October Author of the Month
She isn't a beautiful young maiden hoping to erase the Commander's memory.
Opal Whilstead knows she has a reputation: a reputation as a bright, giving, upright woman—smiling and laughing her way through hopeless spinsterhood. It's been so long since she's had serious feelings for a man, but now she finds herself taken with the Commander Exemplar of Diachona's army.
And she regrets it.
Not only is the Exemplar a widower still longing for his wife, but he's the father of the reigning king. Even if a man of such prestige could find love again, he'd be unlikely to search for it among the kingdom's old maids. Besides, Opal dreads being found, due to a grievous secret she carries...
And she regrets it.
Not only is the Exemplar a widower still longing for his wife, but he's the father of the reigning king. Even if a man of such prestige could find love again, he'd be unlikely to search for it among the kingdom's old maids. Besides, Opal dreads being found, due to a grievous secret she carries...
This book is inspirational historical fantasy:
fictional history that takes place in a completely fictional world.
fictional history that takes place in a completely fictional world.
ASIN: B07SS6PNCR
Interview with Nadine C. Keels
1. What was the inspiration for Reviving the Commander?
The returning characters! Even though I considered the Movement of Crowns series to be finished in 2013, something in me suspected there was still so much more to tell...and the characters basically pushed me to start telling it. So I had to continue their stories with a spin-off series, Crowns Legacy.
The returning characters! Even though I considered the Movement of Crowns series to be finished in 2013, something in me suspected there was still so much more to tell...and the characters basically pushed me to start telling it. So I had to continue their stories with a spin-off series, Crowns Legacy.
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2. How long did it take to finish writing this book? In a way, almost six years. The actual time pounding out the manuscript on my computer may've only taken a couple of months, but I personally went through a lot between 2013 and 2019. It took more real-life experience, and time letting the characters grow in my heart, before I was ready to really put words to paper for this story. |
3. Do you have favorite characters in this book?
It may be cliché to say the hero and heroine are my favorite characters in a romance novel. But I really enjoyed walking outside of some romance genre norms with this couple. Middle-age. Graying and gray hair. Two people who've already experienced so much in life, who've been seasoned by passing seasons, but their inner wells are anything but dried up.
It may be cliché to say the hero and heroine are my favorite characters in a romance novel. But I really enjoyed walking outside of some romance genre norms with this couple. Middle-age. Graying and gray hair. Two people who've already experienced so much in life, who've been seasoned by passing seasons, but their inner wells are anything but dried up.
4. What made you choose some of the specific locations in this book?
I wanted some locations that would give readers a closer look into the hero's work and family life. While he's a crucial part of the Movement of Crowns series, we mostly see him there through other characters' eyes. Reviving the Commander gives us a chance to see the Commander Exemplar's life through his own eyes.
I wanted some locations that would give readers a closer look into the hero's work and family life. While he's a crucial part of the Movement of Crowns series, we mostly see him there through other characters' eyes. Reviving the Commander gives us a chance to see the Commander Exemplar's life through his own eyes.
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5. How did you name your characters? Much of the naming was easy, since most of the characters are "repeats"! Even so, I think the new principal character's name, Opal, is fitting: a precious gem with various "colors" to her makeup, increasing in value with time. |
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6. What do you hope your readers will take away with them when they read this book?
I hope readers will better appreciate the value of their own seasons. It seems there are far too many folks who've got this notion that the real excitement of life is over after your twenties. But there are so many reasons why we aren't meant to be twenty-five forever. As long as we're living, there's more life to live—if we choose to live it.
I hope readers will better appreciate the value of their own seasons. It seems there are far too many folks who've got this notion that the real excitement of life is over after your twenties. But there are so many reasons why we aren't meant to be twenty-five forever. As long as we're living, there's more life to live—if we choose to live it.
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7. Tell us something funny, sad, embarrassing, whatever, that happened involving this book.
Well, I say the previous characters pushed me to start telling more about them. That's partly because I'd already gotten another spin-off started in 2018, the Eubeltic Realm series, which picks up more than a century after the Movement of Crowns. A further look into the future called for a deeper look into the past. So now I'm time traveling back and forth as I write two spin-off series at once. I didn't at all plan this when I wrote the first book, The Movement of Crowns (which I'd imagined being a standalone story) or after I, um, finished the Movement of Crowns series. ("There. That's all, folks!" Ha.) |
But since characters make demands that authors do well to listen to, I've decided to stop trying to essentially force a Finish Line on the overarching story in this historical fantasy world I've created. Sometimes I hardly know who's steering this ship—me or my characters—but we're all on this trip together. May as well enjoy the ride!
It's Time For A Giveaway!
Nadine is generously giving away an ebook copy (MOBI, EPUB, or PDF)
of The Movement of Crowns Series
of The Movement of Crowns Series
