Guest Blogger Author Jesse V. Coffey

   I want to welcome A guest Blogger to Poetica in Silentium today as she kicks off the BLOG TOUR for her new book, The Brothers Cameron - An Opportunity for Resentment.  Jesse is the editor and publisher of the e-book version of my own novel, The Adventures of the Magnificent Seven, owner of Edin Road Publishing, host of Edin Road Radio, the Lexington Literature Examiner, Author of A Wager of Blood (soon to be published in e-book by Edin Road Press), the short story collection Illusions & Reality, actress, and a good friend. 
   Tell your friends about today's BLOG, and by all means, go out and buy her book!  You won't even have to take your jammies off because it's an e-book, which means you can get it without leaving your home,  and the price is right at a paltry $2.99.  Welcome Jesse V. Coffey!

First, a special thanks to David for letting me guest on his blog today. David is a wonderful storyteller in his own right. Edin Road Press was thrilled when we were able to score the ebook version of David's wonderful book, The Adventures of the Magnificent Seven. And being a guest here makes it a double honor.

But I'm here to talk about my book, The Brothers Cameron: An Opportunity for Resentment.

I originally released this in 2002 as The Brothers Campbell. Ah, the good old days. It was, quite literally, the second book I had ever written. I was sitting with some friends, chatting about how I wanted to write a story about two brothers, and the next thing I knew, the story was pouring out of me. Enough for not just one book but for three.

I have always been fascinated by two things—the Tudor/Elizabethan period of English history and the 1500s in general with both the Italian Renaissance (with its beginnings in the late 1400s) and the English Renaissance. It was an incredible time to be alive, with the beginnings of the enlightenment after the Dark Ages. There was new learning; science was beginning to bring forth new ideas about the world these people lived in, how it was formed, and the universe around them. There was art and literature being formed and created, new art forms in the paintings and sculptures. And the beginning of the Reformation movement in the church.

And that's where I started. The backdrop set in the last decade of the 1500s seemed perfect to me. Elizabeth was still on the throne, and this was the golden age. I had a fictitious village in mind, because it was easier than using a real one. That way I could set it up any way I liked and still be true to the place and time. I did a little research on England in that time and found a river and put my village of Edin-on-Norwich outside of the already existing city of Norwich, off the Wensom River, and there it was. I had my where; I just needed my who.

I found these two brothers, whom I based on two friends—who also happen to be brothers—and began there. Stephan is the oldest; he's impetuous, feels deeply for the commoners in their village of Edin-on-Norwich, and he's a bit hot headed. William is the youngest, four years younger than Stephan. He's more thoughtful, measured, but he has his demons. And when we meet the lads, they're dealing with those demons the only way they know how.

And now to take these two men and turn their world inside out. That comes in the form of a murder. A rival of the family was born in the form of Joseph Turnbull, the Baron of that shire and he has his own reasons for who he is and his misdeeds. The story came from there.

We, as in I the storyteller and you the reader, know that Joseph has paid a man to kill their father but Stephan and Will have only vague suspicions. Stephan wants to confront the Baron, Will wants to find the proof first. Joseph wants them both dead before they can. And if that's not complication enough, a lovely lady comes to the village. Lady Jessica Chynoweth arrives because her father has asked Joseph to be her guardian while he is away for his health. The problems immediately start when the lady becomes the object of lust, love, and infatuation on the part of all three men. And if having a man killed isn't reason enough, fighting for a woman certainly adds to the tension.

I loved writing this book. I loved meeting these men. I love being in their world. To be honest, there's been many a time that I felt as if I should have been born in that time to begin with. The best part is that I have two more books to write, so I get to go back there. But for now, enjoy this book.

The Brothers Cameron: An Opportunity for Resentment is published by Edin Road Press and is available through Smashwords right now for the pre-release price of $.99. The official release date will be September 15^th, 2001, when it will be available on all online bookstores—Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, etc. At that time, the price goes up to $2.99, so go get it now while it's still at that low pre-release price.

And join me when the next book is released next year, The Brothers Cameron: A Crooked Rainbow Trail.