My name is Jena Baxter and my newest novel, The Carriage, is set in Victorian, London. My first novel,
Reflections, began in the Regency Era. I had already written a couple of
fantasy in motion stories, but while doing research on Hans Christian
Anderson’s Little Matchgirl, I found
some interesting things to ponder.
Burial customs were pretty out there. The dying person takes
their last breath and the first thing the servant or family does is stop the
clock. Then they covered the mirrors and windows so the deceased couldn’t get
trapped in them on their way out, and then placed a black wreath on the door so
the world would know they were mourning.
I have a vivid imagination so all I could see was some poor
soul banging on the back of the mirror yelling, ‘Let me out. I took a wrong turn. This isn’t funny Uncle.’ I know
its poor humor but my brain works that way. Don’t even get me started on the
hired mourners following the funeral procession to the graveyard. My mind went
wild with that one.
I love humor and my favorite emotion is laughter in sadness.
Check out the end of Steel Magnolias if you’re not sure what I’m talking about.
Sally Field does an awesome job in that movie. Be sure and get out a box of
tissues first, but I’m digressing. After letting my mind go wild with the
spirit stuck in the mirror, Reflections was born, and while it does have its
humorous moments, the setting is very different.
Fast forward to my newest novel, The Carriage. I was
planning a trip we never took to New York, and thinking about taking a carriage
ride through Central Park. While I don’t know much about the carriages, they
have been there an incredibly long time. I saw a historical photo and that was
all it took for my mind to flip to the Victorian Era. I was supposed to be
working on a YA/NA contemporary romance based in New York.
Alexis came into existence, and I made her face the
unfriendly truths of the era. You should see her face when a servant calls
Ezra, the Master. Are you laughing yet? Well, she gives him a run for his money
because Alexis won’t be calling any man, Master. Ezra is a shipyard owner and a
man on the cutting edge of the age. He doesn’t understand Alexis, but she
brings laughter and joy to his dark, broken heart.
I’ve often said, I love cultures whether it’s a bygone era,
or something I create myself, which is something you’ll see in my next story.
But using modern women, and a young man as well in Reflections, shows the
contrast by allowing us to see what the culture was like a little closer.
Alexis found she couldn’t battle the era she was trapped in,
she had to conform to it because it wasn’t going to conform to her. Brayden in
Reflections found the same, even though he never lived in any age but his own.
Culture is steeped in our DNA, and while we can change
opinions and emotions over time, it will always be a part of who we are.
The Carriage
Jena Baxter
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Jena Baxter Books
Date of Publication: February 16th, 15
ISBN: 978-0-9911677-2-2
ASIN: B00TOQNODQ
Number of pages: 214
Word Count: 52,313
Cover Artist: Consuelo Parra
Model: Amber Ornelas
Book Description:
A teenage girl enters a carriage in Central Park and disembarks in Victorian, England.
Cursed by her sister Brooke, Alexis Powell arrives in the Victorian Era where she meets Ezra, who was recently murdered by an assassin his brother Amos hired. Now a supernatural creature, Ezra sees into Alexis’ mind with a touch and Intrigued by her memories, offers his help only to be rebuffed for his kindness. Alexis runs away, but Ezra is unable to shake off what he saw. He follows her through the streets of London.
Vulnerable after the death of his Father, his brother’s harassment, and Alexis’ many rejections, Ezra decides to stop following her. Alexis is unable to find work or food. Facing starvation, she steals a tomato and Ezra finds her facing the local magistrate and an angry mob. He pays for her freedom.
Finally accepting the help Ezra offers, Alexis moves into the manor he shares with his brother. Romance blossoms but the bond between Ezra and Amos is worse than Alexis’ relationship with Brooke.
While Ezra and Alexis search for a way to send her home, Amos looks for a way to kill them.
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/-2P1NTDmQww
Available at Amazon
Excerpt:
Somehow I was
certain I was no longer in New York. The streets were cobblestone, and the
buildings wood and brick. A lot of them were broken down, old and shabby. The
alleys were filthy and smelled like shit. Exhausted, I looked for a place to
hide but didn’t know where to go. When I couldn’t move another muscle, I hid
behind a wooden staircase with my back against the wall and fought not to jump
at every sound.
I hadn’t meant to fall asleep, and didn’t know
how long I’d slept, but it looked close to mid-morning when I opened my eyes
and looked around.
The women
walking by were wearing long, full dresses, and big feathered hats. The men’s
pants were more form fitting, not the jeans they usually wear. Some of the
children running around were barefoot and downright filthy, looking as if they
had been rolling in mud or playing with charcoal. I cringed when I saw a boy
carrying a rat by the tail. Everything was straight out of a Dickens novel. I
wouldn’t have been surprised to see little Dorrit, or Ebenezer Scrooge waltz by
any minute now. I rubbed my nose with the palm of my hand. What the hell was I
going to do?
This obviously wasn’t real, so I must have
fallen in with a role playing community of some sort. My mother and father used
to play dungeons and dragons. Maybe this was the same thing, but in the
extreme.
Something
slammed into my back. I screamed and turned at the sound of a woman yelling at
me. The broom in her hand whooshed down again, just missing my face.
“Whoa. Hey,
stop!”
What was wrong
with these people? I couldn’t understand a word she said, so I ran. She chased
me, swinging the broom until I left the alley.
I stopped to
catch my breath, smoothed my clothes, and approached a woman in a long brown
dress with a white bonnet and black boots. She stared at me like I was some
sort of freak. Uh ... she was the freak, not me. Maybe the men would be
friendlier, but not one of them would stop. Then I saw the man that crashed
into me yesterday across the road. He looked a little different, wearing a
brown suit, and an odd piece of material similar to a scarf around his neck,
with a top hat. He was actually still attractive in the weird clothes. Dodging
carts and vendors, I made a bee-line for him. At least he wouldn’t chase me
with a broom.
About the Author:
Jena Baxter has always loved history and time travel. She liked to read, and often wrote poetry as a stress inhibitor while growing up. But like other writers, she dreamed of writing a novel. So she enrolled at the UCLA Writer's Extension, to gain the confidence and skill to move forward.
Today Jena has a YA Fantasy novel, as well as a YA Paranormal Romance novel online and in print.
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1 comment:
The research would have been fascinating.
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