Tag Archives: historical fiction

BOOK BLITZ: Wages of Empire by Micael J. Cooper

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Historical Fiction

Date Published: November 30, 2023

 

In the summer of 1914, 16-year-old Evan Sinclair leaves home to join the
Great War for Civilization. Little does he know that, despite the war raging
in Europe, the true source of conflict will emerge in Ottoman Palestine,
since it’s from Jerusalem where the German Kaiser dreams to rule as Holy
Roman Emperor. Filled with such historical figures as Gertrude Bell, T.E.
Lawrence, Winston Churchill, Faisal bin Hussein, Chaim Weizmann, and Achad
Ha’am, “Wages of Empire” follows Evan through the killing
fields of the Western Front where he will help turn the tide of a war that
is just beginning, and become part of a story still being written.

Readers who enjoy Wages of Empire should know that the story continues with
the sequel, Crossroads of Empire, the second book in this series.

About the Author

Michael J. Cooper emigrated to Israel in 1966 and lived in Jerusalem during
the last year the city was divided between Israel and Jordan. He graduated
from Tel Aviv University Medical School, and after a forty-year career as a
pediatric cardiologist in Northern California, he continues to do volunteer
missions serving Palestinian children who lack access to care.

His historical fiction novels include Foxes in the Vineyard, set in 1948
Jerusalem, which won the 2011 Indie Publishing Contest grand prize and The
Rabbi’s Knight, set in the Holy Land in 1290. Wages of Empire won the
2022 CIBA Rossetti Award for YA fiction along with first-place honors for
the 2022 CIBA Hemingway award for wartime historical fiction.

He lives in Northern California with his wife and a spoiled-rotten cat.
Three adult children occasionally drop by.

 

Contact Links

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BOOK TOUR: The Fires of Gallipoli by Barney Campbell

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The Fires of Gallipoli

by Barney Campbell

The Fires of Gallipoli is a heartbreaking portrayal of friendship forged in the trenches of the First World War.

‘In this vivid and engaging novel of war and friendship, Barney Campbell shows us once again that he is a natural writer. This is a novel of men at arms of the highest quality.’ 
~ Alexander McCall Smith

Edward Salter is a shy, reserved lawyer whose life is transformed by the outbreak of war in 1914. On his way to fight in the Gallipoli campaign, he befriends the charming and quietly courageous Theodore Thorne. Together they face the carnage and slaughter, stripped bare to their souls by the hellscape and only sustained by each other and the moments of quiet they catch together.

Thorne becomes the crutch whom Edward relies on throughout the war. When their precious leave from the frontline coincides, Theo invites Edward to his late parents’ idyllic estate in Northamptonshire. Here Edward meets Thorne’s sister Miranda and becomes entranced by her.

Edward escapes the broiling, fetid charnel-house of Gallipoli to work on the staff of Lord Kitchener, then on to the Western Front and post-war espionage in Constantinople. An odd coolness has descended between Edward and Theo. Can their connection and friendship survive the overwhelming sense of loss at the end of the war when everything around them is corrupted and destroyed?

The Fires of Gallipoli is a heartbreaking, sweeping portrayal of friendship and its fragility at the very limits of humanity.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4XkEq6

Excerpt

Edward’s thick jumper proved its mettle and he slept soundly, stirring only around midnight as a snuffling deer broke nearby branches around the edge of the tree. He was awake for a few minutes while memories of nights on the front came to him, staring out into a dark night or peeping fearfully over the parapet when a baleful alabaster shone over the Peninsula in a sniper’s moon. He remembered nights on the line as he and Thorne tried desperately to suppress their chuckles into yelps of breathing. He was sure that he let out a giggle into the night before nothingness then fell over him, dreamless and warm.

He woke with his thighs damp from dew and drew away the groundsheet to see the million droplets on the cow parsley sparkle gold and rainbow colours from the low sun breaching the underside of the tree. A ghostly network of spiders’ webs hung above his head, made fuller by the dew, more ossified. He felt an awful pang, as Thorne stirred beside him, that he wasn’t able to see any of it.

They wormed out from under the tree and creaked limbs back to life, shaking away the residue of sleep and rubbing their sandpaper chins, teeth chattering at the morning’s chill. They got ready to go, the imprint of their bodies in the cow parsley already disappearing as the crushed stalks started to lean up again, and they rejoined the path and carried on.

The route took them over miles of gentle fields and woods, folds in the ground offering one of the most beautiful mornings Edward could remember; folds that, on a battlefield, would become must-take ridges and valleys raked by machine gun fire. Here though was a perfect land, unpoisoned by such snaky heads. The rising sun, still yet to gain its heat, uncovered spring’s half-built hedgerows as nearby woodpeckers saluted their arrival. So infrequent was any sign of habitation, with only a couple of soft yellow stone farmhouses nestling nearly invisibly into their surroundings, that it seemed for a time that they were walking through a zero-humaned world.

About the Author

Barney Campbell, author of The Fires of Gallipoli, was brought up in the Scottish Borders and studied Classics at university. He then joined the British Army where he commanded soldiers on a tour of Helmand Province, Afghanistan at the height of the war there.

That experience inspired him to write his first novel Rain, a novel about the war, which was published by Michael Joseph in 2015. The Times called it ‘the greatest book about the experience of soldiering since Robert Graves’s First World War classic Goodbye To All That’.

Barney has walked the length of the Iron Curtain, from Szczecin in Poland to Trieste in Italy. He currently works and lives in London.

