📖Authors To Watch: Andrea Matthews Author of Thunder on the Moor #authorstowatch #interview

 

 

Andrea Matthews is the pseudonym for Inez Foster, a historian and librarian who loves to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogical speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. She is the author of the Thunder on the Moor series set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Border, and the Cross of Ciaran series, where a fifteen-hundred-year-old Celt finds himself in the twentieth century. Andrea is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Long Island Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society.

Her latest book is the historical time travel romance, Thunder on the Moor.

You can visit her website at www.Andrea-Matthews.com or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Maggie Armstrong grew up enchanted by her father’s tales of blood feuds and border raids. In fact, she could have easily fallen for the man portrayed in one particular image in his portrait collection. Yet when her father reveals he was himself an infamous Border reiver, she finds it a bit far-fetched—to say the least—especially when he announces his plans to return to his sixteenth century Scottish home with her in tow.

Suspecting it’s just his way of getting her to accompany him on yet another archaeological dig, Maggie agrees to the expedition, only to find herself transported four hundred and fifty years into the past. Though a bit disoriented at first, she discovers her father’s world to be every bit as exciting as his stories, particularly when she’s introduced to Ian Rutherford, the charming son of a neighboring laird. However, when her uncle announces her betrothal to Ian, Maggie’s twentieth-century sensibilities are outraged. She hardly even knows the man. But a refusal of his affections could ignite a blood feud.

Maggie’s worlds are colliding. Though she’s found the family she always wanted, the sixteenth century is a dangerous place. Betrayal, treachery, and a tragic murder have her questioning whether she should remain or try to make her way back to her own time.

To make matters worse, tensions escalate when she stumbles across Bonnie Will Foster, the dashing young man in her father’s portrait collection, only to learn he is a dreaded Englishman. But could he be the hero she’s always dreamed him to be? Or will his need for revenge against Ian shatter more than her heart?

Book Information

Release Date: October 30, 2019

Publisher:  Inez M. Foster

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1733337557; 432 pages; $19.97; E-Book, FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LZdmYD

Can you tell us about your most recent release?

The Thunder on the Moor series is about a twentieth century college student, who travels back to the sixteenth century Anglo-Scottish Borders after discovering her father is himself one of those infamous Scottish Border Reivers. Though enchanted at first, she soon learns that blood feuds and border raids are a very real part of Border life, and the mere mention of being attracted to an Englishman can set off a deadly raid, while marrying one can be a hanging offense.

How did you get the idea for the book?

I was doing some research into my husband’s genealogy and a friend gave me a book entitled, The Steel Bonnets, which indicated that the Foster was a well known Border Reiver surname. (Andrea Matthews is my pen name) Of course, I wanted to learn more, and while doing the research, began to weave the story of time travel and forbidden love that became the Thunder on the Moor series.

Of all your characters, which one is your favorite? Why?

Probably Betty Foster, because though she lives in a time ruled by men, both her husband and sons won’t dare cross her. She’s spunky, with a big heart, and knows how to let her menfolk feel like they’re in control. Obviously, there are some decisions she has to concede on, but she’s a realist who knows what battles are within her power to win and fights them with just as much gusto as her menfolk when they ride to the frey. Graham may be the surname’s heidsman, but Betty is its heart.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?

The research because not all the material was easily located. When I started writing the series, back in the early 1990s, not many people had heard of the Border Reivers. The one book I had, the one that apprised me of the fact that the Fosters were Border Reivers was The Steel Bonnets. I became my go-to book from that moment on. Gradually, I began to send to Scotland in an effort to locate material, and as the Internet grew, documents became more easily accessible. As I wanted to be as historically accurate as possible, I gathered everything I could find. More authors began to write about the reivers, records became accessible, and gradually a picture appeared. Of course, it is a romance, so although historically accurate, there is a bit of a romantic slant. Hey, if Sir Walter Scott could get away with it, why not?

What projects are you currently working on?

I just finished book 3 in the Thunder on the Moor series, entitled Shake Loose the Border, last November. The third book in my Cross of Ciaran series, which is a paranormal romance, is due out on May 25. It’s entitled the Cave of Rúin Ársa. And I hope to release a historical romance, Murder on Oak Street, at the end of August.

What advice would you offer to new or aspiring fiction authors?

In the words of Winston Churchill . . . “Never, never, never give in” or something to that effect. If you love to write, if you’ve a story to tell, then do it. And don’t let the naysayers discourage you.