Jacquie Bosma has a Gilded Age Romance for You
Please welcome Jacquie Bosmer. She has a new romance novel set in 1890s New York for you to discover.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m going to answer this “two truths and a lie” style. See if you can guess which one’s which! 1. Growing up, I had a bird (a little green budgie) named Pickles. 2. I’m a former Disney princess at Walt Disney World. 3. I lived in London for a little while, right in the heart of Bloomsbury.
What event or experience in your life affected you as a writer?
Admittedly, there is no singular event or experience that made me a writer. Instead, my writer’s journey is like a tapestry woven together, each formative moment a different thread in the vivid picture. I’ve been a writer ever since I was able to string together a few sentences. Before that, my sister and I would craft elaborate plotlines for our Barbie dolls that would sometimes stretch for days before they were resolved. I’ve written so many types of pieces: newspaper editorials, blogs, screenplays, diaries, fan fiction, short stories, novels. You’d think putting words down on a page would keep me from talking too much. No. I don’t shut up. I’m working on it.
Why did you become a romance writer?
I blame the years spent writing really really really REALLY bad fan fiction in notebooks (and later, on the Internet) as a teenager. The fact is that I love a good love story. I love the flutter of love. Love is beautiful. Love should be celebrated. And since I love to read romance books, I have to put romance in every book I write. (Sorry/not sorry, et cetera.)
What inspired the idea for this book?
I’m a theatre kid. I’m also a history kid. Why not combine the two? I’ve always been fascinated by the late-nineteenth century as well—the opulence of the Gilded Age, certainly, but often the gritty stories of those who didn’t lead very gilded lives. (I’m also a die-hard fan of the musical Newsies, and that adoration has left its fingerprints all over this novel, I’m pleased to say.) The beginnings of Stage Mouse began in my college screenwriting class, where parts of the story took shape as a short-film screenplay. I had the feeling there was more that needed to be told. Over the years, I fleshed it out, wrote about eight thousand scenes and ideas that were the victim of the Delete button, but she’s here at long last, and I hope y’all love her.
Can you tell us about any other upcoming books, series, or writing plans?
For my next trick, I’m putting a lighthearted romcom twist on the (normally serious-as-a-heart-attack) time travel trope in How To Fail At Time Travel. It’s whimsical, unserious, and such a joy to get to know these characters. While it’s still a work in progress, I’m proud to announce that it’s already a finalist in this year’s Maggie Awards (Georgia Romance Writers)! It’ll be ready for querying by this fall. I’m so excited to share it with everyone!
In 1891, Belle Malone would rather be sketching than financially supporting her family. Emigrating from County Cork, Ireland, Belle arrives in New York City with the assurance of respectable—if predictable—work in a textile mill. In a fiery twist of fate, Belle is offered an opportunity to trade a loom for a paintbrush, working as a scenic painter in a small Bowery theater where nothing is quite as it appears to be. . . even beyond the vaudeville theatrics onstage. While painting in the wings, BelleBarnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stage-mouse-jacquie-bosma/1150033522 befriends vibrant performer Nora Valentine, navigates tensions with brooding carpenter Connor McDevitt, and discovers a ghost from her past—Seamus Riordan, a young man from Ireland who was long presumed dead. Will he be the key to her new life in America? Or will the mysterious Seamus bring her ruin instead?
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Jacquie wrote her first novel at age eight using a Dollar Tree notebook. (It was kind of a big deal in the cul-de-sac.) She’s been writing creatively ever since—be it newspaper columns, screenplays, short form fiction, or novel-length tales—and when she’s not telling stories on the page, she tells them on the stage as an actor. Her award-winning debut novel Stage Mouse blends the intrigue of Gangs of New York and the wonder of 1890s-era theatre. Jacquie lives near Atlanta with her husband, two sons, two boy cats, and a boy dog. She makes up for all this testosterone by reading—and writing—distinctly feminine stories that always have a happy ending. You can learn more about what Jacquie’s up to next at jacquiebosma.com.