Author & Publisher Links:

Website: https://eandtbooks.com/authors/barney-campbell/

Twitter: https://x.com/eandtbooks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elliottandthompson/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/eandtbooks.bsky.social

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Barney-Campbell/author/B0DHW46DM5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13734240.Barney_Campbell

BOOK TOUR: Plantagenet Legacy Series – Henry IV by Mercedes Rochelle

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THE USURPER KING by Mercedes Rochelle
Book 4 of The Plantagenet Legacy

Blurb:

From Outlaw to Usurper, Henry Bolingbroke fought one rebellion after another.


First, he led his own uprising. Then he captured a forsaken king. Henry had no intention of taking the crown for himself; it was given to him by popular acclaim. Alas, it didn’t take long to realize that that having the kingship was much less rewarding than striving for it. Only three months after his coronation, Henry IV had to face a rebellion led by Richard’s disgruntled favorites. Repressive measures led to more discontent. His own supporters turned against him, demanding more than he could give. The haughty Percies precipitated the Battle of Shrewsbury which nearly cost him the throne—and his life.


To make matters worse, even after Richard II’s funeral, the deposed monarch was rumored to be in Scotland, planning his return. The king just wouldn’t stay down and malcontents wanted him back.

THE ACCURSED KING by Mercedes Rochelle
Book 5 of The Plantagenet Legacy

Blurb:

What happens when a king loses his prowess?

The day Henry IV could finally declare he had vanquished his enemies, he threw it all away with an infamous deed. No English king had executed an archbishop before. And divine judgment was quick to follow. Many thought he was struck with leprosy—God’s greatest punishment for sinners. From that point on, Henry’s health was cursed and he fought doggedly on as his body continued to betray him—reducing this once great warrior to an invalid.

Fortunately for England, his heir was ready and eager to take over. But Henry wasn’t willing to relinquish what he had worked so hard to preserve. No one was going to take away his royal prerogative—not even Prince Hal. But Henry didn’t count on Hal’s dauntless nature, which threatened to tear the royal family apart.

Universal Buy Links:

The Usurper King: https://books2read.com/u/3nkRJ9

The Accursed King: https://books2read.com/u/b5KpnG

The Plantagenet Legacy Series Links:

Amazon US Series Link

Amazon UK Series Link

All titles in the series are available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Author Interview

Often writers started out as readers. Was there a particular book that inspired you to be an author?

When I was a kid, I was absolutely blown away by “Black Beauty”, and I told my mother I wanted to be a writer. She pooh-poohed me! That set me back. It wasn’t until my college days that I was inspired after reading “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. I think that book also gave me the idea about historical fiction, though it took years to germinate.

Do you tend to read the same genre you write?

Yes, I’m sorry to say. Other genres don’t hold my interest, and I know this is a weakness. There are exceptions, of course, but pretty few and far between. I love Anne Rice! And Nero Wolfe books.

Do you have a favorite time period to write about? If so, why?

I love the middle ages, especially European. I owe this fascination to a reenactment group called the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), which I enjoyed for thirty years.

How long have you been writing, and how long did it take before your first book was published?
I started writing in the early ‘80s, a few years out of college. I moved to NYC to be near the publishing center of the world, but it didn’t serve me well and I took 20 years off to pursue a career. I didn’t want to be a starving writer my whole life! I did publish that first book in 2014.

Did anyone give you writing advice when you were first getting started? Do you think it helped?

When I was in my mid-20s (back to the previous question), I had a writer boyfriend who persuaded me to write a book with him. I think I did it to shut him up, but got caught up in the project. However, I didn’t like the way he was progressing in the story, so I went off on my own and wrote it my way! And yes, this was the same book I mentioned before.

If you could pick your top 3 favorite books of all time, what would they be?

I adored THE THREE MUSKETEERS, which was another huge inspiration for me. I think my second favorite is THE WHITE COMPANY by Arthur Conan Doyle. He was truly a marvelous historical fiction author. I also love THE FIRST MAN IN ROME by Colleen McCullough, which I picked up by accident at a yard sale. What a find!

Does your family support your writing?

I sell Real Estate when I’m not writing, though my husband does support me between house sales! Because my books are niche market, I never expect to make a living at my writing. Whenever I exhibit personally at a fair, I am constantly reminded that most of the public have no clue about the middle ages. If I’m lucky, they will remember the king under the parking lot, but even so, it’s the wrong Richard (I wrote about Richard II). It’s very sobering. So I call writing my hobby. I’m grateful for my close circle of readers.

Author Bio:

Mercedes Rochelle is an ardent lover of medieval history, and has channeled this interest into fiction writing. She believes that good Historical Fiction, or Faction as it’s coming to be known, is an excellent way to introduce the subject to curious readers.

Her first four books cover eleventh-century Britain and events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Her new project is called “The Plantagenet Legacy” taking us through the reigns of the last true Plantagenet King, Richard II and his successors, Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI. She also writes a blog: HistoricalBritainBlog.com to explore the history behind the story.

Born in St. Louis, MO, she received by BA in Literature at the University of Missouri St.Louis in 1979 then moved to New York in 1982 while in her mid-20s to “see the world”. The search hasn’t ended!

Today she lives in Sergeantsville, NJ with her husband in a log home they had built themselves.

Author Links:

Website: https://mercedesrochelle.com/ 

Twitter: https://x.com/authorrochelle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mercedesrochelle.net

Book Bub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mercedes-rochelle

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mercedes-Rochelle/author/B001KMG5P6

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1696491.Mercedes_Rochelle

BOOK TOUR: The Immigrant Queen by Pete Taylor-Gooby

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The Immigrant Queen
Peter Taylor-Gooby

Hated as a foreigner, despised as a woman, she became First Lady of Athens.

