The Girl from the Hidden Forest by Hannah Linder (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Do you like to hike / walk / visit forests or woods?  I grew up near a pine woods and I always love wooded areas.  The nearby Point Beach State Forest is a place where my family likes to camp and hike.

Eliza Ellis has grown up in the Balfour Forest with her father, the Captain, and her loyal Beagle, Merrylad.  One day, a stranger, Felton Northwood, enters her home and kidnaps her.  He takes her away to what he says is her home and tells her that her name is Miss Eliza Gillingham and that her father is a viscount. Felton has returned her to her home as he believes she is the only person who knows who murdered her mother.  Felton’s own father has lived under the shadow of suspicion since the murder.  Who really murdered Eliza’s mother? Why did the Captain take Eliza to the woods to raise? 

My thoughts on this book:

·       I loved that Eliza’s dog, Merrylad, was a beagle.  The cute beagle on the cover of the book looks a lot like my beagle Daisy.  Daisy said this book is beagle approved and that Merrylad is a lot braver of a beagle than she is. (Swipe right for a picture of Daisy)

·       I felt bad for Eliza in this book.  She led a simple life in the woods reading and listening to the Captain’s tales.  It was hard for her to make the adjustment from that life to life in society.  Her memories return little by little and have a great impact on those around her.

·       The Swabian beats Felton early in the book and his shadow looms large over the book.  Who is this evil character and what does he have to do with the Captain, Eliza, and Felton?

·       The suspense in this novel was engaging and kept me enthralled until the last page.

·       I really liked the characters of Eliza and Fenton.  It took me a bit to warm up to Fenton after he kidnapped Eliza at the start of the novel, but I eventually really liked him and also felt sorry for him.  I enjoyed the sweet romance between them.

·       I also enjoyed the friendship between Fenton and Lord Gillingham (Eliza’s father).

·       This novel was set during the Regency time period which is one of my favorite time periods to read about.

·       This story has beautiful themes of redemption.

·       This is a clean read.

·       This book is perfect for Gothic romantic suspense fans of Mary Stewart or Victoria Holt novels.

Overall, The Girl from the Hidden Forest is a beautifully written Regency romantic suspense novel.  It’s a great story that will keep you up too late in the night to find out the ending.  I highly recommend this novel.

Book Source:  Review copy from Barbour Books as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The nightmares may free her…but destroy the man she loves.

Eliza Ellis has stayed hidden in Balfour Forest for as long as she can remember. Perhaps her only friends are the trees, or her little dog, or her story-telling father called Captain. But at least she is safe from the cruel world outside, a world Captain has warned her against and protected her from.

That is, until a handsome stranger named Felton Northwood invades her quiet forest and steals her away. Why does he tell such lies? Why does he insist that her name is Miss Eliza Gillingham, daughter of a viscount, who disappeared fourteen years ago after the murder of her own mother? A murder Eliza is said to have witnessed.

When Felton returns Eliza to Monbury Manor and reunites her with a man who is told to be her father, all she remembers are the strange nightmares that have plagued her since childhood. Why have they suddenly grown worse? Are the answers hidden inside her own mind?

As danger mounts and lethal attempts are made on her life, Eliza and Felton must work together to uncover the identity of a killer who has stayed silent for fourteen years. When she finally uncovers the horrendous memories trapped in her mind, will divulging the truth cost her the man she loves—and both of their lives?

AUTHOR BIO

Hannah Linder resides in the beautiful mountains of central West Virginia. Represented by Books & Such, she writes Regency romantic suspense novels filled with passion, secrets, and danger. She is a four-time Selah Award winner, a 2023 Carol Award semi-finalist, a 2023 Angel Book Award third place winner, and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). When Hannah is not writing, she enjoys playing her instruments--piano, guitar, ukulele, and banjolele--songwriting, painting still life, walking in the rain, square dancing, and sitting on the front porch of her 1800s farmhouse. To follow her journey, visit hannahlinderbooks.com.

Book Feature: The Last Word by Elly Griffiths

 

Have you discovered any new book or TV series lately?

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @marinerbooks for the review copy of The Last Word by Elly Griffiths. It is a delightful mystery with great characters. I am currently in the middle of it and enjoying every page!!

SYNOPSIS: 

Words turn deadly with an unlikely detective duo on the case of a murdered obituary writer in this literary mystery from the internationally bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway series. Perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz.

