Along A Breton Shore Author Interview and Review

ABOUT THE BOOK

France, 1794

Maxence Étienne, a soldier for the République, believes fiercely in the revolution that is bringing liberty to France. But even though the monarchy has fallen and Maxence is part of a great cause, he is still searching for a place to belong.

Armelle Bernard is a young woman from Breton whose father was sentenced to death for hiding counterrevolutionaries. She decides to confront the priest who betrayed her father, and as the conflict escalates, she herself is ordered to be executed—an order to be carried out by Maxence.

Maxence has seen his share of violence and bloodshed, but he also carries a tragic secret and can’t bring himself to carry out his assignment. In allowing Armelle to escape, he is forced to combat a fellow soldier, who dies in the struggle.

Though Armelle and Maxence are strangers and on opposite sides of the revolution, they find themselves united as fugitives of the new republic. Now they must find a way to trust each other as they search for a path to peace, and to freedom.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ARLEM HAWKS began making up stories before she could write. Living all over the western United States and traveling around the world gave her a love of cultures and people and the stories they have to tell. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications, with an emphasis in print journalism, and she lives in Utah with her husband and four children. What resources did you use to write this book?


AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Life is What It's Called - What resources did you use to write this book?

Arlem Hawks - I always use as many primary sources as I possibly can to write my books. For Along a Breton Shore, I used everything from journals to cookbooks to maps. Several sites like Google Books and Internet Archives have scans of books from the era. I also visited Brittany when I was in college, so I got to put some of my first-hand observations into the story. My critique partner Jennie Goutet, who has lived in France for a long time, helped me find some of my sources. She proved as valuable a resource as anything! I also drew from the book Citizens, which is a great in-depth look at the French Revolution.

Life Is What It's Called - Why do you think it's helpful for readers to follow you on Instagram and see bits of your research and work development?

Arlem Hawks - I love talking about my research! I do a lot of hands-on research with historical sewing and cooking, which I share on social media. I think it helps bring history to life when you can see it in action.

Life Is What It's Called - What will fans love about this book?

Arlem Hawks - I hope fans will love the teasing and banter between Armelle and Maxence. Their interaction was so fun to write. I also hope they’ll appreciate the changes Maxence makes in his life as he goes from focusing too much on his own problems to focusing on others.

Life Is What It's Called - Will you write more historical fiction about this period?

Arlem Hawks -  I don’t currently have plans for another French Revolution book, but I would love to write more someday. That being said, I do have plans to write stories for a couple of minor characters from Along a Breton Shore that take place in the Napoleonic era.

Life Is What It's Called - What has been the best part of writing this book?

Arlem Hawks - This book turned out to be very cathartic for me to write. A couple characters in this book struggle with grief, which is something I’ve been working through with my family the last several years. I also loved the light moments Armelle brought to this book. After writing Beyond the Lavender Fields, which has two rather serious characters, it was nice to have such a positive character to counteract the dark things happening in Maxence’s life and in France.

Life Is What It's Called - Do you have critique partners? If so, how do you find this helpful with your writing?

Arlem Hawks - My critique partners are the absolute best. I have a critique group and a couple individual critique partners. They help me with writing, research, brainstorming, and just life in general. They’re some of my best friends, which I didn’t anticipate when we first started critiquing for each other. It’s incredibly helpful as a writer to have people you trust to help you make your book the best it can be.

Life Is What It's Called - What do you hope fans will learn from reading this book?

Arlem Hawks - I hope fans will learn how important it is to look at all the sides of an issue. So often opponents want similar things, they just disagree on how to get there. I also hope readers will look at people they disagree with as humans rather than opponents. Despite our differences, we’re more alike than we realize.

Life Is What It's Called - How do you think the historical time period that you're writing about applies to modern day audiences?

Arlem Hawks - The last few years have seen an increase in division between different factions of society, which is exactly what happened during the French Revolution. People during that era didn’t know where to turn or who to trust, and so many groups were battling for power and attention. The us vs. them mentality was strong then, and I think we have to be careful that our society doesn’t reach that same level.

Life Is What It's Called - How are your books different from the others in the market?

Arlem Hawks - I walk the line between historical fiction and historical romance with my books. I love a great romance with a very vibrant historical backdrop. Books that teach you something and bring history to life on top of giving you a swoony love story. So I try to emulate that in my books.

Life Is What It's Called -  What do you love about your fans?

Arlem Hawks - I love the fans who message me and tell me they learned so much from my books. I also love hearing when they appreciate historical details and research. I put so many hours into research, and having fans comment about the details makes me feel like a million bucks. Haha. My fans have been super supportive, and I’m so grateful for all of them.

Life Is What It's Called - What writing projects are you working on next?

Arlem Hawks -  I just submitted a Royal Navy novel for the Proper Romance line and hope to start a couple of French meet English romances soon.

REVIEW

Along a Breton Shore shares the story of Maxence, a soldier for the République. Maxence disobeys an order to kill a young woman and finds himself imprisoned. The young woman, Armelle, helps Maxence to escape and they are on the run from the République and face many dangerous obstacles to get to safety.

The author, Arlem Hawks, pulls the reader in with her masterful storytelling. She shares the danger, uncertainty, trouble facing France during its French Revolution and the many different competing sides of division. It was interesting to see a different angle of the French revolution. There are many stories of the craziness of this time period, but I felt like she gave it a more personal touch and shared different aspects of the revolution from families suddenly living in poverty and the dangers of not knowing who to trust. Hawks made the characters, setting and dangers come alive with her writing. The dangers were a constant force in this book. The characters changed over time as they learned how to adapt and take control of their circumstances. There are also many twists and turns in the story and several bold choices with scenes to tug at the reader's emotions. I had to applaud the author at not being afraid to take risks.

This could be read as a stand alone, although, to get the full impact of the story I would highly suggest reading Beyond the Lavender Fields first. In Beyond the Lavender Fields, the author first introduces Maxence and his brother, Gilles. I would highly recommend checking out these books if you love historical fiction. To learn more about Along a Breton Shore, click here.

Please note that I received a free copy to review, however, this is my honest opinion. This post is in cooperation with the publisher. This post contains affiliate links that help support this blog.