“The Winter Rose” by Melanie Dobson … and a GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to Friday Reads!

 

 

You can enter to win a print copy of The Winter Rose by Melanie Dobson, courtesy of the publisher. (US ONLY) You can enter by using the Rafflecopter link at the bottom of this post. (Contest ends January 21, 2022.) Share on X If you’re the chosen winner, I’ll contact you for your information to pass along. 

 

About the book…

In this gripping WWII time-slip novel from the author whose books have been called “propulsive” and a “must-read” (Publishers Weekly), Grace Tonquin is an American Quaker who works tirelessly in Vichy France to rescue Jewish children from the Nazis. After crossing the treacherous Pyrénées, Grace returns home to Oregon with a brother and sister whose parents were lost during the war. Though Grace and her husband love Élias and Marguerite as their own, echoes of Grace’s past and trauma from the Holocaust tear the Tonquin family apart.

More than fifty years after they disappear, Addie Hoult arrives at Tonquin Lake, hoping to find the Tonquin family. For Addie, the mystery is a matter of life and death for her beloved mentor Charlie, who is battling a genetic disease. Though Charlie refuses to discuss his ties to the elusive Tonquins, finding them is the only way to save his life and mend the wounds from his broken past.

 

Q&A with Melanie…

Q:  Do you prefer writing the past or present story line more?

A:  Each book is different, but typically my time-slip novels are sparked by an idea from the past. I enjoy writing the present-day story, but it’s more of a challenge than the historical since I’m weaving both story lines together in the contemporary chapters. Thankfully, I enjoy a good literary challenge and am incredibly grateful to God for His creative inspiration. Once I finish a book, I take a deep breath and can usually reflect with much fondness over the seemingly scattered process.

Q:  Have you ever been to France? If yes, what was your favorite part of the trip?

A:  The COVID pandemic prevented me from going to Southern France for The Winter Rose research, but I spent some time in Paris and Normandy a few years ago when I was researching Chateau of Secrets.

I had two favorite parts from this trip. One was having lunch with an amazing couple whose parents had led the French resistance in their region. Oh, my goodness—their stories were incredible. Serge gave my friends and me a piece of nylon parachute from D-Day, and I will cherish that forever. My second favorite part was staying in the ancient manor house owned by the family who inspired this novel. I explored every corner of the manor including the chapel, the museum-like bedrooms with their antiques and portraits, and the arrow-slit crosses in the turret used to defend the nearby village long ago.

Here are some pictures: https://melaniedobson.com/research/research-trips/france-trip/

Q:  What did you know about the Quakers prior to this book?

A:  I knew very little about the Quakers until when we moved to Oregon in 2007. We live near Newberg, the home of George Fox University, Camp Tilikum, and various Meetings of Friends. It’s been a joy to spend time with the Quakers in our community and teach for a season at George Fox, but until recently, I didn’t know about their service in Europe before and during World War II. I loved learning about the American Friends Service Committee and their work around the world.

Q:  Do you have a favorite quote from The Winter Rose?

A:  “The rose would survive the night, he had no doubt. And it would grow again in the morning.”

Q:  How is the perspective of The Winter Rose unique compared to other novels in the WWII genre?

A:  I’m not familiar with any other novels featuring Quaker characters who help kids escape Nazi-occupied France. This story is also unique in that much of it takes place after World War II as the characters process the loss and abandonment in their past and wrestle through their dreams for the future. Ultimately my characters must use their unique gifts to bring truth and grace into their world and fight in their own way to rescue others.

 Q:  Which was your favorite character to write? Which one was the most challenging to write?

A:  I had several favorite characters! Marguerite was a super fun character to write with her ability to see emotion in color and her passion to paint what she saw on the chateau walls. I also liked writing from the perspective of Louis who had been wounded deeply as a child and was living a lie in his later years. What a relief for me, as the author, to be able to offer him the gift of restoration. I was going to say that the perspective of Grace, my historical protagonist, was challenging to write, but Addie, the heroine in my contemporary story, who was even more challenging. I changed her backstory several times as I tried to understand where she came from and what happened to her deceased husband. While it stretched me as a writer, I was so pleased in the end with how Grace and Addie overcame the trauma from their pasts and fought for those they loved.

Q:  Can you tell us about some of your upcoming projects?

A:  Right now I’m working on a series of books for younger readers called The Magic Portal, and it has been pure joy for me to brainstorm with my daughters to create these fairyland books. I’m also preparing to write a time-slip novel about a girl named Poppy who was lost a hundred years ago in the Thousand Islands of New York.

 

Thank you so much for being here, Melanie!

 

 

About Melanie…

 

Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of more than twenty historical romance, suspense, and time-slip novels. Five of her novels have won Carol Awards; Catching the Wind and Memories of Glass were nominated for a Christy Award in the historical fiction category; Catching the Wind won an Audie Award in the inspirational fiction category; and The Black Cloister won the Foreword magazine Religious Fiction Book of the Year. Melanie is the former corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family and owner of the publicity firm Dobson Media Group. When she isn’t writing, Melanie enjoys teaching both writing and public relations classes. Melanie and her husband, Jon, have two daughters and live near Portland, Oregon.

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