Mary Hardcastle
Author
Deja Vu
2020
Cory is living out her 20’s in Chicago haunted by the past. Her anxious mind leads her into a dangerous encounter that sends her back through time to a period she is clueless about—post Revolution and pre-Civil War America. Her determination to return to the 21st Century lands her on a flatboat traveling down the Mississippi River with a rugged young man she barely knows. She hopes to find ancestors in New Orleans and doesn’t realize she is heading for disaster. Her contemporary views clash with 19th Century ambitions and she experiences first hand the violent and faulty foundation her country is laying. When she discovers that love can erase time and heal tragedy, she is faced with an impossible choice—to stay in a turbulent era when she knows the outcome or return to an America in chaos.
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The Triple
2015
Sepia, a young trapeze artist, performs amazing feats in the air, but is a frightened bird on the ground. When she and her domineering father join a new outfit, she meets Anastasia, the Queen of Circus, and her son, Cole, a handsome but reckless gigolo. Cole triggers Sepia’s desire for love, and the triple back somersault on the flying trapeze becomes her path to stardom and independence. But a terrible accident and the discovery of a dark past thrust her from the only life she has ever known into the gangster underworld of Chicago. Only instinct and strength can save her as she chooses people, both good and evil, who can aid her road to redemption.
Run away and join the circus of the 1930’s and get lost in the story of a young woman who searches for her soul and for the one man who truly knows her heart.
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For Deja Vu, much of my research happened during a road trip my husband and I took along the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Springfield, Illinois. There were so many discoveries including fantastic museums, emotional stops at historical plaques, and many nights in the numerous beautiful campsites along the river. It was an adventure.
"The author’s compassion, and her humor, is evident in every chapter of this exceptional read. A page-turner with real substance."
K. Berger, The Accidental Dick: A Billie Ridley Mystery
Author's Comments & Reader Praise
The really fun part about writing a time travel book is that you can play a little with "history." Having grown up in Illinois, "Land of Lincoln," I couldn't help but add a cameo where my protagonist meets a young Abe Lincoln about to launch his political life. I also added various real life figures in other parts of the story, but I don't want to spoil the surprises by describing them here!
[Deja Vu] “Trust me, you’ve never been here before...” Vincent T. Meis, First Born Sons
When I began writing Deja Vu, a time travel set in 1830, I intended it to be strictly a romance adventure, but similar to my experience writing The Triple, the story became so much richer with a more inclusive picture of what was happening during that time in America. So in my novels, the characters witness real events both good and bad along with their personal quest for love.
[The Triple] "A spectacular high-flying read...” Stefany Anne Goldberg, My Morningless Mornings
About Mary Hardcastle
Mary Hardcastle belongs to a family of writers and after a young adult life as an actor in NY and LA, she moved to Baltimore and continued her storytelling path as a novelist and co-writer and director of two indie feature films. Her CV includes adjunct professor and the director of the Carrie Murray Nature Center.
The setting for Deja Vu and The Triple is her home state of Illinois, land of the Miami, Winnebago, Fox and Sauk, Kickapoo, and Pottawatomie peoples, the "Prairie State," Chicago Jazz, and “Land of Lincoln.”
Her inspiration now comes from life on the eastern shore of Maryland where she is exploring the many wonders of the land and people past and present.