Aspasia falls passionately in love with Pericles, the leading statesman of Fifth Century Athens. Artists, writers and thinkers flock to her salon. She hides her past as a sex-worker, trafficked to the city, and becomes Pericles’ lover.

Her writings attract the attention of Socrates, and she becomes the only woman to join his circle. She is known throughout the city for her beauty and wit and strives to become recognised as an intellectual alongside men.

Pericles’ enemies attack him through Aspasia and charge her with blasphemy. As a foreigner she faces execution, but her impassioned address to the jury shames the city and saves her. Pericles is spellbound, they marry, and she becomes First Lady of Athens.

Sparta besieges the city; plague breaks out and Pericles is once again in danger.

THE IMMIGRANT QUEEN tells the true story of how Aspasia rose to become the First Lady of Athens and triumphed against all the odds.

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4EvoOg

Paperback Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Immigrant-Queen-Peter-Taylor-Gooby/dp/1836280602/

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-immigrant-queen/peter-taylor-gooby/9781836280606

https://troubador.co.uk/bookshop/historical/the-immigrant-queen

Interview with the Author:

Often writers started out as readers. Was there a particular book that inspired you to be an author?

So many! I read voraciously as a child. “The Secret Garden” holds a special place, it is so warm – and Silas Marner. If only I could write like that!

Do you tend to read the same genre you write?

No, I read in all directions – novels I pick up in the book shop and the library, Booker recommendations, items from blog posts, my partner’s reading group. It has to engage me in the first ten pages, but really I read for enjoyment.

Do you have a favorite time period to write about? If so, why?

Again no. It’s really trying to visualize what it was like for people, human like me, but in a different world with different beliefs and rules. I am fascinated by Athens and am currently writing another story set there.

Writers sometimes have furry, feathered, or scaled helpers. Do you have a writing companion?

My companion is the East Kent countryside, so beautiful at this time of year. I do love the colours of Autumn. Whenever something isn’t going right, I just take a walk.

How long have you been writing, and how long did it take before your first book was published?

I’ve been writing as long as I can remember, all sorts of things. Sometimes I wake up with a story in my head and need to put it down before I lose it. Sometimes I can see characters and I know their feelings from their body language, but I can’t hear what they are saying to each other.

Do you have a routine you follow when you’re working on a book? A certain time of day when you write, or a snack you keep nearby?

No, when I have an idea I write relentlessly. Then I have to spend hours rewriting and rewriting the next day.

Did anyone give you writing advice when you were first getting started? Do you think it helped?

Yes definitely, and a lot of it was good advice. If only I’d taken it I would have moved a lot faster. But you only really learn through your experiences I find.

What is the scariest thing you face as a writer? How do you handle it?

Blank paper – and suddenly there is nothing in your head. You just have to face it down, write about anything, the view from the window, an incident on the bus yesterday, your children and after a while it will come.

About the Author

Peter Taylor-Gooby is an academic who believes that you can only truly understand the issues that matter through your feelings, your imagination and your compassion. That’s why he writes novels as well as research monographs. He worked in India as a teacher, in a Newcastle social security office and as an antique dealer.

Now he’s professor of social policy at the University of Kent, a Fellow of the British Academy, loves playing with his grandchildren and writes novels in what time is spare.

Author Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peter.taylorgooby/  

Troubadour Author Page: https://troubador.co.uk/author/glndwnle

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Taylor-Gooby

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B001HD2YWQ

BOOK TOUR: Traitor’s Game by Rosemary Hayes

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Traitor’s Game

Soldier Spy Book One

by Rosemary Hayes

‘Right from page one you know you are in the hands of a talented storyteller… An exciting tale of espionage and adventure in the classic mould.’

~ R.N. Morris, author of The Gentle Axe

1808.

Captain Will Fraser has just returned from the Front in the Peninsular War. He is disgraced and penniless, the victim of a conspiracy led by a jealous and influential officer. Fraser has been falsely accused of insubordination and cowardice and dismissed from his regiment.

Fraser and Duncan Armstrong, his wounded Sergeant, arrive in London to seek out Will’s brother, Jack, who works for King George’s Government.

But Jack has disappeared. He vanished from his lodgings a week ago and no one has seen him since. Friends and colleagues are baffled by his disappearance as is the young woman, Clara, who claims to be his wife.

Then Will is viciously attacked, seemingly mistaken for his brother, and only just escapes with his life. When news of this reaches Jack’s colleagues in Government, Will is recruited to find his brother and he and Armstrong set out to follow a trail littered with half-truths and misinformation.

For their task is not quite what it seems.

Will closely resembles his brother and it becomes evident that he is being used as a decoy to flush out Jack’s enemies. These are enemies of the State, for Jack Fraser is a spy and his colleagues believe he has uncovered evidence which will lead to the identity of a French spymaster embedded in the British Government.

Will’s search leads him to France but in this murky world of espionage, nothing is straightforward.

The soldier turned spy must unmask a traitor, before it’s too late.

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bwwEee

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Guest Post

When I was asked to write a series of novellas set during the Napoleonic Wars, I knew I would find it a daunting task but what particularly interested me was the secret war against Napoleon. That underbelly of every war where agents pass information to their handlers through secret channels, where things are not always what they seem, where the most unlikely people turn out to be working for the enemy. So, the work of spies is the main focus of my stories.

Although there was high level espionage, there were also many ordinary French citizens, including fishing families, shopkeepers and others who wished to undermine Napoleon’s rule. They were working for the British and provided shelter for British spies – and girls and women often dressed as men to avoid detection. There was a respected French priest (with a beautiful mistress) who was an agent for the British – and a schoolmaster on the Normandy coast who passed on French naval signals to the British so that their ships would be let through as French.

