Jennifer Deibel is the author of A Dance in Donegal (winner of the Kipp Award for Historical Romance) and The Lady of Galway Manor. With firsthand immersive experience abroad, Jennifer writes stories that help redefine home through the lens of culture, history, and family. After nearly a decade of living in Ireland and Austria, she now lives in Arizona with her husband and their three children.
Now Jennifer invites readers to return to the Emerald Isle in her newest novel, The Maid of Ballymacool. Offering a fresh take on the Cinderella story, this tantalizing novel is brimming with a riveting mystery, a budding romance, and a chance at redemption. Let’s see what she has to say about her new novel.
FF: Please provide a brief summary of your novel The Maid of Ballymacool.
Brianna Kelly was abandoned as an infant. She has worked at Ballymacool House and Boarding School since she was a wee girl and will likely remain there the rest of her life. Despite a sense that she was made for something more, Brianna feels powerless to change her situation, so she consoles herself by exploring the Ballymacool grounds, looking for hidden treasures to add to the secret trove beneath the floorboards of her room.
When Michael Wray, the son of local gentry, is sent to Ballymacool to deal with his unruly cousin, he finds himself drawn to Brianna, immediately and inescapably. There is something about her that feels so…familiar. When Brianna finds a piece of silver in the woods, she commits to learning its origins, with the help of Michael. What they discover may change everything.
FF: What was the inspiration for your new work?
I was scrolling through Instagram and came across drone footage of an abandoned mansion, overgrown with ivy. It had a haunting air about it. I was immediately hooked and fell down the rabbit hole of research trying, to find out where it was. It was Ballymacool House on the outskirts of Letterkenny in County Donegal.
I had already been rolling the idea around in my head of a story about an orphan who works at a boarding school, but I hadn’t been able to find the perfect place to set it. When I saw Ballymacool House, I knew I’d found my setting. The rest of the story details just fell into place!
FF: All of your novels have taken place in Ireland. Why do you always choose this setting?
After living in Ireland for many years, and having left it far before I was ready, writing stories set there is my way of being back in the land—and with the people—I love so very much. These stories are also my love letters to Ireland and her people.
But more than that, I want as many people as possible to get beyond the Blarney and experience the true Ireland. I know that, for many, traveling there is impossible, so I hope to allow them to travel there via the pages of my books, and to experience the majesty, wonder, rolling green hills, lilting music, and warm-hearted people.
FF: The Maid of Ballymacool takes place in the 1930s. Why did you choose this time period?
My first two books are set in the early twenties, so I wanted to explore a new time period. I also centered the story around a specific historic event, when Ballymacool House was raided, so that dictated when the story itself would take place so that Brianna would be the right age. So many stories are centered on the Irish War for Independence or the Potato Famine—and rightly so. However, there are many other incredible time periods to explore in this country’s rich history, so I wanted to jump in to a little-discussed point in time.
FF: Can you please provide some information on your female protagonist, Brianna Kelly?
Brianna is strong and fiery, but she has a thread of self-doubt running deep through her, stemming from when by her parents left her on the doorstep of the local schoolmarm. While she carries the hurt and sense of abandonment from that event, she also longs to feel a connection to her family and her past—a connection that has eluded her at every turn, save for a shard of a pendant that was left around her neck when she was handed over to the schoolmarm.
She’s the lowest scullery maid in a boarding house, and has always felt she was meant for more, but she sees no way out of her current station.
FF: Without giving away any spoilers, can you please tell readers about the connection between Brianna and your male protagonist, Michael Wray?
Michael and Brianna share a connection from the first moment they meet, despite the disparity of their stations—Michael being a leading member of the ascendancy class and Brianna being the lowest-ranking maid on the Ballymacool grounds. Michael, while drawn to Brianna’s beauty—and her fiery red hair—is also shaken by an undeniable sense of familiarity with her. But he can’t see when they ever would have crossed paths before.
For Brianna, it’s Michael’s unequivocal kindness that draws her to him. She fights against his magnetic pull, knowing her station in life has already destined her to a life of solitude. While she finds him entirely handsome, she isn’t immediately romantically drawn to him, but rather finds his kindness more and more difficult to ignore.
FF: What type of research was required for writing The Maid of Ballymacool?
I dove deep into the real history of Ballymacool House—when it was built, who all had lived there over the years, etc. I also needed to delve into the history of the area in the late 1920s and early 30s. Because Ballymacool House never actually served as a boarding house, I was able to take some creative license and really explore what it might have been like had it served that purpose at one time.
FF: What do you hope readers will gain from reading your novel?
As always, I pray readers walk away from this story encouraged in their own faith journey, wherever they are along that path. I also hope that anyone who is struggling with their purpose, identity, or worth will see how very loved they are by their Creator. And I pray that God would whisper to their soul just how vastly important they are—in a way that would refresh their soul like water in a parched land.
FF: What do you love about writing historical romance novels?
I love being able to explore all the what-ifs that abound within the myriad of bygone eras. Being able to get lost in days long past and experience it all through the eyes of new characters is exhilarating and deeply satisfying. Adding in the romance elements is not only fun but also reminds me that true love is not only possible but fostered in everyday mundane tasks. And it’s so delightful to orchestrate situations for people (albeit fictional ones) in which those mundane experiences lead to something entirely life changing.
The Maid of Ballymacool
Jennifer Deibel
Revell
Genres: Historical Romance
Release Date: February 21, 2023
ISBN-10: 0800741749
ISBN-13: 978-0800741747
Book Summary:
Brianna Kelly was abandoned as an infant. Now, as a young woman, she works at Ballymacool House and Boarding School to earn her keep. The school has been her only home and will likely remain that way. Although she longs for more, she feels powerless to change her situation. To keep herself occupied, she explores the grounds for treasures and hides them away in the floorboards of her room.
When Michael Wray, the son of local gentry, comes to Ballymacool to deal with his unruly cousin, he finds himself drawn to Brianna. She is so familiar to him, but he can’t figure out why.
On one of her treasure hunts, Brianna finds a piece of silver. With Michael’s help, she learns its origin. But what she discovers may change her life in more ways than she could ever imagine.
CLICK TO BUY
Buy The Maid of Ballymacool from the FF Store HERE!
CLICK TO BUY
Buy The Maid of Ballymacool from Amazon HERE!