I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the SANCTUARY FOR SEERS by Kathleen Baldwin Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: HARBOR FOR THE NIGHTINGALE (Stranje House #5)

Author: Kathleen Baldwin

Pub. Date: June 15, 2023

Publisher: Ink Lion Books 

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 358

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/SANCTUARY-FOR-SEERS

The highly
anticipated fifth and final book in the bestselling Stranje House series.

What if you’d been born at a
dangerous and superstitious time two centuries ago… and you had the unusual
ability to see not only the tangible world but also the spiritual and emotional
realms?

When her
family banishes her to Stranje House, Sera learns the importance of keeping
some things secret.

At Stranje
house, a school for unusual girls, Sera hides her abilities but finds
friendship among the other girls who each possess remarkable talents. These
outcast young women are secretly being trained to enter the perilous world of
espionage, diplomacy, and war.

Conquering
Europe wasn’t enough; now Napoleon wants Britain. He and his band of assassins
and spies, the Iron Crown, led by the ruthless Ghost, have abducted the Prince
Regent. With Britain teetering on ruin, the young ladies of Stranje House must
join the desperate hunt to find the Prince before it’s too late. Now, more than
ever, Sera’s secret gifts are needed to help avert disaster. Dare she risk it?

Amid the
chaos, Sera discovers the only person who truly understands her is the one man
they all fear. The man set on destroying England. Can she save her homeland and
her heart… from Ghost?

“An
outstanding alternative history series entry and a must-have for teen
libraries.” –Junior Library Guild on Refuge for
Masterminds

Interview:

YABC Q&A

What gave you the inspiration to write this book?

Sanctuary for Seers is centered around Seraphina Wyndham. Sera’s character has fascinated me from the first moment she appeared in the series. Her ability to see not only the tangible world but also the more ethereal spiritual and emotional planes fascinated me. I’ve always wanted to write about a character who could do that.

Imagine being born with her abilities two centuries ago when there was so much superstition. Her unusual gifts troubled her parents so much that they cast her off and sent her away to Stranje House.

[This is how Sera might look like as an anime.]

Who is your favorite character in the book?

Aside from Sera, I would have to say it is Ghost, the leader of Napoleon’s Iron Crown, a secret organization of assassins and spies. (Which BTW was a real organization.) Ghost is the primary villain of the Stranje House series. He has always been mysterious, but when Sera comes face to face with him, she discovers he is the one person who truly accepts who she is. As I dug into his character, he became more and more intriguing. And by the end of the book I’d have to say I kind of fell for the bad boy of the series.

[This is how I imagine Ghost might look like as an anime.]

Which came first, the title or the novel?

The titles in this series all came first. Each book is centered around one of the five girls at Stranje House. Except in the first book title, A School for Unusual Girls, the titles reflect the gift of the girl telling her part of the story. Sera sees much more than most people.

What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?

All I can say without spoiling the story is that my favorite scene is the big black moment between Lady Daneska, Ghost, and Sera. I cried. Although… I also liked the very cool scene between Napoleon and Miss Stranje. Oh, wait! I think my VERY favorite is the final wrap-up scene because it was so so happy that I cried tears of joy in that one.

Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?

Oh wow! Great question. I have learned that it is extremely difficult to write books with a large cast of characters. I have more respect for Charles Dickens now. LOL!

What do you like most about the cover of the book?

The feeling of wind, and the sense that a storm is coming even though there is a sunlit horizon. I liked how deftly it foreshadows the story. What I like most, though, is that this cover shows Sera’s face. On all the other covers the main characters’ faces were hidden. Yet, Sera is the most secretive of all the girls at Stranje House. I love the irony that the most secretive of them dares to show her face.

What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2023?

Ruta Sepetys is one of my favorite authors. If you haven’t read her Historical YA books, you must! But she’s written a non-fiction that I’m very excited about and have already pre-ordered. It’s called, You: The Story: A Writer’s Guide to Craft Through Memory.

What’s up next for you?

My next book is a nonfiction workbook for writers, Scene and Sequel: The Super Powered Writing Tool. Then, after a short hiatus in the mountains, I’ll be starting on the fifth book in my fun light-hearted Regency romance, My Notorious Aunt series.

Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?

The battle scene with Napoleon. Wow, that was difficult. Fight scenes are tough for me. It’s challenging to maintain everyone in the scene, figure out the logistics of the action, and then , somehow, capture the wild emotions amidst all that. Yikes!

Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?

Seraphina. Definitely Sera. She is extremely complex. Conveying her gift of remembering intricate details in tandem with her ability to see beyond the natural world—was the biggest challenge of my writing career. I rewrote every scene many MANY times in an effort to capture her character on the page. I am still worried I didn’t do her justice.

Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or Revising?

I love it all. Laying in a scene is part magic, part dream-state. Revising a scene is like frosting a cake—delicious stuff happens then, too!

About Kathleen Baldwin:

Kathleen Baldwin is an award-winning author with more than
620,000 copies of her books in the hands of readers around the globe.
Publishers translated her books into several languages, and a Japanese
publisher even made Lady Fiasco into a manga. Scholastic
licensed her School for Unusual Girls series for school book
fairs. The YA series won numerous awards and was optioned for film by Ian
Bryce, producer of Spiderman, Transformers, Saving Private Ryan,
and other blockbuster films. The series is currently in its third film option.

Kathleen loves adventure in books and in
real life. She taught rock climbing in the Rockies, survival camped in the
desert and the snow, was stalked by a mountain lion, lost an argument with a
rattlesnake, enjoyed way too many classes in college, fell in love at least a
dozen times, and married her very own hero. They’ve raised four free-spirited
adventurous children and are enjoying their many grandchildren.

“A School for Unusual Girls, by Kathleen Baldwin, is
enticing from the first sentence.” –The New York Times Sunday Book Review

#1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot calls Kathleen’s romantic
Regency adventure, “completely original and totally engrossing.”

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a signed complete SET of the STRANJE HOUSE Series & swag, US Only.

Ends June 27th, midnight EST.

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