It’s a pleasure to welcome my friend, author Anneli Purchase
to talk about her newest release, Marlie. Anneli taught elementary school on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) for several years and had the opportunity to see much of the islands’ beauty by boat. She must be a true islander as she still lives on an island, having simply exchanged Haida Gwaii for Vancouver Island as her residence.
Here’s Anneli with a peek into the pages of Marlie, a heartfelt romance of love and loss and love again.
Who among us has never made a bad decision? Marlie, in her mid-twenties, is young, pretty, and smart. But already her life is messed up.
Here she is on the cover, taken from a painting by Jan Brown.
Running away from her troubles, she takes a teaching job in Masset on the mystical Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii). The small town is rougher than she anticipated. People relate to each other in a much more personal way, and get to know each other well. Masset is on an island—no one is going anywhere. Couples may trade around. Everyone knows everyone else’s business.
Marlie meets an artist who pays her a lot of attention. He seems like a gentleman … but is he?
The fisherman who has befriended her takes her on wonderful boating trips. Sparks are flying. Life is looking better every day.
But Marlie has made a serious error in judgement.
That one bad decision will rattle her nerves for months. Being new to the islands, she has no one to rely on but herself. All the beauty of the islands can’t take away her pain.
Devastated, at the downward turn her life has taken, Marlie’s confidence is shaken. She throws herself into her schoolwork and concentrates on her students, but she wonders if she was ever meant to find happiness.
For a raw adventure in the lonely northern islands of Haida Gwaii, read Marlie and see how she deals with being single and newly arrived in this remote place. Find out if she can outrun the bad decision she has made.
Anneli loves photographing and writing about nature, and the west coast of British Columbia is ideal for this. You can find more of her excellent nature photography and entertaining anecdotes on her website.
YOU CAN PURCHASE MARLIE FOR KINDLE AND IN PAPERBACK FROM:
FOR E-BOOKS OTHER THAN KINDLE GO TO:
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ANNELI PURCHASE AND HER OTHER BOOKS VISIT:
FOLLOW ANNELI ON TWITTER:
@anneli33
Thanks for hosting me, Patricia. I haven’t lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands for many years now and it makes me nostalgic for their beauty and for the lifestyle when I see the photos. I hope your followers will enjoy reading “Marlie.”
Anneli, it’s a pleasure to have you visit on the blog. Congratulations on this fabulous new release!
It’s so beautiful, Anneli, but, unlike you, I know I couldn’t live in such a remote area. The lonely prairies were bad enough for me and I was ecstatic when my parents moved us to the city.
As for Marlie, she’s made of sterner stuff and I enjoyed reading her story very much.
But the Queen Charlotte Islands are made for adventures and beautiful sights, and people don’t live quite as isolated from each other, only isolated from the mainland. The main thing is that you enjoyed the book and thank you for reading it.
I think you are right, Darlene. It takes a certain strength of character to live in a remote area. That’s one reason why I enjoy reading novels like Marlie. It’s so interesting to experience something I know I will never actually do in my life. The joy of reading!
Anneli paints a delightful picture of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Her novel about the journey of Marlie is interesting and engaging. It was rewarding to see the unfolding of Marlie’s inner strength.
I have enjoyed several of Anneli’s novels and look forward to another adventurous woman.
Hi Dawn! Thanks for stopping by. Your comment is a lovely, concise review for this excellent story!
Thank you, Dawn. That’s great to hear!
I love the settings for your novels, Anneli, because you bring out the beauty of each location and it’s entrancing. I feel I have taken a trip to a place I know I will never visit and that’s very special. Wishing you all the best with Marlie and I love that cover!
Waves to the lovely Patricia and Darlene, too! xx
Hi Linn ~ *waving back* ~ So wonderful to *see* you here! We all know a lot about bringing settings to life, don’t we and no one does it better than Anneli. Very special, indeed!
You are so right, Patricia! Anneli really captures the essence of the place and so often it’s somewhere very remote. The photos really bring it alive, too! I had to add that I’m loving those snowflakes drifting down the page – we had a sprinkling of it here again last night. In December we were snowed in for three days in the Forest of Dean – it was quite an experience!
I was lucky to have lived in the Charlottes and have experienced life in some of the locations mentioned in the novel. It was fun to relive that in writing this book.
Thank you, Linn. Great to see you here.
I enjoyed Anneli’s book immensely. I have read ALL of her books; the setting, the characters, the plot always leave me in suspense, some tears, and waiting for the next story by Anneli.
Marlie, in particular, caught my heart because of her good heart and yet difficulty in “reading” the intentions of others. The book Marlie sets the reader smack into the gorgeous isolation of the Queen Charles Islands. We get to see Marlie teaching her elementary students who need someone caring just like her. But the men! Oh, the men. I highly recommend this book. Nice to meet you here, Patricia!
Thanks for stopping by, Pamela, and for you wonderful review of Anneli’s great storytelling talent. Didn’t your heart simply ache at times for Marlie?
Yes, it did. I wanted to set Marlie aside, sit her down in my kitchen nook with a cup of tea, and warn her of a few things. But thankfully, she figured it all out!
Thank you, Pam. I agree that Marlie is a bit too trusting, but that’s what makes her lovable. She is really kind. Wish she had been kinder to herself! But I think she has a bit of a stubborn streak too. And the men! I agree. Thanks for reading Marlie and coming with her and me on this Haida Gwaii adventure.
My PLEASURE! Hope you’re working on your next novel.
Your pictures are beautiful, Anneli. I have spent a few weeks on the Queen Charlottes in the past years and got to see much of it by car, by foot and by boat. It’s a lovely place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there. However high-spirited Marlie had what it took to face the challenges of the harsh weather, as well as the challenges of working with the people living there. I enjoyed reading the book and would highly recommend it.
How fortunate you are to have experienced this unique part of Canada, Gladys. Anneli brings the area to life in this story and takes us all on a voyage! Loved it!
You are so right, Gladys. Living in that small town has its challenges, but the outdoor life makes up for it. Thanks for reading Marlie.
I have read other novels written by Anneli Purchase, and am looking forward to reading “Marlie” in the very near future. All of her previous books were very addicting. I just couldn’t put them down until I was finished. Thank you for writing such wonderful, adventurous and romantic stories.
You are so right about Anneli’s stories being addicting, Sonja! She has a way of keeping a reader engaged with every turn of the page!
Oh goodie. Another book addict! Thank you, Sonja.
Anneli is a very good storyteller! Her engaging characters and beautiful depictions of nature make for a very pleasant read!
I agree wholeheartedly!
Thank you, Gina! The BC coast is very helpful in providing a beautiful place to “set” a novel.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Anneli for over 10 years, not as an author but as a person. You can’t find a better person to just sit and visit with.
I consider her my friend.
What a lovely comment, Ron. I’ve only known Anneli online, but it’s been a few years since we first met and I am not surprised to hear you describe her in the terms you do. That feeling has certainly shone through all of my interactions with her and it’s a pleasure to call her a friend … and a most talented writer. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment.
Thanks a lot, Patricia. I had trouble getting my reply to Ron to send, and now I see it has gone twice. Maybe you could delete one of the duplications for me please.
Thanks, Ron. I guess I owe you a case of beer now, right, for saying all those nice things about me. I hope you and Barb enjoy reading Marlie. Thanks for your support.
Great photos of Haida Gwaii! Congratulations to Anneli on her newest novel, Marlie. Sounds like a very interesting read. I must read one of her books very soon!
That’s a very good idea, Ian!
Thanks a lot, Ian. I hope you do.