Claiming Annie’s Heart – The Story Behind the Story -
by
Judythe Morgan
 |
| Cliff of Moher, Ireland. Courtesy Pixabay.com |
With a paternal grandmother who was an Irish Callahan from County Clare and a maternal grandmother whose family immigrated through Ellis Island during the Potato Famine, authoring a story set in Ireland might seem predictable. But I never set out to plot such a book. Too many other story ideas floated in my head.
That is ... until I went to Ireland and those family roots came to life.
The joy sparkling in the eyes of the Irish people I met danced with the bubbling in my veins. Ireland is magical. The sights and sounds call to deep kinship and connections. If you have even a drop of Irish blood and ever go to Ireland, you'll understand what I mean.
Until my visits to the island, I never realized there were two very different Irelands. Talking with the old timers, I quickly learned the Irish history of how two separate countries came to be.
The cliff note version is the island started as a single entity with its own parliament. After bitter fighting and political maneuvering with the United Kingdom, the island was partitioned into Northern Ireland, which is still a part of the UK, and the Irish Free State or Republic of Ireland in 1920.
Violence erupted again in the 60s and continued through the 90s. The ceasefire of 1994 and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, along with the rebranding of the Orangemen parades in Belfast and Northern Ireland counties, helped reduce flare-ups.
Still, the history remains fresh for those personally affected and, after a few pints of Guinness, discussions about The Troubles can become heated.
My husband’s job often took him to Northern Ireland, and I tagged along. I soon realize how deeply The Troubles touched Irish lives. The seed of an idea for a future story began to grow.
Whenever we went to Belfast, Northern Ireland, we’d always make a stopover in Ireland. On one visit, we toured an Irish girl's boarding school in County Connemara. Wandering the grounds and talking to the girls, I had one of those writer moments where a character sprang fully formed into my head, commanding me to tell her story.
With her consent, I blended what Annie wanted told with a suspense element based on The Troubles to create Claiming Annie's Heart.
Annie and I are pleased with the final product. I hope you’ll enjoy reading Claiming Annie's Heart as much as we did creating it.
About Claiming Annie’s Heart:
Annie Foster remains in Ireland after boarding school to nanny a widower’s infant daughter. Five years later, she accepts the widower’s marriage proposal.
Her first love Chad Jones, whom she believed deserted her, arrives on an undercover assignment weeks before the wedding investigating her Irish fiancé’s connection with an IRA terrorist organization. Chad’s determined to change her mind, and her heart, because he’s never stopped loving her.
Annie is torn between the man she'll always love and the young daughter of her fiancé whom she’s promised never to abandon. Who will claim Annie’s heart?
About Judythe:
Award-winning author Judythe Morgan was an Air Force daughter, then an Army wife and a one time-Department of Army Civilian employee. She's seen a lot of this big world.
She’s mommy to an Old English sheepdog named Finnegan MacCool and his Maltese brother, Buster. Finn’s named after the legendary Irish character, Fionn mac Cumhaill, of Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Also, a mother to three/grandmother to twelve, she’s been an antique dealer, teacher, mayor's wife, and sometimes-church pianist. Recently, she's ventured into Sacred Harp singing of early 17th and 18th-century hymns.
She writes a weekly blog, View from the Front Porch with her daughter, Chicken Wrangler Sara. You can follow their adventures at www.judythewriter.com
Sign up for her free newsletter to learn about her latest news and get subscriber-only sneak peaks at www.judythemorgan.com All her books are available on Amazon.com in digital and print format. Links for other digital formats – Nook, Kobo, iBooks - are available on her website.
Where to find Judythe:
About the Giveaway:
Question for readers: Have you ever been to Ireland or Northern Ireland? Would you like to go? Why or why not?
Leave a comment with your answer and your contact information for a chance to win a free print (US only) or eBook version of Claiming Annie’s Heart.
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