#TheSpiritofFire #SusanneDunlap #HFVBTBlogTours #Review

The Spirit of Fire
by Susanne Dunlap

Publication Date: December 6, 2019

Series: Orphans of Tolosa, Book two
Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

Listen to the Wind has been rated 10 out of 10 and was a quarterfinalist in the BookLife Prize, and won a Gold badge from the International Review of Books.

The eagerly anticipated sequel to Listen to the Wind, “A complex, absorbing, and dramatic start to a planned series.” -Kirkus Reviews

Azemar—now a knight and Baron of Montpezat—has rescued his childhood friend, Azalais, from the Castel de Belascon, where she was forced to disguise as a noblewoman and become the wife of the baron. But the captivating trobairitz Jordane de la Moux d’Aniort and her damozel Johana have escaped with them, putting them all in grave peril. Will Jordane’s conflicting goal of reuniting with the rebel Raimon de Berenger thwart Azemar and Azalais’s quest to solve the mystery of their origins, which they believe lies within the heretic fortress of Montsegur? When a cryptic note leads them to the Templar stronghold at Mas Deu, Azemar undergoes brutal trials, and discovers that his ultimate purpose could lead him to betray the very people he wants to protect. And their altered route leads Azalais into the path of her old enemy, the Dominican monk, Fraire Martin. Full of surprising twists and turns, dangerous adventures, and true love, The Spirit of Fire continues the Orphans of Tolosa Trilogy.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

Praise for Listen to the Wind

Listen to the Wind has been rated 10 out of 10 in the BookLife Prize and won a Gold badge from the International Review of Books.

“Dunlap breathes life into the distant 13th-century setting… Poetry and music are as essential to the plot as warfare, with engaging glimpses of trobairitz (female troubadours). . . . A complex, absorbing, and dramatic start to a planned series.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Listen to the Wind is in its own league. Completely imaginative, mature and playful all at once, this book doesn’t compete with any other novel for its spot on the bookshelf, as it will outshine many and sit comfortably among the classics.” – The BookLife Prize

“Susanne Dunlap… is both a superb storyteller and a rich historian of the period. Its customs and language, castles, troubadours, mountains, thick forests, villages, monasteries, and vineyards come vividly to life as Azemar and Azalaïs find themselves drawn into a path that will shape history.” – Stephanie Cowell, author of Claude and Camille: a novel of Monet

“In its mix of page-turning thriller with well researched historical novel, it draws comparison to the finely crafted work of Kate Mosse and Ariana Franklin.” – Nancy Bilyeau, author of
The Blue and the Joanna Stafford trilogy

“Susanne Dunlap’s sweeping saga captivates readers’ imaginations from the first page, plunging them back into the Languedoc region of France in the 13th Century. Her impeccable research allows her three spirited protagonists to live, love, fight and breathe life into the dangerous period of rebellion and inquisition, when the Cathars struggled to hold on to their culture and old faith against the power of the Pope. A compelling read for lovers of adventure and romance.” -Anne Easter Smith, author of
A Rose for the Crown, Daughter of York, Royal Mistress

“The fortitude and ingenuity of her characters helps them adapt to all manner of circumstances, and the result is an engaging tale of escape, secrets, and mental toughness. For those looking for a smartly written captivating read, I highly recommend this first book in the Orphans of Tolosa trilogy.” – Amy Hawes, Book Club Babble

“This is an intriguing and complex story with lots of secrets and lies interwoven within the characters personal stories, it is charming, exciting and mesmerising.” – Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals

“I love how vibrant the world is made, how danger really struck fear into my heart, how the pain felt real…everything is beautifully written and I thoroughly enjoyed this.” – Clarissa Reads It All

About the Author

Susanne Dunlap is the author of six works of historical fiction. Two are for adults (Emilie’s Voice and Liszt’s Kiss, both published by Touchstone books of Simon & Schuster). Four are for young adults (The Musician’s Daughter, Anastasia’s Secret, In the Shadow of the Lamp, and The Academie, published by Bloomsbury). A graduate of Smith College with a PhD in Music History from Yale University, Susanne grew up in Buffalo, New York and has lived in London, Brooklyn and Northampton, MA. She now lives in Northampton with her long-time partner, Charles, has two grown daughters, three granddaughters, a grandson, a stepson and a stepdaughter, four step-grandsons and one step-granddaughter—that’s a total of four children and nine grandchildren!

