#TheForsakenChildren #NaomiFinley #HFVBTBlogTours

The Forsaken Children by Naomi Finley

Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Huntson Press

Series: The British Home Children, Book 1
Genre: Historical Fiction

A riveting tale of endurance and resilience, illustrating the spirit of a child and the bond between siblings.

It’s 1922. Fifteen-year-old Hazel Winters and her six-year-old brother, William, are placed on a ship by an organization that relocates British orphans and children of poverty to new homes in Canada. Arrivals in the new land are exported to distributing houses, where devastation and heartache greet the youngsters as headmistresses govern their fate.

The assurance of a better life across the ocean is far from what Hazel experiences. Through hardships and loneliness, she is determined to survive. Finding refuge in memories of the past, she clings to the dream of returning to her homeland while preserving a reunion in her heart.

In 1890, orphaned Charlotte Appleton and her sister Ellie were scooped up from London’s streets and sent to new homes across the ocean. Although mere miles kept them apart, Charlotte never knew her sister’s whereabouts until a chance interaction reunites them. Together the siblings vow to make a difference for the families and home children of an institution in Toronto, Ontario.

Can an unexpected guardian give Hazel renewed strength and resolve for a future of promise?

Based on the child emigration movement that occurred from 1869 through the late1930s, this poignant tale follows the lives of siblings who were burdensome byproducts of Britain’s poverty.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Naomi is an award-winning author living in Northern Alberta. She loves to travel and her suitcase is always on standby awaiting her next adventure. Naomi’s affinity for the Deep South and its history was cultivated during her childhood living in a Tennessee plantation house with six sisters. Her fascination with history and the resiliency of the human spirit to overcome obstacles are major inspirations for her writing and she is passionately devoted to creativity. In addition to writing fiction, her interests include interior design, cooking new recipes, and hosting dinner parties. Naomi is married to her high school sweetheart and she has two teenage children and two dogs named Egypt and Persia.

For more information, please visit Naomi Finley’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.

EXCERPT

The innocence in his sweet voice gripped my chest, and thoughts I’d grappled with since our departure filled me with despair. The sea had swallowed up Liverpool and all hopes of our return to the safety of Mum’s arms. All we had left in the world was each other.

I pulled him close, into the crook of my arm. “I reckon it’ll be mighty ’ard.”

He was quiet for a minute or two, then he said, “You ain’t gonna leave me, right, ’azel? ’Cause I don’t want to be alone.”

“You shan’t. Dad is watching over us.”

“But I can’t see ’im,” he said.

“You don’t need to. Just know ’e is.” I stroked his hair.

His brown eyes pleaded with me. “You won’t let no one take me from you?”

“You’re tired. Close your eyes and try to fink of ’appy thoughts.”

“I try to fink of Mummy. ’Er eyes and the sound of ’er ’eart against me ear. I’m afraid I will forget Mummy like I did Daddy.”

Soon after Dad had left for the war, Mum found out she was pregnant. William never knew the man who’d walked through life with pride and devotion to his family. I recalled Dad’s countless stories of the bonny lass from Ireland and my parents’ courtship. And how his eyes sparkled when he swept Mum into his arms and broke out in dance while singing “Molly Malone.” After releasing her, he would swing me around our small flat until, breathless, we’d collapse into a chair. I had resisted the memories of happy times because to think on them meant to recall all I’d lost. However, as the ship took us far from all we’d ever known, I clung to the mere glimpses in time. I bit down to stifle my sob and turned my head to hide the anguish twisting my heart.

“We must never forget where we came from,” I said. “Sleep now. When you wake, I’ll be right ’ere.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” I said.

He rolled onto his side, and I scooped into the warmth of his body.

“Sing it, ’azel.”

I hummed the Welsh lullaby Dad had sung to me.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, April 12
Review & Excerpt at Novels Alive

Tuesday, April 13
Review at Nursebookie

Wednesday, April 14
Review at Girl Who Reads
Excerpt at Books & Benches

Thursday, April 15
Review at The Caffeinated Bibliophile

Friday, April 16
Review at Library of Clean Reads

Saturday, April 17
Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Monday, April 19
Review at Reader_ceygo

Tuesday, April 20
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Wednesday, April 21
Review at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals

Thursday, April 22
Review at Impressions in Ink
Excerpt at Reading is My Remedy

Friday, April 23
Review at Bibliostatic
Excerpt at Gwendalyn’s Books

Giveaway

Enter to win a mystery box of goodies + a copy of The Forsaken Children by Naomi Finley!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on April 23rd. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Forsaken Children

#TheRebelNun #MarjCharlier #HFVBTBlogTours

The Rebel Nun by Marj Charlier

Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Blackstone Publishing
Hardcover, AudioBook, & eBook

Genre: Historical Fiction

Marj Charlier’s The Rebel Nun is based on the true story of Clotild, the daughter of a sixth-century king and his concubine, who leads a rebellion of nuns against the rising misogyny and patriarchy of the medieval church.

At that time, women are afforded few choices in life: prostitution, motherhood, or the cloister. Only the latter offers them any kind of independence. By the end of the sixth century, even this is eroding as the church begins to eject women from the clergy and declares them too unclean to touch sacramental objects or even their priest-husbands.

Craving the legitimacy thwarted by her bastard status, Clotild seeks to become the next abbess of the female Monastery of the Holy Cross, the most famous of the women’s cloisters of the early Middle Ages. When the bishop of Poitiers blocks her appointment and seeks to control the nunnery himself, Clotild masterminds an escape, leading a group of nuns on a dangerous pilgrimage to beg her royal relatives to intercede on their behalf. But the bishop refuses to back down, and a bloody battle ensues. Will Clotild and her sisters succeed with their quest, or will they face ex-communication, possibly even death?

