Jenni L. Walsh
Author Interview - Jenni L. Walsh
Author of Becoming Bonnie, Side by Side, A Betting Woman, Unsinkable, and ACE, MARVEL, SPY
About ACE, MARVEL, SPY by Jenni L. Walsh:
Trailblazer, superstar, activist, and spy: Alice Marble is a true American icon.
Alice strives to have it all.
At seventeen, Alice Marble has no formal tennis skills and no coach. What she does have is an ability to hit the ball as hard as she can and a strong desire to prove herself. With steadfast determination and one sacrifice after another, Alice plays her heart out on the courts of the rich and famous, at national tournaments, and—the greatest of them all—at Wimbledon, rising to be one of the top-ranked players in the world.
But then her world falls apart.
With the outbreak of war with Germany, Alice’s tennis career and life come to a screeching halt, and for the first time, she is forced to confront who she is without tennis. As she seeks to understand her new place in the world and how she can aid in the war efforts, a telegram arrives with devastating news from overseas. Heartbroken and lost, she feels like she can only watch as the war wreaks havoc in every area of her life.
Until an unexpected invitation arrives.
Alice is given the chance to fight back when the US Army sends her a request: Under the guise of playing in tennis exhibition games in Switzerland, she would be a spy for them. Alice aches for nothing more than to avenge what the war has taken from her and to prove herself against this new opponent. But what awaits her might be her greatest challenge yet.
From her start as a promising athlete with worn-out shoes to her status as a glamorous international star, Alice Marble’s determination to control her own life and destiny fuels a story of achievement, discipline, loss, and love.
About Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh:
The Titanic was only the beginning. What she survived has become legend.
Violet Jessop is Miss Unsinkable.
Violet is a stewardess and wartime nurse who not only survives a shipwreck but also two sinkings, one on the infamous Titanic. No one can understand why she would return to sea, but Violet is simply trying to survive. Her childhood was fraught with illness and death in her family. Her distraught mother is too ill to work, that responsibility falling to Violet as the oldest of nine. When the world enters the Great War, she becomes aboard as a nurse, helping men who could very well be her brothers. But disaster strikes again, this time as the Britannic strikes a mine. Miraculously, Violet survives, but her obligation to her mother and siblings still remains, leaving Violet to wonder if she'll ever be able to put her tumultuous life at sea behind her and pursue a life and love all her own.
Daphne has survived calamity of her own.
Daphne Chaundanson grows up as an unwanted child after her mother died in a tragedy. She throws herself into education, collecting languages like candy in a desperate attempt to finally earn her father’s approval. When the Special Operations Executive invites her to be an agent in France in World War II, her childhood of anonymity and her love of languages make her the perfect fit. She sees it as an opportunity to help the country she loves and live up to her father's expectations. But unthinkable moments of challenge and resilience change Daphne in ways she could never expect, including an eye-opening encounter where she must come to terms with the secrets in her own past.
Two unsinkable women. Two stories of survival, family, and finding one’s own happiness. One connection that reshapes both their lives forever.
Author Interview - Jenni L. Walsh
About A Betting Woman by Jenni L. Walsh:
“Born Simone Jules, reinvented as Eleanor Dumont, and largely remembered as Madame Moustache, A BETTING WOMAN is a historical novel inspired by the tumultuous life, times, and loves of America's first professional croupier of modern-day blackjack, bringing to life an intrepid and entrepreneurial real-life woman who lived on her own terms.”
Author Interview - Jenni L. Walsh
Author I draw inspiration from:
I read a lot in my genre of historical fiction, and there seems to be an endless amount of talent in the genre. Greer Macallister and Ariel Lawhon are both insta-buys for me.
Author Interview - Jenni L. Walsh
Favorite place to read a book:
In bed, ereader in one hand, glass of wine in the other.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Eve Dallas, from J.D. Robb's In Death series. She's a badass detective and I wouldn't mind soaking up some of her badassery as she breaks us free.
Author Interview - Jenni L. Walsh
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I've always been an avid reader. I once read a book that frustrated me and my husband joked that I should write the book I wanted to read then. I took the challenge and fell in love with the process. I'd been a copywriter for about a decade prior to the endeavor, so writing wasn't new to me, but being a novelist is a different, wonderful beast.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
ebook, I read before bed and cherish my ereader with built-in light.
The last book I read:
A galley of The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna by C. W. Gortner
Author Interview - Jenni L. Walsh
Pen & paper or computer:
Pen & paper to develop a loose outline, then computer
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
While I mentioned Eve Dallas being badass, I think I'd love to be bff with her partner Delia Peabody, who's both charming and loyal.
Author Interview - Jenni L. Walsh
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Business owner. Hopefully one day that'll be a reality. My husband and I would like to open a fitness center that doubles as a community center.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
While I love the 1920s and got a wonderful dose while writing Becoming Bonnie, I've always been drawn to the dresses of the 1950s.
Author Interview - Jenni L. Walsh
Place I’d most like to travel:
Scotland, where there's a castle there built by my ancestors, dating back to 1245.
My signature drink:
I'm very much a creature of habit and usually drink cabernet sauvignon. If I mix it up, I'll reach for a craft beer.
Favorite artist:
Degas
Number one on my bucket list:
My husband and I would like to live a year abroad, doing three months in four different locations.
About Jenni L. Walsh:
Jenni L. Walsh worked for a decade enticing readers as an award-winning advertising copywriter before becoming an author. Her passion lies in transporting readers to another world, be it in historical or contemporary settings. She is a proud graduate of Villanova University, and lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband, daughter, son, and various pets.
Jenni is the author of historical novels Becoming Bonnie, Side by Side, A Betting Woman, The Call of the Wrens, and Unsinkable. She also writes books for children, including the nonfiction She Dared series and historical novels Hettie and the London Blitz, I Am Defiance, By the Light of Fireflies, Over and Out, and Operation: Happy To learn more about Jenni and her books, please visit jennilwalsh.com or @jennilwalsh on social media.