In her spare time she cycles in the beautiful Pioneer Valley.

For more information, please visit The Orphans of Tolosa website. You can follow author Susanne Dunlap on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, Pinterest, and BookBub.

Coffee and Ink’s review

The sequel to Listen to the Wind is packed with action and adventure, love and betrayal. As the armies of the French march on the heretic fortress of Montsegur, Azemar and Azalais also push on to the fortress, unsure which side is using and manipulating them to get their hands on the book, and whether or not they can trust each other. This complicated plot-twisting page-turner is highly recommended for both shedding light on this place and time and the excellent writing.

Blog Tour Schedule

Friday, December 6
Review at Nursebookie
Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads

Monday, December 9
Feature at The Lit Bitch
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books
Review at Mama’s Reading Corner

Tuesday, December 10
Feature at What Is That Book About

Wednesday, December 11
Interview at The Writing Desk

Thursday, December 12
Review at Books and Zebras
Review at Chicks, Rogues and Scandals

Friday, December 13
Feature at Just One More Chapter

Sunday, December 15
Review at my.boys.mom

Monday, December 16
Interview at Jathan & Heather

Wednesday, December 18
Review at Passages to the Past

Thursday, December 19
Excerpt at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Friday, December 20
Review at Coffee and Ink

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a set of Listen to the Wind & The Spirit of Fire by Susanne Dunlap! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on December 20th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Paperback giveaway is open internationally.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

Listen to the Wind

#EntertainingMrPepys #DeborahSwift #HFVBTBlogTours

Entertaining Mr. Pepys
by Deborah Swift

Publication Date: September 12, 2019
Hachette Book Group
eBook. Paperback, Audiobook; 400 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

London 1666

Elizabeth ‘Bird’ Carpenter has a wonderful singing voice, and music is her chief passion. When her father persuades her to marry horse-dealer Christopher Knepp, she suspects she is marrying beneath her station, but nothing prepares her for the reality of life with Knepp. Her father has betrayed her trust, for Knepp cares only for his horses; he is a tyrant and a bully, and will allow Bird no life of her own.

When Knepp goes away, she grasps her chance and, encouraged by her maidservant Livvy, makes a secret visit to the theatre. Entranced by the music, the glitter and glamour of the surroundings, and the free and outspoken manner of the women on the stage, she falls in love with the theatre and is determined to forge a path of her own as an actress.

But life in the theatre was never going to be straightforward – for a jealous rival wants to spoil her plans, and worse, Knepp forbids it, and Bird must use all her wit and intelligence to change his mind.

Based on events depicted in the famous Diary of Samuel Pepys, Entertaining Mr Pepys brings London in the 17th Century to life. It includes the vibrant characters of the day such as the diarist himself and actress Nell Gwynne, and features a dazzling and gripping finale during the Great Fire Of London.

The third in Deborah Swift’s atmospheric trilogy, bringing to life the women in Pepys’ Diary. Each novel features a different character and can be read as a stand-alone book.

‘A remarkably beguiling read. It transported me to the glitter and filth of seventeenth century London’ – Martine Bailey, author of The Almanack

‘The fusion of historical facts and fiction is so flawless that it is hard to know where reality ends and fiction begins’ – Readers Favourite Review

Amazon | Book Depository

Praise for the Pepys Trilogy

‘Swift is a consummate historical novelist, basing her books on immaculate research and then filling the gaps between real events and real people with eloquent storytelling, atmospheric scene setting and imaginative plot lines’ – The Visitor

‘A novel that transports readers with astonishing and engrossing detail’ – Readers Favorite 5*

‘Pepys and his world spring to vibrant life… Gripping, revealing and stunningly imagined’ -Lancashire Evening Post

About the Author

Deborah Swift is the author of three previous historical novels for adults, The Lady’s Slipper, The Gilded Lily, and A Divided Inheritance, all published by Macmillan/St Martin’s Press, as well as the Highway Trilogy for teens (and anyone young at heart!). Her first novel was shortlisted for the Impress prize for new novelists.

She lives on the edge of the beautiful and literary English Lake District – a place made famous by the poets Wordsworth and Coleridge.