Then there were those who regularly crossed the Channel, legally, spying for their country’s enemies in plain sight. And, of course, there were double agents, too, one of whom is the mysterious traitor mentioned in my story.

The ‘Soldier Spy’ stories are historical fiction but real people appear in them – the head of the Alien Office, a Jersey fisherman, a Catholic priest and a renowned codebreaker, among others.

In the first of these stories, ‘Traitor’s Game’, my main protagonist, Captain Will Fraser, is sent home from the Peninsular War in disgrace, wrongly accused of insubordination and cowardice. In London he seeks out his brother, Jack, only to find that Jack has vanished and, in order to find him, Will reluctantly becomes entangled in the murky world of espionage.

Can he track down a double agent before more secrets are passed to the enemy and a murder is committed?

About the Author

Rosemary Hayes has written over fifty books for children and young adults. She writes in different genres, from edgy teenage fiction (The Mark), historical fiction (The Blue Eyed Aborigine and Forgotten Footprints), middle grade fantasy (Loose Connections, The Stonekeeper’s Child and Break Out)  to chapter books for early readers and texts for picture books. Many of her books have won or been shortlisted for awards and several have been translated into different languages.

Rosemary has travelled widely but now lives in South Cambridgeshire. She has a background in publishing, having worked for Cambridge University Press before setting up her own company Anglia Young Books which she ran for some years. She has been a reader for a well-known authors’ advisory service and runs creative writing workshops for both children and adults.

Rosemary has now turned her hand to adult fiction and her historical novel ‘The King’s Command’ is about the terror and tragedy suffered by a French Huguenot family during the reign of Louis XIV.

And Traitor’s Game, the first book in the Soldier Spy trilogy, set during the Napoleonic Wars, has recently been published.

Author Links:

Website: www.rosemaryhayes.co.uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HayesRosemary

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosemary-Hayes/e/B00NAPAPZC

BOOK TOUR: The King’s Intelligencer by Elizabeth St. John

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Book Title: The King’s Intelligencer
Sub Title: Discovering the Missing Princes in the Tower
Author: Elizabeth St.John
Publication Date: 15th October, 2024
Publisher: Falcon Historical
Pages: 494
Genre: Historical Fiction

London, 1674: When children’s bones are unexpectedly unearthed in the Tower of London, England’s most haunting mystery—the fate of the missing princes—is reignited.

Franny Apsley, trusted confidante to Charles II’s beloved niece and heir, Lady Mary Stuart, is caught up in the court’s excitement surrounding the find. Yet, as a dark family secret comes to light, Franny realises the truth behind the missing princes is far more complex—and dangerous—than anyone suspects. Recruited by her formidable cousin Nan Wilmot,  Dowager Countess of Rochester, to discover the truth behind the bones, Franny is thrust into the shadowy world of intelligencers. But her quest is complicated by an attraction to the charismatic court artist Nicholas Jameson, a recent arrival from Paris who harbours secrets of his own.

Pursued by Nicholas, Franny searches for evidence hidden in secret family letters and paintings, and uncovers a startling diplomatic plot involving Lady Mary, which causes Franny to question her own judgment, threatens the throne, and sets England on a course for war. With only her courage and the guidance of an enigmatic spy within the royal household, Franny must decide how far she will go to expose the truth—and whether that truth will lead to England’s salvation or her own heartbreak.

In a glittering and debauched society where love is treacherous and loyalty masked, Franny must navigate a world where a woman’s voice is often silenced and confront the ultimate question: What is she willing to risk for the sake of her country, her happiness, and her family’s safety?

A captivating historical novel of conspiracy, passion, and courage, The King’s Intelligencer is one woman’s quest for a truth that could change the fate of a nation. A companion to the critically acclaimed best-selling novels The Godmother’s Secret and The Lydiard Chronicles, The King’s Intelligencer weaves together beloved characters and actual events to bring a suspenseful mystery to life.

Buy Links:

This title is available to read on #Kindle Unlimited.

Universal Buy Link: https://geni.us/KingsIntelligencer

Guest Post:

A Time of Conflict and Secrets

The inspiration for The King’s Intelligencer arose from my research for The Godmother’s Secret, centred on the missing princes in the Tower of London. During this time, I visited Westminster Abbey, particularly the Chapel of the Innocents, where Sir Christopher Wren’s marble urn, commissioned by Charles II in 1674, supposedly contains the bones of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York. The princes, according to the inscription, were murdered by their “perfidious uncle Richard the Usurper” and buried secretly in the Tower for 191 years. Standing near the urn, close to where my character Franny Apsley’s parents, Sir Allen and Frances Apsley, are buried, I began to question this narrative.

Helen Maurer’s paper Bones in the Tower: A Discussion of Time, Place and Circumstance raises doubts about the authenticity of these remains, as does Annette Carson’s article The Bones in the Urn. What if these bones weren’t the princes’ at all, but rather a politically convenient find for Charles II, helping to secure his throne during a period of intense religious and political tension?

The 17th century was marked by deep divides between Protestants and Catholics. While Charles II outwardly practiced Protestantism, he secretly favoured Catholicism and even converted on his deathbed. His brother, James II, was openly Catholic, which led to his brief reign before being overthrown by his Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange.

