Blog
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...
Writing The Legend and History of Giulia Tofana by Deborah Swift #GiuliaTofana #HistoricalFiction
Why Giulia Tofana? When I first had the idea to write about Giulia Tofana, all I knew about her was that she’d killed 600 men in Renaissance Italy. Immediately it made me curious to know why, and what sort of a woman she might be. I wondered whether she was really as...
Unspoken by Jann Alexander #Texas #CoffeePotBookClub #Dustbowl #1930s
A Farm Devastated. A Dream Destroyed. A Family Scattered. And One Texas Girl Determined to Salvage the Wreckage. Ruby Lee Becker can't breathe. It's 1935 in the heart of the Dust Bowl, and the Becker family has clung to its Texas Panhandle farm through six years of...
By Love Divided by Elizabeth St John #CoffeePotBookClub #LydiardChronicles
The Lydiard Chronicles Duty, passion, and power collide in The Lydiard Chronicles, a gripping trilogy inspired by true events. Follow three courageous women—survivors, strategists, and storytellers—who defy the constraints of society to shape their family’s fate and...
The Antidotes to 17th Century Poison by Deborah Swift #GiuliaTofana #Poisoner
You are a man living in Naples in the 17th Century and you suspect your wife might be poisoning you. Surprisingly, this is not uncommon. Many men of your own age (late fifties) have died in mysterious circumstances, leaving their young wives, many under twenty years...
Spotlight on The Herb Knot by Jane Loftus #medieval #Winchester #Epic #HistoricalFiction
The Herb Knot A promise to the dead can be a curse to the living... The Hundred Years’ War comes to life in this spellbinding tale of love, betrayal and conspiracy … A quest born on the battlefield will change a young boy’s destiny… Rafi Dubois is five years...
Historical Fiction Spotlight on Uprising by Paul Bernardi #Rebellion #AngloSaxon #CoffeePotBookClub
Summer 1067. Northumbria. Oslac, thegn of the village of Acum, feels cheated - having been robbed of the chance to kill his enemy by his own kinsman. Instead, Gundulf, the erstwhile Lord of Hexham and murderer of Acum's villagers, is now awaiting justice for his...
Death and the Poet by Fiona Forsyth #Roman #HistoricalFiction #CoffeePotBookClub
Read an Excerpt Prologue: Rome, 14 C It was the night of the Ides of May, dark and raining, when they got back to Rome. Fabius decided that he needed to walk home, said a quiet farewell, then set off along the Tiber embankment with one slave accompanying. Not too long...
The Last Bookshop in Prague by Helen Parusel #Review #WW2 #BooksWorthReading
In times of strife, never underestimate the power of stories. Was she incredibly brave or incredibly stupid? Neither. Just a bookshop girl doing what she could against her country’s oppressors. The banned books club was only the beginning; a place for the women of...
Falling Pomegranate Seeds by Wendy J Dunn #CoffeePotBookClub #KatherineofAragon
Falling Pomegranate Seeds Duology: The Katherine of Aragon Story Omnibus Edition A snippet “I have been pleased to see how much my Catalina, my sweet chiquitina, enjoys her mornings with you.” Queen Isabel brought her hands together, drumming her fingertips together...