market today from your point of view? SKC: I see the market exploding for inspirational romances and women's fiction. I love it that the ABA is adding that sub-genre to their lists of open submissions and not just the CBA, where books for so long ended up only in a Bible book store or at Christian Book Distributors (CBD). The only downfall is that many ABA publishers don't yet extend their doors to places like CBD and Crossings Book Club, etc. It holds some of us back not being in the clubs. (Why don't you start one?) All in all, the wide range of opportunity out there opens many more doors for writers like me and more and more readers are buying inspirationals. I now find inspirational aisles in all stores, including the supermarket and places like Target and Rite Aid stores. I can tell you this with a smile. They aren't going to go away!
HH: What else do you have coming up for lucky readers? SKC: Ah, thanks for asking. I just finished a story, with the working title, A Forever Thing. I hope to have it picked up by a publisher soon, so it can come out in the not too distant future. It is not only a sequel to Flame from Within, as a single title, it also has a powerful message to mothers who end up with two illegitimate children and no husband. That was a pretty big deal back in the 1800s! I am very excited about it. On the other side of the coin, I also write nonfiction (light-hearted) devotionals. I have a three-book series coming out in 2009 and 2010. I'm excited about them as well.
HH: What do you enjoy most about being a writer, Shirley? SKC: It pulls the real me out of myself! On the outside, I am very shy and reserved. When I am writing I can express what is within me and it just pours out. I enjoy letting go and letting it happen.
HH: What's the most important thing you've learned to this point from your writing career? SKC: My grammar is atrocious! Because of it, I've learned that God wants to keep me humble in the little things. I've learned and am continuing to learn how to improve on the mechanics behind writing most of all thanks to editors and crits. It's very humbling when I read the finished product and still see grammatical errors and places where I had to revise and it didn't come out right in the end. Since this was only my second fiction book, I am hoping and praying this next time I will have it down better. I have so much admiration for those who can do that naturally.
HH: What's your favorite way to network with readers? SKC: Joining online writing and reading groups, through my website as I interview both secular and Christian writers and share their lives with others, going on blog tours, having contests, having my book reviewed, and through places like The Romance Studio. I really thank you for allowing me to share a bit of myself with the world. Many blessings to your group!
SKC: Thank you!
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