In the only historical novel written about the incident, The Rebel Nun is a richly imagined story about a truly remarkable heroine.

Amazon | B&N | BAM | IndieBound | Hudson’s Booksellers

Praise

‘The Rebel Nun is a boldly imagined story of one early medieval woman’s struggle against the societal forces that constrained her. It draws on historical sources that briefly mention — and condemn — the insurrection that two noble nuns led within their abbey, in Poitiers, in 589. On the basis of this sparse information, Marj Charlier imagines the incident from the perspective of one of these nuns, the noblewoman Clothild, and embeds these events within the larger story of Clothild’s life. The result is an engaging and thought-provoking tale.’ –Samantha Kahn Herrick, Associate Professor of History, Syracuse University

‘Marj Charlier takes an obscure sixth-century tale and turns it into a stunning story of a nun caught up in the misogyny of the early Christian church. Led by Clotild, a king’s bastard daughter, a group of nuns attempts to rescue their monastery from the all-male church hierarchy. Extensively researched and rich in historical detail, The Rebel Nun tells of a time when women were chattel, when priests questioned whether females had souls. Charlier’s artfully written account of Clotild’s struggle to save her medieval sisterhood from the dominance of kings and bishops is a perfect novel for today’s women.’ — Sandra Dallas, New York Times bestselling author

‘Vividly imagines one of the most fascinating events to occur in sixth-century Gaul, bringing into focus the complexity of the early centuries of Western Christianity as the Church struggled to define its positions on clerical celibacy, the role of women, pre-Christian traditions, and its relationship to secular power. Scholars have long been fascinated with Gregory of Tours’s account of how a rebellion of nuns from the monastery of the Holy Cross in Poitiers supposedly resulted in acts of murder, plunder, and unplanned pregnancies. It is a moment that has been calling out for a writer to do it justice in a work of historical fiction, but which feat no one has dared to attempt — until now. Marj Charlier’s The Rebel Nun brings the sights, sounds, and smells of this event and its aftermath to life in a richly imagined story that is firmly rooted in equal parts rigorous historical research and inspired, creative imagination.” –Dorsey Armstrong, PhD, professor of English/medieval studies at Purdue University, and lecturer for The Great Courses (The Medieval World, The Black Death, and others)

‘What could lead nuns to armed rebellion?…This thoughtful imagining of the underlying causes and characters involved in the revolt centers on Clotild, the leader of the insurrection…Charlier carefully constructs a narrative that positions Clotild, a pagan at heart despite her outward piety, as a reluctant revolutionary who pushes for fairness in a Christian world increasingly dominated by men. With power available to so few women, Clotild dares to imagine freedom, despite its cost.’ –Booklist

‘The Rebel Nun is a gripping, well-told story of women fighting against a church and society dominated by men who are determined to defeat them in body and spirit. A great tale that will immerse you in a world so different — and not so different — from our own.’ –Philip Freeman, Fletcher Jones Chair of Western Culture at Pepperdine University, author of Saint Brigid’s Bones

‘The Rebel Nun is a wildly original, suspenseful account of a group of nuns in medieval France who must endure hardships and treachery from both outside and within their walls. It feels both historically authentic and startlingly contemporary, and I loved every word of it.’ –Elizabeth Stuckey-French, author of The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady

‘The Rebel Nun is a gripping tale of heroism and audacity in the least likely of guises — a renowned cloister under the heel of the medieval church. With meticulous research and in exacting detail, Marj Charlier brings to light the remarkable exploits of Clotild, who leads her fellow sisters on a daring escape that culminates in bloody revolt, and a place in history.’ –Denise Heinze, author of The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew

‘The story of a community of women in crisis and the power they found through their will to save themselves, The Rebel Nun tells the fictional truth behind the historical rebellion of the Holy Cross nuns in 589 CE, as recounted in her latter days by one of the rebellion’s leaders, Clotild … Rich in facts and foreshadowing, the historical novel The Rebel Nun finds in the nuns’ rebellion, and in Germanic tribal paganism, an inspirational morality tale and historical precedent for modern women to connect with their own powers, no matter the stakes.’ –Foreword Reviews

‘The Rebel Nun is a well-written window into the life of a sixth-century royal bastard and the changing landscape of holy power structures. Charlier writes a strong voice for Clotild, with vivid descriptions of a daily life that brings readers along into her world. The research shows, and Charlier does an excellent job of seamlessly integrating the historical record with her own fiction.’ –Historical Novels Review

‘A startling look into a world I never imagined visiting — a sixth-century nunnery, where one bride of Christ only a generation away from paganism breaks her vows of obedience to the church’s male hierarchy and makes it her mission to battle the corruption of bishops oppressing the sisters of the Holy Cross. A well-wrought yarn reflective of historical fact.’ –Darryl Ponicsán, author of Eternal Sojourners

About the Author

Marj Charlier began her writing career at daily and mid-size newspapers before joining the Wall Street Journal as a staff reporter. After twenty years in journalism, she pursued her MBA and began a second career in corporate finance. The Rebel Nun is her first historical novel, and her eleventh published novel.

