Strands of Bronze and Gold

Here's a book that may have escaped your reading radar. 

A "thrilling retelling of the Bluebeard fairy tale," 

according to the publisher (and me).

Although the publisher bills it as "Ages 12 and up," it's one of those Crossover Young Adult novels that will appeal to more than teens. A romance set in 1855 that's also a chilling mystery, a ghost story, and a page-turning adventure.

Guess what? The author lived in Aberdeen, MS, while raising her children and beginning her writing career. 

Here's a little about Jane Nickerson, from her own website: 

Living in small town Mississippi was like Coming Home. The Nickersons all loved the south. They bought a hundred-year-old, derelict house with twenty-three rooms, which they named “Tamarind,” because Jane liked the sound of that word. 

Read about the book, also on her website, HERE. 
And there's a second book, another based on a fairy tale, coming in April, 2014! 

(I've been revisiting lots of Historical Fiction in anticipation of the upcoming HIGHLIGHTS FOUNDERS WORKSHOP. Check out the website. http://www.highlightsfoundation.org/workshops/whole-novel-workshop-historical-fiction/
Filling up fast!)

One thing Jane Nickerson did so well? Realistic details. 
 I totally agree with the author: 

 I don’t like anachronism, and the copyeditors helped me a lot to prevent this. They told me things like: “The word ‘footwear’ did not come into usage until 1881.”

Ah, what the world needs is more copyeditors like this in the book world.