1861 London, England

This debut novel that has the yawning emotional pull and suspenseful secrets one finds in the classics, even of Charles Dickens. And may I say that I believe that even Dickens would have to approve of Joanna Davidson Politano’s storytelling!
​
Aurelie Harcourt’s father passes, which spins his daughter into a world of secrets, mystery, and danger. He left Aurelie an emotionally distant family and his famous pen name, Nathaniel Droll, which has kept his identity hidden from avid readers and fans.  He raised his daughter in the strangest of situations and left her—not his fault—to fend for herself in a suspicious family of means. I love the main character; she is intelligent, strong, and resourceful. Believe me—she has to be so to be in this situation. She captured my admiration immediately, and Aurelie’s story drew my attention with exacting meticulousness.

May I quote Aurelie to you, “Fiction was not always a lie, but a truth told in parallel to real life.” How I’ve always believed that myself! Well stated, Aurelie. The generations of her family and the other characters of interest were excellently represented and kept my full attention and appreciation for their crafty, mind-boggling fabulous uniqueness.

The beauty of the writing and the uniqueness of this tale kept me turning pages and loving every millisecond of well-spent time of pursuing these pages. This hauntingly wonderful story is a reread and favorite. I’ll keep it close on my well visited shelves. If you like to think through the story, enjoy the cadence of the language, and hold on through twists and turns—well, this is a story for you that I’m excited to point out to you. Thank you, Joanna for writing with excellence and clever challenges your character had to scale.  

You may find Joanna Davidson Politano at:

http://jdpstories.com/
https://www.pinterest.com/sunshine39n/

What a perfectly difficult decision this was for the judges when I asked them to pick a name for the winner of this contest. Well, I asked them to pick their top five favorites so that I could be sure to find a winner! All the names submitted for the male Boxer (who snuck onto the pages of SISTERS & SECRETS, Book 2 of my HEARTS FOREVER FAITHFUL series) are worthy of a puppy. To make it even more difficult for those submitting names and those judging --, I refused to give information about this particular Boxer, such as who he belonged to or how much space he will take on the pages of this story. My offerings for inspiration were the photos of our sweet Boxer! From those glimpses of his personality and looks, people responded. I'm very grateful that they did!

A bravo and huge thank you to all who submitted a name for the Boxer character for  SISTERS & SECRETS, Book 2, HEARTS FOREVER FAITHFUL!  

Okay, drumroll . . . 

The winning name is Winston--submitted by Stacey Ulferts. Congratulations Stacey! I will contact you via FaceBook to make arrangements for sending your $25.00 Visa card. Your name will be mentioned on the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS page of SISTERS & SECRETS, which is in the process of being written! As soon as the novel is published, I will send you a signed copy! Winston, what a wonderful name and very fitting! Thank you for submitting!

2nd runner-up is the name Murphy--submitted by Rita deFoe. This was also a well-liked name and one worthy of a lovely puppy--if anyone is looking to name one! Thank you for submitting this terrific name, Rita!

3rd runner-up is the name Prince--submitted by Jennifer Frank! This is definitely a charming name--get it-- Prince Charming!  :) Also, well-liked, and I appreciate your submitting this name, Jennifer! 

I will include the 2nd and 3rd name choices and the names of those who submitted them in the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS page of SISTERS & SECRETS! I hope that you all had as much fun during this contest as I did. I know some of the judges express their glee! 

Okay, back to work on this novel. The first thing I'll do is add Winston to the pages!