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Wednesday, April 14
Feature at Reading is My Remedy
Review at With A Book In Our Hands

Thursday, April 15
Review at Two Bookish Babes

Friday, April 16
Excerpt at Madwoman in the Attic

Tuesday, April 20
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink
Review at The Enchanted Shelf

Wednesday, April 21
Review at Crystal’s Library

Thursday, April 22
Excerpt at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Monday, April 26
Guest Post at Books, Ramblings, and Tea

Tuesday, April 27
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Wednesday, April 28
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Thursday, April 29
Review at Novels Alive
Review at Into the Hall of Books

Monday, May 3
Review at Passages to the Past

Friday, May 7
Review at Bookramblings

Monday, May 10
Review at Rajiv’s Reviews

Friday, May 14
Feature at Books, Cooks, Looks
Interview at Passages to the Past

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of The Rebel Nun by Marj Charlier!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on May 14th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Rebel Nun

#TheTestofGold #ReneeYancy #HFVBTBlogTours

The Test of Gold by Renee Yancy

Publication Date: March 15, 2021
Vinspire Publishing
Paperback & eBook; 350 pages

Series: Hearts of Gold, Book One
Genre: Historical Romance

Heiress Evangeline “Lindy” Lindenmayer has been groomed since childhood to marry into the British aristocracy as her mother’s ultimate ambition is a royal title for the family name. But literature fascinates Lindy far more than ballgowns, and she spends all her free time in the library, the only room in the Fifth Avenue mansion where she can safely indulge her passion for reading and find refuge from the prying eyes of her mother.

Jack Winthrop is studying for the ministry at Union Theological Seminary and has been invited to use the Lindemayer’s library for his studies. His sole experience of upper-class young women has occurred at his uncle’s church, where he has found these young debutantes universally featherbrained. When he meets Lindy, he is pleasantly surprised to discover she has wide-ranging interests and is highly intelligent. Although cautioned by his uncle to stay away from her, he finds Lindy a kindred spirit and over animated discussions of books and life, they fall in love.

But to reach happily ever after, Lindy will need to challenge her mother’s long-laid plans, and weathering the approaching storm will take more backbone than she even knew she had.

Amazon (Kindle) | Amazon (Paperback) | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

About the Author

Renee Yancy is a long time history and archaeology nut who has been living vicariously through historical fiction since she was a young girl. Now she writes the kind of books she loves to read—stories filled with historical and archaeological detail on every aspect of living in a different time period, interwoven with strong characters and a tale full of pathos and conflict. She wants to take you on a journey into the past so fascinating that you can’t put the story down.

When she’s not writing, Renee Facetimes with her twin grandbabies, and lives in Kentucky with her husband and two mutts. She enjoys reading, antiquing, and collecting pottery.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, April 5
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Tuesday, April 6
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Wednesday, April 7
Feature at Reading is My Remedy

Thursday, April 8
Review at Reading Is My SuperPower

Friday, April 9
Review at Novels Alive
Feature at View from the Birdhouse

Saturday, April 10
Interview at Passages to the Past

Sunday, April 11
Feature at The Lit Bitch

Monday, April 12
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Tuesday, April 13
Review & Excerpt at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, April 14
Feature at Coffee and Ink
Review at The Enchanted Shelf

Giveaway

Enter to win an eBook of The Test of Gold by Renee Yancy! Two eBooks are up for grabs!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on April 14th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Test of Gold

#TheVirginandtheViscount #RobynDeHart #HFVBTBlogTours

The Virgin and the Viscount by Robyn DeHart

Publication Date: April 12, 2012
Entangled Publishing/Scandalous

Series: Lords of Vice, Book Four
Genre: Historical Romance

As a Lady of Virtue, Matilda Brooks swears to reform the most despicable man of her acquaintance, her brother-in-law, Sullivan Chase, Viscount Glenbrook. Well he may not be the most despicable, but he is certainly arrogant, flirtatious, and entirely too charming. To make matters worse, he has the irritating tendency to poke fun of her and rile her emotions as no other man does. However, when she confronts him, he laughs off her concern about his slothful ways.

But when a carriage accident forces Sullivan to play knight to Tilly’s damsel, his unexpected act of chivalry ends up costing them both their freedom. Her compromised reputation and his honorable declaration forces them into a marriage neither of them wants. Which is most inconvenient, given that she has sworn to despise him forever.

Amazon | B&N | Google Play | Kobo

About the Author

A life-long lover of stories and adventure, it was either become a stuntwoman for the movies or live out those adventures from the safety of her PJ’s and computer. Award-winning author, Robyn DeHart chose the latter and couldn’t be happier for doing so. Known for her unique plotlines and authentic characters, Robyn is a favorite among readers and reviewers. Publishers’ Weekly claims her writing to be “comical and sexy” while the Chicago Tribune dubs her “wonderfully entertaining.” Robyn is an award-winning author as well as being a four-time RT Bookclub Reviewers’ Choice award nominee, and a three-time RomCon Reader’s Crown nominee.

Look for Robyn’s new series about the seven deadly sins coming in 2017. When not writing, you can find Robyn hanging out with her family, husband (The Professor) a university professor of Political Science and their two ridiculously beautiful and smart daughters. They live in the hill country of Texas where it’s hot eight months of the year, but those big blue skies make it worth it.