For more information, please visit Deborah Swift’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Thursday, November 21
Excerpt at The Lit Bitch
Review at Reading the Past

Friday, November 22
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books
Guest Post at The Writing Desk

Monday, November 25
Review & Excerpt at Book Reviews from Canada

Tuesday, November 26
Review at A Book Geek

Wednesday, November 27
Guest Post at Short Book and Scribes

Thursday, November 28
Feature at To Read, Or Not to Read

Friday, November 29
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books
Guest Post at What Is That Book About

Monday, December 2
Review at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, December 3
Excerpt at Broken Teepee

Wednesday, December 4
Interview at Passages to the Past

Friday, December 6
Excerpt at Donna’s Book Blog

Monday, December 9
Review at Red Headed Book Lady

Tuesday, December 10
Excerpt at Words and Peace

Wednesday, December 11
Review at Hopewell’s Public Library of Life

Thursday, December 12
Feature at Coffee and Ink

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a signed copy of Entertaining Mr. Pepys! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on December 12th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Paperback giveaway is open internationally.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

Entertaining Mr. Pepys

#DistantSigns #AnneRichter #HFVBTBlogTours

Distant Signs
by Anne Richter

Publication Date: November 7, 2019
Neem Tree Press
Hardcover; 240 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance/Saga

 

 

Distant Signs is an intimate portrait of two families spanning three generations amidst turbulent political change, behind and beyond the Berlin Wall. In 1960s East Germany, Margret, a professor’s daughter from the city, meets and marries Hans, from a small village in Thuringia. The couple struggle to contend with their different backgrounds, and the emotional scars they bear from childhood in the aftermath of war. As East German history gradually unravels, with collision of the personal and political, their two families’ hidden truths are quietly revealed. An exquisitely written novel with strongly etched characters that stay with you long after the book is finished and an authentic portrayal of family life behind the iron curtain based on personal experience of the author who is East German and was 16 years old at the fall of the Berlin Wall. Why do families repeat destructive patterns of behaviour across generations? Should the personal take precedence over the political? Can we rise above our histories and political identities to forge a new understanding of the past and to welcome change?

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Anne Richter was born in 1973 in Jena, in the former German Democratic Republic. Her degree in Romance languages and English included study periods in England, Italy and France. In 2011, Anne was nominated for the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, a highly regarded German-language literary award. Her debut novel, Distant Signs, was published in Germany in 2013. Anne is currently writing her second novel.

Douglas Irving is Scottish. He studied German and Spanish at Aberdeen University. In 2014 he completed a Masters in Translation at Glasgow University. His first translation, Crossing: A Love Story by Anna Seghers was published in 2016 in the US to positive reviews. His translation of Anna Seghers’ last work published in her lifetime, Three Women from Haiti, is set to follow.

Blog Tour Schedule

Thursday, November 7
Review at Broken Teepee
Review at Comet Readings

Friday, November 8
Review at A Book Geek

Sunday, November 10
Excerpt at A Darn Good Read

Tuesday, November 12
Review at Books In Their Natural Habitat

Wednesday, November 13
Excerpt at To Read, Or Not to Read

Thursday, November 14
Feature at Lost_in_a_book_reviewer

Friday, November 15
Review at Red Headed Book Lady

Monday, November 18
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Tuesday, November 19
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books

Wednesday, November 20
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Thursday, November 21
Review at Peaceful Pastime

Friday, November 22
Feature at What Is That Book About

Saturday, November 23
Review at Impressions In Ink

Monday, November 25
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time

Tuesday, November 26
Excerpt at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, November 27
Feature at Just One More Chapter

Friday, November 29
Feature at Coffee and Ink

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a copy of A Distant Signs by Anne Richter! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on November 29th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Paperback giveaway is open internationally.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

Distant Signs

#BittersweetTapestry #KevinOConnell #HFVBTBlogTours

Bittersweet Tapestry
by Kevin O’Connell

Publication Date: November 1, 2019
Gortcullinane Press
eBook & Paperback

Series: The Derrynane Saga, Book Three
Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

A dramatic decade has passed since sixteen-year-old Eileen O’Connell first departed her family’s sanctuary at remote Derrynane on the Kerry coast to become the wife of one of the wealthiest men in Ireland and the mistress of John O’Connor’s Ballyhar – only to have her elderly husband die within months of the marriage.

