Rhode Island Duo: Gail Eastwood and Julien Ayotte

Author Gail Eastwood: RHODE ISLAND –A Place of Many Names:

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the U.S. but it is huge in terms of what it has to offer. When I first signed up for this blog, I planned to highlight the state’s rich history, since I’m a history geek and write what I call “semi-sweet” Regency romances with a twist of suspense. My characters may be on the “other side” of the War of 1812, but their English fashions still ruled here! Plus, much of Rhode Island looks like England, with small farms, woods, and old stone walls along the narrow backroads, not to mention our miles of coastline. Our history goes back well before the Regency period.

However (you heard that coming, right?), I recently started a new project, which is a series of sweet contemporary romances set right here in Rhode Island, in a small town by the water! They aren’t out yet, so I can’t say much about them, but you can be sure when there is news it will be posted on my website and other places –see my contact info at the end of this post. So now I also want to talk about Narragansett Bay and the ocean!

If Rhode Island weren’t known as “The Ocean State” it might instead be called “the Feisty State” because, for such a small place, we sure have been a contentious lot. We were founded in 1636 as a haven for religious freedom in rebellion against the restrictive views of the Puritans. We took on the British even before those Bostonians dumped tea in their harbor (the 1772 Burning of the Gaspee, see http://gaspee.org/BurningGaspee.html) and we renounced our allegiance to the Crown in May of 1776, two months before the Declaration of Independence!

Many houses survive here from that colonial era, some open as museums, but many are still private homes. Providence offers “a mile of history” along Benefit Street, including rows of such homes stretching between the beautiful 18^th century John Brown house, America’s actual First Baptist Church (1775), America’s longest running little theatre, the Barker Playhouse, and the excellent Museum of Art that is part of the R.I. School of Design. Newport is the home of America’s second and oldest remaining Jewish synagogue, Touro Synagogue (1763), still an active place of worship.

Newport also offers an array of later homes –the famous “Newport Mansions”, summer homes of the very wealthy during the Gilded Age (late 19^th century) –the Astors and Vanderbuilts, among others. If your taste is more literary, you can trace the paths of Edgar Allen Poe and horror writer H.P. Lovecraft in Providence, visit the summer home of Edward Everett Hale (author of “The Man without a Country”) or see where Thornton Wilder stayed in Newport when writing the novel Theophilus North (movie 1988 “Mr. North”). The latter is one of my favorite spots in R.I. –the Inn at Castle Hill, where lunch on the lawn affords a delightful view of boat traffic heading in and out of Newport Harbor. 

Newport graces the southern tip of Aquidneck Island, also known in early days as Rhode Island. The largest of many islands here, it’s the one that gave our state its name (the “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations”, the longest name for the smallest state). Besides Castle Hill off the fabulous Ocean Drive along Newport’s rocky oceanfront, the island offers several other of my favorite things to do: picnic with wine tasting on the grass at a vineyard (there are several), picnic supper at a polo match in Portsmouth, picnic lunch and a stroll through Green Animals Topiary Gardens, also in Portsmouth. 

Notice a “picnic” pattern there? R.I. is at its best in summer, when the ocean breezes usually keep our weather moderate. Maybe we should be called “The Summer State”! However, there’s good reason we are “The Ocean State”. For all our small size (37 miles wide x 48 miles long), we have nearly 400 miles of saltwater coastline, and countless beaches. Like Delaware, R.I. is intersected by a huge bay that takes up the entire middle of our space.

The many coves and inlets along the sides of Narragansett Bay make it no surprise that R.I. also has a legacy of smuggling activities. (Maybe “The Smuggler’s State”? LOL) A lighthouse tour of the bay or a cruise on a ferry from Providence to Newport are popular ways for visitors to see the bay up close.  The view from the top of the Newport Bridge is truly spectacular! Personally, I enjoy a sail on my son’s vintage 33-foot sailboat, but above all I am a beach girl.

RI’s beaches come in all flavors, from unspoiled natural beauty to busy and energetic with all the amenities. You can pick your style, or try to visit all of them. That’s a challenge, though, because not all are public. Back in 1937, my grandparents picked up a private beach membership that we consider a family heirloom as it passes to each new generation. A quiet, almost empty beach is what I love best, which means I stay away on the weekends! R.I. beaches would be “world-class” if only our water was warmer, and our weather more reliable. There’s good reason stars like Taylor Swift, the late Anthony Quinn, and actor James Woods have or have had homes here.