Website | Newsletter | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Release Day Blast Hosts

The Lit Bitch Coffee and Ink Pursuing Stacie Jessica Belmont 100 Pages a Day Books & Benches Donna’s Book Blog Passages to the Past Gwendalyn’s Books Two Bookish Babes Books, Cooks, Looks Reading is My Remedy Books, Ramblings, and Tea Historical Fiction with Spirit Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals

#QueeniesPlace #ToniMorgan #HFVBTBlogTours

Queenie’s Place by Toni Morgan

Publication Date: December 6, 2018 Adelaide Books Publishers Paperback & eBook; 302 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

Queenie’s Place, set in rural North Carolina in the early seventies, is the story of an unusual sisterhood between a thirty-something white woman from California and a fifty-something black woman from the south. From the moment Doreen Donavan sees the “Welcome to Klan Country” sign outside Goldsboro, North Carolina is one culture shock after another. She thinks the women she meets on the military base, where she and her family now live, are the dullest, stuffiest, most stuck-up women she’s ever run across, and frankly, they don’t think much of her either. She’s hot, miserable, and bored. Then one day, BAM, her car tire goes flat, right in front of a roadhouse outside the town of Richland, near where MCB Camp Puller is located. Inside, Queenie is holding forth at the piano. The place is jumping. Besides the music, there’s dancing and the best barbecue in North Carolina. Doreen’s husband, Tom arrives and must practically peel her out of the place. Queenie doesn’t expect to see Doreen again, but Doreen comes back and their unlikely friendship begins. Without warning, Queenie’s place is closed, the women accused of prostitution and bootlegging. A born crusader (she cut her teeth demonstrating against the Vietnam War—yes, even with her husband over there), Doreen quickly dons her armor and saddles up. Things don’t go quite as planned.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

excerpt

Doreen and family arriving in eastern North Carolina and the town outside Marine Corps Base Camp Puller and Tom’s new assignment:

After six long days of driving, with Tom still half-feral from his thirteen months in the jungles of Vietnam—silent one moment and boisterous the next, jumping at the slightest noise—Billy in the back seat with his nose buried in one of his comic books, ignoring us and determined to remain on a path of semi-passive rebellion, and me struggling with my guilt for this move, we finally arrived in the part of North Carolina where MCB Camp Puller was located.

I’d never seen country so flat. In California, if not the ocean, then mountains, cliffs or rolling hills filled the horizon.  Here, the highway stretched out in front of us like a long grey ribbon between stands of loblolly pines—toothpick trees Tom called them—and tobacco fields that seemed to go on and on. I had the surreal feeling there wasn’t anything holding us down, that we might simply lift off the pavement and fly into nothingness. I closed my eyes and tried to shake the vision from my head. After a while, I must have dozed. When I woke, my eyes locked on a sign looming high above yet another field: 

WELCOME TO KLAN COUNTRY

My responsibility for Tom’s transfer to Camp Puller, because of my anti-war protest marches, were forgotten. I whipped around to face Tom. “My God, what kind of place have you brought us to? What kind of people would advertise their own racism?” 

Billy leaned over the seat. “How come they spelled clan with a k?”

Tom ignored our questions.  Although he kept his eyes on the road, the muscle in his cheek twitched, a sure sign he was upset—whether with me or the sign, I didn’t know.  Right then, I didn’t care.

            We traveled on in silence. Billy went back to his comics. I continued to brood about the sign and the future.

Billy spoke up. “That sign was about the Ku Klux Klan, wasn’t it?”

I glanced over my shoulder and nodded at him.

“We’ll be living on base, though, right? Not in town?”

I nodded again.

He leaned back in his seat, appearing satisfied the Klan wouldn’t be something he needed to add to his list of worries.

***

By the time we drove into Richfield, the town outside Camp Puller, it was early afternoon, and I’d managed to regain my determination to find a bright side to this move.  “Put your comic book away Billy. This is Church Street we’re coming to.  I bet we’ll see one of those beautiful old southern churches surrounded by hundred-year-old magnolia trees.”

            “Yeah.”  He didn’t bother looking up.  

            Tom wasn’t buying our son’s rude behavior any longer.  “You’re beginning to overstate your position, Billy.”  I knew by his tone he was about one more ‘yeah’ away from losing his temper entirely.  “I know you’ll miss your friends in California.  I know you’re sore about losing your spot on the baseball team, but we’re going to live in North Carolina now.  Get used to it.”

            “Tom…”  I hesitated, not finishing my thought, but I wanted to warn him that he needed to ease up, that Billy needed a little more time.  Our son had run out of time as far as Tom was concerned. 

“No, Doreen.  We’ve been patient long enough.”  He looked at Billy in the rearview mirror.  “You got that, son?  I want that attitude of yours changed and I want it changed now.”

            “Yes, sir.” Tom didn’t pull rank often, but when he did, Billy got it. 

            “Good.  Now do what your mother said.”

            Billy put Captain America and the War of the World on the seat next to him as we turned onto Church Street.

My breath caught in my throat. All I saw were bars and tattoo parlors. Three scantily dressed women, hands, arms, and hips all in motion, stood laughing and talking in front of a bar advertising Go-Go dancers.  A fellow with a Marine haircut strolled up to them. One of the three broke from the group and went inside with him.  A man with a mean look on his hatchet-thin face came from inside the bar and spoke to the other two.  He grabbed the smaller one’s arm, said something to her then went back inside.  She made a face at his back and the other woman laughed.

About the Author

A longtime military spouse, TONI MORGAN has lived in many parts of the US and also for nearly four years in rural Japan. There she had the good fortune to work part-time in a Japanese pottery factory. That rich experience led to the first in her WWII trilogy ECHOES FROM A FALLING BRIDGE, which gives a unique view of life in rural Japan during the war. Second in the trilogy is HARVEST THE WIND, partially set in a Japanese internment camp in Idaho’s Magic Valley. The third in the series is LOTUS BLOSSOM UNFURLING, which continues the saga after the war ends. She also wrote PATRIMONY, and TWO-HEARTED CROSSING, companion books set in Montreal Quebec Canada during the Quebec Separatist Movement and 20 years later, in northern Idaho. Her novel QUEENIE’S PLACE is a 2019 National Book Award in Literature nominee. Her short stories have appeared in various literary magazines and journals, and her short story “Tin Soldier” was included in MOORING AGAINST THE TIDE, a creative fiction and poetry textbook published by Prentice Hall. Her most recent release is BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE, a collection of short stories, including Pushcart Prize nominee “The House on East Orange Street” and the aforementioned “Tin Soldier.”