In this climate of political and religious conflict, espionage thrived. “Intelligencers” gathered information through subtle means, often operating unofficially. Franny Apsley, the protagonist of The King’s Intelligencer, navigates this secretive world. In real life, Franny’s family was deeply involved in espionage, including her parents, Allen and Frances Apsley, and her cousin Nan Wilmot, Countess of Rochester. Nan was known for deceiving Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War, and supplying arms to Charles II, while after the Restoration, Franny’s brother, Peter Apsley, worked as an intelligencer for Charles II and James II, receiving substantial payments for his covert activities.

Wanting to not only write about family history, but place it in the context of the wider national landscape, I incorporated into the novel another fascinating discovery – King Charles II’s Secret Treaty of Dover. In this treaty, Charles secretly agreed to declare himself a Catholic in exchange for financial support from King Louis XIV of France. Although I fictionalized elements of another treaty between James and the French King, it was well-known at the time that Charles and James were deeply involved in secret negotiations with France, many of which were hidden from the public for over a century.

This companion to The Godmother’s Secret and The Lydiard Chronicles blends historical fact with fiction, following Franny Apsley as she embarks on a dangerous quest for truth, unveiling hidden secrets that could reshape the past.

About the Author:

Elizabeth St.John’s critically acclaimed historical fiction novels tell the stories of her ancestors: extraordinary women whose intriguing kinship with England’s kings and queens brings an intimately unique perspective to Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times.

Inspired by family archives and residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London, Elizabeth spends much of her time exploring ancestral portraits, diaries, and lost gardens. And encountering the occasional ghost. But that’s another story.

Living between California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is the International Ambassador for The Friends of Lydiard Park, an English charity dedicated to conserving and enhancing this beautiful centuries-old country house and park. As a curator for The Lydiard Archives, she is constantly looking for an undiscovered treasure to inspire her next novel.

Elizabeth’s works include The Lydiard Chronicles, a trilogy set in 17th-century England during the Civil War, and The Godmother’s Secret, which unravels the medieval mystery of the missing princes in the Tower of London. Her latest release, The King’s Intelligencer, follows Franny Apsley’s perilous quest to uncover the truth behind the sudden discovery of the princes’ bones. In Charles II’s court of intrigue and deceit, Franny must decide what she’ll risk—for England’s salvation, her family’s safety, and her own happiness.

Author Links:

Website:         https://www.elizabethjstjohn.com/

Twitter:           https://x.com/ElizStJohn    

Facebook:       https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethJStJohn/

LinkedIn:        https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethjstjohn/

Instagram:       https://www.instagram.com/elizabethjstjohn/

Threads:          https://www.threads.net/@elizabethjstjohn

Bluesky:          https://bsky.app/profile/elizabethstjohn.bsky.social

Book Bub:       https://www.bookbub.com/profile/elizabeth-st-john

Amazon Author Page:     https://geni.us/AmazonElizabethStJohn

Goodreads:      https://geni.us/GoodreadsElizStJohn

BOOK TOUR: Immortal Wounds by Angie Barton

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SPOOKY COOKIES 
I LOVE baking, especially around the holidays!
Every October I make these amazing double chocolate  chip cookies and it’s easy to say that they are a hit  with both children and adults! They are soft and chewy  with just the right amount of chocolate, but it’s the candy eyeballs that are the star of the show!
INGREDIENTS
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
• optional: black food coloring
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp. Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet)
• Candy Eyeballs for topping the cookies
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugars. You can add black food coloring at this time to get a deeper shade of black in the cookies. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Blend in the egg and vanilla, scrape down the bowl if needed.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in the mixer on low speed just until mixed. Mix in the milk on the lowest speed and fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Roll about 2 tablespoons of dough into balls and place on the baking sheets. Flatten slightly. Top cookies with candy eyeballs.
Place cookie sheet in freezer for 10-15 minutes.
4. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. ENJOY!
 

Immortal Wounds

Immortal Wounds Series
Book One
Angie Barton
 
Genre: Fantasy/Historical Fiction/Magical Realism
Publisher: Angie Barton 
Date of Publication: April 22, 2022
ISBN: 979-8990647206
ASIN: BOD9XTF25K
Number of pages: 392
Word Count: 93,000
Cover Artist: Donnell McKenzie
 
Tagline: Did Isobel make an error in landing in the wrong time, or was it part of her destiny?
 
Book Description: 
 
After witnessing the brutal deaths of her mother and husband, Isobel overhears a confession from one of the murderers, a ruthless vampire who claims to be her father. For fear that she and her unborn daughter’s death could come next, Isobel uses the only magic she possesses and summons a portal to take her two hundred years in the past to revisit an ancestor in Scotland who she believes may know the truth of her parentage. However, in her haste, Isobel lands in the wrong century. Before she realizes her mistake, she stumbles upon a family: a ferocious Highland warrior and his two sisters.
 
Isobel could not have prepared herself for what she discovers during her stay: the vampire who claimed to be her father, alive three hundred years in the past! With the help of Meg, the youngest sister, and Mariam, both women’s ancestor, Isobel finds herself belonging in a world she never dreamed of—one entangled with vampires and webbed with revenge, curses, and a prophecy that has dictated all of their lives for the last four hundred years. 
 
Did Isobel make an error landing in the wrong time, or was it part of her destiny?
 
 

 

About the Author:

 
Award winning author, Angie Barton, published her first novel, Immortal Wounds, in 2022. Angie’s love for writing centers around the fantasy genre, but she also enjoys writing thriller and romance. Her passion for reading, which led to her love of writing, began in elementary school with the Scholastic Book program. Her parents, who are life-long avid readers, have been a huge influence on her reading. Therefore anything and everything Angie could get her hands on she read.
 
