Take a Leap with Shannon Winslow

Available on Amazon

It is my pleasure to have with me this morning, Shannon Winslow, and her heroine, Hope O'Neil, from her latest release Leap of Hope. It is such a privilege to have you both visit today. It has been too long Shannon, and I'm happy to see you again. Miss O'Neil, it is a wonderful to meet you and I look forward to knowing you better. Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I understand you have quite an unusual and rather breath-taking adventure ahead. Shall I turn the floor over to Ms. Winslow so you may tell us all about it? Thanks, Ladies. Over to you, Shannon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Would I like a chance to visit Regency England, the time and place where my imagination has been hanging out for the last dozen years or more? Of course! But I have a couple of conditions.

First, I would have to insist on the Jane Austen version, where even the bad guys have good manners and being poor means you can only afford to keep two servants. Secondly, I must go like a tourist, with a round-trip return ticket and a carry-on bag containing the basic necessities of life. Only offering one-way passes? Then, no thank you. I’m much too fond of my electric toothbrush, modern medicine, and indoor plumbing.

Hope O’Neil – perky southern co-ed, Jane Austen devotee, and heroine of my new novel – is made of braver stuff. She’s at the Crossroads Center now and about to use her one-way pass to Regency England. Before she goes off to start her new life, though, she’s agreed to sit down with me for a little chat. Do stay and join us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shannon: Thank you for speaking with me today, Miss O’Neil, and especially for selecting me to document the incredible adventure you’re about to embark on. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am! But that’s nothing compared to what you must be feeling. Did you ever imagine you would find yourself in this position – soon to travel into the past?

Hope: Gosh, no! I had no clue that anything like this was even possible, but now I’m about to head off to 1809 to become a proper English gentleman’s daughter. Is that awesome or what?

Shannon: That’s going to be quite a trip! The staff here at Crossroads really seem to know what they’re doing, though. Routine stuff for them, I suppose, which must give you confidence.

Hope: It does. Crossroads is in the business of handing out second chances; they do it all the time. I’m very lucky to have been selected, though, and everybody here has been so nice. I think Mr. Poindexter is absolutely super. And isn’t Cora just as cute as the knees on a honey bee? And twice as sweet.

Shannon: Well, you know them both better than I do, I’m sure. So, you’ll soon be off to Regency England.

Hope: That’s right; it’s what I decided on – what I’ve always wanted, really. Ever since I discovered Jane Austen, I’ve felt like I belonged in the world that she wrote about, so this is really a dream come true for me.

Shannon: I’m not sure I could do it. I’d miss the modern conveniences too much. You don’t have any misgivings about that?

Hope: It’s going to call for some adjustments, I know, especially the no-indoor-plumbing part. But I’ve been camping before, plenty of times. How much different could it be?

Shannon: At least you were allowed to choose your situation. Have I got that right? You won’t wind up as a scullery maid or a beggar?

Hope: No, nothing like that. I picked a spot as much like Elizabeth Bennet’s as I could find. I’ll be gentry and live in a fine manor house called Laurelwood – nothing too grand but it reminds me of Longbourn. There’s even an entail.

Shannon: Is there also a neighbor like Mr. Bingley, who happens to have a rich and handsome friend visiting?

Hope: I sure wouldn’t mind! But I can’t count on that. What I do know is I’ll be the second oldest, just like Lizzy, in a family of four daughters with a mother and a father and everything. Having a big family this time is important to me.

Shannon: That’s right; you’re recently orphaned, aren’t you? I’m so sorry. And no brothers or sisters either?

Hope: No, ma’am. I was an only child. I’m not leaving anybody behind – not a boyfriend or even a flea-bitten hound dog to miss me.

Shannon: Tell me more about your new family, then. How exactly do you join a family anyway? Somebody’s bound to notice, aren’t they?

Hope: (laughing) Right. Like Cora told me, “You can’t just show up at the dinner table one day, out of the blue and fully grown, and expect people not to wonder where you came from.” So the way they do it is they slip you into someone else’s spot – somebody who just that second died – and you get to live life out in their place. There’s a whole menu of openings to pick from. It’s practically like ordering lunch at Denny’s! Well, anyway, this girl Kate Barrett – the one I’ve chosen – she died in a riding accident in 1809. Now she’ll seem to survive, only it will be me instead. Do you see?

Shannon: That’s pretty amazing. I never would have believed it.

Hope: It’s done all the time, like I said. You might even have run into a ‘transplant’ before without knowing it – a person who surprisingly recovered from something that should by all rights have done him in, maybe. Like I knew this gal once – her name was Sandi Baker – and everybody said had no business surviving this terrible kind of food poisoning she got from eating bad sushi. But then she did survive after all, and she bounced back, right as rain. Now I wonder if she could have been somebody from Crossroads on a second chance. But Cora wouldn’t tell me. Top secret stuff, apparently.