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, March 15

Review at Passages to the Past



Tuesday, March 16

Review at Pursuing Stacie



Wednesday, March 17

Interview at Passages to the Past



Friday, March 19

Feature at View from the Birdhouse



Saturday, March 20

Review at Rajiv’s Reviews



Monday, March 22

Excerpt at Bookworlder



Wednesday, March 24

Review at YA, It’s Lit



Friday, March 26

Guest Post at Novels Alive



Saturday, March 27

Review at Reading is My Remedy



Sunday, March 28

Interview at Reader_ceygo



Monday, March 29

Review at Reader_ceygo



Wednesday, March 31

Interview at Jathan & Heather



Thursday, April 1

Review at American Historical Novels Book Club



Friday, April 2

Excerpt at Coffee and Ink

Giveaway

Enter to win a set of signed paperback copies of Toni Morgan’s WWII Trilogy!



The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on April 2nd. You must be 18 or older to enter.



Queenie’s Place

#FieryGirls #HeatherWardell #HFVBTBlogTours

Fiery Girls by Heather Wardell

Publication Date: March 25, 2021
Heather Wardell

Genre: Historical Fiction

Two young immigrant women. One historic strike. And the fire that changed America.

In 1909, shy sixteen-year-old Rosie Lehrer is sent to New York City to earn money for her family’s emigration from Russia. She will, but she also longs to make her mark on the world before her parents arrive and marry her to a suitable Jewish man. Could she somehow become one of the passionate and articulate “fiery girls” of her garment workers’ union?

Maria Cirrito, spoiled and confident, lands at Ellis Island a few weeks later. She’s supposed to spend four years earning American wages then return home to Italy with her new-found wealth to make her family’s lives better. But the boy she loves has promised, with only a little coaxing, to follow her to America and marry her. So she plans to stay forever. With him.

Rosie and Maria meet and become friends during the “Uprising of the 20,000” garment workers’ strike, and they’re working together at the Triangle Waist Company on March 25, 1911 when a discarded cigarette sets the factory ablaze. 146 people die that day, and even those who survive will be changed forever.

Carefully researched and full of historic detail, “Fiery Girls” is a novel of hope: for a better life, for turning tragedy into progress, and for becoming who you’re meant to be.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

About the Author

Heather is a natural 1200 wpm speed reader and the author of twenty-one self-published novels. She came to writing after careers as a software developer and elementary school computer teacher and can’t imagine ever leaving it. In her spare time, she reads, swims, walks, lifts weights, crochets, changes her hair colour, and plays drums and clarinet. Generally not all at once.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads

Book Blast Schedule

Monday, March 15
Novels Alive

Tuesday, March 16
Bookish Rantings

Wednesday, March 17
Crystal’s Library

Thursday, March 18
With A Book In Our Hands

Friday, March 19
Just One More Chapter
The Whispering Bookworm

Monday, March 22
I’m Into Books

Tuesday, March 23
CelticLady’s Reviews

Wednesday, March 24
Coffee and Ink

Thursday, March 25
What Is That Book About

Friday, March 26
Bookworlder
View from the Birdhouse

Monday, March 29
Chicks, Rogues and Scandals

Tuesday, March 30
A Chick Who Reads

Wednesday, March 31
Reading is My Remedy

Thursday, April 1
Bibliostatic

Friday, April 2
Pursuing Stacie

Monday, April 5
Books, Cooks, Looks

Tuesday, April 6
Passages to the Past

Wednesday, April 7
The Book Junkie Reads

Friday, April 9
Rachelle Loves Books

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

The giveaway is open to the US and International and ends on April 9th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Fiery Girls

#KnightofRunes #RuthACasie #HFVBTBlogTours

Knight of Runes by Ruth A. Casie

Publication Date: May 21, 2020
Timeless Scribes Publishing LLC
Paperback & eBook: 368 pages

Genre: Time Travel Romance

England, 1605. When Lord Arik, a druid knight, finds Rebeka Tyler wandering his lands without protection, he swears to keep her safe. But Rebeka can take care of herself. When Arik sees her clash with a group of attackers using a strange fighting style, he’s intrigued.

Rebeka is no ordinary 17th-century woman – she’s travelled back from the year 2011, and she desperately wants to return to her own time. She poses as a scholar sent by the king to find out what’s killing Arik’s land. But as she works to decode the ancient runes that are the key to solving this mystery and sending her home, she finds herself drawn to the charismatic and powerful Arik.

As Arik and Rebeka fall in love, someone in Arik’s household schemes to keep them apart, and a dark druid with a grudge prepares his revenge. Soon Rebeka will have to decide whether to return to the future or trust Arik with the secret of her time travel and her heart.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

About the Author

Hi – I’m Ruth A. Casie and I write historical and contemporary romance. You might be wondering what I’m about. Sit back and let me tell you.

I’m happiest when I’m telling stories either chatting in a group or writing them down. I love to put my hero and heroine in tough situations and dare them to work it out—together, always together. They haven’t disappointed. Oh, they complain but in the end their love and relationships are stronger than ever.

