Borrowed Promises (Moonseed Trilogy #2)
by Judith Ingram
On the night of the new spring moon, a near-fatal accident propelled Victoria Reeves-Ashton over a century back in time to awaken in the body of Katherine Kamarov.
Now, after three months of pretending to be Katherine and laboring to repair relationships damaged by Katherine's brash and selfish personality, quiet and gentle Victoria finds that her heart is putting down roots in Katherine's world, in her family relationships, and especially in a deepening friendship with Katherine's winsome cousin Michael.
Hidden letters reveal the story of other moonseed-time travelers like herself-and Victoria realizes that she and Katherine will likely be returned to their own times the following spring. Tension mounts when a rich and handsome suitor applies to marry her, and Victoria must choose whether to accept him for Katherine's sake or to follow her own heart.
Ryan Ashton, the husband Victoria left behind, is baffled by the woman his wife has suddenly become. Unwilling to believe her story about an exchange in time, Ryan struggles to understand the stark transformation of his timid, remote wife into a sexually aggressive and captivating siren. Against his better judgment, he falls hard for this new woman who is a perplexing mixture of cruelty, sensuality, and tenderness, a woman who he suspects has the power to either break his heart or heal the aching loneliness he has lived with all his life.
Genre: paranormal romance
Publisher: Vinspire Publishing, LLC
Number of pages: 249 pages Cover Artist: Elaina Lee/For the Muse Designs
Q & A with Author Judith Ingram
Tell us a little bit about your main characters.
Victoria and Ryan Ashton are a rich, glamorous couple who live in present-day San Francisco. Beautiful and shy Victoria longs to escape her unhappy marriage and the haunting memories of a childhood terror she cannot remember. Ryan, too, feels trapped in his second failed attempt at marriage. After she is nearly killed in a falling accident, his wife emerges from her coma a bold and sexually aggressive woman. Unwilling to believe her story of time travel, Ryan looks for answers to her puzzling new behaviors even as his lonely heart begins to open up to her.
We first know Katherine Kamarov through her journal entries in a book Victoria discovers under the attic floorboards of an old house. Katherine lived in the late 1800s, and when Victoria suddenly awakens in Katherine's body around the turn of the century, she discovers that Katherine's abusive husband has just died under mysterious circumstances. The narrative never gets inside Katherine's head, so readers are left to guess at her motives and piece together the complexities of her personality, all the way to the climax in Book 3 of the trilogy, Into the Mist.
What was your favorite scene to write?
One of my favorite scenes appears twice in Book 2, Borrowed Promise. Throughout the trilogy the two women's narratives alternate season by season, first Katherine and then Victoria. At the end of the summer season, time returns each woman to her own life for a brief period. Thus, the same event appears in two different places in the book—at the end of Katherine's narrative as told from Ryan's point of view, and then at the end of Victoria's narrative and from her own perspective. That was fun to write. My other favorite scene in Book 2 takes place in Golden Gate Park in old San Francisco. Victoria is falling in love with Katherine's cousin Michael, and this scene marks the subtle turning point in their relationship, from simple friendship to something deeper and troubling for Victoria as she knows she cannot stay more than a year in Katherine's body.
What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I am by nature very single minded. I can't talk when I drive; I can't have music on when I read. So when I'm in the groove with my writing, I sit at the computer for hours writing until my fingers just about fall off. My husband saves me by taking me to the kitchen and feeding me. I live in my characters' world; I think and dream about my story. Certain scenes come to me like islands, and I play with them in my imagination, perfecting them. Not all of them make it into the story, and some that do make it in get cut later because they're not necessary to move the plot along. But they are still fun to create!
How has your environment/upbringing colored your writing?
I inherited a practical, observant nature from my German father and a love of language from my Russian mother. I need both sides when I write. My older sister was always considered the writer of the family, so I didn't have much confidence in my own gift for a long time. Like my character Victoria, I survived an abusive childhood that haunted me, and it was through my recovery in therapy that my story emerged as a tale that needed to be told. Given hope and healing, I believe our darkest memories can provide fertile material for our novels.
If you could be any character from your book, who would you be and why?
That's difficult to answer because I am Victoria and I am Katherine! Those characters came right out of my own heart. I guess I would answer that I'm rather attached to Elizabeth. She is the caring adult aspect of Katherine's personality who falls in love with Ryan and has compassion for the damaged child Katherine had been. Elizabeth loves with all her heart, and I admire her.
What do you do to unwind and relax?
I love to read more than anything. I cannot go to sleep without reading at least one page of a novel before I turn out the light, even if I'm so tired I'll probably have to reread that same page the following night! Walking is also very relaxing and builds me up emotionally. It's funny because as an abused child, I learned to distance myself from my physical body. Even well into my adult years, I could not enjoy walking or dancing or swimming. As part of my recovery from abuse, I learned to experience pleasure in my body. Now when I walk, I feel my strength. Thoughts come and go, and sometimes I get really great ideas to write about.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Russia, definitely Russia. I am half German and only one-quarter Russian, but I have always chosen to identify with my maternal grandmother's people. Russia has a history of romantic literature, poetry, architecture, and art. I love the folk tales and textiles associated with Russian heritage. I know it's impossible to visit old Russia, so that's probably why I create time travel stories!
What book are you reading now?
I'm reading The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig. Lovin' it!
