Curling Up With A Good Book: Blog Tour & Guest Post: Replacing Gentry (Julie N Ford)

Monday, April 1, 2013

Blog Tour & Guest Post: Replacing Gentry (Julie N Ford)

When Marlie agrees to attend a cadaver ball at Vanderbilt Medical School, she did not expect to actually see any cadavers. Or, that a strange apparition would issue her a chilling message.
Despite the cadaver's warning, Marlie is married a year later to Tennessee State Senator, Daniel Cannon, and living in a plantation-style mansion with two step sons. Add to the mix her growing suspicion that something is amiss with the death of Daniel’s first wife, Gentry; and newlywed Marlie is definitely in over her pretty Yankee head.
What begins as an innocent inquiry into her new husband’s clouded past, ends with Marlie in the midst of a dangerous conspiracy.
A modern twist on the classic Gothic romance novels of Rebecca and Jane Eyre, Replacing Gentry follows Marlie’s precarious journey as she learns the truth about the man she married.

What inspired you to begin writing?

I never “decided” to become a writer, per se. I've always had stories in my head that I would play around with but never really considered turning any of them into a novel. About five years ago, I had just finished chemotherapy treatments for Lymphoma when we moved to a new city. I didn’t know anyone, my girls were in school, and I was at home waiting for my hair to grow back when the dialog and narration for my first novel just started coming to me—insistent, almost, that I let the voices out. I thought I might as well go ahead and write some, so one day I sat down at the computer for a few hours and started my first chapter.

Once I finished that first chapter I turned it over to a friend to read. She loved it and wanted more. One chapter turned into twenty and three months later I had my first novel. The manuscript was a mess of course so I hired an editor to help me clean it up. Honestly, I'm glad I had no idea how much work completing a novel would be. If I had, I may not have kept going with the first one. I totally get why so many people start writing and then stop, or are afraid to dive into writing from the beginning--it can truly be exhausting. But by the time I'd finished the first novel and then started the second, I was hooked. And the stories just keep on coming.

Thanks to Curling Up with a Good Book for hosting this review and guest post.

Replacing Gentry was an good book yet I had some difficulty getting into it like I have with other books. The book tells the story of a young middle aged woman, Marlie, who got divorced from Finn, a man she still loves very much. Not long after their divorce Finn was killed in a boating accident so Marlie tries to move on with her life.

Marlie takes a trip to Nashville, TN to visit her best friend Anna Beth and there she meet a rich southern politician, Daniel. Daniel quickly sweeps Marlie off her feet and ask her to marry him. Daniel had also lost the love of his life, Gentry, in a car accident. Marlie wants answers to her past and Daniel's past and finds herself in a life threatening situation.

The story has several great twists! I loved Anna Beth's character and all her secrets and I found the whole secret society thing a little far fetched but some people love that kind of conspiracy theory stuff. Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it if someone was looking for a book that has a little romance, mystery and southern charm. I give this book 3-1/2 stars.

Author Julie N. Ford

Julie N. Ford graduated from San Diego State University with a BA in Political Science and a minor in English Literature. In addition, she has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Alabama. Professionally, she has worked in teaching and as a Marriage & Family Counselor. She is the author of two women’s fiction novels, The Woman He Married and No Holly for Christmas, published in 2011. In addition, she wrote a romance/chick-lit novel, Count Down to Love, also published in 2011. Count Down to Love was a 2011 Whitney Award finalist. Her next novel, Replacing Gentry, is due for release April 9th, 2013.
Currently, she lives in Nashville, TN with her husband, two daughters and one hedgehog.