Unhappily returned to Derrynane, within a year, under the auspices of their uncle, a general in the armies of Maria Theresa, Eileen and her sister, Abigail departed for Vienna and a life neither could have ever imagined – one at the dizzying heights of the Hapsburg empire and court, where Abigail ultimately became principal lady-in-waiting to the Empress herself, whilst Eileen, for nine momentous years, served as governess to the Empress’s youngest daughter – during which time Maria Antonia, whom Eileen still calls ‘my wee little archduchess’, has become Marie Antoinette, dauphine of France, though she continues to refer to her beloved governess as “Mama”.

As Bittersweet Tapestry opens, it is the High Summer of 1770. Having escorted the future Queen of France from Vienna to her new life, Eileen and her husband, Captain Arthur O’Leary of the Hungarian Hussars, along with their little boy and Eileen’s treasured friend (and former servant) Anna Pfeffer are establishing themselves in Ireland.

Their ties to Catholic Europe remain close and strong; in addition to Abigail and her O’Sullivan family and General O’Connell, his wife and young daughter in Vienna, their brother Daniel is an officer in the Irish Brigade of the armies of Louis XV, whilst their youngest brother, Hugh, is studying at École Militaire in Paris, his path to a commission in the Dillons’ Regiment of the Brigade. His gentle Austrian friendship with Maria Antonia having inevitably waned, Hugh’s relationship with the strikingly-beautiful young widowed Princess Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy is blossoming.

Though happily ensconced at Rathleigh House, the O’Leary family estate in County Cork, being prominent amongst those families which are the remnants of the old Gaelic order in the area, Eileen and Art find that the dark cloud of the Protestant Ascendancy hovers heavily, at times threateningly, over them.

Bittersweet Tapestry is a tale of stark contrasts – between Hugh’s life of increasing prominence amidst the glitter and intrigue of the French court and Art and Eileen’s in English-occupied Ireland – especially as the latter progresses into a dark, violent and bloody tale . . . ultimately involving an epic tragedy, which along with the events leading up to it and those occurring in its dramatic wake, will permanently impact the O’Learys, the O’Connells – and their far-flung circle of family and friends in Ireland and across Europe.

With his uniquely-descriptive prose, Kevin O’Connell again deftly weaves threads of historical fact and fancy to create a colourful fabric affording unique insights into the courts of eighteenth-century Catholic Europe as well as English-ruled Ireland. As the classic story unfolds amongst the O’Learys, the O’Connells, their friends and enemies, the tumultuously-dangerous worlds in which they dwell will continue to gradually – but inexorably – become even more so.

Bittersweet Tapestry joins O’Connell’s well-received Beyond Derrynane and Two Journeys Home as The Derrynane Saga continues – an enthralling epic, presenting a sweeping chronicle, set against the larger drama of Europe in the early stages of significant – and, in the case of France – violent change.

Available on Amazon

The Derrynane Saga

Excerpt:

Having departed Vienna with Eileen’s former charge – her “wee little archduchess” – by then become Marie Antoinette, dauphine of France, Eileen and her husband, Arthur O’Leary, continue on to Ireland. They easily settle into life at the O’Leary family’s estate, Rathleigh, in County Cork and by Christmastime, 1770 they are sufficiently ensconced as members of the local “Gaelic Aristocracy” so as to join their fellows, along with many members of the Protestant Ascendancy for a night of revelry in Macroom. There, the O’Learys experience a strange tragi-comedic and unsettling confrontation with Abraham Morris, the High Sheriff of Cork:

Within the hour, as O’Leary and Eileen were quietly making their way slowly about the hall, in a continuing effort to have visited with as many of their friends and acquaintances as they were able, they found themselves unexpectedly facing a red-faced, glistening High Sheriff Abraham Morris, his eyes watery, his stance unsteady – as he suddenly set himself directly in their path.

“Why . . . if iz not Ghen-eril O’Learlee himself!” the short man began, his voice combatively loud, “and, and . . . his luverley wife . . .You are Missus O’Lear-lee, mmmmh . . . Lear-ree, are you not, girl?” he slurred, looking up and gesturing towards a clearly shocked, unpleasantly surprised Eileen.

She quickly turned to her husband, hissing, “Who is this foul little man?”

Barely having heard Arthur inform her of Morris’s name and position, her carriage customarily regal, her expression as she looked down again on the squat, stout, sadly unattractive man one of disdain – bordering on contempt, Eileen sniffed audibly and turned sharply to simply walk away. Feeling O’Leary’s white-gloved hand delicately placed on her arm, she then turned back, her voice icy. “I am the Lady Eileen O’Leary     . . . Mistress O’Leary to you, sir,” she purred condescendingly, almost viciously.

