Susan Anne Mason’s historical novel Irish Meadows won the Fiction from the Heartland contest from the Mid-American Romance Authors Chapter of RWA, as well as the Christian Retailer’s Choice Award for Debut Novel. The Toronto-based author launches a new historical romance Canadian Crossings series with The Best of Intentions (Bethany House), which offers a fascinating glimpse into high society of Toronto after WWI. In this interview, the author gives us some background on the novel’s period setting, explains how the book sets the stage for the series, and shares the overall theme of the book…
Tell me a little about your newest book, The Best of Intentions…
This is the story of Grace Abernathy, a girl from England who travels to Canada to find her widowed sister and infant nephew. Upon her arrival, she is greeted with bad news and learns the baby has been placed in the custody of his father’s family, the wealthy Eastons, who Grace’s sister despised. It then becomes Grace’s goal to find her nephew and make sure he is being properly cared for, and if possible, figure out a way to get him back to England.
I understand the story takes place in Canada. Can you tell us a little more about the setting and the period?
Yes, the story takes place in Toronto, Ontario. My publisher suggested that I set my next series in Canada, so I chose Toronto since it is a city rich in history and very close to where I live. The time period is the spring of 1919, right after the end of WWI.
I created the Eastons as wealthy, elite members of Toronto society to serve as a foil for Grace’s simplicity—a girl from a small English village. It gave the family a great advantage in status and power over Grace, so the underlying conflict becomes “the underdog” versus the rich and powerful.
How does this book set the stage for the series?
The Best of Intentions is the first book in a new series called Canadian Crossings. Each book is a standalone story with the characters initially meeting on board a ship to Canada. Each person is searching for different family members for very different reasons.
What I want readers to know is that while there are some common threads in each book, like Mrs. Chamberlain’s boardinghouse and the wise counsel of the local minister, Reverend Burke, the stories are totally independent of each other. I did this so that readers wouldn’t feel obligated to read the series in order. It’s still nice to read them that way, but they won’t be missing big pieces of the puzzle if they don’t.
Is there a second love story in this book?
Yes, there’s a rather lovely secondary romance along the lines of star-crossed lovers. Andrew’s sister Virginia, who lost her first love in the war, becomes engaged to a wealthy Toronto businessman, a man her father approves of.
She is resigned to marrying within her social circle and is actually relieved not to be madly in love with her fiancé since she knows what pain love can bring. However, she is perturbed by her unrelenting attraction to the family gardener, Collin Lafferty.
Collin is content to love Virginia from afar—until her wedding day draws closer and he realizes he cannot stand to watch her marry another man. Then the fun begins!
What’s the overall theme of the book?
I think the main theme is being true to oneself and looking for one’s value internally rather than externally. In the book, both Grace and Andrew are trying to please a parent with their actions. Grace wants to find her sister and nephew to bring them home to her mother, who is in poor health and has already lost two sons. Grace has always craved her mother’s approval and hopes that once she brings her grandson home, she will at last receive her mum’s favor.
Andrew, on the other hand, has struggled with feeling second-best compared to his older brother, the apple of their father’s eye. With his brother’s death in the war, Andrew feels he must step up and take his place in the family business as his father’s right-hand man, in the hopes that his father will discover Andrew’s talents and come to value him just as much.
However, in each case, Grace and Andrew must learn that they deserve happiness based on who they are inside, not what they can do for their family. They also must learn to trust God to show them their true path in life, one that might not coincide with their parents’ wishes.
I truly hope readers will love Grace and Andrew’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Visit Susan Anne Mason’s author page:
https://www.familyfiction.com/authors/susan-anne-mason
The Best of Intentions
Canadian Crossings #1
Susan Anne Mason
Bethany House