My new series is set in a fictional small harbor town on a cove off of Narragansett Bay. Through the romantic escapades of my characters, I hope to also share a glimpse of life in Rhode Island for those who may never get a chance to come here. You can explore many facets of R.I. through the articles at tripsavy.com, like this one on our beaches: https://www.tripsavvy.com/the-best-beaches-in-rhode-island-4143185.

Have you ever been to RI? If so, what is your favorite impression? If you haven’t, what do you think you might enjoy the most?

I am offering a $10 Amazon gift card for one randomly-selected commenter on this posting plus, if you prefer instant gratification, your choice of one of my three self-reissued Regency ebooks, The Captain’s Dilemma (set in the English countryside), The Lady from Spain, or The Magnificent Marquess (both set in London). All are revised or in the case of the Marquess, fully rewritten, from their original versions published by Signet/NAL/Penguin back in the 1990’s. (I can’t give away the backlist books that have been reissued by Penguin.) Full descriptions are on my website, or on Amazon and other book outlets. 

If you prefer sweet contemporary romance and are willing to wait, I can instead offer you the gift card plus the chance to Beta read the first book in my new series when it is ready! When you comment be sure to let me know which option you prefer, if you want to be in the drawing. Thank you for reading!

Gail Eastwood started writing stories as a youngster and always aimed at becoming an author. After detours into rare books, journalism, and a few other things, she finally penned her first novel (A Perilous Journey), sold it, and won the Golden Leaf Award for Best Regency when it came out. Six more acclaimed novels followed, but then Gail’s career got sidelined for a decade by family health issues. Now she’s back! To learn more and see what I’m doing, please visit www.gaileastwoodauthor.com, sign up for my newsletter, and check my facebook pages (facebook.com/gail.eastwoodauthor.7, and facebook.com/gaileastwoodauthor/). I’d love to see you there!

Rhode Island Author Julien Ayotte Keeps His Focus Year After Year:

When you complete your debut novel (Flower of Heaven) in 2012 at the ripe young age of 70, most people would expect that the novel may be your only one, given your age!  But when the sequel comes out in 2014 (Dangerous Bloodlines), just eighteen months later, suddenly readers begin to believe there may be more left in this author’s tank.

Surely, at age 72, how many more novels can a writer have?  How about A Life Before in 2016 and Disappearance in 2017?  Fast forward to August of this year, and this 76 year-old is about to release his fifth novel in six years, Code Name Lily, a historical fiction based on a true story of a young woman working for the Belgian resistance in World War II.

But what literary agent would ever consider signing on a 76 year-old author?  How many books can he possibly write going forward that would make it worthwhile for the agent?  One such agent said that age shouldn’t be a factor.  But it is.  When you sell over 6000 books on your own, without inclusion in the 40,000 bookstores covered in the Ingram system, just imagine what you could do if your books were in those bookstores across the nation.  But it’s a catch-22.  You can’t get into bookstores without an accepted publisher included in the Ingram system, and you can’t get a traditional publisher without a literary agent.

My original plan was to write 10 books in 10 years, and I’ll be halfway there by the end of this year.  My goal of at least 5 more novels still stands.

The encouragement and camaraderie I receive from many other Rhode Island authors is very much appreciated and the comparison of my writing to Harlan Coben and David Baldacci from Jon Land is very heartwarming.

 If you’d like to know more who I am and what I write, visit my website at www.julienayotte.com. 

 Anyone signing up for my newsletter by sending me their email address will be eligible for a copy of my new release Code Name Lily. jpahome@cox.net

Award-winning author Julien Ayotte co-authored his first book, Wealth Building for Professionals, in 2001, drawing from his years of experience as a corporate executive and business teacher at the high school and college graduate levels. In addition, he spent nearly fourteen years in legal administration at two law firms. The author holds a BA, MBA, and a PhD, all in business and finance. Flower of Heaven was his debut novel in 2012, followed by the sequel, Dangerous Bloodlines, in 2014. His third novel, A Life Before, was released in March, 2016 and his latest novel, Disappearance, was release in November 2017. Ayotte lives in Rhode Island with his wife, Pauline. They have three children.