O’Leary instantly regretted detaining her.      

“Hmmfh,” Morris managed, visibly swaying in place, despite that his feet were flatly planted, his legs spread wide. “One would have uh mpressshum . . . from your wurvs and by your cos-soom—” smirking, he gestured wildly at Eileen with an unsteady right hand— “that you see yerself as being wurvfy of res-speck . . . of my russ-sphecht,” he again slurred, now wagging his left forefinger up at Eileen as he pounded his chest with his right. “I know nah wun reason why, nah wun bloody damme reason . . . you arr-gunt gurl, you   . . . why, you slul . . . you schlutt . . . you SLUT. . . yeh . . . fuh’ing Romish SLUT . . . you, you . . . you run ‘way wiff” – snorting, he waved both hands at O’Leary, who stood uncustomarily mute – “him . . .who d’ya tink . . . you think, you . . . you . . . are, hmmm?”

By then having separated herself from O’Leary with a single step, gesturing for her husband (whose hand was on his sword-hilt) to remain back, her cheeks now bright, and, having permitted her train to cascade back onto the floor, some of it puddling in front of the broad skirts of her gown – as if to sharply separate her elegant self from this “foul little man” – her arms at her side, Eileen turned to look down yet again at the momentarily silent sheriff, his eyes now focused quite noticeably on the ample décolletage her robe provided. “You will look at me, sir   . . . at my face!” she commanded and, unthinkingly, he did so – instantly, his rheumy eyes shot up, his mouth still slack.

As he did – Morris having just spread his feet as wide as possible – with a force sufficient to make a statement but not nearly enough to injure, she unhesitatingly slapped the drunken man across his face with the palm of her by-then ungloved right hand – the smack was quite audible in the hushed hall.

His body first lurched precariously forwards and back, swaying then sideways, finally managing only a shocked “You Pape-piss bisch!” – and a laughably-comical, wholly impotent parody of taking a swing at her, which evoked hilarity and mocking remarks amongst those closest to the pair – Morris swayed even more visibly, as Eileen – stifling a laugh – continued in a calm, firm voice: “I would remind you” – from this moment, in her disgust, she pointedly refrained from addressing him as sir – “that I am the daughter of Donál Mór Ó Conaill and Maire ní Dhuibh of Derrynane, County Kerry. I am the wife of Captain Arthur O’Leary, an officer of the Hungarian Hussars in the imperial armies of Austria and Hungary, of Rathleigh House, in this county. I am the proud mother of his first son, his first child; I am just returned from most of a decade spent in service at the highest levels of the court of Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Maria Theresa in Vienna. I am well-read and travelled; I am fluent in four languages, competent in two others, I am well-spoken, whilst you . . . you are none of . . .”

Shaking her head, she caught herself, but then continued. “I am most assuredly worthy of respect in this, my country, the very same respect accorded me at what is perhaps the highest court of Europe. You shall behave accordingly!” she again commanded haughtily, “you repulsive little man.”

Pausing momentarily, her gently heaving bosom the only indication of the passion she felt, she then spoke, loudly enough to be heard by most people in the hall, “. . . and   . . . should I ever learn that you have used that – or any similarly foul – word in reference to me ever again, be assured,” she paused dramatically, pointing her long, elegant right forefinger directly at him, “Be fully assured, little man, that I . . . shall . . . kill . . . you.”

People gasped; Morris’s mouth fell open. In the deadly silence, he finally managed, “Zat’s uh fret! You dare ‘fretten me?”

Laughing cruelly, Eileen condescendingly shook her head, “Indeed, not, small, foul, nauseating man, that I shall kill you I assure you ‘tis a promise . . . and I rarely break my promises,” she sneered, quite loudly.

At which point, gathering her train, she slowly, disdainfully turned and swept elegantly away . . .

About the Author

Kevin O’Connell is a native of New York City and a descendant of a young officer of what had—from 1690 to 1792—been the Irish Brigade of the French army, believed to have arrived in French Canada following the execution of Queen Marie Antoinette in October of 1793. At least one grandson subsequently returned to Ireland and Mr. O’Connell’s own grandparents came to New York in the early twentieth century. He holds both Irish and American citizenship.

He is a graduate of Providence College and Georgetown University Law Centre.