Angie has been an early childhood educator since 1986 and hold a B.S. in Child Development. Her love for literacy has continued throughout her career, not only for herself, but also with the children she has cared for and taught. What Angie is most passionate about is helping others discover the excitement that reading brings. Her greatest desire in writing is to create and bring joy and entertainment to everyone she touches.
 
Currently, if Angie isn’t reading at least three books at a time or working on a rough draft for her next book, she can be found outdoors gardening, woodworking, or relaxing by her pond. She shares that she’s a Capricorn, tried and true, drinks way too much tea, and that her “to be read” pile of books can spike at any time.
 
 
 
 
 

 

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BOOK TOUR & GIVEAWAY: The Mark of the Salamander by Justin Newland

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 THE MARK OF THE SALAMANDER is the first in The Island of Angels series: a two-book saga that tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era.

The Mark of the Salamander

The Island of Angels Book One

by Justin Newland

Genre: Historical Fiction

1575: Nelan Michaels is a young Flemish man fleeing religious persecution in the Spanish Netherlands. Settling in Mortlake outside London, he studies under Queen Elizabeth’s court astrologer, conjuring a bright future – until he’s wrongly accused of murder. Forced into the life of a fugitive, Nelan is dramatically pressed into the crew of the Golden Hind.

Thrust into a strange new world on board Francis Drake’s vessel, Nelan sails the seas on a voyage to discover discovery itself. Encountering mutiny, ancient tribes and hordes of treasure, Nelan must explore and master his own mystical powers – including the Mark of the Salamander, the mysterious spirit of fire.

The Mark of the Salamander is the first in The Island of Angels series: a two-book saga that tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era.

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My historical fiction novel, The Mark of the Salamander, was published in October 2023. It’s the first in a two-book series, The Island of Angels, which tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era. Book two is out in October, 2024, and is entitled The Midnight of Eights. This blog tells the story of the unusual fate of the good ship Elizabeth, one of the fleet of five vessels that set sail from Plymouth in England in 1577 to sail around the world. The fleet was commanded by Sir Francis Drake, while the Elizabath was captained by John Wynter. This was a voyage into the unknown, because no one on board had sailed around the world before. Only the Portuguese navigator, Ferdinand Magellan, had managed that feat, and that was some fifty years previously. So, rather than reveal his true intentions, Drake told the crew they were embarking on a trading voyage to Egypt, or the Levant as it was known then. This was to allay any fears the men might have about the real dangers they would face. But by the time they crossed the Atlantic from Africa to South America, the game was up, and Drake had to reveal the true aim of the expedition. The little fleet over-wintered in Patagonia, which is towards the southern tip of South America. There, like Magellan before him, Drake had to put down a mutiny amongst his crew, and executed one of the gentleman adventurers, an aristocrat named Thomas Doughty. Also while in Patagonia, Drake scuttled two of his supply ships before attempting to cross the Straights of Magellan, aka Cape Horn (see image). Because this was the meeting point of the waters of two huge oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific, the seas there are notoriously treacherous, On 20 August, 1578, Drake set sail to traverse the Straights with three vessels, the Golden Hind, the Elizabeth, and the Marigold. They hit ferocious storms. The Marigold and her 29 crewmen was lost. Aboard the Golden Hind, the crew claimed that they heard the cries of the doomed seamen. In the Elizabeth, John Wynter passed through the Straits of Magellan, but on 7th October, 1578, a terrible storm arose and they lost contact with the rest of the fleet. Wynter later claimed that he had never lived through such a terrible tempest. Not only did he turn around, but, unbeknown to Drake, who thought he was lost, he retraced his steps and sailed all the way back to England, arriving in Plymouth in June 1580. At first, he received a hero’s welcome, but only because the populace who had come to greet him believed that he was Francis Drake, and had succeeded in circumnavigating the globe. The rumours about the real reasons for Wynter’s about-turn have rumbled on for centuries. Some claimed that Wynter took advantage of circumstances to head back to England because he could not get along with Drake, a situation brought to a head “… after what happened to Thomas Doughty.” It was said that his decision persisted “full sore against the mariners’ minds.” So much for Captain John Wynter, captain of half a circumnavigation. Images: Cape Horn Drake’s passage

 

JUSTIN NEWLAND’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres from historical adventure to supernatural thriller and magical realism.

Undeterred by the award of a Doctorate in Mathematics from Imperial College, London, he conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (ISBN 9781789014860, Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies.

His second book is a historical thriller, The Old Dragon’s Head (ISBN 9781789015829, Matador, 2018), and is set in Ming Dynasty China in the shadows of the Great Wall.

The Coronation (ISBN 9781838591885, Matador, 2019) is an historical adventure and speculates on the genesis of the most important event in the modern world – the Industrial Revolution.

The Abdication (ISBN 9781800463950, Matador, 2021) is a mystery thriller in which a young woman confronts her faith in a higher purpose and what it means to abdicate that faith.

His latest is The Mark of the Salamander (ISBN 9781915853271, Book Guild, 2023) and is the first in a two-book series, The Island of Angels. Set in the Elizabethan era, it tells the epic tale of England’s coming of age.

The second in the series, The Midnight of Eights (ISBN 9781835740 330, Book Guild, 2024), charts of the uncanny coincidences that culminated in the repulse of the Spanish Armada and is due for publication in October.

Author, speaker and broadcaster, Justin gives talks to historical associations and libraries, appears on LitFest panels, and enjoys giving radio interviews.

He lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.

