Diane Scott Lewis Archives

Apr 3rd Interview Diane Scott Lewis Author of Beyond the Fall

Have I got a treat for you today. Beyond the Fall by Diane Scott Lewis is on sale for 99 cents! WOW! Give a warm welcome to Diane. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Diane and Beyond the Fall!

Why should we read this book/series and what sets you apart from the rest and makes your book/series unique?

I write historical fiction, but I try to make my stories non-fluffy, more serious, but still with humor when necessary, of course. I research carefully to get the details right. Obviously, for BEYOND THE FALL I couldn’t research time-travel, I wish I could, but I tried to make it as realistic as possible in my heroine’s reaction to being thrown back two-hundred years. Such as, how would I react to such an unbelievable event and how would I cope. How would the people treat me when I’d be so different, much more outspoken and bold?

You’ve got a time machine, a cloak of invisibility, and one hour. Where would you go, and what eavesdropping would you do?

Since I usually write about the eighteenth century, I’d like to zip back to that era, in England, and live for a few days with the common people. What are their speech patterns, swear words, etc.? It’s fine to research but to really be there, dress like them, prepare food, shop, would be a boon. I’d listen to how they felt about their lot, the government, life in general. Then I’d want to come home, because as a modern person I love my clean, hot water, and electricity.

Do you see yourself in your characters?

Yes, my female characters are usually smart-mouthed and dry-witted, stubborn and bold, no matter what era they’re in. I do try to work within the limitations that women had in the eighteenth century. And contrary to popular belief, there were many strong women with feminist ideals in the past.

How long have you been writing?

I started telling stories at age five. I’d illustrate them and tell my mother what to write for a caption. I wrote my first novel at age ten, an historical novel set in ancient Egypt. It wasn’t until 1995 that I seriously began my first full-length novel set in eighteenth-century Cornwall, England. In those pre-internet days, I researched at the Library of Congress; a fantastic resource.

SPEED ROUND FOR A LITTLE ADDED FUN:

Speed Round (one word only answer): Yep, I know torture for a writer!<evil laugh>

Favorite movie: Jane Eyre (1944)
Favorite book: All the Light We Cannot See
Last book read: The Handmaid’s Tale
Favorite color: burgundy
Stilettos or flipflops: flipflops
Coffee or tea: both
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: paperback
Pencil or pen: pen

Favorite song: Take on Me

Streak or not: not

Favorite dessert: ice cream

Favorite junk food: snickerdoodle

Favorite thing to do to relax: read

Champagne or gin: Champagne

Paranormal or Historical: historical

Wonder Woman or Top Model: Wonder Woman

Favorite TV show: Midsummer Murders

Hot or cold: hot

POV: third-person

I’d die if I don’t have: books

Review or Not: review

Click on cover to read more or purchase!

Tell us a little about Beyond the Fall!

In 2018, Tamara is dumped by her arrogant husband, travels to Cornwall, England and researches her ancestors. In a neglected cemetery, she scrapes two fallen headstones together trying to read the one beneath, faints, and wakes up in 1789, the year of The French Revolution, and grain riots in England. Young Farmer Colum Polwhele comes to her aid. Can a sassy San Francisco gal survive in this primitive time and fall for Colum, a man active in underhanded dealings or will she struggle to return to her own time?

A peek between the page of Beyond the Fall:

Had she fainted in the churchyard? Tamara strained to sit upright. Rolling her shoulders, she glanced around in embarrassment, relieved to see no one. She’d never fainted before.

The headstones beside her were no longer lying on the ground but standing straight up, the inscriptions clear. They both said Trembeth with death dates in the late-middle eighteenth century. The stones appeared in remarkably good condition. How was that possible? Maybe she’d crawled elsewhere in her daze, around a corner in the cemetery and these were replacements for other Trembeth headstones.

“Very, very weird.” Tamara groaned and staggered to her feet, then brushed off grass and leaves. Her head ached worse, but she wanted to write down the names and dates of what could be her ancestors. She fumbled in her coat pocket for the pencil and notepad. After scribbling the info, she weaved toward a low stone wall she didn’t recall from before and tried to blink away her fugue. She must have hit her head when she fainted.

As she glanced up, she nearly jumped. The church behind the man was no longer crumbling, or fallen in on one side, but looked neat and all in one piece. The now intact windows winked in the sunlight, the ivy not so abundant. She couldn’t have crawled in a funk all the way to another church.

Buy links: Beyond the Fall: Amazon

About the Author:

Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, joined the Navy at nineteen, married in Greece and raised two sons all over the world, including Puerto Rico and Guam. A member of the Historical Novel Society, she wrote book reviews for the Historical Novels Review. Diane worked from 2007 to 2010 as an on-line historical editor. She had her debut novel published in 2010, and has had several historical and historical-romance novels published between 2010 and 2018.

Diane lives with her husband in western Pennsylvania.

Diane’s website: http://www.dianescottlewis.org

It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Beyond the Fall!