Laura Frantz is a Christy Award winner and the ECPA bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including An Uncommon Woman, Tidewater Bride, The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Colonel’s Lady, The Lacemaker, and A Bound Heart. She is a proud mom of an American soldier and a career firefighter. When not at home in Kentucky, she and her husband live in Washington State.
In this interview, Laura talks with us about her new novel, A Heart Adrift.
FF: Can you please provide a brief description of A Heart Adrift?
A Virginia chocolatier and a privateering sea captain collide after a failed love affair a decade before. Will a war and a cache of regrets keep them apart? Or will a new shared vision reunite them?
FF: Your novel takes place in the mid-1700s. What historical events were occurring during this time period?
The novel opens at the beginning of the French and Indian War (also called the Seven Years’ War), which pitted England and its colonies against France and their allies, all in a quest for territory. George II was on the English throne, and the conflict lasted for seven long, bloody, costly years, all played out on American soil and at sea.
FF: What draws you to this era?
Colonial America is an unending source of powerful historical men and women who made our nation what it is today. It’s fascinating history right down to the garments they wore. My regret is that all my story ideas will outlast me and I won’t find time for all the novels I’d love to write! I’m continually fascinated by our colonial ties to Great Britain and how so many of us have ancestry there.
FF: Your novel is set in colonial York, Virginia. What type of research was required to accurately portray this setting?
I prefer a global approach to research—taking a look at all that was going on internationally as well as colonially in as many arenas as I can delve into. What was being invented in 1755 or so? What was in fashion? What were people eating? What religions were being practiced? Who was in power politically and why? What was the state of medicine and justice? I also like to visit the very site I’m writing about—tour museums, walk about, and get the lay of the land, so to speak. Being on-site really makes the novel come alive for me.
FF: Can you please tell readers about your two main characters, Esmée Shaw and Henri Lennox?
Both Esmée and Henri are more mature at ages twenty-eight and thirty-five, respectively. As a privateer, Captain Lennox has sailed around the world more than once, and though he has experienced many locales, his heart is still tied to Virginia. Esmée is not so well traveled, but she is an experienced chocolatier and a benefactress ashore. Together they make a heart-melting combination, or so I hope!
FF: Both Esmée and Henri are dedicated to the colonial cause. What does this entail?
Both are very colonial-minded. They are intent on Virginia’s continuance as a leader among the British colonies, share a heart for what would become the seeds of the United States Navy in time, and are mariners in general, including keeping the first lighthouse in the Chesapeake region.
FF: Your two protagonists share a long history together. Can you provide some insight on their shared past?
To start, Henri has a terrible sweet tooth! That aside, when he and Esmée first meet, their mutual attraction has nothing to do with her chocolate shop. He finds her delightfully feminine, intelligent, and fun. In turn, she is smitten with his renowned privateering reputation and benevolence. Alas, their romance is not to be realized for a decade, but perhaps love is sweeter the second time around.
FF: What do you hope readers will experience when reading A Heart Adrift?
I hope readers enjoy the story immensely with all its poignancy and can read between the lines to see that the valleys of life are often the high road, achieving our ultimate good and God’s glory. This novel is perhaps my most sophisticated yet, dealing with themes of love, loss, forgiveness, and restoration.
FF: What are you working on next?
I’ve just finished a novel set entirely in Scotland, tentatively titled The Rose and Thistle, which releases in January 2023. Of all the novels I’ve written, this story has been the hardest to let go of. I so hope readers love it like I do!
A Heart Adrift
Laura Frantz
Revell
Genres: Historical Romance
Release Date: January 4, 2022
ISBN-10: 0800734971
ISBN-13: 978-0800734978
Book Summary:
A Virginia chocolatier and a privateering sea captain collide once more after a failed love affair a decade before. Will a war and a cache of regrets keep them apart? Or will a new shared vision reunite them?
It is 1755, and the threat of war with France looms over colonial York, Virginia. Chocolatier Esmée Shaw is fighting her own battle of the heart. Having reached her twenty-eighth birthday, she is reconciled to life alone after a decade-old failed love affair from which she’s never quite recovered. But she longs to find something worthwhile to do with her life.
Captain Henri Lennox has returned to port after a lengthy absence, intent on completing the lighthouse in the dangerous Chesapeake Bay, a dream he once shared with Esmée. But when the colonial government asks him to lead a secret naval expedition against the French, his future is plunged into uncertainty.
CLICK TO BUY
Buy Heart Adrift from the FF Store HERE!
CLICK TO BUY
Buy Heart Adrift from Amazon HERE!