Our first Artist of the Month for 2019 is Beverly Kemp. Beverly is a multi-talented artist. She can draw, paint, design jewelry, and write. Her most recent endeavor is a historical novel that she collaborated on with her husband Bill Kemp. And since you all know I love to read, I had to find out what Beverly and Bill have been working on for over 15 years to get this book finished.

Forbidden Love is a historical novel, one of my favorite genres. I thought it seemed fitting to celebrate a new year by looking back into the past. The past in Forbidden Love may be far away in years, but not too far away in miles. Set in the early 1800s this book follows the life of John Webber and Sylvia Hector and their interracial love affair that sent them from Vermont to Tejas, settling in what is now known as Webberville, just east of Austin. Beverly and Bill write with such vivid details and imagery, I can’t help but imagine what life along the Colorado River was like in those rough times when it was a vast expanse of hills and trees.

The book was a quick and exciting read with memorable characters. Whether John Webber really interacted with some of our more famous settlers at the Alamo may or may not be true, but that is the fun part of a historical novel, the intertwining of fact and fiction to bring a story to life.

You can learn more about the passion behind this book and hear an excerpt as read by Beverly and Bill at the Lion and Pirate Open Mic in the following video clip from our friends at Malvern Books. And you can purchase your own copy of Forbidden Love from our new online shop!