Natalka and Edwin are perfect if improbable partners in a detective agency. At eighty-four, Edwin regularly claims that he’s the oldest detective in England. He is a master at surveillance, deploying his age as a cloak of invisibility. Natalka, Ukrainian-born and more than fifty years his junior, is a math whizz, who takes any cases concerning fraud or deception. Despite a steady stream of minor cases, Natalka is frustrated. She loves a murder, as she’s fond of saying, and none have come the agency’s way. That is until local writer Melody Chambers dies.

Melody’s daughters are convinced that their mother was murdered. Edwin thinks that Melody’s death is linked to that of an obituary writer who predeceased many of his subjects. Edwin and Benedict go undercover to investigate and are on a creative writing weekend at isolated Battle House when another murder occurs. Are the cases linked and what is the role of a distinctly sinister book group attended by many of writers involved? By the time Edwin has infiltrated the group, he is in serious danger…

Seeking professional help, the investigators turn to their friend, detective Harbinder Kaur, and find that they have stumbled on a plot that is stranger than fiction.

What do you think? Would you like to read this mystery?

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Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Do you have any “haunted” houses near where you live?  In Kewaunee where I live, we have a haunted hotel and jail.  I’ve picked up a haunted houses of Wisconsin book and found them in there and they’ve also been featured on TV.

In 1910, Effie James and her sister, Polly, stumble across a murder at 323 Predicament Avenue.  Polly stays silent on what she saw, and Effie must piece it together from what she heard.  When a mysterious British gentleman comes to town claiming the victim was his wife, will they together be able to discover the murderer? 

In the present day, Norah runs 323 Predicament Avenue as a B&B.  Sebastion is a guest and a true crime cold case podcaster.  When another guest dies of a heart attack after seeing a ghost, Norah must face her demons and investigate not only the mystery from a century ago, but the murder of her beloved sister.  Will Norah be able to face her anxiety and solve her sister’s cold case?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This novel was very atmospheric and Gothic.  I loved how it started with a bang.  It would make an excellent Halloween read.

·       This is a dual timeline novel.  The link is that the only two people that have been murdered in Shephard, Iowa, were both connected to the home at 322 Predicament Avenue.

·       I had a hard time putting this book down as I got towards the end.  It was a great suspense novel.  I did not guess the ending in either timeline.

·       I liked the look into anxiety with Norah trying to deal with her anxiety throughout the novel.

·       The novel also looked at fear and working through it through faith.

·       This book was a clean read.

·       I enjoyed the teaser at the end for her fall 2024 novel, Specters in the Glass House which will be set near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Favorite Quotes:

“Death had been a guest here at Predicament Avenue for decades, and it was clear that Death wasn’t ready to check out yet.”

“Yet that was what fear was after all.  When a person lived afraid of death, when they could feel death’s cold breath on their neck every moment of the day, there was no courage left to be had.  No anticipation.  No hope.  Only the force of one’s own will to try to outrun the fear before they were eaten alive by it.  Before their greatest fear became their greatest reality.”

Overall, Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright is a delightfully Gothic historical mystery that will have you guessing right up until the end.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

As the walls of the house at Predicament Avenue reveal their hidden truths, two women--generations apart--discover that fear and foreboding are no respecters of time.

In 1910, Effie James is committed to doing anything to save her younger sister, who witnessed a shocking murder, leaving her mute and in danger of the killer's retribution. Effie must prove what her sister saw, but when a British gentleman arrives, he disrupts Effie's quest with his attempts to locate his wife, Isabelle Addington, who was last seen at the supposed crime scene in the abandoned house at 322 Predicament Avenue. Just as Effie discovers what she seeks, she finds that the blood staining the walls will forever link her to a scandal she couldn't imagine, and to a woman whose secrets promise to curse any who would expose them.

A century later, Norah Richman grapples with social anxiety and grief as she runs her late great-aunt's bed-and-breakfast on Predicament Avenue. But Norah has little affection for the house and is committed only to carrying out her murdered sister's dreams until crime historian and podcaster Sebastian Blaine arrives to investigate the ghostly legacy of the house's claim to fame--the murder of Isabelle Addington. When a guest is found dead, the incident is linked to Isabelle's murder, and Norah and Sebastian must work together to uncover the century-old curse that has wrapped 322 Predicament Avenue in its clutches and threatens far more than death.

AUTHOR BIO

Jaime Jo Wright (JaimeWrightBooks.com) is the author of ten novels, including Christy Award and Daphne du Maurier Award-winner The House on Foster Hill and Carol Award winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She's also a two-time Christy Award finalist, as well as the ECPA bestselling author of The Vanishing at Castle Moreau and two Publishers Weekly bestselling novellas. Jaime lives in Wisconsin with her family and felines.

