A Struggle for Independence by pm terrell

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Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

A Struggle for Independence is a historical novel set in 1916 Ireland. I’ve been drawn to Irish history ever since discovering my ancestral home there. My ancestor, William Neely, moved from Scotland to Ireland in 1608 and discovered that his ancestors lived there long before they moved to Scotland in the 15th century. When I realized that meant they had been involved in or affected by many historical events in Ireland, I began an exploration of significant events. 1916 is a pivotal year because a group that included poets, writers, and actors declared their independence from Great Britain in what would become known as the Easter Rising. I wanted to portray the events through the eyes of an average Irish citizen caught up in the chaos, and her struggle between remaining loyal to England or risking everything for Irish freedom.

What research is required?

I performed about two years of research before I began to write, and the research continued through the final edits. Because there is a plethora of misinformation on the Internet, I stuck to sites associated with universities, historical societies, official government records, and nonprofits dedicated to preserving Irish history. I then contacted individuals related to those sites for verification and additional information, which included archaeologists, historians, and university professors. I toured the places I mentioned in the book, including Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol, Saint Stephen’s Green, and the General Post Office, where Patrick Pearse read the proclamation of independence. There is nothing like standing on the site where the first person was killed during the Easter Rising, or where the leaders were executed in the courtyard of Kilmainham Gaol. It is a sobering and emotional experience.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

I learned that throughout history, uncertainty is a fact of life. Though we look back now at the conclusion of World War I, recognize its victors and often vilify the vanquished, the winners were never a foregone conclusion. When the Easter Rising was planned during this war, there was a sense it would be immediately successful, yet when it failed to unfold as the leaders planned, there were times of great consternation and anxiety as independence appeared to be beyond their reach. As we live through the present time, it is a reminder that every generation that went before experienced levels of uncertainty.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits, or superstitions?

I often dream scenes before I begin to write. I have had at least three books in which I dreamed the entire book from beginning to end in one night. I awakened the following morning concerned that I would not remember all the details, but somehow they all fell into place.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

My betta tank. It is a ten-gallon tank that I have divided into three “apartments.” I have a male betta in each one. Though they can see one another, they know each has its own space, and they live peaceably together. It allows me to see their tranquil movements as I am writing.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

I am currently researching two historical events for future books. I will be writing another ghost story in a dual timeline featuring author Hayley Hunter (from April in the Back of Beyond) as well as a sequel to A Struggle for Independence, which takes our heroine Independence Mather into the Irish War for Independence.

Do you have a question for our readers?

What genre do you prefer to read, and why?

Sometimes a woman comes to the realization that she has built the perfect life but with the wrong man.

It is 1916 Ireland, and Independence Mather has settled into a tedious routine in an arranged marriage when she meets an architect hired to add a wing onto her husband’s vast estate. She soon falls in love with the charming, attentive Nicky Bowers, but he has secrets to hide. When she discovers he is an Irish rebel, events propel her into the middle of the Easter Rising. Now she must decide whether to remain the wife of a British loyalist or risk everything to join the rebellion and be with the man she loves.

Read an Excerpt

I think when all is said and done, I prefer to sleep when the rains are upon me. There is something about curling up beneath layers of warm, cozy covers and listening to the raindrops against the glass or even the stronger pelting storms with their thunder and lightning that cause me to become lulled to contented sleep. But on nights like this, when the air is still and silent, time becomes stuck, and I feel suspended in wakefulness while sleep gathers just beyond my reach.

I rose, sliding my feet into my slippers and donning my robe to tread across the cold floor and poke the peat in the firebox. It was stubborn tonight; seeking the same slumber that evaded me, the remnants of earlier flames nothing more than a spark and a flicker. I finally gave up and began to make my way back to my bed, where warmth, if not sleep, awaited me. I paused at the window to note the frost forming in the lower corner, a late frost that could damage the flowers just beginning to bud to officially herald the spring and promise of summer. The skies were clear, the customary clouds nowhere in sight, the half-moon brilliant even though we were midway between full moons.

A flash caught my eye, and I turned my attention from the night sky to the ground below. I spotted it again, a glint and a glimmer, and it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Forgetting the chill for the moment, I strained my eyes as I peered into the shadows, the moon unable to penetrate the copses of trees between the great house and the structures beyond the meadow.

I tried to pinpoint where the flashes were occurring and came to the conclusion they were at the old barn across from my little studio cottage. I thought vaguely of Stratford, asleep and snoring in his room down the hall, and knew I would not awaken him to the possibility of trespassers, nor would I rouse the servants from their beds. Completely and fully awake now, I felt my senses pricking at my mind, urging me to venture there myself.

I dressed quickly in dark clothing and carried my heavier shoes in my arms as I slipped outside my bedchamber and quietly closed the door behind me. The corridor was dark, and I groped at the walls as I made my way away from Stratford and down the stairs. The house was surreally quiet, objects that seemed ordinary or innocuous during the daytime, suddenly morphing into ghostly beings that loomed over the rooms to watch my departure from the house and into the chill of the night.

About the Author:

p.m.terrell is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 24 books in multiple genres, including contemporary suspense, historical suspense, computer instructional, non-fiction and children’s books.

Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area: McClelland Enterprises, Inc. and Continental Software Development Corporation. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in the detection of white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence.

A full-time author since 2002, Black Swamp Mysteries was her first series, inspired by the success of Exit 22, released in 2008. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. Her second series, Ryan O’Clery Suspense, is also award-winning. The Tempest Murders (Book 1) was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards, cross-genre category. Her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee. Songbirds are Free is her bestselling book to date; it is inspired by the true story of Mary Neely, who was captured in 1780 by Shawnee warriors near Fort Nashborough (now Nashville, TN).

She was the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She was the founder of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual event held in the town of Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase literacy and reduce crime and served as its chairperson and organizer for its first four years. She also served on the boards of the Friends of the Robeson County (NC) Public Library, the Robeson County (NC) Arts Council, Virginia Crime Stoppers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.

For more information, book trailers, excerpts and more, visit the author’s website.

Website: https://pmterrell.com/
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Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Struggle-Independence-p-m-terrell-ebook/dp/B085Q9CRR2/ref=sr_1_1

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