My stories feature strong women and the men who deserve them, endearing flaws and all. They will keep you turning the pages until the end. I hope my books become your favorite adventures.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | BookBub | Instagram | Newsletter | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, March 15
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Tuesday, March 16
Excerpt at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals

Wednesday, March 17
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Thursday, March 18
Interview at Passages to the Past

Friday, March 19
Review & Excerpt at Books, Cooks, Looks

Sunday, March 21
Excerpt at Reading is My Remedy

Tuesday, March 23
Feature at Coffee and Ink

Wednesday, March 24
Review at Amy’s Booket List

Giveaway

Enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on March 24th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

https://gleam.io/F0l6e/knight-of-runes

#TheEarlsLadyGeologist #AlissaBaxter #HFVBTBlogTours

The Earl’s Lady Geologist
by Alissa Baxter

Publication Date: February 28, 2021
Vinspire Publishing

Series: Linfield Ladies Series, Book One
Genre: Regency Romance

 

 

Cassandra Linfield is a lady fossil collector who declares she will never marry as no man will ever take her studies seriously. When circumstances force her to travel to Town for the Season, Cassy infiltrates the hallowed portals of the Geological Society from which she has been banned. She is horrified when she comes face to face with her nemesis, the infuriating Earl of Rothbury.

Lord Rothbury is a gentleman-geologist with a turbulent romantic past. After a youthful disappointment he vows never to fall in love again, and makes the decision, instead, to seek out a convenient wife when he returns to England from his geological travels abroad.

Brought together by their close family ties, Cassy and Rothbury collaborate on a geological paper and discover a powerful attraction. Marriage, however, is the one subject they cannot agree upon. But when Cassy’s life is threatened, the two realise that love matters more than their objections.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound | Kobo

EXCERPT

Mary Anning’s connection to Jane Austen

The Earl’s Lady Geologist features a lady geologist, Cassandra Linfield, who lives in Lyme Regis during the Regency period. I was intrigued a few years ago when I stumbled across an article about palaeontologist Mary Anning, and determined to find out more about her as well as other Regency women who devoted themselves to this emerging scientific field.

Despite her low social station, Mary Anning (1799 –1847) has become the most celebrated of the 19th century British women who worked in the field of geology and palaeontology. She was a collector and seller of fossils, and other than a few letters and one short note on the details of Hybodus, a fossil shark (Anning, 1839), Anning left no written record of her discoveries, and the men of science, who published descriptions of the fossils she sold, seldom gave her credit.

She was born on 20 May 1799, in the coastal town of Lyme Regis in southwestern England. While professionals, as well as amateurs, visited Lyme Regis to collect fossils, many found Mary Anning and her fossil shop the main attraction (Edmonds, 1976). Her discoveries included the first ichthyosaur skeleton that was correctly identified. Her brother Joseph discovered the skull and, a few months later, Mary discovered the rest of the skeleton.

Mary searched for fossils in the area’s Blue Lias cliffs, particularly during the winter months when landslides exposed new fossils that had to be collected quickly before they were lost to the sea.

Mary Anning also had a connection to Jane Austen. In 1804, Austen asked a cabinetmaker named Richard Anning (Mary’s father) to bid on repairing a broken lid. He went to where the Austens were staying in Broad Street, but Jane wouldn’t accept his bid as she thought the quote of five shillings was too expensive.

Part of Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion is set in Lyme Regis. It is tempting to wonder if Mary Anning (a celebrated female scientist who wasn’t properly recognised in her time) and Jane Austen (a celebrated English writer who wasn’t celebrated while she was alive) ever crossed paths in this beautiful seaside town.

Both Jane Austen and Mary Anning feature in my Regency romance The Earl’s Lady Geologist. It was fascinating to discover the connection between the two legendary ladies, even though it was quite tenuous.

Sources:

Davis, Larry E. (2009) “Mary Anning of Lyme Regis: 19th Century Pioneer in British Palaeontology,”

Headwaters: Vol. 26, 96-126.

Available at: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/headwaters/vol26/iss1/14

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anning

Further reading: http://austenmarriage.com/clarkson-anning-austen-ring/

 

Praise for The Earl’s Lady Geologist

“A gentle Regency romance, full of sweetness and intelligence. Alissa Baxter’s writing is period perfect.” -Mimi Matthews, USA Today bestselling author of The Matrimonial Advertisement

“The Earl’s Lady Geologist by Alissa Baxter deftly weaves together the charm of a traditional Regency romance, fascinating information on scientific society of the time, with a quiet subtext about the challenges faced by women interested in pursuing science. This first book in a new series is wonderfully satisfying on many levels!” -Mary Jo Putney, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author

“While immersing the reader in the mores and life of the Regency era, Alissa Baxter manages to write strong, independent heroines whom modern-day women will cheer and root for. Plus the addition of little details that wrap around the plot and the characters make reading her books all the more special because you never know when you might land on a little Easter egg morsel in the beautiful and engaging prose. Historicals with heart and engaging characters that read real—that’s what you get in Ms. Baxter’s books.” -Zee Monodee, USA Today bestselling author

“A truly traditional Regency romance, with lots of witty banter, very reminiscent of Georgette Heyer. Recommended for anyone who likes a completely clean traditional Regency, with strongly authentic writing, historical accuracy and a satisfying romance. Baxter’s writing is excellent, and her dialogue, manners and settings are true to the era. A spirited heroine, a brooding hero, lots of sparkling banter and an authentic Regency setting—with added fossils! Great fun. From Lyme Regis to the drawing rooms of London, Alissa Baxter takes the reader back to the time of Jane Austen.”
Mary Kingswood, author of traditional Regency romances

About the Author

Alissa Baxter was born in a small town in South Africa, and grew up with her nose in a book on a poultry and cattle farm. At the age of eleven she discovered her mother’s collection of Georgette Heyer novels. The first Heyer novel she ever read was Sylvester and she was hooked on Georgette Heyer after that. She read and reread her novels, and fell totally in love with the Regency period and Heyer’s grey-eyed heroes! After school and university, where she majored in Political Science and French, she published her first Regency novel, The Dashing Debutante.