The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Title:  The British Booksellers

Author:  Kristy Cambron

Narrated by:  Barrie Kreinik

Publisher:  Thomas Nelson

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 18 minutes

Source: Thank-you to NetGalley for the audiobook review copy.  Thank-you Thomas Nelson and Austenprose for the review copy of the physical book.

Do you like to read books about bookstores or libraries?  I love to visit both, and I enjoy reading books about them.

The British Booksellers is a dual timeline novel set during WWI and WWII.  In the pre-WWI timeline, there is a love triangle. Amos Darby is a farmer’s son and is in love with Charlotte Terrington, an heiress. Will Holt is the Earl’s son and also in love with Charlotte.  Charlotte has been promised in marriage to Will, but what happened to her relationship with Amos?  What happened to Will?  In the WWII era, Charlotte and her daughter Eden ran a bookshop in Coventry.  Across the street is their bitter rival, Amos Darby and his bookshop.  When a mysterious American comes to town with a legal case against Eden, will all the secrets of the past come out?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I really enjoyed the dual timeline and how they perfectly went together.  The events of the past were finally revealed at the end of the WWII era to explain what was happening at the time.

·       The story was told through multiple points of view.

·       It was interesting how the trauma of WWI (the Great War) had ripple effects that impacted the next generation that were then at the forefront of WWII.  It’s always sad to me that there was not any help for soldiers who suffered from PTSD.

·       The Coventry blitz was devastating.  Afterwards, the Germans termed a new term in modern warfare:  Coventrieren which means “to devastate or raze a city to the ground.”

·       The build-up to the blitz was also nail-biting as bombs started to fall, the finding of hidden German paratrooper gear, and questions on whether the American lawyer is really an American or a German spy.

·      

I liked the addition of the land girls to the story and how they came to town to help run the Holt estate.

·       I really enjoyed the characters in this novel.  I particularly enjoyed that when I thought a character was not a good person like WWII era Amos, or WWI era Will, the story grew deeper, and more complex as you learned more about each person and that there was more to them than met the eye.

·       This story was also about forgiveness, second chances, and moving forward with life after a devastating occurrence.

·       It was interesting how the differences between classes was strict before WWI, but had eased by the time of WWII.

·       I listened to this book on audiobook.  Barrie Kreinik was a wonderful narrator, and I especially enjoyed the voice acting.

·       I enjoyed that this novel had both a second chance romance as well as an enemies to lovers romance.

·       This novel was a clean read.

·       Author Kristy Cambron included a great author’s note that explained her inspirations and the real history behind this novel.

Overall, The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron is a compelling historical fiction novel with engaging characters and a great dual timeline plot.  I highly recommend it.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.

A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington…until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.

When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.

As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.

From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of World War II, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.

AUTHOR BIO

Kristy Cambron is an award-winning author of historical fiction, including her bestselling debut The Butterfly and the Violin, and an author of nonfiction, including the Verse Mapping Series Bibles and Bible studies. Kristy's work has been named to Publishers Weekly Religion & Spirituality TOP 10, Library Journal Reviews’ Best Books, RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards, received 2015 & 2017 INSPY Award nominations, and has been featured at CBN, Lifeway Women, Jesus Calling, Country Woman Magazine, MICI Magazine, Faithwire, Declare, (in)Courage, and Bible Gateway. She holds a degree in Art History/Research Writing and lives in Indiana with her husband and three sons, where she can probably be bribed with a peppermint mocha latte and a good read. You can connect with her at: kristycambron.com and versemapping.com.

  

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris

 

Title:  The Sweetness of Water

Author:  Nathan Harris

Narrated by:  William DeMeritt

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 10 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com with physical book checked out from the Kewaunee Public Library.

What flowers are blooming in your area?  I was happy to return home from Michigan last week and discover daffodils blooming in my yard.

At the end of the Civil War in Georgia, two brothers, Prentis and Landry have been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, but they don’t know where to go or how to support themselves.  George Walker finds them on his land and offers them a job with a decent wage to help him clear land and to plant a peanut field.  This act sets the town against George and his family.  George and his wife Isabelle are mourning the loss of their son Caleb in the Civil War.  When Caleb returns home and is labeled a coward, the Walkers must make a stand and find a way forward.  Caleb has a forbidden love with a childhood friend and fellow soldier, August.  Will the Walker family and Prentis and Landy be able to navigate reconstruction to live in a better world?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was the April pick for the Page-turner’s Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  It provided a great discussion for book club.  I enjoyed the discussion, and it furthered my enjoyment of the book.

