The Keys of the Watchmen by Kathleen C. Perrin - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

The Keys of the Watchmen by Kathleen C. Perrin

Watchmen Saga #1

ISBN: 9780692342855

Trade Paperback

Synopsis:

Katelyn Michaels plans on hating every moment of her visit to Mont Saint Michel with her father’s new French wife. Once there, she is confused when she experiences sensations of déjà vu as she and her younger brother explore the medieval village and abbey. She is even more disturbed when she is confronted by two unusual young men, one who insists she has a sacred mission, and the other who will stop at nothing, even murder, to stop her from fulfilling her destiny.

When the oddly-dressed but alluring Nicolas slips Katelyn a strange medallion, she is whisked back through time where her Watchmen hosts tell her she is the only hope to save Mont Saint Michel. Even worse, she learns that those trying to destroy the mount are led by a fallen angel intent on learning the mount’s closely-guarded secret.

Katelyn is torn by feelings of anger at being taken back in time, inadequacy at finding a modern solution for a medieval problem, and responsibility for the mount’s starving inhabitants. She is also perturbed by her surprising attraction to the ill-tempered Nicolas. Will she stay to learn why she was chosen by the Archangel Michael and find a way to save his mount? 

Review:

This is the first book that I have read by this author. The book was well written with great characters and fast paced. I really enjoyed the time travel aspect of this story. I think it is intriguing when a character travels back in time to "teach" us history. This book will draw you in from page one or at least it did for me. An added bonus to the story is to watch the relationship of Katelyn and Nicholas grown throughout the story. The author was very descriptive in setting the scenes so much so you could really "see" what she was talking about. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I recommend this book to historical fiction fans as well as suspense fans. 

About the author:

Kathleen C. Perrin holds Bachelor’s degrees from Brigham Young University in French and humanities, and graduated summa cum laude. She is a certified French-to-English translator.
While completing her education, Kathleen met and married a dashing young Frenchman.
They have spent years investigating the mysteries and beauties of his native country, and have a cottage in Brittany. For a ten-year period they took tourists to Mont Saint Michel, where she served as tour guide. 

Kathleen has lived in Utah, New York City, France, and for eight years in French Polynesia.
She has worked professionally as a language and music teacher, translator, interpreter and writer.
She has published several non-fiction articles, academic papers, and a religious history about Tahiti.
Traveling and learning about new countries and cultures is a passion for Kathleen, but her latest passion is sharing France through her fiction. The Perrins have three children, and currently reside in Utah.

Visit her website. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter
Buy the book: Amazon

Be sure to stop by France Book Tours (click here) to see all the stops in the tour

Guest Post: 

SHARING FRANCE – A PUBLISHING JOURNEY

By Kathleen C. Perrin

            A couple of months ago I did the bravest thing I have ever done in my life: self-published a novel, THE KEYS OF THE WATCHMEN, on Amazon. Compared to publishing a novel, writing this historical paranormal novel set in France was a breeze!

My novel tells the story of Katelyn Michaels, a 17-year-old girl who is confronted by two unusual young men while visiting Mont Saint Michel in France. One insists she has come to save the mount, and the other will stop at nothing, even murder, to prevent her from fulfilling her destiny. I thought publishing would never be my destiny—but I am here to tell you that, like Katelyn, you do get to decide your destiny!

Now—lest you think this is my first rodeo, or my even first novel—I wrote my first novel in the 1980s…before many of those trying to publish novels now were even born! Some authors talk about the anguish of waiting months before they are finally published. Well, just try a thirty-year journey! Back then, I had my novel, I had my agent, and I thought I was on my way. My agent wooed me with tales of a bestselling novel and a feature film in the future…well, obviously that didn’t happen. And life happened instead. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I come by my passion for words honestly. My father was a storyteller par excellence, often making up tales and poems to entertain his children, and my 94-year-old mother’s life to this day is brimming with books. However, neither of my parents had the advantage of being college-educated since they came of age during WWII.

While my father flew mission after mission in a B-24 bomber, including on D-Day and during the Battle of the Bulge, my mother gave birth to their first baby. During those dark, uncertain days, he and my mother wrote letters to each other every day. However, after my father safely returned, that period was so excruciating for them both that they burned the letters. How I wish I could touch those pages, filled with words I can only imagine, but they are lost forever.

