Hello reader friends! Welcome to my Spring Into Reading Event! Every day this month I’m going to feature a new release (or will be released) book for you to add to your TBR. There will be guest posts, giveaways, book excerpts, and more! So make sure you come back daily and see what book is in the spotlight next!
Today I am pleased to welcome Kimberly Duffy to the blog, author of A Mosaic of Wings which releases on May 5th! First of all, this cover is absolutely gorgeous, don’t you think? I highly recommend preordering your copy today. HINT – Baker Book House is currently having a SALE and FREE SHIPPING!!! (As of today anyways, check pricing when you visit their site) I urge you to support small businesses, such as our wonderful publishers, during this trying time we are going through!!!
ABOUT THE BOOK
![A Mosaic of Wings by [Duffy, Kimberly]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Kg6NBCvPL.jpg)
It’s 1885, and all Nora Shipley wants, now that she’s graduating from Cornell University as valedictorian of the entomology program, is to follow in her late father’s footsteps by getting her master’s degree and taking over the scientific journal he started. The only way to uphold her father’s legacy is to win a scholarship, so she joins a research expedition in Kodaikanal, India, to prove herself in the field.
India isn’t what she expects, though, and neither is the rival classmate who accompanies her, Owen Epps. As her preconceptions of India–and of Owen–fall away, she finds both far more captivating than she expected. Forced by the expedition leader to stay at camp and illustrate exotic butterflies the men of the team find without her, Nora befriends Sita, a young Indian girl who has been dedicated to a goddess against her will.
In this spellbinding new land, Nora is soon faced with impossible choices–between saving Sita and saving her career, and between what she’s always thought she wanted and the man she’s come to love.
Baker Book House / Amazon / Goodreads
INTERVIEW WITH KIMBERLY DUFFY
Welcome to A Baker’s Perspective! Can you start by telling us the inspiration behind this story?
A Mosaic of Wings was inspired by my ten-year-old daughter (she’s now thirteen.) When she heard I wanted to write a historical novel, she told me I should write about an entomologist. Nora was born then and I gave her the same great love for insects that my daughter has always had. My writer friend Kristy Cambron suggested I send Nora to an interesting place during a brainstorming session. Since I’d spent some time in India, and India is the most interesting place in the world, I sent her there.
Our children are inspiration for so many things! Thanks for sharing that. Tell us about your writing routine.
I have four kids and I homeschool two of them (right now, I’m homeschooling all of them because I’m in the middle of the great quarantine of 2020). I also care for my husband’s grandmother who lives with us. I have to be very diligent in my writing because there are so many other things that need to be done. I do most of my work in the evenings and on weekends. I’m a plotter so I always know what I’m going to write when I sit down, which helps me manage my time.
You are one busy lady!! You know what helps me in times of stress? Dessert lol. What’s your favorite dessert?
Apple pie a la mode. Or cannoli. Or Graeter’s ice cream. Lemon anything. New York crumb cake. Really, I can’t choose.
I’m with you. So many good options! If you weren’t an author right now, what would you be doing?
I’d probably be a very successful business woman. My husband and I joke that if I had diverted all my hard work and energy from writing into something else, I’d likely never be home, have chronic issues with ulcers, and our children would be in therapy.
LOL! Thankfully the Lord prompted you to become a writer. What’s your favorite bible verse?
This changes all the time, but right now, I’m loving John 14:27. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” It’s reminding me that I’m in God’s hands—even when it looks like the world is falling apart and everything is upside down and our leaders have no idea how to protect us.
I love this! Okay a fun question – what’s one thing readers don’t know about you?
I dip my grilled cheese in ketchup. Listen…ketchup is an important thing to a New Yorker. We put it on our eggs, which totally disgusts my Midwestern husband, but my best friend growing up used to do this and my estimation of the condiment went even higher. I also put it on my macaroni and cheese (but since I don’t really eat mac and cheese any longer, that’s a moot point.)
I’m a New Yorker myself, well Upstate NY, and I have to say that I do not share the same ketchup love lol. You’re on a stranded island and you can only have one book with you. What would you pick and why?
(other than the Bible, obviously) Jane Eyre. It’s my very favorite book. I’ve read it a dozen times and I never get tired of it. If I need to escape, I turn to Jane Eyre. If I need wisdom, Jane Eyre. Need some romance? Jane Eyre. A hero worth emulating is Jane Eyre. Probably, I should pick some practical book on surviving in the wilderness, but even with a guide, it’s unlikely I’d last very long, so I may as well have a decent distraction.
So, um, don’t shoot me…….. (whispers) I’ve never read it. I know, I know, it’s on my list. I’ve heard great things! Let’s talk characters. Do your characters ever talk to you at odd times?
No, but I talk to myself at odd times.
Phew. I thought I was the only one! What are you working on next?
Book two, releasing winter 2021, is a story about home and belonging. It explores the world of late 19th century Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Wiltshire, England through the eyes of a biracial (Indian and British) woman who discovers identity and faith in the most unexpected way. Readers who enjoy the entomology aspects of A Mosaic of Wings will find Ottilie’s work in beetle wing embroidery interesting.
This sounds amazing. I can’t wait to read it. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me 🙂
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kimberly Duffy is a Long Island native currently living in Southwest Ohio, via six months in India. When she’s not homeschooling her four kids, she writes historical fiction that takes her readers back in time and across oceans. She loves trips that require a passport, recipe books, and practicing kissing scenes with her husband of twenty years. He doesn’t mind.
Connect with Kimberly:
http://kimberlyduffy.com/index.php/newsletter/
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKimberlyDuffy
https://www.instagram.com/kimberlyduffyauthor/
Do you ever buy a book for it’s cover? What are some books you’ve purchased based on it’s cover alone? Don’t forget to stop back every day this month for more great reads!
