Catherine Kensington is in the midst of high society Regency era. She is
an unmarried heiress with accomplishment, wit, and grace. But very few
are aware she has recently returned from Africa in a desperate attempt
to escape her murderous mother who sits far too close on the chaise. No
one suspects Lady Kensington of violence, however, not even Catherine's
soul mate Captain Ashmore. Sarah Hope also sits among them dizzily
longing for intrigue and adventure but is soon overwhelmed when she
unwittingly throws herself into the midst of the Kensington's trouble.
And Mebalwe stands alert in the corner, but he is no ordinary serving
man, he is an African warrior, sent to protect Catherine from all that
threatens to kill her.
Shadows of Lions follows the
internal dialogue of four strong characters. As their experiences swirl
together it becomes more clear that the answer to all the struggle and
hurt lies with a young Scottish girl named Amelia. Only by knowing
Amelia can they all have what they want. Only Amelia can save them.
Author Interview
Life Is What It's Called - What was the best part about writing a sequel to In Spite of Lions?
Scarlette Pike - The best part about writing the sequel was knowing that people who
were angry about the ending of the FIRST book would finally start
talking to me again! Everyone wanted to know if Catherine was going to
be alright facing her demons and I was happy to share her story. There
is still one major unresolved issue that we are ALL upset about still
but you can see it resolved in the third book. It’s all going to be
okay.
Life Is What It's Called - Will there be additional books for this series or spin-offs?
Scarlette Pike - Yes - there will be one more book in this
series. Now that Catherine has faced her fears, she is much more ready
to face some more.
Life Is What It's Called - What inspired you to write this story?
I was inspired to write “In Spite of Lions” because of a dream I had
about a girl who ran AWAY from the ever popular Regency/Victorian era. I
wondered where she would go if she chose to run and that’s when I found
the Livingstone’s and Chief Sechele. The second book HAD to happen and I
suppose it was inspired by my own journey in emotional wellness and my
own trauma recovery (not involving my mother). There’s so much power and
inspiration from someone facing their greatest challenge. I find it
inspiring.
Life Is What It's Called - What do you hope readers will gain from Shadows of Lions?
Scarlette Pike - I hope readers gain the courage
to face their demons. It may not look Catherine’s way - or anyone’s way!
But it does allow our true selves to come out of hiding. I also hope
they can learn that there’s no such thing as a “bad guy”. Who is the
real villain of “Shadows of Lions”? Do we know for sure? Or do we
stereotype?
Life Is What It's Called - What's your next writing project?
Scarlette Pike - I have several writing projects
coming up. I am still working on a series of children’s emotional
wellness books. “Shame Mud” is out, “Grief Waves” is in editing, and
“Sticky Labels” is being beta read. Of course I’m going to work on the
third book in the Lion series, though! I think Wilberforce is going to
get involved and I’m really excited about that. I’m reading a biography
of him right now but if anyone has a unique Wilberforce source I’d love
to see it!
Life Is What It's Called - What interesting historical background facts did you learn as you wrote this story?
Scarlette Pike - I learned a lot more about the
city of Bath this time around! My goodness that city has changed hands
so many times. A lot of scenes are in alleyways in Bath and I wish I
could have conveyed the history of the place better! If walls could
talk… Also, there are scenes next to a river and they were inspired by
the birthplace of David Livingstone in Blantyre Scotland. I visited
there myself during the Historical Novel Society Conference! A lot of
Amelia’s history comes from the area where David grew up and it was fun
to weave it in. Amelia’s father was inspired by a man called Deacon
Brodie and he lived around the same time David was there.
Life Is What It's Called - If you could travel into your book and meet one of the characters who would it be and why?
Scarlette Pike - Oh man - just one?! I’d probably choose Motsatsi and hug him close and
never let him go! But they’re all a close second. I love them all - even
the “villains”. I’d meet Amelia in a heartbeat. When I was writing some
of her big scenes I listened to “Lovely” by Billie Eilish and felt so
connected to Amelia. I also want to hug her close and never let her go.
Life Is What It's Called - Who has been your biggest cheerleader for writing your novels and children books?
Scarlette Pike - My husband, Jon, is a champ and my greatest support. I’ll go into
writing/researching hibernation and he just takes them in stride, makes
me eat something, and is eager to read what I’ve written.
Coincidentally he is scared of me since reading “Shadows of Lions” in
full! But he still supports me even when he finds me terrifying. That’s
commitment!! My kids, parents, and siblings are also all supportive and
sweet about my writing.
Life Is What It's Called - How does writing children's books for True Worth Books compare to writing novels? Are the challenges the same or different?
Scarlette Pike - With both sets of
work I’m dealing with being accurate. With historical fiction, I’m
striving to be historically accurate and with emotional wellness I’m
striving to be psychologically accurate. For my historical books I have
mentors like researchers at libraries, South Africa citizens that proof
read things for me, or members of the HNS. With mental health books I
have a team of parents and professionals who proof read and therapists
who check my work and give me research to follow up with. So in that way
the writing process is similar!
But I’d say
the biggest difference is working with illustration on the children’s
books. When writing a novel I am in charge of telling the entire story
and making sure the reader can come along with me and I can do that all
with headphones and a laptop - talking to no one, but with children’s
books I have to work with Dustin to have illustration tell part of the
story. Our visions have to come together! That’s tricky sometimes
because I’m accustomed to spinning a story by myself. It’s a different
kind of vulnerability to tell a story WITH someone. So far so good
though! He hasn’t blacklisted me yet.
Review
In Spite of Lions is such a memorable and interesting book that I was excited for the chance to review the sequel, Shadows of Lions. The Shadows of Lions indeed felt like it was in the shadows of lions. The author takes you on a journey through some dark moments of pain, abuse, hurt, and confusion. The characters were complex and unique. There were moments where I was very surprised at some of the character's actions and the development of the story. There were twists and turns that made this book quite the page-turner. The characters needed to face their demons/lions to resolve their issues. I felt like the character Mebalwe understood the complexities of the characters and acted almost as a guide to helping the reader to sort out the experiences and journey. It was an engaging book that was full of suspense. It will be interesting to see the next installment of this series and see where the author takes it. I would recommend reading In Spite of Lions first in the series.
To learn more click, Shadows of Lions and/or In Spite of Lions.
Giveaway
The author has generously provided a signed copy of In Spite of Lions and Shadows of Lions for me to giveaway. To enter the giveaway, use the rafflecopter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure (in
accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use
of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Scarlette Pike for providing this prize for the
giveaway. Choice
of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary
compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for
this review and post, however, I provided my honest opinion. Only
one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. Winner for US mainland only. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.
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