Blog
Christmas and Holiday Greetings to all my readers
A quick post to wish all my readers and book friends a very happy holiday season, and plenty of reading for the new year. This year I have published two books - Last Train to Freedom set in WW2 and The Cameo Keeper, set in Renaissance Rome. There will be a fifth book...
The Prisoner of Raven’s Gaze Hall by J C Briggs #WW1 #Gothic #Mystery
The Prisoner of Raven’s Gaze Hall The raven sits on the ravenstone, And his black wing flits O’er the milk-white bones… Manfred, by Lord Byron England, 1919 Catherine Sisley is home from her nursing role in the war and mourning the death of her beloved, Captain Leo...
Red Snow in Winter by Max Eastern #Thriller #NewRelease #Espionage
NEW RELEASE SPOTLIGHT ABOUT THE BOOK January 1945: Haunted by a secret love affair in Nazi-occupied Prague, American Intelligence officer Julius Orlinsky is pulled into a lethal conspiracy when a routine Washington assignment spirals into murder and blackmail. Chasing...
Ravenscourt by Samantha Ward-Smith #GothicRomance #CoffeePotBookClub #HistFic
He wanted to be gone from the dark enclosing room, with its mocking misery, to be gone from this house of nightmares, of shattered dreams, and discovered secrets which could not be put back in the box. Venice, 1880. Alexander, Viscount Dundarran, seeks refuge from...
Inês by Catherine Mathis #CoffeePotBookClub #Excerpt #HistoricalFiction #Portugal
A Bride and Her Lady Xabregas Palace, Outer Lisboa Early to Mid-August 1339 Inês heard the intake of breaths as they rounded the corner and stopped at the entry to the great hall. She longed to pull at the linen chemise clinging to her damp skin in the midday heat....
The Women of Dartington Hall by Rosemary Griggs #Biographical #Elizabethan #Tudor #CoffeePotBookClub
Daughters of Devon For my Daughters of Devon series, I draw inspiration from the lives of intriguing, lesser-known women who lived in 16th-century Devon. I’m particularly fascinated by the characters associated with Dartington Hall. One woman, Lady Gabrielle Roberda...
Shades of Yellow by Wendy J Dunn #CoffeePotBookClub #Elizabethan #DualTimeline
Shades of Yellow: Who better to write about a betrayed woman than a woman betrayed? Shades of Yellow is a dual timeline novel set in the Elizabethan era, featuring the real personages of Amy Robsart and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Blurb: During her battle with...
Deborah Swift talks to Amy Maroney about Operation Tulip, her WW2 novel of Dutch Resistance
Here's an interview I did with historical novelist Amy Maroney, reproduced here from her lovely website What inspired you to write about that particular era or character? I have already written a number of books set in WW2 – in fact this will be my sixth. I was...
Tailored Truths by Nancy Jardine @Nansjar #CoffeePotBookClub
Read this lovely excerpt for a taste of Tailored Truths! Propositioned at the Opera A signal bell from the orchestra below, and the dimming of the gas lights that bordered the stage, heralded a noisy return of those who had left their seats. For a minute or...
Astrology and Medicine in the Renaissance #BlogPost #GiuliaTofana
The third book in my Italian Renaissance series, The Fortune Keeper, begins the story of Girolama Spera, Giulia Tofana’s daughter, and a real historical person who was also accused of poisoning a generation of men, by following in her mother’s footsteps. She was known...
New Release! The Stars Over Rome by Charlotte Betts #Historical #Romance #Italy
I'm thrilled to highlight Charlotte Betts' new release The Stars Over Rome. I've read all of Charlotte's books and they never disappoint with their combination of excellent research, lush settings and romantic appeal. Here's the blurb: In a world where women are...
Cairo Gambit by SW Perry #ARC #Review #Egypt
'An enthralling thriller ... hypnotically readable' ANDREW TAYLOR In the heat of the desert, will the trail go cold? Cairo, 1938 Archie Nevenden is many things: amateur archaeologist; theatre impresario; absent father; potential defector. And now, he's a missing...
Marguerite by Judith Arnopp #CoffeePotBookClub #QueenofEngland
I'm a big fan of Judith Arnopp's books, so I'm delighted to host this excerpt from Marguerite! Hell Hath No Fury. 1443 – Having produced an heir for England, Marguerite returns to court, hoping for a warm welcome. After an uneasy Christmas season, the new year sees...
A Mischief of Murder by Helen Hollick #CosyMystery #CoffeePotBookClub
Today, I’m delighted to host A Mischief of Murder by Helen Hollick. About the Book A Mischief of Murder is the sixth Jan Christopher Cosy Mystery The village Flower and Veg Show should be a fun annual event – but who added mischief and murder to the traditional...
Book Club Questions for Last Train to Freedom by Deborah Swift #ReadingGroup #BookClub
Book Club Questions for Last Train to Freedom Thank you to Laura Carpenter of Harper Collins for this great selection of Book Club Questions. This gripping historical novel invites reading group members into the perilous realm of World War II, where two siblings must...