·       This novel was also an Oprah Book Club pick in 2021.

·       The novel was slow moving for the first half, but the action really picked up in the second half.

·       It made me really ponder what happened after the Civil War.  Society had gone through a giant upheaval.  How do you go back to “normal?”  What is the new “normal?”

·       This novel was character driven rather than plot driven.  The characters were all very interesting.  How far will you go to do what is right?

·       I felt like this was a coming-of-age story for Caleb, Landry, and George.

·       The novel had beautiful writing with rich language.

·       The Sweetness of Water was author Nathan Harris’s debut novel.  It was an excellent book and so well written, it was hard to believe it was a first novel.

·       I loved how all the main characters had to find courage to move forward.

·       I liked the ending.  It was positive, but realist.

·       Trigger warning:  The climax had brutal violence that was heartbreaking. 

·       This was an excellent audiobook.

Overall, The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris was a beautifully written, deeply moving character study set during reconstruction. 

One of Our Own by Lucinda Berry

 

Title: One of Our Own

Author:  Lucinda Berry

Narrated by:  A.J. Cook, Tessa Albertson

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 3 hours and 54 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you @simonandschuster @BookClubFavorites #BookClubFavorites for the free books!

Do you like to listen to audiobooks?  Do you like audiobook originals?  I do as they provide a great audio experience with different narrators, sound effects, music, etc.  One of Our Own by Lucinda Berry is an audiobook original from Simon & Schuster.

In this thriller, Felicia who beyond her regular duties as a single mother and a lawyer, volunteers at a suicide help line.  One day she talks with a girl who has been raped and she realizes it happened at a party that her son had attended.  Will she be able to help out this girl and did her son know anything about it?

My thoughts:

·       I don’t want to give away too much of the plot so this review will be brief.

·       This was a nice short read for when you are looking for a quick audiobook.

·       It had a great audiobook production with wonderful voice actors and sound effects.

·       Trigger alert:  Rape and abuse.

·       This book was set in Wisconsin, and I enjoy when books are set locally.

·       Author Lucinda Berry is a former clinical psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma.  She uses her knowledge and experience to craft a moving psychological thriller.

·       I did predict the ending of this one, but I enjoyed reading about Felicia’s journey.  She was an interesting character that had to work through moral dilemmas.

Overall, One of our Own is a riveting thriller and audiobook production.

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

 

Title:  The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

Author:  Grady Hendrix

Narrated by:  Bahni Turpin

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Length: Approximately 13 hours and 49 minutes

Source: Checked out with Hoopla through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

 

What is the last book that surprised you?

Patricia Campbell was formally a nurse, but she has become a stay-at-home mother for her two children while her husband works to further his career as a doctor.  She joins a book club of other mothers in the 80’s that reads and analyzes true crime novels.  In the 1990’s, a mysterious new stranger moves into the neighborhood.  Patricia has suspicions about who he really is, but can she get anyone to believe her?  Or has she been reading too many true crime novels?

My thoughts on this book:

·       This was the Rogue Book Club pick for March, and it was a great different type of read for our group.

·       This book was a wild and entertaining ride.  I loved it!

·       The plot was unique.  I loved how the women had to band together to take care of a menace in their neighborhood.

·       I was infuriated when the husbands would not believe Patricia.  They cared more about making money and their own pleasures rather than what was best for their families.

·       I liked how the novel was written to show how evil descended on the neighborhood and how willing people were to go along with it.

·       Trigger warning - there were elements of horror, gore, and extreme violence in this novel.

·       I see mixed reviews on this book, but I really enjoyed it.

·       I liked how this book was humorous, handled a variety of issues, and also had horror.  It was a good mix.

·       This novel looked at racism and how when children disappear in the black neighborhood, no one cared.  It also looked at sexism.  The men do not believe the women and want to keep them in their homemaker roles.  In the end, it is the women who get the job done.

·       I listened to this novel on audiobook, and it worked well.  It was a book I wanted to keep driving to listen to.

Overall, if you are looking for a unique book experience that combines horror, humor, and societal issues, I highly recommend The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.  It was a crazy, enjoyable read.

What the Mountains Remember by Joy Callaway (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Title:  What the Mountains Remember

Author:  Joy Callaway

Narrated by:  Brittany Pressley

Publisher:  Harper Muse

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 16 minutes

Source: Thank-you to NetGalley for the audiobook review copy.  Thank-you Bethany House and Austenprose for the review copy of the physical book.

Do you prefer to read indoors or outdoors?  I love both!