Alissa travelled overseas and worked as a flight attendant in Dubai before she moved to England, where she did an odd assortment of jobs while researching her second novel, Lord Fenmore’s Wager, which she wrote when she moved back to South Africa. Alissa’s third Regency novel, A Marchioness Below Stairs, is the sequel to Lord Fenmore’s Wager.

Alissa has lived in Durban and Cape Town but she eventually settled in Johannesburg where she lives with her husband and two sons. Alissa is also the author of two chick-lit novels, Send and Receive and The Blog Affair, which have been re-released as The Truth About Series: The Truth about Clicking Send and Receive and The Truth About Cats and Bees.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, February 22
Feature at The Lit Bitch
Review at Books, Cooks, Looks
Review at WTF Are You Reading?

Tuesday, February 23
Review at Probably at the Library
Review at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals

Wednesday, February 24
Review at Bookish Rantings

Thursday, February 25
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Friday, February 26
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Monday, March 1
Review & Excerpt at Bookworlder

Tuesday, March 2
Review at Robin Loves Reading

Wednesday, March 3
Review at Amy’s Booket List

Thursday, March 4
Excerpt at The Tea Queen
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Friday, March 5
Review at View from the Birdhouse

Monday, March 8
Review at Book Bustle

Tuesday, March 9
Review at Tangents and Tissues

Wednesday, March 10
Review at YA, It’s Lit

Thursday, March 11
Review at Older & Smarter

Friday, March 12
Excerpt at Hopewell’s Public Library of Life

Monday, March 15
Review at Jorie Loves A Story

Tuesday, March 16
Excerpt at Heidi Reads
Review at Madwoman in the Attic

Wednesday, March 17
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Thursday, March 18
Review at Read Review Rejoice

Friday, March 19
Guest Post at Coffee and Ink

Monday, March 22
Review at Books and Zebras

Tuesday, March 23
Review at Novels Alive

Wednesday, March 24
Feature at I’m Into Books

Thursday, March 25
Review at Bitch Bookshelf

Friday, March 26
Review at Little But Fierce Book Diary

Giveaway

Enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on February 19th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Earl’s Lady Geologist
https://widget.gleamjs.io/e.js

#TheBareknuckleGroom #HollyBush #HFVBTBlogTours

The Bareknuckle Groom
by Holly Bush

Publication Date: March 9, 2021
Holly Bush Books

Series: The Thompsons of Locust Street, Book #2
Genre: Historical Romance

 

 

Meet the Thompsons of Locust Street, an unconventional family taking Philadelphia high society by storm…

1869 Bareknuckle champion, James Thompson, is confident his future continues with beautiful women and victories in the boxing ring. Men admire his skills, power, and quick fists, and are more than willing to bet their hard-earned coins on his name. Women admire his handsome face, his undaunted confidence, and his powerful body. Nothing will change his successfully plotted course, until…

Lucinda Vermeal arrives on the Philadelphia social scene when her father moves them to the city in the hopes that his only daughter will find a suitable partner. After all, her husband will be intimately involved with Vermeal Industries whose business interests and political connections touch France, England and all of the United States. Lucinda’s pale statuesque beauty attracts the finest of Philadelphia’s young men, but her cool and reserved attitude keep them at arm’s length. Until she meets a man willing to challenge her at every turn. Will James Thompson expose Lucinda’s passionate nature like no other man ever could?

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

About the Author

“Love always has something to say. Sometimes it shouts from the highest hill, and sometimes it whispers so softly one must listen closely to hear. Do not turn away. It is a rare and precious commodity. Treasure it.” The Gentrys of Paradise

Holly Bush’s historical romances are set during the turbulent and transformative years of the late 1800’s. The first two books in her newest series, The Gentrys of Paradise, released in the spring of 2017 and began with the novella Into the Evermore where readers meet Virginia horse breeders, Eleanor and Beauregard Gentry. The following books feature their children, Adam, Matthew, and Olivia. For the Brave is Matthew’s story and is the first full length book of the series. Olivia’s book, For This Moment, released in the spring of 2018. The final book, For Her Honor, is now available.

The Crawford Family Series following the fortunes of the three Boston born Crawford sisters and includes Train Station Bride, Contract to Wed, Her Safe Harbor, and companion novella, The Maid’s Quarters. Cross the Ocean and Charming the Duke are both British set Victorian romances. Fan favorites stand-alone historical romance novels include Romancing Olive and Reconstructing Jackson. Holly’s books are described as ‘emotional, with heartfelt, sexy romance.’

She also writes General Fiction under the name of Hollis Bush.

Holly makes her home with her husband, one happy Labrador Retriever and a clever Jack Russell rescued from the pound, and two difficult cats in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Connect with Holly at www.hollybushbooks.com, on Twitter @hollybushbooks, and on Facebook at Holly Bush. Follow Holly on her Amazon author page to receive new release updates and on BookBub to check out her reviews and get sale information.