For much of his four decades-long legal career, O’Connell has practiced international business transactional law, primarily involving direct-investment matters, throughout Asia (principally China), Europe, and the Middle East.

The father of five children and grandfather of ten, he and his wife, Laurette, live with their golden retriever, Katie, near Annapolis, Maryland.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Friday, November 1
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Sunday, November 3
Review at Carole’s Ramblings

Monday, November 4
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books

Wednesday, November 6
Interview at The Writing Desk
Feature at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals

Friday, November 8
Feature at Maiden of the Pages

Monday, November 11
Interview at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, November 13
Review & Guest Post at The Book Junkie Reads

Friday, November 15
Guest Post at Before the Second Sleep

Sunday, November 17
Review at A Darn Good Read

Monday, November 18
Review at Books and Zebras

Tuesday, November 19
Feature at What Is That Book About

Wednesday, November 20
Review at Al-Alhambra Book Reviews

Friday, November 22
Feature at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Monday, November 25
Review at Hooked on Books

Tuesday, November 26
Review at Red Headed Book Lady
Review & Guest Post at Nursebookie

Wednesday, November 27
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, November 29
Review at Broken Teepee
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink

#ChildofLoveandWater #DKMarley #HFVBTBlogTours #Review

Child of Love and Water by D.K. Marley

Publication Date: October 19, 2018
The White Rabbit Publishing
eBook; 291 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

The year is 1722. A child is born on the isolated island of Ospo off the Georgia coast. In the midst of General Oglethorpe’s vision for this new land, and the emerging townships of Frederica and Savannah, four lives entwine together on this island like the woven fronds in a sea-grass basket – the orphaned Irish girl born free of hate or prejudice, a war-ravaged British soldier seeking forgiveness and absolution, a runaway Gullah slave girl desperate for a word of kindness on the wind, and a Creek Indian warrior searching for answers about this intrusion onto his homeland. What they learn from this wild innocent girl, and from each other, will change their lives forever.

A new birth, a new country, and the elements – Water, Wind, Fire, and Earth – entwine to teach one thing: Love conquers all. Love sees beyond borders. There is no ignorance in love.

Available on Amazon

Coffee and Ink’s Review

A fascinating ripple in the river of American history as two men and two women manage a temporary escape from the encroaching tide of colonization, slavery, and genocide. On the island of Jekyll, for a magical space in time, they learn the lessons of humanity and love.

I found this a much-needed and appreciated novel of the power of storytelling. I adore the author’s compelling and immersive prose style. Hope does not lie in a happy ending but in the lessons learned on the journey of a lifetime, passed on in story to inspire survivors and shame the conquerors. DK Marley has perfectly captured those moments in an emotional story with depth and compassion. Highly recommended.

About the Author

D. K. Marley is a historical fiction writer specializing in Shakespearean themes. Her grandmother, an English Literature teacher, gave her a volume of Shakespeare’s plays when she was eleven, inspiring DK to delve further into the rich Elizabethan language. Eleven years ago she began the research leading to the publication of her first novel “Blood and Ink,” an epic tale of lost dreams, spurned love, jealousy and deception in Tudor England as the two men, William Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe, fight for one name and the famous works now known as the Shakespeare Folio. She is an avid Shakespearean / Marlowan, a member of the Marlowe Society, the Shakespeare Fellowship and a signer of the Declaration of Intent for the Shakespeare Authorship Debate. She has traveled to England three times for intensive research and debate workshops, and is a graduate of the intense training workshop “The Writer’s Retreat Workshop” founded by Gary Provost and hosted by Jason Sitzes. She lives in Georgia with her husband and a Scottish Terriers named Maggie and Buster.

For more information, please visit D.K. Marley’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, November 12
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Wednesday, November 13
Excerpt at Passages to the Past

Thursday, November 14
Review at Books and Zebras

Saturday, November 16
Review at Reading is My Remedy

Tuesday, November 19
Excerpt at Books In Their Natural Habitat

Thursday, November 21
Review at @ya.its.lit

Friday, November 22
Review at Nursebookie

Sunday, November 24
Review at A Darn Good Read

Tuesday, November 26
Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads

Thursday, November 28
Review at Coffee and Ink

Friday, November 29
Review at Al-Alhambra
Interview at Jathan & Heather

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a copy of Child of Love and Water by D.K.Marley! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on November 29th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Paperback giveaway is open internationally.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

Child of Love and Water Tour

 

#DiamondintheRogue #WendyLaCapra #HFVBTBlogTours

Diamond in the Rogue
by Wendy LaCapra

Publication Date: November 11, 2019
Entangled: Scandalous
eBook; 289 Pages

Series: Lords of Chance, Book 3
Genre: Historical Romance/Regency

 

 

In an act of revenge, Lord Rayne kissed Lady Julia and was sent packing to America. But now he’s back to settle his affairs and give away his sister in marriage, until he meets up with the alluring yet innocent Lady Julia again. He doesn’t regret their first kiss, but he was never good enough for her.

