Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Abigail Wilson & In the Shadow of Croft Towers

I am delighted to welcome Abigail Wilson to the blog today to chat about her debut novel In the Shadow of Croft Towers (a Regency romantic intrigue novel that i loved!)

Abigail Wilson combines her passion for Regency England with intrigue and adventure to pen historical mysteries with a heart. A Registered Nurse, chai tea addict, and mother of two crazy kids, Abigail fills her spare time hiking the National Parks, attending her daughter’s gymnastic meets, and curling up with a great book. In 2017, Abigail won WisRWA’s Fab Five contest and ACFW’s First Impressions contest as well as placing as a finalist in the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is a cum laude graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and currently lives in Dripping Springs, Texas, with her husband and children.

You can connect with Abigail on her website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

From debut author Abigail Wilson comes a mysterious Regency tale of secrets and spies, love and treachery.

Orphaned Sybil Delafield jumps at the opportunity for a position at the mysterious Croft Towers. She believes she was hired to act as companion to a dying woman, but a highway robbery and a hostile welcome from the Chalcroft family cause her to wonder if she was actually hired to help someone spy for France.

An unsolved murder adds intrigue to this already secretive family, and Sybil recognizes Mrs. Chalcroft’s handsome grandson as one of the infamous highwaymen who robbed her. Sybil must determine if this man’s charming smile and earnest eyes speak the truth or if he is simply using her like others in the house. Everyone seems to have something to hide, and Sybil must decide who to trust while also coming to terms with the truth about her own past.

Hi  Abigail! Welcome to the blog!

Abigail: Summer! I’ve never been able to tolerate the cold. I tend to live in the bathtub all winter—even in Texas!

Carrie: haha! I would freeze you out of my house if you were to ever visit.

Abigail: Dogs. Love, love, love dogs, but I did foster a pretty cute kitty recently so they are growing on me.

Carrie: Yay for dogs! I have like two cats I am fond of but a whole passel of dogs have my heart 🙂

Abigail: Definitely tea! I am one of the few people left on the planet that has never really tried coffee.

Carrie: I tried it but didn’t like it lol

Abigail: This question made me laugh because this is a major pet peeve of mine. OVER! I have to admit, I even get the twinge to change the toilet paper dispensers at stores, but I resist.

Carrie: hahaha!

Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?

Abigail: Flying. I mean, wouldn’t that just be super cool?

Carrie: totally.

Q: Other than the Bible, what are five of your most cherished books?

Abigail: People have told me I have an “old soul”, so the books I love to return to time and again were all written in and about different eras. If I stick with fiction for this answer and one from each of my favorite authors, my most cherished, so to speak, are as follows:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Sanguinet’s Crown by Patricia Veryan
3. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
4. Marry in Haste by Jane Aiken Hodge
5. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

Carrie: ooo I need to check out #2 and #4!

Q: If I sneaked a peek in your purse right now (which I would never do, I promise!), what would it tell me about you?

Abigail: Apparently, I have an affinity for crayons (I blame the kids). My purse boasts at least 20 or so in the bottom, along with several lotions, wrinkled coupons, bits of trash, a spoon, and a smashed snickers bar. So, I’m pretty sure my purse is screaming busy mom, and I would agree. 🙂

Carrie: LOL love it

Q: If Hollywood wanted to produce In the Shadows of Croft Towers as a movie, who would you want to be cast as the lead roles?

Abigail: Wouldn’t that be fun! I would definitely want to cast Emma Watson as Sybil, but Curtis Sinclair would be much more difficult to decide as I did not have someone specific in mind when I wrote him. Dan Stevens could possibly work, but he would have to dye his hair dark brown.

Carrie: Oh I can definitely both of those actors doing a fabulous job in those roles!

Q: Did you have the whole plot outlined before you started writing, or did you let the characters dictate what came next?

Abigail: I am a big time plotter, which involves several spreadsheets and Word files; however, my characters sometimes take the story in a different direction. In lieu of spoilers, I won’t tell you exactly how, but when that happens, I usually go with it.

Carrie: oooo but since I’ve read it, you totally need to message me and tell me lol

Q: What drew you to the Regency intrigue/romance genre?

Abigail: My love of the Regency time period began when I first started watching BBC dramas on Masterpiece Theater, but I became a true addict of the genre when I picked up a Jane Austen book and zipped my way through the rest of her titles. Georgette Heyer soon followed, and I was hooked. Mystery just naturally crept into my writing as I researched and wrote. England at the height of the Napoleonic Wars is just the perfect backdrop for intrigue and adventure. I just love it!

Carrie: It was such a fascinating period in history!

Q: What is something God taught you while you wrote In the Shadow of Croft Towers?

Abigail: At the heart of my novel is the theme of trust. The heroine, Sybil, must make several difficult decisions where she learns to trust her inner voice, which is sometimes at odds with the seemingly obvious choice. God used this story line and character arc to remind me that answers in my own life may not always be easy or quick or tied up in pretty pink bows, but that I needed to trust him—with everything!

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Carrie: Amen ♥

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Abigail: My second book, Midnight on the River Grey, releases July 2, 2019 and has a small tie in with In the Shadow of Croft Towers. I just finished the line edits for this story and I cannot wait for this one to come out as well. A feisty heroine, a Gothic house filled with mystery, a heart squeezing love story—I had a blast writing this one! 

Carrie: Eeeeeeep!! I cannot wait!!

Abigail Wilson is giving away a paperback copy of In the Shadow of Croft Towers to one of my readers! (US/CAN only) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What interests you most about this book?