IRISH MEADOWS by Susan Anne Mason

The adventurer begins in May 1911 at the O’Leary mansion situated on Long Island, New York. The horse farm, Irish Meadows, is close to failing, while two distinctly different sisters, Brianna and Colleen, will be confronted with the high-pressured matchmaking designs of their father. These two sisters, one shy and the other spirited, dare to dream despite their family’s expectations. Two unlikely heroes add romance and reason for these young women to reach higher. This is an excellent tale of an Irish family struggling to survive and hold onto their most precious possessions, their sense of family and way of life, without losing themselves in the process.

I was immediately a fan of this story that encompassed characters with courage and imagination who are seasoned with hopefulness that will not settle. But at what price? I’ll not tell, for how would you enjoy the discovery of unfolding the tale that this fine Irish fiction delivers!

Irish Meadows is the first in the COURAGE TO DREAM series. Susan Anne Mason’s story held my interest till the very last page and I’m eager to order the other two novels. If you’re a dreamer and lover of historical fiction than I advise you to place your order posthaste! 😊

Thank you Susan for your excellence in story-telling, your weaving of difficulty and history and personalities that created a gripping tale I’m so glad I’d not missed!


Questions for Susan:

1. Did you write this tale to honor anyone in particular? Not really no. Just a tribute in general to my Irish heritage.
   
   
   
2. So, you have a bit of Irish in you too! (Me too!) I read over your adventure of discovering your heritage with Ancestry.com. Did your discoveries inspire this series?
   Not directly. But it did influence the nationality of my fictional family, the O’Learys. My grandfather was always very proud of his Irish heritage and used to march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade!  However, my discoveries did influence another book that just came out on March 6th. But I’ll let you discover that one!
   
   
   
3. If you could go back in time, who would you talk to and what would you ask them?
   I’d love to chat with Jane Austen about her experiences and her struggles as a female author in her time period. I think it would be fascinating.
   
   
   
4. Who are among your favorite authors?
   Oh boy, that’s hard to narrow down, there are so many! For historical romance, I love Tamara Alexander, Laura Frantz, Karen Witemeyer, Julie Lessman, and Elizabeth Camden, to name a few. For contemporary romance, I love Denise Hunter, Becky Wade, Susan May Warren, Melissa Tagg, and Sally Bayless.
   
   
   
5. If you could visit Ireland, what town would you be determined to visit?
   I’d love to visit Derbyshire where some of my ancestors on my mother’s side of the family lived. But I’d also have to visit Portadown in County Armagh where my dad’s ancestors came from. We even had a lock named after our family there!
   
   
   
6. Do you have a favorite Irish meal? Do you cook it or have you visited an Irish establishment to partake? Sadly, no. Although I did make Irish soda bread a few times. My aunt, also Irish, gave me the recipe.
   
   
   
7. How did you come up with your heroes? You did very well by the way for they were realistic and perfectly flawed and excellent in the right balance!
   That’s a tough question. I think most writers have a hard time describing how characters just appear in our minds. But if I remember correctly, Gil was loosely based on Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables, as far as being an overall, likeable character. Rylan Montgomery started off as a much more serious fellow, but after the first scene where he rescued Colleen and her broken carriage from the mud, his whole personality emerged and it became evident that he had a wonderful sense of humor. J
   
   
   
8. How do you wish for your readers to find you with social media?
   www.facebook.com/susan.anne.mason.333/
   https://twitter.com/samason
   https://www.pinterest.ca/susanannemason/ 
   www.instagram.com/sbmason123