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BOOK TOUR: Bandy by Craig R. Hipkins

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Book Title: Bandy

Author: Craig R. Hipkins

Publication Date: February 15, 2024

Publisher: Hipkins Twins

Pages: 337

Genre: Historical Fiction / Young Adult

Isaac’s only friend is a passenger pigeon named Bandy. He deludes himself in believing the bird talks to him. Bullied, he is resigned to a life of being the misunderstood bookworm by neighboring boys until a disastrous fire kills his parents and little sisters, sparing only his younger brother, Thomas. He and Thomas are taken in by their Uncle Raymond, an abolitionist, who plans to send Isaac to Virginia to buy Joy, a young slave with debilitating health, from her slave owner, Wil Jericho. Shortly after arriving in Virginia, Isaac learns the ugly truth. The butler who accompanied him on the journey killed his uncle before leaving and plans to do the same to Isaac to steal Raymond’s estate.

Isaac, with Joy, escape into the backwoods of Virginia. Discovering passages of the Underground Railroad, stowing away in carriages, hiding in churches, and outwitting the mercenaries hired by Jericho, the two teens fight tooth and nail to make it to Boston before they’re caught. Will Joy be taken from this life by sickness before she’s found freedom? On their journey, they learn a lot about each other. Isaac promises to bring Joy to Bandy’s pond, a heavenly place where peace and serenity reign.

Buy Link:

This novel is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/m27zQr

Excerpt:

The afternoon dragged along. Every cracking branch put Isaac on his guard. He kept the derringer loaded and at half cock. Joy had another episode and this one was longer than the one she had earlier in the day. Isaac had kept her as comfortable as possible next to the fire.

As nightfall approached, she felt much better, and they each ate a stale biscuit and a few slabs of bacon. It was a lean meal, but enough to give them energy to continue on their way.

They decided to use the railroad. There was a stillness in the air, and they would be able to hear the clomping of hooves if any horses approached. Isaac prayed Joy wouldn’t have another one of her headaches. They seemed to come on with little warning and were debilitating.

A short time later, they passed by another small village of ramshackle houses. Isaac noticed a blacksmith’s shop. The smithy, a raw-boned man with bulging biceps was hard at work at the forge and did not even notice their passing. The glowing light of a furnace left them longing for the warmth of a fire. With any luck they would be in Portsmouth by midnight.

They were about a mile past the forge when the sound of a neighing horse grabbed their attention and they quickly darted off the tracks into a stand of pines. They crouched down behind some brambles and waited.

A lone horseman came into view. He was a thickset man with a dark beard riding a large stallion, his menacing profile bathed in the moonlight. Isaac immediately felt a gnawing wave of fear in the pit of his stomach. The mounted man had obviously seen them. He had stopped and was peering in their general direction. He was most certainly a bounty hunter.

Isaac quietly pulled his derringer from his small holster and capped it. He felt Joy’s hand find his free one. They glanced at each other nervously.

“Come on out, yuh murderin’ boy! I done seen yuh along with that little slave girl yuh travelin’ with!”

Isaac’s pulse began to race. If he were older, he would pull this man from the saddle and pummel him for that comment.

“Let’s go, boy! I ain’t got all day now. Yuh come outta those bushes and don’t give me no trouble and ah’ll make sure yuh git a fair trial. If not, it ain’t gonna go well with yuh!”

Isaac weighed his options. The way he looked at it, he had three. He could surrender—an option which he immediately dismissed. His second option was to fight it out with the man. He had the drop on him but surely the bounty hunter had a weapon of some kind on his person, almost certainly a revolver, which would neutralize his one-shot derringer. His third and final option was to sit still and do nothing. Let the bounty hunter come to them. There was a chance, albeit a slim one, that he would not find them in the darkness. He chose option number three and quietly whispered his intentions to Joy, who wholly agreed with him. They waited. They would let their pursuer make the next move.

Author Bio:
Craig R. Hipkins grew up in Hubbardston Massachusetts. He is the author of medieval and gothic fiction. His novel Adalbert is the sequel to Astrolabe written by his late twin brother Jay S. Hipkins (1968-2018) He is an avid long distance runner and enjoys astronomy in his spare time.

Author Links:

Website: https://hipkinstwins.com

Twitter: https://x.com/CraigHipkins

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HipkinsTwins

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-hipkins-7a042357

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craighipkins3/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/crhipkins.bsky.social

Book Bub: https:// www.bookbub.com/profile/craig-r-hipkins

Amazon Author Page: https:// www.amazon.com/stores/author/B004RDJMNC

Goodreads: https:// www.goodreads.com/author/show/19975162.Craig_R_Hipkins

BOOK TOUR & GIVEAWAY: Hard Dog’s Night by Rebecca Hendricks

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YA  Historical Fiction /YA Coming of Age

Date Published: Tuesday, Aug 6th 2024

 

 

In a time when rock-n-roll is deemed evil music and blamed for youth
rebellion, The Hound Dogs and The Dice are set to clash at the Madison
Community Center.

The Hound Dogs search for a drummer to complete their lineup while The Dice
hires Patrick McNeil as Danny Bruer’s replacement. Unbeknownst to The Dice,
Patrick carries a hidden agenda to sabotage his former band and settle old
scores.

As Patrick and his accomplice, Stu, execute their plot, questions loom over
the Madison Community Center. Can The Hound Dogs triumph against the odds?
Will the controversy ignite a community torn between tradition and
rebellion?

In a world where rock-n-roll rebels against societal norms, the destinies
of two bands hang in precarious balance. The echoes of their battle will
resonate far beyond the Madison Community Center.

Hard Dog’s Night, the second book in The Hound Dogs Series, is a
unique blend of historical fiction, coming-of-age, and the power of music as
it forever alters lives in the name of rock-n-roll.