Shannon: I guess the possibilities opened by time travel are endless.

Hope: It’s mind boggling! Sometimes it actually makes my head hurt to consider… (gasping) Oh, my goodness!

Shannon: What is it?

Hope: A wild idea just popped into my head! I was just thinking that it’s possible you could be a ‘transplant’ on a second chance!

Shannon: Me? No!

Hope: It’s possible – you or anyone. You see, the person eventually loses their memories of their original life. That’s what I’ve been told. So after a while, you wouldn’t know yourself that you had ever been anybody else. That’s why I said it’s possible. You must admit… Uh, Ms. Winslow, are you okay?

Shannon: (hand pressed against forehead) What…? Oh… yes, of course. Just a sudden headache.

Hope: (nodding) Uh-huh. Like I told you; thinking too hard about time travel can do that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shannon Winslow’s Crossroads Collection is made up of two very different books so far, stories about turning points, possibilities, and second chances. Leap of Hope and Leap of Faith are each complete in themselves but connected by theme and the Crossroads characters. They can be read in either order.

Who hasn’t wondered at least once how life would have changed by making an alternate choice at some crucial moment in the past? Where would you be today if you’d turned right instead of left at an important crossroads or been able to sidestep a particular misfortune? Or perhaps you’ve daydreamed about a different life altogether, in a different place and time. Each book in the Crossroads Collection features a new hero/heroine who’s given the extraordinary gift of a second chance at life, the chance to answer for themselves the intriguing question “what if?” 

Both Available on Amazon along with other books by Shannon Winslow

Leap of Hope: Chance at an Austen Kind of Life

At the Crossroads Center, they’re in the business of granting second chances. And their newest client is Hope O’Neil – college student and Jane Austen devotee, who always believed she’d be more at home in Regency England, wearing corsets and courted by men in cravats. But can a modern girl really fit into a world with no electricity, cell phones, or indoor plumbing? Hope is about to find out when her wish for an Austen kind of life is unexpectedly granted. Although she envisions her second chance will be like something straight out of Pride and Prejudice – complete with her own Mr. Darcy and a romantic happy ending – she gets more than she bargained for in this delightful romp through Regency England… a lot more.

Available on Amazon

Leap of Faith: Second Chance at the Dream

At the Crossroads Center, they’re in the business of granting second chances. And their newest client is Ben Lewis, a former star athlete who never recovered from the death of his dream to make it big in the big leagues. Now he’s being offered the opportunity to return to 1991 and try again, this time without the illness that originally ended his baseball hopes. What’s the catch? He will pay for his second chance by forfeiting his memories of the first… and possibly along with them, the love of his life. Can he find his way home to the woman he’s long forgotten but never stopped missing? Or will reaching for the brass ring with both hands cause the treasure he once possessed to slip forever from his grasp?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My, I'm not so sure that I would be as brave as you, Miss O'Neil, although I have a longing for a return to England, that is almost unbearable at times. That longing calls to my heart as if I belong there so I do understand those feelings you have. I would love to 'visit' Regency times but fear I would not enjoy doing without some of my necessities of this life, like toilets and computers, for a couple. I know, they are at two ends of the spectrum of necessary, but I find I would miss both terribly. All of my misgivings aside, I must tell you, you have my deepest admiration and my best wishes for your journey. How eager I am to hear how it all turns out! I guess the only recourse is to read your story as told by Shannon Winslow and find out for myself! What do you think? 

Now Dear Readers, what do you think? Would you want a one-way ticket to Regency England, or anywhere, for that matter? Tell us in your comments. Let us know where you would go if you could and if you would be willing to stay or only go if you could return. It should be fun reading your answers to that thought provoking question! Thanks to all of you for stopping by and a special 'thank you' to Shannon Winslow and Hope O'Neil. It has been wonderful having you today and I loved the interview, ladies. Hope, I think you left Ms. Winslow with a few things to ponder! Delicious, isn't it!?

There is a giveaway! Some of you will have the chance to find out about Hope's adventure and also about Ben's. Isn't that great? I'm thrilled for you. Once you do, you must write and tell me what you think. Ms. Winslow is giving away two paperbacks, one of each title, US only and two eBooks, one of each title, worldwide. That's one paperback and one eBook for Leap of Hope and one paperback and one eBook for Leap of Faith. There will be four  different winners and the giveaway is international for eBooks and US only for paperbacks! Isn't that a fantastic giveaway? Thank you, Shannon Winslow. Readers, when you tell us about your thoughts on time travel, if and where, don't forget to include your contact info too. Thanks for popping in and good luck to all of you. Giveaway will end at 11:59 PM on the 3rd of April. Can you believe it is already nearly April? I can't either!