Lady Julia had two years to forget the moody and mercurial Earl of Rayne. But one look, and she knows they’re meant to be together. Be damned with his and her brother’s objections, she’ll just jump on the back of Rayne’s departing carriage and compromise them both thoroughly.

Only, Julia never expected her forbidding Lord to be so good at resisting temptation…

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Excerpt

“Everyone disappeared from the dining hall,” he said.

She tilted her head, listening. “Then why do I hear voices?”

“Oh, there’s plenty of people left in there. But Clarissa went upstairs, and Markham followed soon after. Moments later, Katherine and Bromton left as well.” He lifted a brow. “What is it about this place?”

She shrugged. “Weddings make some people amorous, I suppose.”

And you? He strolled into the room. Do weddings make you amorous? He wanted to know.

And he definitely did not want to know.

She hefted the bowl and made a show of ignoring him in favor of closely examining silver-rendered insects.

“Dragonflies are an interesting choice for a soup tureen, don’t you think?” he asked.

“You are mistaken.” She set down the bowl. “They’re clearly damselflies.”

“Are they?” He leaned over her shoulder to get a closer look. “But a damselfly’s wings are closed when at rest.”

“Who says they’re at rest? They could be fluttering about, as flies are wont to do.” She shifted, slowly lifting her gaze. “Besides, if they were dragonflies, their front and back wings would have different shapes.”

“I see, now.” He reached from behind her and ran a finger over a veined wing. “Damselflies, indeed. They have more delicate bodies.”

“Deceptively delicate. Remember…damsels can be predators”—her short, puffed P puckered her lips—“too.”

Such a mouth she had. And such a face. Even a gifted artist would despair, trying to capture her changeling spirit in pigment. “Do you have an interest in entomology?”

“I’ve always been drawn to insects.” She folded her arms. “As you should know.”

Anger, he understood. Hers bore down on him—a deliberately placed heel. She would crush him if she could. Which made him want to respond in unspeakable—possibly even illegal—ways…all of them erotic.

The taste of rancid shame pooled beneath his tongue. He must apologize and get out. Fast.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said.

“I’ve been avoiding you?” Her lids narrowed to slits. “You put oceans between us.”

“One,” he replied softly. “One ocean.” One soot-watered, lightning-capped ocean, churning, at this moment, beneath his ribs.

“One ocean”—she swallowed—“was more than enough.”

Had it been?

In an instant, time and distance withered to nothing. The fruits of his sweat, pain, and self-recrimination? Gone.

Her pull stretched and deepened his inner mayhem. He wanted to pin her down, let her claw him all she wished, so long as she whimpered please when he pressed his lips against the vulnerable column of her throat.

Her woman-scented skin visibly prickled with gooseflesh. Not so much an invitation as evidence—proof she was no more immune than he was inoculated.

Attraction. Simple.

Lust. Common enough.

No reason to plunge into waters and drown.

“I sought you out to apologize,” he said.

She paled, even as the bright spots in her cheeks darkened. The contrast made her less intimidating, more doll-like. Now, he wanted to take her into his care.

As if she needed care.

As if he knew how to care for anything.

“Markham”—she turned her face away—“already delivered your apology.”

“As asked. I didn’t want to address you directly.” Then, after he’d seen her, he realized he had no choice.

She snorted. “Not surprising.”

There. Right there. Sarcasm.

Instinctively, he searched for the pain. “What, exactly, did Markham tell you?”

“He said you acknowledged the wrong of”—her breath skipped—“toying with an innocent.”

Toying. He’d set out to use her, yes, but she’d been anything but a toy. She’d been a danger to him then. She was a danger to him now.

She ignited something shadowy—perverse, inner directives that felt essential. And, from the moment they’d met, she’d known exactly how she affected him.