 


 

 

Excerpt

Stately elm tree branches shaded James while he strolled down the tranquil street of Granger. A group of unruly children scampered past him on their way to the park. Their laughter and high-pitched squeals caused a few dogs to bark and a few residents to lift their heads like curious ostriches. Crossing the street, James continued his path toward the Coffee Grounds. He’d spent the entire week at home studying for finals, and he was anxious to see his girlfriend. James had tried to study at the Coffee Grounds once, but it was a disaster because he couldn’t keep his eyes or mind off Marcy. It’s not like he didn’t think about her constantly, but at least she wasn’t close enough to talk to or steal a kiss.

A popular college hangout, the Coffee Grounds was generally packed with students. Still, Saturdays tended to be quieter, and the atmosphere was more casual. The large ceiling fan lazily circulated the air through the establishment. Marcy took advantage of the quiet afternoon by cleaning and filling sugar dispensers. James’s arrival sparked delight in her grin as he sat at the counter. Wiping her hands on her apron, Marcy walked over to him.

“You’re here early.” “Disappointed?” James asked, perching his elbows on the counter.

“Of course not.” “It’s been a long week.”

“It has,” Marcy said, straightening the napkin dispenser. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

James slid his hand under his chin. “Well, I’d rather have a kiss, but I’ll settle for coffee.”

Marcy smiled, took a cup from the shelf, and filled his cup. From her shiny auburn hair to her pert little nose, everything about her enchanted James. He would never tire of gazing at her.

Marcy brought James his coffee and sat it on the counter. “I guess you know you’re making me nervous.”

James picked up a spoon. “And why is that?”

“Because you’re ogling me.”

“So?” he said, clinking the spoon in the coffee cup.

“So, I know what you’re thinking.”

James’s grin spread, and Marcy nudged him. “I guess you know there is no sugar in your coffee.”

“Oh, yeah,” James said, taking the spoon out of the cup.

Marcy laughed. “You’ll never guess what I bought the other day,” James said, adding sugar.

Marcy leaned across the counter. “What?”

“You need to guess,” James teased.

“Can’t you give me a hint?” “It’s a book.”

“A book?”

“Yep.”

Marcy pressed her index finger to her lips. “Hmmm, let me guess. The Joys of Accounting?”

“Very funny.”

“What then?” James grinned.

“Kiss Me Deadly.”

“No kidding?”

“No kidding.” Marcy ran her finger over James’s hand.

“Are you going to lend it to me?”

“Maybe.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You better be nice to me, James, or you won’t get a kiss.”

He smirked. “We’ll see about that.”

A faint pink hue brushed her cheeks. “Say, do you think it would be all right if I posted a couple of flyers?” James asked.

“Is it for the drummer auditions?”

“Yep,” James said, setting one on the counter before Marcy.

“Sure. You can put it on the bulletin board by the front door and one on the back wall.”

“Okay, thanks.” Marcy returned to work, and James walked over to the bulletin board.

Advertisements and business cards covered the board like wallpaper. Pulling a tack out of an old advertisement, James covered it with the flyer and secured the tack. Smiling, he pulled out another spare tack and headed toward the back wall.

A young man was sitting at the back table by himself, reading a book. James probably wouldn’t have noticed him if his right leg wasn’t resting on a chair. At first glance, James thought he was lazy, but when he noticed the leg was encased in a metal leg brace with a thick platform shoe, he knew he was mistaken. James didn’t mean to stare and didn’t want to feel pity, but he couldn’t help himself. Securing the flyer to the wall, his eyes drifted back to the young man. He was wearing a checkered shirt with a worn wool jacket. Tufts of blond hair stuck out from underneath his faded grey porkpie hat with what looked like a turkey feather tucked under the band. Was he homeless? James’s heart sunk as his mind fired off several other sad scenarios. The young man sensed James’s presence, and he turned around to look at him.

“Hello,” James said with a sheepish grin.

The young man didn’t say anything. Was he mute too?

“Nice day, huh?” James said.

The young man didn’t answer. James noticed he had a Life magazine on the table with a picture of Marilyn Monroe on the front cover.

“You like Marilyn?” James asked.

“She’s my girlfriend.”

“Ha, ha,” James chuckled.

The young man tilted his head with a raised eyebrow. James walked back to his stool, wondering if the young man was crazy too. Marcy walked over to the young man’s table and refilled his cup. James watched Marcy chat with him for a few moments before she returned to the counter.

“So, you know that guy over there?” James asked.

“What guy?”

“You know, the one over there,” James said, pointing into his hand.

“You mean Ronnie?”

“I guess so.”

Marcy sat the coffeepot down. “Yes, he comes in here every once in a while.”

“He seems to be a little . . . nutty.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because he said his girlfriend was Marilyn Monroe.”

Marcy smiled. “He tells everybody that.”

“Do you think he believes it?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him that much.”

James fingered the handle on his coffee cup. “I feel bad for him.”

“You shouldn’t. He’s always in a good mood, even though some people say mean things to him.”

“That’s horrible.”

“If someone is mean to him, we kick them out.”

“That’s good.” Marcy untied her apron.

“I’m going to hang my apron up, and we can go.”

“Okay.”

Marcy walked away, and James glanced over at Ronnie. He was bobbing his head and tapping his thumbs on the table while he read. Maybe Marcy was right. Maybe he was perfectly happy despite his circumstance. With all his heart, James wanted to believe it. He wanted to believe that the cruel world did not affect Ronnie. With that thought in mind, James gathered his books and pushed his sorrowful thoughts aside and joined the beautiful young woman who waited at the door for him.

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