Book Blast Schedule

Tuesday, March 9
Passages to the Past

Wednesday, March 10
Pursuing Stacie

Thursday, March 11
Reading is My Remedy

Friday, March 12
American Historical Novels

Monday, March 15
Bookworlder

Tuesday, March 16
Books & Benches

Thursday, March 18
Coffee and Ink

Monday, March 22
The Book Junkie Reads

Tuesday, March 23
Bitch Bookshelf
A Darn Good Read

#TheSkyWorshipers #FMDeemyad #HFVBTBlogTours

The Sky Worshipers
by F.M. Deemyad

Publication Date: March 2, 2021
History Through Fiction LLC
Hardcover, Paperback, & eBook

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

In the year 1398 A.D., Lady Goharshad and her husband, King Shahrokh, come across an ancient manuscript in the ruins of Karakorum, the Mongol capital. The manuscript chronicles the era of Mongol invasions with entries by three princesses from China, Persia, and Poland who are captured and brought to the Mongol court.

After being stolen from her family at the Tangut Emperor’s coronation, Princess Chaka, the Emperor’s youngest daughter is left with no choice but to marry Genghis Khan. Thus, the Tangut join Genghis as allies. She is the first to secretly chronicle the historical events of her time, and in doing so she has the help of an African eunuch by the name of Baako who brings her news from the war front.

Princess Reyhan is the witty granddaughter of the last Seljuk King in Persia. She is kidnapped by Ogodei, Genghis’s son and heir, who falls in love with her. The romance does not last long, however, since a Mongol beauty wins Ogodei’s heart, and Reyhan is sidelined. Reyhan continues the tradition of recording the events in secret, turning her entries into tales.

During the Mongol invasion of Poland and Hungary, Princess Krisztina, niece to Henry the Pious, is taken as a prisoner of war by the Mongols. Reyhan learns about Krisztina’s predicament through Baako and asks Hulagu, Genghis’s grandson, to help free her. Krisztina has a difficult time adjusting to life in Mongolia, and at one point she attempts to run away but is unsuccessful. When the child she is bearing is stillborn, the Mongol court shuns her. She is able to return to her homeland in old age but comes back to Karakorum and writes her final entry in the journal.

Through beautiful language and powerful storytelling, this fact-based historical novel lays bare the once far-reaching and uncompromising Mongol empire. It shows readers the hidden perspectives of the captive, conquered, and voiceless. It brings to light the tremendous but forgotten influence of Genghis Khan and his progeny, while asking readers to reconsider the destruction and suffering of the past on which the future is built.

Amazon & Barnes and Noble

Praise

“The author’s in-depth research is evident throughout The Sky Worshippers. For readers who enjoy a lush blend of historical fact and fiction, this novel details the smells, sights, sounds of a pivotal era in time, uniquely told through the eyes of three captive princesses.” – Gina Wilkinson author of When the Apricots Bloom

“F.M. Deemyad immerses the reader into the 13th Century world of Genghis Khan. It’s an unforgettable story of survival and strong women as we experience life through the eyes of the conquered-and the conquerors. In The Sky Worshipers, history comes vividly alive.” – John DeDakis, Novelist, Writing Coach, and former Senior Copy Editor for CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer”, http://www.JohnDeDakis.com

“In this stunning saga, F. M. Deemyad takes us on a thrilling journey as Genghis Khan and his sons sweep across Asia and Europe, worshiping the sky while they conquer one nation after another and capture women to enslave and marry. The women’s stories, rich with architectural, historical and cultural detail, hold an important message for all of us who have inherited privileges as the result of our ancestor’s atrocities. A great read and a phenomenal debut!” – Raima Larter, Author of Fearless and Belle o’ the Waters

“The Sky Worshipers by F.M. Deemyad draws us into Genghis Khan’s conquests through the eyes of three women ripped from their homes and thrust into royal service. This lyrical novel is a vivid imagining of hearts and minds of women who left their marks on history, despite history’s failure to acknowledge their contributions. It allows us to connect with timeless striving for a world of compassion, equal opportunity, and celebration of diversity. A beautiful novel.” – Lisa L. Leibow, J.D., Co-Founder, Board President, Chief Operating Officer, The Scheherazade Project

“An illuminating telling of Mongol conquest and the people who lived-and died-making decisions that shaped half the world. The broad strokes of time are revealed through the perspectives of single bristles of the brush. Cleverly imagined and carefully rendered, The Sky Worshipers is an engaging, personal look at one of history’s momentous eras.” – Zach Powers, author of First Cosmic Velocity

About the Author

F.M. Deemyad was born in Kermanshah, Iran. She grew up in the capital, Tehran, attending bilingual schools run by Christian and Jewish minorities. Her father, born and raised in India, had come to Iran when he was in his late twenties. Being the son of a linguist who had taught English Literature in India for a number of years, he exposed the author in her preschool years to the English language, and she learned to love classic literature under her father’s instructions. She received her Master’s degree in Writing from Johns Hopkins University in 2016. She currently resides with her husband in Maryland.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, March 2
Review at Books, Cooks, Looks

Wednesday, March 3
Review at Hoover Book Reviews

Thursday, March 4
Review at Girl Who Reads
Interview at Jathan & Heather

Friday, March 5
Review at YA, It’s Lit

Monday, March 8
Review at Reader Ceygo
Feature at I’m Into Books
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Tuesday, March 9
Review at @the.b00kreader
Review at With A Book In Our Hands

Wednesday, March 10
Review at Rajiv’s Reviews

Thursday, March 11
Excerpt at Chicks, Rogues and Scandals

Friday, March 12
Review at Bibliostatic

Sunday, March 14
Interview at Reader Ceygo

Monday, March 15
Review at Books and Zebras
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Tuesday, March 16
Feature at Reading is My Remedy

Wednesday, March 17
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of The Sky Worshipers! Two copies are up for grabs!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on March 17th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Sky Worshipers
https://widget.gleamjs.io/e.js