Guest post by Stephenia H McGee, author of The River Queen, with a giveaway

 Guest Post, Stephenia H. McGee

The River Queen

By the Vine Press, October, 2023

Lights! Music! Entertainment visiting your town! 

Enter the era of the grand showboat. A traveling theatre that brought delight to cities and towns along the river’s edge. While I was researching this fascinating world for my novel The River Queen, I noticed something quite interesting that directed the setting for the story. 

There were two distinct showboat eras. 

The first and primary era happened before the Civil War. This is the main time frame most people would probably expect a showboat story. So naturally, I had to go with something a little different.

In the early nineteen hundreds, a secondary showboat trend arrived. Unfortunately, this era didn’t last long, and by the mid-to-late 1920s, the glamourous showboat era simply drifted away. 

Oh, but the sliver of time in between—and right in the middle of prohibition with smugglers and river gangsters, no less—felt perfect for my quirky songbird Anola Flynn and The River Queen.

I dove in and tried to figure out a way that all these amazing elements could fit together. River pirates, bootleggers, prohibition, and smuggling all clashing with the glitz and glamour of a roaring 1920’s showboat. 

I gathered about 15 different books on river mysteries, river lore, and showboats to help me plot the story. That’s when I discovered a gym. I somehow ended up with an autographed biography of a woman who had grown up on exactly the type of showboat I wanted for the story.

Many scenes in the book were thus inspired by the real-life escapades of Betty Bryant, who gave a detailed account of her childhood on a showboat in the early 1920s in her book Here Comes the Showboat! She shows what life was like on the Bryant’s Showboat, giving descriptions of the boat, the acting troupe, the family’s schedule, and information on the crew from her life on the river. 

Now, throw in a close-knit family of Irish actors, and well, you have the makings of what turned out to be my favorite cast of characters I’ve ever written. 

So come and join us on The River Queen! As Anola would say in her welcome song to greet you as you come aboard:

“Welcome, welcome,

All my friends,

Welcome, welcome,

This is where the story begins,

Bring your sorrows,

Bring your joy,

Every man, woman, girl, and boy,

Welcome, welcome,

To The River Queen,

Where every moment is but a dream.”

Giveaway: https://kingsumo.com/g/bynmp1/the-river-queen-release-giveaway/z2lj7yj?

Book Description: 

River pirates, a stolen steamboat, and a deadly chase down the Mississippi—but falling in love might be the real adventure.

When river pirates attack and steal his steamboat, Emmett Carter barely escapes. Rescued and transported to a magnificent world of glitz and showbiz aboard a flashy showboat, Emmett is immediately captivated by something more than recovering his lost inheritance—The River Queen’s beautiful, but quirky, songbird.

Anola Flynn, the star singer on The River Queen, is struggling to keep the business running as attendance dwindles during the 1923 season. With her dreams of saving the family legacy—and the only life she’s ever known—slipping away, she forges an alliance with Emmett to keep her family afloat.

Now, to outsmart the gangsters chasing them, Anola and Emmett must wade through a dark current of deception and betrayal to save not only their dreams, but everyone they care about, from sinking deeper into the Mississippi River.

Author Bio:

Stephenia H. McGee is a multi-published author of stories of faith, hope, and healing set in the Deep South. She lives in Mississippi, where she is a mom of two rambunctious boys, writer, dreamer, and husband spoiler. Her novel The Cedar Key was a 2021 Faith, Hope, and Love Readers’ Choice award winner. A member of the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), she loves all things books and history. Stephenia also loves connecting with readers and can often be found having fun with her Faithful Readers Team on Facebook. For more on books and upcoming events and to connect with Stephenia, visit her at www.StepheniaMcGee.com.

Buy Links:

Direct from Author: Ebook, Audiobook, Paperback (US & International)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/River-Queen-Christian-Historical-Romances-ebook/dp/B0C8L8DXPN

Barnes and Noble : https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-river-queen-stephenia-h-mcgee/1143824046