Please Welcome Joanne Troppello!

Hi, Joanne, and welcome to A Minute With Marianne! I’m so glad to have you here today! I just finished reading Mr. Shipley’s Governess and straight away, I want to give you a huge compliment on the tone and flow of this story. The courtly, old-word-style of romantic fiction you depict in the pages of this book is so wonderfully unique. What cultivated your 'voice' as an author?

I love the classics and some of my favorite classic romances are from Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte. I wanted to try my hand at writing a contemporary novel with a classic feel. As I wrote, I tried to adjust my writing voice to sort of “modernizing” a classic novel. I am so happy that you got the point of my voice in this novel. I’ve heard from other readers as well and they’ve told me they felt a similar impression to my novel. My next two novels are very different and completely contemporary.

Wow! What a shift that will be. I can’t wait to read them! What inspired you to write Mr. Shipley's Governess? What prompted the plotline and characters?

Jane Austen is my favorite author of classic literature and I really enjoy reading all of her works—especially, Emma and Sense & Sensibility. My most loved hero from her novels is Mr. Knightley and he is the model for my character of Sebastian Shipley. Sophie Baird is a compilation of some of Austen’s heroines—Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennett, Elinor & Marianne Dashwood and Anne Elliot

You blend the aspects of those characters, as well as the modern to the “old-world” just beautifully, Joanne. Tell me a bit more about those works in progress you mentioned earlier!

I just finished writing, Bella Lucia, a romantic suspense novel in the women’s fiction genre. I really enjoyed writing this story and am hoping to find a home for it soon with a new publisher. In the meantime, I am currently working on final edits for Island Honeymoon, a romantic suspense novel taking place in Hawaii. This is the first book in a series.

I’ve been to Hawaii three times, and it gets better with each and every visit. It truly lives up to its reputation. Can’t wait to read them both! For fun, tell us three of your favorite things to do when you're not writing.

I love to read almost as much as I love to write. My husband and I also workout at the gym together three days a week; we’re active and like to talk walks and hikes. I enjoy watching movies and am fortunate that my husband does too, so we have another pastime we both enjoy.

Sounds pretty wonderful to me! How can readers get in touch with you on the web?

Blog: http://joannetroppello.weebly.com/blog.html
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JoanneTroppello
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joannetroppellooppello

Now, here’s a bit about Mr. Shipley’s Governess, as well as my review. Enjoy!!


Sophie Baird is looking for a way to escape the painful reality of her parents' deaths. Unable to live in their home any longer, she takes a job as a live-in tutor to Anastasia Shipley to remove herself from her painful memories and the feeling that God has abandoned her.

Anastasia has an illness that has prevented her from ever attending school and makes her father, Sebastian, over protective.

When Sophie first meets Sebastian, she cannot deny the intense attraction she feels toward him. When an unexpected romance begins between them, she starts to rebuild her relationship with God, with the help of a certain little girl.

Marianne’s Review:

Mr. Shipley’s Governess features old-world romance told in a unique, courtly voice. The setting and circumstances surrounding the love story of Sebastian Shipley and Sophie Baird are thoroughly modern, but the author’s style of description and the evolution of the plot are very reminiscent of the classics we’ve all grown to love and treasure: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Emma to name but a few.

Ms. Troppello packs drama and emotion into the pages of this novel, telling a captivating story of love lost and found. Sebastian Shipley is a widower. Sophie Baird lost her parents to a tragic accident. Their story begins as Sophie is hired as teacher and governess to Sebastian’s charming little girl, Anastasia.

The references to faith and God are powerful. Though circumstances conspire against them in the form of wounded hearts beginning to heal, Anastasia’s fragile health, terrifying accidents and would-be romantic entanglements from the direction of a socialite with an eye on Sebastian , the references to faith and holding fast to God’s hand are powerful for both the hero and heroine and make the book a warmhearted pleasure to read.

Mr. Shipley’s Governess is a must for fans of classic-style romance. Kudos, Ms. Troppello, on a book well written and lovingly created! Five-Stars.

The author provided this reviewer with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.