What the Mountains Remember by Joy Callaway is the story of a young woman named Belle Newbold set in 1913.  Belle was a miner’s daughter, but after her father’s death, her mother remarried a titan of industry, Shipley Newbold.  Both Belle and her mother are afraid that their past will be found out and they will be thrown out of their life of luxury. Belle is determined to marry for convenience to make sure she has a good life where she never will have to worry about hunger.  Worth Delafield seems like the perfect match who can give her all that she asks for.  When Henry Ford invites the Newbold family on one of the Vagabond camping trips, Belle gets to know Worth better and determine what is important to her in life. 

I just discussed how I want to visit North Carolina and visit the Biltmore estate as part of a review last week.  This novel gave me another North Carolina point to visit, Grove Park Inn, which is called the eighth wonder of the world.  This Inn is in Ashville, North Carolina and it was a major construction project in the early 20^th century.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I loved that this novel focused on how buildings are usually remembered by the person who financed them, but the architect and construction workers who made it possible are often overlooked.  I will also put engineer in this category as I have spent my life designing large projects that dignitaries get gold shovels at while I stood in the background.  I loved how Belle loved to talk and learn about all the people who worked on this construction project.

·       This book was a love story to Asheville and the Appalachian mountains and the people who lived, worked, and died there.

·       I really disliked Belle’s “friend” Marie Austen.  Marie Austen had a lot of cringe worthy behavior in this book both to Belle and to men. She might win the award for worst fictional friend ever.

·       It was interesting learning about the TB crisis in North Caroline during this time period.  It’s interesting and sad that there was a real fear that TB hospitals would overtake the community.

·       I loved the characters of Belle and Worth.  I loved learning more about them and how they learned more about each other and came to an understanding.  I also loved how Belle was able to work on an article about the Grove Park Inn and highlight the workers.  I enjoyed that she had a coming of age herself and discovered what she really wanted out of life.

·       This novel has a marriage of convenience and friends to lovers’ tropes.  The romance was beautiful in this novel.

·       The camping trip with the Vagabonds was very interesting, but the Vagabonds were very much minor background characters.  It left me wanting to know more about their adventures.

·       There was a great author’s note at the end of the novel that discusses how the author has visited and been fascinated with Grove Park Inn since she was a child.  It discussed her research and changes that she made to make her story work.

·       I read this book both physically and on audiobook and kept switching to whatever format worked best for me at the time.  I had a lot of travel during the last couple of weeks, so this worked well for me.  Brittany Pressley was a great narrator.

·       This was my first Joy Callaway novel, but it won’t be my last.

Overall, What the Mountains Remember by Joy Callaway was an excellent historical fiction novel with a great unique setting, interesting characters, and wonderful romance.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

At this wondrous resort, secrets can easily be hidden in plain sight when the eye is trained on beauty.

April 1913—Belle Newbold hasn’t seen mountains for seven years—since her father died in a mining accident and her mother married gasoline magnate, Shipley Newbold. But when her stepfather’s business acquaintance, Henry Ford, invites the family on one of his famous Vagabonds camping tours, she is forced to face the hills once again—primarily in order to reunite with her future fiancé, owner of the land the Vagabonds are using for their campsite, a man she’s only met once before. It is a veritable arranged marriage, but she prefers it that way. Belle isn’t interested in love. She only wants a simple life—a family of her own and the stability of a wealthy man’s pockets. That’s what Worth Delafield has promised to give her and it’s worth facing the mountains again, the reminder of the past, and her poverty, to secure her future.

But when the Vagabonds group is invited to tour the unfinished Grove Park Inn and Belle is unexpectedly thrust into a role researching and writing about the building of the inn—a construction the locals are calling The Eighth Wonder of the World—she quickly realizes that these mountains are no different from the ones she once called home. As Belle peels back the facade of Grove Park Inn, of Worth, of the society she’s come to claim as her own, and the truth of her heart, she begins to see that perhaps her part in Grove Park’s story isn’t a coincidence after all. Perhaps it is only by watching a wonder rise from ordinary hands and mountain stone that she can finally find the strength to piece together the long-destroyed path toward who she was meant to be.

International bestselling author Joy Callaway returns with a story of the ordinary people behind extraordinary beauty—and the question of who gets to tell their stories.

AUTHOR BIO

Joy Callaway is the author of All the Pretty Places, The Grand Design, The Fifth Avenue Artists Society, and Secret Sisters. She holds a BA in journalism and public relations from Marshall University and an MMC from the University of South Carolina. She resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, John, and her children, Alevia and John. Visit her online at joycallaway.com.