Dear Reader, Love Author: Dear Reader, Love Jeanette Baker

Dear Reader…

I’m sitting in my comfortable chair on the hottest of summer days—96 degrees in Orange County—thinking about what I’d like to write that might be meaningful and interesting to someone who may not be familiar with Ireland.

First of all, thank you for picking up my book. Birthright is unusual in that it has two main characters and is written in two points of view, both first and third person. Norah is the woman who gave up her daughter, and Claire is the daughter who was given up.

It’s the story of two women who share a gene pool but are nothing alike, given the differences in the countries they come from and the people who raised them. In case you aren’t familiar with Ireland, I want to assure you that even though the book has its share of darkness, something essential in an Irish story, it has a great many moments of the irrepressible humor that stands out among the Irish people. This humor, told with a sly wink, a dry wit and a point of view that makes the Irish story so familiar, is what captures the authenticity of the characters. So many Irish immigrants now call America their home. They appreciate our weather, our opportunities and the diversity of our people. But, always, in their hearts, Ireland is still the greatest country in the world. Their view is slightly myopic, but it is also true. They have seen both worlds, loving the convenience of one and the culture of the other. Claire is an American. Her mother is an Irish woman, an almost different species. It’s more than a mother-daughter story. Neither can see the viewpoint of the other. Even so, the story ends with a satisfying, although not a Hollywood, ending.

Jeanette Baker is the award-winning author of twenty paranormal, historical and contemporary novels, most of them set in the lush countryside of Southwest Ireland where she lives with her husband and writes during the “Seasons of Silence,” the autumn and winter months. Her ancestors, the O’Flahertys, hail from the counties of Kerry and Galway. She takes great pride in the prayer posted by the English over the ancient city gates, “From the wrath of the O’Flahertys, may the good Lord deliver us.”

Jeanette spent many years teaching 6th grade in a small school nestled under a canopy of Eucalyptus trees where the children consistently surprised her with their wisdom, their hopefulness and their enthusiasm for great stories. Currently, she enjoys the company of her own grown children and her precious grandchildren.

Jeanette graduated from the University of California at Irvine and holds a Master’s Degree in Education.

She is the Rita award-winning author of NELL.

Her latest book is the women’s fiction, Birthright.

You can visit her website at www.JeanetteBaker.com or connect with her on Facebook.

Two women on a course to confront the past, one to expose its secrets, the other to bury them.

Claire Williams travels halfway across the globe from Southern California to Ireland to find the mother who gave her up and the questions that need answering. Norah O’Connor is equally determined to avoid revisiting the most shameful time of her life and the devastating decisions she was forced to make.

Claire’s presence fifty years later is the engine for the confrontations to come when neighbors Norah has known forever recognize Claire’s resemblance to a younger sister. Norah must face the man who fathered both her daughters, and decide to either hold the secrets that continue to embitter her or release them for the shame that will surely mark her.

“Jeanette Baker’s award winning novels have earned her a place in the paranormal genre beside giants such as Barbara Erskine and Kristin Hannah. Now she brings her unique writing style and compelling characters to the stage of contemporary Ireland, sharing a world as alluring as its secrets are opaque.”
—Lauren Royal, New York Times and USA Bestselling Author.

“Gorgeously descriptive and unforgettably moving, Baker’s novel is a wondrous journey of the heart.”

—Candi Sary, author of Magdalena

“Birthright will find a welcome place in any library strong in stories of mother/daughter relationships, Irish culture, and the special conundrums faced by adult children who seek answers to the decisions their birth parents made.”

—Diane Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review