She may not have guessed the exact nature of his thoughts, but she’d sure as hell recognized his desire. Her certainty had infused her with power and sensuality beyond her experience.

Yet now, she doubted.

If he could heal nothing else, at least he could return her pride.

“Julia, whatever you believe, understand I was…” He searched for the right word. “Taken with you.”

Taken. Stolen. Thieved. Stripped of all protective illusions. Left wanting things he didn’t understand.

Kissing her, teasing her, tempting her with decadent dissolution had been wrong, but his desire had been real. Destructively real.

 

About the Author

Wendy writes Historical Romance with a touch of intrigue & suspense. Her debut series, a trilogy about three Ladies who refuse to play by society’s rules, was released by Entangled Scandalous in 2015. Her first indie, Her Duke at Daybreak, finaled in Romance Writers of America®’s RITA® contest.

Wendy was born a Jersey Girl, though most of her extended family lives in Maine. Trekking up and down the Northeast coast in the backseat of a car gave her plenty of opportunity not only to fight with her sister, but to read, to listen to her dad tell stories from history, and to dream up stories of her own.

She lives in NYC with her husband. Things she loves besides writing and reading and being an aunt to seven nieces and nephews include travel (50 states and all 7 continents), old things, pine trees, wine and pasta.

If you’d like to join her infrequent, never-shared mailing list for freebies and new-release information, sign up here: http://bit.ly/GetWendyNews.

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Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, November 11
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Tuesday, November 12
Review at Historical Romance Lover

Wednesday, November 13
Feature at What Is That Book About

Thursday, November 14
Review at The Book Junkie Reads

Friday, November 15
Excerpt at Passages to the Past

Sunday, November 17
Review at Liberty’s Literary Loves

Monday, November 18
Review at Rose is Reading

Tuesday, November 19
Feature at @ya.its.lit

Wednesday, November 20
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Friday, November 22
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Monday, November 25
Feature at The Lit Bitch
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink
Review at The Romance Dish
Excerpt at Jorie Loves A Story

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on November 25th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Paperback giveaway is open to the US only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

Diamond in the Rogue

 

#TrailingtheHunter #HeidiEljarbo #HFVBTBlogTours

Trailing The Hunter
by Heidi Eljarbo

Publication Date: October 30, 2019
eBooks & Paperback; 298 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

A ruthless witch-finder.

One determined woman.

1661 in southeastern Norway.

Clara Dahl has made a decision. She has seen the dread and sorrow witch-finder Angus Hill has caused in her hometown and sets out to find him. Her goal is to fight the wrongful and wicked misconceptions about witch hunting. But the witch-finder’s influence is strong. How can she warn the villagers of something they don’t understand?

Clara’s heartfelt desire is to protect and rescue the women who are in danger without causing more harm. As Clara develops secret plots to thwart the plans of the notorious witch-finder and works to help the villagers, she finds friendship and the possibility of true love.

Available on Amazon

Praise

“A spellbinder from the very beginning. Eljarbo’s sound historical research is evident and impressive.” — Gus A. Mellander, Ph. D., D.H.L.

“Ms. Eljarbo’s words come alive on the page.” — Jana Pawlowski

“Excellent research and stunning writing.” — Pauline Isaksen, author of Dying for Justice

​”This novel has fascinating history, endearing as well as diabolical characters and exciting twists and turns. I couldn’t put it down.” – Linnea Shaw

About the Author

Heidi Eljarbo is the bestselling author of Catching a Witch. She grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as an author, magazine journalist, and painter.

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children, twelve grandchildren–so far–in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier and a bird.

Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter. Heidi’s favorites are family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

If you would like to know more, please visit Heidi’s website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Wednesday, October 30
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Friday, November 1
Feature at The Writing Desk

Monday, November 4
Review at Red Headed Book Lady

Tuesday, November 5
Feature at What Is That Book About

Wednesday, November 6
Review at History from a Woman’s Perspective

Sunday, November 10
Review at Carole’s Ramblings

Monday, November 11
Character Interview at The Book Junkie Reads

Thursday, November 14
Interview at Passages to the Past

Friday, November 15
Review at Passages to the Past

Saturday, November 16
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Tuesday, November 19
Feature at Maiden of the Pages

Wednesday, November 20
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books

Friday, November 22
Review at Coffee and Ink
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a paperback copy of Trailing the Hunter! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on November 22nd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Paperback giveaway is open internationally.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

Trailing the Hunter