Wartime ended, and eventually I came along as the beloved baby in a family where good literature, proper English, and imaginative thinking were highly valued. I grew up telling stories and concocting poems just like my father.

I loved how—like colors—words could create somber scenes or capture bright, blissful moments. Now, as an adult, I write to compensate, in a way, for my parents’ lost words. I use my word-brush to paint satisfying stories that acquaint readers with some of the most marvelous places and moments in history.

My muse is and has always been La Belle France. My husband is French, we have a cottage in France, and over the years we have discovered countless beauties and mysteries in France. I’m always getting new inspiration for stories as I explore its historic hills and ancient edifices. As you read my book, I hope you will fall in love with Mont Saint Michel.

I am also a French translator, and the lyrical French language inspires my writing. I write not only to honor my past—to compensate for my parents’ lost letters—but I write to honor my future, to leave something permanent for my own posterity, something that also links them with their French heritage.

My first novel, again, not THE KEYS OF THE WATCHMEN, was one called THE PEACOCK STONE, set on the island of Bréhat located off the coast of Northern Brittany. After the unfulfilled promises of my agent back in the 80s, that novel was filed away, along with my dreams of publishing fiction.

My husband and I lived in French Polynesia on three occasions during the 1980s and 1990s, for a total period of about eight years, after which I co-wrote a history of the LDS Church in French Polynesia with a history professor from Utah State University, S. George Ellsworth. That was a five-year project, which resulted in the book SEASONS OF FAITH AND COURAGE. Professor Ellsworth was a wonderful mentor, and the book was a success, but I still craved telling my own stories—my own stories about the mysteries of France.

So in the 1990s, I wrote a second novel set in France, THE SIGN OF THE OWL, about the Knights Templar and a secret society, but couldn’t get it published—I was told nobody would be interested in that topic! Then when I tried to sell it again ten years later, I was told it was a Dan Brown wannabe! I quit trying after that.

To quench my wanderlust and passion for France, my husband and I began taking small, exclusive tour groups to France in the 1990s. He handled the logistics, and I was the tour guide, which only served to deepen my understanding of French culture and history. I couldn’t help but share the history of each hill and each stone monument with our guests. And a trip to France must include a trip to the incomparable Mont Saint Michel—a magical, mystical place, the legendary site of the War in Heaven where Lucifer and his followers were cast out. As I walked the ancient stones of the Mont, they murmured to me the story of Katelyn Michaels, my novel’s protagonist.

            So, in the 2000s, I wrote the story of Katelyn, the Mont, and her destiny, then sent it out to national agents. I was overjoyed when I got some very positive feedback from agents who requested the manuscript, but one by one, they turned it down, telling me they were not willing to take a risk on a “new” author in the current economic climate. When I received the rejection email from the final agent (while at Walt Disney World no less!), I couldn’t take any more. I was finally done trying to publish and putting myself through this agony.

            The only problem was—I couldn’t stop writing, and people liked my writing. I had non-fiction articles published in religious and academic publications. My fiction won awards at writer’s conferences. If I could write, and evidence pointed to this conclusion, then why on earth couldn’t I get published?

One day my daughter said, “It’s a different world now. Publishers don’t need to take risks to sign new writers because everyone is self-publishing. This is a viable option. I believe in your writing; you have to try.” After thirty years of trying in vain, it really would have been easier to give up, but with my family’s support, at long last, my book is published.

My story—Katelyn’s story—promises to engage all who pick up a copy of the book (or an e-copy on their Kindle). And if you don’t come away with a desire to visit Mont Saint Michel (see my photos of the mount on my website at: www.kathleencperrin.com), then I have failed miserably!

            And I still have more stories to tell: two more novels continuing Katelyn Michaels’s story in the Watchmen Saga. I also plan to get my (currently out of print) nonfiction book on Amazon as well—I still get constant requests for it. And you may yet see THE PEACOCK STONE and THE SIGN OF THE OWL in print. I have so many words to share. Grab a croissant and come along for the ride.

Giveaway:

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